Day 242

Dear Tucson, how are you doing? I think I'm getting sick. :( I wish the weather would make up it's mind, whenever it goes back and forth from warm to cold or cold to warm suddenly I always get sick.
I wanted to share this verse in Psalms from the sermon this morning. It says, "I will hear what God the LORD will speak..." I love that verse. It's beautiful, it's written so perfect. I love how David writes. It's so simple yet elagant at the same time.   
 I'm leaving early in the morning. I hope you'll be okay. I've never left you before. I know I've never seen you, but I'm super protective of you. :) Everyday I put my hand on your mommy's tummy and talk to you. The midwife says you can hear me, it seems weird, but I think she's right. When I was in the womb my dad would talk to me all the time, and as soon as I was born my mom said I recognized his voice. You will probably never know it or remember what I say, but I want you to know I love you.  I often wonder what it's like, being so small and not understanding anything. I try to think what it was like when I was a baby, and of course I can't remember anything.  I'm leaving you in the hands of God, which is a perfect place to be. I love you!!!  

Your Sister, 
Larra 

Day 241

Dearest Little One, I am so tired. The hours from the route are starting to catch up to me. I'm not complaining, because I recognize this is part of God's plan. I'm so thankful I can sleep all night tonight. :) Plus, next week we have the whole week off. yay!!! 
I've been reading through the book of Acts. It's a very rich book, I guess every book in the Bible is, it just depends on how you look at it. Last night I was reading in chapter 14, and it said, "we preach you that ye should turn from these vanities to the living God." In the previous verses they thought that Paul and Barnabas were gods who appeared in the flesh. Don't mistake your "god" for God. Do you know why they thought Paul was a god? Because that's what they were looking for. Many times in our lives we get so attached to the gods of the world we began to expect them to be able to do the same as the real God. For example if we feel empty instead of turning to God, we try to fill the void with people. After we've tried that and seen it work (yes, for a brief moment in time it works) we will expect it to work because we know it has in the past, so we move from person to person. Sooner or later, when reality comes crashing down, you realize that won't work because nothing can fill that void but Jesus Christ. There's a verse in Psalms that states, "verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity." There are so many different vanities that we rely on instead of turning to the living God. Don't get sidetracked, vanity means nothing. Why in the world would we trust in nothing instead of the living God? This is very different from what had originally planned to say, but I trust this is what the Lord has for today. I love you little one!!!


Your Sister, 
Larra

Day 240

Dear Little One, today I went and helped this family in our church with their homeschooling. I love Algebra. lol I hope you like it, at first I didn't get it, but our dad spent a lot of time teaching me, and I finally got it. Now I love doing it and helping others with it. 
I had to eat meat today. I was kinda sad to break it, but at the same time it was okay. The family I helped tutor offered me a meal and we agreed from the beginning that we would eat anything placed before us. (there's a verse in the Bible that says we're supposed to) I was so suprised, but it wasn't even that good. It was like I was eating too much food. I can definitely live without it for the rest of month. Oh, and by the way those veggie burgers were sooooo digusting. I hate them. I was hoping they were going to be good, but they weren't. Honestly, I was trying not to gag by the time my burger was half gone. So unless they're improved by the time your older, I would pass. It was sooo funny, we were done with dinner and Samuel's says, "I wonder how those veggie hotdogs are gonna be." I know it probably doesn't sound funny to you, but you just had to be there. 
I'm going to go to bed early tonight, tomorrow we've got the big paper route. I love you!!! 

Your Sister, 
Larra   

Day 239

Dear Little One, today you are 34 weeks and 2 days old. :) About 7 weeks and you should be here at the latest. :) I wish I could hold you today. Time seems to be slowing down, days drag on, but then I wake up and another week is gone. :)
We've made it through yet another day as vegitarians. Tonight's meal was okay, because a lot of times we have that anyways. (baked potatos and mac and cheese) I still don't know how people do this for the rest of their lives. I realize some people do it for health reasons, and I can see myself doing it for that, but not just to do it. I'm so thankful God said "let everything be recieved with thankgsgiving." Tomorrow we're trying veggie burgers, so I will definitely tell you how those are. I've had one before, but it's been probably 5 years. I hope they're delicious. It's not really that I miss meat, but at the same time I really, really want a chicken nugget! :) (Yes, I know I'm crazy.) 
Well, I'm realizing the I'll sleep when I'm dead quote really isn't going to work for me. I'm learning to keep going when I'm tired, but it still takes a lot out of me. I'm thankful for a couple of days off the route. Alexa did it today and she's doing it tomorrow. Speaking of sleep I think my beds calling me. Night, little one! I love you!!! 

