16 Weeks {and counting}

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. "
Philippians 4:6

That verse is one of my favorite verses in the bible and was even read at our wedding ceremony.  This is the verse I hold onto in times of worry and fear of the unknown.  We have absolutely no idea how things will turn out, and that's how God wants it to be.  He wants us to have full faith in him and is his plans and timing.  And faith in God is what I have!

We have had a busy few weeks wrapping up the summer, Chad and I took a trip up north to visit family and then drove down to Missouri the following weekend for the baptism of my Goddaughter Anna.  We have celebrated a few birthdays and most recently took a road trip with my friend Bri to spend some time in Chicago and then surprise a very special friend on a very special day.  After that weekend my heart was full and I was reminded once again how precious God's gift of a child is.  I got to hear baby's heartbeat again a few weeks ago and scheduled our next ultrasound and appointment {is baby a boy or girl? Leave a guess in the comment section}. 

The biggest news this month in the Lilja home is that we bought a NEW CAR!!! Or a baby-mobile as some people like to call it.  We have been looking all summer for something to replace my Honda Civic {The one I've driven since High school} and finally found just the car we were looking for.  After comparing countless SUV's we landed on the Honda Pilot, it has room to seat 8 and has a huge cargo space when you fold down the third row {lots of room for baby gear and for Hunter!}We absolutely love it and can't wait until its time to put a car seat in the back row!!

Hunter approves of the new Pilot

In other news I head back to school on Tuesday with plans to continue through next summer {I know I'm crazy} letting family and friends watch a new baby so I can finish this darn BSN and FINALLLLLLYYYYYY be done with school!!! How about a baby/momma update?

 Weekly/Monthly/Whenever I get around to it UPDATE!

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain: 7 lbs total

Maternity clothes? Not yet... Bella-band over jeans, lots of sun dresses and comfy clothes

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: Sleep is great, no complaints yet! The chronic tiredness is starting to fade

Best moment of the week: Buying our new car

Miss anything? Subway, Jimmy Johns and cold deli meat.... {Apparently you're not supposed to eat deli meat while pregnant... it's been a struggle! I may have cheated once... or twice?}

Movement: Not yet, anxiously awaiting feeling Babes move!!

Food cravings: Dominoes Cheese Pizza {Its getting better....? maybe not... poor Chad he is so sick of it} This week its strawberry Pop Tarts

 Anything making you queasy or sick: Still pretty nauseous... but haven't puked this week so that's a plus! Taking Zofran which has helped a ton!!!

Gender prediction: Thinking its a Girl but expecting a Boy!

Symptoms: Nausea, unexplained crying... {not fun!!!}

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy, with occasional bouts of random crying!!

Looking forward to: Looking pregnant instead of just like I ate too much Pizza (even though its a weekly occurrence!!) <-- Still waiting... but getting a little more round? SUPER excited for fall and cooler weather!

I have offically moved the chalkboard to the office/nursery-to-be now that bathroom construction is done... Can't wait to get these walls painted and start decorating for our little babe!

Have a fabulous week, I will leave you with a funny picture... Hunter was getting jealous and wanted to be in the picture! Surprised the camera caught us both looking {self timer!}

 

Pray, Hope and don't WORRY!!!

New Chapter in the Lilja Home

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 1:5

Chad and I are very excited to announce that our family will be expanding in February!! We are expecting our first baby and are absolutely thrilled with this new adventure we are about to embark on.  I have decided to continue with this blog instead of making a new one so as to keep my small fan base, and because I have really enjoyed writing about my faith and the journey the Lord has sent me on. 

After months of debate and discussion, Chad and I decided in early May that now was the right time to start trying to have a baby.  With lots of prayers and some good ol' fashion luck we found ourselves embarking on this amazing journey of becoming parents! At our first appointment we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat, and let me tell you it was one of the most amazing days of my life! After weeks of worrying about whether there really was a baby growing inside of me and whether that baby was going to be ok, we had our nerves eased and our hearts melted.  Baby's heartbeat was a strong 160 bpm and we were even able to record it to send to our family and friends. (Or listen to on a daily basis....)

