Happy Halloween!

This year we all went to Mom and Dad's house for Halloween and had pizza and spent some time chatting (and eating candy!). We didn't have many costumes to show off, just the Trick-or-Treat shirt I made, and Hayden the tiger! Nevertheless, we all had a great time.

We hope you had a good Halloween too! :)

Prayers

This was a week full of prayers for us. We attend church most weekends at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, and we go to a home group church meeting on Wednesday nights, so we tend to do a lot of praying anyway, but this week was especially full of prayers for us.

Answered prayers came in the form of a great doctor's appointment on Monday! We got to hear the heartbeat of the baby and the doctor said everything looks wonderful for both of us! We don't go back again until November 24th for the BIG ultrasound when we get to find out the sex of the baby. I can't wait!! So far the guesses have been split pretty evenly between boy and girl, but with 10+ boys and only one girl in our family so fart his generation, it might just be time for another girl! Only time will tell, I guess!

Here is me this week, at week 16. Thank you to my fantastic mother-in-law Eunice for the sweater in the second picture! It is a Christmas present, but Rob let me open it early as all my other sweaters are getting a little tight!

And here is where the punkin is:

16 weeks, an avocado!

Some other things we have been praying for this week aren't so fun to write about. We have a set of friends going through a separation and possibly trying to keep hold of their marriage. While the situation looks to be improving, it will be a long, tough road for their entire family.

Another long-time family friend is battling cancer, and still another has Alzheimer's and seems to be declining rapidly. We feel helpless in these situations and can only pray for strength and healing for everyone involved.

If you are any type of blogger at all, whether you write one of your own or just read them, you have most likely come across MckMama and her family at one time or another. Baby Stellan is in the hospital again and fighting to keep his heart working properly, and many people are praying for healing for him. She is far more eloquent than I will ever be, and she wrote a great post today about prayer on her blog. If you feel so inclined, check it out! I learned a lot. :)

Well, that's about all I have for tonight. Tomorrow is Halloween AND we get to turn the clocks back an hour for Daylight Savings time! I'm sure there will be pictures to share (of the costumes, not the time change... har har) and I'll make sure to post them here soon. Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Three Quick Takes

(I borrowed the "quick takes" idea from another blogger, but it works perfectly for me today!)

Take 1: 14 weeks! Yes, these are a little late, so 14 weeks 4 days to be exact. I feel like I'm less chubby and more baby this week, and YAY for that! Proof:
Less than 6 months to go now, and we'll be three. Time is starting to fly by already! We have a crib and a pack-n-play that we got at a second hand store here in town, and hopefully we'll be able to find a dresser and changing table there also. Most of their stuff is very nice!


This is the picture of the week for the punkin:

14 weeks, a lemon!

Take 2: Greenbluff! Rob and I ventured out to Greenbluff last weekend. For those of you that aren't here in Spokane, Greenbluff is an area north of us that is made up of 40+ local farms that grow everything from apples and pears, to squash and pumpkins. Fall is usually their busiest time of year as lots of people come to pick pumpkins and apples for Halloween. Rob had never been, and I hadn't been in years, so we decided it was time to go! We bundled up and headed out with some friends, and came home with three pumpkins and a box of apples! The pumpkins are on the porch, and today those apples will be made into apple butter, with any luck. :)

Take 3: Christmas! Yes, I said it. It's only 9 weeks away, people! *Gasp!* The stores are becoming overrun with snowmen and candy canes already, so I decided I'd get a jump on the gift list, too! Mom and I are busy planning and sewing this weekend, and with any luck I'll accomplish everything I set out to do this year. That would be something of a miracle, seeing as how I always have to change plans and end up doing the last minute shopping thing the week before Christmas... Hopefully if I start this early I'll get it all done!

Are any of you getting into Christmas mode yet? I know, I know, it's not even Halloween yet, but hey- the stores start it earlier every year, I might as well get a head start too, right?

Or am I just nuts? Wait, don't answer that.

One Down, Two to Go!

This week we made it to a big milestone, week 13 and the second trimester! Hooray!! I'm really starting to feel much better and am getting my energy back. The headaches are back in full force also! That part is not so great. My appetite is not so wacky and I seem to be able to handle regular smells without gagging, which is a real blessing! It was getting to the point that the garbage or the fridge would send me to the bathroom because I couldn't handle the smell! I'm VERY glad that's gone.

Here's a picture of me at 13 weeks! Yes, I look super-tired but it was late! Like 8:30! Bedtime has moved up at our house lately. :)

The picture of the punkin this week was a shrimp, and I thought it looked a little icky, so I didn't post it. A shrimp! Gross. I hope next week is better!

One of the things that I've been thinking about a lot this week is the Swine Flu vaccine, and the regular flu vaccine too. With all the sick people around these days the pressure has been on to Get Your Flu Shots! It's even been on the news and in commercials! Personally, I've never gotten a flu shot of any sort and I've never gotten the flu, so I don't put a lot of faith in the vaccines being all they're cracked up to be. I'm still working out how I feel about other vaccines for babies and kids, but that's a whole different post...

Anyway, there is a lot of info out there about what goes into these flu shots, and some of the ingredients (like mercury) are not recommended during pregnancy (not even in tuna) so I don't think getting it shot directly into my arm is a very smart thing to do. The new H1N1 shot is also just this month being tested on pregnant women, and no one really knows yet what the risks to unborn babies could be. They say it's only safe for infants over the age of 6 months, so I don't know why it would be safe for a baby in the womb.

All that to say this: no flu shots for me! Or Rob, for that matter. We're usually pretty healthy people, and between the vitamins I take each day and the fact that I work at home and not in a crowded office building, I think I'll take my chances and pass on the flu vaccines this year.

I would love to hear your opinions, as this is something I've given a lot of thought to. Let me know what you think!

On the Mend

Hello again! I am learning that I'm not the best at keeping this as updated as I would like, but between sore throats, coughs, headaches and upset tummies, we've been a bit busy around here! We're all starting to feel better now though, and no one (except my poor dad) got this round of the fall cold bug too terribly bad. Thank goodness for Vicks Shower Soothers! Those things are the greatest invention ever. They certainly helped us feel better fast!

Also, I should admit that we have a new addiction: Dexter! Best show on TV these days. We spent far more than enough time watching all three past seasons in order to catch up with season four that started last week. What can I say? :)

Overall I'm feeling much better these days. No more morning sickness at all really. I don't know how my sissy did it, she was sick for months! I'm just glad to be able to eat meat again, and not just stove-top stuffing and pickles! But that does sound good right about now...

Well, not much else to report but I do owe you a few weeks of tummy pictures! Here was last week, week 11:

And here's week 11 for the punkin!

11 weeks, a fig!

And yesterday marked 12 weeks! I'm very excited, at the end of this week they consider me officially in my second trimester. Time is really starting to fly by!


The punkin at 12 weeks!

12 weeks, a lime!

(Finally, a fruit I'm familiar with!)

As far as getting prepared goes, we're really not even hardly started. We have a few things for the baby so far, jammies and bibs that my mom got for us, a blanket or two, some books and a baby bathtub that a lady at our church home group picked up for us at a garage sale for 2 bucks! I'm all about good deals! I know we have a LONG way to go, more than 6 months! So I'm not to concerned about it yet. I do love to shop though, and what is more fun than shopping for babies! If you know of something, please tell me. :)

Anyway, my good friend Lesley is having a wedding shower this weekend for her upcoming November wedding and there's planning to do! I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy. See you soon (I hope)!

Esther