14 weeks

I know I just posted 13 weeks, but I'm a little behind!!!!  

Everything is moving along just fine.  I told my board of elders last night and I will tell the congregation on Sunday.  It's nerve wracking to stand in front of a large group and share something like that!  Oh well, it must be done.  It's a good thing because I am really starting to feel pregnant.  I'm still in all of my old clothes, but they are getting a little snug and today for the first time I really started to feel a little bigger.  I know it isn't horribly evident from the outside, but if you compare my original pics to now there is certainly something growing!  

I go to the doctor again next week for my 15 week check up and I will ask more about the tumors then because stupid me starting looking on the internet which was NOT a good idea!  

We got a Wii Fit for Christmas and I have really grown attached to it over the past two weeks doing yoga, strength training and mii aerobics.  It makes it so much easier to work out because it tracks my progress and I can do it all at home.  I'm pretty sure it will be my motivation throughout the pregnancy.

13 weeks

I opted for the 13 week TriScan which is an early test that is non-invasive to detect abnormalities.  It involved a blood test and an hour long ultrasound.  It was great to see the baby moving all around again.  But, what she found was what the doctors thought might happen.  There was one fibroid tumor in the lining of my uterus that seemed that it could interfere.  As it turns out the placenta implanted right on top of this fibroid which is exactly what the doctor was hoping wouldn't happen.  So, now I have to go for upper level ultrasounds next month to watch it.  The danger is that the placenta might not grow as it should if the tumor gets in the way.  At this point I'll just be monitored.  YUCK!

So, on a lighter note, here's the little cutie pie!!!

What do you think?

Noah made this and said it looked like me.... What do you think?

2008 Top 8

Here is my top 8 list for 2008.... The best of our lives this year! Enjoy!!!!

8. Sophie. Ok, I know I complain about the dog a lot. But, she is so cute and a great addition to our family. Paul and I both had dogs growing up and we know that it is an important part of childhood. Noah treats Sophie like another family member and always includes her in his prayers. She can be awesome.... like after Noah is in bed she sort of knows it's her time and comes and snuggles with us. Plus, whenever I'm scared in this big old house, I know Sophie is here and will take care of me!!!

7. The Zoo. We fell in love with the Philadelphia zoo this year. Noah is so in love with animals and every trip we took was more and more exciting. I can't wait to do it again next year.



6. Babies. What a year for babies!! So many of my close friends had children this year and even some of my far away friends had them too!! I don't know if I can name them all! Cora, Cassidy, Amelia, Riley, Sullivan, Daniel, Adin, Owen, Gweneth, and I'm sure there are more I'm missing!!


5. 30. As you know I turned 30 this year. Gosh, when you're 15, 30 sounds horrid. But now that I'm here it's not so bad. It's great to not be dating, to own a home, to have some stability and purpose in my life. I still smile when I'm more excited about home furnishings than clothing but overall I'm enjoying this new decade. Many of my "older" friends.. haa haa, have said that the 30's are really great and I can't wait to see what they hold.


4. 2. So, everyone says that the twos are terrible. I actually think the 1.5's are more terrible than the two's. And I think if you have an angel baby the two's might look terrible. But if you have a wild, screaming, puking infant, a few tantrums seem like cake. I love that Noah can communicate and imagine and be sooo creative. He is funny and sweet and has his own personality that is learning and growing into our family. Two is awesome because you are still the center of their world and you get to introduce them to everything.... Hugs and "I love you's" and "I make you happy, Mommy?" are worth every ounce of my time and energy and even exhaustion!




3. Iceland. I absolutely love to travel and I would travel ALL the time if I could. It had been a few years since I was off of American soil and I was thrilled to see another country. We had such a fantastic time, the country was beautiful and of course it was great to see Len and Sandra.




2. Friends. When we moved to Oxford we felt that we would never feel at home. We both had so many good friends in our hometowns and it just felt that it would never be the same. For the first few years we were pretty isolated here, watching families walk past our house to the park. But 2008 was a record year for us.... we met so many people! I can't tell you the number of parties we had or went to, the couples nights, the mom's nights, and just countless phone calls, stories shared, and drinks toasted. We are so grateful that God has answered our prayers to feel at home in our town!

And the number one thing to celebrate about 2008:




1. We will welcome a new little one to our family in early July 2009!!! Yes!!! We are 3 months pregnant right now. We found out on October 30th and were waiting until Christmas to tell our families. You can look back at posts that I have finally made public that start back in late October. Yippeee!!!!!!  (ps.. if you are church folk, keep it a secret til we tell people ourselves!)

Christmas 2008

It always seems like we have a million Christmas celebrations, which is wonderful and exhausting at the same time!

We started with a wonderful Christmas Eve service at church and Noah loved all the singing and stories.

Christmas morning we woke up as a family and opened Noah's gifts.

We got him a great wooden kitchen play set because he loves all the kitchens everywhere we go. He got right to work making us sandwiches and eggs. He kept putting everything in the fridge and saying that it was cooking!




After some playtime we headed to my mom's house in Reading.


We had a great brunch and headed downstairs for more presents! It was quite a whirlwind but Noah did so incredibly well. He never got greedy and was polite and excited about every gift. I was also really happy with the gifts that he got... both in size and quantity. Lots of puzzles and challenging things for him. My brother got him this thing called a billibo which is a European toy that children are supposed to do whatever with... they can sit in in, use it as a hat, or twirl it. It was designed to encourage creativity among children. We all played with it....

We also got the Elmo Live which, I must admit, was much cooler than I had anticipated.

