17 Weeks, 3 Days: Belly Shot Warning, Hypnobabies and Maternity Clothes

This post is about pregnancy. If you're not in a good place, please feel free to pass. Take care of you!

Little K and Sora love to nap together!

Another quick update on all of the Friday drama: the bleeding has not returned, no cramping. Everything is back to normal. We are praying it stays that way. No more surprises!!

We have a seriously active little Smudge on our hands! S/he has been kicking up a storm the past week. I felt three big kicks on Tuesday night with lots of rolling around, little kicks and movement for about 15 minutes while I was working on Wednesday, more Wednesday night, and even more on Thursday. WOW! I love feeling this little one move around! Had some more reassuring movement on Friday, a quiet weekend, and then a bunch this morning. Love it!

Everyone (well, my BFF and my husband) is convinced this is a little boy. Too funny! Although that is not the point of the ultrasound on October 9th, I do hope that we are able to find out what kind of Smudge we have in there. Even though I have zero say in the matter and have been simply praying for confirmation of health, I keep managing to squeak in a little "But, God, it would be terribly convenient if it's a girl!" After all, we already have a surplus of adorable baby clothes from my little niece! Heh.

Other than the movement and bigger belly (and the Friday drama), I honestly don't even feel pregnant. My back has adjusted to the extra weight and I'm feeling good. My appetite is back to normal. My sense of smell is fine. I do wake up tired every morning but I'm rarely waking up at night to urinate anymore. We are still walking five days per week. I try to fit in a bike ride or something with Little K on the weekends to fit in a little extra. This coming week I'm working on getting the weights back into my routine on a regular basis. Need to build up that upper body strength for carrying the carseat!

I've given up on regular maternity pants and am living in leggings. I don't care what the haters say - leggings are pants! I just have to find more tops that cover my rapidly spreading bottom. There's no avoiding VPL in leggings. Oops.

On a similar note, if you have any Fall/Winter maternity shirts, size Medium, and feel you are done growing your family, I would be very interested in buying those. I'm specifically looking for some long sleeve t-shirts and tunics.

Little K is usually excited about the baby but each day she mentions at least one thing she doesn't want the baby to touch or do. "The baby can't pet Sora." "The baby can't read this book." "You can't hold the baby the same way you held me." *sigh* I'm rereading Siblings Without Rivalry and praying a bunch. I'm sure we'll figure this out. Eventually.

***

I'd like to do a little call to anyone who has done Hypnobabies. If you did Hypnobabies and still have the CD's and materials, would you be willing to part with them? If so, I would LOVE to buy them and put some money in your pocket to pay for diapers! Comment or email me if you're interested!

***

Okay, last chance to bolt before the belly shot! Here's Smudge in all his/her glory:

17 Weeks, 2 Days: Second babies want to be noticed right away!

Update

Heartbeat normal in the 140s. Bleeding has stopped, could not locate source of bleeding. Advised to lay down the rest of the day, if possible, and take it easy. Thank you for your prayers!

Prayer Request

Asking for prayers. Having a little bit of light bleeding but no cramps. Feeling the baby move even now. Appt at 2pm est to listen to the baby's heartbeat and rule out any infection for me.

Tithing Update

After my post last week, God kept providing confirmation over and over that this is the right course.

Through Caroline's post.

Through the message at church: God Anoints Our Efforts and then He Makes Up the Shortfall. You don't have to have everything in order! Step out in faith -take the first step- and He will do the rest.

Through BSF:

When the Magi saw the Star, they searched for the Christ child - they worked with the little bit they knew of God and responded with worship. The Chief Priests in Jerusalem knew of the prophecy and even the place (Bethlehem was within 6 miles of Jerusalem) and did not care even enough to go look. Do you combine your knowledge -whether big or small- with action and worship?

When Joseph heard from God in his dreams (Matthew 1:18-24, Matthew 2:13-18, Matthew 2:19-23), he woke up and did what God had said. God spoke to Joseph in a way he could understand and Joseph responded with obedience. When have you heard from God and ignored His direction?

Through the BSF Notes:

The Magi brought gifts as a part of their worship of the Christ child. "In most churches, Christians present tithes and offerings to God. The offering is not a break in the worship service: it IS worship! All true worship expresses itself in giving." Do you worship God with your words, actions, AND treasures?

