Bedding and Random Pictures

This is the baby quilt that Jory bought me. I don't know how well you can really see it, but it has a lot of different materials - some more feminine and some more masculine. There's a dark brown patch with tan dots that I really like and a flannel one that is definitely boy-like. The back side of the quilt is soft and burgundy.

The next two pictures are of the main fabrics for the bedding. You really can't see these very well, but they are both burgundy and tan. Ann carried the quilt arond with her for a long time to pick out fabrics that would blend. Then there is a denim that will be used as an accent and white eyelet will also be an accent. The patterns Ann chose are really neat. I think the room is going to look fabulous, though I'm not sure I can give you a feel for my vision from these pictures.

Ann will also make curtains, and she found a bumper pad cheap that she's going to recover and she'll make a diaper bag. I am very excited about this room.

Ummm, this is Willie. He impressed me so the other night.

This was me right before my ultrasound last month. I just stumbled across this picture.

Our First Registry Gift

How fun is this?! Jory's mom, Kim, went on our Walmart Registry and bought the exersaucer! The exersaucer got added recently, by the way, because our good friend Hope informed us that we may die if we do not invest in one. Since that time, several people have agreed with that sentiment. So, the exersaucer was added and now it's been purchased! We are so blessed and so grateful!

We had also registered for a crib mattress, but Amber at my work brought me one yesterday! Amber also let me borrow two HUGE plastic tubs of maternity clothes - she brought them to me last week. They have been lifesavers! People are so generous!

I am definitely going to get bedding pictures taken and put on the blog no later than this weekend. I am really pleased with how the room is going to look! Now we can start shopping for pictures, etc. to decorate the room with!

Sweet Moments

Little One kicks me a lot now, which is very reassuring to me. I am told there will be a time when I come to wish the kicks were less frequent and less strong, but right now I am relishing every moment. The kicks are strong enough to feel from the outside now, so I laid in bed last night with my hand on my stomach feeling the kicks from the outside and the inside at the same time. It is miraculous! It is amazing how close you feel to God when you are carrying one of his miracles.

Jory laid his head on my stomach to take a nap this weekend and Little One immediately settled into place and stopped kicking. Awww...their first nap together.

We went to see Willie Nelson Saturday night. He put on an AWESOME show! I didn't find out until later that he is 76 years old!?!!?! You would not have known - really. We saw Merle recently and we love Merle, but he is old and his show reflected it; not so with Willie. Anyway, Little One kicked for Willie but, by far, kicked the most during 'If You've got the Money...' My grandfather used to sing this song to me (he changed the words) and it is a good memory for me. It is the only song I wanted to hear Willie sing. It was fabulous and it was fabulous that Little One recognized the greatness of the moment.

I have seen the materials for Little One's bedding. They are wonderful and Ann is wonderful - I am very blessed. The colors are burgundy and tan. We have a baby quilt that Jory bought for me that Ann worked off of to get blending materials. I love what she came up with! I will post a picture of the quilt this week so that you can see the focal point. There are two bedding materials that Ann will use primarily. They are both burgundy and tan. I will get pictures of those, as well. The accents will be blue (denim) and white (eyelet). She showed me some patterns and it really is going to be wonderful. Jory is now all about painting the room. Either yellow or tan, he's deliberating. I will let you know...

So Pregnant!

People are starting to tell me how much I'm showing. A girl at work said one day I just 'popped'! Tuesday night I had to do a recruiting reception for work and I was on my feet for three straight hours - after that I really felt pregnant!



We went to Dallas last night to meet with a nurse that specializes in Pain Management. The drug-free kind. Jory's uncle specializes in this field, but he lives in Washington, DC now, so he recommended this woman to work with me on techniques to manage pain during labor. It was a great meeting and we will be seeing her a few more times over the next several months.



There's not much going on here. I am still eating a lot of fruit and I'm really watching my weight now as it seems I get bigger every day! I'll see Ann tonight and find out what our bedding is going to look like. I am very excited about that. We are going to Fort Worth Saturday for a concert. Today I finished booking the free trips I won at the Girl Scouts luncheon last month. We are going to Washington, DC in December. We have relatives there and I think the city would be nice to visit around the holidays when it is all decorated. AND we are going to Colorado in August. I am VERY excited about this. It will be a short trip and Little One will go with us.

Good Weekend

Now that Little One has started kicking, Little One has started kicking A LOT. Especially when music is playing. I love it! We went to see Fireproof Saturday and the previews had loud music with a lot of bass - Little One went nuts. It was crazy. Then every time music came on during the movie, the kicks would start up. How fun!

We had a wonderful weekend! We were home all weekend which we haven't been in a while and won't be again in a while. We went to a movie(!) - the first movie we've been to in over two years. Fireproof was excellent and powerful and you already know this because we were amongst the last to see it.