Pregnancy has been a wild ride, Chad has endured his fair share of Dominoes Pizza and a nauseous wife but has taken it in stride with minimal complaints. Zofran has become my best friend along with as much sleep as I can fit into a day/night/afternoon!!  I have transitioned to working straight 12hr nights which has left me with a very nice schedule and more time with my hubby and puppy! While nights have not been the easiest of schedules on the stomach, I continue to give thanks to God every time I feel sick and remember there are those who desperately want children but are unable to have them.

Today was our first ultrasound (we convinced my OB that we needed one because we were nervous about the possibility of twins which just so happen to run in Chad's family) and we are thankful to report we have ONE BABY currently growing like a weed!!! It was so much fun to watch our baby dance all over the ultrasound screen.  The baby was going crazy kicking and waving at us, it was so amazing to see this little human we created giving us a show.  The baby was facing my back so we didn't get a great face shot, but from what I hear at 13 weeks the faces look a little like aliens! our little LEMON has all of the appropriate extremities and gave us a proper demonstration of it's dance moves. We wont know for another 5-7 weeks whether our little lemon is a boy or a girl but we all have our guesses! 

I hope to keep this blog updated as we prepare for this sweet babe of ours, including some bump pictures (you have been warned!!!) some nursery pictures and any other things we wish to write about! Hope you enjoy following our journey in becoming parents!

Day I found out (4weeks-ish) and today 13 weeks

 Weekly/Monthly/Whenever I get around to it UPDATE!

How far along? 13 weeks

Total weight gain: 5 lbs total

Maternity clothes? Not yet... Jeans have stopped buttoning comfortably, wearing a bela band over them when not in a dress or scrubs!

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: Fabulous! Sleeping all of the time whenever I can

Best moment of the week: Ultrasound for sure!! Seeing baby dance up a storm!!

Miss anything? Excedrin Migraine medicine.... headaches are giving me a run for my money!

Movement: Not yet, anxiously awaiting feeling Babes move!!

Food cravings: Dominoes Cheese Pizza, cottage cheese and Milk!

 Anything making you queasy or sick: Lots but nothing specific... different every day, mainly feeling sick in the mornings and while at work!

Gender prediction: Thinking its a Girl but expecting a Boy! Chad is indifferent

Symptoms: Nausea, bloating, very emotional!

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy, excited, thrilled!

Looking forward to: Looking pregnant instead of just like I ate too much Pizza (even though its a weekly occurrence!!)

Swazi {The End}

I have kind of been procrastinating on this post {Obviously...  it's been almost 3 months since my trip to Africa...}. But to be honest, this is kind of a hard post to write. Writing this last post means that the trip is really over, that I have come back to my real life in MN of being a nurse and a wife, and most importantly a changed Christian. My trip to Africa was amazing. There are not enough words to describe hoe God changed my life in those short 10 days. You wouldn't understand it anyways, unless you have experienced it yourself. Unless you have felt the pain of God tugging at your heart, the glory of feeling HIS presence in EVERYTHING you  did for 10 days in a row.  Knowing that God sent you somewhere to change lives, and feeling that the only life that was changed was your own... How do you articulate that!? You can't, so I'm not even going to try! I had almost forgot that I didn't finish this post until a friend came to MN to visit ans said she was so sorry I never met my sponsor child. I was like what do you mean Sorry!!! I met her and she was AMAZING!!! It dawned on me that I never blogged about that day, so how would she have known?? So let me finish my last two days in Swaziland and then I'll give you a few closing thoughts....

Tuesday morning after our sunrise safari and breakfast, we headed back on our bus back to GLA.  We were set to meet with the interns and staff and then meet our sponsor kiddos that afternoon. I'm not gonna lie, I was crabby. Emily and I didn't sleep well in our safari hut and I was tired and cranky.  I took a nap on the bus ride home and that seemed to help me refresh a bit. Once we arrived at GLA, I was again in awe of God beauty. It was a HOT day in Swaziland and the landscape was picturesque.

