My Boys' Favorite Part of Their Day

 ....Daddy's Home!!!

22 Weeks Pregnant!

Lots of good things have happened this week!

-Owen moves all day long. For so long I've been thinking that he was nice and quiet and will be real relaxed, but now I'm thinking that he'll be just as wonderfully crazy as his big brother. I think maybe the reason I couldn't feel him as soon as I felt Adrian is because he's a little higher up and Adrian was so low in my pelvis the whole time.

-I started being able to SEE Owen move on the outside - oh my I love that! Nick can feel him move too and we're both getting really excited. I tried to video it, but it doesn't look as obvious on the video.

-I had my first bout of what I can only describe as pregnancy insomnia. This week I was sick and could NOT go to sleep...no matter what I tried...until 5am. I had to wake up a little after 7. That was a tough day being so exhausted and still being so sick, but I made it through and slept wonderfully last night. Owen was up the whole night too so he kept me company. Nick was very comforting and helpful - he was tired too.

-We found a dresser on lejeuneyardsales.com for our room (Nick had a long one and I wanted him to have a tall one so we can fit the bassinet next to it). The guy was asking a very low price and ended up giving it to us for free! It's perfect. We moved it into Owen's room and soon I'll start organizing all the newborn clothes we have. His room has been used as a storage room so we have a lot of things to go through and try to sell/throw away/put somewhere else. I really like our trailer but it is really inconvenient to have so little storage space. I can't wait to get everything all set up!

 Here's a picture of our boys at 20 weeks - I think their profiles look very similar - especially their noses!

21 Weeks Pregnant!

This has been a good week! Last Wednesday we had a doctor's appointment and got to see baby Owen again. He looked great and the doctor said he's measuring right on schedule. His brain and all his organs and limbs look great too so we're very thankful! My midwife gave me a prescription to help with my migraines and so I've had a pretty pain-free week! Yay!

I've been getting the "nesting" feeling - a little frustrating since I'm only half way through this pregnancy and there's not a whole lot I can do yet! I started my little stash of diapers and things so that we don't have to buy a lot when Owen's born. It's so nice to see those tiny little diapers on the shelf again! Thanks to swagbucks, my payment for working for Cafemom, and great deals on LejeuneYardSales.com, I've spent very very little!

My biggest purchases were:

• Two packs of diapers, a pack of nursing pads, and a 3 pack of pacifiers from Target with gift card (payment from CafeMom). I spent $1.97 after the gift card.
• A new adorable swaddler, new boppy cover, and 2 pack of pacifiers from amazon. Spent less than $2 after using Swagbucks.
• Pack of diapers, pack of nursing pads, car seat strap covers for both boys, socks for Adrian and things for post partem health. Free with Walmart gift card from CafeMom.
• 5 newborn swaddlers for $5 from LejeuneYardSales.com

So, I got a really great start on some things we really needed for less than $10 (worth well over $100) this week! I am still trying to stock up on diapers and other things until December, and this just makes me so thankful that I kept everything from Adrian. The things we "need" are very little compared to how much we needed for Adrian.

We have a lot to be thankful for this week! God has been so good!

20 Weeks Pregnant!

We are half- way to meeting precious Owen Judah (Or maybe a little more than half way, right buddy?). This pregnancy has gone by much faster so far than my pregnancy with Adrian. 

This week, here's what's going on:

-I can feel Owen several times a day now, even when I'm not concentrating on it. He even woke me up yesterday morning with his sweet little kicks.

-I'm craving Chick-fil-A like crazy. Which, apparently, is a very popular thing to be craving as a Christian right now. It's actually pretty ridiculous how often I think about eating it during the day - ugh, so bad!

-I learned to crochet, thanks to my sister, Kays. I made my first baby blanket for Owen and am working on my 2nd. I'm glad December is such a blustery month because he will need to be very snuggly in all his warm things.

-I ordered matching crochet hats for Adrian and Owen. I am nearly brought to tears with the cuteness, but unfortunately Nick doesn't quite understand how adorable they are. Ah well.

 

- I'm very excited that two of my friends expecting in December are also having boys - even though I no longer live in GA, I'm very excited that our boys will "grow up together" over facebook at least. So fun.

-I'm starting to feel very slightly stressed at the thought of getting Owen's room set up (and ours, for that matter) since he will be here oh so soon. Ideally, I'd like to have it all ready by the end of October so that I can focus on being prepared in other ways during November, and have all the holiday things checked off my list. This year, I'm not putting Christmas decorations up at all except for paper and felt homemade decorations that Adrian and I will make "together".