Wow. Wow, God, you have spoken to me in so many ways this week!

As I was talking everything out with my mom last night, I mentioned that I needed to sit down and figure out whether the tithe would come out of one paycheck or over the course of two paychecks per month. As I was saying this, I told her that I would love to see God provide the money for tithing and still be able to pay at least $200/month to the birth center.

God did more than that! I have enough for the full 10% tithe, to pay the birth center $200/month, and put $100 into savings each month. GOD IS SO GOOD! I can't wait to see what He will do next!

Edited to add:

OH! And we found out that our ultrasound on October 9th is covered at 100%! We also found out that, while Little K's tooth extraction on Monday will be rather expensive, I can just pay $75 that day and pay the rest in two weeks. When I called her father this morning about his 50% of the total cost, he did not balk at the amount and told me exactly how he would pay it and when. Thank you, Lord!

16 Weeks, 3 Days

This is a pregnancy specific post. If you're not in a good lace, please feel free to pass. Take care of you!

This is a few days late. Oops! Time is getting away from me and in more ways than one. On one hand, I feel like our IUI was forever ago and March is coming up fast. On the other, I look at the title today and say, "We're still in the teens! This is taking forever!" I swear, never happy...

Our anatomy scan is scheduled for October 9th at 10:00 AM. I can't wait! Obviously, we will be looking for a report of health, kidneys, brain, measurements, etc. But we are also excited to (hopefully) find out what kind of Smudge is hanging out in there!

We felt Smudge moving around for the first time Wednesday night after church! The best part was that both of us were able to feel it. S/he was hanging out pretty low, right at the top of my pubic bone. Very cool!

Of course, since then I've barely felt Smudge move at all. I know that feeling the baby move last week was extremely early and it was lucky that we were both able to feel it. Whenever I try to feel around on my abdomen, I pick up MY heart beat right away which seems to confirm the anterior placenta idea and helps explain why I'm not feeling much. I'm working hard to avoid any negative thoughts and am hanging on for the ultrasound to confirm that the baby is healthy.

Even with all of our walking, I've been struggling with my weight the past few days. I hit a wall the end of last week and had some Krispy Kreme. And then we had a movie night at home, so there was candy. And then R made chocolate crackers yesterday. *sigh* I'm afraid to step on the scale right now.

I tried to make good decisions yesterday. We always go to lunch after church on Sunday and I just ordered a small chili. R grilled some burgers for dinner and I cut mine in half lengthwise for more of a slider-style burger with only a small portion of sweet potato fries. Little K and I took our bikes out after church yesterday and did the parade of homes in our neighborhood, so I got in some additional exercise.

Today has been a whole-grain english muffin and 6oz. of calcium-fortified OJ at 7:30 AM, a small bowl of raspberry granola with skim milk at 9:30 AM. I'm planning on making a big batch of homemade spicy black bean sweet potato burgers for my lunches this week.

Something I'm really proud of has been my cooking the past month. I've been making dinner at home 6 days per week, which is huge for me. And I've been making my breakfasts and lunches those days as well. I've been eating vegetarian for just about every lunch. I'm trying to fit in an egg with breakfast but I'm just not hungry enough most days. Our dinners have been mainly chicken, although I've been trying to up my red meat just a bit to increase my iron intake. I'm making sure that every meal includes protein and at least one fruit/veg. It has taken some planning but it's getting easier.

Every once in a while I start to worry about adding a baby to our lives. Like this morning, after sleeping eight hours without waking and still being completely exhausted. Like yesterday when Little K was so frustrated that her friends were unavailable to play and knowing that even my play time with her will be reduced with a baby to care for. Like last Thursday after gymnastics when I didn't want anyone touching me or needing me and knowing that it will only be exacerbated by having a baby attached to my hip and breast.

So many prayers these days. For financial provision, for health and peace, for patience, for confidence to rest in God's plan...

Silly Kitty

 You'll have to give up your spot eventually...

Sora is feeling good after his surgery on Tuesday. He was a little tired Tuesday evening but was back to himself the next morning. Glad to have neutering out of the way!

