Week 32!!!

My my my how time flies! I only have 2 months and a few days left! I can tell it's getting close though. Baby Collier is moving up a STORM and growing like crazy! Sometimes I feel like he's going to kick his way out! He's still laying crossways in my belly, so all the prayers we can get for him to turn head-down will be MUCH appreciated! My friend told me a 'trick' that's supposed to move them- a hands and knees position with my belly down. I'll give it a try tonight! Or maybe once a day! They can supposedly move more freely that way. The pregnancy is fine otherwise. I have been getting major swelling in my left foot only, so I intend to ask the doctor about it at my appointment on tuesday.

In other news, I had a baby shower last weekend, from Keith's family. It was great! It's so much fun to get little outfits and baby things and watch his room slowly come together, and dream of how the outfits will fit him. :) I can't wait to have him here! Keith can't wait either. I'll try to post pictures from the shower, if I can get my hands on some.
We recently finished up our labor and delivery class, too. As you can see, Keith wore the sympathy belly. He did quite well! :) Looking at the belly, he looks huge compared to me haha! It's scary to think I will soon be there. I already can't see my toes! The class has been extremely informative and has reaffirmed in my mind that I definitely want an epidural, and will be praying that I don't have to get a c-section. I have to take a nursing class and an anesthesia class in November. That should be fun.

School is moving right along, keeping our nights and weekends busy. That's prob. why it feels like this pregnancy is zooming by! Hopefully I will be able to enjoy the last bit! Hope everyone is doing well!

In the Midst of Week 30!!!

Wow, I'm way behind with my blogging! :) We are working on week 30 now! It's so hard to believe that in 11 weeks we will have a little baby boy living with us! A lot has been going on, but not much has changed. Two weeks ago we went to the Outer Banks with my sister in law and her family, and inlaws. It was very relaxing. Unfortunately we (baby Collier and I) had a cold or sinus infection or something during the whole vacation. You don't realize the effects medicine can have on your sickness until you're unable to take it! Keith caught the cold from me and had it for only 4 days, whereas I had it for 10 days. Anyway, we've all recovered. We came back from the Outer Banks a little bit early so that Keith could finish the nursery before classes started up again. He finished all the painting and it looks great! We have to clean some things out and vacuum and then I'd like to take and post pictures so everyone can see. This past weekend we ordered our furniture, too. I'm glad we finally did-- it's not going to be in for 8-10 weeks!!! It will show up RIGHT before the baby is born! That kindof stinks because I won't be able to get fully organized before he's here, but I guess it's better than if it were to come late!
In other news, I was in yet another car accident. It was nothing major-- just a small fender bender. More annoying than anything. I was stopped at a red light when a honda rear-ended me. I couldn't believe it! My 2nd accident in less than a year and again, not my fault! Thankfully he barely tapped me, so the damage is minimal, and the baby and I are physically just fine! After that happened, though, the fact that you can't trust other drivers was reaffirmed, in my mind, and I decided to put the Britax Marathon infant-toddler seat on my registry. I didn't want to at first, because it costs 260 dollars, but for my baby's safety, it's worth it. And you never know when an accident could occur, and how it can change your life. I experienced that in January, and I pray that Keith, the baby and I (not to mention the rest of the family) never have to deal with that again.
I had my monthly appointment 2 weeks ago, and everything is progressing normally! The next time I visit will be in two weeks (every appointment is every two weeks until 36 weeks). At 36 weeks, I will have visits weekly for the last 4 weeks of the pregnancy. I was asking the doctor about my due date, since with every ultrasound they said it could be a little different. She looked at the charts and said that the 'window', based on all my ultrasounds, for the baby to come is between December 18th and 24th. Ofcourse things like these are so unpredictable it could very well be much earlier or much later, but at least that gives me a better picture, and hopefully more accurate anticipation! I can't wait for him to get here! This Christmas is going to be a great one!
This is a picture from our anniversary dinner on the 9th of Oct. Keith surprised me and took me to a place in New Hope. :) It was sweet of him-- we had a good time.

