Tennley: The Musical

In Ashley's previous blog she told you how a great friend of ours, Jenn Petersen, wrote a song for Tennley.
      Here it is...but first two things:
            First...Check out all of Jenn's music here
            Second...I had to put some of Tennley's picture's behind it so it would upload to blogspot. They won't allow just music...so the slideshow is just 4 of her pictures to fit the length of the song.
          Just 18 days until her due date...and might I add, my birthday.

Incredibly excited!
Enjoy!

A song for TENNLEY...

Jenn Petersen, singer, song writer and friend blessed us with a "gift" while we were in Florida this past January. Scott and I were expecting a cute onesie or fun little baby gift! As she sat us down in a the corner of the big conference hall and pulled out her guitar, she began to serenade us with a song written about our daughter...
Speechless.
Honored.
Touched.
Story has it, that while she was in Cambodia on a mission trip to stop sex trafficking, she started writing about Tennley after reading Scott's Post  (<----click to read).

We wanted to share the lyrics of this special song about our girl.

TENNLEY

for Scott and Ashley...

2010 smalltown citygirl music

Ribbons, bow and pretty things

Are making my heart sing this song to you

Dreaming of the days to come

Of laughing, playing in the sun with you

And I begin to smile...

Chorus:

Tennley, you are a whisper in the silence

The flicker of a candle's flame that warms the cold winter's night

The colors of the rainbow breaking through the summer clouds

And I can't wait to see you now

You're the piece of heaven to me

Oh, Tennley

I see the glimmer in your eyes

As you go chasing butterflies with me

The pitter-patter of your steps

The sweetness of your breath

Upon my cheek

And oh, that charming smile

Chorus 2:

Tennley, you are the song that breaks the silence

The flicker of a candle's flame that warms a cold winter's night

The colors of the rainbow breaking through the summer clouds

And I can't wait to hold you now

You're a little piece of heaven to me

You're a little gift from heaven God has sent down to me

You're a little piece of heaven to me

Oh, Tennley

The lyrics are beautiful, but the song isn't complete without the voice behind it! 
We can't wait for Tennley to hear it...we already know she'll love it.

You can check out more of Jenn's music here.
Thank you Jenn, for honoring our family with this song...for your friendship...your encouragement...and your love for our baby girl.

33 Weeks

7'ish weeks to go...
As we walked through the hallways of Durham Regional Hospital last night, a new sense of reality hit the core of me. Our little girl will be in our arms in 2 months...her soft skin on our skin...a reality that seemed so far away is just around the corner.
My heart grows more and more curious about this little girl that has captured my heart...and often times my ribs :)
Who will she look like?
Will she be outgoing or shy?
What dreams will she chase?
I laid awake last night at 3am wondering...
Who she will marry?
What would break her heart, an what would I do to protect her from that?
Will Scott and I parent in a way that she may not always like but will grow to respect?
Most importantly, will Tennley see our love for Christ lived out on a daily basis?
Something that continues to be at the TOP of my prayer list.
Will I be nurturing enough for her?
Gentle enough?
Patient enough?
Encouraging enough?
Will she feel comfortable talking to me about her deepest secrets?
Love-life?
Heartaches?
Life struggles?
...and my list goes on.

All  questions I take very seriously.
But nothing that frightens me.
My deepest desire is to be the mother (not friend) that God would have me be for her.
Perfection is something I know will fall short of.
I will continually seek the lord for my role in her life.
I have a peace that God will guide us as we go, I find so much comfort in that!
Tennley and I have a one-of-a-kind Dad and Husband...
Forever grateful for my best-friend and husband. I cannot wait to see Scott as a daddy. She is blessed to have this man as her father...what an important role he will play in her life.

 Enough of my rambling thoughts... 51 days until her due date...counting down!
Ashley

Catch up...

9 weeks later...I suppose it's time for another post!

We had a FABULOUS time at Disney world with my side of the family. Memories that I/we will cherish forever. It was a special treat to see the magic of Disney through a child's eyes again...watching Eli take it all in was such a treat. I will say that experiencing all 4 Disney parks at 24 weeks pregnant was a different type of treat, but I survived! It truly was a wonderful time...I am ready to do it again.

Watching and waving at the parade!

The whole gang!

