27 PLUS!

here we are, on Saturday. she was kicking Momma like CRAZY - so fun, as long as it's side-kickin'!! i was feeling knees or elbows or feet in my side (still can't figure out what limb it is for sure) but we know it's her. super fun.



















this week starts my third week of bedrest ... from what I've heard, if we make it to 36 weeks they'll let me up. October 2nd, baby! let's go!

so, some friends came over last week and i got them to help me make a flip calendar to count down the days. as my friend Dawn said, "one day at a time." yes, ma'am. exactly. yesterday it was 9 weeks - 63 days. counting down!! enjoying every day that passes. and next week is third trimester. can you believe it? WOW. amazing.













so looking forward fall. i missed spring (although I'm not sad that I have to be inside when it's 97 degrees outside and huumid!) but we're hoping and praying that by the fall I'll be up and she'll be here and we'll be healthy.

i had some PT this week to work on exercises that i can do in bed that won't put strain on my abdomen ... and the specialist put me on Ibuprofen to *hopefully* relax my body to ward off any pre-term labor symptoms.

things I've decided to do while in bed:

- learn some German from Rosetta Stone
- catch up on my email
- listen to all of the Harry Potter books (before the new movie comes out in November)
- write thank yous
- continue to blog
- think about my calling
- try to follow a Bible reading calendar
- do my exercises
- beat Jeremy at the Wii (yeah right. haha)
- try not to eat too many cookies or Kit Kats or ice cream bars. more peaches and apples and plums and yogurts. mmm.
- pray.
- be crafty

have anymore good suggestions for me??

-the end-

pretties.

jeremy took some pictures for me. these pretties are growing! unfortunately, they are outside and i am not. :-) but so glad to be able to enjoy something!

she's 26, i'm 26!

she should weigh around 2 lbs this week! awesome. :-) getting SO big. (and still so little.) my tummy can feel it - stretching tummy is the strangest feeling. not super comfortable, but she's growing, so that's good!

here we are! under 100 days to go - 98 to be exact.



















she is 24-1/2 weeks and 1lb 9 oz in this picture. check out her ribs! this was the first time i could see them. her mouth is open and her nose is still so sweet. :-)

















and I can't forget my sweet furry boy. he got a haircut last week. (too bad my other furry boy won't cut his...)

bedrest week 1

so it's Friday. glorious day. they say it's as hot as you-know-what outside and i believe it. i'm content to not sweat and instead look at the leafy goodness outside my window waving in the breeze. it's also so good because it's the hubby's day off. and so is tomorrow. and so is Sunday.

(shout out to my good, good man: he's been amazing this week. i love him so much.)

and almost end of bedrest - week 1. lots of things to be thankful for. not to mention - she's a week older! so many good people all ready wanting, offering, willing to help. to bring food on his long days, to check in to let the Jackson boy outside for a potty break, to put dishes in the dishwasher and clothes in the closet and sweep hairs and dust off the floor. and there are those who can offer encouragement - like Skyping for a couple hours to take my mind off things.

and she's still inside me. and she is still kicking me. and i'm so glad it's not winter - because just as it is getting dark outside, it's my bedtime (yes, i like to sleep!). it's not 4:30pm and dark, it's 9:00pm and dark. thank you God, that it's not winter. the trees are full and pretty outside my window too.

and you know what else? i feel okay. this has been the best part to think about. i cannot reiterate or explain HOW HARD it is to feel deathly sick and be confined to bed because of it and not. be. able. to. do. anything.

except get sick. and cry. and get sick again.

i really can do a lot with my time. the comparison is like night and day. and i can focus on doing this for her. not surviving that for me.

***

will i feel like this is 5 weeks? doubtfully. will i ache to miss his 30th birthday in ohio when i've been looking forward to going for months? most definitely. will i keep going? yes, yes, and yes.

Jesus, have mercy.

bedrest.

prognosis: bedrest. fulltime. no work.



not exactly what we wanted to hear.



especially because my honey's 30th is in 3 weeks and we had big plans for celebrating it. however, i am pretty well confined to my top floor because that is where our bathroom is. so bed 24/7. until my perinatalogist appt on Monday, that is. she may be able to suggest some medicine or a procedure, etc. to keep little Sweetie Pea in there. she needs at least 2-1/2 more months to be good and developed. please pray. not only for her and me, but for Jeremy too. it's stressful to try to do everything...

sigh, she's still in there (and kicking my cervix too!!!) and we're hoping she'll stay there for 10 more weeks.

