Waiting.

Patience has never been one of my strong points, although I feel I have grown in this area in the past year. You know how it is...you feel like you've started to really gain some ground in an area of character when it suddenly gets tested in a whole new way. Well, that's what I'm feeling right about now. Obviously, the biggest thing I'm waiting for is to MEET OUR BABY GIRL!! Can't wait....she could literally be here anytime. I'm trying hard not to be obsessed. :) Not only am I so excited to see her and hold her...but the selfish ME part of me cannot wait to lose my baby belly. It has been very difficult to sleep in the past few weeks, as well as a lot of contractions and back pain. I know, it's all worth it...but I can't wait for the day when I can bend over to tie my shoes without feeling like I'm going to pop like a balloon or climb a flight of stairs without feeling like I've had a lung collapse.

There are other things I am honestly growing a little tired of waiting for. Gav has been up to his ears in schoolwork, internship, crazy hours, and work for the past couple of years. As I sit and type this, he has papers spread all over the place studying for his finals this week. Poor boy. I am SO ready for a break for him (and for me so I can spend time with my hunnie!). Bless his heart, he has done such a wonderful job...he really has. His attitude has been great and he's really good about taking even a few minutes out of his busy day to spend with me so that I don't go crazy missing him. I'm ready for him to be completely done, but a break will help me keep my sanity long enough for him to finish the next semester. I totally can't wait for him to be on Christmas break....we are hoping that Addie Kate times her arrival around the time of Daddy's break so that we can have a couple of weeks together as a little family without Gav having to worry about work or school. Ahhh...that would be so nice! Gav got approved to take off at least 2 weeks of paid FMLA when I have the baby...we are so thankful for this, especially considering it is nearing the holidays and many people have a hard time getting off work during this time. Gav's last final is this Wednesday...crossing my fingers that Baby Girl will come right around that time. :)

Another waiting thing would be a little more long term. After Gav graduates, we are still unsure about what direction to take with his job. We have the option of him taking more classes to get a couple more certifications. He could continue education and try to eventually get his Master's. He could also look for a job in the nuclear field which may require us to move (depending on openings). He could stick with law enforcement for a while and wait on the nuke job while we scope out our options. Just a lot of things. To be honest, I haven't thought or worried about it too much because I know that God has a plan for our family and that no matter what, His plan for us will be a good one and He will take care of us. But like anyone, it's hard not to wonder about the future. We've been praying about it a lot. If you think of it, please pray for us for direction in the next year concerning Gavin's career. We want to make sure we follow God's will for our lives and our little family. Please also pray for peace for Gavin as the head of our family...that he wouldn't carry too much stress on his shoulders and be able to get some rest over his holiday break.

In the meantime, I can say that I have been getting a lot done around the house. Still have a few more things on my list to do, but lots of things are crossed off....I love that feeling! Yesterday I actually packed my bag for the hospital. That is so weird to think that Addelyn could be here anytime! At my doctor's appointment this past week, the doctor said she had definitely dropped and was started to make her descent into the pelvic region (she has been head-down for a few weeks now). It's a nice change to be able to breathe and eat!

This past week I also had lunch with my wonderful bosses (Dr. Kristi and her husband Jim) to talk about maternity leave. I have some vacation/personal time to use before the end of the year, so even if Little Miss doesn't make her appearance this week, this week will be my last week of work this year. After she is born, I will be taking six weeks of maternity leave, but when I come back to work I will only be coming back part time. I am really excited about this!! We have prayed about it and weighed our options quite a bit in the past few months and feel that this is the right decision for our family. My mom will be watching Addelyn three days a week (Mon - Wed - Fri) and I will stay home with her on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It will not only save us a lot of money in child care (most places would charge us for a full week just to watch her on Tues & Thurs), but also give me more time with my sweet baby girl! I think it will also help with our adjustment as parents. After his break, Gav will go back to full time school along with working night shift until classes end in May. Since I will be on my own for night feedings, changing, etc, it will be nice to have a couple of days off each week. I am thankful to my employers for being so supportive and understanding. I really do have great bosses and coworkers! They even threw me a little shower last week and gave us some cute little outfits, a basket full of awesome toys, and a "Peanut Shell"....its a cute little sling baby carrier! I can't wait to use it.

