Oh, hey there, blog fans. It’s me- Laura, your intermittent blog writer. It is so nice to be back. Back from where, you ask? Well, after my last post (in October- I mean, that’s like LAST YEAR) I found out I was pregnant. Yay and praise God! And then I felt real sick and tired for about three months. Fun times. Right around Christmas, I started to feel more like myself as I transitioned from the first trimester to the second trimester. I was so thankful. Then January started, and apparently my immune system took a vacation. I have had every illness that is going around, and it was the worst. Pregnancy + life with a toddler + illness had me singing a mash up of I Need Thee Every Hour and Jesus Take the Wheel on repeat. (Plus I’ve thought and prayed often for those of you with chronic pain or illness. You are my heroes. No seriously- I’m praying for you. Press on.)

But today. Today I feel great. Woo hoo! And after various discussions over the past couple months, we decided to have Savannah stay with a sitter for a few hours on Wednesday mornings so I’d have some time to study and write. Dropping her off this morning felt weird, a little sad, and fabulous all at the same time. She spends the time with two of her bestest buds, so my people-loving girl was basically like, “See ya, Mama!” which made it go smoothly. I am particularly thankful for the time to study because I’m speaking for a session at my church’s women’s retreat in March. I am very excited about it, but we said yes to the opportunity before the January-o-sickness. I’ve been able to do some reading for research, but not much else, which has made me stress a bit. And by that I mean I was really stressed. But today I made so much progress! Praise the Lord! It was so fun to have some fresh, morning time (i.e. not exhausted, evening time) to think on and process things that I’m passionate about.

I would really appreciate your prayer as I continue to prepare my talk. The topic of the weekend is prayer- so asking you to pray is a good place to start. =) My talk will be about waiting with God in prayer. I am no expert of course (is there such a person?), but I have done some waiting with God and learned a lot through it. So, I’m excited to continue studying. A few of the other ladies on the speaking team suggested Tim Keller’s book called Prayer, and wowza. It is so good. I was only a few pages in when I realized I really wanted to keep reading and I also really wanted to pray. Mission accomplished there, Mr. (Dr.?) Keller. I highly recommend it.

What else is new with us? Oh, right. WE’RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY. And it’s a BOY! A son. What a sweet gift. I think Savvy will love having a little brother, too. There will be a mini-Travis running around! I love that!

Although, based on the stories I’ve heard about Trav’s childhood, I’m thinking this little dude will give me a run for my money. Game on, kid. Baby Awesome #2 is already moving around a lot and making his presence known, and it is so cool. I can’t wait to meet him in mid-June. We would love for you to pray for the baby and for continued good health for me. I know I’m asking for a lot of prayer, but I’m super needy like that. I’m telling ya, it’s that Keller book. Reminds you how much we need God’s help and how willing he is to hear us.

I hope to be back here writing more often, now that I’m feeling better and no longer taking naps on the daily. Let me know if I can be praying for you or if you have any thoughts or questions about waiting with God in prayer. I’d love to hear from you.

P.S. I think Facebook is trying to kill me. Yesterday, the “last year you posted this picture” came up with this, and I just can’t even deal.