22 weeks down, 18ish to go!

So this past week was an exciting week.  We had our anatomy ultrasound on Tuesday afternoon.  It was a really  super cool, special experience.  Baby Hill was moving all over (which I attribute to the juice I intentionally drank before hand) and that made it easy to see all the body parts and get some fun ultrasound shots.  We really enjoyed getting to watch our baby on the screen while the tech did all the work she needed to do to find the different parts.  Praise the Lord, everything is looking good and all parts are there and seem to be functioning.

A nice profile, most of the body shot.

The best we could get of Baby Hill's face

As many already know, we chose not to find out if it was a boy or a girl so when the tech needed to check out things down south we had to look away.  Thankfully that wasn't very often and the tech even said in the end that she didn't spend enough time studying the pic to even find out so at this point nobody knows (except God) whether we are going to have a boy or a girl. :-)  What a very fun and exciting time; we are looking forward to the day when we get the big surprise!


At the ultrasound we learned other details about our baby.  Baby Hill is about 14 oz, almost a pound!  Heart is beating strong at 155 bpm.  The placenta could possibly be in the range of being too close to my cervix, but the ultrasound tech was not for sure what the cut off is now.  However she did say that most of the time the distance grows anyway as the baby grows and it is not something to be too concerned about.  So we may need to have another ultrasound done to double-check later on because if the placenta is too close then that means c-section.  That would be a bummer but, as long as we get a healthy baby, no worries here. :-)

I have been doing well so far at this point.  The second trimester has treated me well so far.  Since about week 18, I have been able to feel the baby moving inside me.  It has been such a wonderful experience and the movements have gotten more pronounced and often as the weeks go by.  Thankfully I haven't really had many pregnancy symptoms, especially lately that have bugged me.  The main thing is that I have to go to the restroom all the time and for about 3-4 weeks the night time trips have become routine.  I was always used to using the bathroom often, but lately it's been a bit much!   The weight gain also hasn't been too bad so far either.  I have only gained 5lbs so far.  No complaining here, but we shall see what the doctor has to say on Tuesday when we meet with them.  I doubt they will care since I can definitely promise them that I haven't been starving myself and before long I will probably be gaining weight pretty regularly now that baby is growing more too.  We shall see.  Exciting times to come, but that's all I can think of for now!

22 weeks!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Ahtila!

So it has taken me a while to find the time to write this but I definitely feel the need to write a few words about their day of celebration.  Over Labor Day weekend we made a whirlwind trip up to Kzoo to be a part of Siera and Jeremy's wedding celebration.  I was able to get up their on Friday to be a small part of the set up, join in the rehearsal, have fun out for Chinese for the rehearsal dinner, and then spend a small amount of quality time with Si on her last night as a single lady.  Though the time went by fast and, as always, I wish I could have spent more time hanging out with her, it was still great to be a part of all the events leading up to the wedding.

Then on Saturday morning I got up at the crack of dawn to get myself ready so that I could get to the church by 8 in order to be a part of all of Siera's preparations for the day.  I think this is when it finally became real what was going on.  Siera is one of my dearest friends and to be quite honest I have always thought of her as not only a friend, but as the little sister I never had.  After all the many late nights and long conversations we had had about relationships and our futures, her life with her "honey" (which was definitely weird for me to hear her call someone for the first time), the man of her dreams (who crazily enough she reconnected with after not having seen since sophomore year of high school) was actually beginning.  She looked so beautiful and it was super cute to see all her excitement leading up to her wedding ceremony.

Getting ready, isn't she purdy?

Pre-wedding photo shoot

Their ceremony was definitely characteristic of Siera and it was neat to see her love for God and Jeremy woven throughout the day.  I am definitely not someone who cries often, and definitely not at weddings, but there were definitely points where I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to hold it in.  When Jay was singing "God Gave Me You" I was definitely staring at the ceiling a lot because I couldn't look at Siera or at Jay without getting caught up in the emotions of the moment.  My "little sister" was finally getting married and it was really happening!

The bridesmaids...I feel like I look like a giant!

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Ahtila!

One other neat thing about the celebrations of the day that needs to be mentioned is that it was great to see people that I hadn't seen in a while like the Kandels, Ashley Carter, and Jessica Weakley Hurst.  That is one of my favorite things about weddings because they always serve as a reunion of sorts and it was great to get a chance, even if only brief, to catch up with old friends.

First dance, so precious!

We got to get out pic with the lovely new couple. :-)

I love you Si and I look forward to getting to know your new husband and stepson.  I will be praying for you as you begin this amazing journey and never forget I am always a phone call away.  Congrats Siera Ann Ahtila! (and Jeremy too!)

Just had to include this one for old time's sake....love you Si!

Puppies to the beach!

Last night we finally got it together and took the pups to the beach.  This something we have been wanting to do for a while, but it is slightly difficult since they are only allowed on the beach at certain times and we don't necessarily want to take them to the beach when we want to relax and swim, etc.  So last night we headed out to Isle of Palms at about 7, only to find out that the park closes at 7, oops.  Then we decided to head over a few minutes to Sullivan's Island.  We found a place to park and a doggie friendly beach.  By this time it was about 8 so it was a great temperature and getting closer to darkness (I love the beach at night!).