26 Weeks, 3 days....we're becoming blimp-like.

We've reached the 26 week mark, and are quickly coming upon 27 weeks (this Saturday!). The 27th week will be spend relaxing in North Carolina with Keith and family. I can't wait to get away from all this madness! There isn't really anything new to tell, except to point out how funny it is that in the rightmost picture in the collage above, you can tell that the baby is laying at the left side of my stomach (or right side, when you look at the picture). That's where his little head and back are. :) I took my glucose test today-- it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I hear they're extremely easy to fail, though, and I love sugar/carbs, so i wouldn't be the least bit surprised if I did fail hahaha! If I have to go back I'd have to drink the liquid again, as well as fast the night before, and have my blood drawn once every hour for 4 hours. They really test into it extensively! I suppose having diabetes while you're pregnant can really effect the baby. Better to be safe than sorry!

The 24th and 25th weeks

Things continue to change! The belly is getting bigger and bigger, and I can feel the baby squirming around a lot more now. I am starting to feel his smaller movements better, and his bigger movements have intensified. He must be getting big! I can also watch his movement on the outside of my belly now. That’s fun!!! I’m sure he can feel my movements and hear our voices, because the other night, Keith woke up around 4am, and I woke up too b/c he had gone to the bathroom and whatnot. Well, before he went back to sleep, he cuddled up to me and wanted to ‘hold’ the baby. The little guy just woke right up- the second keith started to rub my belly. Needless to say we were awake for a while after that.

For the last week and a half, I’ve had pain in my right rib while sitting straight up. It feels like something is wedged under there—leg, arm, organ, I’m not sure what. If I try to alter my posture to alleviate it, I get pain in my back, directly across from where it is in the front. This has made working VERY difficult, because I obviously sit upright, and can’t stand, recline, or lie down to work. It has also made driving difficult. The only relief came at night time. Although last night (for the first time) the pain was waking me up. *sigh* Not much you can do about it, though, I guess. School is still keeping both of us quite busy! The class I’ve had this quarter is pretty intense, and a lot of homework. Keith just finished his summer semester—only one more to go and he’s a free and officially educated man! We are SO excited about it!! Now we just have to pray him through the last semester! Hopefully not having to juggle work and school will lighten his load, poor guy. I will be doubling up my course load for the next 2 quarters, so I will be finished and certified in Graphic Design by February! I was thinking I would have to be in school until August, so that’s really good news to me!

This is about all that’s going on right now! I haven’t taken any new pictures lately, but it’s in the back of my mind…hopefully I’ll remember to do so soon! It would be so much easier if I could just take them myself- finding someone to do it is half the battle! That’s all the news for now! Hopefully the next update I write will not include feet, knees, and elbows in the wrong places! J

A Week 24 Thank You

We are in day 3 of week 24. Time is just flying by! It seems like every day I read of someone new who follows this blog, and have been getting words of encouragement right and left. For those of you who do read- thank you! It motivates me to write! And for those of you who do comment, thank you also. I've been having problems commenting on other blogs for some reason. It doesn't accept my login information. Maybe someday I will solve this mystery...I'll keep trying for sure. Sam and Jennifer, I agree with you that staying home with our son will be such a blessing and we will see God work. The only doubt I have is in myself, and my ability (or lack thereof) to always have a cheery, 100% trusting, positive outlook. Conquering myself will prob. be the greatest struggle. I also have to trust that the photography business will grow. I have 2 potential weddings on the line for the 2008 season. I covet your prayers for this-- please, please, please pray that God will show me favor and I'll land them both! I'm so excited for photography to pick up because I love to do it, and it would work out beautifully with Keith's work schedule and taking care of the baby! I should know about one of them by next week.

As far as news on the pregnancy, I think everything is just fine! The aches and pains have begun...the unexplained backache, the sciatic nerve pain, hip pain, rib pain (this one is new)...I feel like there is something sitting under my ribcage on the right, and if I slouch, it gets really irritating. Not only does my posture have to be perfect...it has to be exaggerated in order to avoid this feeling. Ick. I've also been having pains in my abdomen on the right side so the doctor ordered an ultrasound on my gallbladder, as often times pregnancy induces gallbladder problems. I went for it yesterday and should find out the results in 3 days. I'm praying everything is alright, and these pains are just associated with growing/stretching. The little one is still very active, so even if there are gallbladder issues, they aren't affecting him. :) And that's the best scenario I could wish for!

