35 Week Appointment

I went to the doctor today to begin my weekly appointments. I had to start a week early with the appointments due to a car accident I was in 2 weeks ago. I started having contractions but with a shot we were able to stop them. Kylie and I are both fine but I had dilated a cm so the doctor wanted to start checking me more frequently. Today everything looked good. Kylie dropped last Thursday evening. It was so cool. Kyle and I were eating dinner and she was going crazy so I pulled my shirt up so we could see my belly. All of a sudden we could see her whole body just fall in my belly! I have kept pushing on the top of my belly to see if she really has dropped and there remains an empty spot on the top of belly. This has caused much relief to my ribs but much more pain in my hips but at least she is making progress. And the doctor confirmed her drop today! Anyway, her heartbeat is around 140. I had not dilated anymore which is good because she at least needs to bake for another week and a half. I cannot believe that we are getting so close. She moves constantly so I am always aware of her presence...not sure what this means as far as how she will be when she is outside of me. I am sure God is already laughing!

The Nursery is Finished

This weekend we finished the nursery! I am really excited about it. It turned out so well. I cannot wait until we can bring her home and put her in her crib.

Suggestions

Today I went to Hobby Lobby on my lunch hour. I have been wanting a shelf to put up in Kylie's room. However, the shelf needs to be painted. So my question is should I paint it white, black, or brown? Kylie's furniture is cherry wood colored(almost black), her curtains are white and I have a white lamp in her room. I originally was hoping to paint it white but I am just not sure since all of her furniture is cherry. I cannot wait to have her room finished! It has been fun to see it come together but a little stressful at times too. I just want it to look good when I am done. The funny thing is it will be the only finished room in the house...she is already taking over:)

A Heavy Heart and an Open Mind

These past few years God has been trying to teach me to slow down and prioritize. I am used to sprinting when I need to be in a marathon. I have always put to much on my plate and too much pressure on myself. After all we are supposed to be perfect right? So when Kyle and I got married things did not change. He was in grad school and I was working. There was never a shortage of things to do..house work, school work, go to work (I even worked 2 jobs for awhile), travel, go to social events, and the list goes on and on. Well, with all these things on my list it left very little time to just be..to just be with God and to just be with Kyle. I just could not say no. Well, then we moved. This helped a little but of course we "needed" to search for a house and we "needed" to go to as many Auburn games as possible. Then we got the house and then almost immediately found out we were expecting our first child. Of course with pregnancy came morning sickness and then there has been the nesting to prepare for our newest addition. So finally, God says enough to me. Enough running around and making your long lists that take away from me and away from your last few months as just a family of two. I am taking away your ability to run all over town and the country. It is time for you to rest in me. I will show you what is important and what needs to be done. And I will make it all happen. I have provided you with a help mate who truly does want to help you. Let him help you and you in turn focus on me and your marriage to him. Of course, I do not give in easily because I just cannot fathom watching my husband run around doing everything while I rest. I "need" to do chores right? Wrong! I am constantly being stripped of myself. I am being forced to realize that my success comes not when everything on the list is checked off but when I put God and my husband first. Everything I built up as priorities is crumbling at my feet. I am paying the ultimate cost by putting my list ahead of God and my husband. I realize that now is the time for me to learn this lesson. Now is the time for me to put God and family first. I always think I am putting my family first when I complete my list but their needs are not always met by my list. We all have a different love language. So if I don't submit and humble myself before God now I will raise my daughter up to follow in my footsteps. As much as I want her to see me as "superwoman" I want her to see that "superwoman" knows how to prioritize. Life can change quickly so "superwoman" must realize the true meaning of life and what is really important. This post is a little different than most (I hope it makes sense) but I just have such a heavy heart right now. One of my best friends, Sarah, lost her dad this past week to cancer. He was young and in great shape and it all just happened so quickly. It just makes me realize that tomorrow may be too late. I cannot keep putting off this change that the Lord wants to make in me. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

The Answer Is...

I went to the doctor this morning. She confirmed that I was having contractions (some people get them in their back and others get them in their stomach) but she was not worried since they went away on their own. She said I need plenty of fluids and rest. So all travel is now but on hold. Basically, I have just been doing too much and I need to slow down. The good news is Kylie is doing well and she is head down now. I am measuring right on target! 9 more weeks!

Help Please

Can anyone tell me what Braxton Hicks contractions feel like? I am pretty sure I had them all day yesterday. For awhile it was around every 15 minutes I felt sick and then I would get painful pressure in my lower back and hips. Gradually this feeling got further apart throughout the day. I am not sure if it is just the typical growing pains or if it is actually Braxton Hicks. Any opinions?

1 Year Ago

This post is a couple of days late. We were painting and working on the nursery this weekend so I did not have a chance to post on the official 1 year mark of our move to Huntsville. July 11, 2008 was my last day working at Auburn University and living in Auburn. It was a day of mixed emotions. I was so excited to start a new journey in Huntsville. I new we were following God's lead so the possibilities of what was yet to come was exciting. However, leaving my job, church, family and friends was hard to swallow. Here is how July 11th went: I started off my day at work for the last Camp War Eagle session. Once camp was over I finished up some last minute office work and then loaded my car. After that the ladies in my office took me to lunch a Ariccia in the Hotel and Conference Center. Once lunch was over I said my tearful goodbyes (and I do mean tearful...I left sobing...oh the last impression I made:))I then met my mom and headed straight to the chiropractor...apparently stress goes to my neck. Then it was on to pick up the UHaul and Auburn Furniture to get our table and chairs, bedroom set and recliner. From the furniture store we went to the apartment and to meet the boys my father-in-law sent to help us load up all of the boxes. Who knew we could fit so much stuff in one apartment. It was such a long and exhausting day! That night I spent the night at my parents house and on July 12, 2008 my parents and I headed up to meet Kyle in Huntsville with the UHaul. Kyle had already started his job in Huntsville so rather have him come back down we decided it was much better for him to meet us at the new apartment and get things going there while we were on the road. We arrived in Huntsville about lunch time on the 12th and began the daunting task of unloading a UHaul FULL of our belongs. It was so hot and humid that day. Luckily we got all the boxes into the apartment by midafternoon when the downpour came. There was so much to unload but that would take several days to accomplish. Over the next few days Kyle went to work and I took care of all the odds and ends around the apartment and then we headed off to Destin for a much needed vacation. It took awhile to get used to driving around town, finding a church, finding a routine (I feel like we did nothing for several months). But here we are now. God has provided for us and met every need. We both have jobs, we found a house and a church. We are starting to meet people in Sunday school. And of course we have been blessed with baby Kylie who will arrive in September. Nothing is as it was but everything is as it should be. We are still trusting God for guidance and direction but as with everything else he will and it will be in his timing. I know no one else will be interested in the ins and outs of our last year but I wanted to write it all down.