Finances, Provision, Tithing

We received an invitation for one of Little K's church friends birthday party. Her party will be in October and is taking place at our favorite Autumn family fun park. I am SO grateful because it usually costs us $80-$100 to do this outing and, instead, it will all be free!! God is providing for us, one step at a time. Praying for us to remain faithful as we wait on His timing for our finances.

The birth center responded to our request for an extended payment plan and have agreed to receive full payment after my due date rather than at 36 weeks. Praise God! We will be signing to have them paid in full ($4600) in April 2014 Right now, it looks like:

• $400/month Sept-Dec
• $750/month Jan-April

I still don't know where all of this money is going to come from. I was able to set aside $200 for September (still not the $400 requested) but then remembered that Little K has a tooth extraction as a part of her ortho treatment on Sept 30th, so that money will be going to pay the pediatric dentist. Hopefully it will be enough to cover her treatment.

I'm seeing the Lord provide for us in October with the $100 above. I've already changed the way I handle our grocery shopping and general spending in order to find the $200/month. I will have an additional $230/month open up in January as my 2012 surgery gets fully paid off. None of this includes the $3600 we need in order to cover my maternity leave.

I am praying for God's timing and provision as I really just don't see anything else to cut. I don't know where it's going to come from. I feel completely lost and helpless. I am working on living and trusting Matthew 6:25-34:

Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to Him than birds.

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think He’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do His best for you?

What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way He works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how He works.

Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. 

I'm trying so hard to trust that God has a plan for us. As I was writing this post, and even the past few Sunday's at church, I've been thinking about tithing. It seems so counter-intuitive to give away money when you NEED extra funds. God reminded me today:

You ask, ‘How have we robbed you?’ The tithe and the offering—that’s how! And now you’re under a curse—the whole lot of you—because you’re robbing me. Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasury so there will be ample provisions in my Temple. Test me in this and see if I don’t open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams.

Oh, it is so hard!!! Please be praying for us. Please be praying for me to have the strength and courage to begin tithing. Please be praying that my faithfulness in tithing be an encouragement to R to begin doing the same. Please be praying for HIS provision.

Let's Talk About Bras

I have to rave about the new bra I got at my appointment on Friday. My clinic is non-profit and has a boutique attached to it. The boutique promotes breastfeeding, cloth diapering, and baby wearing, and all profits go back to the clinic next door.

As a part of their breastfeeding support, they have the best selection of nursing bras I've ever seen and will do a complete fitting to make sure you get just what you need.

I came in looking for a bra to support me as R and I walk each morning. Although walking is a very low-impact exercise, the weight of my quickly-becoming-unmanageable chest was making my back really sore, especially during our walks.

After being measured and talking about my needs, the woman brought out her top choice.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I remember putting on my first pair of maternity jeans when I was pregnant with Little K. All of a sudden, I was infinitely more comfortable. I was so happy that I refused to take them off and wore them out of the store!

This bra was like that. In an instant, everything was in place and my back didn't hurt and it was soft and comfy. I was in heaven! Although I didn't wear it home, I couldn't wait to get it back on again!

Behold its beauty:

Cake Lingerie: Cotton Candy Luxury Seamless Bra

It's certainly not cheap but it's a nursing bra so I can wear it post-pardum and get the most bang for my buck. Sweet!

I seriously can't recommend this bra enough. Pure bliss!

Current Freakouts

This is 100% me complaining, freaking out, and overall worried about how God is going to provide. Feel free to pass.

• Saving up $4700 to pay for our delivery within the next 5 months.

• Saving up an additional $3600 to cover my maternity leave from work.

• A $350 plane ticket to Florida for my bestie's 30th birthday in December.

• Not to mention Christmas and sweet Little K's 8th birthday the day after.

Don't mind the pregnant chick freaking out in the corner. Thank goodness we left the outcome of the IUI in God's hands. He must have a plan to pay for all of this, right?

15 Weeks, Kitties, and Other Updates

The first part of this post is about pregnancy. If you're not in a good place, please feel free to pass. Take care of you!

***

I owe you ladies so many updates! Let's get the pregnancy info out of the way so we can move on...

Friday was my 15 week appointment. I saw a different midwife this time (let's call her M) and really liked her.