Then there's the weight gain. Yeah let's not talk about that. :)

I'm on the tail end of conquering the Baby Registry. Woooooah it's a lot! It's hard as a first time mom to know what to put on there and what not to...what products/brands to invest in and what not to. I had started my registry at 88 items. Then I went back w/ my neighbors, who informed me that even if you don't receive items on your registry for your shower, you still obtain a 10 percent discount after. So those things that I was in limbo about getting, I put on there, just for discount sake, but now my registry is up to 125 items!!! :/ I'm really debating on whether or not to take things off just for the sake of making it less overwhelming for my poor family and friends, and minimizing the pressure....and not to look like a greedy prude. What to do... what to do...

In other news, Keith painted the nursery this weekend! It looks so good so far!! The bottom half of the room is navy blue (though slightly muted and not deep) and the top part is brown. It will have white chair rail soon, but we have only got as far as purchasing it. Also we picked out our furniture this weekend...now we just have to order it! Slowly, things are falling into place. I figure within two weeks we will have it ordered. I'm so excited! It's been hard not to be able to help Keith with the work, but he seems to be enjoying it! He loves doing that kind of stuff, and thankfully, he's great at it! I will post pictures once the junk is cleared out and the trim is hung. It's definitely looking very nautical! :)

I have a friend who is willing to take pictures for week 24, and hopefully I won't look angry or overtly rotund in these :). worse comes to worse I could just crop my face out haha!

As always, more to come!

A Story of God's Promises

Ok, now I have to tell you a story. Obviously I've been overwhelmed with the work decisions, so I've been praying about it a lot. I wasn't praying about what would be "right or wrong" to do, I was praying about whether or not God expected me to trust Him to provide, or if He expected me to take on the responsibility of working. If He expected me to trust Him, then I wouldn't work. But if He expected me to be responsible, I'd have to work. And Not knowing if things would work out if I didn't work is what was bogging me down and keeping me from making that decision, even though Keith and I have always wanted me to stay home with our kids.

So anyway, lately while I have been praying I was getting anxious about how I would recognize the answer. It's a huge decision to make, which would impact our son's childhood, and my husband's workload, so I wanted something concrete and unmistakable, as an answer. On Sunday, at church, the pastor talked about Abraham. He told the story of how God promised to give Abraham children through his wife sarah, and they would turn into numerous descendants. Abraham thought this was great news, obviously, but then he turned around and took matters into his own hands, and slept with the maidservant to bear a son through her, despite God's promise. Later, he had a son with Sarah (so God's promise was true). He didn't need to sleep with the maidservant at all. He could've just trusted God. The story made an impression on me but I was reluctant to take it as an "answer" because when I'm waiting for answers, I tend to look for them harder.

THEN on Monday while I was driving in, I turn on 560 AM to hear a sermon on the way in to work, and the pastor is talking about who? Abraham. This time, though, the story was about how God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on the alter. He took Isaac, because he trusted God would raise him from the dead. When Isaac said "father, we have the wood, the fire, but no sacrifice", Abraham said "God will provide one". At the last minute before Abraham killed Isaac (he was about to), God told him to stop, because He was satisfied with his display of trust in Him.

Both of the messages (sunday's and monday's) had the underlying theme of trusting God's promises, and trusting His provision. After hearing the second message, I began to wonder if the messages were supposed to be my answer. This may sound foolish, but whenever God speaks to me through sermons, or through the Bible, it always comes in threes. I was thinking that He was def. speaking to me this time, but wanted to wait for the third occurance.

Meanwhile, i met with Michelle (my immediate supervisor) yesterday. In our meeting, she tells me that Karen (both our supervisors) is willing to work with me for part time work, but working from home is not an option, as she initially told me. Which means Karen changed her mind. No surprise there. I told Michelle right then an there "then there's no way I can come back to work". We do not want to put our son into daycare, and we do not want to burden family with looking after him, so if I worked, the only option for working was from home. Basically, my decision was made for me! I can't do part time, because my wages would only cover daycare. Which makes the whole thing invalid anyway. I was relieved that God closed the door for me, and made it as plain as day by leaving me with no choice.

