The signs of a BOY!

Waiting 40 weeks to find out a babies gender is extreme self control. Just the 19 weeks of anticipation were too much for me. Another 20 may have killed me hahah.

 When I first found out I was preggers I prayed for a boy. I actually was praying before hand but it wasn't an every day earnest prayer. Truth be told I was more concerned about getting pregnant than the gender. Once we got pregnant my gender prayers started. But only gradually and slightly. I just couldn't quite wrap my mind around praying exactly for what I wanted in the womb.

 I was reminded of the prayers I made for Miya when she was in my tummy and how God answered those...maybe this wasn't any different. So the prayers began. Not daily. Funny thing is, gender is determined right at conception...so by the time we found out we are pregnant the gender had been determined. I guess our prayers now are that the results line up with what we hope for.

 Up until about 14 weeks preggo, I figured I was having a girl. I just had that in my mind to avoid disappointment. But I never felt convinced. So I began asking the Lord for 'signs of the times' lol And signs are very well what He gave me.

THE SIGNS

Preston Collection Pottery Barn Kids Sign #1

 Sign # 1- 'the name'. 2 years ago I fell in love with a certain boy name. I wrote it down and tucked it away with a girl name I fell in love with too. I have yet to hear this name anywhere... Ever! So when I was browsing a site and saw the name of one of the crib beddings I liked was named The Preston Collection...it gave me a shock.

 Sign 2- 'The Middle Name' As I mentioned in another post Ray or Rae would be our child's middle name regardless of gender. Just spelled differently. I found a beautiful quilt that I loved to pieces...but really would only get if I had a boy. I wanted to post a picture of the quilt on my blog and tried to find it on the internet. When I did I noticed the person who owned the quilt has personalized it with the name middle name 'Ray' for their child. And ' Taylor' was the last name. That was my maiden name. Once again my eyes popped out of my head. Not to mention the birth date is a good friend of mines! LOL

Jackson Quilt Pottery Barn Kids-Sign #2

Ripleys Aquarium Pamphlet Sign # 3

#3 'Mysterious Purse Dropping'. I was picking up my daughter from school and placed my purse on the middle of the table. (Bare in mind at this point now I am praying for God to show me signs that I am having a boy') As I help Miya get her boots on, I glance back at my purse....it has fallen off the table. No clue how, as it wasn't on the edge or anything like that. So I finish up and walk over to pick it up. Now my purse is filled with so many trinkets that for it to fall over would mean a huge embarrassing mess for me. But surprisingly nothing had fallen out except a strange piece of paper. I picked up what looked like a pamphlet and read it. Low and behold Ray Bay is written 5 times with show times next to it. It's a pamphlet from Ripley's aquarium. I had no idea it was in my purse not to mention that it was specifically folded in a way that when I picked it up all I saw was Ray Ray Ray Ray Ray. I think that sign scared me so much I threw the paper out of my hand. What the heck was going on here?

Great minds think alike
Sign #4

 #4- It's a boy'. Thanks to pinterest their are so many cute ideas for photos for gender reveals. I had in mind one specifically for when I got further along. I was so excited hoping I could use it. Each week I would fantasize about this adorable photo. One day my good friend sent me the photo and said I should do this if I had a boy. The timing was hilarious as I had made a 'boy' sign plea hours before. What are the odds she would send me the exact photo I wanted to take. There are so many on
pinterest!!

#5. Low heart rate- OK so I don't put much stalk in old wives tales...though I love them to death and I have to say this pregnancy my old wives tales were BANG on at predicting my babies gender. But I have had two girls and for both if them they had very very fast heart beats. I remember the sound like it was yesterday. It actually would worry me, I had never heard anything like it. So when I heard Ray Rays heart beat through a Doppler for the first time I had to ask what the BPM was. When the doc said 130, I knew this had to be a boy. Sure enough every apt was a steady 130. Never wavering... Yet this baby was more active than my daughters... Sounds like a boy sign to me.

Google is creepy!

#6- ' It's a boy'. Many people told me it was a boy, but when Google is randomly telling you 'it's a boy' it's hard not to take notice. I had been searching ecards for my blog. Completely unrelated to pregnancy. Hundreds of ecards popped up in the category I had searched. About 20 cards in a sign that stated 'it's a boy' was right smack right in the middle. At this point I was finding these signs quite humorous. I quickly took a picture of the screen and shared with a friend. I wanted signs...there they were!

Final Preston Confirmation

 #7- This was my last sign the day before my ultrasound. I had gotten many other little signs that I won't bore you with, but these ones really stood out. My ultrasound was later in the week and come Monday a wave of fear came over me. I was becoming so confident I was having a boy it was scary. So I started doubting big time. I began prepping for a girl in my mind and praying. The morning before my ultrasound I asked for one more sign. But I specifically asked to see my babies name 'Preston"  again. I decided to be specific like Gideon with the fleece. I said 'Lord I want to see the name we had picked again.'  I knew this sign would be harder...or so I thought. Nothing is too hard for the lord. Mid day I was going through photos on my phone. I came across a screen shot of a name my friend liked for her future son. Under the name were names you might like if you like this name. When she first sent me this photo I just glanced over the names and didn't think much of it. This time I looked seeing if I would see any 'girl' names I would like too. Well girl names are not what I found, I found my last and final confirmation of having a boy. There was HIS name. I don't know how I didn't see it before but there it was. I nearly fell off my chair and said ' yes Lord'.

And he shall be called Preston Ray

 I realized now how easy it was for the Israelites to disobey God in the wilderness even after all the signs and miracles He had given them. Over a two month period the Lord had given me all those signs plus a few more and I still refused to believe. He even gave me dreams but I blew them off! That night I repented of my unbelief and felt peace like I have never felt before. God had told me we were going to have a son. Just like he had told Sarah and the shunamite women. Like He had told Hannah and Mary. God made it clear to me I would have a son and even pointed out the name I should call him.

 What an honor?! How humbling?! I know God has an amazing destiny for this child and one of the reasons I wanted a son was to win the world for Jesus.  And if those signs weren't enough the day after the ultrasound, I was browsing the net again and this photo was on one of their featured items on the PB website! HA....Preston it is!  And how fitting the photo is for a preacher of the gospel!  Just like their Daddy! Wow this is a long post...but well worth me remembering years later.