Another little prayer request...pray for wisdom for Gav and I financially as our income will shrink with me going to part time as well as insurance premiums going up since we will now be on a family plan. Ultimately, God will provide, he has never left us hanging! What a great God we serve! We have so much to be thankful for. So much.

That's about all for now...I am itching to get a few more things done around the house, which means I should probably get off the computer. :) Hopefully within the next few weeks I will be posting pictures of our little daughter!

36 weeks and counting!

Since Thanksgiving, things have been sooo busy! I have been scrambling around in my spare time (if you can imagine Pregnant Girl "scrambling"...lol) to get things done before our baby girl gets here. Time has flown and yet it drags at the same time. I am officially READY to not be pregnant anymore! I love feeling our sweet little girl move around, but I am ready to trade in sleepless nights, shortness of breath, heartbearn, acid reflux, cramps, and back pain for feeling her move in my ARMS instead of my tummy! I can't wait to meet her. We are so excited! Her room is pretty much finished, we are just waiting for the finishing touches of her bedding which both Grandma's have promised will be finished soon. I will try to take pics soon but don't have a camera at the moment. (Side note - we are getting a new Nikon for Christmas!! Thanks to mom-in-law Pattie!!)

I feel HUGE... although at my appointment today I had only gained one more pound in the past two weeks, which makes for I think 20 pounds total for the pregnancy. Addelyn has been in the head-down position for the past couple of doctor's visits, but today the doctor said she has definitely dropped and has started to descend into the pelvic region. YAY! That still means labor could be a few weeks away, but its progress :). I can tell she has dropped, because I can breathe much more easily and eating doesn't fill me up as quickly like before. THANK YOU LORD! However, I've traded that for more cramps and some lower abdomen/leg pain...but it is worth it knowing that I will soon get to meet our little daughter!

Last week Gav got her bassinet put together, which was pretty much the last thing to put together before her arrival. Other than that I just need to finish organizing a few things. Gav and I were sitting in her room the other day and it still just seems so surreal that we are going to be PARENTS! As in, we will actually have a little person in our lives for whom we are completely responsible. Wow. That is so crazy. Crazy exciting, crazy scary, crazy awesome. I am just so thankful for all the blessings the Lord has placed in our life through wonderful family, friends, and also providing so many things for us as we prepare for her arrival. We have so much to be thankful for.

Since I haven't updated in a bit, below are some pics of what has been going on in the past few weeks. Enjoy!

34 weeks along, at the wedding of some friends of ours, Matt & Valerie.

Love to feel Baby Girl move around! The hand on my stomach is actually not mine, but that of Jennifer, our Pastor's awesome wife.

Jennifer and lots of lil fans feelin Addelyn move! So fun!

My beautiful sisters and I at the reception. Aim, Arica, me, and Nernie.

I am blessed with some pretty great friends. Here is Arica (my sis), Leanne, Lori, Natalie, and Josie at the wedding reception

Me and my hot hubby!

This is more recent of Gav and I...can you tell by my tired and semi-swollen prego face?! :)

Me, my momma, and Addie Kate :)

36 weeks! Getting really uncomfortable!

Poppy is super excited about his lil granddaughter :) Well, all of the g-parents are!!

Gav and I last night at our church Core Group Christmas party

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since today is Thanksgiving, I will save the updates for another day...today is a day just to be thankful. Something I don't take the time to do often enough. So here are a few things that I am thankful for on this beautiful November day of 2009....(in no particular order)....

Jesus and His amazing grace. My wonderful hubby. Our baby girl, whom we will meet very soon! Family who are so loving and supportive. Our home. HEAT. Gavin's job. My job. Health insurance. People who have been so generous to us. God's provision and protection. Hope. Anticipation. Coffee. Reliable vehicles. My pillow-top mattress. Running water. Make that HOT running water! Pregnancy books. DSL. My wonderful church family. My hubby's patience with me. God's patience with me. Gavin's scholarship. A God who heals and restores. Scented candles. My Swiffer. Gifts. Prayer. Borrowed maternity clothes. Panera. People you can cry with. Laughter. Netflix. Tums/Prilosec. Hobby Lobby. My crockpot. Doctors and nurses. Hillsong worship. Comfy couches. Unconditional love.