Based on the clinic's scale, I'm only down 3 pounds but that's good enough for me. M was much more relaxed about the whole weight gain thing. She reviewed my eating log and declared that, as long as I'm keeping a similar diet to what was in the log and walking at least 5x per week, she's not worried about how much I gain. She said gaining 3 to 6 pounds by my next visit will be just fine. Awesome!

We reviewed my blood work and everything looks good except for my Vitamin D level, which was low at 26.6 (should be between 30-100). I'm now taking 2000 units of vitamin D daily.

I was really glad to hear that I'm not anemic as I have felt pretty dizzy a few days last week. Since my levels from last month look good, I'm not having to take an additional supplement. However, I have chosen to go ahead and boost my iron intake through diet. I loaded up on dark, leafy greens when I did the grocery shopping, as well as beans. Here's hoping!

I spoke to M about my headaches and she provided me with a list of supplements that can help with prevention. I am now taking Magnesium and CQ10 daily. No headaches since yesterday. We'll see if that continues.

At the end of the appointment, we listened to the baby's heartbeat. It was easy to find this time, hanging out right at the top of my uterus near my bellybutton and hitting 130-140 bpm. Sweet, sweet sound!

M was going to send in the referral for our anatomy scan. I'm hoping to hear back from the office today/tomorrow for scheduling.

***

I realized I haven't been updating you ladies on our sweet new kitty! Sora has settled in really well. He and Naminae still get in eachother's faces and aren't friends, but they are at least able to be on the same couch and not go crazy. He has started chasing her around the house, which is hilarious. Sora has been busy getting into trouble around here but hasn't broken anything yet.

We took him to the vet two weeks ago to get his ears checked out. The vet confirmed that he had ear mites and treated those. They also found that he had some weird intestinal parasite that they had to look up online to diagnose. They treated that, too, and his bowel movements have finally become solid. (EWW.) He sleep's in Little K's room each night and is a total fluffball. We just love him. He is getting neutered tomorrow.

***

My first Sunday with the worship team at church went great! After the third service, our worship leader commented that he would have never guessed this was my first Sunday with them. Pretty awesome compliment! Also, thank you five years of singing at church in FL!

Tonight is my first night playing piano for BSF. I spent the past week scanning music from the hymnal, chording it, and then printing it out bigger so I don't have to squint. I received the list of three songs for this week on Saturday and have been practicing non-stop. Feeling pretty good about tonight!

***

Speaking of BSF, first week of Matthew is done. I managed to get my questions completed before 9:30 AM each day, which is a huge accomplishment for me. There are usually five "Challenge Questions" per week, where you are free to look in other passages of scripture to support your answers (the rest of the time, you are limited to the passage you are studying that day). If felt SO good to read the challenge questions, know the verse I want to use, and know what book of the Bible to look for it in. That is HUGE for me, since last year I knew the verse I wanted to use but had to Google it in order to get the reference. Yay for progress!

***

Travel plans for Christmas are slowly coming together. We've been able to narrow it down to three options, which feels great. They are:

• Little K and I drive to FL, I ride with my parents to/from TX to spend Christmas with my sister and then drive Little K and I back to NC. Pros: moderately expensive, I am with Little K for all travel, get to see my parents, sister, and niece for Christmas. Cons: my poor tailbone!
• Little K flies to FL by herself for Christmas, my parents drive her back to NC and spend NYE with us. Pros: Least expensive, I don't have to travel, I get to see my parents for NYE. Cons: I don't trust her FL family to pick her up from the airport on time, I'm not there to take care of Little K's needs on the plane, my parents might be to wiped out from the TX driving and have to cancel, so I would have to drive to FL on short notice to pick her up.
• Little K flies by herself the entire trip. Pros: less expensive than driving both ways, I don't have to travel, my folks don't have to travel to NC and back. Cons: trust issues to FL family on pick up, not being on the plane with Little K to take care of her needs.

I'm really struggling with trust and with Little K traveling by herself. I know she is excited about the idea but all of the what-if's pop in my mind. And then there's always the idea that this ONE time I don't fly with her is when something terrible will happen. I don't want her to be alone, without Mommy to protect her.

I'll have to make a travel decision soon since prices are already starting to climb. Augh!

