Nursery is READY!

We've been gathering and organizing things for Eli's nursery, and now I think it's finally ready! So I thought I'd post a few pictures of the space we've created for the little man. This clearly won't be his permanent nursery, since it's in my in-laws' house. But they have been so kind in allowing us to set things up exactly how we want them, and I think it's going to be perfect for the first part of his life!His area isn't a room, it's a hallway loft. Our bedroom is on the left and the room Justin has been using as an office is on the right. I wanted him to be as close as possible without actually being in our room, so his little pack-n-play is right on the other side of the wall from where I'll be sleeping! We're waiting to buy his nursery furniture until we actually have a nursery to put it in. In the meantime, I think the pack-n-play with the bassinet insert will be just fine. I like him being out in the hallway too, because then I should be able to hear him even if I'm downstairs. We do have both audio and video baby monitors, but still!
I also wanted to make sure to get a close-up shot of the wall hanging that his Aunt Nicole made for him. SOOOOO cute! She made it to match his bedding set (You can see pieces of it in the tablecloth and lampshade.), and it is just adorable! I actually got teary-eyed when we put it up on the wall because it was so sweet and just a reminder that there will actually be a little Elias here to claim that area SOON!So we are excited and (I think!) just about as ready as people can get. I am getting more physically uncomfortable the bigger he gets and the more Braxton-Hicks contractions I'm having. So I still wouldn't call myself READY, but I'm getting there. :) I'd put my current status as "If he arrives today, that would be ok with me."

Drumroll, Please!!!!!

We had our doctor's appointment and ultrasound today. The little man is beautiful and looking great, and according to the ultrasound, he's currently weighing in at..............................

8 lbs., 9 oz.!

Er, that's pretty big. Just as a point of reference, average babies at 37 1/2 weeks gestation will be about 6 1/2 pounds. Many babies are BORN weighing less than 8 1/2 pounds. But my (big!) little man is weighing in at this with still almost 3 weeks to go before his due date.

*As another qualifying reference, though, the doctor told us that there is a 10% margin of error with the estimated weight on an ultrasound. So, really Eli currently weighs anywhere between 7 lbs, 11 oz and 9 lbs, 7 oz. Yeah, that's helpful.

Here are a couple pictures from today.This one is basically his whole body in profile - head on the right, back going along the bottom of the picture, and leg/knee on the left. The ultrasound tech showed us a close-up of his little belly because you can see his little fat rolls on his belly from being squished up in there! Soooooooo cute!!!
And this is just a closer profile of his head and chest. He had his hand in his mouth for most of the ultrasound, so in case it looks a little wonky, he may be sucking on some fingers!

The good news, besides the fact that he is healthy and beautiful, is that the doctor is not YET concerned about how much he weighs. She wants me to come back in 10 days for another ultrasound to see how much he has grown. She said they're not going to get really concerned until he starts pushing 10 pounds. (As you know, I'm not even going to be concerned then, but that's when they're going to start really pushing me to at least induce, if not just schedule a c-section.) This is something he may do if he actually reaches his due date. So, the doctor agreed with us in just hoping he comes early and we don't have to worry about it! So we'd appreciate any prayers anybody would like to offer up that he decides to make his appearance early.

And if anybody has any old wives' tales about how to make a baby come, I'd love to hear them... We're definitely going out for eggplant parmesan this week, which supposedly sends many women into labor. Any other ideas? :)

Jesus is Enough

We visited a new church yesterday, Basswood Church in Knoxville. It was small, but I loved it. However, the purpose of this post is not to talk about the church, it's to talk about the sermon. I tell you what, this was the perfect sermon for me and my situation, and so I want to share a little bit of it with you.

The basic theme of the sermon was "Jesus is enough." Besides several Scriptures from the Gospel of John, another thing the pastor used to sum up the concept well was the first question and answer from the Heidelberg Catechism:

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Growing up Southern Baptist, I'm not incredibly familiar with catechisms, but I believe they can be really valuable in understanding and expressing doctrine. This particular question and answer just blows me away. Really the most significant part of it to me at the moment is the fourth word of the question: ONLY. What is your ONLY comfort in life and in death? And the short answer to that question is Jesus.

As many of you know, we have suffered a series of heartbreaking and unexplainable disappointments in Justin's search for a job and a place for us to get settled. We never imagined we would be home from Moldova for more than 4 months and still not know where we were supposed to be and what we were supposed to be doing. We still cling to faith that God knows what He has for us, and it will be revealed in His time, but that is HARD and some days are worse than others for us. We had one especially shattering disappointment last week that sent us both reeling - there is absolutely no reason on earth why this place wouldn't have hired Justin. But they didn't, and it's easy to get discouraged and even start to despair.

But God used the sermon this week to really call my attention to the fact that when I allow news about a job to shake me so much, that shows me that I am not allowing my only hope and comfort in life to be in Christ alone. This is something that I confess and want to do better about. But the truth is that the story doesn't end there - I failed, repent, and will try to do better - but that's not what I'm trying to say with this post. The real message that I'm trying to get across here is not my own short-sightedness, but Christ's all-surpassing sufficiency.

The reality is that JESUS IS ENOUGH. A job for Justin, a home of our own, even a healthy baby - all of these are good things but they are not worthy of my hope. They cannot provide me comfort in life and in death. That amazing list in the catechism answer of all that Christ has done and continues to do for me, THAT is what is worthy of my hope and what is my ONLY valid comfort in life. When I allow Christ to be my only comfort and joy, the other things just aren't as important, and He opens my eyes to see how BLESSED we are even without them. Although our circumstances aren't what we would choose, we lack for nothing because God has richly provided all our needs for us, and I believe that there are parts about this time in our life that we will miss once we move on to the next thing.

I do believe that the things we long for will come to us - God promises in His Word that He knows the plans He has for us and they are plans for our prosperity, welfare, and hope (Jer. 29:11). But in the meantime I am content to wait for His perfect will to be revealed for us, because I already have everything I need both in this life and for all eternity: Christ Himself.

37 Weeks!

Not only is reaching 37 weeks today exciting because it means we only have 3 weeks left until the due date. It's also exciting because it means that Elias is officially FULL TERM, and all we have left to do is wait for him to come! I plan to start taking pictures every week now, since we don't know if I'll make it to May 11 in order to take my "9 Months" photo. So here's what Eli and I look like now:You'll also notice that I've already gotten my "mommy haircut." Most women don't get their mommy cut until after the baby is born, but when I went to get my final trim before the baby comes, she cut it shorter than I had imagined. So, oh well. Now I'm already ahead of the ballgame! :) So come on anytime, sweet Eli!

Appointment Today

I had another doctor's appointment today, and I'm still healthy as can be! So that's good news! They're actually surprised at how well I'm doing with my weight and my blood pressure, so praise God for both of those things!

