Miracle of Life

This video was floating around Facebook last week and it's pretty incredible. Thought I would share...

The Miracle Of Life from Catholic Media House on Vimeo.

My Dad

After losing my dad unexpectedly to a heart attack a few weeks ago, I haven't really felt the need to write on this blog anymore.  Honestly he was a big reason I even set up this thing.  I wanted him to be able to feel more connected to my life and he was just so excited about being a granddad that I thought it would be a great way for him to see pictures of the ultrasounds.  I also wanted a way for him to see pictures of E once she arrives.  The fact that my dad and I would email each other and he would visit my blog was a HUGE deal.....bless his heart but he was never really into that sort of technology.  I was so proud that he was actually visiting the blog regularly.  I was told that he was printing off the pictures and carrying them around with him.  It just makes me so sad.  You never realize how much security you feel knowing someone is there for you at the drop of a hat and that was him.  I knew no matter what if I picked up that phone and asked him for help, advice or anything at all he'd do his best to make sure I got whatever it was that I needed.  I recently really looked to him for advice in the relationship arena and it was amazing how good his advice usually was.....it was always very level headed which is what I needed.  Anyway, I picked up the phone last week to call him for some advice and that was definitely a reality check.  It's so hard to imagine that I'll never hear his voice again in my lifetime.  When I think of it like that it's just really too much to bear.

I need to scan a couple photos of him to put on here.  He was such a cutie.  Blonde hair and a handful of signature looks that you could always count on seeing.  Funny thing is I was in AR last week and looking through old photos as I packed up his house and even as a young guy he had those same funny expressions and smile.  Probably the saddest thing I ran across when packing up his place was a map of TX.  He was already planning his drive to TX for when E is born.  I really hope that in heaven you are able to look down and check on your loved ones. I hope he knows how much I already miss him and wish he was going to be there to meet E.  I'll always regret not going home for Christmas this year since he passed away 3 days later.  I thought the flight was just too expensive so I had booked a trip for Jan 6-9, but by that time it was too late.  Never take those you love in your life for granted because you never know how long you really have with them.  He was supposed to live forever or at least that's what he would tell me. :-)

So here's to a really great man - my dad.

Blessings

A good friend of mine from college who I haven't talked to in several years sent me the sweetest email tonight out of the blue. The email reminded me how important it is to not get so caught up in your daily lives and drama that you forget about those around you. It's amazing what reaching out to someone can do for their soul. The message she shared with me had such an impact on me that I had to share it with whomever might stumble upon this blog.  It spoke volumes to me and hope it does for you too. Thanks Emily and hope you don't mind me sharing this message. :-)

Children are a gift and a blessing from the Lord.

We tend to do a few things with blessings:

1. Worship it over the Creator

2. Worry about it (losing it, etc)

Instead we should:

1. Let it point us to Christ

2. Hold it loosely and trust that God is sovereign

What do our fears have in common? Many of them are in our imagination.



Our minds generate countless scenarios of “What if this happens? How will I deal with it?”

Often most of the bad things we imagine never actually come true. But there will be other trials—ones we can never anticipate. 

That’s why Elisabeth Elliot’s wise advice is invaluable in fighting fear: “There is no grace for your imagination.” God does not sprinkle grace over every path our fear takes. He does not rush in with support and encouragement for every scenario we can imagine.



Instead He warns us to stay off those paths. Psalm 37:8 explicitly tells us: “Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.” 

There is no grace for our imagination. That’s why our fearful imaginings produce bad fruit: anxiety, lack of joy, futile attempts to control.



However, God does promise sufficient, abundant grace for every real moment of our lives. That’s why the Proverbs 31 woman can “laugh at the future” in contrast with being worried or fearful about it.”

