18 Weeks Belly

Ok, everyone keeps saying that they want to see my "belly." However, in a picture it is still hard to tell (trust me, it's bigger). This is me today at 18 weeks. I'm trying to stick my belly out-can you tell?? I'm sure I will be huge shortly. I know you girls have been there-it's that awkward "is she pregnant or just getting chubby" stage. I can put on some maternity clothes and look pregnant or I can put on my normal clothes and look chubby. Anway, this is me today-I will keep you posted!

A Beautiful Woman of God

This week has been a very rough week, but I didn’t want to write about it until I had some time to process… On Monday morning, a good friend of our family and member of our church passed away very suddenly. She was a beautiful woman with a beautiful heart, and as they said at the funeral today, “the life of the party.” She meant so much to so many people. She was involved in everything and seemed to be friends with everyone. She was a wife, a mother of two, and a new grandmother to four (three born in the last 6 months!). I could go on and on about what she meant to everyone else, but I am just going to reflect on what she meant to me. Through my life, she has been an example of someone who is hardworking, generous, and excited about life. She was a sponsor on my first mission trip. When I got married, she threw my bridal shower at the church and helped coordinate all of the chaos of the wedding day (including rigging my dad’s tuxedo which didn’t fit and keeping my Grandma from walking out--that’s another story!). I sang with her and played bells with her in the church choir-she has done that for years. It’s hard to see the choir without her smiling face (the choir sang at her funeral today). I spent countless summer days throughout my life lounging at her pool which was always open to anyone and everyone. Most recently, she shared in my joy of becoming a mother. When I found out I was pregnant, she was one of those people that I couldn’t wait to tell because I knew she would be so excited. Well, as word travels in a small community, she found out at choir practice before my mom or I were able to tell her. Josh and I were teaching at the time, so after her practice was over, she came to our classroom and waited outside to congratulate me. I could see her through the window and knew why she was there. I slipped out to talk to her. She hugged me and we were jumping up and down-she was so happy for me and for my mom. She was telling me how much she loves being a grandma and how excited she was for my mom to experience that as well. That was the last time I talked to her. For whatever reason, God decided this week that it was her time to go. I think it is especially hard because it was so unexpected. When I got the e-mail through the church prayer chain, I thought there had to be a mistake-there was no way this could be true… even after the visitation and funeral, I still kind of feel like that. It makes you realize how precious and short life is. You never know what tomorrow will bring… As they said at the service this morning, she is in heaven not because she was a great mom, daughter, wife, grandmother, friend, or even church member. It is true that she was all of those things and more, but she is in heaven because she trusted Jesus and lived her life serving him. I can only aspire to be more like her…. What a beautiful woman of God!

The Fourth Month

I am just about done with the fourth month of pregnancy and I feel a million times better than I did a few weeks ago. I still had a few days of sickness here and there, but I am feeling so much better. My house is in much better order that it was, I can handle cooking again, and I have even found energy to get some extra things done, like cleaning out the nursery and going on walks. My friends Kristina and Jennifer both encouraged me that they felt so much better pregnant when they were exercising, so I decided to get moving. I walked every day last summer before work, and it was a habit I knew I needed to get back into. I promised myself I would as soon as the morning sickness stopped (who wants to throw up on the sidewalk? J). So, I have been at it for a few days. I will try anything that promises to make labor easier, weight gain slower, and baby healthier! I really enjoy that time in the morning, especially this time of year. It is hard to get out of bed some days, but once I am outside, I love it. Everything is so beautiful…. Green grass, blue skies, chirping birds…..I love it! I can’t wait to have a stroller to push along with me! I was not scheduled for another sonogram for another month at the doctor’s office (which will be almost 3 months since my last one), but I was able to have another one done this week! I know several of the ladies who work at the Women’s Care Clinic (which is Danville’s Crisis Pregnancy Center). I actually used to work with the nurse at the insurance company. She said I was welcome to come anytime for an ultrasound-I couldn’t pass that up! My mom and Josh both came and it was so fun. The best part was that the baby had the hiccups-it was so funny. I was just trying not to laugh so I wouldn’t shake the picture. The baby was very active and when I laughed, he/she got even crazier! The nurse said he/she has very long limbs (big surprise in our family….. J). We were trying to figure out if the baby is a he or she, but we had inconclusive evidence. There were some suspicious pics but nothing definitive at this point…. I guess we will have to wait another month! This month, we also got several items for the nursery. My Aunt and Uncle gave us a crib and lot of other things that they have been saving, which was really nice. I started looking at bedding but will probably not pick that until I know if it’s a boy or girl. Josh and I have been fun discussing names but will probably also wait to make a final decision until we know what it is… Right now my favorite girl name is Hannah and his is Kayla. Our favorite boy names are Jacob, Caleb, and Luke, but we of course rank them in different orders…. Maybe we’ll tackle this further in the fifth month!

The First Trimester

Ok, I have been peer pressured into the world of blogging. It’s probably not a bad idea because I am not very good about journaling and since I am in a big turning point in my life, it would be good for me to record and reflect on what is going on… So here goes… As most people probably know, I am four months pregnant and am so happy and excited!!! Josh and I have been married for almost four years now (and have been together over ten years now!!), and it just felt like the right time to both of us to start a family. I found out that I was pregnant around the end of January. I took “the test” at home alone while Josh was at the church working. I was so happy when it was positive but I was also freaking out a little… mostly because I was so excited. It’s an overwhelming feeling to know that there is a baby inside of you!!! Josh and I decided that we wanted to wait a little bit to tell anyone. The first people we told were Josh’s brother Jordan and his fiancé Courtney because we knew they would keep a secret. I had to beg Josh to let me tell them, but we were really happy to get it out. Not long after that, I had to tell my boss. I think he pretty much already knew due to the fact that I was not feeling well every day and I may have snapped on him once just a little bit (crazy pregnancy hormones)…. A few weeks later we told our families, which was a lot of fun, and then we told everyone at work and church which was also super fun. Since I was feeling pretty miserable, it was fun talking about it and being excited about it. I was also surprised at how many cards we got in the mail. I really didn’t know people sent “congrats-you’re pregnant” cards, but we got a lot of them. They always brightened my day and usually made me cry (crazy pregnancy hormones again). The most exciting part of the first trimester was the 10 week sonogram. Josh came with me of course. It was so amazing to see that little baby moving around!! We heard the heartbeat and everything-that was awesome. Josh was so funny at the doctor’s office. I think he got embarrassed a few times….. pretty funny stuff. In a nutshell, the first trimester was a crazy mix of being really happy and feeling really sick. I cried a lot of nights because I was so tired of getting sick! One night Josh asked why I was crying and I said because I didn’t feel good. He didn’t believe me that was the only reason I was crying-he thought there had to be something else. But that was really it-I just didn’t feel good!!!