Overdue Update

I can't sit down and write a blog post until the house is clean and most of the chores are done for the evening.  That explains the lack of posting lately....

But right now everything is in its place except for all the new gifts we got from the shower. Those don't really have a place yet-so I guess I'm forced to blog despite the messy pile of gifts sitting next to me. What a great problem to have :)

The shower was wonderful! It was thrown by Ted's mom and sisters and included the aunts and cousins on his side of the family. My side of the family and most friends will be later.

I thought I would be overcome with emotions. I was sure I would cry. I wasn't sure it would really feel like MY shower. But when the time came, I didn't really experience any of those. It just felt....natural. Surreal, but natural. That is how this pregnancy is beginning to feel. Like it's normal to be pregnant. Like I'M normal to be  pregnant. Weird, but.....normal.

I'm catching strangers glancing at my belly and smiling. Co-workers I don't really know are noticing and boldly asking when I'm due. I find myself touching my stomach all day long and savoring every sweet little movement. Ted and I are getting into a routine with our pregnancy exercises (he's a wonderful coach-I need to write a whole post dedicated to his amazingness.) And life is rolling right along. I'm just in shock that it feels so....normal!

Here are some pictures from the shower. My sister-in-law really went crazy with the decorations. She's so talented.

K8 Made little birdies. (Handmade by Kate)

Me and the babe.

The baby's cousins "helped" me open gifts :)

Ted arrived from fishing just in time to load the gifts into the car.

And was very excited to see our new fish onesie (also K8 Made)

I have one more pic to post but blogger keeps turning it sideways. And Ted is on his way home from (what else?) fishing. I'll have to finish this update (which will include new ultrasound pics!) another time.

Suffice it to say that the shower was amazing. It felt so great to drive home with a car seat and stroller in the back of the car. It's finally staring to feel like the "three of us".

Hello Misouri!

No time for a Quick Takes today. We're off to Missouri for the weekend! The weekend will be spent with lots of family and friends, enjoying a reunion in the beautiful hills of Missouri wineries, and at a BABY SHOWER!!

I'm still in disbelieve that I'm on my way to my own baby shower......

Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone!

Dad's First High Five

I'm 18 weeks today. Last night our baby book said that I "may feel the first movements of the baby sometime this week". I had to laugh. Our little all-star has been squirming around for over three weeks now!
It still just feels like bubbles and tickles-no major jabs yet. This afternoon it tickled so much that I actually laughed out loud. But then tonight it started to feel different. It felt more like pounding from the inside. More like an actual kick.

Ted's been asked by several friends and family members if he's felt a kick yet. He's been saying, "No, it'll probably be a month or more before I get to feel it." Or so we thought...

Tonight I was sitting in the recliner relaxing while Ted was on the computer looking up ways to fix something on my car (something I probably don't even know needs fixing). I felt a few strange movements and asked him if he wanted to try to feel the baby. I still hadn't even felt it from the outside at this point. He said he did and started walking towards me. Before he even got to me, I noticed a bulge in my belly on the lower left side. Definitely something new! He saw the bulge too and put his hand on it.

And just like that: Wham!

Dad's first high five.

He didn't say anything or move his hand so I thought he hadn't felt it. I said, "Did you feel that?" and he didn't respond right away. I assumed he was being quiet so he could try again. But after a pause he said, very matter-of-factly, "I just felt my baby move for the first time. I have chills." As if he had to convince himself of what just happened.

And then the little bulge disappeared and the kicks returned to light tickles. Just like that.

I'm elated! Head over heels excited and in awe of the miracle that is squirming inside me!

I know most dads have to try many times before they finally feel a good kick. I've heard so many stories of babies moving like crazy and then being completely still as soon as dad lays his hands on the tummy. I was fully prepared for this frustration. But it was as if our baby heard Ted coming and decided to put on a show.

Little bean has been doing everything ahead of schedule and I'm so grateful. We heard the heartbeat earlier than expected. I felt her sweet movements in my fourteenth week. And now this! At this rate our kid will ride a bike when she's two, graduate high school when she's twelve, and cure cancer by the time she moves out of the house! I just hope she isn't born early!

Spiritual Boquet

For all our Sisters in Christ who are in the midst of their journey with infertility, loss, and adoption...please know you have our continued support, love, and prayers!

Behold

During daily Mass tonight, I was having my usual trouble of staying focused, staying prayerful, and keeping my continuous belching quiet enough to not disturb anyone. While reverently and piously kneeling during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, I closed my eyes, put my head down, and started thinking about other things.

All of the sudden I felt like an angry parent stood in front of me, grabbed my chin, lifted my head and said, "he said Behold!"

Ah yes, he did say "behold"! Father was elevating the Host and proclaiming, "Behold, this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."

Here I was lost in my thoughts about dinner and doctor's appointments when I was supposed to be beholding!

Ted always says that if we say things the way they actually are, we would understand things much better. Sometimes we get used to the language of the Mass or of some great mystery of the Church and we become numb to it. If it was suddenly re-worded to something a little simpler, we wouldn't miss the point.

