Cake Smashing

Ok, so the Wedding Cake Question was posted by a friend recently and I thought I'd post a picture of our cake smashing in response. If you know us, you wouldn't expect anything else.

Another Weekend Away

Matt and I went to Saginaw, Michigan this weekend for "my best friend's" wedding. Hannah and I grew up together and were best friends in elementary school. She got married yesterday. It was a beautiful wedding - with all the colors of fall. Very her. We spent the night with my cousin Angie and her family. What fun! Her 2 1/2 year old son Ty is adorable. And they are expecting a new baby in February. It was a lot of fun, but exhausting. So, I'm home today - recovering. Recovering = catching up on laundry, cleaning and groceries. Happy Sunday!

A Weekend Away

What a weekend! Matt and I traveled to Canton, Michigan to visit Ikea on Saturday. We got LOTS of stuff for the baby's room - which is really coming together nicely. We just need the crib and we're all set!




After Ikea, we went to the Melting Pot for dinner and then stayed the night at a hotel. On Sunday, we slept in, ate a late breakfast and then went to the Twelve Oaks Mall to shop. It was a lot of fun! On our way home, we stopped at the Tanger Outlets and did some more shopping - then headed back to reality. Though it was only a 24-hour period - it felt like a week's vacation away! It was just what we needed during a busy, stressful fall.

I PASSED THE TEST!

I just got a call from my doctor telling me that I passed my glucose tolerance test! Then, she told me to do what no other doctor has ever done before - "Go eat some ice cream." YIPPEE!! I'm so excited. Thank you all for praying. It's such a relief to know that I don't have gestational diabetes.

Our First Gift

We received a special surprise tonight on our doorstep. Our first baby registry gift! Thanks to Brent & Brianna - we now have our Graco Baby Monitor. (I couldn't figure out how to flip this picture, but you get the gist.) Thanks Leggs!

At the Hospital

What a pleasant surprise. They have wireless internet access at the hospital! So, I'm here - about halfway through my testing - and actually able to accomplish some work in the meantime. I've already been fasting for 14 hours - difficult when you're used to eating for two. I've also already been poked twice. YOUCH! As easily as I bruise, I'll probably look like a heroine addict before this is all finished. But, despite all of this, I'm in a remarkably great mood. I've designed two power point presentations and plan to work on a prayer card for my husband next. It's helping to pass the time quite nicely. And, since I have my MAC with me, you can actually see me in the waiting room. What a joy! I should have test results tomorrow, so I'll update soon. Keep praying!

Bad News

So, I went to the doctor today for my "normal" check-up and glucose screening test. Well, I passed the normal check-up, but miserably FAILED my glucose screening test. What does this mean? I'm not exactly sure, other than there is a high possibility that I have gestational diabetes. I'm not completely shocked, because my mom had this condition with all three of her pregnancies. But, I must say I'm a little worried. I don't know much about G.D. but plan to research it before my test on Tuesday.

PLEASE PRAY! I would love to have my test done on Tuesday and have the doctor tell me I do not have G.D. What a blessing that would be! But, if that's not the case, pray that God gives me the strength to deal with all the complications of this condition, including diet, insulin shots, monitoring and of course, labor and delivery.

Also, if any of you have had this condition or know someone that has, I would love some positive feedback. I'm hoping its more common than I think and not as difficult to deal with.

New MacBook Pro

Yeah! I got my new MacBook Pro today for work. It's an awesome machine that will allow me to do quality work from home. Plus, its got really cool features. And now I can take pictures of my prego belly without Matt. What else can we invent that negates the need for husbands!? Haha! That was a joke.

We're Still Here

Ok, so I just realized I haven't blogged in a while. I'm home today taking some time off to relax from a busy couple of weeks at work. Its amazing how hard it is to relax at home. I sit on the couch and stare at the "work" that I could be doing - cleaning, bills, laundry. So far, I've only done one load of laundry and no cleaning. It's been quite relaxing.

The baby is growing and so am I. We are 25 weeks and counting. We're ready for our baby girl to join us in the world!

Another New Baby

Yeah! Our friends Eric & Katie finally had their little baby girl - Evie Sophia Nuelsen! Katie has been waiting somewhat patiently for little Evie to arrive. We're so happy for them and can't wait for our little one to join the world as well! Congrats Neulsen Family!

Insomnia

It's 3:19am and I am awake. Not just awake, but sleepy - oh no - I'm 100%, ready to go to work, awake. I tossed and turned in bed for a while, then decided that was ridiculous. So, here I am, surfing the web and blogging at 3am. Hopefully this will make me tired. We'll see.

More Belly & New Chair

Ok, its been an extremely busy couple of weeks and it seems my belly is growing ever so quickly. Because our schedules have been so hectic, this is my lame attempt at taking some "belly" pictures on my own.

The "Covered" Belly

Happy Mama

The "Bare" BellyThe new chair we got for only $10 at a yard sale!

Home Today

Well, I'm on self-enforced, mandatory rest today. Sound selfish? Maybe, but I was up most of the night with back and abdomenal pain. After about 3-hours of sleep, I thought it would be best to take some time to rest today. And to be honest, it's quite hard to do.

As a sidenote, I received some "congratulatory" flowers for a recent promotion and our expecting a baby girl. Enjoy these pictures - they certainly have brightened a few of my days lately.