We were seated in the main room at GLA alternating seats between RVC team members and GLA interns. Mark and Kay lead off with some introductions and some prayers and then we went into a tie of testimonies. It was amazing to hear the testimonies of those from RVC as well as those from the interns. After the testimonies we went into a time of worship. To be honest I wasn't thrilled about this part. Mark had said something to the effect of sing whatever is on your heart, if you feel God put a song on your heart sing it. I honestly thought we would be sitting there all day with no one saying a peep because we had no real planned music or instruments. {Insert laugh of God...} Boy was I wrong, not even 5 seconds after Mark finished a scripture did one of the interns break out in a beautiful song. I could tell from that instant that this was going to be magical.  The room filled with the sound of angels and the Holy Spirit was ever so present.  As much as I LOVE the worship at RVC in MN, nothing with EVER compare to the worship that occurred in that room that morning. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about that morning even to this day 3 months later. God is so good.  He placed the perfect songs on our tongues and sent his messengers to do divine things. We went into a song about healing and instantly the feeling in the room changed. Amazing things were transpiring and we were witnessing miracles. I watched as one of my closest friends on the trip was prayed over in tongues and healed right before our eyes. It was something I will never forget, and thank God for opening my eyes to his amazing abilities!! So after all of my makeup was washed away with tears of joy and overall fulfillment of the Holy Spirit, it was time to meet our sponsor kiddos!
I was super nervous and excited at the same time...
All of the kids filed off a bus and gathers on the front lawn waiting to meet their sponsors. As they called Nompelo's name and then my names my heart was so happy. I had a huge smile on my face and could tell she was equally as happy but also really shy!! We picked a spot on the lawn {remember it was the hottest day of our trip and I forgot sunscreen bc I was so excited.... = Super great sunburn/totally worth it} One of the best parts of the day was watching her devour KFC!! That was the big surprise for them was getting KFC chicken. It gave me such a different outlook on what I had and how fourtonate I was, something I take for granted like fast food was a delicacy to this little girl.  I had brought a backpack of goodies from the states and she carefully took out each item and held it like it was gold. My favorite part of the day was reading her the story of Noah's Arc fromt eh bible I brought her. She was amazed at the colored pages and pictures in front of her. As I read it in English and listened to the translation in Siswati tears filled my eyes because I know that this is probably the first bible this girl has ever owned and maybe even seen.  Knowing that she will be able to read this long after I go home made me so thankful to God for choosing me to bless this sweet girl.  We played with bubbles and played with my camera, took lots of funny pictures and shared many laughs.  Her laugh was infectious and made me so happy, but also made me long for more time with her. As we said our goodbyes, there were lots of hugs and smiles.  I told her I prayed for her every day and asked her what she needed prayer for.  Her answer- pray for my mom, pray that she gets a job and is happy again. My heart officially broke for about the thousandth time... So we prayed together before she boarded her bus and waved from the window as she drove away.

Best Day Ever...

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day~

 

 

 

 

Here is the video we made for Chad... isn't she precious!?!

Well it was an amazing day probably the best day of the whole trip! And then there were goodbyes... and those were pretty terrible... 

I had an amazing time in Swaziland, it is a trip that I will never forget. I have been forever changed by this trip, I have made amazing friends and amazing memories.  I never realized how important Godly friends were to have until I made some truly amazing friends in Swaziland. I thank God every day for the experience he provided for me and the divine interacions he put in my path. He does amazing things and I can't wait for the day I am back in this beautiful country!

African Safari {SWAZI}

Top 10 Safari Pictures~

It was AMAZING!!! We slept {Or didn't sleep...} in the hut in the first photo, we saw all sorts of animals and ever got to eat breakfast with the Rhinos!! It was an unforgettable experience... {PS: I was EXTREMELY hard to pic just 10 photos... but there isn't an easy way to upload pics to the blog and I'm impatient!}

RVC {Swazi} Launch

"Your word is a lamp for my feet, 

a light for my path" Psalm 119:105

Sunday February 24th, 2013 RVC Global team Swaziland ~ RVC Swazi Campus Launch Day

I'm going to start with a picture of my journal from the 24th, it was such an amazing day it is so hard to try and sum it all up in words. "The Lord did amazing things in Swaziland today... We launched the 8th campus on a third continent, all by the GRACE of God." Everything on this day was right, everything that happened on February 24thh, 2013 in Swaziland Africa was a gift from God, thanking us for our obedience.  This was the purpose of this trip, this was what our mission was, LAUNCH the church.  Go forth and do God's work, his word was a light for our path, he sent us to Swaziland.  God appointed Pastor Mduduzi to lead this church, HIS church, just as he appointed Pastor Rob to lead River Valley.  Everything fell into place on that day, everything because of his GRACE.  

