30 weeks

Well- here I am down to single digit weeks left in my pregnancy and have I done weekly belly shots?

No.

Have I blogged through the changes and growth of our little one?

No. 

Well no since in focusing on what has not been done- here is an update! =)

How Far Along: 31 Weeks

Size of Baby: About 3.5 lbs and 16ish inches long 

Gender: Boy!! 

Name: We call him Little Dude because we are waiting till birth to reveal his name!! 

Maternity Clothes: I'm pretty sure I have been wearing maternity clothes since I got a positive test! =) The full panel pants and shorts I find more comfortable, unless I have a belly-band on (which are amazing)

Movement: He moves around a bunch at different times of the day. I love feeling him move: kick, punch, roll, stretch and especially respond to his daddy talking to him!

Cravings: I really have not had any serious cravings. There are times certain things sound good to me at certain times, which I guess would make it a craving... I am just not like crazed over it till I get it. I have enjoyed the fresh veggies of summer time and especially watermelon!! 

Medically: This pregnancy has been an adventure. I was told around 12 weeks that my thyroid needed to be managed with a prescription and I tested positive for Group B Strep. When it came time for my glucose test 2.5 weeks ago- I failed that and had to go in this past week for a three hour fasting blood drive! I was wondering if I was going to have any blood left! We will see those results soon!

Best Moment of the Week: Yesterday Mr.J and I took my sisters to Kings Fest. It is a tradition and though I didn't ride anything, it was fun hanging out and enjoying the day. One of the booths there was "Rock for Life" (a pro life booth we have enjoyed talking with and supporting over the last few years) This year they had casted rubber babies in the sizes and weights at different stages of pregnancy- 8 wks, 12 wks, 15 wks etc... The largest one they had was... 30 weeks!!! I cried picking it up and holding it close to my own little 30 weeker! The reality of meeting Little Dude flooded me as I felt him kick! My heart broke knowing little ones like him are aborted on a daily basis! I thank God for every day that I have had with him and look forward to all the others God has written for us!!!

This is the little 30 week baby; amazing to think Little Dude would be ok if he was born now- I just can't wait to meet him!!

whew!

i can not believe that i am almost half way through this pregnancy!
Life has been so busy and with my working as a seasonal farm hand, its going by so fast!
i am now 19 weeks- 20 on Friday! SO crazy!!!
    

                                        

i had been dreaming of seeing that word for so long i almost didnt believe it! =)

right after the test- shocked and excited!

this picture is how we told our families on Christmas day

zoomed in pic of our Peanut

red eyed from tears of joy!

 Below is my Favorite and i leaving the doctors office- SO excited!!

8 weeks and queasy most days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grand ambitions to take weekly shots with the chalkboard to document the progress... hasnt happened!

A dear friend at church is three months ahead of me- She is due in June with a little girl!!

We were able to get a surprise!
A non scheduled ultrasound to find out we are having a
Little Dude!
So excited and cant wait to meet him!! Dreams and prayers are already filled with thoughts of him and the man he will grow into. Watching my sister with her boys, and soon to be daughter, i know it goes by fast! i am enjoying every moment i have with my Little Dude! i look forward to meeting him, smelling him, loving on him, teaching him, growing with him and living life with him! Mr. J and i are so incredibly blessed with our Little Dude already! i thank God daily for him!!

i will do what i can to take more pictures and belly shots! We will be around, and getting round-er! =)

from the last blog post

i have no excuse for my not blogging. Sure there are plenty that sound good to my ears, but they fall in vain to the ground of no one cares to hear them. 

MUCH has happened since my last post. . . 

And by much, i mean a whole person much!

YEP! Mr. J and i are pregnant!!!!

We found out two days before Christmas and with family in from out of town, we HAD to tell them!! Mr. J wanted to wait till after our first doctor's appointment, but i just couldnt! i needed to have that support group of prayers and encouragement around, and the way i got hit with morning sickness, i would not have been able to keep it a secret from those closest to me!