19 Pair

I was blessed with an enormous amount of baby stuff today. A friend of mine gave me a beautiful Graco pack 'n play that has a bassinet attachment (in pink of course!), tons of baby girl clothes (17 pants to be exact)...

and the greatest gift of all - 19 pairs of shoes in all styles, colors and sizes. If you know me, you'll understand why this was so exciting. I'm a shoe-lover (my nickname growing up was Imelda Marcos - who at one time owned over 3,000 pair of shoes). Matt was a little scared to see that our little girl will be starting off with more shoes than he's owned in his life. Writing on the wall?

It was such an unexpected gift and I'm so grateful for each item she passed along. I'm just amazed at how generous people are when you're expecting a child. To think, Matt and I were worried that we would have to spend money on things for the baby. So far, we've had to invest practically nothing. Praise God - He provides perfect for us!

Online Registries

I love the internet! Being a first time mom is very exciting. But, there's something extremely intimidating about registering for an event that you've never experienced before. I have no idea what I'm going to need for this baby. Nonetheless, I set-up two online registries that I can manage from home. This is wonderful because the thing I was dreading the most was standing in the aisle at Target, staring at baby items and having no idea what to scan. I can now do research online and add items to my registries without ever having to leave the comfort of my home. I love it! I've saved both registries on my sidebar. Feel free to browse and get ideas for your own children. Much of what I've registered for has been as a result of advice from other experienced mothers. So, I take credit for none of it. Also, nothing is on the Amazon registry at this point. We're hoping to research strollers and carseats and then register for them on Amazon. We'll see what we can find.

**GREAT BUY - Just thought I'd share with you that I found a Boppy nursing pillow at a thrift store this weekend (in excellent condition) for only $2.50! You can't beat that.

Update on Matt's Dad

Thank you all for praying! Here is an update on Matt's dad...

The Real Story: We found out that he did in fact have a massive heart attack last Thursday night. He had been playing basketball with the kids at a local park and before they left, decided to play "tag." He started to feel chest pains on his way home from the park. Running around like that must have put him over the edge. He got home and went straight to lay on the couch. Jamal was playing next door at the neighbor's house and wanted to go inside. The neighbor lady told him that she wanted to go to his house to ask his parents if that was ok. When she arrived at the house, she saw Jim laying on the couch, clutching his chest. She is an EMT and knew immediately that Matt's dad was having a heart attack. She called 911, which ultimately saved his life.

An Update: We found out this weekend that Jim had 100% blockage in the main artery to his heart and a branch of that artery was also block 90%. The type of heart attack he suffered is nicknamed the "widowmaker" by those in the medical field. This tells you how serious the situation was. He was immediately given a stent in the main artery and doctors performed an angioplasty on the branch that was blocked. Overall, his dad is feeling much better, but has to remain in the hospital for further observation and testing. Tests performed yesterday revealed that his heart is beating on its own, but not as strong as doctors had hoped. They have referred him to specialist to talk about ways they can rebuild the heart muscle and improve his diet/exercise over time.

Thank You for your prayers and encouragement during this time. It's difficult to be six hours away when tragedies like this occur. But, we know that our families reside in the Lord's hands, which is the safest place they can be.

Prayer

Please be in prayer for Matt's dad, Jim Neal. We don't have all of the details yet, but he was admitted to the hospital last night with severe chest pains. We do know that he was in the beginning stages of a heart attack. They found one artery that was 100% blocked and performed an angioplasty immediately. We're waiting on an update this morning. Matt's dad is a Senior Pastor of a small church in Northern Kentucky. Please pray that God would draw up many people around him and Matt's mom, Lora, during this time.

Getting Bigger

I must say I've really started to pack on the pounds. Not a very fun thing - but its all for a good cause. Or at least that's the politically correct thing to say, right? I mean, who's really happy about gaining weight for their baby? Ha! Not me.

On another note, the baby has decided that she wants to stretch and dig her way out of my stomach, though she's not even close to being "fully-cooked." There are times when I think she has a circus of friends in there. Because, how can she be kicking me in my ribs and fluttering her legs in my pelvic bone, all at once? It's crazy!

Busy

I'm horrible about updating this blog. Its been over a week and I haven't put anything new on here. Maybe its because nothing new is going on. I'm still in my second trimester, so things are going pretty smoothly - I like to call it the mountain in between two valleys. I know that second valley is coming, I just don't like to think about it. Matt is trudging along with school. His second year has proved to be MUCH easier, which is a blessing. I really thought I was going to have to say "goodbye" to my husband again as the school year came near, but we've been able to spend ample amount of time together. It's been a nice surprise.

We recently changed around the nursery and office so I'll post pictures soon. And of course, I'll be posting new pictures of the ever growing belly.

Visit to Tennessee & First Day of School

Matt and I just returned from a much needed weekend away in Tennessee. Our very close friends from college, Aaron & Emily, live in Knoxville. Aaron works at a mental health hospital there and Emily attends University of Tennessee. They have a 7-month old baby boy named Miles - the most adorable baby I have seen in a while - no offense all of you with babies! :) They have a wonderful life in TN - I'm just not sure how they do it! Emily is not only involved in the graduate program, but she also teaches at the undergraduate level. Aaron worked 2nd shift, but has been working double shifts off and on to earn extra cash. They are the most laid back couple we know and its always so relaxing to go for a visit.

We also got to see Matt's family while traveling. We had a 3-hour layover on the way down to TN and back in Cincinnati. Since Matt's parents live just a few miles from the airport, it was just enough time for us to meet up for lunch on Friday and dinner on Monday. We really enjoyed our time with them!

Matt started back to school today. This is going to be a much better year than last year. Keep praying for God to use him in the lives of our teenagers.