35 & 2/7

Two novels read... Check

20 + magazines read... Check

Multiple visits/phone calls from family and friends... Check

6 episodes of The OC watched... Check

Thank-you's written...Check

2 blog entries...Check

Evenings spent with one excited Daddy-to-be...Check

Lounging around the house with one spoiled puppy named Maya...Check

Taking medication every 4 hours around the clock to control contractions...Check

Endless hours spent with my hands on my belly feeling my little boy move all around...Check

Multiple prayers gone up to God...Check.

Day 12 of bedrest...Check

One little boy remains in utero because of the above...Check

Would I trade any of it for the world? Never.

Today marks 35 weeks and 2/7ths pregnant. (Believe me when you are on bedrest, EVERY single day counts) Hence the 2/7ths part :) We had an apt yesterday in Orange City and I've never been more excited to be able to leave the house. The fresh air and sunshine were delicious. I soaked it all in. Everything looked good at the apt, bedrest and medication are working. Dr is hoping to keep him in there at least another 7-10 days.

Our little boy is the master of hiccups. He has them at least daily but typically 2-3 times a day sometimes for 10 minutes at a time. We even got to hear them a few times on the monitor when we were in the hospital. Since I have hours to just lay around lately I caught him having the hiccups and being active on video. I know I am going to miss my days of feeling him hiccup and move all around once he is born so I'm cherishing them now. The video is like 2 minutes long, you can see the jolts of hiccups the entire video and there are some movements and kicks in there as well. (There's a pretty good "kick" around minute 1:27 of video on the right side of my belly)Enjoy!

We appreciate all the support and love we have been shown and covet your prayers that things will continue to go smoothly.

Love is in the Air

Today I feel spoiled. Spoiled because I get to soak in Valentine's Day with my two favorite boys. The younger of the two proved to be a little too anxious to come out and meet Mommy & Daddy as we had to go to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday due to preterm labor. Thanks to a smart Dr, competent nurses, an ultrasound, medication, and bedrest he has remained right where he needs to be for at least another 12 days (hopefully longer).

I am on day 7 of bedrest and am surviving. When the hours get too long and stir crazy is a complete understatement I just remember that as his Mommy I am the only one who can help him remain in the "oven" longer by staying off my feet and taking medication every 4 hours. I shouldn't say I'm the only one, I know God is in ultimate control of our little boy.

The Mr. has really stepped his game up around the house, despite it being his busiest time of year with tax season. (Who am I kidding, he's seriously always this helpful bedrest or no bedrest) One of his many great attributes :-)

I'm trying to use this time to "rest" before the little makes his big arrival because I've been told several times there will be no resting afterwards. I love that I get to pay more attention to every little hiccup and movement he makes because with just laying around I notice it easier.

The nursery is now completed as the excited Daddy-to-be put up the much anticipated tree.

I can just picture him all cozied up in his crib and I can't wait!

**We have definately felt the love of many people who have offered prayers, visited, called, and brought meals. We are overwhelmed with the support we've been shown by family, friends, co-workers and our church. How amazing to feel so cared for and loved. Thank you so much everyone!**

Happy Valentine's Day!

58...

The number I saw on our thermostat when I got home from work today. Cold Frigid.

Maya's fur sort of "crunched" when I went to pet her. Poor dog.

Got me to thinking.

My heart has felt a little less than warm lately too.

Typically you will find mostly upbeat/funny/happy things posted here, but I guess I'm taking this whole "blogging" thing to a new level. It's all about being real and being relatable (right?)

February 15 marks one year since loosing our first child to a miscarriage at 12 weeks gestation. 11 weeks ago marks having to lay to rest our precious and much loved nephew Jude at 28 weeks gestation. The two hardest things I've ever experienced.

The "sting" of death still rears it's ugly head at times. Don't get me wrong here. I know our little one as well as Jude are in heaven in the arms of Jesus and we will get to see them again in heaven which is the best place for them but sometimes... it still just plain hurts.


My heart aches for having to say good-bye before hello. My heart aches for never getting to rock our little angel to sleep. Never getting to see or kiss his/her face. My heart aches that our little boy will not grow up next door to his cousin Jude, and I don't get to spoil him as his aunt. My heart aches for Jude's Mommy & Daddy. Sometimes I find myself worrying more than I care to admit about our little boy growing inside me right now. Blame pregnany hormones. Blame certain circumstances. Blame whatever you like.

Faith - defined as "belief that is not based on proof"

Trust - defined as "confident expectation of something; hope"

I asked a dear friend today how to combat worry. Her answer - prayer.

So pray is what I plan to do. Today I'm praying God helps me to have real faith and trust in Him. And I'm gonna pray with my hands on my belly feeling our little one (who now officially has a name, yes we decided!) kick all around. I'm praying prayers of thanksgiving that I get to enter this whole new adventure of parenthood with my best friend who I fall more in love with everyday. I'm also praying for Wade & Alissa as they pursue something God has placed on both of their hearts, adoption. Will you please pray too?

Romans 8:26-28 The Message
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

Stretch Marks and Split Pants

I swore I would never complain about any pregnancy related symptoms. After all it's been almost one year since we lost our first child at 12 weeks gestation and went through not only a tramatic emotional situation but also a tramautic physical situation ending up in the ER because of hemorrhaging.

I can remember after loosing our first child just dwelling on what a miraculous thing pregnancy

was and wishing I could back and soak in those 'wonderful' pregnant feelings (aka morning sickness, extreme fatigue, not being able to button my pants, you get the idea) that I only got to experience for a short 12 weeks.

