Pregnancy Update
I am so thankful for all the prayers and encouragement we’ve gotten from sweet friends and family over the last few months, and especially the last few weeks. I wanted to give an update for those who have been asking questions and wondering what’s been happening lately. About a month ago, I started having severe pain in the lower right side of my abdomen. It felt like a knife stabbing me in the belly. The pain would come and go and started to get more persistent as the days went by. Over the last two weeks it’s been just about non stop and has gotten more intense. It was no longer just hurting in my belly, but shooting through to my back and up my right side. In the last week, I’ve hardly been able to get out of bed. Every position hurts, with sitting being the worst. The only way I could get any relief (and by relief I mean the pain going from a 9 or 10 to a 3 or 4) was to lay in the bed on my left side with pillows propping me all around. Now, I understand that pregnancy is painful at times, but I’ve had my appendix out and this pain hurts worse than when my appendix ruptured. Yesterday I had my weekly OB visit and I explained to my doctor what’s been going on. And she could tell the pain I was in considering I couldn’t sit or stand but for a few minutes at a time and I probably looked like I was about to start screaming and crying at any minute. I was pretty much at the end of my rope emotionally as well since I had no idea what was causing the pain. I had been up all hours of the night looking up things from kidney problems to gallbladder issues. I also wanted to know that there was nothing wrong with Luke. So, at the end of my appt yesterday, my doctor sent me over to the hospital to have some tests done, checking my liver, kidneys, amniotic fluid, Luke, etc. I ended up having to spend the night because all the test results hadn’t come back yet by the end of the day. After meeting with my doctor this morning to talk about everything, I’m very thankful to report that Luke and I are both in excellent health, and the most likely cause of the pain is a pinched nerve along with ligaments that are stretched to the max. And do you know why my nerves are being pinched and my ligaments are hanging on by a thread? Well that’s because Luke is already measuring at almost 8 lbs. So, being 36 weeks and 2 days, that means he’s a very big boy! She said he’s filling up every inch of my belly and just smashing everything. I feel kind of bad for him too being all squished in there like I’m not providing adequate accommodations. I was given some very strong pain medicine in the hospital along with Ambien so I could get some rest. I haven’t had much sleep lately. The pain medicine didn’t help and the Ambien didn’t put me to sleep either. So, it looks like I’m just going to have to hang in here with all of this until Luke comes out. And as discouraging as that is, I’m in a much better place emotionally just knowing he’s ok and that there’s nothing wrong with me either that would cause him any problems. I also learned that I’m 90% effaced and I’m also having a few other early labor signs. I don’t want him to come out before all of his organs are fully matured, but I also don’t want things to drag out longer than they have to. So, here’s to praying that his maturity is equal to his size and maybe we can have him in our arms sooner than later! Thanks again for all your prayers and please keep them coming! And I’m sorry if I have been and will continue to be MIA for a while. It’s not because I’m trying to be a hermit, it’s just because it’s hard to do much right now. So feel free to come visit me in bed or shuffling around the house from time to time! Oh, and I’ll try to post pics of the nursery this week too. 
Be Jealous
I’ve waited a long time, and it’s finally going to happen. We’re going to see Jerry Seinfeld next Friday night at the Orpheum!! And where are we sitting you ask? Oh, just the SEVENTH ROW!! My almost-brother Billy will be going with us, but it was just about impossible to find 3 tickets together unless I wanted to sell a kidney. Since it’s probably best to have two kidneys while pregnant, Billy was cool with sitting on his own. Being as big of a fan as I am, he just wants to be in the building. And I totally found him a single ticket someone was trying to get rid of on eBay on the SECOND row. I’m pretty sure he’ll love me forever for that one. Anyway, we can’t wait and Jerry better be on his game. I don’t appreciate letdowns.
Making Progress
Well, Luke will now have a place to sleep when he gets here. His crib has been ordered, thanks to my wonderful Mom and Dad! He will be sleeping, crying and playing in the beautiful bed below. I’m praying for mostly sleeping and playing. And no, it won’t have the white frilly ruffle on the bottom.
