The first "unofficial" ultrasound...

Here is our babies first photograph ;0) So precious and long overdue...I was devastated that Josh couldn't get the day off today to be there...thankfully my mother in law drove and hour north to take me and be there with me! The doctor that I saw today decided that he wanted to do an "unofficial" ultrasound just to "confirm" the pregnancy. We won't really have any more information until next Wednesday when we have an "official" ultrasound. The appointment was really quick so I really didn't find out much. I got to see both the profile pic and then when the Dr did the internal ultrasound he snapped the above pic of baby looking down. If you look close you can see the eyes and above the eyes are the two frontal lobes of the brain...you can kind of see the little fist in the lower part and the little legs tucked in. At one point I saw baby kick (or move) during the profile image. He said that it looks like the baby is measuring smaller than 17 weeks ...more than likely (from what he can tell "unofficially") he is guessing we're about 14 weeks. I'll let everyone know as soon as I find out Wednesday. Of course if we are only 14 weeks tomorrow we won't be able to find out the sex for another 3-4 weeks. If we are 17 weeks tomorrow then we'll find out Wed...(naturally I'm hoping we are really 17 weeks, I want to know! but...of course I'd be happy just to know our munchkin is healthy!!!)

Umm....

Do I look big for 16 weeks? I'm becoming more and more nervous, lol. I look at pics of other ladies around my stage in pregnancy and I'm noticing I look a bit larger than they do? Hmm...I really hope I get to hear the heartbeat soon so I can figure out if there are one or two in there!!! Twins run in Josh's family...they've skipped a couple generations and it's bound to happen again! I'd just really like to know...you know...mentally prepare for double duty....lol!

I need one of these...

I'm so going to make these when I have a baby shower...this is just too cute! Baby stuff is addicting!

JOY...

Jesus first

Others second

You last

I have no idea where or when I found this but I have had it for a long time, the other day it fell out of one of my books when I was cleaning. I thought I'd share...

Hope so far everyone is having a great week!

One and a half days until I get to see this little miracle wiggle around in my tummy! I'm so nervous because twins run in Josh's family and I'm still adjusting to the thought of having one baby...but I'm so excited! No matter what happens...we are blessed and thrilled to finally become parents.

I am still very humbled that GOD gave us this chance. I truly was not sure that it was ever going to happen this...while I hoped I'd get to experience pregnancy...I had managed to be at peace with the fact that no matter which way we'd create a family, it was special and part of GOD's perfect plan. It seems that when I finally stopped questioning GOD's will and timing and just trusted that it was perfect...our little miracle happened (and even if we hadn't gotten pregnant...it was still a great feeling to be at peace with GOD's will for our lives). Sometimes the only thing standing in our way is ourselves.

I think about how all of this came together and the timing, I definitely wouldn't have planned the last 5 months the way they played out...in January I was heartbroken that all of my hard work in school was basically useless....once again. I didn't have any idea what I would do or how this would ever work out. I certainly at that point didn't think "now would be a GREAT time to get pregnant" lol....jobless, majorless, confused mess. It makes me laugh now. I look back and I realize...everything is slowly coming together and though I still can't really see how GOD will make it all work in the future...I can certainly see that everything that has happened in the past....happened for a reason and he's taken care of us through it all :0)

Faith and Hope and Trust are all things we learn through perserverance...I don't know of anyone out there to whom these things come naturally. It's human nature to doubt, fear and not trust anyone but ourselves. Once we learn them though, it's amazing what they can do!

I'm sorry that I'm still so absent in the blogging world. I love you all dearly and think of you often. Everything has been good, but very busy. As I've mentioned, when I am home...I'm still pretty tired (and sick a lot too....but no worries....)although while you're going through it, you really don't feel like it...it's an honor to be able to experience it all. I'm not complaining by any means. I am, however, ready for that second trimester feel-good feeling ;0)

Getting started....

I know it's early, but since I'm hoping to furnish and decorate the nursery on a very small budget and mostly with used items...(well technically it's part of our bedroom...we're a little tight on space)...I wanted to start looking early so that I'd have enough time to find everything we need. As I've mentioned before, there isn't a whole lot around our area when it comes to used baby items. I lucked out last week though! We found a crib for $50 and the gentleman even gave us the changing table for free!!! I also decided since dressers are so expensive I'd buy a matching white shelf from Walmart (for $25) and buy some cute little baskets to put the baby's clothing in. It's pretty much the same idea and I can buy the kind of containers that allow me to add labels. My sister in law and her husband have also been kind enough to buy us some gifts early....she found some really nice items for a fraction of the price they are new. So we already have the crib, changing table, shelf (I'm buying this weekend), the bouncy seat (I think that's what it's called, lol....I'm new at this folks!) and the swing!!! I'll post better pics once it's all situated, for now it's in my living room...it's a disaster! Lol! ;0) My mom also bought several maternity outfits (which I'm just about to start wearing...I'm struggling to squeeze into my regular clothes).