Now, here I am having to reach for the keyboard, typing away at almost 8 months pregnant. TUMS could be considered a food group on my pyramid. Rolling over in bed is a 5 point turn, seriously. My wedding ring only fits on days that the temperature reads in the "below zero" range. My mid section, butt, and thighs continue to expand. I officially have stretch marks on my sides. I don't recognize my own belly button. I've never seen such a high number on a scale I've been standing on. My work wardrobe is getting very limited. Good thing I checked the back of my hair the other day before leaving for work because I found my hair looked fine but I had a sort of "stress fracture" in the butt of my pants...leaving my underwear quite visible. That was story #1 of splitting pants. Sad to say, there is already a story #2 of splitting maternity pants... I will spare you or should I say spare myself the embarrasing details. Brady tells me it's because the pants were made out of a type of elastic and it's "not like I split a pair of thick jeans"

Thanks honey, it's good to know I will always be beautiful to you, split pants, stretch marks and all.

Our little boy is growing inside of me. I get to feel his every movement, every hiccup. He is with me every minute of every day. The moral here is that I wouldn't trade anything I mentioned above for anything in the entire world. It's all part of becomming a Mommy and I feel so blessed God chose me to be his Mommy. I plan on fully soaking in the beauty (and occasional pain) that comes a long with these last 8 weeks.

A much more exciting note - we welcomed this beautiful new niece into the family Friday January 21, 2011. She came just one day before her actual due date.

Meet Miss Paityn Joy. 7 lb 5oz, 20 inches long and perfect. She will be loved on much by her two big sisters Taylor and Bailey. I'm so proud to be her aunt. I can't wait to see her and our lil guy grow together being only a couple months apart.

Have a good week and stay warm!

Holiday Recap

Obviously I'm a little late for my "holiday blog post" but here it goes anyway

*Christmas 2010

We had a wonderful Christmas and I realized that there's nothing quite like waking up to

Kicks on Christmas Morning

...kicks that bring with them the anticipation, joy, and dreams of new life...

Despite the business of running from party to that party, we really were able to enjoy family and friends and celebrate the true reason for the season. It was a beautiful Christmas and I can't wait for our little one to experience it first hand come next year.

*New Years 2011

Brady and I rang in the New Year with our much anticipated

Omaha "Babymoon" getaway

This weekend was a much-needed weekend away and we had an amazing time with just the two
or shall I say three of us :) We bought the last "big items" for our little boy's nursery and can't wait to get everything arranged just so.

*Baby Update

Our favorite "Christmas present" of all was the follow up ultrasound we had of our little boy on December 28. He is growing well and was actually measuring ahead of schedule. We were able to see his precious face and to say it brought tears to my eyes is a definite understatment. We praise God for our little one and can't wait to meet him in a couple months.

I think he looks just like his Daddy already and I'm so in love...

Blizzard Bliss

This weekend was supposed to be our buy-baby-stuff-plus-finish Christmas-shopping-Omaha-getaway. In preparation the house was cleaned Thursday and Friday night was spent getting everything ready. In the way back of our minds we knew there was a chance of some "weather"but we remained positive and hopeful of going. We woke up Saturday morning, Brady looked out the window and said "Yeah... we probably aren't going anywhere" This was confirmed when he took a little drive across town and couldn't see a thing.

Thanks to the gail-force winds and 9+ inches of snow, travel was not advised to say the least.

The bummed feeling didn't last too long as I was once again spoiled by my chef-husband making me a delicious home made breakfast that seriously puts Perkin's to shame :-) He's the best.

Despite "no travel advised" thanks to 4-wheel drive and my non-scaredy-cat-husband I did make it out to my parent's house to enjoy some Christmas baking with my Mom and Sister. The morning and early afternoon were spent making marshmallow balls dipped in caramel and rice krispies, ritz cracker frosting cookies dipped in almond bark, holiday wreath treats, sugar cookies, and star cookies to name a few. We had a little mishap with the garage door somehow being left open for quite some time which resulted in a blizzard in my parent's garage and a few choice words being thrown. It's funny now.

I will admit it.

I had a nostalgic feeling that afternoon.

My Mom, Sister, and I were scurrying around in the kitchen licking out batter bowls, nibbling on some left over chocolates while finishing up with baking and cleaning. My sister and I failed to keep our growing baby bumps clean as they somehow got cookie batter all over them. My Dad, brother in law Lee and Brady were all having some male-bonding time watching TV in the living room.

That's when the feeling overcame me. The "all-the-stars-are-perfectly-aligned-and-life-is-oh-so-good-be-sure-to-take-it-all-in" feeling. I couldn't help but think, this has to be exactly what God had in mind when he designed families. The blizzard somehow took away the normal hustle-bustle of everyday life and we were forced to get back to basics. This resulted in a day I will remember for years to come, a day where I felt incredibly blessed with the hand-picked family God gave me.

Brady and I did venture back home again and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening bundled up staying warm and cozy on the couch. Words can't describe how much I loved being snowed in with my two favorite boys and sweet puppy Maya. It was a lazy, relaxing day full of taking naps and sipping on hot cocoa and munching on freshly made goodies.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my life?

Turns out being snowed in was just as fun, if not more fun than our planned getaway.

What I Love About You

already.

You give me a reason to constantly be smiling.

Feeling your kicks, swooshes, and rolls in my tummy makes your Mamma's heart giddy (and Daddy's too!)

You are my constant reminder of how fragile, precious, and beautiful life is.

You have caused your Mommy & Daddy to fall even more in love.

You make me dream baby boy. Will you have dimples like Daddy? Will you love chocolate as much as your Mommy? I can't wait to meet the person God created you to be.

Pictures by 'Picture This Photography'