Posts Tagged With: baby

Welcome Little Patriot: IT’S A GIRL!

Ladies and Gentlemen… It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for… (Well, at least a moment that my Beloved and I and our immediate friends/family have been waiting for…)

We are pleased to announce the birth of our first darling baby…

charis close

CHARIS BENNING KNOBLOCH

Our sweet Charis arrived on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 au natural (no pain meds) at 5:50pm. She weighed 7 pounds and 2 ounces and was 20.5 inches long (pretty legit for being 8 days overdue!)

Her name, Charis (pronounced like “KARE-iss”~ Rhymes with “Paris” or “ferris”)  is ancient Greek for “grace.” (Think: EuCHARISteo or CHARISma) We spent lots of time praying over this baby before her arrival, and God gave us this verse for her.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” ~2 Peter 3:18 NIV

“Grow in grace and understand of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Yes!” ~2 Peter 3:18 MSG

Honestly, it’s hard to put into words how we currently feel. (Well, other than tired… and elated!) HOLY LORD WE ARE PARENTS!! (Sorry for the random outburst. Blame it on the post-labor adrenaline.)

mama and baby

Can we keep her?!?! Oh wait… WE CAN!?! (Thank you Jesus, for this little miracle!)

We couldn’t be more thrilled with this little miracle blessing. It’s been a long journey, but man– what an incredible reward to be a part of the coolest Jesus arts and craft project EVER!!

Momma, Baby and Daddy are all doing well… We have appreciated your love and prayers that you have shown us the past several months throughout this journey– and we covet your continued prayers as we transition into parenthood… In REAL LIFE. (WOW. Apparently this is really happening?!?!)

We praise God for this new season of life– and this wonderful, cuddly, sweet, snuggly little gift from heaven. We couldn’t be happier or more excited. THANK YOU, JESUS!!

Praising to the Heavens,
Mama Sharita (And Daddy Brandon… And “Big Brother” Justus the Pup)

“Before I shaped you in the womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
I had holy plans for you…”
~Jeremiah 1:5 MSG

Categories: Family | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 55 Comments

Ultra-Sound-Off for Jesus

It’s always encouraging when God takes us in our ugliest, yuckiest, grumpiest moments and uses us for His glory.

That happened to me last week. In a big way.

Last Friday, I was scheduled for what I was *hoping* to be my last baby doctor appointment before our Little Patriot’s arrival. I was about 39 and a half weeks along… and unfortunately, the doc’s predictions of me delivering “ahead of schedule” hadn’t come true. (SIGH.)

Unfortunately for me (actually, unfortunately for everyone I encountered) I was in a MOOD. It really wasn’t the fact that I was very largely pregnant and had been contracting for nearly a month… But it was because it has been quite a trying week in our life as an army family. One thing after another seemed to pile up and mess with our hopes and plans. Although I was scheduled for a final ultrasound that day, things had spun out of control with my beloved husband’s job as a drill sergeant– so there was no way he was going to make it to join me in what I hoped was a joyous experience on our path to parenthood.

He was disappointed. I was lonely. Hormonal. And pissed. (Not at him… just the circumstances that had continued to beat up my heart for the last week or so.) Nothing about me that morning said “I love Jesus, please talk to me and let me share the love of Christ with you.” (Additional sidenote: Can you say “pissed” in a Christian blog?)

Anywho, I was mad, frustrated, exhausted. It was early by doctor standards as I was the first appointment out of that gate that morning. I was sitting in the chairs, waiting for the ultrasound tech to call me in… When SHE walked by. Yep, it was the ultrasound tech who had a rep for being grumpy (and had been a lil bit grumbly during our previous visits.) I looked up from my iPad and our eyes locked.

She scowled at me... <Oh no she didn’t!> Oh yes, she did, just like I was about to be a huge inconvenience to her day.

Let’s just say~ that didn’t help my mood.

