A Job

So I have a job. I'll be working contingent as a Physical Therapist Assistant at a hospital I used to work at. I'm so excited and happy it will work that I will work when Mike is home with Matthew. But I'm not gonna lie, those few hours I left him to take care of stuff at the hospital, I missed my kid like CRAZY! I am definitely not doing this job because I need a break from being a mom. Being a mom is my favorite job ever. I don't really need much of a break from him. A 7pm bedtime is good enough. I just will like to get myself with some patients again and take care of them and earn a little extra income for our family. It will be good. And I'm excited.

A Bed

"AHHHHH!!! A BED!!!!!"    -Megan-

Megan is our newest addition to our home for the next few weeks. And I just love people who are fresh off of the World Race. They make you feel like the most hospitable person ever.

Frozen

So. This is hilarious. My 3.5 year old nephew is great. I witnessed today, that sometimes when my sister is going to get him for a timeout, he puts his hand out like spider man and goes, "ppppssssshhhhh.......STOOOOP........MOM...I'm Spider Man. You're frozen!"

Maybe I want a lot of kids now. These moments are just too good!

For the Love

Pretty darn blessed over here. Life is just taking an exciting turn. I don't know what it is but I just feel like things are moving for us. We get to host three people from out of the state at our house in the next week. Our friend is driving up here to take a retreat for a weekend. Sweet she chose our place, the one with the 16 month old. But we can't be more excited to see her. My mom then comes the night our friend leaves to go to a concert with me. And then the night my mom heads out, another sweet girl, whom I never met is coming to stay with us for the week. She is moving to Detroit, just 2 weeks fresh off from the race because God has clearly called her to this city. What a rock star. She is so passionate and motivated, and already has interviews and she has not been here yet. But I cannot wait to be a listening ear from her race. Dear Lord, I was a disaster after the race with my emotions, but she seems to really keep on going. Good for her. I just hope she slows down and processes every thing. We are happy this little house we are blessed with is a refuge for other people too.

Also, I have my interview on Tuesday to go back to work a bit for hours that Mike is home. This is big for us. I can maybe get myself to the dentist and pay off our school loans WAY faster than we expected. Oh, what a ton of bricks off our shoulders. Plus, I just really love the job and think it will be good all around.

Also, FOR THE LOVE sweet D-ROCK. Our friend from the race just bought us 12 new cloth diapers. A big package came in the mail and just like that, we can cross some things off the list for new baby. Wow. So blessed. Love you lady. SO MUCH!

This Next One

Im 16 weeks now and I have been having so many labor dreams lately. All so good. Pain and med free. Wouldn't that be awesome?

But my gosh they are just making me so anxious to meet my little nugget and to hold him or her for the first time. It's actually very overwhelming to think about and I cannot stop thinking about the first moment that Michael and I get to meet our new child. It is starting to feel way more real and my heart is just longing for this baby. I still need this six months as we have a list of things we need to do and get before this one comes, but gosh I cannot wait till labor is over and I get to hold  and meet our baby!!!!!!!!!!! AH!!!!

Complete

Its complete. I am officially a Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant in Michigan.
AH! I couldn't be more relieved.
This is HUGE people!

At the End of the Day

Today, it just hit me about how we end our day. What will Matthew's last memory be when he lays his head down for a long night sleep? With busy days, people in and out, cleaning, making meals, and then adding the element of constantly trying to figure out a toddlers brain and emotions, sometimes the end of the day goes, "sleepy time, good night." in the crib, close the door, not a noise, the end. But today as "no" is causing 20 minutes of heightened emotions for my little one, we are all left tense and somewhat confused on how to handle it all.

But tonight, after it was at its worst, I heard a small whisper from the Lord telling me that his love will be the last fingerprint in the day, and that our family will unify and love. So after Matthew relaxed from a little massage and was calm for bed, our family of three went into his room and sat on his floor in a circle. He held our hands and we spent the next five minutes praying and telling Matthew things we loved about him. He sat quietly and would ever so often hold our hands tighter and mumble a few quiet words himself. We put our hands on him and together read his favorite verse over his bed, which he requested we do twice. We then asked him who he wanted to cuddle with before bed and he so gently crawled on my lap and rested his head on my shoulder, asking me over and over again to read the verse that hangs over his bed. It was a perfect, and it is what matters more than anything.

While figuring out how to handle tantrums is still on the forefront , it just seems less important in the long run compared to him really knowing things like the verse that hangs over his bed. I believe the impact is greater.

"The Lord your God is in your midst. A Mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness, he will quiet you with His love. He will exult over you with loud singing." Zephaniah 3:17

Company

We have had constant company and family reunions for 2 weeks now. It has been AMAZING. Family on both sides and friends - friends from the World Race; which has been so awesome.

Last night was the last bit of company for a bit. We, and two other couples are starting a small group book/bible study on Tuesday nights at our house, and I know it will already be amazing. They are such wonderful people, and we spent last night catching up on life since it has been a while since we have seen a few of them. One couple just got engaged and their adorableness is off the charts, hearing them share their great love story.
We are going to be doing a study on having Grace with people. I think we all need that for sure. So excited. It will be so great to be so intentional with these two couples and laugh and go deep at the same time, encouraging and just loving each other where ever we are at in life.

