We didn't do anything for Whitney (for obvious reasons) and for Gia, we just had the doctor put the gender in an envelope for us to open on Christmas Day. That was fun, but I wanted to do something a little more for this one. I had originally wanted to again have the sonographer seal the gender in an envelope, then have Sean and I find out by spraying each other with either pink or blue silly string. I think Gia would have liked that too. But there were 2 problems with this scenario: One, I really wanted to watch the ultrasound while it was being done. But I've seen so many ultrasounds (myself and others- loved working at the Pregnancy Care Centers!) that I know I'd be able to spot boy or girl parts in an instant. And Two, my husband isn't too keen on cutesy photo ops. He kept saying, "What am I supposed to do? Spray you with silly string then put on my surprise face?" Those two things told me my original plan probably wouldn't turn out as dreamily as I envisioned. 

So I went to my next idea: something with my girlfriends! This would solve both problems: I could watch the ultrasound as it was being done (Sean and I would find out at that point what the baby is), AND I could share the excitement of surprise with my friends who would do the screaming and excited surprise faces I thought would be fun. 

Almost everyone thought I was having a boy, but a couple thought it was a girl. I decided to get 12 balloons... half pink, half blue with two being black. Before I went to the party store to buy the balloons, I cut up some crepe paper in the correct gender color. Before the balloons were filled with helium, the girls at Party City filled the balloons with the confetti I had made. This turned out to be a great idea... I was so glad I had brought my own confetti. I didn't have to buy any there, and it was super light which allowed the balloons to blow up beautifully. The girls at Party City also said that they'd had trouble with the heavier confetti popping the ballloons. So I was really glad I brought my own. 

I bought a few more things as the Dollar Store just for decoration: More crepe paper, pink and blue paper, mints etc. Nothing big, just a few things. I also made two desserts: apple pie & strawberry pie. I kept my friends guessing to the last minute!  Here's the quick decor job I did:

It was so much fun! Everyone was pretty surprised. I did record video of that would have been awesome.... but when we watched it back, it cut out literally right as we were popping the balloons... memory card full.  FAIL. Oh, well, at least we have the pictures!

So yes, a third girl for this Wilson family!  I am so excited and can't wait for Gia to have a baby sister! Most of our stuff from Gia is pretty gender neutral, but they will be born in opposite seasons so I will still have to get almost all new clothes for this one. I'm hoping some stuff will still work for her though. We're still stuck on a name. Sean has one he thinks he likes but isn't going to tell me until our date night hopefully on Friday. We have a tradition of deciding our names at Olive Garden, so we shall see. But we will be telling her name as soon as we figure that out!

Gods At War, by Kyle Idleman

Gods At War is one of my favorite books (other than Bread & Wine) that I've read this year. Why does it stick out so much among the rest of my recent reads? Plain and simple: its relevant. Even if you think its not relevant to you personally, it is. The basic premise of the book is this: the true issue beneath all of our problems is idolatry. When we talk about the sins that affect us and rule our lives, darkening our hearts, they can all be boiled down to the core issue of idolatry. Upon reading this in the first chapter, I was a little skeptical (that's actually the title of Chapter One: Idolatry is the Issue). Could it really be that simple?  How does every struggle I face, every recurring sin that plagues me, possibly all boil down to idolatry. Afterall, isn't that something that only ancient people did... like when they crafted cows out of gold or carved crocodile-men out of wood? Surely something for ancient Egyptians and not modern-day me.

In his introduction, Idleman says: 

This book covers every possible source of idolatry I can think of--and many I would not have ever imagined. Idleman breaks it down into three categories: The Temple of Pleasure (featuring the gods of food, sex and entertainment), The Temple of Power (highlighting the gods of success, money and achievement), and The Temple of Love (exposing the gods of romance, family and me). As I was reading through the first group of gods in the Temple of Pleasure, I have to be honest- none of them screamed at me with conviction. I gleaned some valuable truths and new perspectives on Bible passages I'd read before, but nothing really hit home. As I started reading through the Temple of Power, I began to think (ironically, arrogantly and erroneously) that maybe I didn't have an idolatry problem after all.  Ha! That was when I came to the chapter about the god of achievement. Everything in this chapter bored deep into my heart, revealing what was true all along... I do have an idolatry problem. And to say I don't would be to suggest that I am free from all sin, which, as we all know of this fallen world, just simply is not true.   

In reading about the god of achievement, I was convicted with the story of Mary & Martha. Its not that what Martha was doing was bad- she was preparing and serving her Lord. But what Mary chose- worship- was better. Idleman goes on to talk about the git-r-done nature of our Western world, and I have to confess, I get caught up in that daily. I realized through reading this book, an idol doesn't have to be big and ugly (like lust), or even shiny and attractive (like money). It can just as easily be a daily checklist that is completed or a kitchen that always stays clean or a perfectly manicured lawn. (Though my idol of achievement is definitely not the last one!) Idleman writes, "Obviously there is nothing wrong with any of these achievements; in fact, these achievements can be acts of worship that glorify God. But when our lives are all about getting things done, we can find that there is not much room for God. Instead, our approach to worshipping God can be checking off a box on our to-do list labeled 'Go to Church.'"

I would venture to say that this book will hit home for any person who picks it up. In the weeks since I've finished this book, I have looked at life- my struggles and the struggles of my friends- and can definitely see how the core issue can be boiled down to idolatry. That's not to simplify or minimize the sin, of course. But seeing the heart of the matter for what it truly is a great place to start in surrendering it to God-- the ONLY one worthy of our worship.

You can purchase this book right now on Amazon. Its on sale now for only $8.99!!!  (Usually $14.99)

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 

July was an odd month, in that we had record low temperatures. Sure, there was one hot week (4-H fair week, of course) but the rest of the month was absolutely divine. We even had the windows open and air conditioning off for a while.  The month started with a good rain, and while Sean and most of my friends were at CIY conference in Michigan, I ate grilled cheese with tomato soup almost every night. We spent another day at the Children's Museum (thank you Nana & Papa Sam for the membership!) and my baby belly officially popped! Full-on maternity pants now. I had my 32nd birthday, which was a wonderful celebration with Gia and Sean. Sean cooked my fave meal (salmon, asparagus & couscous) and made me a white on white cake, also my favorite. We had lots of fun outside as the weather was so gorgeous and Gia discovered a love for Sonic tator tots and Starbucks cake pops. In a shocking turn of events, Sean and I got ANOTHER night to ourselves! This time, we met up with friends at Yatz in Traders' Point, went to Trader Joe's and hit up a Live Trivia night. Then we came home to our own bed and slept like babies all night long. Its amazing what not having to listen to a monitor will do! Gia and I had a great day swimming for 5 hours with friends, and we've played Settlers of Catan late into the night every Sunday (no youth group!). We hit up some garage sales, swung in Uncle Kyle's hammock and played with cousin Keegan. Oh yeah, and we finally paid off the last of the hospital bills from Gia's birth. It may have taken two years, but we're one (FINAL) step closer to being debt free!

I read a couple of great books this month, did a little cleaning & organizing (obviously before I was pregnant), and made some delicious ethnic meals. We spent lots of time with our friends and some girlfriends and I had a sewing day. We made tons of nursing covers! Hubs found a jackpot of morrel mushrooms, which we promptly devoured. We had a few fun nights at the X youth group and even got dressed up in our Egyptian garb for an authentic-ish meal of Koshary!