I hope each of you had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. Take some time to relish the good things in life, even the little things....and remember to thank the One from whom all good and perfect things come!

Another baby shower!

This past Saturday was the baby shower held by the ladies at my church. It was great! I am so blessed to have some generous, sweet friends and women that are a part of my church family. Little Addelyn got so many cute little outfits along with many useful things, like diapers (Praise the Lord!), bottles, blankets, bottle warmer, adorable stuff for her room, toys, etc and YAY...her travel system! Several people went together to buy her baby carrier and stroller, which was such a huge blessing. I was so excited that we have received so many wonderful things at her showers. We are so thankful! When I got home, Gav unloaded the SUV and we sat and went through everything...it was so much fun. Even Gav loves looking at all of her little sleepers and outfits. It's so crazy to think that soon we will have our little baby girl here with us to dress up! We can't wait. :)

I really want to post some pictures of Addie Kate's room soon...aunties Arica and Aimee have both made and bought several super cute things that I LOVE! Right now her room is covered in stacks of baby clothes, blankets, diapers, and all of our other shower gifts. I am in the process of organizing. :)

Below are pictures of her shower that I snagged from my sister's camera.

Yummy cake with STRAWBERRY FILLING! mmmmmm.

A sweet lady from church, Susie, who is also a dear friend of my mine made these adorable "baby bouquets" as centerpieces. Everything in them is something useful...little socks, wash cloths, baby baretts, even the blue "blooms" are scented disposable bags for dirty diapers! Too cute!

My dear friend Deena and I.

Getting ready to eat. This photo is fitting, you can see that baby belly has GROWN!

My sis Aim and I.

My sis Arica and I.

Adorable little overalls!!

Me and my lil sis Ariana.

Two of the amazing ladies that helped with the shower, Jennifer (Pastor's wife), and Madonna. They are awesome, love them so much!

Mom and Nernie carrying baby girl's new travel system out to the car. Yay!

My and my momma, who is so excited to be a grandma!

Can't forget the baby belly pic! This is me and my baby girl at 33 weeks. Only 7 weeks left!

A Miracle

Thank you to all of you who prayed for my friend Khrista Collins, whom I wrote about last week. Thousands of people all over the world were praying for her, and the Lord sure does answer prayer! She is making an amazing recovery...I copied and pasted her words below from a Facebook update she sent out:

Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow

Dear family, friends, and prayer warriors,
I come before all of you with such joy, gratitude, humbleness, and overwhelming appreciation for everything that the Lord has done in my life. Jeff has done an incredible job of keeping everyone updated, but i wanted to kind of summarize everything from my perspective. 1 week ago today, we had the best day and the worst day of our life. First off, praise the Lord that our beautiful little Sophie Marie arrived without any complication to her. She is healthy and such a wonderful baby. On Monday morning, my OB doctor told me that with what happened....and how my uterus inverted...i should never have been able to get pregnant in the first place. So, Sophie is our first miracle! Then, as you all know, a few minutes after her birth, things took a turn for the worse. The doctor's have told us that i had a less than 5% chance of survival with everything that was going on. I was in multiple system failure, but by the Grace of GOD...who is the most incredible Physician...i have absolutely no residual from anything. I was sent home on nothing but pain pills. which means i can breast feed my baby when my milk comes in (which will be a while). To tell you how amazing the Lord is, i was in the hospital only 1 more day than the average C-Section...and i coded twice (my heart stopped & i needed to be shocked and have CPR), had 3 emergent surgeries, 28 units of blood products, was on a ventilator, and gained about 50 pounds of just fluid. now that i'm home, i still have a bunch of fluid on my body, but it continues to be reduced daily (i still weigh 20 pounds more than when i went into the hospital)...am able to walk on my own, get out of chairs and bed by myself, am getting my staples out tomorrow, can eat normal food (my appetite's slowly coming back), and am able to enjoy the company of my family and friends. i just want to express my gratitude to the thousands and thousands of people who have prayed literally all around the world...we are blown away of God's glory that continues to be revealed through this. For an example...we know of at least 1 person coming to the Lord through this, and countless others went to church the first time and were on their knees this past sunday. awesome! i never dreamed that i would be a vessel to be used like this, but praise God that He has been shown glory through all of this. Never take life for granted...life is so precious...i plead with all of you to seek the Lord and know how incradibly gracious, loving, and faithful He is to you if you just surrender your life to Him. If you ever want to chat about all that happened and want someone to pray for you...i am more than thrilled to do that...i love you all and am so gateful for you. Praise God...Praise God :)

with an overflowing heart,
Khrista :)

p.s.
thank you to all who came by and visited and supported my family through out all of this. i'm sorry for those i don't remember, or for the ones who came and i was too tired to see. i want you to know that i am eternally grateful for everyone.