Hopes and Expectations
Louis and I are always saying things to each other like, “We’re not going to do that with our kids” or “That’s really great and we should try that with our kids.” I think everyone has ideas and hopes for the way they want to parent their children. Of course it’s one thing to hope and plan before you have them and another to actually follow through when they’re here. I’m not naive in thinking that we’re going to just plan to handle things a certain way and then easily do those things. BUT, that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop hoping and trying to make some parenting decisions before our baby gets here.
So, I’m probably going to step on some toes here, which is not my intention. I really just want to talk about something that is on my heart while planning for Luke to get here. And of course, these are two lessons that I learned from my amazing parents. I’ll be forever thankful for all that they’ve taught me about marriage and parenting and all that they’re still teaching me.
The first thing applies to marriage. This is something my parents always demonstrated in their own relationship and then advised me about before Louis and I got married. Never talk bad about your spouse to others. If you have a problem or gripe with your spouse, talk to them about it and not other people. It’s one thing to have a confidant who you can talk with for seeking advice, etc. It’s something totally different to bash your husband to your friends. And with things like Twitter and Facebook readily available, people seem to think it’s ok to complain about their spouses to their 300 closest friends.
The previous lesson applies to children as well. And I know this is going to be even harder to swallow than the previous paragraph, but here goes on the second lesson anyway. Don’t talk bad about your kids to others. Just as it hurts a spouse and your relationship with them, I strongly believe this is something that’s also hurtful to your kids. I also think it’s important to harness your tongue even before your kids can understand what you’re saying. So yes, I’m saying not to complain about your babies all the time even if they don’t know what you’re saying about them. Why? Because habits are hard to break. If you start off complaining and talking negatively about your kids when they’re babies, you’re not likely to stop when they’re in elementary school or teenagers. It really bothers me to get on FB and see half of the women I know complaining about their kids and talking about how their favorite thing is alone time and getting away from their kids. Now I do understand that there are days when you want a break and some free time. Understood! But you don’t have to gripe about it all the time to everyone you know and make it seem like you almost wish you didn’t have kids. Because when 8 of 10 things you say about your kids are how much you need to get away from them, that’s how it comes across. And I’m not saying that I think it’s wrong to talk about your kids at all. I’ve had friends who have struggled through colic and dealing with strong willed children, etc. So talking about those issues and wanting to blow your brains out can be necessary. I think it’s all in the attitude. And if you’re just saying, “Man my kid is a brat and I’m about to drop him off at an orphanage” well that’s not good. And I have to give a pat on the back to my best friend Christy here. I’ve watched her with her girls for the last 5 years and she is such a wonderful example of what I’m talking about. Even as her best friend, she’s NEVER talked bad about Rileigh or Emmy to me so I know she doesn’t talk bad about them to anyone else. And she truly ENJOYS spending time with them! Wow! Imagine that! If she needs to run errands, she takes them with her and they have fun together. She doesn’t act like her girls hold her back, instead she loves to share things with them. It’s so wonderful to be around them.
Anyway, all I’m trying to do here is talk about the lessons I’ve learned from how my parents treat each other and how they’ve always treated us. I’m not trying to call anyone out. These are just things I observe. I really want to be a wife who builds up her husband, not one who tears him down. And I want to be a mom who builds up her kids and enjoys being with them and not one who tears them down. I’m hoping that if I can start thinking about these things now, they’ll be more set in my mind when Luke gets here.
In Case You Haven’t Heard…
We found out last week that we’re having a BOY!!!! I can’t even describe our excitement. I find myself just daydreaming about him all the time. His name is Luke Edward Davis. Edward is Louis’s middle name and we just like the name Luke. It’s a very strong and manly name, don’t you think? Well, we love it and we love him so much already!