I met another one of the obstetricians who may be delivering Elias, and he was a lot more easygoing about my birth plan, so that was encouraging. What was not encouraging, though, was that he was also talking about how concerned he was about Eli's size and wanting me to consider an elective c-section. I'm not going to post any more on how I feel about this - I think all of my readers know where I stand. :) However, Justin has posted an excellent post on his blog with data and statistics about big babies and c-sections, so check that out. Based on his concern, however, the doctor requested that we get an ultrasound next week to try to estimate how big Eli is now. Although I don't believe the ultrasound could be accurate enough to convince me that I should schedule a c-section, I am looking forward to getting to see Eli's sweet face again! I ask you to pray, though, that the ultrasound doesn't show that he's ridiculously huge, that we'll be able to reason with the doctors about why we don't want to elect a c-section (especially this early in the game), and that we continue to trust God for my health and Eli's. Next week we'll be meeting with the third and final obstetrician who may be delivering Eli, so maybe she'll be very cooperative and understanding about what we want to do and why.

Just to Clarify...

I don't think I did a good job of expressing the intention of my previous post, "Choosing to Trust," and so I wanted to write a little bit more about it. What I was trying to do is share with my friends and family the way I feel like God is telling me I can best glorify Him at this stage in my pregnancy, and ask for their support and prayers. What I was NOT trying to do is express any kind of judgment on what anybody else should do in their own lives. I was in no way trying to say that anybody who chooses to induce, have a c-section, or use other interventions is in any way unspiritual, and I don't know if I made that clear before. I have neither the right nor the desire to judge anybody else for deciding to do what they feel is best for their child and family. We have some good friends who are godly and faithful people, and they recently chose a c-section for the birth of their baby. I support them 100% in their choice, and their child is now beautiful and healthy.

I think that there are very few, if any, absolutes in today's world of birthing and parenting. There is no one right way to do anything, but it is up to each believer to seek the Lord about how to best glorify Him with each decision. I have some pretty strong convictions about the way I want to birth and parent my own child, but God may change my circumstances and reveal other truth to me as time progresses. I need to be humble enough to confess that God knows everything, but I don't.

As Paul expressed in Romans 14, what may be right for me may be wrong for someone else and vice versa. He says clearly, though, that it would definitely be wrong for me to judge another believer for having different convictions than mine, as long as neither of ours goes expressly against Scripture.

"Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand." - verse 4

Instead, we are to love, support, and encourage one another in our pursuit of God.

"Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification." - verse 19

So I just wanted to make it clear that the opinions expressed on this blog are just my own personal convictions, and not meant as any kind of lecture or judgment on anybody else. As the Body of Christ in this unbelieving world, it is much more important to me that we pray for each other and encourage each other to seek to glorify God in all of our decisions, even when we don't necessarily agree about each particular decision.

Wiggle Worm

So I've come to the conclusion that Elias must really like going to church! For the past 3 Sundays, at different churches in different cities, he has been REALLY ACTIVE all through church! Maybe he likes the music, or maybe he's just highly spiritually sensitive even in the womb. Either way, it's fun for me to worship with him as he dances and leaps for joy before the Lord. :)

Choosing to Trust

When I had my doctor's appointment last week, the doctor confirmed what we've already known - that Elias is running big for his gestation, and if he goes all the way to his due date or beyond, he could be REALLY big. So the doctor was pretty pushy about wanting me to be open to the idea of inducing or even considering an elective c-section if the baby gets too big. This goes completely against what I want to do - I've always believed that the baby would come when he is ready and I'm not going to make him come before that. But the doctor said some pretty scary things that could happen if the baby is too big and doesn't fit through my pelvic bone, and he got me kind of upset and worried about it. So after spending a few days pondering and praying about the situation, here's how I feel about it:

God is in control, and I trust Him completely.

God is the one who put this baby in my womb. He formed all his little parts and breathed life into him. God knew his name before I did, and He has numbered all the days of his life. God loves Elias even more than I do, and He wants what is best for him.

Not only this, but God made me. He created my body to be the exact size that it is, and He placed in my body the ability to carry a pregnancy and give birth to a child. He loves me completely and wants what is best for me.

As amazing as the science of obstetrics is in our world today, we still just don't have the technology to be able to accurately predict exactly when a baby's "due date" is, how big he is in the womb at each stage of development, how big he will be when he is born, or whether or not he will fit through his mother's body in the birthing process. We have enough technology to make guesses, but they're very rarely completely accurate.

However, there is Someone who knows exactly what Elias' birth day will be, how big he is now, how big he will be when he is born, and whether or not he will fit. In fact, this Someone not only knows all these things, but He is the one who decided them in the first place. Since I believe that God is a good and loving God who created both me and Elias and wants what is best for us, I believe He will make our process of birthing to be the best it can possibly be for us. If He does allow some kind of complication to occur, I trust Him with that. I will still do all I can to take care of myself and Elias in order to control what I can about the process, but I know that the outcome is completely in God's hands, and I wouldn't want them anywhere else. So as we wait to learn what Elias' birth day will be and how big he will be, I choose not to worry about any complications. God is good and will give us the grace to have exactly the birthing that He wants us to have.

I'd appreciate your prayers that I can continue to trust God and resist the temptation to worry! (And if you want to offer up any prayers that Eli comes early or doesn't grow too big, you're welcome to do that too!) :)

Group B Strep

I had a doctor's appointment today, and they told me that I've tested positive for Group B Strep. I mentioned in last week's post that I had had the test done, but I had never really done any research about it because I just assumed I wouldn't have it. So, after learning today that I DO, I decided I needed to know more about it. First of all, it's fairly common (about 25% of all pregnant women test positive), and NOT a big deal. All it means is that I carry this specific bacteria, and so I'll need to be treated with antibiotics during labor in order to prevent passing it on to Eli. This bacteria is not very dangerous for me - it could result in bladder/womb infections, but the antibiotic treatment should prevent that. However, it could be very dangerous for the baby, so that's why it's so important to be tested and treated. With the antibiotics during labor, there's only a 1 in 4,000 chance that Eli will still be infected. That seems pretty low to me - even without treatment it's only 1 or 2 in 200. So when I go into labor or when my water breaks, I'll need to go to the hospital and they'll put me on IV antibiotics. It's best if I can have the antibiotics for at least 4 hours before the baby is born just to allow for complete saturation. Then, they'll want to keep us in the hospital at least 48 hours after he's born just to observe him closely and make sure he didn't get it. But that's all! No big deal and nothing to worry about. Really the only thing I'm disappointed about is having to have the IV during labor - I HATE NEEDLES and really wanted to avoid this if at all possible. But now I know and I have time to get used to the fact that this is just how it has to be. Really, I'm very thankful to have caught it so I can be treated and help keep Eli as healthy as he can be!

You can read more about Group B Strep here if you're interested.

Besides that, everything else is looking fine. Weight gain, blood pressure, belly measurements, etc. are all right on track for the big baby we're expecting. His heartbeat was great. My appointment today was actually with one of the OB's who could be on call to deliver Eli. He was very nice although not incredibly supportive of my natural childbirth desires. But from what I understand about the childbirth process in a hospital, the OB is only actually there to catch the baby at the very end and he doesn't have much if anything to do with the laboring process. Sooooo, I hate to dismiss the things a trained medical professional says, but I already know that the nursing staff in the hospital will be much more supportive of my desires, and they're the ones who will actually be there at the time. And we can just pray that the other OB's will be more supportive and that this particular one won't be on call the day Eli is born!! :)

Ready?!