So with the company being less for the next 2 weeks, I told Mike we need to regroup and take care of just normal life stuff. So today I called my Physical Therapy Assistant license place, since they are taking forever to process, and we found out that they have not received my school transcripts because they have not looked for them under my maiden name. DUH! Why did I not think of that? I applied for the license under my married name, and went to school under my maiden name. So we have it all figured out and my transcripts were found under my maiden name and I will have my license in about a week. Thank you Jesus. A good start to regrouping.

And what everyone else cares about, Matthew is hilarious and adorable and makes me laugh all the time. We are so in love with him and he is getting bigger each day and saying more words. But mostly, we are just obsessed with the fact that the little guy is our son, no matter what his milestones are right now. We just freaking love him like crazy.

This Time Around

We have had a full fun few weeks, full of loved ones, and it is not over. But I just have a little time while Matthew is napping and so is our out of town guest.

So I lll just write a bit about pregnancy so far.
If you know anything about Matthew inside of me. It was HARD and I was sick the entire time. And all I wanted was Dr. Pepper and Arby's Fries.

So for now. Out of my first trimester, I feel great.

I'm now 15 weeks.

I want salad and fruit all the time, and avocado.

I have not been over the toilet once because I was sick. Even in the first trimester. All clear.

I feel good enough to exercise everyday. I have been rollerblading (with the running stroller), running (when its not a trillion degrees), and doing yoga.

So at this point I am -6 pounds. Because of the exercise and healthy food cravings. Its good weight to lose. At least that is what my midwife said, So I am just gonna go with the smaller thighs. =)

And I have been feeling the baby move for 2 weeks now. But as of a few days ago, I can lay down still and feel little tiny flips going on. Which is one of the happiest things in this entire world. And I know that, because I traveled the entire world. So I think that is what I am gonna go do now since Matthew is sleeping. Lay still, and spend some focused time with the lil nugget inside of me. =)

Yah Right!

Matthew and I like to exercise a lot and he started to do some yoga with me in the mornings. I mean, he just tries the downward dog and then giggles and attempts to tackle me while I'm trying to keep my balance. It's pretty fun.

So I went on pinterest to find some pregnancy yoga to get these hips flexible, hoping this next baby will just fall out. haha. yah. ok. So anyways, I type in the search engine, "pregnant yoga" and this is the picture that comes up.

WHAAAAT........EVVVVVVEER!!!

And Update and A Bump

Friends,
It has been a while. My husband made me aware of that last night.
Here is my little blog update.

* I just discovered yesterday that my entire back fence is lined with daisy plants. If you only had any idea how much this means to me. I cried. They are my favorite flower and will be residing in my house as long as they bloom!! Look at how big and perfect they came out.

* Mike is taking off the next 8 weeks of classes. It is a wonderful decision. A few reasons are that he needs some time and space to grieve the loss of his friend. It was just hard to function in that much business and hurt. Bible school is wonderful but at the same time can make Christ all just knowledge in your head. Mike wants to get back to his relationship with God and not just answering questions on tests. This will help so much in his grieving too. So he is gonna go on a little trip by himself to a cabin in the woods with only his bible and journal! SO good.

* In the next month our life is full of loved ones. It is incredible all the people in our lives that we will see from out of state and it is making my heart jump around excited. I also took my first overnight away from Matthew to go to Ohio for a baby shower. It was a little hard but it was great to spend the evening crafting with my mom and have an entire morning sitting in the living room with a cup of coffee and talk about anything and everything with my dad. Not to mention a wonderful scrabble date at my sisters favorite coffee house.

 Pretty sister!

And the baby shower was for one of the most beautiful hearts I know. I cannot wait to see her be a mom. Sarah will be running around the woods barefoot with her little William and nursing him in trees. I can't wait.

* Im going on a little trip, alone, soon to visit a dear friend. It is not to have a mommy getaway. But to spend some quality time with her and let her know how much it means that she travels out here all the time. I really want to focus on her and stay in her studio apartment. I am so ready for this.

* Our roommate moved out. Bitter-Sweet. Nothing to complain about at all with her living with us. It was wonderful and I will miss her company But it is nice to have some space to bond as just our little family before the next baby comes. And now that some furniture has been moved out we have ALL this space. Matthew has been running around like the happiest person ever and mike and I already started "nesting" yesterday. My house has never been so organized and clean. EVER. It feels nice.

* And our little Matthew. Is FREAKING AWESOME! Im so in love and he makes me so happy inside. Wow! I love him. I was picking up his lunch off the floor that he was throwing and while I was picking it up he was throwing the rest in my hair. And all I thought is that I would not have it any other way. It would just be a bit more boring without him! UH. I love him.

* And finally. I am officially out of my 1st trimester. I am just over 13 weeks and sporting a little bump to prove it. It is fun and I feel GREAT. LOTS of exercise and I crave vegetables and tons of fruit. breads and pastas and sauces are BLAH to me. So that is good.  Just a few eating out foods that blew our budget. But no toilet trips this time. I feel so blessed.  But here is the bump so far.

13 weeks. Oh and just a little update. Mike thinks it is a girl. I think it is a boy. We will be happy either way. I daydream about both. How fun it would be to have 2 boys. WHAT A BLAST! But a little girl would be SO sweet and fun too. So I'm all about either.