Not A One Year Old For Much Longer

We spent Will's off day today at the beach with this little guy. I don't want to forget this "almost two stage". Yes there are some tantrums and whining, but for the most part he is so fun to play with and be around all day. The tantrums and whining come from frustration when he can't get a toy to do what he wants or he has to get in the car instead of walking to the playground. He loves the ocean, he loves to play with cars. We buy him other toys but he primarily only plays with cars, books and blocks/legos. He sleeps from 8:30 or 9:00 to 7:45 or 8:00 and takes 1 afternoon nap everyday from 2-4. He snuggles with his Little Giraffe Blanket. He wears 18 and 24 months clothes. He is very independent and likes to do things himself. He has recently been telling me "no, no, no don't do dat." He also is trying so hard to sing. He likes Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABC's, Jesus Loves Me. His little voice is presh.

He still has no idea Penelope is on her way, Will often says oh man she is going to rock his world.

We are so blessed by his personality!

PINK

It is so fun shopping for a girl. While we were at Target today we grabbed a few little clothes for baby girl.

I also made a baby registry for her to be organized about what I need and to have a place to direct people if anyone wants to pick something up for us.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/baby/ref=gno_listpop_br

I have a lot we used with Liam, but I think she will need a little pink in her life and somethings I didn't get or know I needed/wanted with Liam.

December/ January

Poppy's ultrasound picture.
Pink Item telling Will it's a girl, also some fabric for her room.
Liam enjoying the ocean.
Will and I at a UofL basketball game during Christmas vacation.
Will and Liam at Disney.

Will and I were thrilled to find out our second child is going to be a girl! I found out a few hours before Will did because the gender ultrasound was unexpected at my appointment so I went to baby gap and came home with this adorable little pink bathing suit for him to unwrap. We thought and hoped it would be a girl, but we were still surprised! We were able to see her through ultrasound yesterday and everything looks great. She is growing as she should 9 inches, 10 ounces, her heartbeat was 156 and all things pregnancy look good- my blood pressure, weight gain, etc. I am 19 weeks and I have gained 5 pounds so far, so I am 145. Would love to stay under 160, so I can get back to 130 (pre-pregnancy weight with Liam) as soon as possible, but obviously want her to be nice and chunky!

We are starting to get her room ready, crib, mattress, dresser, glider and all set up. We bought pillows and some fabric so I feel like we are off to a good start.

We decided to name her Penelope Kate.

We also took Liam to Disney World for the first time. It was a great family day- all 3 of us had so much fun!

Liam also started sleeping in his big boy bed and is doing great.

He is now 21 months old. His 2nd birthday is April 9th. We haven't decided between doing a party or doing something special or just laying low.

We were able to go home to Kentucky for Christmas and visit with friends and family and it was so refreshing to be there, but it is nice to be back in our new home too!

Liam and I had a "Liam Fun Day" today because I know in 4 months we will probably be hanging around the house a lot! We went to the playground, Panera, cookie company, rode the train at the mall, went to the beach and still on the list is to go get a balloon from Publix and maybe go see a movie! We are taking a break this afternoon to rest :)

Church and Will's job is going really well. Keeping us busy. Will is taking the youth to a concert tomorrow called Winter Jam. I'm think I am going to stay home with Liam and get stuff done and relax.

Will and I were able to go on a date which was really nice. We went to dinner on the beach, Starbucks and we bought new dining room chairs!

A friend of mine here and I started a Bunco group and we had our first meeting Tuesday! It was super fun! Thankful for the sweet ladies here.

Please be praying with us that someone will buy our house. It has been up for sale for 3 months now and would really love it if by Spring we didn't own it anymore!

Will Laing

I am so proud to have Will as my husband. He turned in his last assignment for seminary last night.

In the process of figuring our where the Lord would have us, we visited several churches in several states, one church had me fill out some questions about Will and I was just so thankful I could answer the questions so truthfully and it really sums up how awesome he is! :)

Provide us a candid narrative of your marital history.

I’m trying to be as candid as possible, but we really have been blessed with an amazing relationship. We try to keep the Lord at the center of our marriage and family, along with that serve and love each other above ourselves. We also have really great relationships with each other’s families. The Lord has been so faithful to us and sustaining a strong marriage is a huge passion of ours.