***

I think that's everything. Thanks for sticking with me through a long post!

Music

Just for fun, I thought I would share the music we rehearsed last night for the upcoming Sunday service. "Glorious Ruins" is a new favorite of mine. Hope you enjoy!

Made Alive

Waiting Here for You

Glorious Ruins

Glorious Ruins

(I've heard the first link doesn't work on mobile devices.)

B(ack) S(tudying) F(inally)

Little K is home sick today with a very upset tummy. Our prescription is toast (eww, goes right through her), ice water, apple juice, gatorade, popsicles, and lots of Netflix. Hoping my little girl gets better so she can go to Awana tonight!

It is so good to be back to studying the Word again! Every summer break, I promise myself that I'm going to spend time in scripture. I have an amazing study book for Esther (my favorite book of the Bible) that I've been meaning to do for TWO YEARS! Yet I never manage to get it done. I really have to work on my commitment and self control...

Our questions today focus on the women in the line on Jesus as found in Matthew 1:1-17: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary, the mother of Jesus. As part of our study today, we read about each of the women and made note of facts about them that stand out to us. As I was reading about Mary, these verses jumped off the page:

Luke 1:36-37

And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.

At first, I honed in on verse 37: Nothing is impossible with God. 

Because it's true! Five years ago, I would have told you that, even though I wanted another child, it would never happen. R was too set against it and I had made a commitment to prayerfully submit to my husband. And yet, here we are! Through prayer, communication, and learning to "love the verb" each other, we came together in unity to put our family building in God's hands. We committed to a single cycle and trusted the Lord with the outcome, knowing that His plan for our family was best. (More to the point, I finally came to a place where I trusted God's plan over mine and submitted to HIM.) And He has given us a child!

I never, never thought that I would be here. God is so good!

And then I looked at verse 36: Elizabeth... everyone called her barren and here she is six months pregnant!

And I thought of you. All of you/us who make up with community. Please know that you are still in my prayers and that I believe God will do amazing things in your life. That He can work in mighty ways to make you a parent. Scripture tells us that "He gives childless couples a family, gives them joy as the parents of children. Hallelujah!" Yes and Amen!

Thank you for supporting me in this pregnancy. I am praying for the day when I get to pour out my support for yours.

Did she really just say that?!

I want to tell you how wonderful it was seeing all of the BSF ladies after a long summer break. (SO wonderful!)

I want to tell you how excited I am to be studying Matthew this year. (SO excited!)

But first...

Our BSF group is comprised of just over 200 women. This large group is together for welcome at the beginning and lecture at the end of the night. In between, we break into 15 or so smaller circles, called discussion groups, to talk about last week's lesson, share our answers, and grow in relationship with one another through study of God's word together. You are assigned to these groups, a new one each year. Each group has a trained leader who facilitates and directs the conversation to make sure you don't go off topic.

SO! Last night was our first meeting of the year, which meant that we didn't have a previous lesson to review. Instead, we broke into our smaller groups, the discussion leader reiterated the guidelines for discussion groups, and then we went around the room introducing ourselves. We were asked to share our name, a little about ourselves, how long we have been attending BSF/how we found out about BSF, and a place we would like to visit.

I had been praying prior to our discussion group on whether or not to talk about our experience with infertility. I was the second woman in the room to share and decided to go for it. My exact words:

"...my seven year old daughter has been attending BSF with me for the past two years but is doing Awana this year instead. After a three year journey with infertility, I am currently pregnant with our second child."

Of course, there were lots of enthusiastic "congratulations!" from around the room. After this, we went around the room for the remaining women to share about themselves. The next woman to share talked about adopting two children after failed infertility treatments. The next about dropping out of BSF halfway through last year due to depression regarding her infertility. And another woman (in her 50's or so) about never having children "though not from lack of trying" and being diagnosed with uterine cancer over the summer break and having a hysterectomy.

The whole time, I was thanking God for giving me the opportunity to share so early about our experience and that our story encouraged others to share about how infertility effected their lives.

The remaining women (we are a group of 13) talked about how many children they have and whether or not they homeschool. All in all, it was a very caring and compassionate atmosphere. No judgement, lots of sympathy. I really felt like it is a safe place for the women in our group who have/are experiencing infertility to open up.