So now that we're getting close to D-Day and I'm getting huge, I've started getting people asking me, "So, are you ready?" Some even put it more as a statement like "Wow, I bet you sure are ready for him to be born!" I guess the norm is that a woman as pregnant as I am is uncomfortable enough to want the baby to come on outta there. However, that is just not the case for me. I am completely loving being pregnant, and I'm almost reluctant for it to end. I'll miss feeling him kick and feeling him get the hiccups. I'll miss being able to just sit and watch my belly jump and twitch when the little man is active. I'll miss the way people always have an extra smile for me in public, and the way complete strangers seem to just want to be nicer to me.

I know, I know. Being a mother is going to be an immensely rewarding blessing, and I AM looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing his face and looking into his eyes. I'm looking forward to cuddling and breastfeeding and rocking and singing. I'm looking forward to being trusted and needed the way only a mother can be. I think what I'm most looking forward to is seeing Justin as a daddy. I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about that.

But at the same time, I'm pretty scared about it all. It's going to be a BIG change and a BIG responsibility. How could a person ever actually think they're "ready" to become a parent for the first time?! I guess I just feel like I LIKE being pregnant, and I know how to handle the unpleasant things about it. And now just when I'm liking it and getting used to it all, it has to end and I have to learn another whole set of skills! I guess I'm not really worried that it will be too hard or that I won't be able to do it - it's just the change, the unknown that has me scared. I have no idea what it's going to be like. But I do believe that God has already put in me the mothering instinct that will tell me how to care for my baby, and I believe that He will enable both Justin and I to have the grace and strength and patience to endure the adjustment period. I also know that I have lots of good resources in my family and friends to help whenever we need it!

So although I KNOW everything is going to be fine, I'm still a long way from being able to say I'm "ready" for the change. No matter whether I'm ready or not, he's going to come when he comes and that'll be it! Not really any choice on whether or not I can just stay pregnant indefinitely... And who knows? Maybe in another couple of weeks, I WILL be more uncomfortable and "ready" for him to come out no matter what!!!

8 Months!!

Besides the fact that I cannot believe it's already time for my 8-month bump photo, I also cannot believe how gigantic my bump is! I'm huge! And still another month to go! :)

Consignment Sale

This evening in Knoxville, we were able to go to a HUGE consignment sale that was just stuff for kids/babies. The sale doesn't actually start until tomorrow, but first-time moms were able to register to come in early and get the good stuff. So Justin and I spent 2 hours there tonight looking through all of the stuff, and we found some majorly good deals! We got:

- an umbrella stroller
- an infant sleep positioner
- a baby monitor
- a microwave steam sterilizer
- a terrycloth changing pad cover
- 4 hooded bath towels
- 2 sleep gowns
- a pair of baby jeans
- 3 newborn-sized onesies with a matching pair of pants
- a striped romper

I looked on walmart.com to see how much it would've cost us to buy all this new: $115.44, plus tax.

How much did we pay for it all? $28. Thank you, consignment!!! :)

Edited to add: This sale was absolutely gigantic. We arrived there 10 minutes before the doors opened, and there were already at least 100 people in line ahead of us to get in. By the time the doors opened, there were at least 100 more behind us. Then after we had been shopping for about an hour, we noticed that the checkout line was getting long - in fact, wrapping all the way around the store back to the entrance! So Justin got in line and waited with the stuff while I kept shopping and just bringing him things. He ended up waiting in line for a whole hour before we made it to the front. But I found some good bargains while he was waiting in line, and I'm VERY thankful he was there. If I had been doing that myself, I would've been a disaster trying to tote everything around and shop and THEN wait in line for hours. It was really hot in there (NOT a good idea with all the pregnant women!), so we were all sweating. Justin said that he saw several people just abandoning the stuff they had been planning on buying because they couldn't stand waiting in that line. Thank you for your help, sweetheart!

Appointment Today!

I just wanted to get on here and write a quick note about my doctor's appointment today. Everything's looking great and we're doing fine! They did the test for Group B Strep today, so I should get the results for that at my next appointment. (If it turns out positive, that means I'll need to have antibiotics during the delivery to avoid infecting the baby, but it's not a big deal either way.) I also had my first cervical exam today - OUCH! No dilation at all yet, but she said my cervix is definitely getting softer. She was also able to clearly tell that Eli is in the head-down position, so there was no need for an ultrasound. I'm a little disappointed just because I wanted to be able to see him again, but I'm glad he's so clearly in position! From now until Eli comes I'll be going in every week! For the next 3 weeks I'll see a different doctor each time so that I'll actually have met all of the people who may be delivering my baby. It could be any of the 3 of them, depending on who is on call that day. So it'll be nice to at least be able to have MET the doctor before he/she is down there catching Eli! :) So praise God for a good visit - things are going great!

Second Baby Shower!

On Saturday, we had our second baby shower at my parents' house in Cincinnati! I was very blessed that my grandmother and aunt drove in from Chicago, as well as several other family members who live in the Cincinnati area. And what was really nice was that my mom's whole small group from church came, so it ended up being a pretty big party!
This is me with my sister and mom, the hostesses of the shower. You can see in the background of this photo that there is a line of pictures taped to the mantel. These were the results of the first party game we played at the shower. Jessica, my sister, had taken several photos of me and Justin, and she asked each person to cut and paste different features from our faces to assemble what they thought Eli would look like. The results were hilarious and slightly scary. One of them looked just like a guy I did summer missions with once. Hopefully Eli will get all our best qualities and combine them all to look mostly human!
Another fun game we played was where everyone had to guess how many times a Big Roll of Charmin toilet paper would go around my big ol' belly. Then the guests took turns wrapping the roll around my belly until it was out. The above picture is my grandma TP-ing me... She's the one who ended up winning this game. She guessed it right on the nose: 15 times!
We also ate delicious snacks, cake, and punch, and then opened presents! I'm SO thankful for all of the wonderful stuff people gave us! Since most of our registry items could only be bought online, many people ended up just getting us baby clothes, which is GREAT because we didn't have much before! So now Eli is outfitted in style! You can click on the picture of all the gifts below to enlarge it and see them better.The other gifts of note are the things my mom embroidered for Eli. You can see a stack of burp cloths that she personalized for him on the right side of the table. She also embroidered a blanket for him that you can see the corner of hanging off in the front. The best thing, though, is the onesie she embroidered for him that's sitting right overtop of the "John" on the blanket. It says "Eli's comin', hide your (heart) girl!" Now that is CUTE!!!

Many, many thanks to all who have come to showers for us and given us gifts! We appreciate it so much! It's starting to feel like we may actually be ready for him to arrive soon! This is a good thing since we're quickly approaching just a MONTH till Due-day!

First Baby Shower!

