Week 14

We are officially in the second trimester! Still have morning sickness all day, but that's ok because it's so worth it. I've also been feeling my ab muscles and ribs starting to ache a little from the stretching and growing. It's pretty cool to think that our baby is just hanging out inside and some days it seems so unreal!

Here is what our baby is doing during this week:
By this week, some fine hairs have developed on your baby’s face. This soft colorless hair is called lanugo, and it will eventually cover most of your baby’s body until it is shed just before delivery. By now, your baby’s genitals have fully developed, though they may still be difficult to detect on an ultrasound examination. In addition, your baby starts to produce thyroid hormones because the thyroid gland has matured. Your baby now weighs about 1.6 ounces (45 grams) and is about 3.5 inches (9 cm) long from crown to rump.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_calendar/week14.html

Baby Fishback

Nick and I have been blessed with the miracle of life. We are expecting our blessing to be born around April 27. We are a few days away from being done with the first trimester and are looking forward to the joy of second trimester!

We had been trying ever since my doctor gave me the ok to start trying again which was the end of June. Thankfully it didn't take long at all. I am very aware of my body and when it changes so I knew or thought I was pretty sure I was pregnant even before taking the test and of course it came back positive. We were excited but we both had our nervous reservations about it. I could feel myself fill with worry about the chance of loosing another baby. Of course that worry is still there a little, but with God's help and taking it day by day, we have managed to get this far. We are just now letting ourselves become more and more attached to our baby and growing with excitement with each passing day.

Around week 6 I started getting very nauseous. I started throwing up every morning and it would persist throughout the day. I was starting to loose a few pounds because it was difficult to keep things down. I was able to get by on Sprite and crackers until Sept. 14th. I had a doctors appointment that afternoon and woke up to the usual and rested all morning (I took the day off). I couldn't keep sprite and crackers down. I ate nothing and went to the doctor (Nick was with me). They did an ultrasound and checked everything and it was looking great. They also said that being sick was a good sign of a healthy baby. However, not being able to keep anything down is dangerous so they gave me a prescription for nausea meds. While we were waiting for the prescription to get filled, Nick decided to take me out for ice cream for my birthday. I was thinking that it sound pretty good and I would try it. It tasted so good and I ate the entire thing. We walked out the door and I knew that I was going to throw it all back up. Thankfully there was a trash can right outside the door for me to use. I couldn't believe I had just thrown up that much in public!! Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get my medicine and start feeling better! It did help me so much and I was able to not have to leave the classroom while teaching to go throw up! I'm still taking it every 5 hours because I'm still nauseous. However, the past two days I've been nauseous, just haven't thrown up! My mom told me she was sick the entire pregnancy with me! I am hoping that the second trimester will be great and my hormones will level out like they say they will!

We went in for an ultrasound on Thursday and what an amazing difference 5 weeks can make in the development of a baby! Nick and I were amazed and thrilled to see our baby kicking, moving, and wiggling around. It was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced in my life so far. I was relieved to see a healthy baby who had a great heartbeat and so much energy. I can't wait to start feeling our baby kick in the next couple of months! I wish we would have brought our video camera, if we had I would probably watch the whole experience every day! Plus it's so much better live and in person than a photo. But the photos are a great thing to look at in between ultrasounds. Our next one is Dec. 18th and that is to determine the sex of the baby! We're excited about that as well!!

This picture is a profile shot. The head is on the left.

The fist is right in front of the face.

The back of the baby. It measured between 2 1/2 and 3 inches.

Anyway, I'll continue to keep you all posted on our journey...hard to believe we only have 6 months left! So much to do, so little time, but I know we'll get it done! :)

Until The Whole World Hears

Our church has been going through a series on simplifying our lives in all areas. Money, time, and our relationship with Jesus. My heart hurts for the world in this day and age. The devil has come to steal, kill and destroy and if we take a good look at our very own country, you will see that the devil has been hard at work doing just that. He has cluttered our lives with so much junk. Things that the "world" says you have to do. For instance, you have to watch this movie or TV show because if you don't well then, you're wasting your time on other things. Or, you have to go shopping and buy this, this, and you just HAVE to have that! You have to get your kids involved in every extra curricular activity or else you're a nobody. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of "Keeping up with Jones'"! The devil has been attacking me and my family and I'm sick of it! But I know that the book of James in the Bible teaches us that going through these trials, brings us perseverance.

Since Nick and I have purchased our home, there have been many things that I think we should purchase to make the house feel more like a "home". I have been guilty of living in the world and thinking that everything is great with my relationship with Jesus. I turned to Jesus through that situation and with his help, I have not purchased anything extra for our home except for what we needed. I have come to realize through prayer and reading God's word, that I need to be living within my means and not buying into what the "world" is selling me. False hopes of happiness in material things are not what I desire any longer. It is only through Jesus that I could ever fully understand the more meaningful things in life, like keeping my thoughts on things above and not things on this earth.

We have it so good in America. Every person I knows has a roof over their head, clothes to wear (though they may not be the most fashionable), and food to eat (even if they depend on Jesus to get it). Everything we have belongs to our Father in Heaven. He gifted it to us and we are enjoying the gifts he's given us. I have really started asking myself, "what am I doing with the things that God has given me? Am I using it for his will or my own selfish desires?" I am not even close to being perfect...these are just things that I feel the Lord is teaching me and molding me to change me into being his creation. There are so many people in this world who need to hear the word of God. It's hard to imagine but it's true, there are many people who have never heard of Jesus.

My desire is to please Him, and to live my life fully for Him. I know that it's not going to happen at the snap of a finger. It's a process that I must go through, a time of learning and changing of the heart and mind. During all of this change, many songs have helped during this process. Music speaks to my soul in ways I can't explain. One song in particular that I love to listen and sing to is a new one by Casting Crowns.

Casting Crowns is one of my favorite bands of all time. There new CD is set to come out in November. The album is called "Until the Whole World Hears" which is where the hit single came from. This song just speaks to me in so many ways. Not only is the beat great, but the lyrics are amazing. The combination of the two just blows me away and gets me pumped up to go out and speak it until the whole world does hear. Check out the song by clicking on the link to listen to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICxIWulmsDo&feature=fvw

These lyrics speak to me deeply:

Want to be your hands and feet
Want to be a life that leads
To see you set the captive free
Until the whole world hears
and I pray that they will see
more of you and less of me
Lord I want my life to be
the song You sing

Scripture:

Mark 16:20- Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Ephesians 3:20- Now to him who is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

Galatians 2:20- I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Ephesians 2:10- For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Proverbs 13:7-8- One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. A man's riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat.

Proverbs 14:32- When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous have a refuge.

My final thoughts are that the devil does tremble at the name of Jesus. He cannot control us unless we let him control us. I am working to have Jesus control me fully because he does desire what's best for me. For example, in Jeremiah 29:11-13 it says this:
"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." God is great, and I pray that you may find him, and if you've already found him, then I pray that you can let go, and let God do it all for you...anyone of you who may be reading this.