Baby got a bed!

Okay, so a few weeks ago we had a belated wedding gift given to us in the form of a check(Praise JESUS!), and were able to purchase our crib and mattress! Then we ordered our bedding and received it today!!! We found it on a super sale at Baby Supermall...with free shipping and couldn't resist going ahead and getting it. If you haven't seen that site you have to go check it out.

Today, with the help of grandma's and great grandma's we also became the proud owners of a matching dresser that will also function as our changing station (it matches the bed)! Yeehaw! That should be getting here maybe in the next week and half or so...hopefully :) Until then, we'll be waiting and organizing the babe's clothes as much as possible...getting everything ready to chunk in those drawers when they show up!

I think all we're missing to our cozy "Baby nook" is a super comfy chair and ottoman...and we're good to go! We've already got our stroller and diaper bag so we can even take him SHOPPING! :) Billy can't wait for us to get the Baby Bjorn portable crib. We just can't get over how light weight and easy it is to travel with. It will be a breeze when we go make our lengthy stays to Nana's house in California! :)

We've been SO BLESSED by all the friends and family helping us out with all the cute clothes, blankets, towels/washcloths, bath stuff, etc...it's been WONDERFUL thank you! There is still more celebrations to come and we can't wait! This is a blast for us! This boy is going to be so spoiled and loved and we are grateful for the blessing of pure unadulterated love and help from all those around us while we go through this awesome new phase of our lives.

While I'm saying thank you, I have to brag a little on my awesome sister-in-laws!

First, Winnie (in Boston) hand crocheted a beautiful cream blanket for the baby. We were so blessed and surprised by it, and I'm almost afraid to use it it's so nice! Then, we received a special delivery in the mail from my bro and sis in law (I'm sure she had more to do with it than he did, lol, thanks Lin!) they went online to our registry (in Africa) and found the super soft and silky blanket that goes with our bedding!

THEN my in-town sis in law, Rachel, sent me the sweetest email offering to be my "Merry Maid for a day!" I couldn't beleive she would think of such a thing, and can't wait to see the town home when she's done with it! I'm so grateful to these ladies for thinking of us, and being so incredibly thoughtful. We love you all!

36 weeks...

I've got a little "Baby Love" for my Baby "B".....Billy took these last night :)

Oh the Irony

We’ve had many inquire as to what we shall be naming our son…and to all of them, we’ve answered “we’re waiting until we meet him”. Ironically, that very response sparked 3 very, VERY similar stories in 3 un-related families. We were amused.

#1 My cousin Melissa.
For the duration of her pregnancy, we were all convinced she would be naming her son "Matthew". Now, don’t get me wrong, she never officially announced that would be his name or anything, but because this baby was such a special child, who came after many prayers for children, they wanted him to be Matthew meaning a “gift of God”.

On the day he was born, Melissa and Michael looked at their newborn baby and realized he wasn’t a Matthew. They spent hours after the birth reading name books and discussing the issue at hand. Michael had a favorite book of the Bible, and the both loved that name.

Therefore on that day, their son was named JEREMIAH.

You can imagine our surprise, when we received text messages announcing the birth, wondering who in the world was our cousin Jeremiah?

#2 My friend Pam-maw.
Pam and John were pregnant with their 3rd child, and only son. They didn’t have a name for him before he was born. They wanted it to be perfect and God-given and so they waited for his birth to decide. After the birth, they spent many hours in the hospital, praying and believing for the perfect name.

24 hours after his birth, their son was named JEREMIAH.

#3 My co-worker.
We have a few younger guys who show great interest in my pregnancy at work. They frequently ask me how I’m feeling and recently one of them asked if we had picked out a name. When I gave him our “usual” response, he told me his own story.

His parents were pregnant with him, and had decided on “Nehemiah” for a name. While they were in the hospital, after he was born, they changed their minds, and waited several hours to name him because it just didn’t “feel right”.

On that day, their son was named JEREMIAH.

Seems like everyone who waits to name their son ends up with JEREMIAH! I don’t know what name we’ll end up with, but we did realize when God speaks something specific, we should be listening. LOL, for now, we’ll just call him “Baby B”.

