21 weeks! and 25 years!

So we just celebrated my quarter of a century mark! As of Sunday, I am 25! And I did have a fabulous birthday:) It technically started on Wednesday when I got a couple of birthday packages in the mail. I just didn't think I could stand looking at them for 3 whole days and not opening them, so I thought, "Hey it's my birthday! I'll open them now!" 

Then on Friday, for part of my birthday present, Adam and I planned to go see A Christmas Carol, put on by a local theater in town. I wish I could say that it was fantastic and worth every penny we paid, but unfortunately, it was horrible! Haha. I mean, it was so bad that we considered leaving during intermission, but since we paid an insane amount for the tickets, we stuck in out! We did have fun laughing through the whole thing. During a couple of the scenes, that were supposed to be serious, we were in stitches, trying not to laugh out loud. We felt like school kids in class trying not to laugh while the teacher teaches. It was ridiculous. 

On Sunday, which was my actual birthday, Adam took me to dinner. I picked the restaurant, of course, and literally had a blast doing so. I spent a good 20 minutes online before that night, reading through every menu in town, so that I could pick the exact meal I wanted to eat! And so I could compare desserts at different restaurants! The winner was- Longhorn Steakhouse! Call me crazy, but their menu just looked the most yummy! This is one part of the pregnancy I LOVE- food tasting DELICIOUS!

Afterward, Adam and I did my second favorite thing to eating right now. We went to Barnes and Noble, bought some coffee, found some comfy chairs, and read for a good couple of hours! I did read, why I don't know, Jenny McCarthy's pregnancy book. I'm not sure exactly how helpful it was-  but it was absolutely hysterical. (Be warned if you pick it up, she doesn't exactly have the cleanest mouth, maybe the funniest, but not the cleanest)

Anyway, for my gifts, Adam gave me a new turquoise robe.My sister gave me a pink one 3 years ago, and after wearing it every morning for 3 years, it was time for a new one. Along with the robe, he got me some new cozy socks.  Both of those gifts are perfect. Now that it is cold, and I'm expanding, I change into my robe and cozy socks every afternoon when I'm done with my stuff for the day. He knew exactly what I wanted! He also got me the new Carrie Underwood cd. Although I must admit that I think she's a bit of a sell- out, I do love, love, love her music. 

As far as how I'm feeling, I am honestly feeling great! The second trimester is really a breeze! I have a feeling the third one will get slightly more difficult;) Jackson is also getting stronger. A few weeks ago I could only feel him move if I was sitting very still, but now I'm starting to feel him move around even when I'm moving! It is so fun! I also feel like I've grown a lot over the past couple of weeks. Even the top of my belly button is starting to poke out the tiniest bit. Adam thinks it's cute...haha. 

Overall, we are doing very well. We are just preparing for the many Christmas parties we have going on these next few weeks! My heart is so full this Christmas season. I am just so thankful for our little boy, and so excited to celebrate Christmas with him next year! Here are some belly pictures, and come other pictures we've taken recently:


 It is amazing the difference with my shirt down, and my shirt up! And it is amazing how what you wear can really make all the difference! The first few pictures were taken today, and the birthday ones were taken yesterday! Crazy how a tighter shirt can make you look more pregnant.

The belly is growing!

20 weeks! Halfway there!

I'm really finding it very hard to believe that we are at least halfway there! Honestly, this pregnancy has been such a blessing. God has absolutely blown Adam and I away with his provision, and sheer blessing during this pregnancy.  You know, while we were praying about having children, Adam and I decided that when I got pregnant, we would do everything we could to honor and glorify God in this pregnancy. We wanted to reclaim, if you will, the idea of pregnancy and show people that pregnancy is from the Lord, and if we allow it to be, it can be a beautiful picture of God's relationship with us, of our total dependence on Him. Each night of this pregnancy, Adam and I have prayed that God would keep knitting this child together in my womb for His glory and His kingdom. 

If anything, Adam and I have learned that we can do NOTHING! We are totally dependent on God to keep this child alive and healthy. As sobering as that thought was the first trimester (since I was dealing with fear), that truth now has rested in my soul, and has provided me with the freedom to truly enjoy this time.  If we can do nothing, then we must surrender every second of every day to the Lord- and that has changed our lives.

As far as the simple stuff goes, here is a rundown of symptoms, cravings, oddities, etc. that I am experiencing:

CRAVINGS- nothing! haha (am I the only pregnant lady yet to have craved something weird??)  but I am still very very hungry!

