Baby H: Weeks 21-24

Pregnancy became a whole new level of fun during weeks 21-24. :) I realized I was settling into that "honeymoon stage" of pregnancy everyone talks about. I was feeling great, finally looking pregnant (and not just like I'd eaten a second cheeseburger for lunch), and the overall concept of growing our child was becoming more real to me as his movement increased.

Week 21 brought with it Baylor Homecoming. Luke wanted so badly to go with me, but he was in a wedding that weekend. I was torn because I wanted to attend the wedding with him, but I just couldn't give up my last Baylor Homecoming without kiddos. I really wanted that sweet time with my college friends. There is just nothing like going back to Waco for homecoming!

{Bonfire}

{So glad I got to see my little sister and fellow Baylor alum, Claire, at homecoming!}

{At the homecoming parade}

{Homecoming game}

{Barrett got a couple of goodies at homecoming this year. I can't wait to see my little bear in his Baylor baby gear!}

I walked a TON that weekend - all over campus, to the football game, etc. - and on Saturday night I was shocked to see slightly swollen ankles for the first time. I'm not going to lie, I was freaked out, ha! But my ankles returned to normal the next day, so I wasn't too concerned.

During week 22, Luke started a new job. He's still in a similar role, just with a new company. This new job couldn't have come at a more perfect time. He's really liking the people he works with, his travel schedule, etc. God's timing is always perfect y'all!

We also were blessed to attend the wedding of my cousin Bryan, and his wife, Haley. Bryan is the cousin I'm closest in age to, so he's been more of the brother I never had than a cousin. He and Haley love the Lord deeply and this was evident in their lovely Brenham wedding. Plus, it was so nice to spend some time with my dad's side of the family at this wedding since it'd been a while since we'd last seen them.

{At B&H's wedding}

{Love these sillies}

I had a nice, quick visit with my doctor at 22 weeks and she said everything was looking great! At the end of 22 weeks, I had gained approximately 8 pounds with this pregnancy. I'm not being super strict on weight gain; Barrett and my body are telling me what I need. But I definitely like keeping track because a health pregnancy is very important to me (and baby!). So far, so good!

Week 23 was a busy one! On the actual day I turned 23 weeks, Barrett decided to give his momma a gift and kicked me about 6 times so hard that I could actually see and feel the kicks on the outside of my stomach! I didn't think it would overwhelm me so much, but my heart was so full that afternoon. Luke was out of town for work that day, so I tried to take a video of it, but our stubborn little boy wasn't having it. I told Luke that he just wanted to share his first big kicks with mom. :) But towards the end of the week once Luke returned home, Barrett did eventually give dad a couple of good punches to the hand.

That weekend, we bought baby furniture and bedding for Barrett's room. We found a really great deal at Baby's 1st Furniture on a crib, dresser, and bookshelf set. It was recently delivered to the store's warehouse and we picked it up this past weekend. Pictures to come! This is the nursery bedding we went with. I've recently fallen in love with Pottery Barn Kids. I love their quality of bedding and their colors/styles aren't too loud and crazy (there is some interesting baby bedding out there!). And as much as I fought and still fight against having a true "theme" for Barrett's room, I do love the animals on this bedding. Luke and I both love our dogs like they are our children and Luke was a big animal lover as a child (and still is). We have no doubt that Barrett is going to love all animals like his dad and will love learning animal words and sounds.

Week 23 wrapped up with a trip to the Nutcracker Market with my mom and our first fire in the fireplace of our new house. It was a busy week, for sure!

{Christmas-ness at the Nutcracker Market}

{I bought the sign on the left for Barrett's room at the Nutcracker Market for like $15! It was my best find, by far}

{First fire in the new house}

Week 24 slowed down a bit and I was grateful for this. I'd been working on my company's 2015 customer conference and this was consuming my mind at work. Leaves were falling all over the place and I busted out the Christmas decorations just a little ahead of Thanksgiving (I can't ever wait 100% until after Thanksgiving!). From a pregnancy perspective, I had a big boost of energy that week. I think I worked out at 3-4 times and felt great!

{Puppies in leaves are the cutest}

{Walking the bump around our fall neighborhood}

Baby H: Weeks 17-20

I'm almost caught up! I'm determined to push through and get these last few updates written so that I can start blogging on a regular basis in real-time. I think I can, I think I can!