As I continued to wait, I was texting my sweet mother-in-love, Lex. And by texting, I really mean complaining/whining/venting. Real classy, I know. She tried to encourage me and told me to pray for the scowling tech of doom.

My snarky non-Jesusy reply? “After this week, my prayer tank is running on empty. I want to be joyful, but I don’t feel joy anywhere.”

I’m not proud of my response… but it’s the truth. I did manage to pray for God to give the strength to make it through the appointment without venting to a stranger about how upset I was that my beloved husband couldn’t come or how uncomfortable I was or blah blah blah. I squeezed out a feeble prayer for Him to help me rediscover my joy and be an example for this scowling ultrasound tech.

They finally called me back to the room and I hoisted (waddled? lumbered?) my extremely large self  onto the table. The scowling tech remained silent and the gal running the show started asking questions as they went to work, checking baby’s size/position, etc.

Somehow, within about 15 seconds into the conversation, they asked if I was an army wife. (How they knew, I will never know…)

I responded yes and explained (briefly and vaguely) that my husband wasn’t deployed but his job was incredibly demanding so he couldn’t make this big appointment today.

Their response? They both scrunched up their faces and said, “Ug, I don’t know how you do it.”

Enter stage left: Jesus moment.

I took the opportunity to share with them my faith– how Jesus is the reason I get up in the morning, He’s the one who gives us strength, He is the rock on which our marriage is built. Both of the techs kind of stared at me… Unable to respond. I continued and told them that things were challenging with the army, especially this last week with some individuals specifically… but we prayed for them daily.

The scowling tech scoffed (in the joking-but-still-serious-way) and said, “Yeah, pray for them like that one country song… Pray that their brakes go out coming down the hill or a flower-pot hits them in the head from a window sill.”

They both chuckled at the notion… But I stayed serious– “No, ma’am… we pray for the grace and love of Jesus Christ to shine into their lives so they can experience what we do everyday.”

As we continued to talk about army life (aka our family was at least 1000 miles away, hubs works about 13-20 hrs per day on a normal basis, oh PS we are moving 2800 miles about 3 months after this kid is on the ground), the tech flipped a switch… and the screen transitioned to a 4D image.

My husband and I had decided early on that we couldn’t (ok, didn’t really want to) fork out the cash for a 4D ultrasound… They aren’t cheap, but for some reason, on that morning, I got a glimpse of our little one’s face.

Yeah. Lil Patriot looked about how I felt... Grumpy and smooshed and uncomfortable... But a lil Jesus encounter changed all that!

Yeah. Lil Patriot looked about how I felt… Grumpy and smooshed and uncomfortable… But a lil Jesus encounter changed all that!

Between the quick witness to these ladies and the sight of our baby’s scrunched up face… My joy was restored.

Talk about your not-so-classic-ultra-sound-off for Jesus.

Thankful He shows up and shows out,
SGK

“I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.” ~Psalm 18:3

Categories: attitude | Tags: , , , , , , | 19 Comments

10 Commandments of Pregnancy: For Husbands

Pregnancy is… weird.

Sure it’s beautiful, cool, entertaining and overall MIND BLOWING, but really, this whole growing a baby thing is just weird.

I promised you sweet readers weeks ago when we announced the coming of our first baby that this would not turn into a pregnancy blog. And it’s not. There are plenty of other folks out there that are way more knowledgeable (and less hormonal) to provide you valuable info in that category.

However, this post idea has been marinating in my pregnant brain for a few weeks, so we are going to have a little bit of fun today. (Hopefully you ALWAYS have fun when you stop by 7 Days Time… But perhaps today will be a new kind of humor.)

So yes, my darling husband and I are expecting our first baby in February. We are well over the halfway point and the third trimester is looming in T minus a month or so. In this first stretch of pregnancy, we have learned a lot… about growing babies, about each other and yes, even about Jesus.