Your Sister, 
Larra 

Day 238

Dear Little Person, how are you doing? I don't know how you are going to read these, if you'll read them one at a time, one month at a time, or just stay up late one night and read them all. It doesn't matter to me, but I hope you will remember them so when you're going through something or you're looking for an answer to a situation it might be here. I know I don't know everything, and there's so much I don't know, but God has blessed me with some wisdom and I wanted to share with you what He's shown me. If there's ever a time when you don't have an answer it's in the Bible, believe me. I've wondered before if I had exhausted the answers or maybe there it wasn't in there. It is, you just have to trust me. 
Today we went to the midwife. I got to hear your little heartbeat. ;) You're still alive! I know you are, but sometimes I wonder, because I never get to feel you move. Our mom tells me not to worry, she can feel you move all the time. She said you mostly only kick at night and she doesn't want to wake me up or during the day when I'm gone. Mary says everything is good, we have nothing to worry about and for that I am very thankful. :) I love you very much!!!!

Your Sister, 
Larra 

Day 237

Dear little person, I went to Mcdonalds for a snack in between piano lessons. I walked in and I asked, do you have anything good to eat for vegitarians? The guy said, uhhhh, no, oh we sell salad. lol Then he said they will make me a burger and take the meat out of it, I'm like, umm....I'll pass, can I just get some fries?! lol So far we've made it 9 days! Only 21 left. :) I was so proud of your brothers last night, some one from church took us to Boston Pizza, Papa gave us permission to eat meat, but we ordered a veggie pizza. The boys  at first wanted pepperoni, then they said no we're gonna finish. They weren't even for it in the first place, but the fact they had the discipline to say know on their own, I was very happy. :)
  
I still can't get last nights sermon out of my head. It's like everything makes perfect since. The whole time I've been struggle with your mother being pregnant with you. (don't worry I've always wanted you!) I couldn't understand why God would want her to be in so much pain. All along I've prayed and asked God to take the pain away, that the pregnancy wouldn't be so hard on her body. I often thought maybe He didn't hear those prayers, but I wonder did I ever stop to listen to His answer? I don't think I did, because I was so worried about what I could see. I don't know the end of the story, but I do know this. God cast my mother into the sea, (from the beginning both your mother and father knew this was God's will, even before your mommy was pregnant, there was no mistake about it) and everything worked out for Jonah so I'm just going to trust Him. It was amazing last night when I went to bed, I didn't ask God to heal my mom, I didn't want to. I'm sorry she's in pain, and I wish that there was another way, but I now know there's not. This is and was God all along, so I'm just going to praise Him. So last night for the first time I thanked God for every part of this pregnancy, even the pain and hardness and struggles it's put us all through. I was completely honestly thankful from the bottom of my heart. Tucson, I don't know what God has planned, but I can't wait to see the end result. Even if it's just the simple joy of you being my sibling I know it is the hand of God. I love you!!!!

Your Sister, 
Larra      

Day 236

Dear Tucson, we're driving back to Toronto from Barrie. Tonight was the start of this annual soul winning conference. I don't always go, but I'm glad I went to this one. It was nice to be able to see some of our friends. The sermon was great, it was from the book of Jonah. When he started he asked the question, "Who cast Jonah into the sea?" In the first chapter it says "they cast him into the sea" if you keep reading to chapter 2 or 3 (I can't remember) Jonah is in the whales belly and he says that it was God who cast him into the sea. Pastor Sexton preached on how many times in our life we go through things and it looks like other people have caused bad things to happen or we're going through a trail and we don't know why, it's because God cast Jonah into the sea. In our lives God has cast many of us into our trails. If you keep reading in Jonah Ninevah had revival, why? because God cast him into the sea. We never really know what God's trying to do, because many times we just live by what we can see. It was a really great sermon. Everytime that guy preaches I get something good from his sermons. 

Well, I better close this, it's almost tomorrow and I want to finish before the day's over. I love you!!! 

Your Sister, 
Larra