Week 17 was a big one for Luke and me because it was the week we found out the gender of our baby! Being a first-time mom, I actually didn't know that gender is normally determined during the anatomy sonogram somewhere between weeks 18 and 22. I just assumed that at my 17-week appointment, our baby should be developed enough for the doctor to tell me if it was a girl or boy. So when we got there with our long list of questions in hand (remember last time, when I wasn't prepared with questions? That wasn't happening again!), I asked if we could find out the gender. My doctor explained that I'd need to go to the actual hospital for my anatomy sonogram and I was SUPER bummed. I explained to her that Luke was about to have to leave town for work for a little while and that there was a good chance he'd miss this. So my doctor, being as awesome as she is, said that if we could wait for her to see her last two patients of the day, she'd come back with her sonogram machine and see if she could determine the gender. Of course we said yes! About an hour later, we had confirmation that I was 17 weeks pregnant with a sweet baby BOY!!! I've never seen Luke look more proud of anything in his entire life. He walked out of the doctor's office with the cheesiest grin and was holding up the sonogram pics for all to see, ha! We've felt like from day 1, our baby was going to be a boy, but it was a really cool feeling finally knowing that he was truly a he and that we could call him by name.

{Right before we found out that our baby is a boy!} 

Pregnancy side notes (more for me so that I remember): Week 17 was when I really started to feel our baby boy move. Yes, I'd felt movement prior, but these were definitive turns/kicks/punches. Also, week 17 was when I noticed my belly button looked different. Our boy was finally getting to the size where momma's organs were being shifted around and my belly button was starting to get pushed out a little (no outie yet, but it could happen!). And at my 17 week appointment, I still hadn't gained but a pound or two. My doctor actually asked me, "Are you eating? Feeling ok?" and Luke blurted out, "Umm, yeah she is!" Rude Lukey! Haha! This had me a little worried, but I totally shouldn't have been. Be careful what you wish for, because little did I know, that weight gain was coming. ;)

That weekend, we drove to Hallettsville for a quick gender reveal party with my family, who could not wait any longer to find out if Baby Hinton was a boy or girl. Since Luke and I already knew the gender, we wore white, but we asked everyone to wear either pink or blue based on what their guess was. Becca's boyfriend, Braden, did a great job of BBQing and my mom did a wonderful job of decorating for the party. After dinner, we passed out cupcakes with white icing and yellow baby shoes on them. On the count of three, everyone bit into their cupcakes, which revealed blue icing on the inside for our baby boy, Luke Barrett Hinton!

{Poor sisters, they were really pulling for a girl, ha!}

{Social media announcement}
 

Week 18 was fairly chill; not much to report here. I went for a couple of runs, but I remember that around this time my workouts started to slow down a little bit. I'd been running since before I was pregnant, so it wasn't hard to continue throughout the first trimester and into the second. But it was around weeks 18/19 that I really started to feel the baby as I ran (or rather, my bladder did). So I switched from mostly running to a little running, walking, and elliptical at the gym. We also bought Luke a new lawnmower and weed eater this week so that he could get to work on our new yard. Haveto make sure that those new dads are still feeling the love. ;)

{New toys for dad} 

{18 weeks}

Week 19 was the week I scheduled our anatomy sonogram. We were very blessed that Luke got to be there for this sonogram after all. I really didn't know what to expect here, but this experience was so much more than I'd even imagined! Our sonogram tech was so smart and kind. She answered all of my questions and was so patient with us (I had to pee twice during the appointment - I mean, come on - they made me drink 24-30 oz. of water before hand!). We got to see all of Barrett's body parts, including all four chambers of his heart and the way his brain was coming together. It's amazing how far medicine has come. By the end of his photoshoot, he was covering up his face with his hands (no more pics mom!), but we did get a good profile pic of him right at the end. If you ask me, he has daddy's nose. :)

{Our (almost) family of three}

{Luke Barrett Hinton...we're in love!}

That weekend, an overwhelming desire to be super productive came over me. You see, when Luke and I bought this house, we had enough furniture to fill an apartment (a.k.a. not enough to fill a house). I have to constantly remind myself that filling and decorating a house takes time and love. This isn't going to happen overnight, nor do I want it to. I really want to buy furniture and decor that I love and want to have for a while. But for some reason, that weekend (and my preggo hormones) brought a strong desire to get the ball rolling. 

