Life has handed us Lemons

It is hard sometimes, to blog about personal hardship or difficulties that arise in our life. Being vulnerable is not natural to us. What is natural, is to make everything in our lives look perfect.
However, I think that being vulnerable in situations that are not what we expect and our lives take a sharp, left turn for what seems to be the worst, can help us get through or even help others feel that they are not alone.  

I recently found out that my job as a nanny is letting me go earlier than I had anticipated and this past Sunday my husband broke his foot...AGAIN.  With him out of work for a bit and no job lined up for me at this point, it is easy to panic and to feel as if we are on a rushing river, waiting for the waterfall at the end.

Life isn't always a pretty bouquet of red roses when you choose to believe in God and want to follow what He says is true.

But what life IS when you choose to believe in God and His truth, is hope. I know that my God has a plan for whatever is to come, that He is working all things for good, not for destruction.
He will not forsake me. 

I will choose to see the good that is in this and that is to come. 

I will choose not to be angry, not to panic and to wait for what I cannot see.  

Life has handed us lemons, and I will make lemonade.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."  Deuteronomy 31:6

March 19th... Movement?

Mike & I were laying in bed last night and I felt some pressure in my lower abdomen. I felt around and found a little knot and thought "hmmm, is this the baby!?" Then I did what any normal person would do... I googled on my phone. After reading that it could definitely be the baby pushing against the abdomen wall, I got super excited and said "I think this is our baby right here?! FEEL! 

HE is right here!" 

After I had pushed around a little bit on my belly, Mike reached over and felt the little knot and BAM. We think we felt our baby move for the first time. He felt it with his hand and I felt a little flutter. 

Could have been a gas bubble. Who knows?

But let's get back to the part where I said "I think this is our baby right here?! FEEL! HE is right here!" If you didn't notice earlier... in the moment, I said...HE. "HE is right here". 

I have no idea if we are having a boy or a girl and have felt kind of sad that I haven't had that "mother's intuition" everyone talks about... "Oh yes, I knew as soon as we conceived that it was a ____."

Hmph.

Maybe I do have it?  The whole mother's intuition. Or maybe Mike has brainwashed me enough into thinking our little one is a boy. 

I guess we will have to wait and see.

Baby's Heartbeat

On March 4th at our second doctor's appointment, we heard Baby H's heartbeat! It was incredible & one of most magical moments in my life! I didn't know what to expect and hardly had any time to think, since our midwife found the baby's heartbeat immediately! The gentle lub-a-dubs of our baby's heart beat filled the room and we were in shock. Mike & I looked at each other with wide eyes, thinking to each other, "Is this really happening? That's our baby's heart, beating!" I teared up a little bit, but surprisingly did not full out, burst with tears. I just remember being totally enamored with the sound, and being amazed that there is another heart beating inside of my body. 

14 Weeks

Hello second trimester!!

How far along? 14 weeks
Total weight gain? 6 pounds
Maternity clothes? Not yet, just wearing some of my bigger-sized pants
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep? Tossing, turning and peeing at least 3 times a night
Food cravings/aversions? Mild SUSHI craving (YUM) and the thought of mushrooms and spinach STILL makes me queasy.
Miss anything? Coffee & eating turkey sandwiches/subs!
Have you started to show? A little bit! My belly "popped" out over the past two weeks.
Happy or Moody? Happy, finally!
Best Moment this week? Celebrating Mike's birthday
Looking forward to anything? Finding out if little baby is a boy or girl!

The Not-So-Glamorous side of Pregnancy

Of course, being pregnant is exciting! But no one ever told me about the not-so-glamorous side of being pregnant. I am sorry if this is too graphic for some of you, but I just want any other soon-to-be expecting ladies to be aware of some things that may come.

Especially so you can warn your husbands.

1. Morning sickness: This is false advertising. "Morning sickness" does not only come in the morning, but can last all day. My husband thought I was making this up.

2. Gas: I don't want to go into too much detail so, let's leave it at.. It's the worst.

3. Swamp mouth/breath: I had begun to notice that my mouth was tasting really gross all of the time and nothing would help. Not brushing my teeth or over-using mouth wash. Gum helps a little. I found out that this was a symptom of pregnancy because of the over production of saliva. YUM!

4. Mood swings: This one wasn't quite a surprise, but I didn't know how extreme it would be. The first trimester literally had me happy for one second and completely out-raged the next...over the silliest things. Mike recognized that it was usually when my blood sugar was low from not eating. "What to Expect When You're Expecting" did warn me about this, but I didn't think it would be so terrible. Eating small meals/snacks through out the day really helps to keep me level-headed.

5. Constipation: This one I was completely unaware of until I read "WTEWYE". But being pregnant slows down your digestive system and that means longer bathroom breaks.

Well, that's all for now. I am sure that I will come across more not-so-glamorous things that come along with being pregnant. But it's all worth it!

And for baby, you better be darn cute, because you are taking all the cuteness right out of me!

Marley & Friends

Love these guys.