Wow, what a testimony!! I have seen God answer so many prayers and do amazing things over the years, but this recent one just makes me stand in wonder of our Creator. Nothing is impossible for Him! It is humbling to think of the times when I have been drowned in worry, fear, or anxiety when I have a Heavenly Father who is more than willing and oh so CAPABLE of taking care of every single detail of my life. What a blessing, comfort, and relief. I had to ask for forgiveness for my lack of faith in some areas of my life lately.

We all deal with issues in our life...financial struggle, problems in relationships, children, marriage, work, health concerns. Do you know that God cares about each and every one of those things, no matter how small? What is weighing heavy on your heart today? What obstacle in your life seems completely impossible to overcome? Have hope...there is Someone who can call things into existance that don't even exist, can move mountains, heal the sick, set the captive free, and make things which are impossible turn out to be a piece of cake!

I am challenging myself and therefore challenge you...whatever is heavy on your heart, pray! As difficult as it might be, step out in faith and tell God exactly what it is! We read in Hebrews 11 that without faith, it is impossible to please God...we must believe in Him, and believe that he does reward those who diligently seek Him! I want to be a diligent seeker who has the faith that God can do what He says He can do. Ask Him for strength, direction, healing, an open door, a reconciled relationship, whatever...He cares! Even when there is no light at the end of the tunnel....our God is one who can do MIRACLES! :)

Heartburn, contractions, or paranoia, which shall it be?

I've been meaning to post about our little hospital visit this past Sunday night. First of all - everything is fine. Baby Girl and Pregnant Girl are in good shape and healthy. But, I wasn't feeling too hot on Sunday evening. I had been completely fine all weekend...went to church on Sunday morning, came home and ate a bowl of chili for lunch (I know, I know) then laid down for a nice Sunday afternoon nap. FYI - I have been eating chili, Mexican food, and salsa on a regular basis with no problems so I didn't think twice about eating the chili. Also - I had been having some acid reflux problems at night when I go to bed, so Dr. Jones said Prilosec OTC should do the trick. And it has been totally fine since then! Back to my story...around 5:00 I started having some significant stomach pain, which I kind of wrote off as some indigestion. Weird, since I had eaten about four hours earlier, but whatever. I laid on the couch for a while, then walked around the house thinking it would just go away. It got worse, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get any relief. Now, like a good little Pregnant Girl, I had read all of my books about having heartburn, indigestion, the signs of preterm labor, Braxton Hicks, etc so I was determined not to be some little pansy. But gosh darn it, it HURT. The pain would come in waves...never completely going away but sometimes worse then others. My entire stomach and abdomen hurt, felt really tense, Baby Girl was still moving around a lot. I couldn't figure out if maybe I just shouldn't have eaten chili so I sent Gavin to get some Tums. After shoveling down a handful of those and laying in the recliner, the pain still got worse. Yeah, crap! Not gonna lie, after about an hour and a half, I started to freak out a little. I always SWORE I would not be THAT pregnant girl that freaked out at the drop of a hat at every little pain. I gave in. I called my mom, she thought I should go get things checked out. When the pain drove me to tears, my hubby left me no choice but to go to the hospital. I realize this story is getting long, so I will try to speed things up since you already know nothing happened!