So, I decided to wake Luke up early on Saturday and make him go to Buy Buy Baby to begin a registry with me. Y'all, I can't even begin to start typing this paragraph without laughing. This trip was a MESS! I guess there are couples out there that can do this type of thing together, but Luke and I are not one of those couples. Luke had no desire to compare baby bottles and bassinets, but my emotional, pregnant self had this glorified idea of this perfect day of baby registering with my cute husband. Let's just say our trip to Buy Buy Baby ended with me overwhelmed and crying in the baby furniture section on the phone with my mother (goodness gracious!). My poor, sweet husband. I'm still apologizing for that trip!

Sunday was better. We made a quick trip to Lowe's to buy paint for Barrett's room and Luke got to work painting over the pink that was there from the previous owners. We decided on a shade of navy (Luke's choice) and it turned out SO good! A light tan/taupe color was already on the top half of the walls and we decided to leave it. I'm really loving the two-tone look here. 

{Bye pink!}

 

{Barrett's room}

 

20 weeks sort of snuck up on me! It was so weird to think that we were half way through this pregnancy already. It was around this time that I started noticing a difference on the scale. And in conjunction with this, I got a terrible back ache/spasm for about 3-4 days. I thought it was sciatic nerve pain, but it was in the upper left part of my back by my shoulder blade, so I'm not sure what the reason for this pain was. One morning, I actually had to have Luke lift me out of bed because I couldn't lift myself. It was the craziest thing!

That weekend, my mom drove up to Houston to help me with round 2 of baby registering (no husbands allowed!). There were no tears this go-around and I felt pretty good about the start of Barrett's registries. P.S. Umm, why are there so many options/brands/colors of baby stuff?? I'd seriously be happy with one or two options of everything, not 25-30!! I also bought a Snoogle that weekend. If you're pregnant and you haven't bought a pregnancy pillow, listen to all of the pregnant mommas out there and GO BUY ONE! I've slept with mine every night since I bought it and these pillows are seriously life changing!

{Jolly is the best! And it's her birthday today. Happy birthday mom!!}

Baby H: Weeks 5-8

Ok, it's catch up time! I've decided to recap the first half of my pregnancy (can you believe we're almost half way there??) in increments of 4 weeks. Without further ado, here's weeks 5-8.

Finding out we were pregnant was overwhelming. We both felt very early on that this pregnancy should stay our little secret until we could better wrap our heads around the next steps. The day after we found out, I scheduled an appointment with an Obgyn in Houston who was recommended to me by a close friend. I was originally going to see the doctor around 7 weeks, but I ended up having to push this first appointment to 9 weeks for one reason or another. That story will make it into my next post. :)

House hunting. Luke and I called our realtor immediately after finding out about Baby H and let her know that we were very serious about finding a house sooner than later (we'd done a little looking here and there, but nothing too intense). That weekend, we saw about 10 or so houses. We actually found one that we really liked and made an offer. But within the next day or two, Luke was called out on a 3-week stint for work south of San Antonio and I was left in Houston to finish house negotiations and get the ball rolling on paperwork. We settled on a number and were in the last couple days of our option period when an unsettled feeling came over me and I called Luke to tell him that I wasn't 100% sure this was our house. Luke has always been so great about reading me; he can call my bluff in an instant. This time, he could tell I was truly unsettled about this decision. With his blessing, we backed out of our offer. And looking back now - I'm so glad we did! We'd settled on a price close to 20k over what the house should have been selling for (we learned later). Love when the Holy Spirit leads us!

We were back to square one and, unfortunately, my husband was still out of town for work. So about a week and a half later, my mom and baby sister drove up to Houston for round #2 of house hunting with me. At this point, I was about 6-7 weeks pregnant and whoa - was I starting to feel it! I would lay down in the back seat of my mom's, car nauseous and gagging (and trying to hide it!), while she drove house to house. If you read this post, then you know we did end up finding a second house that I loved even more than the first (all while Luke was gone - he hadn't even seen it at this point!), made an offer, were turned down, and then received a call about 10 days later saying that the buyers backed out and asking if we wanted back in. Talk about an emotional roller coaster ride! At 8 weeks preggers, my husband still wasn't back in Houston, I'd fallen in love with and had my heart broken over house #2, and was then was put into a position to make a quick, very serious house-buying decision while in the early stages of pregnancy hormone overload. Thank goodness, Luke came back to Houston before our option period on house #2 was up and got to walk through the house. *Proud wife moment because he loved the house I found!* We now had a home picked out for Baby H and this time, we were 100% ready to commit.

