Appointment, Mom Time, and a Surprise!

GREAT DAY TODAY!

My mom brought me to my most boring doctor's appointment. Do you want testing? Nope.

Well, the heartbeat was exciting to hear again-it was 149 this time I think. I've gained a pound or so since my last appointment. My blood pressure is great. The doctor told me to drink lots of water and wear sunscreen, because baby hormones make me more prone to sunburn. She also said that when I take a long trip (like the one we're taking to see my grandparents in North Carolina come July) that I should stay hydrated and take walking breaks to avoid blood clots. We laughed about how drinking lots of water will make me take plenty of breaks. She said it is good to go ahead and start looking for a pediatrician, but had no specific suggestions.

THEN SHE SAID MY ULTRASOUND WILL BE IN TWO WEEKS!!!

I thought I was going to have to wait four more weeks for the ultrasound, but the doctor said that two weeks is just fine. I won't see her again for another four weeks for the actual appointment. We scheduled it for July 6th at 3pm.

I'm still so excited. We get to find out whether we are having a boy or a girl in just two weeks!!!!!!!

I also took an 18 week picture:

Yay for maternity shorts!

Mom and I decided to be crafty. She bought cloth diapers and special laundry detergent, and brought scraps of cloth.  I helped cut and iron; she pinned and sewed.

We did a happy dance when we finished our super cute burp cloths!! Being productive and creative is so much fun!

Good appointment, great surprise about the ultrasound, and fun times crafting with mom :) Definitely a fantastic day!

Daily Creativity Update

I've been convicted about how I spend my time, and felt the need to include some creativity daily.

Friday:

I made a new paper frame! I had made one as an experiment for a Mother's Day present, and put the experiment on Alex's desk. It had been folded too many times and kept falling apart. So I made a new one for him, so he can keep it on his desk.

Saturday:

I baked bread and chocolate chip pan cookies. I fed the sourdough start either Saturday or Sunday-I don't actually remember. If I'm going to keep it alive I should probably keep up with when I last fed it.

Sunday:

Sunday was Father's day. I had made Father's Day cards for Alex, my dad, and his dad sometime earlier in the week. Alex preached on Sunday about having a passion for Jesus and sharing Him with our friends. I was convicted. I count my creativity to be spending a wonderful amount of  time with both my family and his.

Today:

Mondays are always cleaning the house days. I've learned that I should never plan social events on a Monday, because it stresses me out and I think I don't have time to clean our apartment. I now have plenty of time. I made cornmeal pancakes to go with our slow-cooker BBQ ribs and green beans. I tried to make creative shapes...like a squiggle and a heart...and my "x" turned into a blob...so then I just started making circle-ish shapes. They taste yummy!

I'm going to the doctor tomorrow, AND my mom is coming over! I'll have an appointment update, and possibly another creativity post with mom.

Creativity

It's easy to keep routine. I get into a rut of dishes, laundry, cleaning, facebooking, pinteresting, sometimes reading books, and "Words with Friend"-ing. Sometimes the daily grind seems pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of life.

I read my Bible in the morning, and today I read on our balcony. Reading outside is refreshing, and brings a new perspective to my prayer life. I have the freedom to pray out loud and see God's creation around me-even if most of it is hidden by the surrounding apartment buildings. God is not only a loving, perfect, powerful  God. He is also amazingly creative. I feel as if I've lost some of the creativity when falling into the everyday. I want to be creative with my current family of two, and soon to be family of three. 

Therefore, I'm going to try to do at least one creative, out of the ordinary thing every day. Today is coffee cake.

 I was ravenous this morning (I've already eaten the equivalent of two breakfasts) and my loving husband asked if we could make some coffee cake as well. I immediately agreed.

Yum!

I don't think I've ever made coffee cake before. Here is the recipe. It's very easy!

Making Room

Week 17 update: not much new. I still eat a lot of food, try to exercise consistently, and love to sleep.

This week Anna at AnnaMadeIt filmed Alex for a youth group video.

The link is to her photography facebook page, and Alex is helping her set up her website. Unfortunately, GoDaddy was not functioning when she was over, so they could not work on her site. Hopefully we can get it up and running soon. This girl has skills with her camera!

In this picture, we moved everything out of the dining area, because the lighting and walls were better. We made a mess moving everything around! I told Alex to keep some things moved, so that I could vacuum some places that hadn't been vacuumed in months!


Cleaning up this week is also helping me get rid of some unneeded stuff in our apartment. Having a small space helps me to re-evaluate what we really need. My young sister-in-law Emma asked me today if we have an attic-we don't. I replied "We have an extra room to put some stuff in for a while." To which my mother-in-law replied, "Not for much longer!"