SYMPTOMS- one small nose bleed- gross uh?!; insane dreams; long fingernails; multiple trips to the potty during the night (baby sits on my bladder:) ;  increased sense of smell (which can be good and bad)

ODDITIES- so they say that when you are pregnant some women have patches of skin that change colors, as for me, there is one spot on my right knee that is now several shades darker than the rest of my leg! Funny uh? At least it's not somewhere more noticeable!

Ok so I left off a couple of symptoms that I'm sure you do not want to hear about! For the super curious minds, you can email me, and I will be glad to fill you in:) 

Let me leave you with two precious notes. First, I feel baby Jackson kicking everyday, and I absolutely LOVE every small reminder that he is in there, alive and active! Sometimes he punches, sometimes he kicks, and lately he's been doing flips, that honestly feel very strange! When he flips, my whole stomach feels like it vibrates. Adam has yet to feel Jackson kicking, but he has started talking to our little man. He tells him the cutest stuff, mainly things like, "Your mom is so crazy! Can you believe she married me?" haha, or "Jackson, sooner or later you are going to have to kick hard enough for me to feel." I have a feeling, he will do just that in the coming weeks! 

Second, I thought this was so precious, I just had to share. When we told our pastor, his wife, and their 4 kids that we were having a boy, they made a very big deal about it! They were all so excited for us! Even the kids were beside themselves. Anyway, their little daughter, who is 5, and who asks about Jackson each time she sees me, came up to me, put her little hand on my belly and said, "Monica, God has blessed you." Of course, my eyes filled with tears. She is right. Jackson is a blessing, and God has indeed blessed me. I love when God chooses to use children to speak truth to us. 

I hope you and your family are having fun decorating for the holidays! I pray we all remember the truth of why we celebrate. Don't let this Christmas pass without sharing time with the God who gave us everything so that we may know Him. Praise Jesus!

And finally, here are some 20 week pictures! Enjoy!

19 weeks and growing:)

Well, I must be honest, I am still on cloud nine just thinking about our little man Jackson! We are just SO excited that we now know who is in my tummy..... AHH! It's amazing!:)

This past weekend we had our annual fall retreat for our students at church, and let me just brag on my husband a minute. He is the most amazing Student guy in the ministry! We took about 60 students to this retreat, where we combined with 2 other churches. Adam created the vision for the entire weekend, and I must say all 200 students had a blast. They learned more about themselves and how to connect with God, the way God made them. Adam also coordinated "The Amazing Race" on Saturday, where all the students were put in teams and competed in a series of events, which they LOVED!I love my husband so much, and I love working beside him watching God change students lives!

At first, I was a little nervous how I would do at the retreat, being pregnant. But, it actually went very well. I ended up getting a full bed to myself:), and the hospitality team let me eat early a few times when I needed to. Adam was great about telling some of the adults who didn't know me, that I was pregnant and that if I ever needed to eat, they needed to help me find some food:)! 

Jackson has been moving more and more lately. I feel him everyday, and love every minute of it! I was hoping that Adam could feel it, but I don't think his movements are strong enough yet. One night he was moving so much, so Adam put his hand on my stomach. Unfortunately, every time I squealed, "Did you feel that?!" Adam shook his head no, haha. And I would respond, it never failed, with "You didn't feel that!?" in which case Adam would say, "Nope, not a thing!" This little game went on for about  5  minutes before we both gave up, and resigned ourselves to the fact that we needed to wait a couple more weeks before he would feel it. But when he does, it will be amazing!!

We are very much looking forward to Thanksgiving, me mainly because of the food:o) But no, we are very excited about seeing family as well. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'll leave you with some belly pics:

IT'S A BOY!!! .....18 weeks

Well, I'm sure you know by now, that IT'S A BOY!!! And I cannot begin to explain how happy Adam and I are. In my heart, I wanted a boy first so badly, I even prayed right before the ultrasound, "God you know my heart, and you know my desires. Prepare my heart for either." But even as I prayed that, I knew I just really wanted a baby boy. So after 10 minutes in the ultrasound room, watching him squirm and not knowing yet what he was, when we finally saw his little man part, I burst into tears! And...Adam yelled, of course:) 

Honestly, I have to say that the moment  we found out the gender of this baby, has to rank up there as one of the most amazing moments of my life, and not just because Adam and I found out we were having a boy, but because in that moment, this baby became so very real to us. We have been praying for "this baby", but after that moment, we could pray for Jackson. Oh- I just can't explain how full my heart is!


Also, he has been moving a lot more- not as much as I'd like him too though:) Each time I sit down, I try to coax him to move by rubbing my belly, or talking to him, or pressing down. When he moves, it is the most amazing thing!! Up until the other day he had been giving me tiny pokes, but in the car 2 days ago, he kicked so hard I squealed out loud!!Well I'm sure his kicks will get much harder, but for what I had experienced up to that point, that kick was SO FUN!! 

Anyway, thank you so much for being so very excited with us! We can't wait to see what all God is going to do in our lives through the rest of the pregnancy!

This baby is moving!....17 weeks

Well, I am a little over 17 weeks now! How incredible:) Two monumental things happened this past week:

1)I FELT THE BABY MOVE!- At first I thought it was my imagination, but it keeps happening. I feel the tiniest pokes and prods, and I absolutely love it. Only once has it been really noticeable, after I ate lasagna:) When I felt it, I literally laughed at loud, and Adam looked at me like I was crazy because to him, nothing funny had happened. But once I told him our baby was moving, he was so excited! We can't wait until the movements are so strong that he can feel it too!

 2) The second monumental thing that happened this past week was I had my first true, incredibly strong, undeniable craving- COKE! I know, isn't that so boring? I wish I could say that I craved something fun like cantaloupe with jalapenos or something, but nope, just good old fashioned cold Coca-Cola! I didn't let myself have more than one a day- HA- but when I enjoyed a can, it was the best thing I had ever put in my mouth:) After 4 days of this, I think the craving is dissipating; we will see what is next!

**Tomorrow is the the big day! Adam and I find out what we are having:) I am SO excited; I cannot tell you how excited I am. In fact, I have been dreaming about the big event for days now, each dream leaving me unsure, of course, what the sex of our baby is. Honestly, I'm not sure how I will sleep tonight!! AHH! It is going to be great:)

 I did take a couple of prego pics today, and it is becoming undeniable that I'm pregnant. Sooner or later I won't have to convince people that, "No, really, I'm not joking. I promise I'm pregnant!" I'm posting 3 pictures; it's amazing how different my belly looks when I'm turned just slightly! (And yes, I am wearing my first pair of maternity pants!)

I guess that's all of the updates for now! Please keep praying for this precious child:) Our God is so good! Have a blessed day:)

Camera was M.I.A.

Hello readers:) My camera has been m.i.a.. BUT  I have it now! I will take some new pictures tomorrow, and you can expect to see a new post within 48 hours! Until then....know that I have been having an incredibly strong Coke craving- Coke has never tasted so good:)

16 weeks... "Desert Song" by Hillsong

A few months ago Adam and I went on a mission to trip to Bosnia. While on the trip, I felt incredibly connected to God. I was able to be completely open and vulnerable with Him about my hurts, and fears and dreams. I think because we were so inundated in God's work, it was easier for me to be honest with God on a more personal level.

One night on the trip, while going to sleep, I was overwhelmed with hurt from losing our first baby. And I literally felt my heart aching with the desire to get pregnant again. In that moment God led me to a song. I listened to that song over and over each night of the trip. The lyrics that resonated with me were, "All of my life, in every season, You are still God. I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship".  No matter what, God is still God, and I have a reason to worship Him. The two weeks we were in Bosnia God was very much working on my heart. I prayed that God would give me a new prospective, that God would teach me to trust Him, and wait on His timing. Each night as I fell asleep I prayed, "All of my life, in every season, You are still God. I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship."

God heard my prayers and not too much longer after that trip we found out I was pregnant. Needless to say, because of the previous miscarriage I delt with fear for a few weeks. But God taught me how to overcome that fear. And this past Sunday God showed up again in a very real way in my life.

Our church was doing a message on pivotal circumstances, how circumstances both incredibly bad and incredibly good can alter the direction of your life. The truth of the message was that no matter how horrible of a situation you are in, God can still be praised, and there is still hope. The same song that I had listened to a hundred times before was on the schedule, and I happened to be scheduled to sing it. I don't believe in coincidences. The Lord orchestrated everything, and gave me the opportunity to sing that song.

As I stood there singing the line that had spoken to me over and over, I couldn't help but think of how 3 months ago I was clinging to those words telling God I would worship Him no matter what, and now I was singing those exact lyrics while a sweet child was being formed in my womb.  I can't explain how full my heart was in that moment. My God really does care about every detail and facet of my life, and He can be trusted with every detail and facet of my life. His timing is undeniably perfect. In horribly difficult times and in joyful times, "I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship"

Today I am 16 weeks pregnant, and I know that each day with this child is a blessing. Each moment God gives Adam and I with this little baby is a blessing, and no matter what happens in my life I know, "You are still God, I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship". 

16 week picture:

And so you can see how much I've grown...here is the 9 1/2 week picture: