38 week appt

not much to report. i went to the doctor this morning - i am dilated to 1/2 cm so i guess that's better than nothing, right? things are just moving along. he said she probably weighs 7.5 - 8 pounds by now. if we are interested in moving the induction date up, we can, so we'll see. zack has finals tonight and wednesday so after that we will feel really good about having her soon. everything else is good and normal. we will just keep waiting!

the end is so slooooow!

nobody told me that the end of a pregnancy is the slowest time of all. i know it is all mental (well, it is physically straining too) but i don't know what it is about thinking i would not make it to 40 weeks. i guess most of my friends and people i have talked to said they had their babies early so i have just had that mentality for so long. i think because of that she is going to stay inside for much longer! my actual due date is two weeks from today (march 9th). even though this whole process is long, two weeks seems like a REALLY long ways away! i don't want to rush anything and i want to enjoy these last days (weeks) of just being married with no kids but man - it is dragging! i think i only have 3 shirts left that cover my belly. and people stare at me a lot. i was at lunch with a friend today and the girl taking our order asked when i was due. i told her two weeks and she said, oh, you must be having twins! that was awesome. i think that's kind of like asking someone if they are pregnant when you are not sure. just don't ever do it!

i go back to the doctor on monday so i'll post an update after my appointment....

the bedding

okay - i think the nursery is about ready. my mom and aunt brought the bedding up this weekend and we just LOVE it!!! i have never seen anything like it...they really outdid themselves! zack and i picked several different patterns of fabric a few months ago and just told my mom to use her judgement - she did and it is SO great! we will not use the sheet that is on the bed in these pics...we got a solid green and a solid pink. but i need zack to help me put them on. it was pretty funny watching me try to put a pillow case on a pillow last night. i am not going to attempt this. my big belly really does get in the way sometimes!

i also had a doc. appt. this morning. i was 37 weeks on friday. i am not dilated but my cervix is thinning. everything else is good/normal. we will just keep waiting. my due date is 3/9 but if she is not here by the 15th he will induce. hopefully we will not have to wait that long...

evolution of baby

we had our 36 week appointment today, which included a sonogram and check of the cervix. the sonogram was totally different from the last one (at 20 weeks) because we could only see one thing on the screen at a time, instead of her whole body! we saw a great shot of her face - it was really neat. and she has hair! we also saw her sucking on her hand. then when she moved it, we could see her lips moving and even saw her lick her lips! it was really neat!

so the big news is that she is a really BIG baby! she almost weighs 7 pounds already! she is supposed to keep gaining 1/2 a pound per week so if i do go full term (40 weeks) she would be huge! i am not dilated at all and everything looks on track besides how big she is! she is moving around constantly and has lowered into position. i am feeling a lot of pressure lower now that she has moved so we'll see how much longer she wants to cook!

here are all the sonograms we have had from the beginning. if you put your cursor over a picture it will show you the caption.

it's coming together....

sweet set up

so my feet have been swollen for about 3 days straight now and i wanted to check my blood pressure to make sure everything was normal since my doc appt is not until monday. the owner of my company took my blood pressure (which is normal!) and then had this recliner brought to my office so i could work with my feet elevated all day! it was actually really comfy and my feet look better than they have in 3 days! i told everyone if my door was shut after lunch to leave me alone b/c i was taking a nap. ;) for some reason when people walked by my office today they laughed at me. i think they were all jealous of my sweet set up! also, we are allowed to wear hats on fridays - it doesn't even look like i'm at work!

caden has met Jesus!

thanks again to everyone who has been praying for scott & erica and their entire family. little caden went to be with our Lord on friday, 2/2. the funeral was held yesterday and it was such a great service. there were around 500 people who attended and it was such a nice celebration of caden's short life. the Lord's presence was evident through all aspects of the service. the slide show, caden's favorite songs from church, the scripture, the words from the pastor, the music - everything. while we can't fathom why the Lord decided to bring caden home so early, isn't it comforting to know that he is in the presence of Jesus! please continue to pray for scott, erica, cameron and paige. as well as their entire families and all those who are grieving this loss. the support that everyone has shown so far is so encouraging - especially from all of you who have never met scott & erica. thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement.

i want to share some scripture that my mom shared with me a few days ago. these are from king james so you can look it up in another translation if you would like. she sent about 3 pages worth of scripture and meditation that the Lord laid on her heart and i am just taking a few of the verses and her thoughts that stood out to me.

Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.”

1 Corinthians 15:21-22, 26, 55-57 “…by man came death…also the resurrection of the dead…in Christ shall all be made alive. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death…where is thy victory?..But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 14:8 “Whether we live, we live for the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”

1 Corinthians 3:21 “All things are yours; whether ……the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours. And ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”

Philippians 1:20-21 “Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Additional Thoughts from Mom:

God views death from an eternal perspective. In the course of all eternity, the death of the physical human body is victory – it leads to the perfection of eternity with God. We look at death through the eyes of our flesh. We feel the finality of never again in this life being with the one we love. Since our frame of reference is only in this life, we feel that the All-Powerful, All-Knowing God in whom we trust, has taken away from us the one we love. In God’s eternal perspective, as the One who created us and this loved one of ours, does He take away from us, depriving us of time with that loved one? I wonder if our hearts would be comforted if we could see death as God sees death? Physical death of those He loves is precious to Him (Ps. 116:15). When a person’s body dies, his soul is immediately carried into the presence of the Creator, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Faithfully-Loving God. According to Isaiah 57:1-2, God’s children are “taken away from the evil to come”. We have no idea what that might mean for each individual. Yet God, Who sees and knows everything for all eternity, the All-Wise God, is always acting in mercy and grace.

I conclude that, although we cannot comprehend the reason for premature death, we MUST TRUST the One Who understands, the One who “causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him, who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). We MUST TRUST our souls and the souls of the one we love to “our Faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19). We have His Holy Spirit, who searches the deep things of God and reveals to our spirit those things we cannot comprehend on our own.
“Eye has not seen and ear has not heard all that God has prepared for those who love Him…we have the mind of Christ” 1 Cor. 2:6-16.

My emotions make it difficult to comprehend God’s view of physical death. But to God, it’s the spirit of a person that is important – not the body. If we can ever accept that same mindset, I believe our emotions can catch up to our reality.

“…thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore…stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

(1 Corinthians 15:57-58)

Many times, our labor is our faith.

update from mandy!!!

i wanted to give an update on my friend, mandy, who was on bedrest, mentioned earlier. here is an email i got from her today and a picture of her sweet angel, ainslea elle!

February 5, 2007

I woke up this morning as the mother of two angels. Technically, I’ve been mom of two for nearly a week now, but this morning for the first time I found both of my babies safe and sound in their very own beds. Ainslea Elle came home last night to the anxious arms of her family and the adoring eyes of her big sister. What an amazing two weeks it has been. It was exactly two weeks ago that the scene that played out in my mind the night before unfolded for real. The Lord had prepared me for the drama to come. My water had broken and I was dilated to 6 cm. Ainslea was trying to come at only 33 weeks. Steroid injections, antibiotics, strict bed rest, and the grace of God allowed me to wait to deliver a healthy baby at 35 weeks. She was born with minor complications and spent five days in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Elizabeth. The birth of all babies is a miracle and this one was no different. The Lord’s presence was most strongly felt in the sense of peace that my family and I felt throughout the experience. Thank you so much for praying for us. When I had had just about enough of that bedpan the Lord gave the extra dose of strength that kept me from jumping out of that bed and running around! I know it was because someone was praying. Ainslea’s birth was an especially amazing experience because of the overwhelming understanding that God was in control. I was forced to do nothing but wait on the Lord. It is pretty amazing to just sit back and watch Him work. Thanks again for the many prayers. Love, Mandy

arlington shower

i had so much fun last weekend at my shower in arlington. it was great to see everyone and so fun to get so many cute little things for kamdyn. my mom also made this cool display board so everyone could see what the nursery looks like. she included the fabric on the bottom so you can see what the bedding will be made of - i can't wait to see the finished product!!!

i'm not sure how zack feels about the little bikini but it is adorable!

these are all of the sweet hostesses who worked so hard - cari, lindsey, whitney, autumn and kathy. everything was just perfect!

the birkelbach girls - first time aunt and first time grandma! how fun!!!

the burgett girls - "experienced" aunts and grandma - just happy i finally came around!