Family Shower at Jeannie's--August 11th

On August 11th, Jeannie hosted a shower at her house for family members from both my side and Scott's side, as well as a few friends of mine from church in Richmond. That was really fun too! It was at 11 am, so the food was more brunch like, and DELICIOUS! The cake was so cute and was decorated to look similar to the invitation. How creative! We ate, opened presents, and played a few games led by my awesome nieces, Courtney and Katie. We played Baby Bingo, Guess the prices, and Guess the Girth (of my belly). The last game was a very uplifting and encouraging game, where everyone got to guess just how large my belly was. My mom was the triumphant winner of this game, by guessing the EXACT amount (pictured below). It was great to see everyone and share this special time with family.


The very cute cake and table decorations.


Mom wins "guess the girth."



Scott's sister, Amy, and mom, Pat.




RA's family: Melissa (cousin), Tricia (aunt), Mom, Dad, RA, and Jeannie

Shower at Mom's--August 4th, 2008

On August 4th, my Mom hosted a great shower at her house. The theme was giraffes and turtles in pink and green. We had lots of fun and delicious food. Those of you that know my Mom, know that it had all her little "special touches" around the house. We ate, socialized, opened presents, and listened to some "words of wisdom" which Mom had prepared people for by sending their "assignment" with the invitation. I really got some great advice, ideas, and encouraging words for when sweet Abigail decides to join us. (Not to mention some great presents.) Thanks Mom!

Some decorations around the house.

I love presents! :-)

Four of my best friends (left to right): Becky Chapman (college roommate), Alison Worsham (from church), me, Christian Reynolds (best friend from high school).

32 week ultrasound

Now the moment you've all been waiting for. . .Right?

This is a profile shot. It's a little bit blurry. Her arm is the round thing toward the top left. Then all the way to the right is her forehead, nose, mouth, and chest. I hope you can see it.

I scanned this one on it's side, because I feel like you can see it better from this angle. She is looking straight at you. It looks like she might have my (RA) cheeks, but most babies have fat cheeks, so that might be it.

The pictures don't do it justice. She looked so cute during the ultrasound and even yawned at one point. It was soo cool. After the ultrasound and the measurements they took, the doctor told us that she was in the 67th percentile for growth and weighed about 4 lbs 3 oz, give or take. That means that by delivery, she should be over 8 pounds. I was expecting that, but hoping for smaller, given how babies come out and all. Anyway, we probably won't get anymore pictures of Abbie in the womb, so the next time you see her, she will be with us! It's closer than ever!

32 weeks--8 months

The belly is growing!!! I've been getting a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions lately. Our doctor said that's good, because my body is practicing for the real thing. Yippee (sarcastic). It is very uncomfortable. I do think my belly is rather cute, though. I really feel like pregnancy fits me! That isn't to say that I'm anxious to do it again any time soon, but I am willing to eventually. It is getting much, much harder to do everyday things like bending over and getting up off the couch.

We got ultrasound pictures this week at the doctor, but I'll post them later this week.

School starts on Friday, so that's when the fun swelling time begins.

We are excited about only having single digit weeks left. It's getting so close!!! Yikes!

More later.

28 weeks--7 months

I went to the doctor this week and he said that I was measuring at 31 cm. Your centimeters are supposed to match how many weeks you are, so Abbie is a bit big! In three weeks, they are going to do another ultrasound to see how big she is and to check the fluid around her. I can tell she is bigger, because when she moves, it feels like limbs instead of like twitching. :-) Every night at about the same time, she likes to cozy in really low, which puts a lot of pressure on my bladder and whatever else is down there!

This is getting fun, but uncomfortable!

26 weeks--6 1/2 months

Well, we've hit the 6 1/2 month mark, and it's really feeling imminent. She is moving a bunch and others can see it and feel it. I've been doing water aerobics every day and really enjoying it. I feel like it is helping keep my weight down and toning my muscles. I go to the doctor on Friday and have the glucose test, so hopefully all will go well. Other than that, I feel fine and everything seems to be progressing normally. I hope that will continue. I'll write more later.

22 weeks belly pictures

So here are some pictures of what I look like at 5 1/2 months. I think I'm pretty average. I feel huge, though. I guess I'm just not used to having a belly that sticks out. I kind of feel like it isn't a part of me, like I'm underneath the belly and it's just stuck on the front. I started feeling Abbie move around 20 weeks and that has been weird too. This whole experience is just odd, but I like it. I'm going to a new doctor this week, one that is closer to our house. That way, I can deliver 15 minutes from our house instead of 45 minutes away. I'll post more soon.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!

Her girl parts are there! The ultrasound technician said that she doesn't say unless she is sure, so here's her photo! The arrows are pointing to the girl parts, distinctive by 3 lines. The cursor is on her left butt cheek/hip bone, and the blur to the right are her feet. (As if she were sitting on the camera)

These are two really good profile shots that the technician got within seconds of each other. The top one is mostly her face and body and her hand is on top of her head. The bottom one is a good full body profile, showing her legs bent at the knees (long legs!!).

The ultrasound lasted for about 30 minutes or more. And she was flipping and turning all over the place. The technician spent a long time checking her heart, spine, and brain for any abnormalities. Her report said that everything looks normal and healthy. So thank goodness!!!!