We headed down the beach for a nice walk to start out with and of course we made the pups walk in the surf.  Apollo was loving it, but Basil freaked out every time a wave came in so she was jerking my arm quite often.  As a result of the initial reactions we just had Basil hang out in the shallow surf area to get the hang of it, but Apollo went out with Ben to where the water was about halfway up to Ben's knees.  It was super cute because at that point Apollo had to "doggie paddle".  He didn't seem to mind it all that much, but every time Ben moved Apollo would follow him; he definitely wasn't taking any chances of being left out there.

After Apollo got done swimming for a few minutes we continued to take our walk down the beach.  Every once in a while Apollo decided to show us his best cockroach impression and rolled all around in the sand.  They both do that sometimes at home on the carpet sometimes after baths, but this was just hilarious to watch in the sand because he looked like a crazy dog.

A bit further down the beach we came to a calm pool of water that looked like it had been left behind at high tide.  This seemed to be the perfect opportunity to let Basil give swimming a try since there were no waves to freak her out.  So we took both pups out to where they couldn't quite stand and they were swimming around like pros.  They actually both seemed to like it at this point, but we didn't want to press our luck to we brought them back to the sand.

So after a nice walk we headed back to the car, both pups managed to poo on the beach (thankfully we had our bags like we were supposed to), and then we had a lovely ride home that stunk of wet dog.  Gotta love it! (not really)  They were a wet sandy mess and when we got home they definitely needed baths.  I am thinking we need to have a kiddie pool for their baths from now on because after seeing them in the water at the beach I think they would like baths a whole lot better that way. :-)

Our first trip to the beach was a success and we are definitely going to have to try it out again.  I love walking on the beach and bringing the pups along was an added treat.  Next time we are going to have to remember the camera so we can catch their cuteness in action!

Here is just a fun pic of them when they were little; pretty much only the size has changed :-)

Ryan and Valerie Reep!

This past weekend we had the opportunity to go up to PA and join in celebrating Ryan and Valerie's wedding.  It was about an 11hr drive so not exactly your ideal weekend trip but it was definitely worth it.  We drove up Friday as soon as Ben could get off from work and finally arrived at Amish Lanterns Motel at 12:45am.  Let's just say we were a little pooped and I don't think I have been up that late since I have been pregnant so it was a bit of an experience.  Our hotel was pretty cute, nothing fancy, but we were definitely out in the middle of nowhere in Amish country.  The dogs thoroughly enjoyed barking at EVERY horse and buggy that went by (and there were quite a few).

On Saturday we were thankfully able to sleep in some and then we went out to lunch with our good friend from college, Valerie (not the one getting married), who also happens to live in the Lancaster area where the wedding was.  It was really super nice to get a chance to see her and catch up a bit.  We hadn't seen her in over a year I think.  But hopefully we will have another good excuse to see her again soon. :-)

Saturday afternoon was wedding time.  It was a gorgeous wedding.  They put so much thought into every detail of the service and the reception.  It was awesome to see how they wove their faith throughout the day and demonstrated that they truly plan to make God the center of their marriage.  They had both dad's speak at the wedding, giving excellent godly advice.  Then at the reception, it was really neat because toward the end they had everyone get in a circle out on the dance floor and they passed the microphone around so that everyone could say what they wanted about the couple and offer congrats/well-wishes/advice.  It was super neat to see how many people they have already impacted as individuals and as a couple and to hear how God has worked through them to bless so many people.  And we are super excited because we are going to be incredibly blessed to have them down in SC with us for the first few years of their marriage.  We look forward to seeing how God continues to use such an amazing couple for his glory.  And I am looking forward to getting to know Valerie even better since she will finally be joining us in SC! So far most of what I know about her has simply been through Ryan and the very few times we have interacted.  Congrats to the new Reep family!  Here are a few pics from the celebration:

Beautiful Val and her daddy

Exchanging of vows

Attempted to get picture of the kiss, but then the bridal party started blowing party horns and this is the result.

Toward the end of the night, started to get pretty tired, but wanted a pic of us dressed up

Picture with the newlyweds, but unfortunately my eyes ended up closed, oh well!

One trimester down, two to go!

So yesterday was the first day of week 14, which means that the first trimester is over.  It’s crazy to think that our baby is one third of the way to being in our arms.  Supposedly our baby is beginning to be more active in the womb now, but thankfully I can feel any of it quite yet.  One nice thing is the nausea is definitely calmed down and it only shows up on occasion.  Unfortunately I can’t seem to knock this cough that I have had for about 4 weeks now.  The only thing I can figure is that it’s taking longer to go away than usual because I am pregnant.  Oh well, I manage alright and when I asked the doctor at my last appointment he just told me that sometimes coughs can take time to go away.

