What the heck was that?!?

So, there I was just sitting at my desk looking outside wishing I was at home on the hammock (I'd have my dog sitting in the yard, a cup of tea, a good book, and an airsoft gun to shoot woodpeckers). However, I was at work waiting for the first phone call of the day...when all of a sudden...what was that odd feeling about an inch to an inch and half below my belly button? I sat there for while trying to figure out what it was! Then it hit me "could that be the baby moving?" I quickly called my mom, who confirmed that it was definitely possible! Then I went online to find out what other pregnant women described it as...all matching up so far! Then I asked a lady at work who has a few kids and she confirmed that it was most likely the baby moving! Now, I have never felt anything like it before and it was amazing. It was a weird twitching/fluttering/very soft thumping feeling! It would only last for 15-30 seconds at a time then would stop for 2-7 minutes and come back. This went on for a good one and a half hours. I know that this early on I might feel it again for a while, but I will always cherish that moment when I first felt our little baby move! God has truly made pregnancy an amazing thing! I know I won't enjoy labor...but I'm confident now that it will be totally worth it!

Holy Crap!

So several times in the past few days I've sat down and really thought about the little life that is growing and moving inside me (even though I can't feel the baby yet). Here are some of thoughts and feelings...

*"Holy Crap! I'm going to be a mom in like 6 months" which was followed with an overwhelming feeling of being unprepared!

*It's ok if I don't feel ready right now, because God is in control and if He wants to be a mom in 6 months then He will make me ready!

*"Hmm...there is actually a tiny person inside me. It's slowly taking over my body!" This was quickly followed with being slightly creeped out and images from Alien, the movie, flickered across my mind.

*It is so amazing that God has made me to carry this baby while it's developing so that it can come out and grow up in a godly family! So cool!

*On the subject of labor/giving birth..."Umm no thanks, I don't want to!" in which Chad's response was something like "well you don't really have a choice and once the baby is out I can help take care of it too!" Oh ok, well I guess it will have to be done and thanks, Chad, you can certainly change all the diapers you'd like!

Pretty much all my random thoughts and freak out times end up in the fact that God is in control. And He did promise not to give us anything that we couldn't handle with Him on our side. So (deep breath) pregnancy, labor, and motherhood...Here I come leaning on God more than ever!

Baby Name Contest!

So since Chad and I have decided to keep the Baby's name a secret, we thought it would be fun to have a contest to see who can guess the baby's first name. Whoever decides to be part of the contest will have one guess for a girl's name and one guess for a boy's name (because we don't know which it will be yet!). Once the baby is born in October we will announce who won and they will get a prize! If you don't guess the first name and do guess the middle name we will have a smaller prize for you.

Now there is a chance that multiple people will guess the correct name, so it will be first come first win! Whoever submits the correct name first will be the winner! So get your votes in!

If you haven't received the email with the contest form, then please email babynamecontest@gmail.com with the address to send the form to! (Be sure to include your name in the email, because I will not send a form to a stranger!!)

Being Pregnant

Well, for those who don't know yet and read my blog...I'm pregnant! Chad and I are very excited. I'm just starting my 13th week. It has been an emotional roller coaster! Up until my last Dr. appointment I was a nervous wreck. With having a previous miscarriage at 10 weeks it was hard to let myself be excited for a while. But once we were past the 10 week mark and heard the heartbeat again, I felt like I could really start being excited. I have learned a ton about trusting God and giving things to Him. I'm so glad that He is in control and not me. And with pregnancy God is totally in control, the baby's development is out of my control completely. Now of course I can make sure I take my vitamins and eat right, but really my baby is in God's hands. It's not easy to surrender control over, but it definitely worth it.

Check out our update blog, the link is on the left of this page, for more pregnancy info.

Heaven

I've recently been being hit with "bad news". A good friend, Pat's dad passed away suddenly, then we found out that Chad's sister has a tumor (thankfully benign), then we got a call that Chad's cousin's husband has stage 4 cancer, and then yesterday we opened an email saying that 4 of our classmates from college were in an awful car accident and one of them, Ben, died (we know them all). All of this happened in about a week! I have been praying for all these things, but a part of me keeps asking "Ok, God what's coming next?" It just really seems like it all comes in waves...it's either a time of babies and weddings or disease and death! I'm definitely feeling a bit in shock, not too sure what to do other than pray. I feel like I should be doing more than that, but there's nothing else I can do.

God has been teaching me to trust and surrender to Him. He is in control, I know that. But like my mom says "It's the longest distance between your brain and your heart!" I pray that I will only continue to lean into his arms and that He will be there for those grieving and suffering.

Pat's dad and Ben are both hangin' in heaven now...I'm excited for that someday!