Our first appointment was Monday January 19! Such an exciting and nerve wracking day! With everything that was in me, i wanted to be excited, but the fear of what happened the last time i sat in that doctor's office was crippling me! Mr. J was so sweet and compassionate- in the parking lot before going in, we prayed: just thanking GOD for the little life we already loved SO much!

The midwife i saw was the same who went through my last pregnancy with me. She was super excited to see me back and we went straight back for the ultrasound. It was the moment of truth

-Did i trust GOD in all things, especially the life He was knitting in me?!

When the screen first came to life, the midwife goes,
"Oh look there's the sack,..." 
The screen showed an empty sack- 
NO baby! 
My heart literally stopped! 
"No wait, that's your bladder..." needless to say she is NOT an ultrasound Tech and did not know how to manipulate the machine properly. When at last she did find the sack there was our little Peanut! MY heart swelled and the tears streamed! We had already more baby this time than we did with Enoch. We got to see and hear the heart beat and the peace that filled me was like none other!

Two weeks later the midwife wanted to see me again. Just to make sure things still looked good and the baby was growing on target. 
i will be to the first to say those were the longest two weeks of my life! i had days of extreme morning sickness (that did not limit itself to the morning) and days of fear and anxiety like i have never known before. Those days i tried praying, focusing on scripture and truths in the Word- it was a battle that God had already won, but i had to fight through. With warriors fighting with me, i made it, but there are still moment of doubt and twinges of fear. 

-Did you know you will still have cramps when you are pregnant and they dont always mean miscarriage?!

-Did you know that you can throw up everything you put in your mouth and still get sick, even when there is NOTHING LEFT?!

-Did you know that more changes in your body than just sporting a babybump? (which by the way has JUST started to show)

-Did you know that you can be having a normal conversation and then burst into tears for NO known reason?!

-Did you know that anything that once made you teary, suddenly makes you WEEP?!

Anyways- the second appointment my mom was able to come with me. The ultrasound showed a growing, big baby!! They already have arms and legs, the heart beat was stronger and they were moving around!! Again the waterworks flowed and my heart praised God in heaven for this little miracle! 

i can not describe the journey i have already been on with this little one. . . nor can i fathom what is left in store! i CANT believe that the second trimester is not far away and i am already a third of the way through!
Prayers would be appreciated as Mr. J and i try to figure out the steps we need to take: medically, financially, and locationally... (in the process of looking for a house amidst all this excitement!)

i will post again soon with pictures of the last couple of months- because lets be honest, thats what MOST people like best about a blog, right? =)

shoot

yes, i am still alive.

my blogging goals and ambitions have been so far on the back burner that i almost could not reach them anymore!
almost.

so much has happened in my life the last several months that i shall spend the next six months trying to catch up and then be that much further behind.

i will skip all that.
instead, how about fun little bullet points and if anything sounds interesting and you would like to hear more about it, let me know in the comments and i will post about it!

(dashes work for bullet points, right?)

- house hunting: looking, applying for mortgage, offers and rejections
- a move
- housesitting jobs
- work
- beach trip

one of the things i will write about today is an adventure i went on this past Saturday.
my dear friend  said i could tag-a-long on an engagement photo shoot she had scheduled. i love taking pictures and would love to improve my skills- after Saturday i think it is safe to say that i dont have any skills.
an interest doesnt count. i want to get better and that is lesson number one i learned!

since i didnt know the couple i wont write a lot about them- they were a very sweet couple, easy to talk to and easy to take pictures of, if i could get the settings right on my camera! =(
oh well, i do want to put up some of my favorite pictures, just because they are mine and i like a couple of them, even if they are not all that clear and sharp.
(plus editing them is always fun and that made some look a little better!)

meet Brandy and Robert

                           

 

 this is one of my favorites! i love how it turned out!

these are the same picture and i cant decide which i like better-

 the original on the left
              or
                the edited on the right

... thoughts?

 i wont post all my mess-ups, in fact i deleted most of them. i just wanted to show what i want to learn not to do! i kept this one for reminders sake: he was whispering, she was giggling- very cute and natural. low lighting, bad setting and i get blurred vision! total bummer!!!

oh well- hope to be around the blogging world more often, till next time. . .