Emily and I with our perfect weather

Sunrise Swazi style

The day started out with an amazing sunrise, the night before my roommate Emily and I prayed together and one of the things we prayed for was a cloudy day to make it more comfortable for those people who had to walk to church.  What did God do? He delivered an overcast day with an amazing breeze!  The church packed with people was a very comfortable place to be because God answers prayers.  Another prayer answered was one we prayed on one of our very first nights in Swazi.  Stephen Prince was telling team one about all of the opposition Pastor Mduduzi and RVC had been facing from the King and the government.  As a group we collectively prayed against that opposition and for the lord to provide peace... and what does he do? He sends a PRINCE and other community dignitaries to give their blessing to Pastor Mduduzi and to RVC-Swazi!! How amazing is that?!

Pastor Rob, the Prince and Pastor Mduduzi ~"Change Before you have to"

Another amazing thing - RVC Music in Swaziland!!! One of my favorite parts of the launch of RVC-Swazi was experiencing worship music that I would hear at home in MN, in AFRICA!!! The worship that morning was something I will never forget.  Lulu (worship leader) and her team were absolutely spectacular.  So many hands were raised to the Lord as we worshiped, it brought tears to my eyes and joy to my soul knowing that I was a part of something that was made possible by His GRACE and His LOVE.  We also worshiped in SiSwati, the bush language in Swaziland.  While I could hardly pronounce the words, the sound was sweeter than anything I had ever heard.  It was a sound of people from all over the world, worshiping the SAME God, the ONLY God.  It didn't matter it what color we were, what language we spoke or what life circumstances we were facing; we were worshiping together as children of God. 

Pastor Rob preached an amazing sermon about the vision for RVC-Swazi and what a "Life Giving Church" is.  Pastor Mduduzi spoke about being fathers to the fatherless and how Swaziland needs leaders who will show the way to the the Lord. The leaders and elders of RVC as well as community dignitaries prayed for Mduduzi and his wife Memory.

 

And lets not forget about the FUTURE of RVC-Swaziland... The KIDS!!! There were hundreds of kids who came to the launch of RVC-Swazi, Lizwi the youth pastor did an amazing job teaching the children the word of the Lord. 

Everyone was fed after service thanks to the help from some amazing women! Everyone left with full bellies and hearts filled with the word of God.  The building was blessed by the community members and Mduduzi and RVC were given their blessings.

Royalty and community members showing support for RVC

It was an absolutely AMAZING God given day that I will never as long as I live forget.  The presence of the holy spirit was unmistakeable, the love overflowing and the joy and happiness was everywhere to be found.  Here are some more photos from launch day!

Handy Men!

Nokwanda and I

Pastor Rob and Mr Swazi Prince

The AMAZING Poli's ~Jayne and Pastor Darin

 

Me, Sam, Rach, Ellie, Iliea, Nokwanda and Cici

Mr Avery Prince and his buddy

Rach, Ellie and I goofing around

The AMAZING Prince Family

Ellie and I in our pretty flowers!

Krista and Rachel

Max, Gerald and I sweeping

Chris and Max supervising

Thandeka (GLA intern) and I

My best friend of the trip Nokwanda

Children's Cup President Ben Rodgers with Steph and Krista

Taylor loving up on some kiddos

Em and I

Ellie, em and I loving it up with out Swazi Cici's

RVC-Swaziland Official Launch

 After the launch we spent the afternoon/evening in amazing fellowship with our lead team and missionary families.  We went to an amazing restaurant for dinner, there was Diet Coke which made so many of us happy! The conversation was fantastic, testimonies were shared as we ate a celebratory meal.  The view was breathtaking as usual, it was just an amazing God given day that I will never forget!!!

Stay tuned... Safari blog coming to a computer near you!