*Priceless*

Concerning childbirth-

"Mom's should have a zipper. But then they would play with it"
~David, 5 yrs.

Sickness and Disease

With our due date a little under 5 weeks away, Billy and I ventured over to the hospital for a little hospital cafeteria food....AND our birthing classes. :) They were jam-packed into 1 long weekend. We learned SO MUCH! I mean, we’ve had friends who’ve told us what to expect (like 4, 000 different stories too), but to hear and see the actual event taking place made it even that much more real. I’ve seen Baby Story a thousand times, but it’s almost always high-risk deliveries, and they’re usually edited to the max anyway.


The instructor said that people always seem to be confused when ladies have “hospital births” mixing them up with all the other patients who come with SICKNESS and DISEASE. She said “pregnancy is not a SICKNESS”, and “You don’t have a DISEASE”. It was a good reminder that we were born for this! God made the female body to carry this child through 40 weeks of miraculous formation, and we were made to birth these children as naturally as possible! It was empowering. I leaned over to my “support person” a.k.a husband, and said “I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROARRRRRR!”


Lamaze has gotten away from their stereotypical “hee-hee-hooo’s” in breathing, and really made some efforts to teach women to find their very most natural and comfortable way of deeply or shallowly breathing in order to stay calm and relaxed. We got to practice those techniques and figure out what works best for us. It was fun. It reminded me of my vocal warm ups before a big singing competition or concert…if you can really use your diaphragm and breathe right, you relax and stretch the rest of your body, just like you would your vocal chords.


We also had some fun with pilates balls, handheld relaxation tools, and music. We learned several ways we can use a squatting bar, or our partner for support and counter-pressure. It was great and helpful and now I’m not nearly as anxious about what to expect. We have quite a few options to be really active during labor if we want to be. I’m really gonna’ TRY to stay as un-medicated as possible (please pray for me, lol). I’m not ruling it all out, and won’t feel like a failure if I end up asking for a little epidural action, but I am doing my best to go meds free…it’s better for the baby, and I know it’s a much better recovery for me too.


I think my biggest fear and anxiety before was the claustrophobic feeling I might experience with the medical staff being too darn invasive, or cords keeping me tied to my bed, or the potential use of drugs that may keep me from feeling much of my body…but now that this boy’s dropping a little, and I’m breathing better and more naturally again, and now that I have so much more information on what my options to relax and be focused on the right things are, the more I think I’ll be just fine.

All in all, I can do this! I AM WOMAN AND I WAS MADE FOR THIS!

The Macho Myth

This was our devotional from today, and I thought it was very shareable. It had EXCELLENT insight, and I love the way they expound on what appreicating really means. At the very end, when it asked the quesion, Billy answered it for me and said "Um, that would be on the last blog post, marked January 19th" lol. Read for yourself, and take a li'l truth from the WORD today....


The Macho Myth
by Barbara Rainey

Ephesians 5:33 Let the wife see to it that she respect her husband.

One day Dennis gave me a list of what he considered to be the needs most men have:
· Self-confidence in his manhood;
· To be listened to;
· Companionship;
· To be needed sexually by his wife;
· To be accepted and respected.

Counselors and pastors would give you similar lists, based on their experiences. And you know what this tells me? The "macho man"-self-contained, independent and invulnerable-is a myth.
To bolster Dennis's confidence, I try to encourage him by being his best friend. Every husband wants his wife to be on his team, to coach him when necessary, but most of all to be his cheerleader. A husband needs a wife who is behind him, believing in him, appreciating him and cheering him on as he goes out into the world every day.

The word "appreciate" means to "raise in value." When I give Dennis words of praise and encouragement, I raise his value, not only in his eyes but in mine as well, and that builds his confidence as a man.

The psychologist William James said, "The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated."

And Charles Swindoll adds this: "We live by encouragement and die without it. Slowly, sadly and angrily."

When is the last time you told your husband you appreciated him?