Jesus, have mercy.

25! 25! 25!

Hello again! I did not fulfill my promise of news on Wednesday because we got a different kind of news: partial bedrest. So little Baby's pictures are still waiting to be scanned. *sorry!*

Instead, though, I do have good news. She is doing GREAT and weighs about 1-1/2 pounds! And the bigger she gets, the more of my weight I can credit her with. :-)

Unfortunately, there's potential pre-term labor pending (no contractions ... just gettin' a little bit shorter than they'd like) so it was partial bed rest this week. Tomorrow we go to see how things are and if it's worse ... I'll have to do fulltime bed rest. Not exactly my idea of a fun time. And not exactly Jeremy's ideal of spending all of his time - taking care of me and cooking and the house. Plus, not being able to work again would just be a big bummer. I want to work and we need that income, etc. But, God knows what we need.

And, we're praying that everything is in good order tomorrow and I can get back to my newest normal routine.

Here's us at 25 weeks!!



















Happy Sunday.

Twenty FOUR.

16 weeks left to go!!! I'm so happy. :-)



















Sorry all you get is the no-makeup-looking-tired pictures, but that's all for my Saturdays. I'm still trying to de-ga-je my non-maternity clothes, but I'm not sure how long that will last! (Next Saturday is Molly's wedding, so I'll wait to take a pic when I have makeup on. Just for you. :-) hehe.)

Sweetie Pea is kicking more and has begun kicking my bladder this week. Not a huge issue unless I'm sitting in the car and have to GO! :-) Uncomfortable nonetheless. Jeremy got to feel her dancing and shakin' one morning - that was special. We just can't stop smiling when we both get to feel her together.

Hoping and praying that she keeps thriving and growing. :-) We are looking forward to October. Our next appt is Wednesday! Sweetie Pea pictures to come!

a day in the life of a dog.

a day in the life. when we go to the park.













i sniff the grass and run the way and i mark, mark, mark.













my favorite part is the watery edge where i swim and fetch and get soaked. (see my smile?)













i ask for the fetch because i've learned how to swim.




















dad gladly throws it as far as he can. (but not really)



















i swim and i swim to get that piece.














past the sailboats in the wind.













and bring it back to do it again. (and again and again.)













dad tries to tell me to give it to him. but usually i run past and drop it on the sand.













mommy claps and dad says, "good boy". in the nerdy way that only they can.













i lick my nose.













stick out my tongue...


...and we do it over and over again, until it's time to go home.

THE END.

we're 23!!

yay! another Saturday comes. i think my belly is getting bigger. (fyi - the belt came off right after the picture. my stomach just can't stand to look cute! so sad.)




















and here is the front shot as requested by E. :-) (you really can't see much from the front!)



















Love,
Lisa and Sweetie Pea

Thoughts from Haiti - Part II

Conversations with friends, in class, and in my head also rocked my world.

You mean, like, are you serious? Real Christians enjoy alcohol and still consider themselves Christians?

You mean life under a dictator was all-around better than it is now?

You mean the US government really screwed some things up in their dealings with Haiti?

You mean, democracy isn't a one-size-fits-all government model?

The guys think that I was the one who told about the drugs? (I wasn't. I didn't have a clue.)

Being the minority sucks sometimes.

After what I've seen ... how can I live life like I did before?
The list goes on. I won't bore you with a comprehensive list, but merely to say, that when I say that my world was turned upside-down at 17, it really was. No wonder I was so confused for 3 years. It took 3 years to finally come to terms with who I was, who I was becoming, and how to relate to people again - with this new perspective.

When I talked to my colleague, she was still obviously reeling from what she had seen and learned. Sometimes we have to live in that struggle for an uncomfortable and uncertain amount of time in order to come out on the other side. And even still, the "other side" includes struggle and discomfort.

Thoughts from Haiti - Part I

I should've wrote this post when I was fresh in my thoughts. I have this desire to articulate coherently (not a bad desire, mind you), but sometimes I think too much, don't write anything down, and then forget what I was thinking. Does that ever happen to you?

