Snow!

This weather is unbelievable! The weather report on the news said that the snow was expected to drop maybe up to a couple inches and stop sometime in the wee hours of the morning Friday...well, it's 1:48 pm and it's STILL SNOWING! I love it!!! Not to mention 4 days off school - what a blessing : ). Not only because I, along with the students of America, enjoy a free day off of school, but also because I have somehow managed to catch a cold despite the amazing amount of vitamin c I consume in the form of orange juice (iron pills are apparently better absorbed with vitamin c, so I've been taking them with a glass of oj) and prenatal vitamins...and I can't take any days off work because I need all my days for maternity leave...and I'd be absolutely miserable trying to teach with the everflowing snot machine that is my head and the nasty wracking cough that resides in my chest. So, praise Jesus for days off work with no official time taken off!

Here are some pics from this morning - Marc took the pups out to run around in the snow for a bit because they're getting a little stir crazy. Also, Marc took my 28 wk belly pic yesterday, so it's also below. Unfortunately it's not so flattering, but alas, we took 4 pics and they pretty much all looked the same! And, just in case you were going to ask, no, I am not carrying twins and you should never ask a pregnant woman that - she will not take it as a complement (or at least I haven't)! After all I typed yesterday about loving my giant belly, it was kinda funny last night to actually see a picture of it and think "Holy cow, I really do have a giant belly! and I have 3 more months to grow!" Should be fun : )!

chinese cabbage

The munchkin is the size and weight of a chinese cabbage this week (so says Baby Center at least). I didn't really know what exactly a chinese cabbage was, at least size-wise, so I looked it up, and lo and behold: a chinese cabbage

Apparently that is about 2 and a quarter pounds in weight. He has eyelashes and can blink them and he's working on filling some fat into those alien wrinkles. I'm officially 28 weeks, which means the 3rd trimester is upon us! This has gone SO fast!

All in all I'd have to say that I really like being pregnant. It's pretty amazing to get to experience this miracle within my own body, and for the most part I've felt pretty good. The worst part has been wanting to sleep so badly and not being able to fall asleep because my hips are hurting or random obscure muscles I didn't know I had are cramping or acid is seeping into my throat from my stomach...but that doesn't always happen, and when I can sleep I usually sleep pretty well, so that's a blessing! One thing I really didn't expect was to feel pretty beautiful and womanly with this crazy body. Fortunately God blessed me with a little height, so mostly I've just grown out in front instead of grown all over, but I actually really kinda love this giant belly. It's just so amazing to think that there is a little boy in there squirming about (in fact, doing a jig right at this moment I think), and I guess I feel like this is what my body was made to do, so it's good. Marc definitely helps with the self-image business too - he has always made a point to try to help me see me through his eyes, and he's been especially sweet in the last few months as I grow and grow and GROW. But even without his help, I feel so much more confident in the way I look than normal. Weird! I guess I never really thought about how I would feel, physically or mentally or emotionally, when I was prego, so this has come as a surprise. A goooood surprise! The thing that I cannot mentally wrap my brain around, still, is that in 3 short months we will have a little boy who lives here. That is nuts! NUTS! Marc was just saying the other day that he doesn't feel old enough to be a parent, and I don't either...I know, I know, he's 31 and I'm 28, but I don't think that either of us feel like adults most of the time. I think about my friend Amber who has 4 kids and is my age, and I'm amazed...I guess I'm just a slow grower! I'm ok with that though : ). God had a lot of work to do in my heart before I could even contemplate becoming a mother! He still has a lot of work to do in t-3 months!

Ok, I should go move the laundry along, so for now I will just end with a few pics. I have not been very good about taking them all along...wish I had! I'll have to take one today to mark the beginning of the 3rd trimester!

wow, so much for posting more regularly

Alas, it's been months...oh well! This first trimester business has kicked my boo-tay in the sense that I have been sooooo tired. Tired way beyond reason for the amount of stuff I've been doing. I go to work and I come home and fall asleep on the couch...our house has been ridiculous to keep clean (partly because we've been letting the pups run around while we're home and can watch them and they carry an impressive amount of silt in their very short fur and partly because I am definitely not pulling my weight) and I hardly cook dinner ever. But, last Thursday was 14 weeks for this munchkin, which means I am officially in the 2nd trimester and energy should be arriving soon! Yay! In case you haven't seen on facebook, here's the cute munchkin:

He or she was kicking around and flipping like crazy throughout the ultrasound. That was definitely one of the most amazing things I've ever seen! A whole tiny person! Moving like crazy! And I can't even feel a bit! Pretty weird, but pretty amazing. Last week I read that this munchkin already has fingerprints and, if it's a girl, already has all 300,000 or so eggs in her little tiny ovaries...at a whopping 3 inches long from head to booty. Miraculous!

2 posts in one day? What?

Just wanted to put up some pics I took driving back home to Corinth through West Texas...

this is so WEIRD!

