First Trimester Recap

I suppose if I got rid of my Facebook account I would keep this updated a little more, especially during this pregnancy, but it's much easier to just post the weekly "bump" pictures on Facebook to make it short and sweet.  At the rate I'm going I'll post after each trimester which only means one more trimester before a baby post:)

14 weeks

I really feel very blessed with my first 14 weeks of this pregnancy.  I have been sick a handful of times, but as soon as I get it "out of my system" I am fine and ready to go!  I would much rather take feeling "sick" for 20 minutes rather than nauseous all day long.  I've only gained around 2 pounds I think.  I'm only taking the doctor's scale seriously.  I've weighed myself 2 other times and one said I lost 10 pounds and one said I lost 2 pounds, so who knows.  I'll find out for sure next week at my next appointment.  I haven't had to buy any maternity clothes yet, but I really feel like this last week I have really "popped".  It has been so nice being on Thanksgiving break because I have been in leggings and sweats pretty much all week.  The thought of my work clothes or jeans doesn't sound appealing, but I am kind of in the in-between stage where I can't justify buying maternity clothes yet because I really don't NEED them yet, but I can't buy normal clothes either because I won't be able to wear them for much longer.  This girl just wants to shop!  I've been sleeping pretty well other than waking up to pee.  The 2 or 3 nights I have woken up the next morning and realized I never woke up to go to the bathroom were quite accomplishments!  I'm not much for interrupted sleep just to go pee.

Baby at 11 weeks

Someone asked me yesterday if I feel different now that I'm pregnant or if I ever forget that I'm pregnant.  My answer is no to both questions.  Other than the few times being sick and my forehead that looks like I have the chicken pox, I don't feel much different.  However the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning is "I wonder if I lay here long enough and still enough if I will be able to feel the baby."  It's usually the last thing Landon and I talk about before we go to sleep and the first thing I think about when I wake up.  It's kind of hard to forget that God is growing a human being inside of me.  At our last appointment we had a 3D ultrasound.  At that point I was only 11 weeks.  It was so amazing to see the little baby inside of me.  I mean, it looked like a real baby.  The verse in Psalm 139 came to me "I have knit you together in your mother's womb".  We serve a pretty incredible God.

Landon and I are very excited to find out the gender in the next month, and I'm ready to finally really start showing.  I can't believe how fast this school year/pregnancy has already gone.  We only have 26 weeks to go to meet our sweet baby!

Oh Baby!

What a crazy 2 months it has been!  With Landon getting home from basic training, starting work, kids coming back to school, and the first 6 weeks under our belt, I feel like time is truly flying!  While I love that the school year is already moving quickly and I have things to look forward to, I truly want to savor and enjoy the next 7 months with just my husband.  Because come mid-late May, there will be 3 of us!

We couldn't be more excited to grow our family, nervous for the challenge, anxious to feel that love that everyone talks about, and thrilled to share it with each other.  From day one of our relationship we dreamed of having a family, and when I got off "the pill" while Landon was gone this summer, we knew it would soon be a reality.  Landon got home August 10, and here we are October 11 and 8 weeks pregnant.  Welcome home, honey:)  

Because we were trying, I knew when I would know if I was pregnant or not, and the day before my body would have just given me the answer, I was too anxious to wait.  While Landon was out riding his bike, I drove to Walgreens to buy a test.  Landon's uncle and his wife were coming over to go get ice cream so I knew I had to take it quick.  No matter how much I was "expecting" it to say "pregnant" or wanting it to at least, I was truly shocked and had to take the second one in the box just to make sure!  I think the words that came out of my mouth alone in the bathroom were "Holy crap!"  Landon's uncle and his wife got here right before Landon got home, so we went straight to ice cream.  Naturally I was dying inside and just wanted to hurry up this little get together so I could get home and tell Landon the news.  After a long (and what I thought pointless) conversation, we finally headed home, and I broke the news to Landon.  He was hoping for the same results, but was still just as shocked when that became a reality.   We couldn't wait to tell our families so we had breakfast with his parents that weekend and told them, and then we told my parents on Skype later that week.  Everyone was thrilled.  

Our first appointment was yesterday where we had an ultrasound done and heard the baby's heartbeat, and that's when things got real.  I couldn't help but just smile as I saw my sweet raspberry sized baby in black and white.  He/she was the most adorable thing I had ever seen because I knew he/she was ours. 