Lately

I realized I haven't posted in a month so thought it was time to give an update.  I'll be 23 weeks this week which is almost 6 months! Hard to believe that I'm that far along. I went for my first doctor's visit today in Austin with my new doctor. Thankfully I loved her! It's nerve racking to change doctors mid stream much less change cities.  I wouldn't recommend moving in the middle of a pregnancy to a new city and I certainly need to find some pregnant girlfriends around here. I did try meetup.com and found a group of girls around my age that are pregnant with their first babies so we have a coffee date next Tuesday night.  I jokingly told my one of my best friends tonight that I feel like I am online dating but for girlfriends. Oh well, you do what you've gotta do!

Anyway I received a glowing report from the doctor today. Ms. Elyse is doing great. I had another ultrasound because my 20 week anatomy scan was performed a week early in Denver so it was ruled as incomplete since there were a few things that they couldn't see.  So I had another scan today and they were able to see almost everything except for the skin along her lower spine. They are looking for any signs of Spina Bifida so I have to wait 6 more weeks to get a final gold star on that scan.  I did have the blood work done months ago to scan for this defect and it was negative so they felt I didn't have much to worry about.  She was just laying in a weird position again so they couldn't get a good look. I also had been having some pains in my lower belly over the past week and at times it was scary, but luckily I learned it's just growing pains. She weighed in at 1lb 4oz which was on the higher end. That was reassuring because I haven't put on much weight which has been nice, but at the same time I've been worried about her.  I also got my belly measured for the first time and I was at 22cm which correlates perfectly to 22/23 weeks along.  That was reassuring too, because I just now have a belly that is slightly noticeable in tighter clothing. She's also super active all the time which is really neat and very bizarre at the same time.  Here's a glamour shot from today. :-)

I have really stocked up on baby gear in the past month too and my poor savings account is starting to suffer. :-)  Just thankful I've been a relatively responsible young adult and I actually having savings for times like these. She finally has a nice selection of every day clothing and even a few really cute smocked dresses for later on.  Her bedding finally arrived and it's so cute.  I'm going to have her room painted this month and the crib should be here any day now. I ended up switching the color of the crib to a venetian darker gold.  I love birds so doing a bird theme in her nursery.  I found the cutest bird mobile and painting that I added to my registry.  I also found these stuffed bird rattles at Pottery Barn kids over the weekend so HAD to get those. I'm putting a twin size bed in there too so having an upholstered headboard made that will be here soon. My nesting is out of control, but I was forewarned that it would get bad around this time.  I'll be sure to post some pictures of her room soon. I hope to have her nursery pretty much complete by the end of December or early January.

Oh and received a wake up call today from my doctor.  She mentioned that in four more weeks I will enter my third and FINAL trimester.  After one more doctor's visit at the end of Dec, I begin going every two weeks until she is here.  That stresses me out just typing that sentence...hah!

Baby Gear!

Well I finally made my first baby gear purchases on Sunday! I found an iron crib by Bratt Decor and a discount code floating around the internet so I got the crib for a really good deal compared to other sites.  I definitely could have found a cheaper crib elsewhere, but I fell in love with this one. Since it's my first baby I think I deserve to get a few really nice things for Elyse.  I also cleaned out my storage unit on Saturday and I have all this beautiful antique furniture that I can use in the room so all I needed to buy was a crib! The crib has an antique feel too so all the pieces should mesh well together.

I also bought her bedding! I ordered the Kate bedding by Serena and Lily first from www.laylagrayce.com (super cute website for women and kids - beware!), but then second guessed my choice on Monday and switched my order to a different bedding set. After some much needed help from several of my girlfriends we decided the stark white in the Kate bedding might clash a bit with the cream iron crib. 

Lastly, I ordered a diaper bag.  I originally want a Petunia Pickle Bottom bag, but I opted with a cheaper choice on this website.  It was half the price of the Petunia bag and I really liked the style of it better so see I am making some reasonable choices!  I swear baby gear is just like the wedding industry - a total rip off!  They know as women we have hard time resisting all the cute clothes, bedding and gear.  It's not fair!

I probably haven't mentioned the big move to Austin is this weekend.  We are packing up the truck on Friday and starting our adventure down to TX bright and early on Saturday.  I'm really going to miss Denver and all the great things about this city. I'm especially going to miss all my friends, but the move isn't permanent and we will be back in about 18 months.

