38 weeks and counting!

It has been way too long since I've posted...

School has ended (finally!) with Baccalaureate and YouthLeader both going off without a hitch! I'm so glad that I was able to make it through all of YouthLeader with next year's Peer Ministers. They are such a great group of kids and I can't wait to work with them next year.

On the baby front, everything looks good and on schedule. Baby's head is down and I'm still getting lots of movement. Braxton-Hicks contractions are a regular feature around here with a few real contractions thrown in but nothing regular. 2 weeks exactly until my due date, but we'll see when he wants to come! I'm all for him coming early, but Pat seems to think that he'll stay in until at least the 4th. Oh well, nothing I can really do about it, but that's not stopping me from eating spicy foods and moving around as much as possible.

I'm getting so excited about meeting our little boy! I can't wait to hold him, to kiss him, and learn all about this amazing person who we're being entrusted with. What an honor and blessing to be given the responsibility of raising one of God's own precious little ones. We pray every night for the grace to to our best and to love him the best we can.

We just can't wait.....

Baby Shower!

So, yesterday was the best surprise ever! Baby Boy's grandma-to-be's hosted an amazing baby shower for me! I was completely surprised and it was great to see so many people who have supported Pat and I throughout our relationship, marriage, and now parenthood! Crowning glory of the day was the grandma-to-be's wheeling in our STROLLER! It's so pretty!

So now that we have a carseat and the crib is in the nursery we can officially have this baby! Not that I want him to come this early, but if it happened, we could survive! Very exciting....

We were also honored to have all three of the great-grandma-to-be's present at the shower which is incredible given the distance that 2 of them had to travel. We're hopefully having dinner with Pat's parents and paternal grandmother tonight to take advantage of her being in town.

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend and to those who weren't you were there in spirit and we missed you!

Pneumonia?

So that cold / sinus infection has definitely moved into my chest and is making me cough up all sorts of nasty stuff. I'm trying to get an appointment with the doctor to get some relief, but the whole no bladder control and coughing thing is just not working out. Plus, I can't breathe very well with baby boy still sitting so high and all this gunk in my lungs.... So I'm waiting for a call back from the doctor to see what they can do!

Last day of Peer Ministry interviews..... these kids are just so amazing - making my decisions hard!

I just want to finish out the day strong and then get back to bed! Pray for me (us!)

32 weeks!

So..... 8 weeks to go before the little one arrives! I'm fighting a nasty cold / sinus infection which is seriously getting in the way of the little sleep I'm getting, but if that's the worst of the pregnancy woes I'll take it!

Pat and I are counting down the days until the Seniors are finished classes (5/14), exams (5/21) and graduated (5/29)! Hopefully once our kiddos are done than we can really starting mentally prepping for our own kid's arrival!

I read this great book on getting babies to sleep for 12 hours a night by 12 weeks of age last night. Aunt Erin gave it to me, and while we do hope to co-sleep for the first few weeks or so, getting him on a routine like this for when I go back to work would be fantastic as far as keeping all the different care-givers on the same track so that he has that stability.

I talked to my Principal today and he approved my plan to come back part-time in the fall (come into school only every other day that I teach) and to work from home the other days, and only have to take 1/2 a day of leave since I would still be doing my full job. I'm so glad that this worked out because I don't really have any other ideas about how to make it work. I mean I need to stay home at least a little bit come September but missing the whole 1st month with my Peer Ministers really wouldn't be good for them or the program in the long-term. I think that this is a solution that suites me, the programs I run, and doesn't really cost the school anything! YAY for compromises that work!

Week 28 Ultrasound!

So we had our 28 week ultrasound on Thursday! Baby Boy is growing! At 24 weeks he weighed 1 pound 8 ounces... and as of now he's 3 pounds 6 ounces! SUCH A BIG BOY! The doctor assured us that it's within normal range, but wow! I was born a month early at 3 pounds 10 ounces, so that sounds gigantic to me, but all in perspective. Plus it means that my thyroid condition isn't affecting his growth which is a blessing.

The pictures aren't as good this time because he wouldn't stop squirming around, but it was so good to see his face! Unless the OB sees a reason to send us back it looks like this will be our last ultrasound for the pregnancy... so no more pictures. BUT it means that's everything is good and we are all set to welcome our son into the world with no complications!

Pat continues to talk to him each night - which of course wakes the baby up and he starts kicking around... which means I can't sleep.... but it's so amazing to feel him that I don't mind too much!

It's amazing to think that in 3 months we are going to meet our son face to face! We can't wait!

20 and 24 week ultrasound pictures...

This is our baby boy at 20 weeks! It's too funny that the doctor put an arrow pointing to how we know it's a boy! And I love the thumbs up that he's giving us in the bottom one!





And this is our son at 24 weeks! It's amazing what technology and science can do! To see his little face! And that he already has hair!


We're looking forward to getting our 28 week pictures tomorrow! Pray that everything is still going great with mom and baby!

Here We go....

I've been wanting to chronicle the amazing life that God has given to me, but whenever I sat down to write in a paper journal I was always too scared to ruin the beautiful blank pages. (I have a slight addiction to paper products, in particular hardcover journals!) What if I didn't follow through on writing? What if I started with a theme or format and didn't continue? What if I messed up and then wanted to start over, but couldn't without ripping pages out - which would of course mess up the binding.....

So, I decided that digital was the way to go...

But then it seemed random to just begin one day... shouldn't there be some sort of inspiration or event that triggered this desire?

Well, now inspired by my Aunt Erin who asked if I was going to write about my experiences with our SOON-TO-BE-HERE son, I'm, starting!

I hope to reflect on the events of my life as a wife, mother, and teacher. I don't want to limit the topics or set up an unrealistic expectations. Rather, I want to be open to what I feel called to share each time I can. I'm not going to say that I'll write everyday or anything - I don't know what the future holds! However, I hope that through the act of writing itself, and sometimes reading my own reflections, that I can come to know, love, and serve God, my husband, and children better.

Wish me luck - I can't wait to see what the future holds!