They're baaaack....

So our caterpillar friends are back for another season of eating the passion vine, making cocoons and hatching into beautiful butterflies!! If you live in Lubbock and want to come take a few dozen caterpillars home or know a teacher or someone who might want some just let me know. It's a fun project for kids to see them make their cocoon and then emerge as butterflies. We have PLENTY to spare.

33 weeks 2 Days Update

Crazy, crazy, crazy!! That pretty much describes things right now :o) Nothing bad to report, Jake and Mommy are doing great! We did have a scare yesterday that caused us to head to antepartum to get monitored. I woke up yesterday morning around 8:15ish, got ready for the day and ate breakfast. By 9:30 or so I noticed that I hadn't felt Jake move at all. This was odd because he's usually very active in the morning after breakfast. I tried real hard not to freak out, but easier said than done. I did everything the doctors tell you to do. Lie on your side and see if he moves 10 times in an hour. Well did that and no movement. So the next step is get up, move around, drink lots of water and lie back down for another hour and see if you can get 10 movements in an hour. So I got up, moved around, did some dishes, drank one of G's dublin Dr. Peppers (It was the only thing with Caffeine we had) and laid back down. This time during the hour I turned my cell phone ringer up on high and put it on my belly, I tried the flashlight to see if he would move away, I talked to him, I played him his snugly that sings Jesus Loves Me, everything. Still no movement. At this time I'm in a puddle of tears in the nursery calling the doctor. Long story short, G came home from work and we headed up to the hospital to get checked out. Of course Jake was fine and about 10 seconds after getting hooked up to the monitor he gave me a real good kick and pretty much kept it going the rest of the day. Needless to say Jake is grounded. G said he doesn't get his first birthday party for this stunt. :o) I promised G that this will be my only freak out and run to the hospital episode... unless I think I'm in labor of course. I know G didn't mind this addition to his day. He just kept reminding me better safe than sorry. I guess what was super frustrating about the whole thing is the fact that I'm already at the doctors office every other day getting monitored. Yeppers... that's right, I get to go get monitored (Non Stress Test) Every other day, including weekends... great fun! I am hoping after next week if there is still no change we can re-evaluate and cut down to just once a week. They're monitoring me so close b/c I have contractions rather consistent 5-7 minutes apart. At times they will spread out to 12-20. So far it hasn't caused me to progress any and Jake is handling them like a champ. Really nothing to be concerned about. Anyway, enough with the details. Each new day that he continues to bake is a blessing!! Each new day is also a day closer to getting to meet him face to face. I can't believe how quickly it will be here.. even if I go to term. I keep telling G that our lives are about to change in a way that no one can prepare us for. It was so crazy yesterday when we had our scare how much I can love my son who I haven't even met yet. I know that love will grow even more when he's placed in my arms for the first time. I can't wait. Well, to add some excitement to the blog I decided it was time for another picture session. I brought G into this one :o) He's such a great sport. I'm rather in shock right now that I'm about to post my bare belly for the world to see, but here it goes. Thanks again for all the encouragement and prayers through this journey. Love you guys!!

Jake's nursery!!

I wish I could take credit for how precious Jake's nursery is, but really I can't. All I said was that I wanted primary colors and squares to go with his bumper pad. Somehow from that "vision" the very talented Lucilynn put together a room that is more than I could have ever hoped for or imagined. It is my hopes made into reality. Right now Lucilynn is a stay at home Mommy of two. We lived together in Abilene and taught together here in Lubbock. I think if she ever decides she wants to go back to work she needs to do interior design. Maybe I should have titled this post "The Wonderful Lucilynn" :o) Anyway, I have to say it again... WE ARE SO VERY BLESSED!! I just can't get over the amount that people have given us to help prepare for precious Jake's arrival. G and I have really had to buy very little. Grammie and Granddad bought the crib, Nana, Pappa Grandi and the Millers bought us our car seat and stroller travel system. We are borrowing a great swing, and jumping gym from our wonderful friends the Henry's (along with most of Jake's wardrobe), an awesome glider rocker from our friends the Brints, more clothes from the Brewers... the list goes on. Sorry if I've left anyone out. Pretty much all we've bought is the changing table/dresser which we got off of craigslist for a killer deal and the crib bumper! How do we thank you enough?? So many times I stand in awe of what the Lord has brought us through and how He continues to give us more than we deserve. Thank you Jesus for your Grace that you freely give and the blessings that we cannot earn. Thank you that you love us as your children and because of the blood of your son Jesus Christ we can have relationship with you and enjoy the fullness of your presence in our lives. How blessed we are!!
Okay... I could go on and on, but I hope this is just a reminder to those reading this blog and not new information. If it is, get on your knees and start that relationship with our Lord today. You are truly missing out if you don't walk with Him daily!! Love you guys and enjoy the pics of the nursery... though I don't think they do it justice. It is a blessed room and I cannot wait to bring Jake home... well, I can wait, but you know what I mean.

The Adventures of Growing a Baby...