If you have had a baby, are currently pregnant, know someone who is pregnant or especially if you are a husband of a pregnant gal, this post is for you. Feel free to share, and please comment below with your OWN “commandments” for being pregnant <or dealing gracefully with a pregnant woman. Creativity encouraged.>

(By the way: My hubby and I kind of co-wrote the following– some of them are from our experience, while others are inside jokes we wanted to share with you. Sense of humor is vital!)

Wait… You said WHAT? (This is my preggo warning look. Scary, I know.)

Ready? And now, we proudly present in no particular order, the Ten Commandments for Husbands with Pregnant Wives!

1. Thou shalt not eat the last of your wife’s “pregnancy food.” This includes all items purchased during a “craving” moment… just because the craving has passed for now, don’t assume it won’t come back. It also includes all “easy meals,” leftovers and anything involving chocolate. When in doubt, ask permission. Otherwise (in my husband’s words) your wife “may destroy you.”

2. Thou shalt prepare thyself for her hormonal mood swings. Know that she can go from sweet and darling one minute to hysterical over something seemingly small the next. Oh. And never, EVER laugh at these changes, no matter how random/entertaining/goofy they might seem.

3. Thou shalt never refer to her as any kind of bovine– aka, milk cow.  It doesn’t matter if she gives you play-by-play of her changing body, her yearnings to drink more milk and the idea that she will soon potentially be able to produce milk to feed a tiny child. Even if, on a good-humored day, she taught you a cheer from Universal Cheerleading Camp about milk: “Don’t gimme no pop, no pop, don’t gimme no tea, no tea, just gimme that milk, moo, moo, moo, moo, just gimme that milk, moo, moo, moo, moo.”

4. Thou shalt be enthusiastic about week-by-week updates of the baby’s growth. Yes, even if you have to fake it a little bit. “Wow, honey! Week 22!! Our baby’s eyelids are fully developed AND it’s the size of a spaghetti squash! Cool!” (It does not matter if you do not know what a spaghetti squash is. Google it.)

5. Thou shalt be interested in all things baby. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand the difference between an Exersaucer or a walker or a Pack-N-Play. Engage. Participate. Even if you have to feign interest. Your wife will LOVE you for it! (See commandment #4.)

6. Thou shalt not brag about how great you feel, how much weight you lost, or how well you slept. Chances are, she doesn’t feel great, she weighs more than she has in previous seasons of life, and she is not sleeping well. Instead of her being overjoyed for you, it will probably activate commandment #2.

7. Thou shalt not make a huge deal about the awesome foods you are eating or how much you ate of it. Avoid talking about how great that bratwurst at Oktoberfest tasted or how refreshing your homemade beer was as it sloshed down your throat. If you ignore this commandment, you risk being thwacked… or having your shoes puked on.

8. Thou shalt never utter the following phrases: “Calm DOWN, wife.” or “Wow, you are getting SO HUGE!” or “It’s all in your head.” Self explanatory.

9. Thou shalt be aware of your “smells” and keep them to a minimum. Keep in mind that a whiff of your smelly army work boots or you noshing on your favorite Limburger cheese could send your wife running to the bathroom… And then running after you when she gets done.

10. Thou shalt support and pray with (and for) your wife regularly. Pregnancy, especially the first one (in our opinion) is exciting, confusing, emotional and yes, even a little scary. Always be willing to take ahold of your wife’s hand or stroke her hair and say, “Let’s pray about this, sweetheart.” Always point her back to Christ in moments of emotions, fear or doubt. After all– you both have been invited to participate in the coolest Jesus arts and craft project ever… TOGETHER, as husband and wife.

“May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice!” ~Proverbs 23:25

Categories: baby, Family | Tags: , , , , , , | 24 Comments

A Patriotic Reveal

Today’s blog post is brought to you by little green army men, our pup Sweet Justus and a fun sense-of-humor-laden family project…

Praise Jesus!  I am so thankful that I can now share with all of you wonderful readers our “secret.” (I felt like I was leading a double life there for a little while.) It’s been a challenging first three months, especially learning how to be preggo plus pneumonia AND another nasty bug on top of it all (three rounds of antibiotics are now complete!)

