: COMMUN : LIFE CCM: What was your favorite and least favorite thing about pregnancy. Francesca: My favorite thing about pregnancy was feeling my baby moving. It was amazing! My least favorite part was the morning sickness. It only lasted for three months, but it was intense! CCM: What was your greatest anticipation of motherhood. Francesca: My greatest anticipation was wondering who our little one would be. We chose not to find out if we were having a boy or girl, so meeting him was amazing. CCM: Speaking of, how are you and your husband managing your relationship and love with a new little one in the house? Francesca: We are more in love than ever! CCM: Has becoming a mom changed your relationship/ outlook on God? Francesca: I definitely feel like I understand an aspect of God as Father that I didn’t truly grasp before. He loves us so much more than I love my little guy, and that is some serious love. CCM: What was your favorite and least favorite thing about pregnancy. Meredith: My favorite thing about being pregnant was feeling the baby move. I’ll never forget the first time I felt a flutter, driving to a concert in Grand Rapids, MI. A few weeks later my husband, Jacob felt a kick, and we couldn’t stop laughing out of pure wonder. By the end of my pregnancy, Maverick was rolling around and kicking constantly, and you could actually see my belly taking different shapes. I new then that I had a little mover and shaker on my hands. CCM: Speaking of, how are you and your husband managing your relationship and love with a new little one in the house? Meredith: It can be quite difficult to find time for each other when we’re both worn out at the end of the day, but we decided before Maverick was born that we would be intentional about having real conversations and being affectionate towards each other on a regular basis. I am so blessed to have such a humble, servant-hearted man for a husband, and seeing him as a father has grown my love for him even more. CCM: Has becoming a mom changed your relationship/ outlook on God? Meredith: Loving my boy is the most natural love I have ever experienced. Even when he is screaming at the top of his lungs or leaking out of his diaper, my love for him does not change. Maverick doesn’t have to do anything for me to love him. I love him because he is mine. When I think about that in relation to God’s love for me, it rocks me to the core. Perhaps I am just now really beginning to understand. God’s love for me is not based on my performance or position or prestige. He loves me in spite of myself. He simply loves me because I am His. baby, baby... With their little ones just weeks old, FrAnCESCA BAttiStELLi and MErEDitH AnDrEWS have been getting used to the bleary-eyed joys of motherhood. CCM caught up with the ladies to get the inside scoop on their latest, greatest achievements… mommyhood! CCM 11