This weekend I have had a chance to spend the weekend in MI with my parents going around looking at baby and maternity stuff.  An amazing blessing is that a girl that my mom works with gave me all of her maternity clothes to borrow so at least this time around I will hardly have to buy anything.  She gave me two garbage bags worth of stuff which was basically everything she wore when pregnant.  It is so awesome to see how God provides because I was not looking forward to the financial burden of getting maternity clothes. 

Happy “future” Valentine’s Day!

So as most people guessed correctly on facebook, my Valentine’s Day present 2011 (or at least the most amazing one) is that we will be bringing a little bundle of joy into this world.  I am officially 11 weeks and 2 days along and due on February 12^th (hence the Valentine’s Day present).  That is as long as I am not like my mom and deliver 2 weeks late so the baby is born Feb 26^th or like my friend Diana and deliver 6 weeks early so the baby is born January 1^st.  So hopefully all will go as planned and we will have a healthy baby as an awesome Valentine’s Day present this coming year.

We are incredibly excited about this unborn child and feel completely blessed as we know it has come in God’s perfect timing.  Just a little background into that, we have been telling friends for a while now (since January 2009 to be exact) that we were not doing anything to keep from getting pregnant.  And if I had it my way, we would have been pregnant much sooner.  However, God had much better plans.   He wanted me to have the opportunity to grow through the waiting and trusting him with my desires.  And to be honest, I was hoping to be pregnant so I didn’t even have to start my Master’s degree in the first place.  But God had other ideas in mind.  We were blessed with a pregnancy earlier this year, only to experience miscarriage in early March which was heartbreaking, but it made God’s timing even clearer.  If that pregnancy had been successful, I would not have been able to complete my student teaching this fall and graduate in December. 

So even though I still struggle to see the purpose in getting a degree that I know I will most likely not use for several years, I know that God has a plan for it.  This baby will come in February, two months after I graduate, confirming His timing perfect.  I have been off from school and work all summer which has been a blessing since I have been exhausted and nauseous most of the time.  I will complete my Masters and graduate on December 18^th which will put me right around seven months pregnant at the time (meaning I won’t have to be rolling across the stage to get my diploma).  Then I will have almost 2 months (hopefully) to prepare for our precious bundle of joy to arrive in February.  It’s pretty amazing to see how God had worked and he has worked in so many smaller ways that I wouldn’t even want to begin to write here so as not to bore everyone to death.  But this pregnancy is not only a blessing in itself, but has been a huge blessing to see the process God has brought us through to get to this point.

Obviously we are not in the clear and anything could happen to change circumstances with the baby’s health, etc.  But we are trusting God that this baby will arrive healthy this coming February and that miscarriages and other obstacles into growing our family are behind us.  And we are looking forward to the wonderful opportunity of bringing a life into this world and showing them the love of Christ.

At this point baby and I are healthy.  As I said, I am just over 11 weeks pregnant and this past week we were blessed with the opportunity to see our first ultrasound and here our baby’s heartbeat.  It was such a wonderful moment to confirm that the baby was alive and well and that everything was on track so far.  Here are some pics from that day we would like to share with everyone:

Here's our first glimpse of our beautiful baby!

Then we got to hear the heartbeat (176 and strong) and it was so awesome!

Basically to sum it all up we are super excited and ask that you pray with us as we begin this next stage in our lives.  We know we have no idea what is up ahead, we just know that with God’s help we will be ready for whatever He has in store.

Happy July 4th!

Ben is finishing his time up in the math department at work and will be moving up to a new department.  And of course that means it's time for train-up again. So July 4th was the only day that Ben had completely off.  I spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and hanging out with the pups.  They had been sick all week, but thankfully this weekend they were finally both better.

My crazy cute puppy I got to hang out with, so glad he's feeling better. :-)

On the fourth we went to church and then hung out all afternoon at home.  Then we drove down to Patriots Point to claim our spot in front of the U.S.S. Yorktown.  We met up with our friends Ryan and Matt and his girlfriend Nikki.  We sat on our blanket, ate lots of yummies and played a bunch of rounds of Monopoly Deal while waiting for the fireworks to start.  Lots of fun!

I finally remembered I had my camera just before dark

Then the fireworks finally started a little after 9pm.  They shot all the fireworks off the U.S.S. Yorktown's flight deck and you could see them all going up over the harbor.  It was gorgeous!  I have never seen fireworks so big.  They did all the fireworks with music playing over the loud speaker.  It was definitely the best fireworks I have seen.  Once the fireworks ended, we waiting in the car for about an hour and ended up playing a round of Monopoly Deal while we were inching our way toward the exit of Patriots Point.  Good Times.

They shot all these crazy ones right off the deck, awesome!

This isn't even zooming in.  They were the biggest fireworks I had ever seen!

On Monday, Ben had to work all morning, but he came home for dinner.  Since we got all of our yummy organic meat, we decided to make a full blown breakfast meal for dinner.  We had pancakes, biscuits and sausage gravy, bacon, sausage, and eggs.  Yummy!

Too much food, but oh so good!