Praise GOD we also FINALLY have the medical issues squared away and my first appointment will be next Thursday the 20th. Secretly I'm hoping since I'll practically be 16 weeks by then I'll get lucky and they'll just tell us whether we're having a little boy or a little girl. Wishful thinking, I know...but a girl can hope...right?! ;0)

I hope all of you are doing well!

Too cute...

I found this little gem at the Good will up the street from my apartment. When I showed it to Josh we both got a good chuckle out of it. We already have the photo planned for when this little one gets here!

BTW...you know you live in retirement central when you go to two different Good Will's in the area and you can't find but one little onesie...but if you're in the market for a cane, walker or golf clubs...there's quite a selection available! Lol!

No clever title for this one...

This post will be a mish mash of everything I suppose since it's been a little while since I've gotten on here.

I wanted to start with my "Sunday Scriptures" which somehow I always remember to think of and always forget to post until Monday....perhaps I should think about changing the title to "Monday Scriptures" ;0)

Luke 1:25
"The LORD has done this for me", she said, "In these days HE has shown HIS favor and taken away my disgrace among the people".

Most of you are probably very familiar with this part of Luke...for those who may not be....Elizabeth who was barren and getting up there in age, finally found out that she was with child (this child was John the Baptist...a great man in the bible who later lost his life because he stood up for what he believed in).

Anyway, the reason this one spoke to me so loudly this week is because (even though I'm not exactly getting up there in age) I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to have children of my own, at least not biologically. I had been praying about it for a very long time. Even when Josh and I first were married (and even prior to marriage) we had always talked about having children. We tried off and on for seven years and nothing ever happened. Part of me looking back is thankful for the time we had as just the two of us and realizes that there was definitely growth still required (spiritually) before taking on parenting....the biggest, most important job you'll ever have. As a Christian it becomes an even more challenging job because it's you against the world trying to teach that child what is right and what is wrong. To show that child Jesus in a world that would rather party hard now than to be bothered with religion. The reality of it has always weighed heavy on my heart but now that I'm pregnant it is so much more real and scary.


On to the next topic....I couldn't get an appointment to get an "official" pregnancy test until April 14th! Ah! Really?! I believe I'll be 10 weeks by then, lol! At least by the time they do the first Doctors visit they might as well do an ultrasound too, right?! I assume that'll be another two weeks later....
I am trying to be patient, it's just nerve wrecking....part of me wants to go run out and buy a test every day to make sure all is well, lol. I hope that crazy nervouseness subsides with subsequent pregnancies.


Some of you may have noticed the little pregnancy ticker at the top of the page....it says 8 weeks, not 6. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why it kept adding extra time to my pregnancy when I entered the info.... I guess I was calculating it up incorrectly. According to the book "What to expect when you're expecting" you add two weeks onto the time (counting from conception to now plus two weeks). Why they do it that way I don't know....but hey that gets me 2 weeks closer to being out of that first trimester! ;0)

Oh yeah...I almost forgot....lol. Remember when I was so sick that weekend? Thought I had the stomach bug? Yeah....that wasn't a stomach bug...it was a baby bug! Apparently I was already 4 weeks pregnant. It explains a lot. I couldn't figure out why I got sick so and Josh didn't and why the sight and smell and thought of a vanilla cake with home made buttercream frosting made me lose my dinner!!! Hahaha...jokes on me ;0)

My sister in law stopped by Friday and gave us some gifts! Very thoughtful and helpful. She gave us "What to expect when you're expecting", A Pregnancy journal, and a teddy bear and a couple of little clothing pieces! The book and journal are so helpful! It has explained a lot of things that were stressing me out a little. This little one is already very loved! My mom and sister are beyond excited too! ;0)

Other than that, I've pretty much been parked on the couch, napping and resting. In between I'll do chores....very slowly....and once I do one thing I feel like I need a nap all over again. I've been trying to get on here now and then to at least see what you guys are up too, I haven't been that great at commenting but I'll get back to it soon. Once things settle down again. The last few days I've been pretty nauseous so I have been even less eager to go and blog...

I hope that you are all doing well!

First belly pic...

Ok...so at nearly six weeks (this Friday) it's probably more bloating than baby but I figured I'd post the before pic for memories anyway. I definitely feel my clothes fitting differently and the other night before we even knew that we were pregnant Josh made a comment ...."honey, you must be really full!" Yes...he's a goober sometimes, but I love him dearly and he doesn't mean for these things to come out the way they do, lol....but they do! Thank GOD I know he doesn't mean them "that way"...lol. He felt really bad after I gave him "the look" and we both had a good laugh about it once we realized why I had looked so "full".

What's so strange to me is that up until about a week ago I wasn't having any symptoms at all. So far I've been fortunate enough not to have morning sickness (PLEASE GOD LET IT STAY THAT WAY!) I've mostly just felt extremely tired...but can't seem to sleep at night, crampy, emotional....had headaches, bloating (I guess...but what do I know...maybe it's all in my head) of course the boobs were sooooo very sore! Oh yeah...and I feel like I have to pee like every 15 minutes!

According to the research I've done online....baby has a heartbeat, eyes, ears and brain/nervous system are forming. It's crazy to think what's going on in there!!!