Four summers ago Curtis and I were wrapping up our time in Northeast England. We had volunteered to spend five months there working with teenagers. On our last Sunday at Thornaby Baptist Church, our dear friend Maxine presented us with two gifts in front of the congregation of about forty saints. I was doing an ugly cry and was desperately in need of a Kleenex. I kept turning around to face the other way because I was so embarrassed. Then in a moment that brought a bit of comic relief, we opened up the gifts to find these:
I started giggling immediately because I was a bit confused and I knew everyone was going to wonder if I was pregnant. At that time in our marriage we didn’t have maternity insurance and we were not even talking about having a baby. Maxine realized that I was a little embarrassed and announced, “Amanda is not pregnant!” Actually, she called me “Amander” but I always loved that. There was a quick consensus that Curtis and I must be pregnant in the spiritual realm, meaning God had spiritual fruit and offspring that would come forth soon. I refused to believe that the father-son figurine was a prophecy of any kind. 😉
Later I realized that Maxine and I had been talking about Willow Tree figures one day and I had mentioned that I thought the one with the pregnant lady was beautiful. I had seen it at my friend Jennifer’s house. She remembered that conversation when she saw the figurine and wanted to bless me with it.
We took the figurines back to America with us, but we didn’t display them right away. I did not want any visitors to our house to think I was expecting. At some point during my pregnancy with Jackson I got them out and proudly displayed them at long last. It would be some time before Jackson was as old as the little boy in the second figurine, but he was a boy nonetheless.
Nowadays Jackson Jones is looking a lot more like the little boy in the picture. He’s definitely not a baby anymore. Around April I noticed that I had stopped identifying with moms I saw with babies in strollers. I wasn’t one of them anymore. It was such a strange feeling! We had graduated on to little-boyhood.
My heart is kind of pounding right now because I am so excited and blessed to be able to say that at this brief moment in time, both of those little Willow Tree figures are true of our family. A prophecy given to us four years ago has come to pass! We are expecting another Little Jones around February 12, 2009. Today I am 11 weeks along. We had an OB appointment this week and got to hear the little heartbeat. He or she seems to be doing well in there! I have so much to say, but it wouldn’t be that fun to stuff it all in one post. I will save some for later.
By the way, I went into Baby Gap for fun after my appointment and I was blown away by the cuteness of all the fall clothes for baby boys. Oh my word. Pregnant Girl almost cried over this. I am so ready to shop in the 0-24 month section again. I’ve missed it so!
Amander & Curtis ,
Congratulations. It almost leaves one speechless. ( almost ! haha ! ) I THINK it's Psalm 196 -something that says children are a blessing from the LORD. Oh , are they !!
And Congrats to Auntie Lissa and Bibby and grandad , too.
Oh my . Unlike many of the others , I didn't " see " this coming. It's SO exciting though.
But WHEN do you all ever have " ordinary " lives ? Dull moments ? I know I'm askin' the wrong family !
You all are loved and appreciated.
Elizabeth in New Mexico
Congrats! My prayers are with you and your family.
WOW!! Congratulations Amanda and Curtis! Another bundle of blessings on the way, how fun!
And congratulations to bibby once again to be Beth!
Congrats!! I am sure you mom and dad are just bursting with excitement.
Congratulations! What a blessing!
WOW!!! What beautiful news!!
Congratulations to ALL of you!!
Blessings,
Jennifer
After my first son was born, I thought, “How can I love another child as much as I love this one,” but as our family grew, God gave me just as much love for each child as the one before. I am blessed with 3 boys! It may be an old cliche, but time really does go by fast! Enjoy every stage they are in.
Congratulation to you and your family!
From Sunny California!!!
YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Sooooo excited for your family! I’ll be praying for you. Hope you are feeling good. It’s a little tougher being pregnant and taking care of a 2-year-old, but God will give you strength! Can’t wait to hear how things are going in future posts.
That’s such wonderful news! Blessings Blessings Blessings!!!
Congratulations to your sweet family. Can’t wait to hear of all your news.
Congratulations to you both!
Congratulations!!! As soon as I saw the Willow Tree I got tears in my eyes. How exciting for the whole family.
Congratulations to all of you!! Another Aggie baby in our group of Siestas! Jackson’s going to be a great big brother!
Give Bibby a hug for us and I know she and Pappaw will be on cloud 9!
Blessings to you!
Blessings to you all. My best friend of 25 plus years just found out she is pregnant with her first baby at age 39. Personally, I had 4 little ones under age 3 at one time in my life (twins being my last pregnancy), so I’m kind of over the whole baby phase. All I can say is that life with my 4 girls gets sweeter by the day!!
Amanda & family, Congratulations!
Jackson is going to have a little brother or sister…
God bless you and keep you all safe and healthy.
Amanda!
What a fun treat to read your blessed news! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
I guess springtime is a busy season for you! Hee-hee-hee! 🙂
I can’t wait to hear updates about how you are doing. God bless your sweet family!
Love,
Kristen
My heart lept for joy when I read your post! A baby is such a wonderful example of God’s love and grace. I will be praying for your family, all four of you!!! (Or is it 5 or 6? Ha!)
awww, congratulations to you all! i knew it wouldn't be much longer before we'd see an announcement, i just knew it!
how cool would it be for jackson & the new baby to share a birthday…though i'm thinking his was a few days later, & you'd probably prefer earlier to later! still, cool that they will (probably) share a birth month!