A Mighty Good Man

WARNING: IN THIS POST, YOU MAY EXPERIENCE SOME SLIGHT GUSHING :)

I was just sitting here thinking about how thankful I am to have Billy in my life and wanted to share :). He is the husband God had planned from the beginning, and I see it more and more all the time.

He has been such a trooper through this whole change of life called pregnancy, as he has watched his newlywed life change and his brand new wife EVOLVE into a rounder-figured, hearburn ridden, early nighter, poor housekeeper of a woman.

Last week I could have sworn it was my birthday or something! On Wednesday, a shopworker came barging in with a delivery of beautfiul live orchids! I was speechless. I thought, what are we celebrating? Turns out he didn't need any celebration to send them! It was my first "married AND preggo flowers" and the card nearly made me cry as Billy said he had admiration for the strength I've shown during this pregnancy. Wow! Strength? I didn't feel like I was being strong at all! I whine about not being able to bend over well, or having my random "one hiccup", or putting my shoes on and having to constantly be grunting, or falling asleep as soon as I lay down no matter what time it is, or getting leg cramps in the night and nerve pains in the day...but yet...he admires me??

The next day....he found out I wanted to go to a concert downtown with the Symphony and Peter Cetera (former Chicago lead singer), so he BOUGHT TICKETS! We had such a fun and crazy night, nearly missing the first half after I had to fly through rush hour Friday traffic, and get home to find out we didn't have enough time to really "go out" for dinner....so we settled for Taco Bell! LOL!!

We felt like highschoolers at a prom night or something....all dressed up and then fast food for dinner! He spilled his burrito on his tie and we had to wash it off as good as possible...but yet we still laughed for the rest of the ride like giddy schoolboys/girls....then we couldn't find the parking garage....and once we did, we had to park at the top. I decided to venture out and wear my heels that night *bad idea* and as we FINALLY approached the concert hall, Billy remembered he left HIS WALLET in the car, and our tickets were at will call *and we potentially needed his id to pick them up*.

Fortunately, they didn't need his ID so we were totally fine without the wallet, and we made it after just missing a few songs...

But seriously....it was funny. Some people would have been stressed to THE MAX after a night like that, and it's times like those I realize how much we really are MADE FOR EACH OTHER!

To top off my BIRTHDAY-LIKE WEEK TO REMEMBER...I decided to be frugal and make my own New Years cards this year. He didn't want me to smell the fumes of the adhesive, so he spent 3 very COLD nights in our garage watching King of the Hill & Kung fu Panda on a portable dvd player while he spray glued 300 cards for me!!!

All I can say is, my husband is MY HERO! He makes me laugh at normal little things, and reminds me to ease up when I get too serious about life. I know he's going to make such a great dad, because he already takes great care of his kids mom!

P.S. He told me to say he has big muscles too

Baby Cubes

...that's what Billy jokingly said I should call this blog :)

After spending the entire day (8-3) at the doc's office yesterday, we decided to reward ourselves with a 4D Sonogram package! It was the final week we could do it, and we had plenty of time in between my "poking sessions" with the lab lady. The baby was so funny, we couldn't get him to move his hands out of his face for the ENTIRE TIME! We tried two different attempts a few hours apart, and they nudged and rolled me around begging him to move. So for now, we have a right profile view along with his hands, and feet, and umbulical cord, all of which he has grown very fond of :) In the bottom pic, he looks like he's praying with his hands folded, and we watched him pull that foot up into view as she took the pic. So cute, really acting like a baby.

Wash on-Wash off

Billy and I were fortunate to be given a Maytag washer and dryer when we first moved in/got married....needless to say, after 28 YEARS they had their fair share of use and I think we just pooped them out! They died on us this past weekend...and just in time....because today Billy got his bonus so we got to buy new ones!!! Check them out! (*Ours are in white)


I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Ours was so much fun being our very first together! Christmas Eve at Mom's is always fun, we got to see family and friends and eat great food togeether! We have this family tradition of opening 1 gift that night....it's almost always been pajamas! This year, she kept the tradition alive, and added Billy and Rachel to the list....just as we were all opening our pj's, Brian and Lin called from Africa! The timing was perfect! It was like they were with us sharing the family moment :) We figured since none of us would be staying with mom this year, we would go ahead and let her "feel" like we were...so we all put our p.j.s on! It was hilarious! I wish I had a picture to show you! After a few minutes, Rachel and I looked at each other and realized we still had guests over, lol.....I asked, "do you feel kind of weird in pajamas?" and she said "yeah, I just realized....what were we thinking?!".

