It's a girl!!!!

We are beside ourselves... we are going to have a little girl! Okay, I have to tell you all the story of how we found out and then tell you all about her. A dear friend of ours suggested that we go to a place in Lexington called Baby Belly. It is a pregnancy spa and imaging center (so neat). So, they have a package called 'Just can't wait.' That describes us to a T! It is great because you can go as soon as you are 16 weeks and they will do an ultrasound to determine your baby's gender. Since we would not have our next ultrasound in the doctor's office until 20 weeks, we just had to go. Mitch, being as wonderful and precious as he is (which, don't even get me started... he is going to be an AMAZING daddy!) asked his parent's for an early birthday present which was money toward the ultrasound. They were glad to do so which was such a blessing. So, at 6:00 p.m. on October 15th we saw our baby girl! Oh my goodness, it was truly a holy experience. God truly knits us together in our mothers' wombs. The ultrasound tech we had was so sweet. She showed us our little baby's face, arms and legs, etc. (at that point we did not know she was a girl yet). And our little girl was a firecracker! She was so active is was so fun to watch. She kept putting her little feet up by her head and her little hands up to her face. The picture I posted is of her sucking her thumb... it melted our hearts! So then, the moment we had been waiting for. She did not make it easy, it is obvious she is going to be a little lady because she did not want to spread her legs! Then all of the sudden it was plain to see she was a little girl!!!! We could not believe it. We would have been so happy either way, but we just felt like there is something so special about this little girl. My favorite part (aside from seeing the amazing creation God was making inside of me) was to look over at Mitch's face as he watched our little baby girl. He looked to completely content for those few minutes as we pulled up a ring side seat to watch this baby we have prayed and prayed for. He looked mesmerized as the tech would show us different angles of her. It is a moment I will never forget. Thank you Jesus. After our appointment we went a got dinner at Qdoba (Mitch's personal favorite) and it was like we were completely removed from the world. Seriously, the president of the United States could have walked in and we would not have even known it. We were so wrapped up in conversation, talking about what joy this little girl would bring us... some things were random and others we could have completed each other's sentences on. Such a special night!

Now, on to something we did not anticipate we would be sharing with everyone so early our little girl's name... we just cannot contain ourselves any longer. We are so excited to introduce you all to Scarlett Jean Owen. Our precious gift from God. Her name is something we have talked about for years, literally! One evening we were driving down Nicholasville road (we were probably 10 weeks pregnant at the time) and it just clicked. Mitch said it out loud, looked and me and we knew. As far as significance, this name means a lot to both of us. Scarlett came from a verse in the Bible (Isaiah 1:18) that Mitch used when he proposed to me on November 14, 2004. He gave me a darling little white terry cloth robe that he had already had monogrammed with my new initials. While I thought it was just something cutsie I could wear around when we were married, it had so much more meaning than that. Mitch explained to me that the love he has for me is so great, but that it pales in comparison to the love Jesus has already shown me. You see, he said, Jesus has given me a white robe... because though my sins are like scarlet Jesus has made them white as snow, though they are as red as crimson Jesus has made them like wool... All of this was done through His loving sacrifice on the cross. Because He took my sins upon Him, I now wear a white robe before the throne of God. I feel so incredibly thankful to have a godly husband that would build our foundation, even before marriage, on Christ. So, all that to say, the name Scarlett reminds us of the love of Christ and His ultimate sacrifice. Jean comes from both sides of our families. It means "God's mercy" which is beautiful. Specifically, my Grandmother's (my mother's mother) name was Jean. She was an incredible woman and certainly someone to name our daughter after. She was so special to all of us and we lost her to cancer when I was only in the 5th grade. So, to use her name is extremely special to us. Mitch's PaPa's middle name was Gene (the male spelling) and he was very special to Mitch (he coached Mitch in football, etc.) so we feel like her middle name is packed with family heritage. So, our little angel still has a lot of developing to do before we meet her in late March 2010, a day we thankfully and humbly anticipate.