I am very blessed to have a caring and generous family who wants to throw me baby showers! The first shower was last Saturday in Madisonville, KY with Justin's family. Justin's mom and sister planned the event, his Aunt Linda hosted it and provided the food, and his cousin Donna made the cake. We had a great time together, and we were able to see some family that we hadn't seen in over 2 years! Eli is so blessed to be born into such a loving family.
This is the food table that Aunt Linda set up. It was quite a delicious spread, and the cake was sweet that said "Welcome Baby Eli." Linda even pulled out the glass dishes and linen napkins for this event! Very fun and fancy!
My mother- and sister-in-law did a great job decorating and planning games. You can see in the above picture that they bought some baby boy clothes and strung them up on a clothesline as decorations, then they gave them to Eli! They also bought the lamp that matches our nursery bedding, and that was part of the decor too. You can see it on the table next to me. And Nicole, my sister-in-law, does stamping, and she made the adorable candle holders you can see around the lamp for prizes for the games. It was so much fun and really cute!
And they gave us so much stuff! We received almost everything for the nursery decor, including the bedding set, sheets, blankets, mobile, and lamp. Another special gift you can see on the left side of the table underneath the gifts. It is a white baby afghan that was crocheted by Justin's Memaw (his mother's mother). Memaw passed away before I was a part of Justin's life, but she left behind several baby blankets for future babies in the family, so we're thankful to be able to have that little part of Memaw in Eli's life. And there are so many other wonderful and thoughtful gifts. Thank you to all of Justin's family who gave us so many great things!

Now we're in Ohio with my family, and they're going to throw me a shower this Saturday. My aunt and grandmother are even driving down from Chicago to come! So I'm looking forward to being able to see more family and have more baby shower fun!

Ready to Pop or Just Fat?

On Monday, Justin and I went to Wendy's for lunch. We were entering the building at the same time as one of the Wendy's employees who was coming back in from her smoke break. As she stood back to let us pass, she looked at me and said, "Whoa! You look like you're about to pop! When are you due?" I told her that I was only 7 1/2 months along, and I wasn't due till mid-May. She was like "Oh man, you're huge." Well, gee, thanks. So then we went in and she got right behind the register and took our order. I had been considering getting a frosty and some french fries, but after her comment I got my healthy salad and chili! I mean, I do feel pretty big, but I'm going to get a lot bigger before I get any smaller!

On the other hand, though, less than two weeks ago, we ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant. After we ate, I was resting my hand on my belly the way I usually do these days. The waitress came by and said, "I see you're holding your stomach, are you ok?" I guess maybe she was worried the food made me sick. I told her I was pregnant and just resting my hand on my belly. She looked me over and said "Really? How far along are you? Congratulations!" So I guess she didn't think I looked big enough to be pregnant. Just fat, I guess...

But I don't think that in 2 weeks I've gotten all that much bigger, so I guess largeness is in the eye of the beholder. I can definitely tell that Eli is growing fast these days, though. His kicks and movements have gotten a lot stronger, in fact, finally strong enough to be painful or uncomfortable. This combined with the fact that he's moving ALL THE TIME now makes me one uncomfortable mama half the time! I've started saying that he must've decided he wants to burrow his way out through my belly instead of waiting to be born the usual way. Take it easy in there, little man! Still more than 5 weeks before you're considered full term! From what I've read, the bigger he gets, the more squished he'll be and the harder it will be for him to move around a lot. Keep your fingers crossed with me that he doesn't keep up his current rate of movement until he's born! Sheesh!

Happy Easter!

We had a really nice Easter with family, and we actually took a couple pictures! (Thanks to Justin's mom who brought her camera!) So I thought I'd post them for your viewing pleasure. We went to church at Fellowship Church in Knoxville, where my sister-in-law (Nicole) and her family go. It was a nice service and very enjoyable. I needed something calm and quiet after yesterday...

Yesterday, Nicole, David (her husband), and I went to a special Easter presentation at a different church in Knoxville, and I have to say I did NOT enjoy it. It was really graphic and actually quite scary, but the biggest problem I had with it was that it was WAY TOO LOUD!!! I actually spent most of the service with my arms around my belly trying to protect Eli from the noise! When I got home, I got online and researched to see if a baby's hearing could be damaged by exposure like that in utero, and I found that it would only be a problem if it was all the time. (The uterus and amniotic fluid muffle most outside noise. Actually, the noise of my heart beating and other bodily functions are louder to him than pretty much anything going on outside of me.) So I'll rest assured that Eli won't suffer any permanent damage from yesterday... It'll take ME longer to get over than him. But he was REALLY active for the whole evening yesterday, so I think the noise did make some impact on him!

Anyways, after church this morning we headed to Sonny's Bar-B-Q, which is a favorite in the Tapp family. I had never had Sonny's until I married Justin, and I have to tell ya, I didn't know what I was missing. That's some really, REALLY good barbecue. So after lunch we took a few pictures to commemorate the day.

Justin & me. We hadn't realized it, but this is one of the only pictures we have of us together since I've been pregnant!

Nicole, David, and their son Joshua. I like this picture because David is wearing the outfit he wore as a groomsman in our wedding - he decided to wear it because it matched the outfit they got Joshua to wear. Aren't they cute?!

Joshua giggling with his Nana. I think this picture is adorable!

Since I Haven't Posted in a While...

...I thought I'd post the results of the quiz I took: What Holiday Are You? These usually are pretty random results, but this one hit the nail on the head.

You Are Thanksgiving

You are a bit of a homebody who enjoys being in the company of people you love. It doesn't take a lot to make you happy. You're enjoying life as it is. You have many blessings in your life, and you are grateful for each one. You believe that life is about what you *do* have. You feel like you have enough of the good stuff. What makes you celebrate: Family, friends, and the changing of the seasons. At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The host of the party On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Spend so much energy preparing that it's a full time job

What Holiday Are You?

The Greatest Man I Know

My husband is a great man. He is loving, caring, and kind. He is smart and a deep thinker. He is the hardest worker I've ever seen, and he has such a servant's heart! He has a Master's degree in something that he is passionate about, and he longs to be able to use his training and abilities to make a difference in God's Kingdom. God, however, is choosing to lead us through a time of waiting and uncertainty before He shows us how He plans to use Justin's amazing gifts. So my husband is humble enough that he is willing to take a job that he is WAAAAAY overqualified for so that he can provide for me and our coming son.

My precious husband has taken a job as a delivery driver at Pizza Hut, but he spends more time washing dishes and making pizzas than delivering them. However, I know my husband. When they ask him to mop the floor, he says "Sure." When they ask him to wash the dishes, he says "No problem." In fact, he probably just sees the dirty dishes and washes them without being asked, because that's the kind of guy he is. I guarantee he is the best worker Pizza Hut has, and they probably don't even recognize what a jewel he is.

It brings tears to my eyes to see my talented, amazing husband in a job like this that wears on his body and puts no use to his abilities. But he is so wonderful that he doesn't complain, and he just works as much as he can and brings home a paycheck. I am so proud of him.

The value of a man isn't judged by how much money he makes or how much power he has. A man's value is determined by his character, and that makes my husband the greatest man I know.

I love you so much, my sweetheart!

7 Months!

I can't believe it's already time to be posting my 7-month picture! But it is, so here I am!He sure is growing in there!

All I Have

Just after we returned from Moldova, I found a devotional book in a used bookstore called Expecting Joy: Devotions for Mothers-to-Be. This has been a wonderful addition to my quiet times, and it almost always has something that really applies to my situation. This morning's devotional was so good that I just want to post the whole thing - it particularly speaks to me, but it could apply to anyone's situation.