Christmas morning was so much fun to wake up in our own place, with our own tree and our own presents! I told my co-workers that Santa, I mean, Billy was a good listener for Christmas :) He gave me some very fun (and comfy) maternity lounge wear, sweaters/shirts, pajamas, some GREAT shoes, and a BEAUTIFUL diaper bag that all the girls wanted to buy 'cause it was the only one the store had recieved in stock :) He had it hanging on the stroller Christmas morning for my surprise!

He said I spoiled him, but I just had such a great time getting him things he will never buy for himself! I think every single item he wore Christmas day was new! Lol! He had fun with his "toys' (a.k.a a Milwaukee Sawzall and huge hellicopter) and then we headed over to mom's place to eat a late Christmas lunch with the family. The baby was given a few gifts....some sports onesies and socks from Uncle Aaron & Aunt Rachel and a DIAPER GENIE from mom and dad (they don't have their grandparent names picked out yet)! We pretty much spent the rest of the weekend chilling out and enjoying our time off. I was actually fighting a cold most of the week...so it was great to get some rest and try and feel better again. This weather is freaking my body out!
Baby B has been SO ACTIVE and now we can see him move from the outside! It's WILD! Last night I laid a bottle of baby oil flat on my tummy, and it was rocking back and forth! I guess that's a good sign....he's growing! Tomorrow, I have to take the 3 hour glucose tolerance test to make sure I'm not going to be dealing with gestational diabetes (this is round 2 of tests). We're praying they rule it out this time-for good! Please say a prayer if you think of us.

Oh, and regarding my last post, thank you ladies for all the sciatica advice! I had a sneaky suspicion that's what the problem was..as I had experienced similar pains in my "younger days" during a couple of all-nighter video-editing sessions. Thankfully, my cousin (a licensed chiropractor) showed up at my parents Christmas Eve bash this past week, and gave me a full out adjustment! It was WONDERFUL and I haven't had any of the major sharp zings since!

On my Nerves

This poor innocent son of mine is getting on my nerves.....literally! I yelled out many times when I got up to walk around at work today, and would get caught mid-stride just trying to make myself breathe through this awful "zinging" pain. It's in my lower left back....and boy it's a doozie! Does anyone have any remedies? Poor baby needs his room to grow but I'm just a little person!

Christmas Time is Here!

Billy and I finally got ourselves a first tree! After we made our selection, a really sweet man helped us tie the tree up, and showed great dedication to the task. Ole' Blanca (our car) got to prove how strong she was carrying that tree on her back :)

Then tough Billy got to prove how strong HE was by carrying it on HIS back! See how tough he is?! LOL, just smile and nod :)

It happened to be a really cold night too, so we had our very first real fire in the fireplace. While he worked long and hard on beating the wood to "kindling" pieces, I pretty much got-to-it decorating that sucker with all kinds of fun new picks and sticks and ornaments and lights and bows.

SEEEEEEEE!

It was so fun and smelled up the whole room to have a REAL tree in our living room!

Here's Billy's pretty fire in our first home together:)

We hung our new stockings on our "NOEL" and "PEACE" hooks, and we bought our "JOY" baby one for next year...hard to believe he'll be 9 months old by then!!!

