Celebrating Friends and Relationships

Carissa and I outside of Don Juan's

This week has been one of celebration and remembrance. Monday, the day after I got back from my family trip to Arkansas to see Jeremy and Eliza, I got to have lunch with an old friend. Because both she and I have blogs, she was able to find my blog and we were able to get re-connected. It was so good to see Carissa after almost three years of not seeing or communicating with each other. We met the first week we lived in the dorms our freshman year. She and her roommate lived about three doors down and we started hanging out all the time. Through the four and a half years we were at ACU we had some good times!

Matthew and I on our way home from dinner.

Along the lines of remembrance and celebration, Matthew and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary on Tuesday, the 25th of July. It seems like it was a long time ago that we were married but I know for all of you that have been married a while three years is nothing in comparison to 25 or 50 years of marriage. To celebrate we were planning on participating in our second annual ritual of going to a Japanese Hibachi grill. (The first year we were married we had our first dinner as a married couple at a Japanese steak house in Galveston, TX. Last year since Matthew was in the middle of taking the Bar Exam we were unable to celebrate a whole lot.) After making reservations to dine at a local Japanese steak house, we were invited to dine with Matthews uncle and aunt in Longview to celebrate his cousin's birthday. We accepted the offer and had a great time. Audrey, our little bun in the oven, was kicking up a storm making it hard for me to really enjoy being stuffed.
To continue with our Anniversary celebrating we are going to stay in a B&B in Palestine, TX tonight and then tomorrow take a trip on an old fashion Texas Railroad that goes through a state park. Since we are in the final days of non-childrendom we are living it up and trying to have as much fun as non-parents as we can. We are looking forward to our new baby but we are still nervous about how our lives will change and how expensive kids can be. For those of you who are keeping track of our count down we are at 33 weeks, at the beginning of our 8th month. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

We're in Tyler!

Many of you may know that we have moved to Tyler, TX. Our decision to move came around the middle of May. Matthew had applied to so many different jobs and finally after 8 long months of prayer and hoping Matthew got an interview for an Assistant District Attorney's position. A little over a week later Matthew was in Tyler starting his new job!
I stayed in Georgetown to wrap up my job and pack-up the house. The month we were apart was really hard on both of us but God got us through. I was glad to quit my job due to the level of stress becoming greater and the need to prepare for our baby's arrival this fall. (However, I am really going to miss all the people that I worked with and the friends we made while in the Austin area.)
It is truly amazing how in the span of a couple of months our lives were flipped. I went from being the bread-winner to becoming a stay at home mom and Matthew went from desperately searching for a job to becoming the bread-winner and loving it.
God is amazing in how His timing happens just when we need it most. Thanks to all of you who have encouraged us and kept us in your prayers. (Stay tuned for more updates on the baby girl!)

It's....A GIRL!!!!

We have some long awaited news! Matthew and I are going to have a little girl! We have been waiting for my 20 week (actually 24 week) check up for some time. Not only were we going to find out the gender of our child but I was going to under-go Gestational Diabetes blood testing. (Disclaimer: I hate needles of any sort...so this was a big deal to me).
Backing things up a bit to the night before our doctor's appointment. The night before I was so excited and nervous about finding out what gender our child was going to be. I was planning baby room ideas and mapping out the best places to register and how to get there the quickest. Matthew was not sure why I felt the need to stay up all night planning for this doctor's appointment when we would have 18 plus years to get used to the idea of our kid. The next day I was so excited that I woke up an hour before I needed to and started urging Matthew to get up as well.
By the time we got to the doctor's office I was ready. I had a snack prepared for after the appointment, a camera, a blank video tape to record our child's movements, thank you cards for the doctor's staff and lists of what to register for.
When we got into the sonogram room we were so excited and ready to find out how our baby was doing. I think the doctor could have told us we were having a monkey and we still would have been thrilled.
Matthew was all smiles as he watched the doctor locate each part of our baby. I was so astounded at how intricate the baby's body was formed. God is truly the miracle maker when it comes to babies.

Half Way there...and counting

Since the last posting we have had two doctors visits. The first visit included blood testing and heart-beat listening. Each time we hear the heart beat, it keeps getting stronger and stronger. It is so reaffirming to hear the baby's heart beat and to know that our baby is still doing well and that the dogs' jumping off my belly has not caused harm.

Speaking of the dogs...we are so ready to have kids that we sent our dogs on an Easter egg hunt looking for treats. At first the dogs could not figure out what we wanted them to do but when we would point to an egg and say "TREAT", they would rush over and sniff the plastic egg. Joan, our oldest and smartest dog, would follow the scent we had left from hiding the eggs. She would find an egg, put it in her mouth and crack it open to reveal the treat.


Back to our baby...on our second doctor's visit the only big thing that happened was hearing the baby's heart again but this time the doctor did not have to search for the heart beat. The minute the doctor put the device to my stomach, we could hear the baby's ticker. At this last visit we had a list of questions we wanted to quiz the doctor on and make sure we had not picked a terrible doctor.... he measured up nicely.

Next time we go to the doctor's office we will get to find out what the baby is...whether it is a human or not...oops I mean a girl or boy. I will also be test for gestational diabetes which can rise up only during pregnancy for some women. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts and let us know if you have any job leads for Matthew.

2 down, 7 more to go

So far I have already had three visits to the doctor to check our baby out. On our first visit, Matthew and I got a big confirmation that we were pregnant with a sonogram. It was so neat to see what God can do without you even knowing about it. The sonogram did not show much but it did confirm that there was something going on inside of me. (black spot in picture is womb)
Our doctor asked us to come back the following week (5weeks) to confirm that there was a baby inside and to get a better idea of when we would be expecting our Wee-one. It was so awesome to see a creature inside me. I could even see it's little heart flashing. I started tearing up and realized how amazing God is. (baby is in left side of womb)
On our third visit (10 weeks), four weeks later, my mom was able to come down from Waco to join us. We were going to hear the heartbeat and then go out and baby shop. We were hoping to see the baby but all that the doctor did was move a small device across my abdomen with a radio-machine attached to pick up the baby's heartbeat. First we heard a loud whom-whom-whom, which was my heartbeat. Then the doctor shifted his device and we heard whim-whim-whim-whim, the baby's heartbeat! The heartbeat was not as fast as we had thought it would be but it sure was a strong a steady beat.
We are not due to go back to the doctor for another five weeks. At that point we will be 16 weeks along and into the second trimester. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and for a healthy pregnancy.

God's little blessing

This new year has been a bit rocky for us...even before the calendar rolled over. As many of you may know, Matthew lost his job back in September and has been searching for employment for sometime. In the midst of everything looking more and more bleak...God suprised us with a wonderful miracle. Around the first of the year we found out that we were expecting a precious little baby. Our first thoughts were of shock and dismay. But as the news started settling in to our minds we became excited and expectant.
Now that we are 2 months into this 9 month journey, we know that God has given us this baby for a reason in the midst of our chaotic lives. We have a ray of sunshine that was not there 2 months earlier. Isn't God wonderful in how and when he sends his blessings. Although we are greatly excited by our news we are still waiting and wondering what God will do about providing Matthew with a job. We ask for your prayers and encouragement right now as we look to God.