We sat outside and enjoyed the amazing weather! We joined our church!!!!! We've been in Tyler for nine months and it took us a while to do the church circuit and find peace about where we are supposed to be, but we now have our church home! I am thrilled! Little One will be welcomed by a biological family and a church family and that is so important to me. Finally, we went to Jory's aunt's for dinner last night and got to catch up with his cousins. I always love being around family.

All is well here. Jory is itching to get the nursery started. We did figure out this weekend that a baby would be born in four months and it was a little concerning that we've done nothing to prepare the room. Ann has picked out our fabrics and I will get to see them Thursday! YAY! I am excited and Jory is ready to pick some paint and start making progress. Ann said she'd have the bedding, etc. made by the end of the year which is when we are getting our furniture, so we should be able to go into 2009 with a fairly complete room.

Pregnancy Update

It's been a while since I have written about being pregnant. So much has changed so quickly. I feel huge and I am only halfway through pregnancy. I love being pregnant, though. That finally kicked in about two weeks ago. I am constantly aware of the precious cargo I am carrying and I smile every time I think of it. I am aware and amazed that there is a CHILD inside of me. I am unbelievably grateful for the gift God has given Jory and I and I know how blessed we are. I can not wait to meet this miracle!

It was wonderful that God caused me to become so thrilled about my pregnancy because pregnancy symptoms have finally started kicking in. They aren't anything like what I know others have experienced, though, and now it is easier for me to dismiss them as a means to a wonderful end.

I used a body pillow when we were on vacation in Florida (there was one at the condo where we stayed!) and I slept a lot better. I am getting one to have at home now.


Jory has decided he wants to paint the nursery. He is thinking a light yellow, but we are going to wait to see what Ann comes up with for our bedding first.


We had a blood test at the last doctor's visit that lets you know if there are signs that you may be carrying a child with a birth defect. Everything came back negative which is wonderful.


I haven't been keeping up with Current Events occurring while Little One incubates: Wachovia was bought, the government passed a $700B rescue package for financial institutions and threw another $150B in tax cuts and other stuff in there, Madonna and Guy Ritchie announced they were getting divorced (this upsets me, by the way) and the Stock Market has had swings like nothing I have ever seen. I actually meant to keep the financial section from Sunday showing all the stocks that changed downward. After searching for a while, we found a FEW that had positive change, but it was crazy. Finally, our county got a major extension on tax returns due to Hurricane Ike. This has made our office a nicer place to work! Obviously, the biggest current event will occur in about three weeks when either the first non-Caucasian President of the United States or the first non-male Vice President of the United States is elected. My husband, for one, will be glad when the whole thing is over and his political junkie of a wife doesn't have any debates to watch and articles to read him!

We will be home this weekend which is nice. I hope you all have a relaxing and wonderful weekend.

Florida

We had such a good time in Florida! We are blessed because my grandparents have a condo there and we get to use it! How awesome is that? It is on Sanibel Island near Fort Meyers. It is a beautiful island and there are a lot of good restaurants. The condo is right on the beach and there is also a pool. The condo has an amazing enclosed deck with a view of the ocean! It was so relaxing and we really, really enjoyed our time there. Unfortunately, I've discovered we didn't take many pictures!



Here's a shot on the beach one evening.

Here is a sunset we watched on Captiva Island. Such a beautiful drive.

Little One loved Florida and showed me by kicking for the first time. We will definitely remember this trip!

Here you go!

Here I am at 20 1/2 weeks (and thirteen pounds) pregnant. Click here to see the difference from four weeks ago.

Finally!

I felt Little One! Yay, yay, yay! On Thursday, in Florida, Little One kicked me. It was like a one-two. Like a leg straightening where I got the knee and then the foot a little lower. The coolest thing was that when Jory put his hand on my stomach he felt a couple kicks or punches. Since then, none of the movements have been strong enough for him to feel them from the outside, but I am feeling movement pretty regularly and I am THRILLED.

Ultrasound Pictures

After our Ultrasound, we got a CD that has 68 pictures on it and a couple of videos (of the heart beating, Little One moving, etc.). It is amazing! BUT, I don't think I can get the pictures off to post here. My husband may be able to figure this out because he is a technological genius. I, however, am not. So, until you see us (we are carrying around the nine printed pictures given us at the ultrasound), we may not be able to share pictures of Little One with you.

I can, though, tell you about them. There is an amazing picture of Little One's perfect feet! I LOVE it. And there is a picture of Little One making a fist with the thumb sticking out. Jory swears our baby is giving him the Gig 'Em sign! There is one good full body shot and lots of profile pictures. Jory swears he can tell that Little One has my nose! (It turns up a little at the end and he believes Little One's does, too.)

As I said yesterday, all was well. Little One is in the 85th percentile for growth and appears perfectly healthy. All bones and organs are accounted for. The heartbeat is 156 bpm. This hasn't changed over the several visits we have had. The techinician was able to tell the gender, but since we didn't want to know it was not written down anywhere. She said by the end of the day yesterday she would have done many ultrasounds and would have no recollection of Little One. SO, no one knows whether it's a boy or a girl! (Except God and, apparently, my Dad the psychic.)