When we moved into our house 3 years ago, we painted one of our bedrooms green, with the hopes that it would one day be a baby’s room. We hate painting so we figured we’d go with a color that could suit a boy or a girl and that way we wouldn’t have to paint again. Are we smart or what? It’s not a grass green but I’m not sure how to describe it either. It’s kind of like this color. And I’m pretty sure this is the bedding we’re going to get. I’m also planning on decorating with some of his daddy’s fire fighter stuff. There was a really cool picture in the Commercial Appeal several months ago of Louis repelling off the Auction Street Bridge downtown. We have the article as well as the photo in an 8×10 that I’m going to frame and put on the wall. I’m also going to hang one of his old fire helmets and maybe a few other things. Christy took some beautiful pictures of Scout when she was in town last and the next time she comes back she’s going to take some of Abby. I’m going to either hang one big photo of each of them, or make a collage of several 4×6′s. Haven’t decided yet. Anyway, those are my baby thoughts for today!
The Search Continues for the Best Pizza Joint in Memphis
So yeah, I love pizza. And since being pregnant, I’ve craved it insanely. I’ve decided to go on a mission to find the best pizza in the Memphis area, in my opinion of course. I realize that everyone’s tastes are different so this is purely based on what I like. There are plenty spots for pizza in Memphis that I haven’t tried yet, so as people make recommendations, we’re tackling them one at a time. I recently asked about this on Facebook and it seemed like everyone who responded had a different opinion, which was good because it gave us lots of new options for places to try. Anyway, here is a quick rundown of where we’ve eaten so far and what I thought about each place. (These are in no order and I’m also not including any chains like Pizza Hut or Papa Johns. We all know about those already.)
Jimmy’s Chicago Style Hot Dogs and Pizza
The website is terrible, but the food is fantastic. They offer both thin crust and deep dish pizzas. We’ve had both and prefer the thin crust, which is actually not all that thin and I like it that way. We got the Chicago Classic Supreme which came with Italian sausage or pepperoni (we got sausage), onions, mushrooms, black olives and green peppers. It was by far the best pizza I’d had in years! Everything about it was delicious. I generally prefer just veggies on my pizza, but my in laws were joining us and we ordered one with meat. And wow, I had a whole new experience with sausage! The deep dish pizza is insane. Each slice feels like it weighs 5 lbs. and you can really only eat one slice. It is so thick and huge that it has to be ordered an hour in advance. Well, unless you want to sit there and wait for it for an hour. It’s very good, but very different than a normal pizza.
All in all, Jimmy’s is currently in first place with me. And it’s conveniently located just about 2 miles from us in Bartlett. Yay!
When Christy and the girls were in town a few weeks ago we decided to head out for pizza one night. This place had been recommended so I thought we’d give it a shot. I love the location, in High Point Terrace, and I liked the small pizzeria atmosphere with patio seating. We of course sat inside because it was hotter than the surface of the sun at the time. We were starving when we got there and since we knew it would take a few minutes to cook our pizza, we ordered some cheese bread to hold us. The cheese bread took forever to make it to our table, and only arrived about 5 minutes before our pizza. My rumbling stomach was NOT happy, and poor Emmy and Rileigh kept saying “We’re starving! When is the food going to be here?” Christy and I were both feeling their pain. We ordered the Veggie pizza and were very excited when it landed on the table. And, it was pretty good, but that’s about all. It was just pretty good. They are known for their garlic crust, which was also just pretty good. High Point Terrace is not close to where we live, so I definitely wouldn’t make the drive again to eat here. If I was already in the area and had a major craving, I’d probably drop in, but that’s really the only reason I’d go back. I know that people who live in the area adore it, and it has it’s charms, but just not for me in regard to the pizza itself.
Located at the far end of Germantown, almost in Collierville, this is also a place that is a bit of a drive for us. We figured we’d check it out though since it had been so highly recommended and it’s always fun to try something new. Plus I’m on a mission and everything. I didn’t realize it until I looked at their webiste, but Russo’s is actually a chain. It doesn’t feel that way when you’re there though so that’s a good thing. We ate here with my in laws for my birthday meal so it was a 3 course affair. And we’re about to sound like whales as I list what we ate, but realize there were 6 of us, so each appetizer provided just one small serving per person. Ok, we started with Toasted Ravioli and Artichoke Dip. The ravioli was very good (I only ate one. See, not gorging!) and my in laws thought it was almost equal to their favorites from Grisanti’s. The artichoke dip was also very good. It was in a very creamy alfredo sauce which I typically don’t care for, but really liked in this instance. Russo’s also serves huge garlic rolls with the meal which were soft, steamy and yummy. Louis and I both got salads, which were just regular old salads, but good. We then shared the 12 inch Veggie Pizza, which is plenty for two people. And it was good, not amazing, just good. For dessert, we both ordered Pistachio Gelato. With the first bite, I could tell that something was amiss. Gelato is supposed to be very creamy, but this was gritty like I was eating sand. Our very knowledgeable cousin, Harriett, who has actually eaten Gelato in Italy, tried it and told us it had melted and been re-frozen. We let our server know and he apologized and told us someone had left the freezer door open earlier that day. So Louis asked for chocolate and I got vanilla bean and they were both good, with no apparent sand. Although the place was hopping, our server did a great job and we were well taken care of. The experience was good, but the pizza just wasn’t the best I’ve ever had.
Milano’s has several locations and I’ve been to 3 of them over the years. When I was in junior high, my friend Breanne and I would get one of our parents to drop us off at the movies and after the movie, we’d walk next door to Milano’s and get a slice of pizza. Memories! At the time it was my favorite, but of course I was only 13 and hadn’t been to very many places yet. There is one located just down the street from where we live now, so several weeks ago we decided to give it a whirl after a long hiatus since our last visit. We just got a plain cheese, because I was channeling my junior high days, and it was good. Again, good, not life changing. It’s classic NY style, with large thin slices that you can fold in half to eat. The flavor of their pizza is very good, but overall, just not my all time favorite.
I’ve only been here once and it was a year or two ago, so I feel like I need to revisit to make an accurate judgment. I remember that I liked it, but I also remember thinking that it wasn’t the best I’d ever had. My parents think they have the best burgers in town, but unfortunately this mission isn’t about burgers. It’s all about pizza! So I will update this one after I go there again.
In my opinion, MPC is just ok. I don’t have a specific current visit to reference, but I’ve been there many times and have never had my socks knocked off. I think if you’re craving pizza and there’s one in your immediate line of vision, it would probably be satisfying. Other than that, I’m not going out of my way.
I’ve been to the one in Memphis as well as the one in Jackson, MS and I enjoyed them both. I’d say that Old Venice is better than a lot of the places I’ve been, chains included, but not in my top 3. The atmosphere is nice and is a bit more upscale than a small neighborhood pizzeria. It feels more like a restaurant than a pizza joint if that makes sense. And I guess it should since they have a lot more than pizza to offer. I’d say check it out if you’ve never been. It’s in East Memphis.
This is a family owned pizza place near HWY 70 and Memphis-Arlington Rd in Bartlett. Not only are they nice and accommodating, but their food is delicious. They sat in my number 1 spot for a long time before I tried Jimmy’s and they are still holding steady at number 2. They serve a classic NY style of pizza and every kind I’ve had has been great. Their calzones are also wonderful. Check it out!!!!
This is an Italian Restaurant, not a pizza joint, but their pizza is notable. I’m not the best person to rate Coletta’s pizza since I’ve only had it once, but I’m mentioning it because ever since, I’ve wanted to go back. Louis and I went there for dinner once and we split salads and the Veggie-lite pizza. We were trying to eat somewhat healthy so my expectations for a light pizza weren’t very high. However, I was extremely surprised to find myself loving it as much as a regular pizza. It was really delicious! I’ve also been told by many people that Coletta’s has the best bbq pizza of all time. Now I’m definitely not a good judge on that because I prefer my foods to be separate. I don’t like other entrees such as bbq or tacos jumping into my pizza. But I’m just weird like that because I know lots of people who love it. Anyway, I’m looking forward to going back and trying another one of their pizzas.
