Psalm 55:22

"Cast your burden on the Lord, And He will sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."

I was reading my Bible and praying this morning and this scripture just jumped out at me. I felt really impressed to share it.

sustain - from the word chul- "to maintain, to nourish, to provide, to bear, to hold up or support, to defend by His strength, to supply the means necessary for living"

God knows your need, your situation, and has the ultimate power to sustain you if you'll let Him!

2 Months, a Job, and a Full Night's Sleep

Karis is two months old! She's changing ad growing so much! Last Thursday night she slept all night long! I never thought that a full night's sleep would feel so good!

I had to start back to work last Tuesday. It was so hard going back! I started crying about it about two weeks before I had to actually go back, and the night before I bawled and bawled! Leaving Karis at the daycare was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do!

I really enjoy all of the people I work with, but if I had the choice to stay at home with Karis, I would jump on it! I do have to say, though, that I have been extremely blessed with the most awesome co-workers. Everyone is so understanding and uplifting! They've been a huge help! I also get to keep Karis on campus at the daycare at my school. It's really nice because I still get to go and nurse her and hold her on my breaks. I also prayed and prayed that Karis would have a good teacher, and I got what I prayed for! Ms. Debbie is so kind and she just loves on the babies like they were her own. Here's a picture of Karis getting ready to go to school.
My parents came through two weekends in a row to visit. It was so good to see them! I really miss my family, and I wish that we lived closer so we could hang out more. Karis just loves her grandparents! Of course they spoil her silly by the time they leave. :) I was also able to get caught up on my housework thanks to my mom! She helped me a ton this past weekend! I finally got caught up so hopefully keeping it clean won't be so hard now that I'm back at work.

Rain, Rain Go Away!

It's been raining for days! It was nice the first 2 days or so, but it got old fast. It did rain hard enough that we lost internet service, so I haven't been able to post anything. But, We finally have our internet back after days of bordem. Karis and I didn't have too much to do, but "talk" to each other and ponder things.

She's starting to jabber a little bit, which is so cute! You can tell she's wanting to talk so bad! I love the fact that she's starting to develop a personality. She's such a happy baby and smiles a whole lot. It just melts my heart every time I see her big smile!

She also loves music! (A baby after my own heart!) Worship music seems to be her fav right now. She loves the mix that I made her. We sing 'Jesus Loves Me' a whole lot, but we exchange the word 'me' for 'Karis' and she just grins from ear to ear! It's so precious!

It's Sunday!

" This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it." ~Psalm 118:24

Whew! - 1 Month Already!!!

Karis is already 1 month old! Time has really flown by! She has been such a joy & a blessing; a lot of work too!I apologize for not posting sooner. I feel like such a bad mom! The surgery, along with adjusting to having a newborn, was a little harder to handle than I imagined. I guess I'm not superwoman after all!

Here are some pics of her from the past few weeks.

The past few weeks we haven't done a whole lot: eat, sleep, change diapers, repeat. We did get to go to Amarillo for a quick trip. And - we started walking this week. We've also tried to get Karis on a good nap & feeding schedule. If you haven't read the book Baby Wise, I would highly recommend it. I think that this schedule that I got from the book is going to work out pretty good. I'll let you know here in a couple weeks.

Little Karis is getting more and more of a personality every day. She's pretty much a happy baby, except when she's tired or has a gassy tummy. I love the fact that she smiles a lot already! (She even smiles in her sleep.) Here's a picture of what I woke up to one morning last week. I was awake; Karis is still asleep. Isn't that just precious!

Introducing. . . . .Karis Brionne Vennell!

After much anticipation & 20 hours of labor plus a c-section she's finally here! We proudly introduce the most beautiful baby girl ever, born on August 3, 2009, Karis Brionne - 7lbs. 1 oz. - 19 inches long.

We're all doing good, but are still resting and recouping. We have tons of pics to share, so there'll be much more to come! Thank you for all your prayers! Mike & Leslie

STILL NO BABY!!!!

I'm almost half way through my 39th week of pregnancy & still no Baby Karis! I wasn't supposed to make it this far, but I guess the doc was wrong. :( My first due date was July 31st, which is only about 4 days away, so hopefully I'm on the home stretch! I've been praying, well more like begging, God everyday that today would be the day. I do want God's perfect timing and will for Karis, it's just so hard to be patient! You would think this is a test or something! :)

My doctor appt was on last Thursday. I was still dilated the same, but the doc said that the Karis' head was just right there and that my 'bag of waters' was bulging and would probably break on its own. I'm really excited about that one, seeing how I'm not very fond of the idea of using a crochet needle to break it for me! Ouch!!!

My mom has been staying with me for the last week or so. We have been having so much fun! It's helped a whole lot having her here! It makes me feel more secure knowing that I have someone with me in case my water breaks and Mike is at school. We've been doing lots of shopping, watching movies, cleaning house, and making jewelry for Karis. She's already a blessed baby! Tons-o-fun!!!

The rest of my family drove down again this weekend again just in case I went into labor. I feel so sorry for them having to travel 350 miles one way to get here and then another 350 miles back! But, I do feel extremely blessed that they are sacrificing money & time to try and be here when Karis comes. It means so much to Mike & I!

This outfit is what we're thinking of bringing Karis home from the hospital in. What do you think?

Well, if you think about it, keep us in your prayers. Pray that Karis would make her debut this week! Also, keep Mike in your prayers. With all the baby excitement, he still has school, tests, and finals start in a week and a half. He's been trying so hard to keep everything up, but it has been hard for him to really concentrate how he needs to. We need him to keep it up!