AND THEN.

Oh my goodness, the very last woman in the group. The one sitting right next to me. I won't even paraphrase. Here are her exact words:

"We are a childless household and hope to keep it that way. So all of you (motions to those of us who talked about infertility) send your infertility vibes my way."

OH. MY. GOSH!!!

I have no words. I was completely shocked. How could someone say something so thoughtless and selfish and downright hurtful? I wasn't hurt for me because I know our IF story is very different and out of what is considered normal in this community. Instead, I hurt for the other women in the room who have been hurt and scarred by their infertility

I understand that she may have been feeling defensive being in a group of women who are or want to be mothers.

BUT STILL. No one would ever say to a cancer survivor "Send your cancer my way!" Why?! Why would she think it is okay to say this?

EDITED: This one may be better. No one would say to someone recovering from divorce, "I never want to get married, so send your newly single vibes my way."

I'm proud to say that I kept a smile on my face and didn't confront her after class. I've been praying about how to help her, whether that is the Lord using this study to change her or a gentle word/conversation from me or our discussion leader would be helpful. I'm sure that, if a word/discussion is the path, that He will provide the opportunity. I've also been praying for the other three women in our group to not be afraid to share during the discussion time or ashamed about IF being a part of their story.

Wow. Just, wow.

Misc. Monday

• Spent 45 minutes on the phone with our insurance on Thursday figuring out coverage, preventative benefits, maternity and new baby coverage, and our flu shots.

• Little K and I got our flu shots on Friday. R will be getting his in two weeks.

• Watched our little kitten pounce on Naminae (the big cat) no less than three times on Saturday morning. Guess he's no longer worried about her popping him!

• Speaking of the kitten, he is getting neutered a week from tomorrow.

• Busy week ahead with all of our activities starting up again. First up: BSF tonight.

• Speaking of BSF, I received a call from our main leader on Saturday asking if I would be willing to play piano for our music time each week. I'm getting the materials tonight and starting next Monday. Exciting!

• Speaking of music, first official rehearsal for Sunday worship team on Wednesday. Again - exciting!

• Teaching Little K how to use the sewing machine on Tuesday. Big girl!

• Craving alcohol like WHOA. Actually had a dream Saturday night that I shared a Longboard beer at the beach with Erika. The pictures of her enjoying cocktails on vacation got me SO jealous!

• Midwife appointment on Friday and hopefully we will be getting our referral for the anatomy scan.

• Hoping to order my Hypnobabies home study materials on Friday.

14 Weeks: Eye Can't See You

*The first portion of this post is about pregnancy. If you're not in a good place, please feel free to pass. Take care of you!*

So, here's a weird pregnancy thing: my eyesight is getting worse. It is getting increasingly more difficult to read the computer screen and my vision is blurry at distances that used to be fine. I am pretty nearsighted and have been wearing glasses and contacts for almost 20 years, so poor eyesight is nothing new, but this is terribly annoying! I think it's time to retire my contacts until after childbirth when, hopefully, my vision will return to normal. Ugh!

Another not so fun thing I'm experiencing: headaches. I remember this one from my pregnancy with Little K. I have become especially sensitive to light and heat, to the point where spending more than a few minutes in direct sunlight or heat over 85* leaves me with a terrible headache. I can't wait for this heat to leave!

Other headache triggers are sugar and significant changes in barometric pressure (although the weather thing isn't new, thanks FL!). So goodbye to any Halloween candy! *grump* It doesn't help that a third of the recipes I've been pinning are for desserts or candy creations. I just want them all!!

One last thing: I am managing to hold steady at only 5 pounds gained total. I am beyond pleased about this! I think that the first week of heavily tracking my intake and exercise really helped realign my perspective. I have been making it a point to eat breakfast and lunch everyday, something I was sometimes combining into a single meal. I've been planning out weekly menus and making sure either fresh or frozen fruit/veggies are included in every meal. We have been walking a minimum of 5 days per week. All in all, I feel like I've found my groove with eating for this pregnancy and am feeling pretty confident that I will be able to stay within the 20 pounds total gain that the midwives have set. 

