Baby's Almost Here

Today I am 36 weeks pregnant! Can you believe it!?

The past two months we have been taking all kinds of baby classes. We took a breast feeding class, a baby care class, and a birthing class. Some of it was a bit overwhelming but definitely stuff we need to know. There's a lot of things to know about bringing a newborn home and the classes made us feel a bit more prepared.

I finally packed us a hospital bag and filled the diaper bag so I guess all we really need to do is figure out how to install the car seat!

Life seems to be slowing a bit which I'm extremely thankful for because for the past few months it was go, go, go! 

For your viewing pleasure... We hired a photographer, Brittany Brooks Photography, to take some maternity photos of us.

Baby Showers Galore

Phew! Haven't blogged in a bit so I'll probably post a couple entries. Let's start with baby showers!!

Early Septemeber we had a baby shower in San Angelo. It was hosted by a bunch of my mom's friends and Allison. Everything was so cute and safari themed. We played a bunch of games and baby was spoiled rotten! When we got home, you could hardly see the nursery floor because of all the gift bags. 

Mid September, my friends hosted a shower for us here in San Antonio. It was at Kayeligh's house and so much fun! The cake was so adorable and it tasted just as good as it looked! Baby got even more goodies and I was finally ready to try and tackle finding a home for everything.

In October, my coworkers surprised us with another shower! There was cake and we got a few goodies and everyone chipped in to buy us a playpen.

Baby is super set when it comes to things he/she will need. I finally found a home for everything after a weekend spent cleaning out closets and a trip to the storage unit. I guess it's fair to say that we are about as ready as we are going to be for baby's arrival.

Pregnancy Update

It's been a while since I've posted about baby. We've been BUSY! I don't think we've ever been so busy since I've become pregnant and it doesn't seem like our calendars will clear anytime soon. 

Let's see.... 

At the end of June, we visited family in the Houston area. That's when I first felt baby move! We were at a baseball game and baby must've enjoyed it. That was at 19 weeks.

Jesse was able to feel baby at 21 weeks. We were lying in bed one morning and Jesse had put his hand on my growing belly. I started to feel baby kick so I told Jesse to move his hand a little to the left... Baby kicked daddy for the first time! 

It's still so surreal every time baby moves. I catch myself just staring trying to see my belly move. Baby moves most at night after I shower and get relaxed lying in bed. It's cool to watch but also sort of wonderfully weird. 

What else have we been up to?

We traveled to a Fiveash family reunion, that would be my mom's side of the family. We welcomed a new niece into the family. We celebrated Dad's 58th birthday with a limo ride to dinner. My sister in law Amanda gave birth July 20th to baby Amelia. We traveled to Lubbock for a small Hanrahan get together. Jesse's sister who lives in Utah drove her family to Lubbock and we all met there for the weekend. We got to meet two of our nieces and see the others. This weekend I attended a baby brunch  for a friend who is due 11 days before us.

What's next? Well, we are super excited to be celebrating Baby H next month. Next month we are having a baby shower in San Angelo and one in San Antonio. We've also signed up for 3 classes at the hospital: baby care, breast feeding, and childbirth. Lots of birthdays to celebrate in October and baby will be here in November! 

I can't wait for the showers. I'm ready to celebrate! I'm also ready to get the nursery organized. After the showers, I'm hoping to really get things ready for baby's arrival. 

Had a little scare a couple weeks ago. I was in a fender bender. Very minor but scary none the less. Baby is fine and that's what is most important! I'm so thankful that the accident wasn't worse.

Health wise, baby has been great at all of our check ups. Next week I have to take my glucose test for gestational diabetes. 

Busy busy busy! It's hard to believe in about 3 months baby will be here! The holidays are going to be a little crazy this year! We better get some shopping done early.

Daniel 3:17

Ever doubt your faith? Think God isn't listening? Feel alone?

After a tough moment yesterday, it's all I could think about. I was reminded of the biggest battle going on in our lives. Reminded with a swift kick to the gut. Cancer blows. It could be worse, but it could be better. It seems cancer has a way of rearing it's ugly head just when you least expect it. It's terrible and it leaves me feeling lost in faith.

I was thinking this morning on the way to church that I needed to dive into the Bible and find some kind of scripture to help me get through this tough moment. To help me run to God, not from Him.

See, when Jesse was in his accident, I couldn't run far enough, fast enough. Instead of turning to God, I got angry. I was mad at God for allowing this to happen to Jesse, to me. I didn't understand how something so awful could happen to someone so good. Why us? Why now? Why? The truth is, I'll never have answers. I never get to know. I can speculate. Maybe God wanted us to see that this relationship was the one worth fighting for. Maybe He wanted us to grow together. Who knows.

With Dad's cancer diagnosis, I made a conscious decision to run to God, and not further away. I wanted to do it different this time. I know I will never have answers for this trial either but this time I want to be okay with that. I want a better relationship with God despite my struggle with this devastating blow.

So, I needed to feel Him today. More than some other days. I was tested yesterday and felt like I failed. I was angry again. I was mad about cancer. I was mad about God allowing this to happen. The truth is, God doesn't do things TO us.

This morning's sermon was my first clue that God is listening. God knows that I suffer. He knows that cancer is breaking my heart. He knows that I get angry and that I'm flawed. That's what this morning's sermon was about. How even though we are flawed, we make mistakes, we do wrong, He loves us anyway. "He loves us because of who we are, not in spite of it." He sees past the imperfection, not because He has to but because he can still use us and work on us even if we're broken. At close, the song "He Loves Us" played and I was again reminded that He is on my side. He does care about me and my heartaches.