All I Have
All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on. Luke 21:4

A group of 18- to 25-year-olds, full of the Lord and full of His strength, came to help our new church. They sowed random acts of kindness to show the love of God and to make our church's presence known in the community. There were service projects, free car washes, soda and orange juice giveaways, one-on-one witnessing, and a free family festival. I participated fully with these young people, known as the "E-Team" (Evangelism Team). I experienced all of the fun and all of the work.
A year later, when the E-Team came again, my situation was different. I was pregnant, with a mid-wife's orders to take it easy. I was supposed to be resting, so how could I wash cars, paint and clean for a local ministry, and stand on a street corner giving away soda? My husband, my pastor, and many of the E-Teamers insisted that I stay home. They used my home for meals and a meeting place so I saw them at the end of each day when they returned full of excitement. I rejoiced in what God was doing through them, but a part of me was sad because I was not able to do it with them.
The E-Teamers were youthful and strong, giving their all out of the abundance of their energies. I, on the other hand, was exhausted after only wiping the kitchen counter. I felt like I was lying around doing nothing; I wanted to do so much more.
The story of the widow's offering in Luke 21 offers encouragement for situations like mine. The widow did her part, which was valuable in the sight of the Lord. In the same way, I was doing my part, which was also valuable in His sight. My part happened to be equivalent to about two very small, copper coins (Luke 21:2). But at that time, it was all I could give.
Our season of life changes when we have children. We are about to give birth to little lives that need to be loved and discipled day after day. It starts with the dirty diapers and 2 a.m. feedings. Then it grows into questions like: "Where do butterflies come from?" And progresses to questions like: "What is heaven, and will I go there?" This is the time to focus our energy at home. God will give us opportunities to share our faith and serve others, but it's okay if it isn't the same method that it used to be. God is faithful to use us where we are.
These days will not last forever; they will fly by. Before we realize were the time went, our children will be the ones out there doing service projects - full of energy and full of the presence of the Lord, giving all they have to serve God.

For further study ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

What a beautiful story and a beautiful way to capture the transition of this time. I have been discouraged because I feel like our uncertain circumstances and my physical limitations are keeping me from being able to do anything useful for anybody. But God knows my circumstances... Not only does He know them, but He Himself chose them for me. So He knows what I'm capable of and asks only that I do my best for Him with what I have. Right now, what I have may not seem like much, but I want to use it to honor Him. So I will keep a joyful heart, love and encourage my husband in every way that I can, and keep my body and spirit healthy in order to allow Eli to have the best start he can. It may only be worth 2 cents, but that's all I have to give, and God is pleased when I do.

One "Hip" Little Dude!

In the past couple of weeks, my son has discovered his new favorite play toy: my left hip bone!!! He jabs and grabs that thing for all he's worth! Ouch! From what I can tell, he's still head down and face out, which means that it's his powerful right hook that's getting me in the left hip. He's one strong little sucker! Whenever he does it, I literally jerk to get away as if someone were jabbing me from the outside. Unfortunately, since he's doing it from the inside, he just moves with me and there's no getting away. I can usually dig my hand into my hip from the outside and dislodge his little fist, which gives me at least a few minutes of comfort before he moves it right back. My silly little man. :)

In other news, I have been reading about how you should talk, read, and sing to your babies in the womb because it will help them learn to recognize your voice and get comfort from you once they're outside the womb. I've been talking to him long before he could even hear me. But now I've decided to start reading Scripture to him during my morning quiet times. I've always enjoyed reading Scripture aloud - it helps me keep my focus and to really hear the meaning of the verse in a way I might not get just reading it silently. But now I can see benefits for Elias too! Not only do I want him to get used to the sound of me reading to him, but I think it's never to early to start soaking him in the Word of God! I love the thought that I can already be influencing his spiritual walk even before he is born!

And finally, don't forget that this Sunday is Daylight Savings Time! Make sure to Spring your clocks one hour forward, or else you might be arriving at church just as the service is ending! I'm posting this on here in the hopes that it will help me remember too!

Our Life This Week

Today we had an appointment at the hospital for our tour of the birthing center where Elias will be born! So we got to see the birthing rooms and walked through the process of what it will be like when we're there just over 2 months from now! It's a beautiful facility, and I think it's going to be a great experience. They do a lot of the things I was hoping for, and so I'm very glad after this visit. We were also supposed to start our childbirth classes tonight, but our instructor has the flu. Sooooo, we'll be starting next week.

I haven't posted much recently because there isn't much to report! The only new thing I can think of in the life of me and Eli is that he's started getting the hiccups! It's usually at night when I'm laying in bed that I can feel them. Get those lungs strong in there, little man! :)

Besides that, the biggest news I have is that I actually cooked and ate salmon tonight... And I liked it! I've only eaten fish one other time since I've been pregnant, and it made me sick. But I started thinking maybe salmon might be ok, so I made barbecue salmon and it was great! Of course, anything in barbecue sauce is going to be good!

Can't Believe I'm Posting This

Yesterday, I had a totally surreal experience that not many people get to have in their lives. I got something in the mail that totally blew me away. I don't remember this at all, but apparently when I was a senior in high school, our youth minister had us write down our dreams or life goals, telling us he would send them to us 10 years later to see if we're still on track. Miraculously, he apparently managed to hang on to them for 10 years and then track us down and actually send them to us! (Shawn, you are unbelievable!)

Now, I don't remember doing this, nor do I remember what the situation was or how seriously he instructed us to take this. I dearly hope it wasn't meant to be a serious thing, because the vast majority of the "dreams" I wrote down are just idiotic. Or maybe I was just a major doofus when I was 17. Thankfully, most of you who will be reading this didn't know me then, so you can't get on here and post whether I really was a complete idiot back then or not.

I can't believe I'm actually going to post this, but for your entertainment, here is my list of life dreams from when I was 17 years old. I've included commentary/explanation in italics, and I've marked in red the ones I have achieved. I've marked in blue the ones that I still think it would be cool to do.

My Dreams:
1. Own a Plymouth Prowler. - I actually had to Google it to find out what a Plymouth Prowler is. (See picture at right.) I don't remember being obsessed with this car, but I do think it's cute. Now my dream car is a Toyota Camry... Wait! That IS what I drive!
2. Be happy with myself. - This is pretty deep compared to the rest of the things on this list. But I do consider myself happy now, and I remember not quite being so happy at that time in my life. Praise the Lord for carrying me from there to here!
3. Be a famous singer. - Uh, not so much.
4. Be a Disney character's voice. - This has actually been a dream of mine since The Little Mermaid came out. The lady who played Ariel was just a regular person, and her voice was AWESOME! So after that I decided it was something I could do too. I am doing absolutely nothing to try to make this dream a reality, and I doubt I ever will. But it would be pretty cool.
5. Publish a novel, or sell a painting or some other work of art. - I'm sure this one came from the fact that I was in an art class that I really loved my senior year, and I was doing some pretty good paintings and sculptures. I would still do it as a hobby if the supplies were free, but I'm pretty sure I don't have what it takes to make any money off of my art.
6. Own a house (with my husband and 2 kids) in Cape Cod. - What? I don't remember ever wanting to live in Cape Cod. I certainly don't now. This dream was probably more about having a husband and kids than living in Cape Cod...
7. Go into space. - I'll consider this unfulfilled, but looking at this list, it seems like I may already have been living there at the time...
8. Find my own constellation. - Huh?
9. Have a museum named after me. - Maybe the Museum of Huge Nerds...
10. Be a National Geographic photographer. - I've certainly always liked wildlife and nature documentaries, but I think I'll stick to watching them on TV instead of physically putting myself where the danger is.
11. Go to Ireland and sing "Danny Boy" in a cathedral. - This one would actually be really cool to do! "Danny Boy" has always been a song that has moved me emotionally, and it would be so neat to hear it in Ireland. Of course, I'd just like to go to Ireland even if I don't get to sing in a cathedral there.
12. Beat my dad at golf (or any sport, for that matter). - To my knowledge, the only sport I've ever beat my dad at even to this day is Wii bowling. But I'm totally counting that. I've ALMOST beat him at Wii golf, which I would count even more! But I totally blew it on the last hole... You WILL go down, Dad!
13. Graduate college with straight A's, or at least summa cum laude. - I did not make straight A's in college, but I did graduate summa cum laude.
14. Teach a student who goes on to become famous. - I have no idea where this came from. I've never wanted to be a teacher of any kind. Maybe I meant teaching Sunday School?! I have no idea.
15. Live for a couple years in a different country. - Hey! I've done this one!
16. Find out where my father's real family is from. - My dad is adopted, and apparently I felt like that was a great mystery when I was 17. When I was in college, though, my dad did find his birth mom, and I have met her and two of my half-aunts. There's not much mysterious about a birth-grandmother in Indiana, though... We did find out that dad has some Native American in him, which you can totally see in his face once you know. So that's cool.
17. Make a regular practice of using cheesy pick-up lines successfully. - How embarrassing that this was my last life dream. I have no idea what that's about.