Johnny Brusco’s New York Style Pizza
I ate here quite a few times when I worked at speak! creative as it was the pizza choice for our team. Johnny’s is very good, and maybe, just maybe in my number 4 spot. Still thinking on that though. Anyway, I’ve never had a bad experience, but it also never made me sing and dance. I have friends who claim it as their favorite, and just love the bbq chicken pizza. But in my personal and humble opinion, it’s just not THE best.
Well, that’s about it for this edition of my pizza roundup. Here’s a list of the spots still on my list to try:
Hi-Tone- Although far from a pizza place, I’ve heard people say they have the best in town.
Trolley Stop Market
Overton Park Pizze Stone
Mellow Mushroom (I know it’s a chain)
Broadway Pizza
Little Italy
The Pizza Shack
Our Journey to Parenthood
I’ve been wanting to write about this for a while now but knew it would take some time to put it all down. I didn’t want to just give a bullet point list of all that has happened over the last almost 3 years. More than anything, I want to share our experiences in order that God might be glorified. So I’ll start from the beginning.
In November 2007 we decided that we were ready to have a baby. And of course at this point, you’re thinking it could be easy and happen the first month. And for some people it does. But for me and many others, it was just the first month of disappointment.
In January 2008 Louis and I went to Virginia to visit my side of the family. My grandmother and aunts, uncles and cousins live there and we were excited to spend a week with all of them. We were staying with my grandmother and when we got in bed on the second night of our trip I started having pain in my abdomen. At first I just thought maybe I ate something that upset my stomach. After Louis went on to sleep, I continued to hurt worse and worse. The pain became so great that I woke him up and was worried that maybe I was pregnant and having a miscarriage or something. When you’re trying to having a baby, that’s kind of all you think about! The pain gradually got worse and by about 5am I told him that something was really wrong and I needed to go to the hospital. As it turned out, I had appendicitis and had to have my appendix removed. I was relieved that I hadn’t lost a baby, but this was the first time I realized that things may not go as easily as I had once thought.
After a few weeks of recovery, we got back on the road to baby land. During that summer and fall, I started to really have concerns that there was something wrong and preventing us from getting pregnant. So far, all of my routine tests at the doctor had been fine and nothing had thrown up any red flags. As we moved into winter, my favorite time of year, I started praying that God would give us a Christmas pregnancy. I know it sounds silly, but you just have funny desires when you’re in this situation. I prayed and prayed, “God, all I want this Christmas is to be pregnant.” I think part of the reason I felt that way was because Christmas is the biggest family gathering of the year for most people. And it just feels like a magical time. I practically live the other 11 months of the year in anticipation of the Christmas season. It’s my favorite time! About the middle of December, I thought I could possibly be pregnant. Actually, I didn’t think that but Mom did and she suggested I take a test. And since she’s usually right about everything, I decided to do just that. Louis was at the fire station so I was home by myself. I took a test, not really expecting it to be positive. When I saw the word PREGNANT in the test window, I couldn’t believe it. I hopped around our bedroom and down the hall for all of 10 seconds before I realized something could be wrong. I had been spotting for over a week, which was why I didn’t think I was pregnant to begin with. Mom had said that some women spot in the beginning and that’s why she suggested I take a test. So I call my doctor immediately and tell them that I had a positive home test but that I’d been spotting. This was on a Friday, so they brought me in on Mon to run tests. First they confirmed the pregnancy using a urine test, then they drew blood to check my progesterone and HCG levels. In a healthy pregnancy, progesterone needs to be strong and the HCG levels need to multiply every 48-72 hours. They called me on Tue to tell me that neither my progesterone nor HCG levels were very high, but they wanted me to come back Wed to draw blood again so they could compare the numbers and see if they were multiplying. After the draw on Wed, they called me on Thur to tell me that my numbers were dropping and they were too low to indicate a healthy pregnancy. I was told I was losing the baby and that my body seemed to be handling it naturally just fine, so they weren’t going to do a DNC. Basically, I was just going to ride it out. We were devastated. I didn’t really know what to expect, but by Fri afternoon, I was in intense pain and felt like I was bleeding to death. Louis was working Sat morning when I got out of bed and could hardly stand. I fell back on the bed just before passing out and called Mom and Dad. We went to the ER at St. Francis Bartlett. I really feel like God placed a specific doctor with me that day. He was a very large, Santa Clause shaped man in his early 40′s. He was clean shaven though so only his fluffiness resembled Santa. He was precious. He told me that I was completing the miscarriage and that the bleeding should slow down soon. My blood pressure was extremely low so he wanted me to stay a bit longer until it came up, but I was going to be just fine physically. And I’ll never forget what he said after that. He looked me in the eyes, with such a gentle attitude and said, “It’s ok to treat this as a loss. It’s ok to grieve.” I wanted to hug him. So many people these days don’t have that kind of empathy or understanding. Unlike a lot of people, he held my opinion that we had lost a baby, not just a mass of tissue. I was so thankful for that doctor. I went home that afternoon, our Christmas baby not to be. At least not on earth.
