Saturday, April 30, 2011

Where has the time gone?

This weekend, the Shiloh High School class of 2001 is having their 10 year reunion. That means I graduated from high school 10 years ago! I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by. So much has happened in those last 10 years. Because I now live in the Northland and am expecting Baby C in less than 5 weeks, I won’t be able to go. In a way, I am sad that I won’t see some of the friends I had in high school who I haven’t seen in years.

However, in this day of technology, reunions don’t seem so enticing anymore. With Facebook and other social media, you can connect with everyone and get regular updates on what everyone is doing. Think about it, how many of your Facebook friends are people you knew in high school? Isn’t that what Facebook was originally designed to do, to keep you connected with your high school friends as you went off to college and beyond? It is nice to live with this technology.

With all that said, Shiloh High School class of 2001, have a great time! Wish I could be there to celebrate. I’ll leave you with some pictures from senior year (back in the day of film cameras!).

Spirit Day


Senior Night Football Game


Senior Proms (we went to both our proms in one night!)



My Graduation


Church Recognition Service of Graduates

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

We’re getting there

After purchasing the bedding, I was excited to get it set up in the nursery. I spent yesterday washing everything, so today I was able to arrange it in the nursery. The nursery is not complete yet. We are missing the wall décor, which is a work in progress. We also still need some items, especially a bookcase or some sort of storage unit. But we are getting closer to it being ready for Baby C’s arrival!

These will have to do until we have pictures of the final product. The lighting was not the best, so you can’t see a lot of the details. I love this bedding, though.





I also started working on the “stitching” on his letters. Not bragging, but I am pretty impressed with how it is turning out. I was a bit nervous about doing it by hand.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Weekend Getaway

This past weekend, we finally made a trip to the Twin Cities. It was about time! We went to celebrate my husband’s birthday and do some shopping. On Friday, we visited Ikea and the Mall of America for the first time. Both were incredibly crowded, but we were able to get everything we wanted to get. We then went to a nice restaurant for a birthday dinner. We also had the opportunity to stay with some friends. We had a great time hanging out with them and meeting their new baby. They were very gracious hosts. Before heading home on Saturday, we did a little shopping for Baby C. We got the nursery bedding, as well as some other items that we needed. It was a great time getting away, but I am very tired and sore after all the walking.

Check out these pictures from the Mall of America.

Elizabeth Berkley aka Jessie Spano from Saved by the Bell

Amazing Lego structures

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Busy, busy, busy

Wow! It has been a while since I have posted. But that is due to the fact that all the sudden our lives became very busy. We were barely at home this past weekend. Actually, this whole month is pretty much all booked with various things to do. Add nesting to that list and there is no time for down time. Stay tuned for more on my nesting stage. Let me give you a brief synopsis of the major happenings of the last week so we can get caught up.

Last week was filled with meetings (mostly for my husband, but those affect me as well), deadlines, waiting, planning, class, a benefit dinner, and more that is escaping my pregnant brain. It seems as though my husband has had more meetings in this month alone than he has had total in all the other months since moving here last June. It’s crazy! Just so you know, I’m not complaining. It is a part of his job, and I know there are going to be seasons that are busier than others. Hopefully, it will die down considerably when Baby C arrives! In addition, this is also the lovely season of taxes. Taxes were different for us this year in comparison to the past years, so there was adjusting that needed to be done both mentally and physically as well as waiting for paperwork. But that deadline has been met and we are set – whew!

I love the look of the letters that spell out babies’ names in nurseries. I had set out at the beginning of the pregnancy looking for the perfect letters, even before we knew that we were having a boy. I never found exactly what I wanted for what I was willing to pay, so I decided to make them myself. I ordered wooden letters to spell out Baby C’s name online in the font and size I wanted for a very reasonable price. Then I found an idea on Etsy that I wanted to use to paint and decorate them. I picked out paint colors to match the bedding. This past week I started out painting the base color. I think I have one more coat then I will add the decoration, which will look like stitching around the edges. I can’t wait to see the final product, but it has proven to be a lot of work. Let’s just say that I probably will be ordering baby #2’s letters pre-made! We also put the stroller together this past week.

The most time consuming thing that we did this past week was Labor and Delivery Class. We met on Friday night from 6:30-9:00 and on Saturday from 9:00-4:30. It was a long class filled with so much information. Our brains were fried by the end! In a way it was very helpful but in another way it was overwhelming. It is hard to believe that our little guy most likely will be here in the next 6 weeks. And there is so much that needs to happen before I even go into labor. It was nice to see the birthing center and to know our hospital’s birthing philosophy, if there is such a thing. Plus, they taught on all the ins and outs of labor and delivery in an incredibly real and honest way. Tonight we go back for the Infant CPR and Car Seat Safety Class. The worst part of the class was waking up Saturday morning to several inches of snow – yep, that’s right, snow in April. We were in a rush to get out the door that morning that I wasn’t able to get a picture. Here is a picture from Sunday morning before church, though. You can't tell, but it is snowing in this picture while the sun it out - very odd. That’s life in the Northland for you!