Reminder

"Love these boys God loaned me"

This phrase was written as part of a status for a friend of mine on Facebook. 

It has been a rough few weeks for me- emotionally, physically and spitually- and when I read this, I got a little teary-eyed.

My sister told me something similar when I was going through my hellish week a year ago. She said, "they [our babies] aren't really ours- we have to let them go and give them back to God, even from the very beginning" 

I want to trust God and His timing and all those wonderful things I've heard thousands I times- but I will tell you, it's been and is hard!

He knows how badly Mr.J and I want to have lots of kids to love on and raise in godliness and truth. 

Maybe one day that will happen. Hopefully soon...

But whenever it is, I hope to remember that they are on "loan" and to treasure the moments with thanksgiving to the One who holds us all!

Happy Birthday!

My dear little one,

Has it really been a year? Where has the time gone? Some days it seems to be much longer than a year- and other days it seems just like yesterday!

I love and miss you so very much! Each day my heart gets stronger as I learn to trust more in the Father you have spent so much time with! I'm sure this has been the best year of your life! ;)  

(Your momma can be a bit dorky)

There are things that surround me of your brief life with us- things I look at to celebrate you and thank God for the time with you! I am learning how precious life is and value each breath I am given. 

I thought maybe God would give me some siblings for you- but His timing has not been mine. He is faithful and good, and knows JUST what He's doing!

I look at this world and all it's mess- and think of all you were spared from. Who knows, it may not be long before we meet, and can spend life together worshiping our Creator!

My dear Enoch, today I celebrate you- my heart is heavy in thinking back to having to say goodbye, and yet at the same time, I have joy and peace this day. Each month there is a twinge of grief all over again, and I have to trust God on another level. He is holding me, just as He is you my son. It's a wonderful place to be.

I will always miss you.

I will always love you.

I will always be your momma, and 

you will always be my Baby Mine.

Happy Birthday Enoch!

Lessons from Ellie

If you don't know Ellie, then let me introduce you to her.

Ellie is spunky, a little of the girl next door, gonna hold no punches back and be the best friend you always wanted. 

She is a big dreamer and loves life and all the little adventures that it brings. 

Now as a wife there are things I have learned from Ellie...

1) She never puts her husband down- even joins in on his "blunders" making it an enjoyable memory instead of a moment of tension....

2) She works beside her husband-

Fixing up their house...

At the zoo in an area that was their passion...

On decorating in a way that was so "them"

And on household chores.

3) Ellie dreamed with Carl - 

Seeing potential in the mundane...

On all the sights they wanted to see together...

And all the places they wanted to go together...

And in growing together...

4) She sought comfort from Carl in the midst of dreams not coming true... 

(This part always makes me cry b/c it hits so close to home)

5) Though their dreams changed a little, they still enjoyed life together- In just being together...

6) She stayed with him in sickness...

And in health... 

In quiet times...

And in times of frustration...

7) She was the wife of his youth,

And his bride till the end...

They danced through life as one...

Laughing along the way...

I know that Carl and Ellie are not real. But their story was thought up and woven together with real life struggles most couples face.

As a wife I have a choice as to how I am going to respond to my Mr.J... 

If I choose to be bitter and allow little things to frustrate me, or wallow when my dreams don't come true- then I would miss some really great moments with my man!

"Adventure is out there!" - what kind will you have?

To see Carl and Ellie's life in under five minutes, click the link- just be ready to cry!

http://youtu.be/F2bk_9T482g