Playing Ketchup

When I was a little girl, if someone said they had to “play catch up”, I always pictured a red ketchup packet in my mind. It wasn’t until I was in junior high that I realized that I was playing volleyball, not “volleyVALL”. Funny how kids perceptions can be so far off from reality…

Anywho….for many weeks now, I have intended to update you folks on life. Every time I had a good idea for a posting, I’d wait for a break in my work day and realize, the only thing I honestly wanted to do in that moment was PUT MY FEET UP! Which meant….no typing, cause I can hardly breathe enough as it is, much less with my feet up and a keyboard in my lap :)

So, here are some snippets from the recent exciting times in the B house. ~XOXO~

Thanksgiving Part#1
Since the big bro and wifey were here in time for Thanksgiving, we held our festivities on the Sunday before the actual holiday. The little bro and his new wifey had returned from their honeymoon just the day before! They were all tanned up from the Mexico rays, and had many fun stories to tell. The food was GREAT as ALWAYS and the cleanup was a breeze (we used paper goods and plastic cups this year- and served most of the dishes in the handy aluminum pans you see all over the stores during this time of year-talk about easy peasy)! As we sat around the table after dinner, mom asked, “okay so to all three of you new family members, what is missing from this table that you would normally have?”…Rachel responded timidly, “um…broccoli and cheese casserole”…. So we should be enjoying that dish from you next year Mrs. T! After dinner, we enjoyed Kung FU Panda with all the cousins, and David was hilarious beating his legs for drums in beat with the Asian drummers….so cute. Brian and Lin raised the funds to return to Uganda, so we will see them again in August! Our prayers are with them for a great time of ministry and learning while they are there.

Thanksgiving Part #2- GOT OXYGEN?
Since flights were so expensive this year for Christmas/New Years in California, the B fam decided to rent a cozy home in Silverthorne Colorado for Thanksgiving week! We all flew out from Boston, Cali and Texas to celebrate together … I’m usually really comfortable on planes, and since I’ve flown so much, domestic and internationally, it doesn’t ever really cross my mind that we’re stuck in the air….unable to open the doors to get out if needed. But for some reason, this time the flight really weirded me out! Just as we were getting ready to pull away from the gate, I had this enormous heaviness on my chest and I had to remind myself to breathe. All I wanted to do was jump from my seat and run full force to the door and get out! I leaned over to Billy and said “I need you to pray with me”….he asked why and I told him “I need to pray for peace, because all I can think about right now is the doors closing and how I can go into labor right here in the aisle and I’m completely freaking out about it!” So we prayed :) and lived :) and we ended up having so much fun!

It snowed EVERY DAY!














We made a full-out meal on Thanksgiving day, thanks to a local grocery store that carried Kroger products :)

We hiked one day, where Billy was showing off standing on a frozen pond!

A few of us were able to ski in Keystone and others of us had our fun “pretend skiing”! On our way home one night, we saw a red fox just casually lying on a pile of wood outside a gas station. We got out and Billy called him over to him. He was so tame! But we didn’t get too close to touch him…who knows what germies he was carrying…but it was so cool! He had a bum back leg, so maybe he was hiding out from predators in the woods. We looked for him every night after that, but never saw him again.

It was such a great trip, but I think I was moving a little bit in slow motion because I had NO OXYGEN it seemed! I know the altitude had something to do with it, but pregnancy probably didn’t help! We stayed on the third story of the house, and we sure did enjoy our room up there whether we could breathe or not!

It had a great view and it was decked out in cute little brown bears.

MC Party in San Fran/Christmas Celebration
Billy’s company flew us out for their annual company Christmas party! It was in San Francisco this year, and we had a wonderful trip! The party was held in a hotel downtown, in an open loft-like area that overlooked an outdoor ice rink

! The lobby was decorated for Christmas and it was absolutely gorgeous!!

We played the company’s usual swap game, and we all had a good laugh when they used Aaron and Rachel’s wedding pics in a gag gift this time (we were one of the big jokes last year when they tried to give away blown-up and framed photo-shopped pictures of us!). It was good to see everyone, and do some catching up.
Billy’s parents drove up and picked us up the next day. We took the trip back to their home through Napa Valley (it was my first time to see it). I was in awe of the beauty! We stopped for a stroll around the Mondave mansion and Billy snapped some scenic pictures (of course) of the grapes and then his dad grabbed a few of us too.
After Napa, we had a short but sweet visit with Grandma and Grandpa B. They gave us a beautfiul handmade blanket for the baby! We can't wait to see how handsome he looks all wrapped up in it :)

When we got back to the B house, we helped them pick out a Christmas tree!