As if taking the class wasn’t enough, we also had a benefit dinner to attend for a ministry that our church supports on Saturday night. Even though we were completely worn out, it was a very nice evening and were able to meet more people in the community as well as see what this ministry is doing and how it is growing. Then, on a whim, we invited some visitors to our service on Sunday over for dinner after church. Our house was a wreck! But we managed to do a quick sweep through the house before they hardly saw the mess. It was a nice time of fellowship.

Yesterday, we brought dinner and dessert to some friends that are having some medical problems, so my day was busy getting that ready. I made this really fun dessert for the kids – dirt cake. I even put it in a flower pot, stuck fake flowers and gummy worms in it, and used a shovel to serve it (don't worry, nothing had been used before and it was all washed very well before use). The 2 year old was scared of the gummy worms, though. They looked too much like the ones in his toy tackle box. It was a blessing to serve them and spend time with them!

Looks like this week is going to be just as busy! Hopefully I will be able to find time to rest as well as post some overdue entries.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Showered with love (and 32 week picture)

This past weekend our church blessed us by throwing us a baby shower. We are very thankful for the body of Christ and the many ways that they have already supported us in our short time here. Thank you to all who participated, as well as our parents who participated from a distance. Enjoy the pictures!

Check out the amazing cake and cupcakes that my friend made!


I love the Noah’s Ark theme!

We had some help opening presents!

The same person that made the cake also made matching blanket, hat, and booties for Baby C. I am very excited about them!

We also received the stroller and car seat. So very thankful for that! Now we can bring Baby C home from the hospital!

And, here’s the 32 week picture!



Thursday, April 7, 2011

It's a Sunshine Day

I think I'll go for a walk outside now
The summer sun's callin my name
(I hear ya now)
I just can't stay inside all day
I gotta get out get me some of those rays
Everybody's smilin
Sunshine day
Everybody's laughin
Sunshine day
Everybody seems so happy today
It's a sunshine day
(From the Brady Bunch)

That it was today! Well, it’s not summer, but you get the idea. So I decided to take a walk with my husband. It was great to feel the warmth. I had to even take off my fleece jacket because I was getting so warm. That led me to sit outside afterward to continue to soak up some more rays. However, it will take a lot more soaking to get any color on my arms (that's life in the Northland for you)! Nevertheless, I took a freshly cut-up fruit salad and a good book out into my backyard. It was wonderfully relaxing! Days like this should not be wasted sitting inside. I hope for more opportunities to do these soon.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Anticipating and waiting patiently

A friend of mine delivered her second baby early this morning. She was only 36 weeks along, but because of complications the doctor decided to induce her yesterday. Her baby boy is in the NICU but is doing fine. Another friend delivered her baby at 32 weeks. He was in the NICU for several weeks. All of this has had me thinking recently.

I have had a fairly rough pregnancy. Please hear me out; I know others have had it worse than I have. I do not want to trivialize those who have experienced greater complications than I. From the beginning, it seems, I have been sick with “morning sickness” (I say that in quotations because mine lasted ALL day and ALL night for the first 5 months or so) and it has never completely gone away. At one point, I was vomiting 3-4 times a day every day. I wasn’t eating; nothing sounded appetizing to me. As a result, I lost somewhere around 25-30 lbs. I was placed on a prescription anti-nausea medicine, which I still need to take daily. I will be 32 weeks tomorrow, and I still struggle with the nausea quite frequently, but thankfully I no longer vomit. I now am dealing with the aches and pains of carrying a child. I have had too many sleepless nights, which only made all my other symptoms worsen. Even his movements can aggravate my symptoms, especially the nausea. Without listing them all, I felt like I had every negative symptom in the books. It has been horrible.

With all that being said, I do not know another person who has expressed the desire to want to be done being pregnant more than me. I have been ready to meet my little guy from early on, mostly because of how terrible I have felt. I often say to people that Baby C is more than welcome to come early. At one of my earlier appointments, I was told that I have an “interesting uterus,” as my doctor put it. This means that I am at risk for preterm labor. And I have been told by my doctor that as long as he comes after 35 weeks I should be fine (that’s only 3 weeks away!). Sounds good to me! Well, as long as he is healthy.

But the more I hear of babies coming early and ending up in the NICU, I am rethinking my position just a little. It is better for my little guy to finish developing and growing inside of me, no matter how much I am ready to meet him and how much I want my internal body back. So, for now, I am anticipating the arrival of Baby C, but will (try to) wait patiently for when God decides it is best for him to arrive. In all honesty, His timing is better than mine, and I need to trust in that. I know that He is in complete control of Baby C’s well-being. “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:13-14 ESV).

To end on a lighter note, it was pointed out to me today by a dear friend that I now waddle! I thought that I didn’t or at least, if I did, no one noticed. Guess I can no longer hide that aspect of pregnancy!