I am so embarrassed.

So I've fulfilled 5 out of my 17 life dreams in 10 years. Not too shabby I guess. Of course, the majority of the dreams were completely asinine. So I hope that gives you all a deeper insight into who I am and how far I've come to be the person I am today...

Bling My Crib

Now that we're less than 3 months away from Eli's expected arrival, we decided it's time to start getting the things we need for him! We've made some online registries because so many of our friends and family are too far away to be able to come to any showers for us. We are not trying to be presumptive at all, and we don't want anyone to feel any obligation to buy us anything!!!! But IF you would like to get something for our sweet boy, here are 2 ways to do it. The links should take you directly to our registry pages. Let me know if you have trouble.

Nurtured Family

We are planning on cloth diapering, so this is our registry for diapers and diapering accessories. From this site, you can choose to have things shipped directly to us if you'd like.

WalMart

For all the rest of our things, we have registered at WalMart. We had originally planned on doing BabiesRUs too, but there was nothing at BRU that we couldn't get for cheaper at WalMart. So hopefully none of you are offended that WalMart is our only other option. This site has a neat feature where you can order an item online and pay for it online, but then have it shipped to a WalMart store for free. So you can just choose "Site to Store" as your shipping option, and then have it shipped to our nearest WalMart store (Oak Ridge, Tennessee), and we can go pick it up. Make sure to list either Justin or me as a person who can pick the item up, and then just let us know to go get it!

We are very blessed to have two sisters who (claim they) are both done having kids, and they are passing on a lot of their great baby stuff to us! So if you look at our registries and think there's something essential we didn't register for, we probably already have it thanks to our generous family. Feel free to ask me if there's something you think we just can't live without. :)

I'll put links to these registries in my side bar, too, for future reference. Thanks, everybody!

Fun Times Travelin'

This week Justin and I took a whirlwind tour of Ohio and Kentucky! My parents are working on moving into a new house, so we went up and spent a couple days helping them get things clean and ready to move in. It's not ready yet, but we sure did make progress! And it was so much fun to get to see my parents, my sis, my brother-in-law, and my sweet nephews! Of course, being the doofus that I am, I did not take one picture the whole time I was there. There were some priceless photo moments, too, that will have to live only in my memory. Sorry to deprive the rest of you.

However, on the way back to Tennessee yesterday, we stopped through Louisville to visit my Waco friend, Kristy! She and her family are there on business, so although her husband had to work, we got to visit with Kristy and her baby, Price! When we left Waco, Price was still in Kristy's belly, so it was pretty weird to meet him as a 6-month-old now! He is ADORABLE, and I hope our Eli has his same temperament. Thankfully, Justin did remember to get a picture of this, so here we are yesterday!The last picture that Kristy and I took together was at a baby shower for her last June, so our roles were a little switched! This time, it's me with the belly, and she's got a baby!!! Whoa! Time marches on... Thanks for sharing tuna with us again, Kristy! Yay for good memories together. :)

6 Months!!

We've reached our 6 month mark, and here's me and the bump!I've added a little bar on the side where I'll keep all my bump pictures so you can see the progress as I grow! I had intended to do all the pictures standing the same direction so it would be easier to tell the difference, but I seem to have already messed that one up! Oh well...

I'm all dressed up because sweet Justin surprised me with an early Valentine's dinner tonight. (Many thanks to my sis for the cute fancy preggo shirt!) We went out to Naples Italian Restaurant in Knoxville, this cute little place we found when we were out driving around the other day. It was such a neat atmosphere, very unique, and the food was delicious! Happy Valentine's Day, my sweetheart! I love you!

This World

There was a phrase in a song at church last week that really got me thinking. I've been ruminating on it all week, and I'm still praying about where my heart should be on this, but I thought I'd post about it and see if anybody else had any thoughts.

I can't remember what the song was or what the rest of it was about, but the bridge section of the song kept repeating the phrase "This world has nothing for me." I couldn't sing it, and just the very thought of saying something like that made me want to cry. My first thought upon reading it was that it was the same thing as saying "My baby means nothing to me," or my husband or my family or friends. I even instinctively put my hands over my belly as if to protect my baby from the very thought that he meant nothing to me.

Now don't get me wrong, I understand the concept they're going for here.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. ~ Philippians 3:7-8

When compared to the value of knowing Christ, all things on this earth are of far less value. All my relationships and activities on earth ARE meaningless without Christ to give them value and purpose. Only Christ is eternal, and I need to do a much better job of keeping this perspective on things. I know that I place far too much value in the things and people that I love on this earth, and this is what I've been praying about all week.

However, I don't think it's right to go so far as to say that everything on this earth is nothing to me. I believe that our relationships and activities here on this earth are very important, and they do have eternal value. God doesn't want us to be so wrapped up in Christ that we dismiss everything and everyone else as unimportant. The vast majority of God's instructions to us as New Testament believers are about how we live on this earth, how we treat other people, how deeply we love, and how we represent Him to an unbelieving world.

So I feel like it's careless, even in a song at church, to say "This world has nothing for me." Acknowledging that the world to come is of far greater value, I'm still going to do all I can to make my life on this earth valuable too. Justin suggested that if I'm ever confronted with a song like this again, I could change the lyric to something like "Worldliness has nothing for me." That's something I can agree with.

Does anybody have any thoughts on this? I'd love to hear another perspective.

More Good News!