She's right, and the more I think about needing the space for baby stuff, the more I want to get rid of more and more stuff. When I actually start the process, I have to fight nostalgia, and decide whether it is really worth keeping.

Alex and I decided that if we ever move, we're only going to keep the stuff we really need, so that we don't have to keep moving stuff that we never use. Maybe I should start going through stuff with such a mentality. Here's to cleaning and organizing the rest of today!

A new baby!!

Yesterday I had a wonderful time with friends and family. I got to see my mom and grandma, and then we all went over to see Bethany and her new baby Connor! Caiden and Mrs. Linda were also there, and Caiden showed me around the house. He was super cute showing me around. He showed me his room, the kitches, "my candy bar" in the kitchen, and the bonus room. 

Connor slept the entire time I was there! I guess I forget how much babies sleep. He got a little fussy, and then Bethany swaddled him and he calmed down right away! We were talking pretty loudly, and he still slept soundly.

Bethany showed me  her closet for Connor-it's already full of baby wipes and diapers! She said that she started stocking up when she and Shadrick found out they were expecting. She said she picked up a pack as she went grocery shopping-what a great idea! She also showed me a super-cute dress she wore home from the hospital. Definitely going to be looking for a cute "going home" dress.

So great holding a baby a week old! I'm so excited about continuing to prepare for our own little one!

Picture Time!

I've made it to sixteen weeks, and apparently the child inside of me is about the size of an avocado:

So to mark the event, I took a "selfie" according to Blimey Cow:

To compare:

Nine Weeks

Sixteen Weeks

I can definitely see a difference! I didn't notice until I took a picture today! How exciting :)

Preach the Gospel

Today was another shopping day. Another day to beat the crowds, the lines, and my personal budget. A day to do it all by myself and as fast as possible.


I got to Aldi with my shopping bags and quarter. I'm so prepared. I weave my way around a woman wrapped in what I assume to be a burka-type attire-long, plain dress and a cream-colored cloth over her head. Her kids are running up and down the aisle making noise, and they're in the way. I go around them and go about my shopping routine-find item, write down price, add it up before I go to the check out line.


Then I'm on my way to Wal-Mart with my empty gallon jugs to refill with water. Good thing, since Wal-Mart is completely out of distilled water today. Go figure. I get to the flour aisle and there is that same woman with the two annoying kids! The kids are in my way again, and I can't just go around this time. I say "Excuse me" fairly loudly and accidentally bump into the little girl. I say I'm sorry when she looks around, and I quickly go around them and down to another aisle. Mom barely notices. Just as I get to the coffee aisle I realize that I've forgotten to get yeast. I groan (audibly) and make my way back to the aisle where the same woman and her kids are taking up space and slowing me down. This time a man with a ginormous trash can is also blocking the aisle. Great.


I put my cart close to the end of the aisle and walk the short distance to the yeast. The large containers of yeast are all pushed back and I can't reach them. I start to walk away when the woman turns towards me and asks me in broken English about wheat bran. Not being entirely sure what this is myself, my first thought is to tell her "I don't know" and leave. But she says she's making muffins, and I've heard of using other substitutions like oatmeal instead of the bran. We can't find the wheat bran in the flour section, so I suggest she looks with the oatmeal in the cereal aisle. I'm not sure she understood everything I said, but she did repeat "oatmeal" and nodded when I said "with the cereal." She left, I figured out how to get my yeast, and I headed back for the coffee.


Then something-really, I should say Someone-told me to go back and actually help that woman. But I'm in a hurry. I have a frozen chicken in a freezer bag sitting in the car. I can't get rid of the conviction, so I go back to the cereal aisle. I see the woman still in the aisle with her kids, and ask her if she's found what she is looking for. She looks up and seems surprised to see me. Someone comes by and her kids keep screaming. She takes a sigh as if she's tired of shopping with them. I feel both convicted for being annoyed, and sympathy for the woman's situation.I help her find the best option Wal-Mart offers (that I know of) and discuss another substitution for part of her recipe. She thanks me, I tell her to have a good day, and we part ways. I finish my grocery shopping with $2 to spare.


But the entire time I kept thinking about this woman's soul. I kept thinking I should tell her about Jesus and heaven and eternity. Where will this woman and her kids spend forever? Why didn't I tell them?


The woman barely speaks English and wouldn't understand me. She's Muslim and I don't want to be "one of those Christians" who comes across as judgmental and/or preachy. She's tired and I'm in a hurry. These are the excuses that run through my head.


Maybe I could have at least said something-Even "God bless you."

Romans 10:14

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?