Saturday, January 31, 2009

Showers of Gifts and Ice

Seems like an unusual title, but it seems fitting seeing how I received tons of baby gifts last Saturday from dear friends in Little Rock, and then returned home to a horrible ice storm, equaling the great Arkansas ice storm of 2000. My shower was amazing. My hostesses did such a great job, and I got to see SO many people that I hadn't seen in forever. It was also frustrating because I wanted to sit and chat with EVERYONE, and was pulled from the socializing about an hour into the shower, and sat and opened presents until everyone left. It was tiring, but when I was done I was so humbled at the huge blessing that had been poured onto Drew and I. While we both knew this would be my biggest shower, neither of us expected the kind of outpouring we received. We felt so loved and blessed to have friends and family so excited for this new little man entering our lives! One of the big hits of the shower was the "time out frog". He has a little timer built into his tummy that dings once it's out of time. It's so cute! Ofcourse, Drew thinks he should have also come with a wooden spoon. If Brayden is as stubborn as Drew and I were as children, he might have a point. We'll see....

The ice storm definitely put a damper on the homecoming. I honestly didn't think it would be as bad as it was. The meterologist here are notorious for getting the weather wrong, so I thought the ice storm coming was no exception. Well, they nailed this one on the head, plus some. It is the worst storm I've seen since 2000, and may even be worse for this region. Where we live, we received about 1.5 inches of ice, and a good generous dusting of snow. Everything has finally melted off today, and thankfully some of our trees decided to be kind and pop back to their original positions. The rest of the area is not so lucky; driving to my prenatal appointment on Friday, I was aghast at some of the area. It literally looks like a war zone, with huge trees snapped in half.
The actual ice itself is a wonder to behold, and reminds me a lot of the Chronicles of Narnia movie where everything is frozen. As I crested the hill towards the hospital and overlooked the city, it literally looked like the evil witch had frozen our entire area. There was not an area untouched by freezing rain. It is amazing, but also a but sombering as you realize the vast amount of people that are without power and no where to go. Thankfully my aunt and uncle housed us for a night after our power had been out for more than a day. I realized being pregnant and just eating sandwiches don't mix very well! We are now safe at home, and happy to report that none of our 300+ pounds of meat was not lost, as my aunt and uncle also housed our perishibles for us! Whew!

As far as pregnancy updates, I still feel fine. I kinda have to chuckle to myself when people ask how I feel. Other than feeling enormously bloated all the time, I feel great. I actually LOVE being pregnant, and just have to smile when I feel (and see) Brayden kicking. It's such an amazing experience and I am so grateful God allowed me to be able to experience everything about it (yes, even the yucky stuff I hated going through, or the stuff I am still dreading). My prenatal appointment went well on Friday. I passed my 3 hour glucose screening, so I am off the hook there. Brayden is measuring a bit small for my due date (although I already know that she is a week off anyway, because I KNOW when we conceived), so they scheduled an ultrasound for 2 weeks at my next appointment. I was a bit nervous at first, but have since gotten over it and just trying to relax. The midwife (my doc was in emergency surgery at the time of my appointment so I had to see someone else) said that it's just precautionary, that his heartbeat is really strong and if I am feeling movement it is OK... she just would rather be safe than sorry, and wants to check and make sure all of my fluid levels and stuff are ok. So, pray for me in 2 weeks, and I will update you when that appointment comes.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

25.5 weeks... finally able to come out of the closet :)


I have been nagged for weeks for the infamous belly shots. I have secretly shared these shots with only my mom and 1 or 2 others because, quite frankly, you feel like you're sending reverse Jenny Craig pictures. It's like proclaiming "just look at how much bigger I am than the last time you saw my holding my stomach awkwardly and trying not to look too incredibly cheesy!" The truth is though, that I really have enjoyed the past weeks of pregnancy. I am nice and round, Brayden kicks all of the time, and little old ladies get really excited about my impending due date. I guess this is the "honeymoon" phase of pregnancy they all talk about. I see the end of this time nearing though, as I continue to become more and more uncomfortable at night, barely able to eat a peanut without feeling as if my skin might burst at any moment, and starting to tire out more easily at daily tasks. It's hard to believe he'll be here in a little more than 3 months. I get more and more excited as the time nears, but know not to rush anything because you always wish you would have cherrished the moments passed. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year... I'll post about our travels later!

PS-- Christy and Mare, I hope you are both smiling, as you both were the ones who were BEGGING to see my stomach :)
 

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