I went to the doctor this morning for some routine blood tests, and they unexpectedly decided to go ahead and do my Glucose Tolerance Test too! I'm kinda glad to have it sprung on me, or else I probably would've been dreading it. This is the test where you drink the REALLY sweet drink, and then they test your blood sugar level an hour later to see how well your body absorbed the glucose. Well, I am thrilled to say that I passed with flying colors. (My blood sugar was 61 after the hour... Isn't that low?) But it sure wasn't easy! I've heard horror stories about how gross the drink is and how tough it is for the hour. Well, I actually enjoyed the orange-flavored drink... Tasted just like Orange Crush to me. Of course, it's been years since I've drunk Orange Crush, but that's how I remember it... But then the next hour wasn't all sunshine and daisies. About 45 minutes after I had drunk the stuff, I got really hot, started sweating, and even got a little dizzy like I was going to pass out! Thankfully, that only lasted about 5-10 minutes, but I'm sure the rest of the ladies in the waiting room thought I was seriously unhealthy... :) But I was fine by the time I went back for the finger prick, and my blood sugar was great! So I am very thrilled! Our little bean is going to be big enough on his own without having to worry about gestational diabetes!

I'm also very pleased that my blood pressure was great too. My hands have been pretty swollen, and that's one sign of preeclampsia, but thankfully that's not it yet! I guess gaining all this weight could be making my hands swell too! :) So although there isn't a medical problem making me swell, I've been kinda nervous about how tight my rings have been getting. I'd hate to be one of those ladies that has to have their rings cut off! At the same time, though, I can't stand the thought of not wearing a ring! So last night I broke down and bought a larger cheapo ring at WalMart. It was just $13 for sterling silver, and I think it's actually pretty cute. So now my real wedding rings are safely tucked away, and I'll be wearing this one until my hands return to their normal size.

Another Ultrasound!

We went to the doctor today and got another ultrasound! These pictures aren't as good as the ones we got in Moldova, but it was a fun experience to get an American ultrasound. We got to see a lot more of the baby, and we could actually understand her explaining what we were looking at - his perfect little arms and legs and heart and belly... Awwwww! These are 2 of the pictures we got today. (Click to enlarge.) The first is his head, and the second is his little leg and foot captured in the act of kicking me in the gut (he's kicking upwards, toward the top of the picture). The third picture we got supposedly shows us more evidence that he's a boy, although we couldn't figure out what was what in the photo. Just in case someone else could tell, though, I didn't post the pic in order to maintain my son's privacy. :)

I asked about the due date, and she said that they don't change due dates based on how big the baby is measuring. So our due date is still May 17th. However, he's measuring about 2 weeks big right now, so he may be coming early! She said he weighs about 2 lbs. 3 oz. now! I am so excited about our precious, perfect little baby!

He is currently head down, which is why I'm feeling a lot of kicks in the upper part of my belly. In fact, I felt my first rib kick today while we were in the waiting room at the doctor! I can't believe he's already big enough to be kicking me in the ribs... That's going to HURT when he's 10+ weeks bigger and my ribs are still in the same place! But my precious boy is worth it!

I go back Wednesday morning for bloodwork and an "interview" with the nurse, whatever that means. I'm just glad to be getting the ball rolling with American health care! :)

More About Eli

After making our name choice public to our families, we discovered some really neat connections with our families and the name Eli!

I said in the last post that Justin had an ancestor named Eli Tapp. Well, apparently I also have an ancestor on my dad's side whose name was Ely - different spelling, same pronunciation.

Even cooler than that, though, is what Justin's mom told him when she heard the news! She said that they had never told Justin this, but his middle name was almost Eli. They decided not to at the last minute because they didn't think Justin Eli sounded as good as they wanted, but they love the name and are thrilled with our choice.

I think those connections are so cool! And here we thought we were being so original with our choice... Of course, all of these connections are just plain Eli, so Elias is still quite original. Both traditional and unique - exactly what we wanted!!!

Justin also sent me this article from the New York Times about Eli Manning and his strong bond with his mother. While his older brothers Cooper and Peyton were with their dad at sporting events, Eli would go antiquing with his mom. Eli is 5 years younger than Peyton, so he had 5 years at home alone with his parents after Peyton moved out, and that gave him time to really bond with his mom when his dad was traveling for work. Read the article, it's nice. (Makes me want to root for him in the Super Bowl, even though I think he doesn't have a chance of winning...) So even though we're not naming our son after Eli Manning, I hope our Eli does take after him in this regard... Love your mama, boy!!!!!! :)

The Big Announcement

We've decided on a name for our sweet boy!

His name will be…

Elias John Tapp

How we settled upon this name:

The Arabic/Turkic name for Elijah is Ilias (EE-lee-ahs), and Justin has liked this name for several years. However, we knew that most Americans seeing “Ilias” would not pronounce it correctly. Elias is a Greek variation of Elijah, and Elias (ee-LYE-us) is a common English rendering of this name, so we decided it would work well. So, if we ever live in a different culture, it will be no problem to pronounce it “Ilias.”

He will likely be called Eli for short. The name Eli has historical significance for the Tapp family. Justin is descended from Eli Tapp, who moved to Kentucky from North Carolina in 1833. He and his brothers were the first Tapps to settle in Hopkins County, where Justin still has many relatives.

Plus, Justin has always really liked the song by one of his favorite bands of all-time Three Dog Night called “Eli’s Coming,” and so that will be our new theme song for this pregnancy, and maybe his life (“Eli’s coming, hide your heart girl!”) Here’s a clip of the song performed by the band on a late 1960’s comedy show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChJzR5see1k

John is the name of Joni’s father, who is also her hero. Joni has always wanted to honor her father by naming her first son after him in some fashion. Therefore, it was such a blessing that Justin’s father is also named John, as was his father’s father. That way we could honor three men in our families all with the same name! John is, of course, a Biblical name and many great men in history are also named John.

We wanted to go ahead and get this news out before the Super Bowl, to make sure that everyone knew we were not naming our child after Eli Manning. (Eli Manning’s name is actually Elisha, so ours is clearly not the same, but we expect Eli will be a popular baby name this year.) Regardless of who wins the Super Bowl, our child will still be Elias.

Thanks to all for your suggestions for a baby name – We hope you like our choice!

Preggo Shoes?!

Justin and I went to Pigeon Forge today to the massive outlet centers because we both needed new shoes... Neither of us have gotten new tennis shoes since before we got married, and they were literally falling off our feet! So we hit the Nike Outlet first, and I discovered 2 things. 1) Pregnancy has made my shoe size go up 1/2 size... I had to buy a dadgum 10 1/2 shoe!!! And 2) Pregnancy has also made me a little crazy in my taste! At least I think I'll blame it on the pregnancy... Check out these shoes I bought today!Yes, I got shiny gold paisley Nikes. They're Air Max, and they are SOO comfy! Plus, the inside on the sole says "Dance Machine." And to top it all off, they were on clearance for $29.99. How could I not get these shoes?!