Here are some pics of KET's gear that is on it's way to TX!

Bratt Decor Venetian Iron Crib (without 4 posters)

Annette Tatum Brocade Peony Bedding Set

Glimpse Inside the Crib

Bedding Patterns

Skip Hop Diaper Bag

So far that's all the gear I've purchased, but much more is on the list. I did get my first gift last night. My St. Jude girls surprised me last night with a going away get-together and Marianna bought me the cutest pink bunny newborn booties along with a cuddle duck for the crib. I'm really going to miss those girls while we are gone!

Time for New Things on Tuesday!

So it wasn't intentional, but yesterday I really branched out and tried a couple new things. First of all, I'm not a morning person. That doesn't mean that I'm typically in a bad mood in the mornings, but I just really require a lot of sleep especially these days.  So a friend from work talked me into meeting her for yoga at 7am at this super cute studio in the Highlands - www.vitalyoga.org. I absolutely LOVE the Highlands.  It's a neighborhood right outside of downtown Denver that has the cutest boutiques, cafes, restaurants, book stores and so much more. I especially love that area right now since all the trees have finally turned into vibrant shades of yellow, orange, lime green and red. Anyway, so this was my first ever yoga session so I had no idea what to expect. Vital was super welcoming and relaxing.  The teacher was amazing! It was only an hour, but I left so refreshed, relaxed and actually got a good workout. So good that I feel like I went to bootcamp yesterday instead of yoga. My muscles are screaming today. I loved it so much I'm going again tonight!  

My next adventure yesterday was a painting class. A friend of mine that I met through cycling when I first moved here found this cool place in Cherry Creek called Canvas and Cocktails so a group of us went last night. Talk about a fun time! Loud music, plenty of wine and shopping (minus wine for me). What more can a girl ask for on a night out and I scored two really cute hats at a discount! For those of you that don't know I have an obsession with collecting cute hats. Oh and I may have found my next calling - painting! I actually surprised myself with how my masterpiece turned out. See for yourself.

Before

Half way through class (upside down)

Finished piece!

Surprises

The time has come for the big announcement - we're having a girl! Yep, that's right I'm 16 weeks, 4 days pregnant today. Surprise! Surprise! It's been quite an eventful couple of months since we found out with its share of ups and downs that's for sure, but I suspect that's pretty normal. It's funny how one second I would be excited and the next in tears over the whole thing......gotta love pregnancy hormones. However, what I've been reminded of through this is that God really is in control of our lives and there is a reason for everything that happens.

My life changed the moment I found out a couple of months ago that I was expecting and it forever changed on Friday night when we found out it's a little girl.  I've always wanted a daughter and for a lot of selfish reasons like I think girl's clothes are so much more fun than boys....hah!  But I really am excited about this next chapter in my life.  It certainly wasn't something I was planning for anytime soon but sometimes surprises really are the best!

So far it's been a breeze. I've had one day of true morning sickness with quite a few days of constant nausea lately. Funny how the first 12 weeks are supposed to be the worst and they weren't. But when I hit 14 weeks the all day nausea really kicked in with a few tough days. I have still been running several times a week which is great since it's so mind numbing and refreshing to me. Happy to report on a 4lb weight gain so far. Now I was on the higher end of my range that I like when this whole thing happened but oh well that is pretty trivial now. 

Anyway here are some pictures of the baby girl. Katherine Elyse is my top pick right now for a name! Fun times of shopping and reading many books ahead of me.  For someone who NEVER babysat growing up and really hasn't been around that many babies this has been a pretty large shock to the system and will be a huge learning curve.
                                                                

                Profile Picture           

 Super long legs!

                          

 Foot :-)

I'm excited about starting this blog.  It will be a fun way to capture important milestones and events.  My fiance is strongly opposed to me blogging so if I don't mention him much that is why.  Anyway more to come soon!