 We are super excited for May to get here, but we are truly enjoying every moment of it just being us.  I could not be more blessed with such an amazing husband to share this journey of life with.  I scored a winner!  

Back to Real Life

For obvious reasons, last Tuesday, I was unable to post my weekly post.  Now, I am home with my husband trying to get back into the swing of things and getting ready to begin a new school year.

Here is a little recap of the last week:

Last Tuesday morning I woke up early with knots in my stomach ready to get on the plane.  I was so anxious and giddy that I was literally almost sick.  My plane left at 9:15 and after 1 plane change and layover, I finally made it to South Carolina at 4:30.  I wanted to drive around a bit just to make sure I knew where I would be going the next day.  I got on base, saw where graduation and family day would take place and saw the place that Landon had been living for the last 10 weeks.  If I thought I was anxious earlier, it was magnified when I saw some people from his battalion from a distance.  Because I had to wake up so early to get to the airport that morning, I was hoping that I would be able to fall asleep pretty fast when I got back to my hotel.  I watched a little bit of the Olympics, read some of my book, and rolled over to fall asleep.......30 minutes later, I turned the Olympics BACK on hoping that my mind would be taken off of the fact that I was just a few short hours from seeing my husband and I would fall asleep to the TV.  My alarm was set for 6:00 am, but naturally, I woke up at 5:30, and wasn't about to go back to sleep.  The day had finally come.  I got out to the field for Family Day about an hour and a half early.  I took my book so that I would have something to do when I got there instead of just twiddling my thumbs.  When it finally started and the new soldiers began running out onto the field, I was so overwhelmed with pride, excitement, and love for my husband, now a soldier.   Here is a video of when they started running out onto the field.

Landon's company is the second one from the left.  I borrowed some really nice binoculars from a friend, so I was able to spot him pretty quickly once the smoke cleared up.  I was so happy to finally see his face, wrap my arms around him, and kiss him!  We had such a fun day together just being together.  The next day was graduation, and once again, the pride I felt in my heart was so overwhelming.  Knowing what he had been through over the last 10 months, knowing that it was all his choice to serve along with the anticipation of finally going home with my husband made the day an emotionally exciting day.

Thank you so much for all your prayers over the summer.  I truly felt them.  God has been so good to us!

So So So So Happy!!!!!

Just One More

The clock has never moved so slow in my entire life.  It didn't even move this slow leading up to the day I became his wife.

 
           
Last week, in order to stay busy, I completed a few projects in my guest bathroom and laundry room that I had been wanting to get done over the summer, and that helped.  This week, I have been trying to get stuff cleaned out and cleaned up, so that Landon will be coming home to a well organized and spotless house.  I have already  made a trip to Goodwill to get rid of stuff and still have 3 boxes of things to throw away on my kitchen table.  Now, I'm just using some of my Pinterest inspired ideas to get the house spotless.


A few girls from my home group and I are doing Beth Moore's study on Esther over the summer.  It's so neat how God has orchestrated all of our lives to be in community with each other, grow together, and be challenged by each other.  Each of us are going through different struggles in our lives and yet we are all going through this study that seems to be for the exact season that each of us are in. One of the phrases that we have found almost comical that Beth Moore has said was when she used the the verse in Isaiah 40:31 which says, "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."  He doesn't say "but they who wait for an event".  He says, "they who wait on the Lord."  This has been a constant struggle not only this summer but through out my life.  I have waited to graduate from high school to go to the college of my dreams.  I have waited to find a boyfriend.  I have waited to marry my wonderful husband.  I have waited for a job, and now I am waiting on my husband to come home.  Beth Moore says not to wait on the event of something happening.  Don't even wait on the event hoping that the Lord will make that event take place.  Simply wait on the Lord.  That's it.  Nothing else.    It sounds so simple and yet at times, it's so easy to lose focus of that with my fleshly and selfish heart, but nothing has been more rewarding than when I do find that rest and I truly am waiting on the Lord.  He has renewed my strength when I have felt like I can't go another day without hearing from my husband.  He has mounted me up with wings like eagles, even if that means just getting out of bed, off the couch, and out hanging out with friends.  He has given me strength to just walk, go on with my daily life, and not faint.  He. Is. So. Good.

With all that to say, I leave 1 week from today to go to South Carolina to see my husband and bring him home.  While it has been hard to not spend all my time anxiously awaiting August 7th, waiting on the Lord has made this time of waiting so much sweeter.