{House #2 - we love it so!}

Letting the cat out of the bag. When my mom and little sister drove up to Houston to help me house hunt, they stayed at my aunt's house where Luke and I were also living temporarily. Being the nauseous, tired, emotional wreck that I was, I went to lay down in my bed after we'd wrapped up house hunting. My mom came in the room to check on me and I was crying. She asked me what was wrong and I told her I was just really stressed. But obviously, that wasn't all the info. At 7 weeks pregnant, I was missing Luke and stressing out so much about finding our sweet baby a house that I couldn't hold it in anymore. I whispered, "There's more. I'm pregnant." And then the tears really started to flow! It was the first time that I'd been able to say out loud to someone other than Luke the scariest fact I'd ever faced. My mom hugged me, teared up, and laughed. "Sara, this is amazing. You're going to be just fine! You're not too young or haven't gotten your life figured out yet. This is the next step and you and Luke have got this!" It was so good to tell my mom and poor thing - I swore her to secrecy. I know it sounds silly, but we had our reasons and we really needed her to keep our secret just a couple weeks longer. Once Luke was home from being gone for work, we were able to tell my dad, sisters, Luke's parents, and close friends (side note: although he acted surprised, I'm pretty sure a little birdy told my father before we did...ahhemm mom).

{Mom made me chicken parm the night I told her about Baby H. Mmmm comfort food!}

{Also - random fact - I drank a lot of smoothies at the beginning of this pregnancy}

Telling work. I had no clue how to tell my boss that I was pregnant. I had just started my new job and was so scared that he'd be upset. Ironically enough, work actually found out I was pregnant right after my mom did. It just so happened that I was having a conversation with my boss where telling him fit right in, so I went for it. Of course, I teared up (seeing a theme here people?) and before I knew it, I was apologizing. "I'm pregnant and I'm so, so sorry. It wasn't planned - really. I really hope you aren't mad." His response? "Sara - CONGRATS! This is amazing news!! Seriously, did you think I'd hired a 27-year-old married woman with no kids thinking that something like this couldn't happen? Of course I knew it could and I'm thrilled for you and Luke!" #mindblown

I couldn't believe how wonderful his response was! And over the next few weeks as different people on my team found out, their responses were as equally wonderful. I could have waited at least another 5 weeks or so before telling them, but I'm so glad I told everyone as early as I did. We talk each week about how big the baby is getting. My co-workers ask to see sonogram pictures and take me to lunch on a regular basis (whatever "the baby" wants). I couldn't have asked for a better work family to support Luke and I in this next chapter of our lives!

{Somewhere in between all of the house stress and baby secrets, I managed to get my new office decorated}

Working out and weight gain. I continued my normal workout routine during weeks 5-8 (running or run/walking 2-3 miles, 2-3x/week) and although I didn't lose any weight, I didn't gain either. I've known many people with terrible morning sickness and I absolutely count myself as one of the lucky ones. By week 9, my nausea and gagging was subsiding and would only got better as I progressed. I also craved a lot of veggies these first few weeks as well as sour chewy candy (although I tried to refrain as much as I could!).

{I decided not to take pics every single week, but here's the very first one taken just before the 5 week mark}

{Working out about 6 weeks preggers}

{No real bump yet at 7 weeks)

{Skyping with the guy while he was away. No words can describe how much I miss my husband while he's gone!}

Up next - weeks 9 through 12. :)

How We Found Out I Was Pregnant

I've done a terrible job of documenting this first pregnancy so far (sorry Baby H #1!), but I've promised myself that I'll catch up. So let's begin with the story of how I found out I was pregnant...

I found out I was pregnant on July 3rd. I had started my new job about two weeks prior and Luke and I had just temporarily moved into my aunt and uncle's house in Katy while house hunting. I woke up that morning planning to stop by CVS to pick up some drano for the kitchen sink at our office because it was draining slow and realized on my way over that I was about three days late. "Guess I'll pick up a pregnancy test while I'm at it," I thought to myself and I giggled out loud. Not because I truly thought I could be pregnant; I actually thought the exact opposite. Luke and I were about to reach our 3rd anniversary and over the last three years, I'd taken a handful of pregnancy tests. We'd never been "trying," but I'd definitely had those "OMG, could I be pregnant??" moments. And each time, as sure as the grass is green, Aunt Flow showed up either right below or right after I had bought/taken a pregnancy test. I knew this time would be no different.