***

In other news: BSF starts next week! I am super excited to see these women again and dig back into God's word in a significant way. Our study this year is the first book of the New Testament: Matthew. Woo! I especially look forward to it since we studied the first book of the Old Testament last year. Yay for symmetry!

I really want to encourage those of you who are Christians or are interested in an in-depth study of the Bible to see if there is a BSF class near you. It has been the most rewarding Bible study experience I've ever had, full stop.

Wednesday night classes are starting at church next week, too. Little K is doing Awana for the first time. I've heard great things about the program and am so glad that a group has started at our church. We have agreed that, as long as she does Awana, she doesn't have to do BSF. I'm hoping this works out cause she wasn't enjoying BSF the way I was...

I am alternating weeks between the Women's Ministry and rehearsal for Sunday worship team rotation. The women are doing a Beth Moore study this year, although I don't remember which one. I haven't done one of her studies before and am kind of cautious. I am more of a 'study the Bible' person that a 'complete a study book' person. But I am really looking forward to connecting with the women of this church and making new friends.

R is excited to hook back up with the Men's Ministry. They are studying 33: The Series this year, which has ME excited. Yay for men stepping up and leading/living like Jesus!

Second grade is going well for Little K, which is another huge blessing for us. She is making new friends, continuing to do well with math, and really excelling in reading. She has nightly homework of reading one book a day and is picking some lengthy ones. Last weekend she read me The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV. Lots of words, lots of paragraphs, lots of inflection, and lots of pages. It took a while but she did the whole thing. So impressed with her stamina and hard work!

Speaking of too much TV, we are limiting screen time around our house. Little K is allowed one show as she is waking up in the mornings, one show after school, and then the TV goes off until after dinner. She can choose another show after dinner or 30 minutes of video games but she often plays outside during that time if the weather is nice. She and I also watch 30 minutes of a movie together in her bed each night. Last week was Hello Dolly and this week has been The Music Man. Trying to decide on which musical to do next. I was considering Guys and Dolls or Victor/Victoria but I think the themes in each are too adult for her. Maybe My Fair Lady...

We've definitely noticed a change in her attitude since limiting TV. Plus she has been getting back into some of her other pleasures, like painting and creative play with her stuffed animals. She and R have built a few things together in the garage, too, which is just the sweetest thing ever.

One last thing: Little K has made a new friend in Sunday School who's father is currently in the hospital for the third time. We took the family a homemade dinner last night. They haven't shared what the father is battling but please keep this family in your prayers.

***

Whew, that ended up being quite a post! I think I have an appointment with the midwives next Thursday, so I'm sure there will be lots to say!

Shower Thoughts: An Update

*This post is related to pregnancy. If you're not in a good place, please feel free to pass. Take care of you!*

Thank you for your responses and for reading my post in the spirit it was written! You ladies are just the best. :-)

I am so thankful to say that one of our neighbors told R that she would like to host a baby shower for us to thank us for all of the help we've given them since they moved in back in April. Thank you, Lord, for generosity!

Aside: Really, the majority of the help we've provided has been from R who helped them build their fence and helped them with some other landscaping projects. The Lord has given him a passion for working outdoors and a servant's heart. I am very blessed to have this guy in my life!

It will most likely be a small gathering (under 15 adults) but I am just so thankful to know that we will be able to celebrate this new child with friends. Speaking of, we plan on inviting the daughters of these women, too, so we will hopefully have a small group of 5-8 year olds running around keeping each other company (plus two teens and one infant). I think it will be adorable.

An especially fun part, for me, is that my parents and sister (with Baby M) are all planning on coming to NC for the shower. Since it's being planned for mid-January, we will also be doing my dad's birthday party (Jan 25) and an early first birthday party for Baby M (Feb 2) while everyone is here. Party Weekend 2014!

So, here's another set of questions for you just for fun:

What piece of baby gear do you think is a waste of money or space?

What piece of baby gear can you not survive without?

What piece of baby gear did you not purchase but wish you had?

I'll be honest: we didn't have the funds or space with Little K to purchase much in the way of gear. The one thing we received that we ended up not using was the pack and play. It was too bulky to set up in our apartment and my folks had a crib for when she was at their house. I did get her a kick gym and small footprint exersaucer which she totally loved! I wish I had gotten her a full size swing and a better quality diaper bag.