In Jan 2009, a month after our miscarriage, I went back to the doctor for a follow up visit to make sure everything was ok in my body. They did an ultrasound (which is horrible when you aren’t pregnant and have just lost a baby) and my doctor said that she found a mass on my right ovary. She couldn’t be sure, but she suspected it was an endometrioma, a mass of endometriosis. (I added a handy dandy link on the word if you don’t know what it is.) The only way to know for sure was to operate, and it needed to come out anyway because it was a bit larger than my uterus. I had surgery in Feb to remove the cyst. When I was coming out from under the anesthesia, Louis was standing there and told me everything went fine and that I had severe endometriosis. I thought he was joking. He said it like he was telling me the weather report. Which is kind of how he is considering his profession. He doesn’t really freak out about these things. So the doctor comes in later and tells me that it was an endometrioma and that I have severe endometriosis, pretty much on every organ in my abdomen. Super! She says that there’s a hormone therapy drug called Lupron that you take through monthly injections that will not only kill the existing endo but also prevent future growth for at least 5 years. You can take Lupron for anywhere between 1-6 months, but 6 months is the max. I was prescribed it for 6 months. I felt hopeful, but it was also discouraging to know that it would be a minimum of about 7-8 months before pregnancy would even be a possibility. So we trudged on. I started on Lupron in March and finished it in Aug. Those 6 months were also very strange. It is medically induced menopause, so I felt like a 60 year old woman having hot flashes and night sweats. On the flip side, I guess because it suppresses your estrogen, I felt like I had super human strength and could lift cars if necessary. I had a ton of energy and was working out like a mad woman. A hot flashing mad woman that is. Anyway, I got off the Lupron in Aug and was told it would take a few months for my body to adjust back to normal cycles and whatnot. Nothing special happened after that. Just more waiting. And I’d like to say here, that Louis was my rock through all of the craziness. He prayed for and with me, listened to my hormonal rants and just did whatever he could to help. He was amazing, even when I was crying for no reason and he didn’t know what to do. What can you do with a crazy person anyway?
My cycles leveled out and my body seemed back to normal by about October. By Feb 2010, I was really struggling. I started to doubt whether this was God’s will for us or not. Was it even His plan for us to have children naturally? It wasn’t that I’ve ever doubted the Lord’s ability to do ANYTHING. I was more so doubting my understanding of what He wanted me to do. I was so overwhelmed by this unrest in my heart that I just got on my face and prayed, asking what to do next. Because if this wasn’t what He wanted for us, then I no longer wanted to pursue it. I felt like I just needed to know one way or the other and I could move on from that moment. I specifically asked the Lord to show me which way to turn by either closing a door or showing me something that would give me renewed hope. I told Him that if He chose to show me hope, that I would believe Him and move forward and never look back. That same night, I joined my bunko group for our monthly game. As we rotated tables throughout the night, I found myself sitting with two other women who had struggled with infertility. They both told me their stories and said that they both had gotten pregnant taking Clomid. I had heard of it, but knew nothing about Clomid. Then they started sharing a mountain of information about progesterone and hormone levels and ovulation, etc. I hadn’t heard any of this! I felt like I had a whole new avenue of hope in front of me! When I got in my car that night, I was thinking about the conversations I just had. I got about 5 minutes down the road and it was like a light came on. God was showing me HOPE! He was answering my prayer, even when I was too dense to realize it.