I strolled into work that morning, handed to drano to the boys so that they could snake the sink, and I sat down at my desk. About 30 minutes into my day I thought, "Eh, now's as good a time as any." I stuck the test into my pocket and headed towards the restroom. I took the test, sat it on top of the toilet paper dispenser, and just hung out. After about three minutes, I picked up the test, knowing that it would say, "Not Pregnant." Was I in for the biggest shock of my life! "PREGNANT." As clear as day. My blood turned cold and I felt like I was going to faint (super sweet, right?). What the whaaatt?! No. Way. I had just started a new job. We had just moved to Houston and into a very temporary living situation. We hadn't found a house yet. How the heck was I going to tell Luke about this?? That was the slowest walk back to my desk. I'm pretty sure I was shaking; I couldn't feel my legs. I'd smile this sly little smile to myself and then panic all over again. Don't get me wrong - deep down, I was excited. But God's timing and our timing were off by a few months. Luke and I had had many discussions about starting a family sooner rather than later, but Miss Type A had a few more ducks she needed to get in a row before something this life changing happened and instead, she had just discovered a little ducky swimming around in her womb. About an hour later, I took a second test (yay for two-packs). Same response. The rest of the day was a blur.

At lunch, I decided that this was my chance to figure out how I was going to tell Luke. I wanted it to be special, but I was freaking out and I knew he would too. Telling him I was pregnant wasn't going to be hugging and kissing and tears (sorry to all you romantics out there, ha!). So, I got in the car and began to drive. At this point in time, I was still very new to the northeast part of Houson, but I knew of a fairly big shopping area. I found a Carter's and walked in. "What could I buy him to tell him the news?" I thought. I looked all over the store and settled on a little girl onesie and a little boy onesie.

Lucky for me, I got to leave work early that Thursday and we had Friday off for 4th of July, so my work day was fairly short. That night, Luke and I were going to meet a friend at church for a young adult worship service, but a traffic accident had I-10 shut down and we ended up having dinner at Rainforest Cafe instead. I thought about telling Luke at dinner, but I hadn't brought my present for him and a public setting wasn't a great idea. I waited until we got home and settled into bed. We were going to watch a movie, but before we started, I whispered to Luke that I had something to tell him and that I was scared. That worried him and he demanded that I tell him what was wrong. I reached into a box where I was storing his gift, grabbed the onesies with positive pregnancy tests wrapped up inside, and handed them to him. "What's this?" he asked. But it didn't take long for him to understand. He was shocked. I teared up. After a few minutes of "What? OMG? How? (well duh) We aren't ready yet! What do we do now??", we just laid there in bed cuddled up to one another taking it all in. Of course, we'd be ok. We knew that. And we knew that God was already writing His story for this child's life. But we were still overwhelmed. Luke laid the onesies on his chest. We prayed and fell into anxious sleep.

{Ahhhhhh!!!!!}

Isn't that a sort of a terrible story? Ha! Someday, we're going to have to convince our oldest child that we did, in fact, want and love him/her. We laugh at our initial reaction now. Of course, it took all of about two weeks for us to start thinking of baby names and planning where our kid would go to college. It's so amazing the way parental instinct kicks in almost instantly. Luke began making me power smoothies each morning so that Baby H was getting all the best nutrients and I was being extra particular about my caffeine intake and workouts. For many reasons, we decided to keep this little secret between the two of us for a few weeks before telling family and I'm so glad we did. It was a special few weeks of leaning solely on each other and God and praying over this new creation.

And now? Are you kidding...we are THRILLED! Luke keeps saying, "I can't wait until you're THIS BIG!" and he makes a round shape around his stomach with his arms. I roll my eyes at him. Not sure I want to get that big, babe. ;)  We had our most recent doctor appointment today and everything looks great. We are proud parents, no doubt! Guess you could say we got over our initial shock fairly quickly and fell head over heals for our little nugget even faster.

{17wks 1day}

I'm Back! + 6 Month Recap

Hello blogosphere! It's been 6 whole months since I last posted to this dusty ol' blog - wowzer. Some days I can't believe I've stayed away this long and then other days, I can. So much life has happened in the last six months and really, that's been my biggest reason for staying away. Instead of writing about all that's been going on in our lives, we've been working through it. But don't hear me wrong - we're good! Ultimately, the last six months has been a time of God growing Luke and me. In our relationships with Him, in our marriage, and in our faith. It's good stuff, y'all. 

Let's start back in March, shall we?

March/April. March was great. I turned 27 on the 26th and I was nearing the end of my second tax season working in marketing for a tax prep company. Early April brought a new job for Luke - which was a huge blessing in disguise - because about a week after the tax season ended, my company was restructured and our entire team was cut (plus many others). I can't say that I didn't expect this at all. Hindsight is always 20/20 and looking back, the writing was on the wall. But the best part was that I had complete peace about it. I was confident in God's greater plan and immediately jumped into job hunting.

May. In May, my family took a week-long beach vacation to Port Aransas and the timing couldn't have been better. I was still job hunting and could relax 100% on vacation knowing that work wasn't going to be calling me. At the end of the week, Becca and I ran in the 2014 Beach To Bay Relay Marathon in Corpus Christi. We ran each others' legs too, so we put in right at 9 miles each. It was a great way to end our vacation!

 {Our little family}

{Becca and I after Beach To Bay}

At the same time, Luke and I had found a house in Corpus Christi that we wanted to rent and put a deposit down. I was a few rounds into a job interview that I was confident would end in a job offer and Luke's new job was going well. We got approved for the house, packed up a trailer full of furniture and boxes we'd had in storage in Hallettsville (where my parents live), pulled out of the driveway to head towards Corpus Christi with our things, looked at each other, and both said..."No." It hit us immediately. This wasn't the plan; it didn't feel right. God wasn't calling us to Corpus. I called and backed out of the interview process and we lost our $800 deposit on the house (ouch). But it was the right decision. And in the next few days, we drove to Houston to visit my friend, Sarah, who had just had a baby, and it was on that trip we felt God moving us to Houston. 

June. In less than a month, I had a job offer in Houston, TX. When God speaks, He speaks! We were and are still very blessed that Luke's job has him traveling around (mostly) South Texas, so his home base can be anywhere he is accessible to work. On June 19th, I started my new job as the business development manager for a software company in Houston that works mainly with the major players in the refining/chemical space. It was a career move I never expected to make, but I can't even begin to tell you guys what a blessing this job has been for me and Luke. The work culture, my colleagues, the way every day on the job looks a little different...God hand-picked this job for me and I'm humbled every day that this is the direction He's taking my career!

July. Now, here's the fun part. On July 3rd, Luke and I found out that not only were we in a new city with new jobs, but a new creation was also being formed in my belly. I was just over 4 weeks pregnant! Shocked is probably the best way to describe our reactions. We knew that a baby was in the nearer future, but we weren't expecting for this to happen quite as soon as it did. It took a couple of wide-eyed weeks, but we eventually settled into the idea of becoming parents. And where were we living, you ask? Ahhh, yes. The answer would be with my aunt and uncle temporarily while house hunting. Again, signs that this little peanut wasn't 100% planned, ha! Our casual house hunting turned into house hunting in OVERDRIVE. New city, new jobs, new baby...let's just add a new house on top of it!

{Photo by Journey Tree Studio}

August. You know how when people buy new houses, they post these super cute pictures to social media of themselves signing papers or standing in front of said house? It always looks soooo easy. Umm, NO! That wasn't the case for us at all. I'll spare you the details, but after having a contract on one house, backing out, competing for a second house, being outbid by other buyers, and then being asked if we still wanted the second house because the other buyers backed out, I literally had a panic attack. Seriously. Hysterically crying, driving down Beltway 8, approximately 9 weeks pregnant or so. Can anyone say hormones?? Beyond that, we had loan changes, special conditions, etc. that about put this first-time preggo chick over the edge. We closed on our house on September 9th and to say it was a glorious day would be the understatement of the century. Can't believe we survived!

{Casa de Hinton}

And now it's September. I'm just over 15 weeks pregnant and we're homeowners. Moving commences next Thursday and we couldn't be more excited! After all that's been going on these last few months, I couldn't help but start to feel like I was missing the chance to document this next chapter of our lives: baby, living in the burbs, and being grown-ups (is that what we are??). So, I'm back! I can't wait to give you guys more detailed updates on this little barnacle that's attached himself/herself to my stomach and to keep you posted on moving/house decorating! 

{Forgive my weird face; it's serious business taking selfies of baby bumps}

The last six months have had their share of ups and downs, but Luke and I cling to the fact that our God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. For every disappointment we've felt, there has been a greater, ever better solution that we didn't see coming. God has opened all of the right doors and closed the wrong ones. It hasn't always been easy, but we've felt His peace. This is the song that was playing on KSBJ as we were driving home from closing on the house and I was rubbing my tummy. We are overwhelmed, grateful, and blessed.