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        I'm not in a very creative mood..hence the exciting title of this post. But I figured I would write an update on how things are moving along for us and baby. I'm 30 1/2 weeks along and generally, feeling pretty good. My greatest complaint as of now would be the constant feeling of having to go to the bathroom. Which normally wouldn't be a problem.. however, my office is on the second floor at work and the bathroom is on the first floor. I can put off going to the bathroom for a while but only while I'm sitting down. As soon as I stand up- YIKES! I have almost wet myself more times than I would like to admit, but don't worry I have successfully made it to the bathroom every time! Heartburn.. man I despise heartburn. It also confuses me sometimes and I think I'm hungry. Trying to convince myself that the evil heartburn is telling me lies and I'm not actually hungry is very hard.. because at 10pm a bowl of honey bunches of oats sounds like it would soothe my heartburn away. Lies... its all lies.
          I am definitely getting larger as December is quickly approaching... I'm noticing more and more that I am not very aware of how far my belly sticks out because I keep running into things with it. I went to a craft show type thing this weekend and it was very crowded. I found myself trying to suck in as I walked in tight spaces... let me assure you, it did not work. I think I spent the majority of my time apologizing to people as I rammed them with the growing bulge on my stomach.
       Speaking of, my sweet girl is moving around a ton. She likes to turn and flip. Thankfully, there isn't a whole lot of kicking going on. However, if you poke at her enough, she will kick you. I will say that feeling her move is one of my absolute favorite things about this whole process! I also, ordered her custom bedding that should be here around the end of the month... I will definitely post pictures once it arrives! My first of 3 showers is this coming weekend and it feels like Christmas morning!! I am so excited to get things for her! It will definitely make all of this so much more real.

Well here's to more heartburn and hopeful bladder control!

Chubby

If you know me at all you know that I love a good chubby baby to squeeze and cuddle...but then again, who doesn't?! I love the sweet chubby cheeks and have always wanted my own baby to have those sweet kissable cheeks. Yesterday, we went for our 4D ultra-sound and I am happy to say, it looks as if my dream will come true...

The ultrasound lady took it upon herself to type out those cute words. Now, it's very hard to notice the chubby cheeks when there is a huge honker staring at you. The lady assured me multiple times that her nose is not in fact that large... we'll see. If nothing else she still has close to 12 weeks left to grow into it. Also, my grandmother thought that large swoosh of dark stuff on her head was hair... I can assure you, it is not. She does not have bama bangs at 28 weeks inside the womb. The ultrasound lady did show us that she has some peach fuzz on top but not a ton. She kept her hand up by her face most of the time and was very stubborn. She also did not appreciate the lady trying to move her around.. she kicked back. She must get that from her daddy ;) But mmm... those cheeks. I'm smitten already.

Quick Trip

This weekend we made a quick trip to Springfield, MO for my cousin's wedding. We left Friday about lunch time and got there just in time for the rehearsal dinner. Spending time with our Missouri family( my dad's parents, younger brother, older brother and their families all live in Missouri) is rare because we only see them once a year, if that. We knew this would be the last time we were there before we have a baby in tow. It was good to see them all and catch up. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was my dad's older brother telling him that he was jealous and he didn't think it was fair that my dad gets to be a grandpa before him. My dad's response was "Haha I win, I win!" And all this time I thought my competitive nature came from my mother.

Saturday, my dad and I cooked breakfast (I cooked the bacon... the grease kept popping up on me and I might have been a big baby about it), then the boys sat and watched football as my mom and sister basically dragged me to go shopping with them. I hate shopping. But I didn't want to be a party pooper, so I went. Warning them I would not last very long. At this stage in my pregnancy, any standing or walking for more than 5 minutes makes me have to go to the bathroom real bad. So we headed to the mall. After about 45 minutes in JCPenny I was done. Unfortunately, for me, they were not even close. I did find this beautiful watch whilst stalling (I found a TAG that I've wanted for about a year now.. but its $2300..yikes.. this was a Citizen and ONLY $560, ha only!)...

So when it was time to move to the next store... in the midst of my eye rolling, my sister joked about getting me a wheelchair. I said that was a ridiculous idea. The more they thought about it the more they liked that idea. Before I knew it, my mom was pushing me around the mall in a wheelchair. It was absurd but I didn't complain because, hey, I was sitting in a comfortable chair and did not have to go to the bathroom.

Once they finished shopping we headed back to my grandparents house to get ready for the outdoor wedding.. in the rain. It was definitely an experience but a sweet and beautiful wedding non the less. Here are a few pictures...

Us with the beautiful bride! Love her so much! So happy for her and Ty and super jealous that they're enjoying the warm sunshine on the beaches of the Dominican Republic right now.

Ps- horizontal stripes, pregnant and standing next to these two rails is not flattering. Oh well, less than 3 months to go!!!

Labor Day

We decided early this summer that we would take a couple of extra days around Labor Day weekend to go spend some time with his family. We left last Thursday and got back yesterday around lunch time. Jeremy's dad recently accepted a Director of Missions position in Brunswick, GA. Brunswick is only about 45 minutes from where his older brother, wife and kids live. His younger brother and his wife met us there as well. It was so good to spend with his family, who we only see once, maybe twice a year. One of my favorite things to do when we are with his family is to play cards. Always so much fun! Lots of competitive people trying to get the W. Also, while we were there we got to go to a place called St. Simone's island and walk around the cute touristy island. It doesn't compare to the jewel of the gulf coast but it is still extremely beautiful. We were also able to spend some time with Jeremy's BFF and his family. These two are absolutely the perfect pair and some what obsessed with each other. Its a shame they live over 600 miles apart. We spend the night laughing and letting the two of them tell stories and make fun of each other. We left their house wishing we got to see them more often. Here are a few pictures of our weekend!

This was dinner for me the first night we were there! Old Country Boil... crab, crawfish, shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes...it did not disappoint!

Us at St. Simone's.

We went shopping one day and I found this sweet outfit for the little Riles. His mom and my sister-n-law also bought her some adorable things!

Another day at St. Simone's.

On one of our last days there I found this gem in a store... let me remind you, we were in south Georgia, very close to the Florida border.. definitely in Bulldog and Gator country. The Tennessee girl in me wanted to start singing rocky top soon as I saw this but I refrained. Yes, I bleed Tiger Blue and when I married Jeremy, I took on the joy of becoming a Seminoles fan as well..but... I still love the boys in orange and white and it warmed my heart to see this!

Oh, this guy. Jeremy and Ryan have been best friends since the beginning of highschool. They lived less than a mile a part and were pretty much inseparable. Then Jeremy broke his heart and moved to Memphis. He came to here for Jeremy's seminary graduation and then left his very pregnant wife to come again to be in our wedding. I am so grateful for the sweet friendship they share...as well as the fact that Ryan approved of me enough for Jeremy to marry me :) We love him, his sweet wife, and adorable kids and wished very much that we weren't 11 hours away.

We had a wonderful time but as a wise girl from Kansas once said.."There's no place like home!"

Saying Goodbye

Our neighbors are foster parents and back in February they approached us about being relief parents for them. They had two foster girls and were expecting their first child in May. We would help them as often as they needed us to. These girls totally stole our hearts and we definitely formed a sweet bond with them. It definitely got us thinking about the possibility of adopting locally. In all of the time I've known Jeremy he always said he would never change a diaper unless it was his own child, well one time I walked into the living room and saw this...

Precious. Little did we know when we started watching the girls that they would be preparing us for our very own girl coming this year. All of this to say the girls were placed with a family today. Our neighbors had hopes of getting to adopt them but the Lord had other plans. We hugged and kissed them one last time today and it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. These sweet girls didn't even live with me and I cried like a baby. I can't imagine what our sweet neighbors are experiencing. It's hard not to worry or be concerned about their new living  situation bu all we can do now is pray that they would be loved and taken care of. These sweet faces will stay with us for a lifetime...

Learning to Trust

Let me give you a brief background on Jeremy and I and our current situation. He is working two part time jobs- Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Bellevue Arlington Student Pastor. He had been with FCA for about 4 years and felt God calling him back into church ministry. He was very involved with the students at Bellevue Arlington and the position of part time student pastor was offered to him. He loves what he is doing but it is beginning to take a toll. I am currently working full-time in Bellevue's Recreation ministry and love it! Normally, our situation would not be a big deal.. but with the surprise God gave us in April that we were having a baby it is beginning to get interesting. I've always wanted to be a stay at home mom but at this point we are not sure that can happen at first. With all of these different scenarios running through my mind of what we are going to do come December (or whenever she decides to come) not to mention our apartment lease is up in November, I really have been worrying about what we were going to do. Jeremy just doesn't worry and has faith far greater than mine. He has been through some trying times in his life and knows that the Lord is going to take care of us. Being married to him has been so encouraging and seeing the faith he has, has only made mine stronger. With everything that has been going on, God has been teaching me to just let it go and trust Him. This past Sunday was no exception. 

Jeremy was sharing with the students about Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea.  He talked about being in different stages in your walk with Christ. The first being the point in your life when you're up against a huge sea with your enemy on your tail... if you'll put all your faith and trust in Christ, He'll take care of you just like He did Moses and the Israelites. The next stage being when we get so bogged down in life and feeling like we're about to drown, we have to look at where we are, in the middle of the sea, on dry land, and He hasn't let the water cave in yet. We must surrender all that we have/are to Christ and trust that He's going to keep the water up until we've walked through. The last stage is being able to look back at where God has brought us from and what he brought us through and remember He took care of us...all we had to do was trust him.

Ouch. It was just the word I needed to hear. How many times in my life have I doubted that God is going to take care of me? Too many to count. And how many times has continuously taken care of me if I will simply trust Him? Again, too many to count. Our God is good and He will always do what He says He's going to do, all it takes is a little trust.

Summer

Dear Summer,

Please go away! I have enjoyed all of the fun you brought... trips, late nights, swimming, volleyball and of course the olympics. But I'm tired of sweating. At a little over 5 months pregnant, i'm not getting any smaller and the days keep getting hotter. Please go away soon and very very soon. If not then please bring some rain for me to enjoy from my window. I'm ready for cool breezes, football and leaves falling. I'm ready to experience the joy I get when I know I can walk outside to cool off. I'm ready for sweatshirts and toms..both of which I probably won't be able to fit in... guess that means I need to invest in some preggo fall clothing :) Summer, it's been fun but you are not welcome anymore. Time for you to go away and come back next year with much cooler temperatures.

Sincerely,
Sweaty Chubby Pregnant Girl