DFR, pregnancy, and Father's Day

This past weekend we went to Tall Timbers and had a retreat with all the BCM families in the state. It was an amazing weekend to connect with other families who do the exact same thing we do. I loved watching the kids play together as well as talking to the wives who love the Lord, ministry, and their families just as I do! I always look forward to these retreats!!

I wanted to update on Frazier. I am officially 33 weeks pregnant. I am going to the doctor every 2 weeks now. This pregnancy has been much the same as when I was pregnant with Jackson as well as some differences. The things that seem to be the same are: heartburn, tiredness, and gallbladder issues. The things that are different are: leg cramps, stomach pains and issues all the time, and just not being able to get around!(I think this part has a lot to do with my age=() Overall, I am falling more and more in love with this very active little guys daily. I can't wait to see his sweet face and watch Jackson love on him!
(I know I am only 28 weeks in this picture.. I need to take more.)

We also celebrated Father's Day. This year we had a lazy weekend where Jonathan worked hard finishing some furniture for Frazier. I know, what a great Father's Day. But I also cooked 2 of his favorite meals got him some gifts and just encouraged him all weekend! He really is a great dad! He is great at making us feel loved, wanted, and needed. He puts the Lord first and that is what makes him the best husband, father, and minister in the world!! We love you Jonathan!!

Half of the IN Clark's come to visit...

This past week Jonathan's brother, Billy, and 3 of his 5 children came to visit. They are from Indiana so it was a long trip for them. We had a great time going on adventures, playing the Wii, and just catching up! Here are just a few pictures of our time together.

Life lately!!

So we got home from the mission trip and students had one week of regular classes then finals. It was crazy to spend so much time with them and then they all left!! It is nice to have our schedule slow down some, yet I miss all the students being around!!=)

Since that trip we dyed eggs
and celebrated Mother's Day,
had a senior dinner and leadership fellowship,
Jackson had his Awana program, we went to Ruston for Dennis and Kara Lee's wedding,



and celebrated my sister's 40th birthday.

It has been such a crazy yet so fun past few weeks!! We have also worked really hard on our adoption. To learn more about what is going on with that visit our adoption blog.

Mission Arlington/ 50's Fellowship

We are home from our AMAZING mission trip and being very busy getting these last few weeks of school over with. We had a 50's fellowship last night to end the school year and have one last fun time before finals. I am happy to report that Frazier made it through the mission trip and is still very active. I was so nervous going into the trip because the last time we went to Mission Arlington I miscarried. But the Lord heard our prayers and next week we will get to see Frazier again! =)
Speaking of Frazier. I am officially 26 week pregnant and going great. I have tons of leg cramps and back pain but all things that are manageable. I do have partial placenta previa which means the placenta as planted over my cervix. We will have an ultrasound next week to see if it still that way.
Speaking of the mission trip. It was amazing. We have a ton of great students who work hard, have great attitudes, and simply love the Lord. It was a pleasure to work with them and serve along side them!
Speaking of the fellowship, it was so much fun! The students did, yet again, an amazing job of planning and making the 50's fellowship loads of fun!! Jackson had so much fun drinking a root beer float and playing with a toy gun the entire night! He has really adjusted to SLU and loves the college students!!

April in picture...in rewind=)

Jonathan and I had an amazing weekend with a youth group from Brandon MS. I got to teach the middle school girls and he got to teach the Senior boys! It was also great to catch up with old friends from Ruston, Cody and Christina.

We had a family night where we watched a movie on the porch. It was great weather and so much fun!

Jackson caught a toad. He was so proud!


A few weekends ago we went and rode bikes. We had a BLAST and will totally do this again soon!!




Ponchatoula has a strawberry festival every year. It was so much fun and Jackson had a blast. It was also nice to go with some friends who could show us around. OH! and Yes that is a deep fried strawberry which was actually pretty good!

Jackson and his little worm. He loves animals!!

Jonathan and Jackson went on an adventure and came back with this?!!?


Jonathan teaching Jackson how to whittle.

And just one of Lelia because she is so cute and I miss her....

Yet more updates...

So tonight I was spending time with the Lord in the quietness of the house and I was just overwhelmed with the Lord's timing. I know that most of my posts are pretty light but I just have to share what is going on in the Clark family and in my heart.

First of all, we want to officially welcome our new niece Lelia to our family. She was officially adopted last Tuesday and with tears in my eyes I am amazed at just how the Lord works! He gave my sister and her husband a precious little daughter at just the right time! She is perfect in every way and the perfect match for their family and ours as a whole. I am constantly amazed by the way the Lord does what He does.




Secondly, I want to announce that this coming August we are expecting another precious boy! We are officially 20 weeks pregnant! We are filled with many emotions! Shocked, being the first, nervous, and extremely blown away by yet again the Lord's timing. If you aren't familiar with our past I will share. We decided it was time to start trying to have kids in 2006. Not really sure what made us decide that...probably our ages but, nonetheless, we decided that we would stop preventing it. We got pregnant in about 5 months and soon miscarried. It wasn't too bad since we were very early in the pregnancy and not really sure what to expect. We immediately got pregnant again and were blessed with Jackson. He came by an emergency C-section at 36 weeks because of his heart rate being so low. 3 days after he was born I had a seizure and remained in the hospital for the rest of the week. I have been totally fine since then but just that experience made us question having more. But a few years later we decided yet again we should try. So we did. We got pregnant pretty fast this time and things were looking great until 12 weeks in. We miscarried and this time it was tough. It was hard for a few reasons. 1)we had seen the sweet child and his/her heartbeat. 2) Most knew we were expecting so having to relive the loss over and over was difficult. The doctor said that it was unexplained and we were safe to keep on trying. So we did and got pregnant yet again. This time we saw the little one with a heartbeat and thought things were fine until 8 weeks. We miscarried and I was filled with emotions that I couldn't explain. I questioned A LOT! Why was it so easy for some and so hard for others? Was there something we were doing wrong? Had my sin finally caught up with me? And many others. When the 3rd baby was lost we decided it was time to break and seek the Lord. We had been challenged at Collegiate Week at Glorieta the August before our miscarriages about orphan ministry and had decided our role was to give, and serve more directly in that area so we did, never imaging we would one day adopt. Yet in April of this past year(2010) we were confronted about adopting and decided that we would simply move and allow the Lord to shut the door on His timing. Along the way he has shut many doors and opened many as well. In the process we have prayed a simple prayer that the Lord would lead us to our children. It has been a HUGE step of faith and a growing season of our understanding of the Lord and His will, character, and timing. We had decided to adopt in April 2010 and at that time decided that we were 100% content with 1 biological child. I had come to grips with the fact that I was finished having babies and I was okay with that. Yet the Lord's timing, yet seems off sometimes, is always perfect! =) So YES we are still adopting and pregnant. We ask that you join us as we pray! We are trusting the Lord for there is nothing else we can do. We are also going to trust His timing and know that His plan is perfect, even when it seems crazy to us and to others around us!!

March and Adoption updates...

Adoption.. To find out about our adoption and updates on our current adoption status visit our adoption blog at: www.clarkfamilyadopts.blogspot.com

March updates:
We celebrated Mardi gras, had a kickball game at our home, and celebrated my birthday. It has been a great month so far. Mardi gras was fun because some students from Tech came to visit and it was so great to see our old friends. We also went to a parade in Covington.