Congratulations. I have this sense about when people are pregnant. A few months back, we didn’t hear from you for awhile, and I thought, oh she must be expecting, then I read the post that you had moved to Houston, and it had delayed your blog post. I was almost right.
Our first children are like falling in love for the first time. You never get that twice. I spent most of my second born’s waking hours insuring that the firstborn didn’t kill her (on accident). Some say the second child makes you bonafide. You’ll see. Get some rest.
Jenny in Bama
One more thing. I had 2 babies in November. You will spend the entire month of Feb. planning, having and recuperating from the parties. It’s a blast.
Jenny in Bama
Siesta Amanda, congratulations!! woo HOO! thanks for sharing your wonderful news!
Congratulations to you and Curtis. I’m sure Grandma Beth and Grandpa Keith are ecstatic too. Prayers going up for a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery.
Oh my gracious!!! Congratulations!! Adding the Jones family and their new addition to my prayer list!
Bibby must be beside herself! Please let us know if there’s anything we can pray for specifically. You do so much for us through this blog and through Living Proof, I’m so glad we can pray for you in return!
WooHoo! How exciting! Congratulations!
Didn’t you just tell us recetnly that you were not planning another baby…at least not right now?
We are jumping up and down with glee!
Oh my! How special. We were at LPL in Knoxville, I believe when Beth announced she was going to be a grandmother of Little Jackson! How exciting to be with her in San Antonio when I am sure she will be talking about another “blessed” event!
Congrats to you, Curtis and “Big” Brother!
Take care!
Sharron
AHHHHHHHH —– Yahoo-Jah! Woo-Hoo! Awesome! Beyond thrilled for you all! Wow —- Neato! Cool!
Hum —- maybe a wee Siesta???? She is going to her first Siesta Fiesta in a month – one never knows!
Congratulations! Thank you for sharing your personal lives with all of us. May God bless you and your family abundantly.
What an exciting time for your family! Congratulations!
I KNEW IT!! I JUST KNEW IT!!! When I saw that little figurine, I just knew you were going to share news of a new baby!!! Congratulations to all of you!
And, to you, sweet Amanda, try to enjoy every blessed minute. Isn’t there just something unbelievably precious about being pregnant, such an intimate bond with that baby that belongs solely to his or her mother? And one of my favorite things about both of my pregnancies was being pregnant during the Christmas season. Not only were the sweets a little less off limits ; ) – but it brings such a special appreciation of Mary’s plight and how incredible the scene when the One and Only burst onto the scene clothed in human flesh!! Can you tell I’m sooooo excited for you!?
Be blessed…and rest when you can…Careful, young lady, I heard you mumble, “Humpf…Yea, right!” Bibi I’m sure will be glad for a little extra Jackson time so you can take care of yourself!
Blessings – Cindy in TX
Congratulations to the Jones and Moore families. What a joyous occasion! Praying for a happy and healthy pregnancy.
Their is no better reward from God than the trust He gives to us with each of the children He blesses our lives with. Praise God!
Blessings to all of you,
Nancy
Congratulations! What a blessing. Keep us updated. 🙂
What great news! Love you all so much and pray that God will richly bless your whole family and this new little one on the way!
BLESSINGS,
LORI IN SW/MO
GOD IS SO GOOD!
Congratulations 🙂
What a blessing for this little one, like Jackson, and all of our children here in Siestaville, to be born into a family who loves Jesus so much, and will teach them to know Him and love Him from an early age. That is the best gift of all we can give our children!
God bless you, Amanda, and your family. I’m happy for you!
much love,
lavonda
What a great Valentine’s Day you’ll have. Congrats to you all!
That is so exciting! Congratulations! It is so much fun to look at all the 0-24 month things again, isn’t it?
Dear Amanda and Curtis, Moore and Fitzpatrick family,
Congratulations on the news about the newest member of the Jones family. Amanda, may our Lord Jesus bless you with a wonderful pregnancy and peaceful birth. Have fun with all the preparations! Thanks for sharing the wonderful news!
Much love,
Sharon, NC
This is absolutely WONDERFUL news!
Blessings to you,
Brittnie
Congratulations!!!
No crying over boys stuff…we want our first Baby Siesta. You need to be crying over something like this:
http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=6436&pid=579377&scid=579377002
Jean in NC 🙂
Congratulations – and how are you feeling? Didn’t you say once that you were sick a lot with Jackson? I’ll be praying for you.
Karen
Dripping Springs, TX
As your mom would say . . . YAHOO-JAH!! Congratulations to you, Curtis, and Jackson!
Jessica
We siestas are pretty excited for the Jones/Moore family!! May the Lord continue to bless you all, as you grow in wisdom and truth – and numbers!! Praise His name!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I love to hear such wonderful news. May God keep you safe and healthy during this time in your life.
I AM SO EXCITED AMANDA!!!!
Congratulations and enjoy every minute of it (tears and all!)
I was in Birmingham at a LPL event (in a PACKED house) when Jackson was barely a week old. It was so fun watching Ms. Beth gush over that sweet baby. I expect we’ll be seeing lots more of that and I LOVE IT!
Congratulations to your darlin’ family!!!!!
Congratulations 🙂
Woo-Hoo! You know, those little girl clothes at the Gap are pretty cutie-wootie, too????
I don’t post regularly but I had to shout out a congratulations to you and your family! My prayers are with you. Thanks for sharing your news.
SO HAPPY for all of you
Praying for a happy and healthy mom and baby
Blessings
Kim