And then we exchanged our gifs with them...here's Billy sportin' his new ski coat :) Crazy dude.

It was so fun, and I’m so thankful we had the chance to spend an “early Christmas” together.

We also had a fun present waiting for us when we got home….in the form of…..

new Maclaren baby wheels!

We found our stroller on ebay for much less than any store or site was carrying it for, so Billy’s parents bought it for us and shipped it to our home while we were in Cali with them!

Probably the next time we see them will be in 11 weeks OR LESS when we have a BABY!!! Time is flying! We got started on our registry at Baby’s R Us this past weekend, because we knew we might just keep putting it off and it’d be too late!

I can’t believe Christmas is only 10 days away!!! Our mantel is done, with a wreath and stockings, the table has some fun and festive décor and we have ornaments, lights, poinsettas, a skirt and a star….but no tree yet! So maybe tonight we’ll get one!!! You are all welcome to come and visit us anytime, we’d love to have you!

Stay sane during this crazy time of year, and try to remember why we are celebrating in the first place. God gave a son to us! I can’t imagine, with a son on the way, what it must have felt like to give such a HUMONGOUS sacrifice. May we remember with all our hearts what this means for us and eternity, and share the LOVE of our savior with those around us.

Big Changes

Wow what an eventful 2 weeks we’ve had! My big bro and his wifey surprised us all by returning from Africa for a short visit. They didn’t want to miss the little bro’s wedding, and I know everyone was glad they could be apart of the celebration….speaking of that….congrats to the newlyweds!

My poor parents are probably pooped having 3 weddings in a matter of 7 months now! Crazy! It was beautiful and we especially enjoyed the Pappasitos and mariachi band for the reception :) I think one of my favorite memories from the night was when 5 yr. old cousin David

made a request for them to play “Feliz Navidad”….and they actually did! All the kid cousins jumped up and danced and sang along. It was quite a moment!

We had a great time catching up with some very close family from out of town. A few of the aunties had fun telling me when I "really looked pregnant" or not, based on the outfit I was wearing for the moment:) We hadn’t seen my cousin Danyne or her two daughters, Diana & Danynee (both 8 yrs old now) for over 4 years! They live in Africa and run an orphanage along with many other businesses. Since we saw them last, she’s become a “Mrs”, and added a new little boy, Jagpal to the fam (6months).

It was AWESOME to spend quality time loving on all those kiddos and getting to know them even better. My San Antonio cousin, Melissa brought her new baby Jeremiah (4 months) and hubby Michael as well. We have alot of fun thinking about our baby boys all growing up to be as close as we three girls are...traveling the world and making so many memories together. I was also informed by Melis that I “need” to have this baby on 3-4 (we’re due on March 5th so it’s possible) because Jag was born on 5-6, and Jeremiah on 7-8! Isn’t that so fun and ironic?!

The baby seems to be doing great, and the doc says we ‘re progressing “beautifully” so that’s a good sign.

We’re looking forward to this next week’s Thanksgiving festivities, as we get to celebrate with both our families this year! So…more to come soon :) Oh, and as soon as I get more pics of all rest of the fam I'll post them as well :)

Costumes

So with all the hoopla and costume buying for some of you guys this week...I had to post this:
A check-cashing truck shows up every week at our work, on pay day. We've gotten to know the drivers pretty well since, well, we see them every week. In walks the man driver today just as I'm comin' out of the bathroom and he yells out

"WOW COOL COSTUME!"

I was a little confused, and looking around at exactly who he was talking to (nobody had any costumes on). Then he said,

"IT LOOKS LIKE ONE OF THOSE PREGNANT NEWLYWEDS!"

It's the new rage...I mean, come on man, catch up, everybody's wearing it :)

Yo Tengo Gozo

Wow, it’s amazing how time flies! There is so much going on in our lives, that I can hardly keep up, much less post about it!