Huckabee for President

I've never known much about politics, but my world has broadened dramatically since being married to Justin! I actually have an opinion about most of the major issues, and I have a favorite candidate for the upcoming presidential elections... MIKE HUCKABEE! (Even stranger is the fact that he is not Justin's favorite - I decided this on my own!) I'm not going to talk about his politics, though, because I honestly don't think that's the most important thing when choosing a candidate. Most of the things the candidates are debating over are irrelevant because the president won't have power to change those things. For example, I love Huckabee's Fair Tax plan, but there is zero chance he could get that through Congress. However, there are many things a president makes Executive Orders on that he never talked about before being elected. So, in my opinion, it's more important to choose a candidate whose character you believe in and who you personally trust to make good decisions in office. So let me tell you about the reasons I like Mike Huckabee as a person:

- He is 52 years old, by far the youngest Republican candidate. I like that he's not an old fogy.
- He is a former Southern Baptist minister, and still confesses his faith publicly.
- He plays the bass guitar, and he's good at it too. His band has played at the House of Blues and 2 presidential inauguration balls, and has opened for the likes of Willie Nelson and the Charlie Daniels Band.- He believes in taking responsibility for your own health, and he made an example of himself by losing 110 pounds through healthy eating and exercise when he was diagnosed with diabetes in 2003. This is what he looked like before:- He is a marathon runner.
- He is an outdoorsman - hunting and fishing.
- He loves his dogs, pictured here with Jet. On his Facebook page, there is actually a picture of Mike & Janet Huckabee with President & Mrs. Bush, and they photoshopped the dog into the picture. Now that is funny.- He has a sense of humor, evidenced by this commercial he made with Chuck Norris.

These are just the things I could think of off the top of my head, but I think it's a pretty good list! Part of the reason I like him so much is that you can add 2 years to his age, take out the bits about losing 110 pounds, hunting, his dog, and Chuck Norris, and you have a perfect description of my dad. How could I not support and trust a candidate who is practically the twin of my dad, who is my lifelong hero?!

Pictures from Mike's Facebook page, information from mikehuckabee.com.

Gonna Be a Soccer Player!

I want to thank you all for all your awesome naming suggestions for Justin and I to consider!!! I was surprised at the response! We've pretty much settled on a middle name, but still working on the first name. We figure we have another 4 months before we HAVE to make a decision, so there's no need to rush it now. We'll let you know when we decide what his full name will be!

In the meantime, I am not kidding when I say I am SHOCKED at how much this child kicks me! It's like I'm his own personal practice dummy! Especially when I'm in bed at night trying to sleep. I call him "my little goober" when he's doing that and keeping me awake. I'm not sleeping well at night anyway, between getting up to pee every 4 hours, uncomfortable aching hips, and bizarre and vivid dreams. So I'm awake every hour or two anyways. Then last night every time I woke up, it was like he was having a Dance Dance Revolution party in there or something! So it would always take me a while to fall back asleep, since my little goober was scheming to keep me awake. :) It's also funny, though, how much joy there is in that. I LOVE waking up and feeling him alive in me, it's just such an encouraging knowledge and never ceases to make me smile. It's almost like he's communicating with me - "I'm here, Mom!"

He also really seems to like it when I eat sugar - or maybe it just gives him a sugar rush. I just finished a mug of Moose Tracks ice cream, so we'll see if it make him dance a bit in there. :)

My family is coming to visit us for the long weekend this weekend, and I am INCREDIBLY excited about that! They arrive tomorrow at lunch time, and I'm already counting the hours! (16 to go!) We're going to eat a lot of food, play some games, spend a day in Gatlinburg, and just have an all-around good time.

P.S. Yes, the Moose Tracks DID give him a sugar rush! :)

Name That Baby! Contest

Justin and I are kind of beating our heads against brick walls when it comes to trying to agree on a name for our little boy. I like traditional names, he wants something unique. So we decided to appeal to our blogging friends out there for some inspiration! We KNOW that there is a name out there we're both going to love, we just haven't thought of it yet! Can anybody offer us any suggestions? It would be awesome if you could suggest a first & middle name combo, and please think about whether it sounds good with our last name. It does not have to start with a J, but it can.

And if you suggest the name that we end up naming our baby, we'll give you... um... the satisfaction of knowing that you helped us name our son! :)

The Bump at 5 Months

Alrighty, here's my long-awaited first belly shot! Me and the bump at almost 5 months.This was taken just after we took the sweet boy to his first UK basketball game! He is definitely a future Wildcat fan, although he was pretty disappointed with the Wildcats' pathetic showing against Louisville on Saturday.This was also my first time wearing a maternity shirt. This one was a Christmas gift from my mom and dad - I LOVE IT! Maternity clothes are so comfortable! :)

After the game, we drove to Western Kentucky to spend a few days enjoying Justin's parents' lake house and visiting some family. We haven't seen some of this family since our wedding more than 2 years ago! So it was nice to catch up with these great people.

Being in Middle-of-Nowhere-ville, KY meant that we didn't have the ability to hook our computer up to the internet, which is why I'm not posting these pics until today. I'm sure you all somehow managed to survive the 4 day wait. We're back in Tennessee now, where I believe we will stay until we find out where we'll be moving to permanently! Any prayers you'd like to offer up for us on that subject would be greatly appreciated! :)

Christmas Loot

Our little bean is yet 4+ months unborn, but he's already racking up some serious loot from the families! Look at what they got him for Christmas:Nana & Grand-Dad Tapp got him a sweet book called "Pat the Bunny."

Grandma & Grandpa Strimple got him a soft "My First Rattle," and Grandma embroidered the onesie for him that says "I'm a Moldovan Baby." There's a story behind this, because one day while we were still in Moldova, Justin found this onesie that for some random reason is being sold on Amazon. So we sent the link to our parents thinking it was cute. (Our baby, after all, WAS made in Moldova!) So Mom used her amazing embroidery machine skills to make him his own personalized one, complete with Moldova's new logo in the top corner.

Santa (aka Grandma) even got in on the action by filling him a stocking with a CD of lullabies, a cow-spotted rubber ducky that lets Mommy & Daddy know when his bathwater is too hot, a pair of adorable UK booties that he will inevitably wear home from the hospital, and a gift card for DQ since he has been craving a chicken strip basket for the past 5 months. It's HIM, not his mommy that needs the chicken strips. :)

I also included in the photo the "mommy-purse" that was a gift from Aunt Jessica (my sister). She said it's the perfect size for all the stuff mommies need to carry around with their babies - bigger than a purse but not as big as a diaper bag. Then Grandma and I designed the monogram to go on it, and she embroidered it for me. I LOVE IT!

So thank you to everyone for making our little bean's first Christmas so special!

Happy 2008!

Happy New Year, everybody! This promises to be an exciting year full of big changes for us, and I'm excited to get it started! An exciting development for us this week was that we passed 20 weeks, which puts us over the halfway mark! Apparently the little bean decided that this occasion meant he needed to start making my belly as big as possible. I feel like I've noticeably grown in just the past 4 days! In fact, he's already starting to press up on my stomach so that I get full faster. I'm kind of a slow learner these days, so I didn't do well with all the big holiday dinners. I didn't realize how full I was getting and thought that I could just eat as much as I wanted the way I always have in the past! That was bad news for me after the meals when I had made myself SO SICK from overeating! So moderation is the key for me, and thankfully all the big family holiday meals are done. Now I just need to concentrate on eating more often instead of eating big portions. My body is slowly recovering from the abuse I gave it with all that food, and I'm learning how to do this pregnancy thing. :)

We're going to be taking the little bean to his first UK basketball game this weekend, and I'll post pictures from that. I feel like my belly is finally big enough that I look pregnant and not just fat, so I'm not ashamed to post a pic anymore. Plus, I have some awesome new maternity clothes that I can't wait to show off! (Huge thanks to Mom, Jess, and Nicole!) So check back for that next week.

May your 2008 be blessed and filled with the joy and hope of the Lord!