We think these profile shots are really good and we think she already looks so cute! Scott and I are super excited and already love her so much! Thank you everyone for your prayers and keep praying for our sweet little girl!

15 weeks

So this is the latest photo. It is a little harder to see than the others, but I'll explain. As you can see, the baby is MUCH bigger than in last month's photo. In this photo, the baby is face down, with the head on the right. The spine is along the top of the outline, and the legs are tucked under on the left of the photo. I hope you all are able to decifer it. If you study it, it will come into view. Kind of like the magic eye pictures ;-) hee hee, not that hard. Anyway, I'm feeling fine still and we are really getting excited. May 10th is the next appointment and there we will learn the sex! Woo-hoo. I'll post it as soon as we find out! Talk to you soon!

12 weeks and counting

SURPRISE! to us too! The ultrasound pictures are from our 10 week ultrasound, but as of this past weekend, we have reached the 12 week mark! The one on the top is a front view: head, arms, body. And the one on the bottom is a side view: head and body. The legs were tough to capture because he/she was moving them so quickly.
So, you may be asking: WHAT? I thought you were supposed to wait. Well, we were, but apparently, the Lord had other plans. We are really praying and trusting the Lord with this pregnancy and so far, everything looks normal. Keep us and the baby in your prayers! Due date: October 7th.

Explosion in Apex

Although it wasn't an atom bomb, you would have thought it was! We were not directly affected by the much publicized chemical explosion in Apex, thank goodness! Over 15,000 people were evacuated, but we were about 5 miles from the evacuation point. In fact, we didn't even know about it until the next day when Robin Ann was at school. The worst part was that we didn't get out of school for it! Better luck next time! ;-) Anyway, we are all safe. I guess if Richmond deals with shootings, Apex deals with chemical explosions. Which is worse? I guess we have to wait to find out! More later!

Something a Little Different

Hi. It's Scott. I know you have all been waiting with suspense for me to finally speak. Well, the long wait is over, and do I have something for you! I found this half-dead possum trying to make the side of our house a refuge for elderly, fly-infested rodents. He never heard me coming, even after I stomped my feet several times about a foot from his head. Cute little feller.

I'm starting to get acclimated to life in North Carolina. The accents are a lot stronger, the tea is a lot sweeter and the collards are just plain gross. It's very nice to be down here though. I'm working at the Carolina Country Club in Raleigh on Glenwood Avenue until I can find something permanent. It's about a twenty minute drive to work from our home in Apex. I have been in contact with a recruiter that is helping me find a job. I no longer believe I am being led into teaching and have begun to search for employment in sales.

That's all for now. God Bless.

The Official First Day of School

Yikes! What a whirlwind! Even though my work week was 3 days longer than in VA, it sure didn't feel like it. The work week has been tough. No one ever said this would be easy! Anyway, the official first day went really well. I have some very interesting students and an English class that I specifically think I will really like. The construction company clipped a gas line during the day and we all had to evacuate for 45 minutes while the fire department came to take care of that. Whew! Anyway, the day felt like a snowball rolling down a hill. Now it continues. . .

First day of school

WOAH! Where did my summer go????? Well, teachers in NC officially started school today! I can't believe it! I am completely overwhelmed and NOT READY! Help!!!! My new school, Holly Springs High School, is nice. It is brand new and we are starting with under 750 students (9th and 10th graders). I can already see a bunch of kinks that will certainly be ironed out in the months to come. I will post pics of the school soon. You have to see it, because it is gianormous!

Sigh. . . I miss JRHS already!

Odd news/prayer request

Around August 6th, I received a phone call from the doctor that saw me in the emergency room when I had the miscarriage. Apparently, during the miscarriage they were able to retrieve the "tissue." (which is how they refer to what we lost) They did a biopsy on it and found out that I had what is called a partial molar pregnancy. From what I understand, this is when 2 sperm fertilize one egg at the same time, resulting in way too much DNA. If a mother carries a partial molar pregnancy to term, the baby has serious physical and developmental deformities. So we can praise the Lord for saving this child from a lifetime of suffering.
However, along with a partial molar pregnancy come a lot of risks for me. I don't really fully understand it all, but it boils down to a bunch of blood tests every month to make sure that my body is functioning normally and not freaking out. The worst part is that we have to wait a year before trying to get pregnant again. This was a HUGE disappointment for us, as a great deal of our consolation with losing the baby was that we could try again soon. But we are trusting the Lord, as always. What else can we do?

Moving day

Sorry this is so tardy, but moving day (Aug. 3rd and 4th) went really well. With LOTS of help from our friends (thanks, everyone!) we were able to successfully move out of one home and into our first purchased home! yipee! We have been so excited about being here in "our" first home. Despite some bouts of homesickness, we are doing okay. I will post some pics soon!

Sad News

For those of you who don't know yet, Scott and I are sad to report that we lost our baby on Wednesday, July 26th. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers during this very sad time for us. We are assured of the Lord's sovereignty and his plans for our life. We are trusting Him each day to give us His strength, as we know all things happen according to His plan. Thanks for all of your constant support of us.

We're Official

So we are going to try this blogging thing. Apparently, it is easier than emailing everyone everything.
So Scott and I are moving to NC in a few weeks and are really excited to start our new life there. Fun! So there is nothing like doing everything all at once! Might as well have all the major life changing events at the same time, right? Here we go!