Okay, so let’s go back to this past week ~
Happy b-day to my Mama!

For part of her present, Billy and I took her flower shopping for a new flowerbed we’re planting for her, and then the other part was a visit with us for a 21 week sonogram!

As soon as we left, mom went shppping and said “I saw my grandson today and I’m a sucker!” The baby was so fun to watch and kicking like crazy. He was pulling his little toes down into his face, and playing with his hands and feet.

The doctor said my placenta is in the front, and he’s kicking right into it like a cushiony pillow, so that’s why I haven’t felt him a whole lot yet….but I HAVE FINALLY FELT HIM!!! What a cool feeling! It’s been sort of like when I get on amusement park ride that's dropping really fast, or sometimes it’s a jittery feeling like I’m nervous, or the most recent one was kind of a spiraly feeling…. :)


He is right on track with his growth, and everything including his heart looks perfect! There’s been many times, we’ve been given words of encouragement through this pregnancy (thank you!) that I am carrying a “JOY BABY”, and that this little boy is going to "bring us joy and not sorrow!" It was such a strong message from one of my very dear friends, that before we even knew for sure he was a boy, she sent me an email and said “I still think it’s a boy and I kept asking the Lord, ‘how in the world can they name a boy Joy?’” ...and we're still working on that, lol! but it’s true, he has already given us so much joy, and God has given us many chances to be a light to our unsaved and lost friends through every step of the way.

The other day at work, I was singing to myself “Yo tengo gozo gozo gozo gozo in my (Corazon) pancita! Donde?!” (for you non-spanish speakers, it was a version of “I’ve got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart only I changed it to” down in my belly”). My coworkers thought I was crazy, but I just couldn’t hide that God has given us a blessing in the form of this little living creature! How can anyone ever deny that he is alive? He already had every piece of information that will make him the man he will be on the day he was formed!

This past week also held much celebration for the upcoming wedding of my little bro Aaron and his beautiful lady Rachel.

There were two showers held in their honor and each one was special and unique. I can’t believe in less than 3 weeks we will all 3 be married and “all growed up”. Where does the time go? I know it sounds silly but just today I got emotional about our old house. Not that I miss the house, but for some reason, it hit me that the last Mohican (Aaron) is getting married and now Mom and Dad’s will just be Mom and Dad’s house-the place where we all get together and visit now. WEIRD! I am SO THANKFUL that God has answered our families prayers for AWESOME and WONDERFUL and FUN extended family members….I am proud and very, very blessed to sit at the table with my fam, and the UNIQUE and CHARMING 3 additions (and a half) we have all brought to that table. Life couldn’t get any better...could it?

Pictures for the Needy

LOL.It was quite a weird feeling to have people asking to see pictures but I guess that's what happens when you're having a baby! I had mom take some of us last night at her place...it was quite the fun photogrpahy session, as she was laughing at our goofy poses, and Billy's funny comments like on the close up belly shots below when he asked me "which is bigger, yours or mine??" ...she laughed so much at least 97.999% of the pictures came out blurry :) Then on top of that, my blouse ended up serving as camoflauge, as the pattern pretty much takes away from even the slightest appearance of a baby bump. It's okay we managed to get a few for the viewing audience. Hope you enjoy.

Should it be Will? Or Joseph?

Okay okay, so I'm so sorry for waiting so long to post this but IT'S A BOY!!! We've been saying that since day #1, and now we're officially right! Wahhoo! We had a full blown anatomy scan at the last doctors visit. The doctor asked if we wanted to know what it was...I told her "we think it's a boy but have no idea"...then she said "well, you're right...do you see that?" and pointed to the screen. We looked at each other and said "yes!" and then she zoomed in and goes "oh my! That's impressive!"

They measured every inch of our little son, and he was acting so cute! The doctor would press down on my stomach to make him move (so she could get a different angle of him to measure)and he would just be kicking and pushing his hands up right back at her! The picture below shows him doing just that.We were laughing so hard at him, entertaining us the whole time.