We praise God for His faithfulness… When I told my friend Brandi a couple weeks ago about our Little Patriot, she used the phrase “bittersweet.” And that is a pretty good descriptor of the last 14 weeks or so– although, now that I think about it, it’s not been so much bitter, but perhaps “apprehensively-sweet.” We will never forget our sweet Baby Klove, but are very excited for this hopeful  journey into parenthood with Little Patriot.

In this tiny, new life, God has revealed His Love. His Hope. His Grace. His Faithfulness.

So, we rejoice. Won’t you join us?

Glory to God,
SGK

“This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears.” ~Titus 2:12 (MSG) 

Categories: blessings, Family, God | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Ohhhh Baby…

Here are my top five reasons why I know that A) God is always in and control and B) Has a remarkable sense of humor.

  1. He made the Platypus. A mammal, with a bill, that lays eggs. That’s hilarious.
  2. He allows us to use phrases like “army logic” and “productive Monday” and “jumbo shrimp.”
  3. He somehow distorts how long two minutes is depending on which side of the bathroom door you are on.
  4. Kansas Jayhawks. (Sorry, KU fans… Just kidding. But seriously.)
  5. He thought it would be legit to send my husband to Ranger school right about the time we found out we are going to have a baby.

That’s right, America. The Knoblochs are procreating. Ohhh, Baby.

I don’t want to get into too many details (I mean, I do have some dude readers after all) but let’s just say this whole having a baby thing is a lot for this army wife to handle. Yes, we were kind of trying. (And by kind of trying, I mean me giving control completely up to God to let HIM decide when we should have a baby… which for me as a person who LOVES control, says a lot.)

Apparently now is good. Or, more specifically, sometime mid-October-ish when the kid actually shows up.

Please don’t mistake my blatant and excessive sarcasm as negative… This is a good thing. For real. I am excited to be a mama. But it’s just kind of a lot to take in knowing that my husband is doing his army thing with no form of communication except snail-mail letters for at least the next 9 weeks and me literally 1,000 miles from family.

Um, yeah. Yikes. YAY!

I don’t find it ironic at all that my “word” for 2012 is “Dependence.” I think God knew I was getting comfortable, handling things really well, and said that it was time to shake things up a bit and bring me back to Him.

For those of you who don’t know me super well, yes, this is our first child. And yes I am excited, scared, overwhelmed, moody, easily brought to tears, thrilled, exhausted… Just FYI, that cycle of emotions usually repeats itself every 18 seconds. Super fun.

With this news, I ask for your prayers… Please pray for this tiny blueberry of a baby, for it to grow healthy for God’s glory. Pray for my preggo emotions, that I can keep my mind focused on Christ and He can calm ALL of my anxious thoughts. Please pray for my fears to transition to faith and that I can fully relax and enjoy this beautiful blessing God has given us!

And please pray for my husband’s safe and successful (and swift!) journey through Ranger school, so he can get back here ASAP to help me grow this baby by rubbing my feet, handing me Kleenexes when I cry at diaper commercials and feed me items drenched in ketchup. (Ketchup and egg drop soup are current cravings. Bizarre.)

Source: cafepress.com

So today, let’s celebrate as I  continue to try and process this exciting scary awesome news. I trust God knows what He is doing (and I just have to keep reminding my hormonally emotional brain this fact!) We can depend on Him in all things, no matter what kind of life surprise He gives you. Yeah, even those surprises that make you want to faint, scream, throw up, celebrate and shout “Ohhhhhh BABY!!”

I trust you Jesus,

SGK

“I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content.” Psalm 131:2

Categories: adventure, army, baby, dependence, excited, faith, fear | Tags: , , , , , , | 15 Comments

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