I was talking to a colleague about her trip to Haiti a few weeks ago - she was there for only 4 days, but I could tell that it was a life-perspective changer for her. These conversations invigorate me - challenge me - and remind me just how much I've learned. And then sometimes neglect to live.

Before this conversation, I was thinking. It feels wrong to say, but I feel like my life started after I moved to Haiti to live with my parents and lil' sister (who is beautiful and engaged and not so little anymore!).

Like I said, it feels wrong to say out loud, but I can't get away from it. I feel like I was living in a mist, in a half-life, in such a short sighted perspective. The environment, the things that mattered ... have so little to do with how I see life now. There was no opportunity (at least for me) to break outside of comfortable and see with different eyes.

Until Haiti.

It was before we actually went that I was stung with a hard truth.

Cisca, a Dutch friend, gently explained to me that maybe America wasn't what I'd been taught and sang about in patriotic songs and programs.
It wasn't.

And maybe everyone in the world doesn't want to come live in the US.
They don't.

And maybe, just maybe, America isn't the "greatest" country in the world.
It isn't.

Truly, this rocked my world. And it was only the beginning of world-rocking that would ensue.

Icky update - the home stretch

hey friends, it's me. the sicky prego girl. who still has 17 more weeks to feel yucky. but shall i say, 17 weeks before they meet their little sweetie pea? yes, i much prefer the positive. she is dancing around like a little girl should. :-) however, when you sit up all night puking up nothing and are left with a massive pressure headache and both you and hubby are reminiscing about first trimester hyperemesis and possible going back to the hospital ... positive is a little further from your reach.

however, please note, I am writing this today. in the afternoon. NOT puking on the keyboard. i had a rough, rough day yesterday, had to leave work early, hardly was able to eat or drink anything ... and then spent the night by the toilet (well, it felt like it... i did sleep some) feeling like i had a rock in my esophagus. okay, okay, you get the point. thank you Jesus, I have been able to eat some, drink some and stop throwing up.

this is good. just hope that going back to work is in the future. near. like soon.

i called the dr and they said that I needed to go to the ER for fluids if I can't keep anything down. but as for now, I'm avoiding my millionth IV stick for now. *breathe in* *breath out*

thank you to the pray-ers in my life - I still need endurance for the home stretch. but, i am on it. amen and amen.

Twenty two.

:-)



















the momma and her baby belly.













the daddy and his the-USA-didn't-win-vs-Ghana sad face.

more to come!

oh my.

do you think i could find a pattern to make these myself? ($33 is a bit much for our little budget)













HOW DARLING ARE THESE?! Click the pic to see Gracious May's website...

Ew.

I met a lady at church on Sunday whose pregnancies were worse than mine has been. She was sicker than me (which is hard for me to imagine!) - thus, my "wow, i'm sick" was placed in a different light. Not that I'm having a pity party every day, but I'm not gonna lie. It's still been rough.

Especially the past week. I've gone only a few days without throwing up my breakfast (at least) and just. feel. rotten. I don't know if it's extra hormones pumping our little pumpkin up to 1lb or just being ornery, but it's been hard. So, if you pray, please pray for patience for me to get through this little bout of yucky again.

Thanks. :-)

21 and keepin' on.

hey kids! here is me and Sweetie Pea at 21 weeks. keep growin' girl!

a couple pretty garage sale finds. (the suitcase is AMAZING! in absolutely perfect condition. i'm keeping my fabric stash in it...)



















and some pretty vintage scarfs. at 50 cents each, how could i pass them up!?

I've read...

... that you have to introduce and prepare your other children for arrival of a new baby. Well, Jackson is the only thing that comes close to our "other child" so I have involved him in the process.

And the winner is....!!!

























Sa vre (it's true!) We have a daughter growing. Can't wait to meet her!! (And neither can Jackson!) :-)

20 week ultrasound

Here Baby is!! Look at that sweet little nose. :-)

not sure about the whole touching the belly thing.

I ran across 10 comebacks for "When People Annoyingly Touch Your Belly". I liked about 8 of them. Enjoy. :-)
1. Careful, you’ll wake the baby!

2. If you think that’s something, you should feel my butt.

3. Be careful. It kicks.

4. I had a big lunch.

5. My husband did it.

6. Hey, I’m not Buddha.

7. That'll be ten bucks.

8. Can I rub your belly now?