Just waiting

Thinking back to this time last year, there seems to be a common theme....a time of waiting.  Last year, we were waiting and counting down to the time when Landon would be leaving to go to South Carolina for the summer for basic training.  It was a time of anxiousness, nervousness, and just wanting time to slow down.  This year we have a completely different event we are waiting on.  In approximately 5 weeks, we will meet our sweet daughter, Olivia.  While it is, once again, a time of anxiousness and nervousness, we are so excited for it to finally be here.

It's funny to think about where we were just a short year ago, all the changes that have happened in our lives and in our marriage.  But it's also funny how God continually teaches me the same thing over and over again no matter what season of life I am in.  I was reading back over my posts from last summer and I came across this post that I wrote while he was gone over "waiting on the Lord".  Christ is so sweet to remind me of his promises during times of waiting.  While we are so excited for the day to arrive when we do get to bring Olivia into this world, I am reminded that my waiting needs to be on the Lord, and not this sweet event

Sweet girl at 32 weeks

I wonder who she will look like!

3rd Trimester, ready or not, here it comes!

I am officially in my 3rd trimester, and I honestly can't believe how fast time has gone.  I am 29 weeks as of Thursday, and it's hard to believe that I'm 11 weeks away from my due date and just 7 weeks from technically being full term.  My pregnancy has been so easy and such a blessing with very little sickness, aches and pains.  Now that time is drawing closer to meeting my sweet daughter, I'm praying that delivery goes just as smoothly as the the whole pregnancy has gone.

29 weeks

It's been very obvious that I have a human being growing inside of me with my extending waistline, but I told Landon last night that it has been even more surreal in the last month to actually feel different body parts grazing my insides and watching my belly move as she has her own dance party inside of me.  I am amazed at this little human that God is growing inside of me, and as she gets bigger and bigger, I am continuing to pray that God will also grow her heart towards and love and desire for Him as well.

My sisters and mom at my baby shower

Over the last couple of months we have begun and almost finished her nursery and had our first baby shower.  I remember the day that we painted the nursery, I stood back and looked at the room that evening, and that's when I really thought to myself, "This is real."  I couldn't believe that a little human was actually going to be living in our house, in this room.  Then, when we had our baby shower, those same feelings came back when I got the cutest little outfits, stuffed animals, and books that my sweet daughter will be using in just a few short months.  Even with all of these physical changes, I'm not sure that it will really hit me that I am having a sweet baby until the first time I hold her, and I can not wait for that day to come.

God has been so good to me and Landon over the last almost 4 years of our marriage, and we can't wait for this new blessing that God has given to us!

It's A..............

From the very beginning, on September 13th, when I found out I was carrying a sweet baby inside me, I couldn't wait to find out if it was a boy or a girl, but the way my appointments were falling, I didn't think I would be able to find out until after the first of January.  A friend of mine is due 2 days after me, and she mentioned that she was going to a place where you pay a certain amount of money to find out what the gender is.  Naturally, I looked into it and booked our appointment for December 8th, when I would be 16 weeks pregnant.

I knew I wanted to surprise both mine and Landon's parents on Christmas with a gift of either all pink or all blue baby items.  We were telling everyone we weren't finding out until January, so we knew it would throw them all off.

Long story short, my doctor told me I could come in on the 6th to find out for cheaper than that other place I had booked, so I booked the appointment and waited impatiently for that day at 4:00.  Landon and I made our final guesses before the sonographer came in.  He said boy, I said girl, but I really thought it would be a boy anyways.  Landon comes from a family of ALL boys, from his grandpa to all of his cousins on his dad's side, so I knew having a girl was a slim chance.  The sonographer began and was pointing out different body parts of the baby as she was going.  Landon and I could both tell before she ever said anything what it was.  I think she was just trying to get a really good picture, and then she finally said, "Well, you're having a GIRL!"  We were both pretty shocked and excited at the same time.  This would be the first granddaughter on my side of the family and the first girl on his.

We both agreed to tell one person, because we just couldn't keep the secret completely for 2 whole weeks.  We celebrated Christmas with Landon's family first.  They opened the gift with pink socks and pink confetti and put 2 and 2 together.  Here is a little video of their reactions.

We went to my family's a couple days later and broke the news to them the same way.  I absolutely loved my dad's reaction!

We were excited to finally be able to share our news with the rest of the world.  We didn't even keep the pregnancy a secret for this long from our parents!  It makes it more real talking about "her" and "she".  I can't believe we are going to have a daughter in just a few short months.  We feel so blessed.

Olivia Joy Turrubiarte will be here in May!!!

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.