2. MORE. WEEKS.

I kind of thought I would never get here.  Two weeks from today, I will be leaving to go to South Carolina.  That means tomorrow I can start saying "1 week" (and a few days), and oh does that feel good!

This past weekend I was so anxious to get a phone call from Landon that I felt like the weekend just drug on and on.  I can honestly say that while the last 8 weeks haven't really been enjoyable, it has gone by fairly quickly until the last couple days.  I knew I had to do something to keep myself from going crazy with excitement, anticipation, and emotions or else the next 2 weeks were going to drag,  so I decided this week is going to be full of projects.  I had lots of things I wanted to get done around the house while Landon was gone, and while I had begun on several of them, I decided they all needed to be finished when he walks in the door on August 9th.  I have already gotten several things done as well as made a trip to IKEA.  Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be done with my projects and ready to move on to the week of deep cleaning.  I have found several lists on Pinterest to help you "deep clean your house in a week", so I'm going to try to stick with one of those lists.  I'll do a few things every day just to keep busy, but also allow myself time to hit the pool if necessary.

I think he looks so good in his uniform:)

I'm getting so excited to see Landon.  I wasn't really sure what to expect for Family Day, when I first see him, so I looked up a few videos on youtube and just sobbed on my couch.  I'm going to be a basket case when I finally get to wrap my arms around him.  I hope he doesn't mind:)

7 Weeks Gone

I'm a day late on my weekly post, but 3 weeks from today, I will have already laid eyes on my man and hugged and kissed him until he can't stand it anymore!  Three weeks sounds doable.  It sounds like a legitimate time table, like how you normally count down to things that are really going to happen.  For a while, it seemed so far away, almost like we would never get there.  At one point, I compared it to being sick.  Sometimes, being dramatic as I am when I am sick, I feel like I "forget" what it really feels like to be well again, I don't know if I will ever feel that way again (ok maybe not quite that bad).  But I have hit that point a few times this summer.  I have almost "forgotten" what it was like to have my husband wake up to me every day, what's it's like to hear his voice, to go on dates, lay out by the pool, etc.  I know, that really does sound dramatic, but this is the longest time we have ever been away from each other and our communication has been very limited.  I finally talked with him on the phone this weekend for the first time in 3 weeks.  While it was great to hear from him, it made me long for him even more.

I have truly felt so blessed this summer while Landon has been away.  I have been so busy with hanging out with friends for lunch or dinner, weekends with family and trips to the lake and the pool with friends that this summer really has moved along pretty quickly.  God has been so good.

Yesterday I booked a weekend getaway for when Landon gets home as well as my flight out to South Carolina.  It is so close.  I. CAN'T. WAIT.

Kind of cheesy, but I don't care:)

Week 6

Only 4 weeks to go.  28 days from tomorrow.  While the last 5 weeks have gone by pretty fast, I will have to say that this last week inched by.  I'm not really sure what the reason for that was because I stayed busy.  My family came in to town, but for whatever reason, it was slow.

This weekend was hard in particular.  Last Wednesday (the 4th) I was out on the lake with some friends and Landon called, not once, but twice.  And I missed the call, not once, but twice.  I was absolutely sick,  so I was really looking forward to the weekend with my family.  My family was here to go to a Rangers game and Hurricane Harbor, and while I thought that would keep me busy and my mind off of completely missing Landon, it only made me long for my husband more.  My WHOLE family was together, but my very best friend was missing.

I received 4 letters in the mail yesterday from Landon.  2:30 is usually my favorite part of the day (around the time the mail comes), when I get to sit down and "talk" with my husband.  I think he said it best in one of his letters.  He said "I really miss your physical presence, but I think what I miss most is just being able to talk to you."  I have said from the very beginning that yes, 10 weeks is a long time to be apart, but 10 weeks is even longer when almost all communication is cut off.

I don't mean this post to be a drag, it's just my place to share my thoughts and feelings, and these are my thoughts and feelings.  I spent some time doing my Bible Study this morning over Esther, and God really spoke to me.  This life may be hard, it may not be ideal or what I had in mind, but Landon and I are right where God wants to be "for such a time as this."


Here are a few pictures from the weekend with my family!  While it was a little crazy having 8 adults, 3 kids under the age of 6, and 2 dogs all under one roof, we had a lot of fun!!!