Have you and your spouse always been faithful to each other and without improper sexual behavior either emotionally or physically? If answered “no”, please describe the circumstances of any unfaithfulness?

Yes, we have always been faithful to each other in every way.

Please describe how your husband has led you spiritually and contributed to your growth in Christ.

Will has hugely impacted my relationship with the Lord. He trusts the Lord completely, and goes to Him with every struggle or victory. He is just such an encouragement to me to do so as well. I often hear “Babe, why don’t you pray about this.” We have family worship time whenever possible (singing praise songs, reading Scripture, prayer time). We enjoy talking to each other about spiritual things and what the Lord is doing in our lives.

Describe how your husband has functioned as head of the home and how he has taken responsibility to provide, protect and spiritually lead your children (if applicable).

Whenever I think I Biblical Manhood I think of Will. He leads with patience, humility and love. He has been the sole provider financially for our family while in Seminary which has been extremely difficult and he has done so with strength and determination. He has spiritually lead Liam by spending time praying and reading Scripture as a family, disciplining him (teaching him obedience to us and God) as well as by example (being faithful at our church, ministering to others in front of Liam).

Please tell us what you believe are your husband’s primary spiritual gifts

I think his spiritual gifts are leadership and teaching.

Are you convinced of the call on your spouse to pastoral ministry? Describe how you came to agree on this call.

I am convinced that God has called Will to full time ministry. I just see the joy it brings him. When he preached this past weekend, I felt so proud, the Lord has gifted him and it is obvious. For the six years I have known him he has never waivered in his calling. Also, it has been neat to see his family and men in his life affirm that calling.

Describe a time when the demands of ministry put strain on your marriage or family life and how you dealt with it as a couple.

I would say on and off through seminary, working full time, having Liam, serving in church there have been times where our family time has been 30 minutes or an hour a day and that has been difficult but we have learned to lean on the Lord in those times and spend quality time together without distractions.

Other good news is that we have 2 cars again! Will's car has been getting worked on and he got it back today! Yay!

And! I think I might have turned the curve with morning sickness. I am in my second trimester, a couple days shy of 14 weeks.

Life in Arcadia

Everything is going really great here, our church is so sweet, everyone has been so helpful and welcoming to us, Will loves his job, the students in the youth group are really fun, and we love the warm weather. We have had a little trouble finding the right place to live, but we will be settled next week so we are thankful for that. Our house in Louisville is still up for sale, it has been shown several times but no offers yet.

We have been spending Will's off days taking care of external things- like Will's car got totaled, finding a new place to live, doctors appointments, etc. We are finally getting in to a routine on regular days but we are looking forward to being able to have some real fun with free time! We haven't been to the beach yet, etc. Although I have been homesick a couple of times, God has just been really faithful to comfort us. Psalm 107:1 has been a blessing to me "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his steadfast love endures forever." I actually put that on our Christmas card this year.

Brody Daniel Maciaszek

Just came home from the hospital!
Big Brother gifts!
"Lyssa" with her nephews and Liam
Brody with his eyes open
In true Perkins sister fashion Ashley and Troy moved from their first house- a condo- into this beautiful home 1 day before she went into labor. It was an eventful week, but it all worked out great!

Big Brother/ Baby June Bug

I had my first pregnancy appointment yesterday and everything with baby looks great, they did a quick ultrasound and I was 10 weeks and 6 days, making me 11 weeks today. In the ultrasound picture the baby's head is to the left and the body to the right, the two little white dots next to the sides of the face are the baby's hands. We got to see the heart flicker and he/she was moving around the whole time. Liam and Will came with me and we all got to see together so that was really sweet. We totally forgot to ask how fast the heartbeat was so we could start making guesses on the sex of the babe! I really like my new Doctor. I asked so many questions to make sure we were on the same page because of my somewhat non-medical views on birth and I think she will be a good fit. Her induction and c-section rate are extremely low! 10% and 14%, the national average being 30%, so I am really thankful for that. We are just praying for a healthy pregnancy and for me to carry as long as possible.

I don't think Liam knows what is going on at all, but I am hoping as my belly gets bigger and Liam gets older he will understand what is happening. He will still be young at 26 months when the baby arrives, but we are thinking and praying for a good relationship between the two of them! Seeing the ultrasound really made us feel like we are parents of TWO children! So amazing.