So, we went up to the OB floor where they put monitors on my stomach. I told the nurses that I felt like a pansy for coming up there, but they were super sweet and very reassuring that it was better to be safe than sorry. I'm sure I'm not the only first time mommy who has been there for something like that! The pain was still horrible but not getting worse. The monitors showed a couple of significant contractions but after about an hour the pain started to go away and contractions/uterine activity flatlined. I think the worst part was probably over by the time I got to the hospital...I didn't have more than 4 contractions an hour. Initially my blood pressure was really high but went back down after the pain subsided. Addelyn's heartbeat was strong the whole time. Long story short, doctor and nurses said it was some uterine (sp?) irritability (they showed me on the little screen, but I'm clueless - I'll take their word for it :) ) most likely due to dehydration and overdoing it this past weekend. They gave me some meds for the pain and to help me sleep, a little sheet of instructions, when to call if things got worse, and orders to take it easy.....and back home we went. Whew!

So, that was our Sunday evening. Our first little "scary moment" of my entire pregnancy, which has been pretty uneventful - thankfully! I am so glad that my doctor and the nurses are so understanding...they made me feel really glad that we had decided to come up when I was questioning myself. It's so hard to know what's what! Being a first time mommy sure can be stressful! :)

Two things that happened that were cute memories despite the circumstances:

-While the monitors on my belly were picking up Addie Kate's heartbeat, they also picked up EVERY single move she made. Which was constant. The nurses asked if she moved around that much all the time, which she pretty much does. The both said she is a feisty one! She also got the hiccups, which one of the nurses said she could hear on the monitor from all the way down the hall. Wonder what we will have on our hands when our little punkin gets here. :) Should be interesting...I can't wait!!

-While I was laying in the bed on the monitors, Gav got a call from my sister Aimee who is an RN. She was asking how I was doing, etc. Apparently she was concerned about preterm labor and asked if the doctor had checked to see if I was dilated. When he said no, Gav decided he could check himself (it's not what you think!)...so he walked over and stared at my eyes for several seconds and then told Aim,
"No, I don't think she's dilated at all, her eyes look normal."

HAHA! At this point Aim tells Gav to give the phone to me and told me their conversation since I'm only hearing one side. We both died laughing as my poor hubby sat by my bed wondering what the deal was. All I can say is, I think the sooner we get to those lamaze/childbirth classes, the better! My sweet police officer boy is used to checking people for eye dilation to indicate alcohol or drug consumption, so he just assumed that's what Aimee meant...thinking it had some medical correlation to going into labor. POOR BOY!! He is so cute! It cracked me up, he is so endearing. I can't blame him though, he's not the only one who has a lot to learn about this stuff. As much as we might feel we are groping in the dark, we are SO EXCITED to be first time parents!

I hope things go smoothly from here on out until lil Addelyn arrives. On a serious note, keep us in your prayers, that we would be prepared emotionally, physically, spiritually over the next few weeks as the time for our little girl to arrive gets closer and closer. Pray that we would have peace, safety, and ultimately just trust the Lord during this time! He is so faithful!!

Git 'er done...finally!

This past Saturday evening, my family, my dear friend Lori, and her two boys came over to eat chili and help finish painting my kitchen. YAY! For any of you who read my blog on a regular basis, you might remember me mentioning my half-painted kitchen WAY too long ago to even speak of. It has been half done for quite some time, and my motivation has diminished at about the same rate that my belly has grown! I am so thankful for their help. It wouldn't have been a good idea for Pregnant Girl to be climbing up on the counters trying to paint with my baby belly in tow. My luck would have me in a splat on the floor and paint everywhere but on the walls. Even picturing it now makes me shudder!

While the girls painted, dad and Gavin decided to tackle the last piece of furniture for Addelyn's room, her dresser. I plan to take more pictures of her room when we have the bedding, so I'm sorry that you're only getting bits and pieces right now. We might have been working (well, they were working---I was supervising :) ), but we had such a good time! We cranked up the dance music and had a little dance party while painting. Good thing there was plastic on the floor. :) I will try to post finished pics, I still have a little bit of trim work to do. Before, the cabinets were a darker wood color and the walls a golden yellow. Now, the cabinets are white with new pewter knobs, and the walls are an olive color. I LOVE IT!

Ariana, me, Lori, and mom gettin ready to paint!

Lori's boys, Brayden and Bradley, love harassing my brother!

Dad and Gav working on Addie Kate's dresser

The boys wanted to help too!

All finished...good job, boys!

Me and my hunnie.

Lori holding baby Addelyn!

Me, Addie, and two of her aunties...Lori and Arica :)