The doctor DID tell me not to sleep on my back. She actually advised me to get a body pillow to prevent me from rolling flat during the night.

I think that's it. We are leaving for Florida tomorrow - YAY! - and will not be back until Monday, so you won't hear from us for a few days. The day we return I will be twenty weeks - offically halfway through pregnancy! I can't believe it!

Ultrasound

I am 19 Weeks today and we had our Ultrasound. All was very well. My blood pressure is great. The baby measured perfectly to my due date. There were ten fingers and ten toes and all the bones and organs that are supposed to be there. Because I still haven't felt the baby move, it was reassuring to see Little One moving and making fists. We got a CD of images and should be able to put some on here this week.

Dad is back!

It's been a while since my last confession...

Sara has mentioned on a couple of occassions that I have not contributed much to the blog. This has hurt her feelings a little bit, and for that I am extremely sorry. So let me share with you what is going on in my world. I continue to be very excited about this whole process. It is a little hard to believe (still), which is curious to me. We've obviously known about this for a while, but it's not something that is always in the forefront of my conscious. Maybe that is because it isn't happening inside my body.

If this can be viewed as a positive thing, and therefore credit is due, it is due to Sara. She is handling all of this simply beautifully. Aside from her noticing and commenting on her body changing shape, you'd never know the woman was pregnant. No sickness, infrequent bouts with tiredness and irritability, but that's really it. The burden on me to pick up the slack for her has been almost non-existent. Life continues as usual with the exception of our upcoming doctor's appointment (which I am getting more and more excited about!)

The fact that pregnancy has been such a non-event in terms of changing our life so far is a testament to Sara. I am thankful for how healthy she has been, how diligent she has been in doing this the right way, and I know our baby will be healthier for it. If her "job" is the develop a healthy, happy baby, I think she is passing the test with flying colors.

I know life will be changing soon, and I can't wait!

Boy or Girl???

Our sonogram is Monday! We don't plan to find out the sex of the baby, but it is on the minds of everyone now that we could find out. My dad informed me this week that I'm carrying a boy. I did not know this. Jory and I are very surprised by this. We have been convinced all along that Little One is a girl. Really, we will be surprised if Little One is a boy, but we'll be just thrilled regardless of the sex. It's funny when you don't find out the sex of your baby. So many people have advice for how to figure out what you are carrying. Several people have told me it's clearly a girl since I wasn't sick. Several people have told me it's clearly a boy since I wasn't sick. Several people have told me that it's clearly a girl since the heartbeat is high (the heartbeat is actually the same as Terri's boy's was and both of Amber's boys' were). I was told that it must be a boy because I couldn't wear my pants early on and that means I'm carrying low. I was told that it must be a girl because memory loss is worse with females. But, finally, the Chinese Lunar Calendar informed me that it's a girl, SO...I mean, that's got to be right, doesn't it?

Mini Vacation Pictures

These are pictures from our weekend in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. It was wonderful!

This is the fire place that was in the living room of our cabin and below is the kitchen. The cabin was two bedrooms, two baths and fully furnished. There was also a TV Loft upstairs.

This is the outside of the cabin, The Golden Trout!
WONDERFUL porch over looking woods!

This is a sunset that we saw on a scenic drive. We remembered that exactly one year ago we had been taking pictures of a sunset in Sonoma, California. What a wonderful blessed year we have to be thankful for!

These are the mountains in Arkansas that were part of our scenic drive.

All of the following pictures are of Broken Bow Lake and the River near our cabin.

Back Sleeper

I sleep on my back. I made it thirty-two years without knowing this. Had you asked me two weeks ago how I sleep, I would have confidently told you "on my side". I do not sleep on my side. In fact, if you roll me to my side in the middle of the night, the moment I fall back to sleep I will return to my back where I will reside until you roll me to my side again. This process will repeat itself all night.

I am now aware of my sleeping habits because two weeks ago I reached the pivotal moment where all three of my Pregnancy Books said I must not lay flat on my back. The dire consequences to Little One were expounded upon in one book to the point that I put back sleeping close to alcohol drinking. This must be clarified by my doctor on Monday. After two weeks of this, two previously sound sleepers spend their nights in a state of half awareness in order to constantly correct my sleeping position should I accidentally actually fall completely asleep and then turn on my back.

To be fair, this has been the first real inconvenience of pregnancy, so if we've got to spend the next several months preventing back sleeping, it could be so much worse. On the other hand, it seems rather cruel that something done in a subconscious state can affect your unborn child. It's one thing (albeit a big thing) to ask me to give up sweet tea, it's another to ask me to be aware of what I am doing when I am sleeping.

Anyway, that's the pregnancy news for the day. We will download our vacation pictures tonight and have them on here tomorrow. Have a blessed day.