One week of freedom left...alas! I could find things to do for an endless summer break!

This has been a good one, although it's felt unbelievably short. I didn't get anywhere near finishing all the projects I'd planned to do this summer, mostly because of two little time sucks named Kya and Kajani! God has used them to spur some growth in me though, so I suppose that's more than an even trade (projects for growth). I have a newfound appreciation and respect for the moms out there - not that I'm comparing your children to my puppies at all, but I have realized this summer how much I took my freedom for granted! I could go anywhere, do anything, spend my day in whatever way I felt...and now I need to throw myself out of bed by 7 (if I'm lucky, that's late!) to take the puppies outside and to feed them and they really need to be walked every day which means that I need to get each one out for a walk (separately - together is total madness!) before it's 7 million degrees outside and I can only crate them for a few hours if I'm going to leave the house and I certainly can't completely ignore them, but they can't have the run of the house so that means I have to stop doing whatever I'm doing to go give some attention in "their room"... As I write it out, it sure doesn't sound difficult or time consuming, but I have struggled this summer to relinquish control over my freedom. I guess God is probably preparing me for actual children (as opposed to dogs who are currently considered the children). It's pretty crazy to realize how much He has changed my heart in that regard. Not that many years ago I didn't want to have kids at all and I didn't find babies or baby things all that adorable (and didn't understand at all why it seemed that all the rest of the ladies in the world were fawning over babies and baby things)...and now I'm the one oohing and ahhing and getting all weird about tiny baby clothes and shoes and baby animals. Still not entirely sure what to do with human babies (they're cute and cuddly but I still wish they could tell me what they wanted, just need a bit more experience with them), but my baby puppies sure make my heart squeeze on a daily basis. You know that feeling like you just can't get enough, your heart is over-full... that's the feeling that baby things bring of late. So weird! What happened to my old heart and how did it get replaced by this one so sneakily? I'm glad God did it though...I feel like He's growing me more and more into an adult day by day. I'll be 28 in about a week, and I finally feel almost like a grownup for the first time in my life. I like the young at heart part of me, but sooner or later maturity needs to strike and I find that I desire it more and more lately. Maturity to handle things in a godly way, maturity to be disciplined instead of lazy, maturity to pursue with purpose rather than be blown about willy nilly. Hopefully willy and nilly haven't completely abandoned me - I'd still like to be occasionally blown about, but I think my heart is finally settling and appreciating what God has given me in a new light. A deeper, more grateful light. I think.

My 3 favorites, wracked out after a long day : ).

Perro numero dos!

We are now a two puppy household! We picked up Kajani this morning and, as you can see, he and Kya checked each other out and then wrestled themselves into exhaustion (or at least just a good ol' nap). Kya is about 9 weeks old and Kajani is just over 6 wks - and she (Kya) is like twice his size! It's amazing how fast they grow! Both are Rhodesian Ridgebacks, and we got them from two different breeders, so basically this is an arranged marriage... : ). We may try for one litter a couple years down the road, but we shall see. I know we're a little crazy for getting 2 puppies at once, but the good news is that I still have about a month and a half left of summer break, so I can try to work on things like housetraining and learning a few important words (like sit and stay!) before I have to go back to work. They'll also be able to keep each other company while Marc and I are both at work, so hopefully that will lessen any separation anxiety and hopefully any destruction (or will it be twice as much with 2 chewers?!). I find myself so grateful that God created a baby version of things lately (which is a little weird for me, I've never been much of a "baby person"). Even though they get themselves into trouble, they're just so cute and lovable and affectionate that I can't stay frustrated or upset with them. I guess we'll see if that changes as they get older, but the good news is that dogs always make you feel wanted and loved, and this breed is supposed to be pretty smart and pretty trainable. Yay for dogs!!

new music!

I think I've told you about this band before, but I just discovered that they have a full length album out... The Autumn Film has put out The Ship and the Sea and I like it A LOT! Check, check, check it out!

In other news, we named our sweet puppy Kiya (like k-I-a, not like the car) and we're going to pick up her buddy (who will be named Kajani) on Sunday morning! Kiya is pretty cute when she's playing. She likes to pounce on her toys and it makes me laugh EVERY time. Little by little she's getting the hang of going potty outside... yay! Babies sure sleep alot...I guess I didn't realize just how much! Speaking of which, I better go see if she's awake from her nap and ready for a potty break and a little lunch. Funny as it sounds, I think God is going to use this little dog to sanctify me...In the 4 days we've had her I've discovered that I am extremely selfish and pretty impatient...alas. Guess it's good we're practicing with a dog and not a baby!

We got a puppy!!!

She's a Rhodesian Ridgeback and is about 8 weeks old. Such a cutie!! We're going to pick up a little boyfriend for her next week (he was too young to take home, he's from a diff. breeder) so she'll have a little friend. We're still working on a name for her...
So far she's just getting used to us and the house I think, but she's super playful and is currently teething I think because she wants to gnaw on everything. So entertaining!