Joshua is 3 months old

It's hard to believe, but Joshua is 3 months old already!!! He loves to smile and is "talking" a lot. I'm constantly reminded what a precious gift God has given us! I'm so thankful for my cute little boy.

Youth Activity in Arcos

Friday night we had a youth activity at Weber and Nita's house. There wasn't a big turnout, but all three of the boys pictured were visitors. Praise the Lord, all three got saved that night! What a blessing! Thiago is 8 years old, Lucas is 11 years old, and Gustavo is 12 years old. Please pray that they will be able to come to church, for their spiritual growth, and that we would be able to reach their families. God is so good!

Thiago & Heather's Wedding

Last Saturday, June 12th, was Valentine's Day here in Brazil. It was also the day that Thiago and Heather got married. The wedding was beautiful (of course). It was extra special because it was the first time that all seven of the Nichols' kids were together in almost four years.

Joshua Samuel Has Arrived!

Joshua Samuel was born on Friday, May 28th at 5:30 am. He weighed in at 6 lbs 8 oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. We came home from the hospital Saturday evening. We are having a blast with this little guy. We are so thankful to have a healthy baby...our precious miracle from God!

Happenings

Lately the men have had more opportunity to go out soul-winning. One day each week they visit in Arcos, another day in Corrego Fundo, and another day in Formiga. The last three weeks have been exciting. Every time the guys have gone visiting in Arcos, they have had at least one person get saved! Please pray that these individuals will get involved in church and grow spiritually. We are attempting to schedule Bible studies with each of them.

On a personal note, things have been rather busy as well. Weber and Nita's baby, Joy, is almost two months old. Thiago and Heather are finalizing plans and getting their home ready as they approach their wedding on June 12th. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Joshua Samuel. Only four weeks left until the due date! Charlie and Isabel announced that they are expecting another little one sometime around Christmas. Needless to say there is a lot going on!

Getting Closer to Meeting Joshua

I'm 33 weeks along in my pregnancy now. Overall, everything seems to be going pretty well. I did have a bit of concern this past Sunday. I started to spot...not much, just a little. To be on the safe side, I called my doctor. He jad me come in and examined me. I was dilated to 1 cm. I was also having contractions (probably just Braxton-Hicks) and didn't know it! He gave me medicine to stop the contractions, ordered some tests and an ultrasound, and put me on bedrest until my regularly scheduled appointment on Thursday.

My husband did a great job of taking care of me and insuring that I did nothing! I gave him a new name for his efforts - The Warden. :)

We went back to the doctor on Thursday. I had not dilated further and it appeared that the contractions had stopped. Everything looked normal with the baby. I am now released to do "light activity". Praise the Lord!

My due date is June 3rd. The doctor says I need to make it at least until May 13th. Murphy's law: Joshua will not arrive until after the due date!

What's in a name?

One of the big decisions that every prospective parent has to make is what to name this bundle of joy. I, for one, had started a list of names that I would like when I was 20 years old. My desire has always been that the first name was from the Bible. I had hoped it would make the decision process easier when the time to choose a name came along. My husband, on the other hand, had not really thought about this in advance. After all, we had been married for 11 years before I got pregnant with this little guy! Initially, he stalled, saying why talk about it until we know whether it's a girl or boy. At the end of January we found out it's a boy. Now the real dilema. Choosing a name for your firstborn son is a big deal. After all, it's the name he'll have for the rest of his life! My husband was reminding me of this every time I asked if he had decided on something or if he was even leaning toward something. We considered family names and Bible names and goofy names. After much deliberation, he finally settled on a name.

We are looking forward to meeting Joshua Samuel in 11 weeks. Tim liked the name Joshua and that from the Bible, he was a strong leader that served the Lord. For many years, I had thought if I ever got pregnant and it was a boy that it would only be appropriate to name him Samuel.