So just a quick update on Baby Jake... He's doing wonderful!! Went in for a few tests and screenings today and he passed with flying colors. Can't really say the same for his Mommy. :o) They have been mildly concerned b/c I've been having contractions so they hooked Jake and I up to monitors for about an hour. So I was having contractions about every 5 min. Not really what they wanted to see. The good news is that Jake was handling them WONDERFULLY!! He's a champ. His heart rate was good as was his movements and his reactions to the contractions. They also did a fetal fibronectin screening that shows if I will go into labor in the next two weeks. That test came back negative so that's a very good thing and gives Mommy some good piece of mind. So they went ahead and gave me a shot and prescription to slow down and hopefully stop the contractions. (Brutal side effects, but worth it to keep Jake baking). They also went ahead and gave me a shot to speed up the development of his lungs just in case.
So I'm 31 wks and 4 days along, so these next few weeks will be filled with more monitoring and doctors appointments. I get to go in twice a week from here on out for monitoring and the fetal fibronectin test. I must say that I am so blessed that the Lord worked it out in such a way that I don't have to be working right now. Not sure there is an employer out there that would enjoy letting their employee go twice a week for an hour or more for monitoring plus any other doctor's appointment that may be deemed necessary. It also helps because I can stay off my feet and take it easy as strongly suggested by the doctors. So there you go. That's the Jake update for now.
In other news the nursery is coming along. My wonderful friends Lucilynn and Caty came over today to paint and decorate his room. It looks AMAZING!! I can't wait to post pictures of the finished product. It's more than I could have imagined. It's Lucilynn's brainchild. She is extremely gifted in the area of interior decorating. So she has been able to take my desires and bring them to reality. It should be finished soon!! Did I mention I can't wait??!! We have been telling Jake though, that just because his room is just about done doesn't give him permission to come early. We will see if he listens. Thanks for the prayers and support. There are so many people behind the scenes that are helping us out and making sure I'm taking it easy. We are so incredibly blessed. I can't even put into words. The Lord provides all you need. Whether emotional support, financial support, friends to pray with you, meals to eat.. the Lord provides for it all. I am so undeserving of all He has and continues to give us. Thank you Lord!!

Okay.. so I'll give you a quick sneak peek of the room. I'm not going to explain, you will just have to wait to see it all come together. Did I mention how excited I am??

Trainy Bank...

Just a quick post. The Trainy bank is complete! I'm so excited, I think it turned out super cute. Thanks again to the great suggestions by Daddy Gerald, and Granddad. And thanks to the steady helping hand of Grammie!!

What a Weekend!!

I know Gerald already posted and gave a quick run-down of our crazy weekend, I just thought I would throw in some details. Mom and Dad came in Thursdays evening so they could come with us to our sonogram on Friday morning. It was a lot of fun having them there to see Baby Jake in 3D!! He was being quite camera shy and not really wanting to face the camera so the pictures aren't great but we did get a few. He has the umbilical cord across his nose in the pics. They tell me he is a healthy 3lbs 9oz already and that I need to be prepared for a big baby. I'm taking that with a grain of salt. I've known too many people who were told they were going to have a big baby and the baby came out a pound or more less than what they were told. On other another note I'm having crazy braxton hicks contractions. They checked me and all that fun stuff and did find that my cervix is somewhat short. Not so much that they are majorly concerned but told me to take it easy and not lift anything over 10 lbs. They did go ahead and do a test called a Fetal fibronectin screening. This test, I think, measures a certain hormone that says whether you will be going into labor in the next two weeks. It came back negative.. so that's good, Jake should bake for at least 2 more weeks. I have another sonogram in two weeks to check again to make sure he will continue to bake. As I said the Dr.'s aren't really concerned, just want me to be aware of my body and take it easy. Better safe than sorry!! So here are a few pics of our precious boy. Check out those cheeks and feet!!!



So after the sonogram we got to work on Jake's room. My very talented sister-in-law Connie made Jake a crib skirt and curtains for his room. We got the curtains hung and mom and I used the extra material to make pull backs. It's all coming together so well!! While mom and I did that as G said he and Dad went to work painting our new changing table/dresser. We don't have the drawers back in the table yet b/c we are making sure they are good and dry, but here is the mostly finished product.






Oh.. I almost forgot. One of G's favorite gifts of the weekend came from Jake's Grammie and Granddad... aka my parents. Be sure to note the hat. He is so very proud!!

Lastly... what is a trainy bank you ask?? Well, a piggy bank is a bank in the shape of a pig. So therefore a trainy bank is a bank in the shape of.... that's right, a train. Dad came up with that one. Anyway, we have a place here called the Mud Room. You can go in and buy a clay creation of your choosing, decorate and paint it anyway you want and then they will fire it to make it complete. When it's fired the colors are vibrant and the finish is smooth. It looks like Jake will have a pink "trainy bank" but once it's fired the pink will be a deep red to match his room. I can't wait to pick it up next weekend and see the finished product. Mom and I had a blast doing this together. I think total it took about 5 hours. We got a little carried away in the detail.. but it was worth it. Memories made!!

Blurred Weekend of Work

Wendy's parents came in to help out this weekend. What a great help it was. They brought up our changing table that we bought off someone in Dallas...score. Wendy and her mom made a trainy bank that we'll pick up next week up after it gets fired. Her dad and I got our changing table painted. Along with many other random Jake projects, it turned out to be very productive. Pics will be coming in the next couple of days.
Also, here's my random new favorite song. Hope to be doing this in church soon.