After my mom's we headed to my grandmother's house where he proceeded to be gifted with a keyboard and an indoor t'ball set.... the loudest and most dangerous gifts! yipppeeeee! My cousin Kris played ball with him forever and everyone loved watching Noah giggle with delight.

We left there and headed home for the day. Friday we got up and headed to the Waters house for Christmas there. Noah got a great easel and we had a really great lunch with them.

We left that house to go to my mom's family's Christmas! I know, are you exhausted? I am! My cousins got a new version of Monopoly that you don't have to use money for.. it's all credit! Noah thought it appropriate to come over and move all the pieces every once in a while and everyone called him godzilla.

We got home late Friday night and crashed. then we got up Saturday morning to go to Paul's sister's house to see their family and exchange gifts with them. Nina's boys are always SOOO good with Noah. They play with him and take care of him and it was wonderful!!!!!


We came home Saturday afternoon to be greeted by the FedEx man who brought Noah a gift that arrived late from my grandmother... his first big wheel. He loved riding it around the house!



Then today we welcomed our friends the Evans who we see once a year or so. We were glad to be at home! The kids played so well together but when it came for gift exchange time, the lion I got for Gavin scared him and he started screaming and then his older brother started chasing him with the RC car we got him which made him cry more... i definitely bombed in the gift department!

So, here we are, finally relaxing and basking in all that we know as friends and family. We are beyond blessed and so thankful for all that God has provided for us. It was a really, really great Christmas.

Chrismtas Eve 2008

It is the glad season. . . .
Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged. . . .
Hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things. . . .
In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now. . . .
We tremble at the sound. . . .
It is what we have hungered for. . . .
At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ. . . .
We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud. . . .
Peace.

Maya Angelou
Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem

You hear over and over not to get caught up in the details. Not to be overwhelmed by wrapping and baking because it isn't about those things. I would love to say I have achieved this peace, but alas I have not. We had an ice storm Sunday that canceled church, which in turn canceled our cantata which also canceled my confirmation class that was supposed to go shopping for the family we are helping. So, we went shopping Monday instead but it took forever and I was late getting Noah, late getting home, didn't make dinner... on and on and on. Already a day behind schedule the anxiety set in. Still more presents to buy and wrap. All of the homemade things I wanted to do.... Tuesday went by with getting the gifts to the family, organizing all of my readers and ushers and making it, albeit late, to a Christmas party for Noah. By the time we got home last night I was so incredibly tired and yet I continued to wrap and organize. Earlier Tuesday morning the dog was walking around with my favorite hat (the only hat I liked in all of Iceland that I almost missed my flight to buy)... she had chewed a huge whole in it. I was devastated. Then as I wrapped Tuesday night I looked over at her laying on the floor only to realize that she had chewed a large whole in the new shag throw rug I bought LAST WEEK! I was furious and Paul carried the dog away quickly. I melted at my inability to perform all the tasks required of me. I was teary eyed that Christmas Eve was supposed to be a holiday and my to-do list was too long to even think about enjoying it.

I tossed and turned all night dreaming about all the work I had to do. The dog woke up barking incessantly at 4 and Paul went and threatened her life which made her stop finally. At 5 Noah climbed into our bed and we tried to convince him to go back to sleep but he just sat up in a jolly voice reciting "I wake up Mommy, Mommy, you wake up!" We trudged down the steps to begin our morning ritual.

Paul looked at Noah and declared that he was slimy and threw him in the shower. But, he refused to come out, so we spent forever dragging him from the bathroom screaming and then pinned him down to get him dressed. He wanted nothing to do with his carefully selected Christmas sweater.

Almost ready to get out the door, Noah was sitting quietly on the step waiting (always a sign of danger) when Paul realized that he had his hands in Sophie's crate which was filled with doggie diahrrea, hence the 4am cry. I tried to clean it up but I just couldn't so, trooper Paul washed off Noah 100 times and then cleaned the crate and took out all of the evidence.

Paul went to turn the car on only to find more ice and another 20 minutes of scraping.

So, here I am, trying to write my last sermon for TONIGHT plus complete my baking and wrapping and letters and make sure I have a clue about the worship services this evening. All of this in the next 3 hours. And then, I have the flurry of Christmas Eve that will last until 12 am tonight. Then, I will finally find breath of fresh Christmas air as I leave the doors of the church alone, greeting the Christmas morning, hopefully with peace. Thanks Maya Angelou for the heart check.

Merry Christmas Eve.

11.5 weeks

Today was my second appointment, the first one with the OB. I hadn't been feeling quite right and so she wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure all was well. It was amazing to see the huge difference between last time and this time. The baby was moving so much and even though it looks alien-ish, it was really awesome to see it squirm and wiggle. I know it's only a few more weeks until I can feel movement and I'm REALLY looking forward to that again.

The doctor was thrilled with my progress. She compared my chart with last time and I'm 15 lbs less than I was at this point with Noah. She had to do some tests to monitor some of the issues that I have been having over the past few years and they will continue to monitor where my placenta implants. If it implants on one of my fibroid tumors there is a high probability of low birth weight. I'll have two more ultrasounds.... one with an early screening for some disorders and then the normal 18-20 week ultrasound which should show the placenta as well.

My nausea is pretty much gone, though I do have to take my pill every morning. I can finally stomach some real food and proteins. I'm back to the gym and running again as well. Because nobody knows most of the time I even forget that I'm pregnant! Except for the fact that I am completely and utterly exhausted every second of the day, I wouldn't remember at all. Oh, and the REALLY weird dreams have returned. Last night I dreamt about spending hours showing one of the older women at church all of the functions on my iPhone. Weird.

Say hi to the little alien Templin Ashford!!!!!