After Disney we met up with our church staff in Jacksonville to attend the Wesleyan Gathering conference. That was a blast! We were able to see friends from school, friends from our previous church Collin Creek, and friends from home (Tucson, AZ & Sacramento, Ca) ...not to mention my parents were there, Scott's dad was there and Ryan, Des and Eli were there! Lots of loved ones in one place at one time makes for a fun-filled-whirlwind couple of days! While at the conference, Scott and I received one of the most touching gifts EVER...a song written for Tennley by our friend Jenn Petersen from Dallas...another blog post about that is soon to come!

Friday will mark our 31 weeks pregnancy and reality is STARTING to set in. I understand that I am pregnant. I feel the nudges and rolls of Tennley from inside. HOWEVER, completely grasping the reality of having human life in my arms at the end of this 40'ish week journey is so hard to comprehend. It's easier to grasp when you are looking in on someone else's life, but my own? I will say, knowing that we are just a little over 2 months away from meeting her is something that doesn't escape my mind...I cannot wait!

Our families have started booking their flights to come out and meet our Tennley. Again, so surreal! But SOOO exciting. The countdown begins!

We were able to get one last sonogram two weeks ago. Again, Tennley put on a show and was quite active on her own accord...meaning I had zero caffeine this time around. She measured in 46th percentile and is right on target for her due date. At the time, she was just shy of 3 pounds. Here is a 3D picture we got from our visit. Any thought on who she looks like?


Tennley at 28 weeks



I am feeling pretty good! I slept on the couch for about 2 weeks thinking I'd get better sleep out there, but once I returned to my bed WITHOUT all the pillows I seemed to sleep MUCH better. I think Scott slept better too once I ditch the pillows :) I still have quite a bit of energy, although I get winded pretty quickly when doing such minimal things...something I am not used too. I know the wave of "miserable" is about to hit me from what others say, but I will hold on to feeling great for as long as possible!

Things I love to eat...CHOCOLATE! If you have an opinion about it...that's nice :) I cannot get enough of it and I honestly eat much more than I need to, tisk tisk. I am pretty sure Tennley is immune to it now, it runs in the family. Some (not all) people continue to drink caffeine during their pregnancies... instead, I enjoy indulge in chocolate! CHEETOS PUFFS. L.O.V.E them too. I know, both of these things are in no way conducive to the ever increasing numbers on the scale, but fear not, I plan on running it all off once I am able. I dream of completing a half marathon sometime next year. Wish me luck!



26 weeks



My wonderful husband and Tennley's loving daddy painted her room! Her nursery is coming along. It is not finished which is why I will not show pictures QUITE yet. A few finishing touches and we'll be good to go!

We've been overwhelmed by our friends and families generosity. We've had numerous people ship us gifts from out of town, and send us gently used items. All of which is so unexpected but so very sweet. Tennley is already loved by so many...THAT has been made evident. Its fun to see her little clothes hanging in her closet and blankets folded away. Can't wait to see her use them. Thank you all so very much!

I have two baby showers in March to look forward to! My friends here in NC are so sweet to throw us not one, but two. Again, the love is overwhelming at times. God has blessed us with great friends, near and far.

latest picture- 30 weeks

Aside from getting ready for Tennley's arrival, Scott had the honor to speak on main stage at church. Even though he speaks every week to students, it is a different ball game speaking to adults not to mention 2,000 plus! The topic...tithing! Lets just say the weeks leading up to this he was in the ZONE and focused. I stayed and listened to all 3 (yes, 3) services, and he did a great job. I was proud but more importantly gained so much from his teaching. I tell you what, it is such a blessing to be under a leader that invests, stretches and enables Scott to speak outside of his comfort. Pastor Benji has been that to Scott. We talk about it often, we are so blessed to be under his and Amy Lynn's leadership! Both of them are the most encouraging people...we sure do love them.

If you are interested in listening to Scott's message follow the  link below.

Scott's Sermon: Blessed Life

Some of our best friends, Annie & Terry are coming into town Feb. 19th all the way from Montana. I cannot tell you how excited we are about their visit. Terry is the BIGGEST Duke fan. Unfortunately, Duke basketball tickets are EXTREMELY hard to come by unless you have limitless money. But, we will have a great time none the less!

I suppose that will do for now.

Since Scott is out of town, I might have more to posts to come!

Stay tuned.

Love from North Carolina,

Ashley