If, instead of saying behold as he elevated the Host, Father had shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hey people! Pay attention! Fix your eyes on the Body of Christ! This is a MIRACLE!! He takes away all your sins and makes it possible for you to stay out of hell!" I think we'd listen.

Now, I'm not promoting this sort of outrageous behavior at Mass. It is not supposed to be a theatrical performance and would lose all reverence if it were so. But it's good to think about things from a different angle sometimes. To stop and think about what the words of the Mass really mean, what they're really calling us to.

I wish I could say that for our hour of Adoration after Mass I did nothing but behold the face of Christ in awe. But most of the time was still spent on dinner and doctor's appointments. Baby steps, baby steps.

Quick Takes (13)

-1-

Another great week of work has flown by! Man it's nice liking your job.

-2-

The baby is moving more and more often, sometimes up to 10 times a day. It still takes my breath away. When she moves, I can't think about anything else. If I'm listening to someone tell a story, I completely zone out and concentrate on the tiny tickles under my skin.  I just don't want to miss one second of it. It takes everything I have in me not to loudly interrupt whoever is talking and shout, "My baby is moving! He's alive and healthy and growing! It's a miracle!! God is so good!!!" It's gonna happen one of these days, and I can't say that I'm gonna be embarrassed by it.

-3-

I felt movement for the first time in the middle of the night last night. And yes, I know that this will cause me much frustration in the future, but for now I just relished every second. I curled up next to Ted and just smiled myself back to sleep. Thank you Jesus.

-4-

I'm sooo ready for fall! Thankful emailed me today and told me she was off to spend the weekend in a cabin in northern Minnesota. I'm insanely jealous. The heat index was 110 today. It's still disgustingly humid down here. I'm ready for jackets and football and orange leaves. How much better would life be if it was fall all year round?

-5-

We went bowling last Sunday and I broke a hundred for the first time in my life!! I actually bowled a 127! Ted, who usually blows me out of the water, only got a 94. It was glorious.

-6-

We're having another couple over for dinner tonight. We met them at church recently and they're new to town. And even though they're from Idaho and Pennsylvania, Ted and I were SHOCKED when they told us they had never had catfish.

Welcome to the catfish capital of the world new friends! I hope you like it fried!

-7-

Meeting new people always reminds me of how diverse our group of friends is. We now have friends from Idaho, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, California, Mississippi, Kentucky, Minnesota, Illinois, North Dakota, Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Florida. (And I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple.) All right here in Mississippi. It's just crazy.

But the verdict on the best state in the union? That would still be Missouri :)

An Assumption Miracle! (and Prayer Buddy)

Since feeling that first little kick on Monday, I've felt the baby move at least once every day. It's always between the hours of 3:00 and 6:00 pm and usually only lasts about 30 seconds or so.

It's the highlight of my day.

As I read my morning prayers this morning I was reminded of what I was doing four years ago on this very day. On the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 2006, I had my first surgery with my St. Louis NaPro doctor. Four years ago. I was terrified of what the surgery would reveal. I was sick to my stomach and having breathing complications for 24 hours after the surgery. Ted and I were only dating at the time, but he was by my side for every bit of it (along with my mom!)

I shed so many tears in the weeks leading up to that surgery. I was so scared of what a diagnosis of endometriosis would mean for our future. I trusted my surgeon and myself to the Blessed Mother and asked Mary to intercede for me on this special feast day (which in practice involved me saying probably a hundred Hail Mary's to calm my nerves while I waited for the surgery to begin).

We went to 9:00 am Mass this morning. The Gospel reading was so familiar and so comforting. The Visitation has always been my favorite Mystery of the Rosary, even during our years of infertility. Hearing that reading today, four years after my first surgery, was the most amazing blessing.

Elizabeth tells Mary: For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

And, to my absolute shock and disbelief, at the moment the sound of those words of the Gospel reached MY ears, the infant in MY womb leaped for joy!

Complete, pure, undeserved JOY!

During the homily I whispered to Ted and told him what had just happened. The look on his face was priceless! I thought to myself, "He could not have looked prouder if his 18 year old son had just told him he was entering the seminary!" That's how much pride was swelling up in his sweet face.

At the end of Mass Ted said to me, "I guess she's gonna be a nun!" Ha! We were both thinking the same thing: we have such a holy baby! We patted ourselves on the back for raising such a pious little unborn child.

As we knelt to pray before leaving Mass, tears welled up in my eyes. Four years ago I was laying on a operating table fearing this day would never come. Not only has it finally arrived, but is has surpassed all my hopes and expectations tenfold!

You just NEVER know what God has in store for you!

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And I'm so honored to announce that my prayer buddy is Stephanie from Praying for a Family! I had never read her blog before, but within an hour of getting my "assignment" I had read every post she'd ever written! I've been praying for her in my evening prayers, at Adoration, and at Mass. I've prayed that she be blessed with the children she so strongly desires, that she have the strength to continue this difficult journey, and for her family (who she has blogged about as needing prayers). God Bless you Stephanie!