I called my doctor and asked for a consultation to possibly start taking Clomid, which is a drug that causes your body to ovulate. They first needed to do a test to see if I was ovulating on my own. If I was, Clomid wouldn’t be necessary. My test results confirmed that I was not ovulating naturally so she prescribed Clomid. My bunko friends had told me not to get discouraged if I don’t get pregnant right away, because it happened in their 3rd month of taking it for both of them. The last week of May, it was my turn to host bunko. Once again, I found myself sitting with Michelle and Nicole ( the encouragers I mentioned before). They were asking me if I’d had any luck and I was actually supposed to have started my cycle that day. I hadn’t yet, but was having cramps like I was going to. So I said no, but maybe next month. Since I’d been on Clomid, my cycles were like clockwork. It was very strange to be even one day late, so I decided to take a test the next day. I didn’t think I had any on hand because I tried to stop buying them so we wouldn’t be wasting so much money every month on unnecessary tests. I even tried to make deals with myself to wait a certain amount of time before testing. I checked the cabinet and came up with some off brand cheapo test that I don’t remember ever buying. Because I’m crazy by this point, I don’t trust anything but the heavy duty brand leaders for my testing. Anyway, the cheapo test was negative. Hmmm. This was weird. I gave myself until Fri, and I pat myself on the back for my amazing restraint to have waited 3 more days! Louis was at work of course, so I was home testing by myself. And I was definitely using the Clearblue Easy this time that actually says either PREGNANT or NOT PREGNANT. After about 2 minutes, I was stunned to see those beautiful words filling the test screen. I was going to have a baby! And it was a much different experience from the first time that I was pregnant. Instead of feeling instant fear, I was filled with overwhelming joy and hope. I felt like I could almost hear God audibly telling me, “This is it daughter. It’s time.” So I took another test about 2 hours later because for some reason I thought that’s why they came in a two pack. It was positive too of course, so I headed to the fire station. I parked in the back and called Louis and asked him to come to my car for a second so I could drop off something for him. When he came to the car, I handed him a little gift bag. Inside was a baby outfit that says, “I want to be a fireman when I grow up.” I had bought it a long time ago and had been hiding it in the back of the closet for this reason. He was thrilled!
I’m 12 weeks pregnant now and we’ve learned so much on this journey about ourselves and each other. We really are different people now. Our marriage is incredibly stronger, our love is deeper and our communication is better. We know now that God has molded us into people who are much better equipped to be parents than the people we were 3 years ago. And we hope to continue growing to be even stronger when our arms are finally holding our precious son or daughter in February.
Feel free to ask me any questions in case I’ve left anything out!
LOVE. THIS. SHOW.
I had caught a few episodes of Criminal Minds here and there over the last several months, and liked what I saw so much that I decided to start from the beginning with season 1. I am totally addicted now! Rarely do I find a show, especially these days, that I can love everything about. Every single cast member/character is fantastic, the stories are intriguing and I actually learn things when I’m watching! So if you like crime dramas, check this one out!
Trying to get fit?
I downloaded a FREE app on my phone yesterday that I think is a great tool. You put in your height, age and weight along with your goal weight. You then choose how quickly you want to reach your goal, for example I chose 2 lbs a week. It then calculates how many calories you can eat per day as well as how many you need to burn during exercise in order to reach your goal. The really great thing is that it has a food tracker. All you have to do is type in something like Special K, and it will pull up a list of every kind of Special K cereal for you to choose from. You select the one you ate and how much. It then adds it to your tracker and tells you where you are for your calorie intake for the day. It’s awesome! You can also access it online. I highly suggest it for anyone who wants to stay on top of their fitness goals!
It’s called Spark People and here’s the link for the online program. It’s so easy and FREE!!
Sookie is back!
Dead in the Family was released this week and thanks to the instant gratification provided by an e-reader, I had mine downloaded to my nook in about 20 seconds!