He's measuring in at about the 90th percentile for everything except his legs but that was to be expected, as his legs haven't quite caught up yet at this point of his development. With wide-eyes, the doctor looked at us and said "your baby's got big EVERYTHING!" We all smiled and knew she was eluding to other things than just his arms...

We've slowly been talking through some names, but nothing is set in stone yet. I keep telling Billy we should at least use one of his names...William or Joseph...they are both great and have great meanings and it would be special to pass them on to the boy who carries on our name from here on out...but you never know, we may just come up with something totally new and unusual too!

The weekend after Ike we got to spend a few days with Billy's parents for a family wedding. We hadn't seen them since our Cali reception in May, so they were thrilled to see us married...and with a grandbaby on the way. As soon as we went to hug them in the parking lot, his mom yelled out at my stomach "Hi baby! Nana loves you!" and then each morning, when we woke up she would do it again...she said the baby needed to get to know her voice. Lol. So when we dropped them off at the airport, we hugged them, blew kisses and got back in the car. They made it all the way in the airport with bags in hand, and then all of a sudden his mom makes a mad dash across the road back toward our car. We rolled the window down and she yelled in at me "Bye baby! Nana loves you!" and then ran back.

It's good to know we've got a few sets of excellent future grandparents in the making. This baby's gonna have lots of love. :)

Good Ole' Ike

While I was at work this morning *(yes, we had to go in today) all the ladies were walking around asking each person where they were headed tonight to be safe from the storm. Agnes, who is a very funny-outspoken English woman, asked me the question "and where are you going to stay tonight?". I answered honestly, "Billy and I haven't decided, we may just stay home and keep watch on our stuff in case we need to move furniture, etc". She wasn't satisfied and spatted out at me, "You're pregnant and you need to be with your mutha!"

Hope you all are safe during the storm, and able to find something to smile about.

13 Weeks

Well I can't believe it, we're nearly a third of they way there! It has flown but taken forever all at the same time. Thank you to all who have sent prayers and encouragement during this wonderful and new adventure! and thank you for checking up on me too! I'm feeling much better these last 2 weeks...much more energy and much less nausea (thank goodness!). I am actually able to cook pretty normally, and have a pretty good appetite too. The heartburn has actually let up a lot more lately, and so I'm not having to eat as many tums and crackers to combat the acid :) As far as clothing...my old jeans are still "rigged" with a rubber band, and I'm wearing some maternity pants/capris for the comfort. I don't like having things too tight -it makes my stomach feel sick inside. My husband has been WONDERFUL helping around the house, and just plain wonderful at understanding me during all this new stuff!

We went in for another more specific ultrasound and all the usual bloodwork and examinations on Monday.

We had a fun time with the tech during the ultrasound. The baby was bouncing around, sucking it's thumb, kicking it's legs and just pretty much entertaining all of us. I had to tell Billy to laugh for me at how cute it was being because every time I laughed, the baby would bounce and we couldn't get a clear picture. :) The tech said "your baby is a poser! most babies are like 'no don't take pictures of me' and yours is like 'hey!'" Billy said "he gets that from his mom". Okay, so I like taking pictures, so what :)

Here's a few pictures for your enjoyment.

I've got a JAG!

Okay, okay, so I don't have a Jaguar to drive exactly :) But I've got a new cousin Jag and he is soooooo cute! I can't wait to hold his little self! My awesome cousin Danyne (the one I traveled alot with) runs the orphanage in Jinja, Uganda close to where Brian and Lin are living right now. She couldn't make our wedding because she was in the last trimester right before she had Jagpal, my new little second cousin. I tbink I get to finally meet him in November for Aaron's wedding (hopefully)! It's been several years since I hugged Danyne and her now husband Surj and daughters Danynee and Diana! When they were getting ready to board their plane back to Africa, I started to cry and little Diana (I think she was 3 then) pulled my chin up, looked me in the eyes and said in her perfect little African-English voice, "when you wake up, you will be happy". How very inituative for a toddler.I will be happy when I wake up and they are here again! I can't wait to see my family and hug them all! They have been missed!!!