Clue two was a blogpost. I recently started following a Facebook page called "Scissortail Silk." A blogpost drew me in and today another post tugged at my heart strings. The post was about hope after miscarriage. No, I have never suffered miscarriage. But the sentiment can be applied to my current situation nonetheless. She wrote about Daniel 3:17.

There is a story in the Bible that tells about King Nebuchadnezzar who built a statue of himself and declared that all of the people bow and worship it. Three men of God defied the king and were threatened with death. Their response? “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not… we want you to know, O king that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” 

Even if he does not...

This is what she was writing about. Even if God does not "rescue" us, He is still worthy. He is still good. He is still there. He still hears us.

At church, the past few weeks have been dedicated to Life Verses. Maybe this is mine. This is my ultimate struggle. Trusting God in hard times. Finding Him when I can't feel his grace. Maybe this is my life verse because I need to be reminded that God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

I know I will be afflicted with this feeling of doubtfulness in all the trials of my life. It's my biggest imperfection. But when I least expect it and most need it, God is there to remind me. I am not alone. I do not have to walk alone in my troubles.

"There is hope during cancer." There is hope during any tribulation in life.

Father's Day

Last weekend we celebrated Father's Day!

It was Jesse's first as a dad-to-be! We took our favorite dads out for lunch to BJ's Brewhouse where we chowed down until we couldn't eat another bite. Mozzarella sticks,  entrees, and pizookies for dessert! The restaurant was handing out special Father's Day glasses to all the dads who dined in.

We also opened gifts. For dad, we have a fun weekend in Houston planned. we are taking him to a Skeeters minor league baseball game next weekend. Jesse was spoiled rotten (as he should be!). We had decided that Baby H would be coming home from the hospital in Dallas Cowboys gear. So for Father's Day, I ordered all the necessary things... a onesie and depending on boy or girl: a beanie and sweatpants or ruffle bottoms and a bow. I also ordered Jesse a shirt to match. Since everything was delivered in time, I wrapped it up to give to Jesse. Since it was all baby related, I also got him a Spurs shirt (didn't you hear? NBA CHAMPS!) because he has become a fan this year!

In other news:

Dad had a CT scan this past week. Good results! His tumors are still shrinking and there is no new growth in any other organs. Chemo has been taking its toll on dad more so these days so at least it's doing its job!

Not a whole lot of new news on Baby H. We have an ultrasound scheduled for July 2 and we can't wait to see baby again! I also have discovered the magic of maternity pants!! Seriously, may never wear regular pants again. I made it 18 weeks before breaking down and heading to the maternity store.We've picked up a few new outfits for little bit but haven't bought much else. There is a baby shower in the works so we went and started a registry at Babies R Us and Target.

Moose's one year adopt-iversary is coming up next week!! We have absolutely loved having her :)

Second Trimester

Well, today I am officially 16 weeks pregnant!

Here's what we've been up to:

May was a rough rough month as far as pregnancy side effects go. I was sick as a dog. I also got to experience this really awesome pain... pregnancy sciatica. Thankfully, after a week, baby must've moved because the pain has since stopped. June looks to be a much more promising month! Today, I decided to see where I'm at sans nausea/vomiting medication. So far so good (but I still have to eat dinner!). I have done pretty good today and feel a little more energized too without the meds adding to my exhaustion. Enough with the whining!

We bought nursery furniture! Baby H now has a crib and a dresser. I spent a day cleaning out some things in the office (ahem, nursery) and then we spent the rest of the weekend building. It's pretty surreal to walk into the room and see baby things. Sometimes I just stand in front of the crib and wonder about life post delivery. There will be a baby in this crib, in this apartment, in our lives. I wonder about who it'll look like. Who it will act like. [Side note: baby will continue to be an "it" because we aren't finding out the gender.] Grandma and Grandpa Donaldson bought baby a car seat/stroller combo so that's put together and ready to be used also.

Baby seems to be the only thing we've been up to lately. There is lots to think about and discuss, some of which I will probably procrastinate way too long on (finding a pediatrician and daycare!).

We had a doctor appointment last week and baby has a strong heartbeat, 144! Now we have to wait an agonizing 3 1/2 weeks for our next sonogram. I love to see baby on the monitor and the last time Jesse went the baby just looked like a gummy bear.

So, baby baby baby. That's what we've been up to! I'm getting more and more eager to meet whoever this is growing inside of me (I say girl, Jesse says boy) so I hope some of this pregnancy starts to fly by!

UPDATE: The weekend of no meds ended up being a DISASTER! 

Baby H Update

Say hello to Baby H!

It's so cool to see baby on the monitor! Today he/she was quite the teeny little wiggle worm!! This go round baby actually looks like a baby too. 

I've been suffering from some pretty nasty morning (noon and night) sickness and I've been exhausted, otherwise I might not believe baby was in there. 

I'd like to take a minute to do what I love to do: brag on Jesse! He has been A-MAZING! He takes such good care of me and has picked up so much slack on top of his job. I could not ask for a better partner in life and I know he'll be the best daddy a baby could ask for!! 

Everything looks good thus far with Baby H so for now we're just going to keep praying for a healthy baby and hopefully start purchasing baby things soon!