Last night I was talking with Keith telling him about the Abraham stories, and then the door being closed for part time from home. I said "I suppose God was speaking this to me all along, but I'm surprised it didn't come in threes as it usually does."

This morning, I came into work to find an email from my friend Erin. She and I have been talking a lot about the work situation, because she was recently facing the same delimmas I face now. In the email, she says "I've been thinking about your situation all day, and when I heard a story this weekend it made me think of you..." and she proceeded to tell me a story about Abraham. :) This time, it was about when Abraham and Lot trusted God's power, and prayed for Him to turn from His plans to destroy sodom and gomorrah if there were any righteous living there. The basis of this story is that of praying even when circumstances are bleak, and trusting God will hear you and answer you. She used the story to make another valid point, but the story itself spoke to me of the importance of prayer, as a part of trusting God.

I was read the email and laughed about the sweetness of God's care for me...to give my heart a third confirmation, just because He wanted to reassure me and guide me. :) He is so faithful! in summary, He told me:

1. I don't need to take matters into my own hands. He made a promise to provide, and He will do so in His timing.
2. Even when circumstances look impossible, Keith and I need to have Faith in God and His powerful provision that He demonstrated to Abraham through Isaac.
3. It NEVER, EVER hurts to pray-- God hears the cries of His children. When circumstances look bleak, it's important to have faith, but also to pray.

That's the story about God's faithfulness to hear our prayers, and to answer us. I hope it encourages you too, to know that you are precious enough to Him that He will reach into your life and show Himself to you if you seek Him. We are so thankful for His promises, and for the provision that He has already begun to display.

The Snoogle and 21 week pic

Oh my goodness- Wednesday night was entirely sleepless due to hip pain! Called out of work thursday, napped hard core, bought the snoogle (body pillow sold at babies r us) and slept wonderfully Thurs night!!! I would HIGHLY recommend it! It doesn't take up as much space as I thought it would either!

As a side note to all this snooglicious news, I made a stop in the baby boy clothes section last night while I was there. I had always stopped at the girls (how can you NOT?) but never the boys, and I was surprised by how cute some of the stuff was! I would look at an outfit, and just giggle like an idiot...then I would realize that I was laughing and look around to see if anyone heard me. They had some adorable stuff...a western themed outfit that had little booties that looked like cowboy boots, little fatigue-print sweatpants and matching shirts...a little like men's clothes, just in miniature. It's like playing dolls! I had an armfull of stuff to buy but then put it away, realizing I should wait until post-shower to begin stocking up on what we may need. I then headed over to the bedding section to see the little sailboat print again....laughed out loud again at just how cute it is...then pondered over strollers. I have....NO CLUE....what stroller to pick. I think getting one you can stick the carseat into for the first few months would be practical, but then I didn't know which one went with the carseat that I chose. Ever since the accident, the carseat has been an area of focus for me. Rachel researched them and found out that the Graco Snugride had the highest safety ratings, so that's what we're def. going to go w/. All that to say that I'll get the matching stroller but don't know which one that is. :) I'll have to take Keith back on Saturday, both to help w/ the stroler delimma and to walk through the baby boy clothes and laugh with me. He's never been.

Keith went fishing with his uncle and my dad today, and left for the shore last night, so I had to sleep alone. Up side: plenty of room for my snoogle experimentation stage. Down side: I HATE sleeping alone- I'm used to having him there, and all the little house noises seem louder when he's not. After watching--and crying through-- an episode of Law & Order, my Shelti, Zeke, followed me upstairs and perched himself right by my side of the bed. He must've known I was apprehensive, because he usually vacates to the nearest vent and plops on top of it, so as to be the first recipient (blocker, really) of all the cold air. I was surprised to find that he stayed there by my side all night! After I got settled in the tangled snoogle mess, the baby and I played our first game of "kick for the winning name". I was giving pretty generous pauses after calling him by each name, and he consistently kicked for the second. Did not kick for the first. I do wonder whether that means he liked or disliked it. :) We will get there, and soon you will have a name, peanut.

Well, that's all for today! Back to work! I'd better enjoy it while I can!