-Most of all, I'm feeling very very grateful and blessed - thankful for how easy this pregnancy has been so I can still give Nick and Adrian my full attention without being in pain (except at night - please keep my migraines in your prayers). Thankful that we still have everything left over for Adrian and there isn't any huge items that we need. Thankful for TWO PRECIOUS BOYS. The Lord is too, too good.

20 week Pregnant Photo

 

 

 

20 week belly progression! Baby boy is growing!

Everything grows rounder and wider and weirder, and I sit here in the middle of it all and wonder who in the world you will turn out to be.
-- Carrie Fisher

Thoughts on The Colorado Shooting

Early this morning, James Homes walked into a Colorado theatre showing the midnight premier of the 3rd movie in The Dark Knight trilogy and created a massacre - the largest mass shooting in the history of the United States.

All day today, I've had a very heavy heart. Mostly because I know this morning was historic - I remember how I felt about Columbine, I remember how I felt about 9/11, and other similar tragedies and I've never taken the time to write about it in the moment, so as my sweet baby boy is asleep in his head, and my head is filled with silent prayers and confusing thoughts, I come here to sort them out.

12 -14 people dead (according to different sites), 50-70+ wounded (according to different sites). One man, my age, in custody. (There were 13 killed and 21 wounded in the Columbine High school shooting in 1999).

I may not have the most popular viewpoint (in fact, I don't think I've ever publicly written out anything that could be labeled as controversial, but I felt I needed to at least write this on my measly blog), but my first thought was not what I've seen many of my friends sharing on facebook - the, "well, if violence wasn't so accepted in movies, this wouldn't have happened".

My first thought, as I read through the article at seven something this morning, was "oh Dear Precious Jesus, why"? For some reason, I pictured the mental image I often have of Jesus STANDING next to the throne of the father as Stephen was being stoned. No, not at all comparable, but I know our Lord watched it all last night. For some reason, this is comforting to me.

Yes. It's true that violence spurs, or breeds if you will, violence. However, I'm not about to jump on the bandwagon and say that that movie is what caused it. Of course, on the surface, it is. However, I want to remind you that the supernatural relm is as real as the natural realm - there is a war being fought on our behalf alongside the personal, natural fights humans fight within themselves to answer the question - who am I and how do I relate to God?

 Oh, Father won’t You forgive them/They don’t know what they’ve been doing/Oh Father, give me grace to forgive them/Cause I feel like the one losing 

Honestly, my first response to these things my Christian friends and aquaintences have said is a strong feeling of disappointment.  Disappointment that ranting angrily about these things was the first thought acted on, instead of sympathy, prayers, pleading for the lives that have been lost and changed (yes, dare I even think to include the soul of James Holmes). 

Why, does it seem, in matters of extreme conflicting viewpoints, more often then not, it is Christians that are the quickest to judge, with raised eyebrows, glancing down our noses, huffing our "well, if they hadn'ts"?
Why is our first action not falling on our knees in prayer for them - prayer for the strength to share the love that erases all fear, the love that has defeated Evil for eternity?

Just a thought.

"Why do we think that hates going to change their heart/We’re up in arms over wars that don’t need to be fought/Pride won’t let us lay weapons on the ground/We build our bridges up but just to burn them down/We think pain is owed apologies and then it’ll stop/Truth be told it doesn’t matter if they’re sorry or not/Freedom comes when we surrender to the sound/Of mercy and Your grace, Father, send Your angels down"

-"Losing" by Tenth Avenue North

18 Weeks Pregnant!

We are almost...almost half way! I can't wait to hold this little guy in my arms.

This week -
-heard a strong heartbeat on the doppler for a while - it was 150's. I think Owen was sleeping because he didn't move while I was listening, which is unlike him.
-I think I felt him kick my hand! I'm not quite sure yet so I'm not excited yet :)
-He's still pretty easy-going it seems.
-Please pray for my migraines. I'm having them several times a week and it gets exhausting!

So far, I've been able to get a few of my "bigger" items on my wish list at garage sales. Owen has a medela double electric breast pump, a moby wrap ($40 less than retail and brand new), a new blanket with chewy edges, and I ordered a hand-crocheted teddy bear cap (so cute). So, we're getting ready! Nick and I have been talking about how we want to re-arrange our room to fit the bassinet and we're getting excited.

Crafting for Adrian and Owen

I've been working on making a 3D paper mural for each of my boy's rooms. Adrian's will be farm/forest themed and Owen's will be Safari/hot air balloon themed (I couldn't pick between the two). 

I've been working on these for a couple of weeks - they're tedious because it's free-hand cutting, but it's SO fun! I've been getting my crafty crafty fix.

What do you think? I probably won't be done for several months so there's a lot more to go!

Mud!

What happens when Daddy turns his back for one second?

This: