DBU Reunion & Surprise!

One of my first blog postings was right after I graduated with my Masters in Educational Leadership from DBU, so this blog missed out on the shmorgishborg of hilarious stories & fun times I had with an amazing group of people know as my DBU cohort. We had so much fun together & it made going to class something I looked forward to & enjoyed. We still get together every once in a while & about a week ago we met for lunch. Little did I know, they had more planned than I realized! Here's the group - looking so sweet and innocent!

Here's the amazing (and oh-so-yuumy) cake they surprised me with!

I'm not sure if my favorite part of lunch was Kyle claiming the presents were all from him (before he realized most of them had a breast-feeding theme), or when his 2 kids joined in singing a modified birthday song which I'm guessing could only be called "Happy Impregnation to You!"

Did I mention this group can get a little rowdy? We may not be allowed back to that restaurant, but I'm sure there are others who haven't heard of our infamous cohort yet! Anyway, I wanted to send a big 'Thank you!" to my rambunctious group of friends! Thank you for thinking of me (& Baby Jack) - life would not be the same without you!

It's July! (AKA: June Wrap-up)

I can't believe how fast the summer is zooming by! I've been meaning to update the blog, but I just haven't taken the time to sit down with the computer. So, here's a quick run down:

• We spent a week in lovely Breckenridge, TX with about 80 junior high & high school kids. It was our annual youth mission trip for church & we had a great time seeing God work in and through those around us. It was hot hot hot & I wasn't even on a worksite! I had to rest a lot & keep my feet up whenever possible, but overall it wasn't too bad! I rode around with John & helped take pictures & video of the different worksites. The teams did everything from mowing, painting, and trimming bushes, to building wheelchair ramps, porches, rebuilding a bathroom, and roofing an entire house. They worked so hard & I know their clients felt the love of the Lord through their service & conversations. John made a ton of videos & this was the first year he put them up on youtube throughout the week. Pretty cool! You can view them here. As always, I'm so proud of my talented man!
• Over the last couple of weeks I've also gotten the chance to reconnect with different friends (and family). I think pregnancy made me a little reclusive for a while & I'd almost forgotten all the wonderful people God has put in my life! I'm thankful for the pool time, lunches, movies, deep conversations, and laughter we've shared!
• We've spent the last week really working on our house. It's been a wreck ever since we got new carpet & painted 3 rooms. At some point you don't even notice that you have to step over a tool box, printer, and pile of extension cords to get to the kitchen! In other words, there was just stuff everywhere, nothing was in its place, & it was just overwhelming to me. John & I finally tackled it together & now it is at least to a manageable state & I feel like I can work a little everyday to get it where it needs to be.
• We've also been working on Baby Jack's room. It's so exciting! John put in a new ceiling fan & put up the curtains & wall decor this weekend. I'll post some pictures soon!
• Speaking of Baby Jack - we made the final decision on Father's Day that we wanted to honor our fathers (not to mention grandfathers & brothers) through Jack's name, so he is officially Jackson William! The name William is all over both sides of our families, so it was a perfect fit. Also, did you know Jackson literally means "John's son"? Like the name John, it also means 'God is gracious'. Amen to that!
• Lastly, I'm at 29 weeks which puts me into the 3rd trimester. I'm definitely having those surreal moments & I can't believe Baby Jack is going to be here so soon! I can't wait to meet him! Lately he has made a home for himself in my ribs - at least it feels that way. He seems to like to push on my bottom right rib all day long. Now I see why 30 years later my mom still remembers me doing that to her! He is super active all the time now, & John & I spend a lot of time watching him move around. I'm trying to enjoy every minute & not take this time for granted.

That's it for June! If you made it to the end of this, I commend you! :) You have some serious stamina.

Saying Goodbye Part 1

Sooooo... I have 3 parts to this in my head. However, part 2 & 3 may never actually get written down, so...yeah.

I am usually thrilled about the end of school, but I dreaded this year coming to an end. I've loved every class of kids I've ever had - they've all taught me unique lessons, challenged me, & grown me as an educator & human being. It's funny how every class has its own dynamics & personality. With some groups it takes me a while to get to know them, others take a while to trust me, etc.. They're just all different.

Well, this year's group was just plain awesome. Hyper? Yep. Loud? You bet. Boring? Heck no! We literally clicked the first day of school & I loved every moment with them - even if they did try to drive me crazy sometimes. Actually, one of the toughest parts of managing this class was keeping a straight face.

Being a relator, I thrive on meaningful relationships. The down side of that for a teacher? Well, you spend a year pouring your heart out, building trust, forming relationships, and then... you say goodbye. It sucks. It sucks walking my kids out on the last day of school & knowing there are some I will never see again. Knowing that they are heading off to the big bad world of middle school & beyond, & some of them are going to slip & fall. Some of them are going to mess up, fail, get into trouble, have their hearts broken, end up in bad situations. And there's nothing I can do about it. I had my time, I said my peace, I taught all I could, and now I have to let go. I have to do the only thing I can do: have the faith to entrust them to an omniscient God. The God who made them, who knows them, & who loves them more than they could possibly understand. I have to trust my God to put the right people in their lives, provide for their needs, open their eyes to his unconditional love, & pick them up when they fall.

I also have to trust God to heal the hole in my heart & hear my prayers. The memories will fade, but I will never stop caring about my kids & I will never stop praying for them - trusting that God can do more with a simple prayer than anything I could do in a lifetime.

In the end I find myself thankful for the small role I've gotten to play in their lives - for the seeds I've planted, & I find hope in Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 3:

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

Thank you, BES!

My BES family gave us a baby shower this week & as always I felt incredibly loved & supported by my sweet coworkers! Here's the cake! I'm pretty sure it's the coolest cake I've ever seen! :)

Punch! There may have been some jokes about the ducks drowning...but I think they all made it.A diaper 'cake' made by my teammate! Adorable! :)Baby clothes! I like this one because it has little monsters on it who seem to be destroying a city, or at least cars & stuff. I find that amusing. Oh yeah, I almost forgot my favorite moment: Some of the other outfits had long pants with snaps for diaper changing. John's reaction when he noticed the snaps: "Ha ha! That one has tear-away pants!" Did I mention he's never changed a diaper before? ;o)

Lastly, I already posted a pic of the room decor & bedding we picked out, but thanks to the generosity of everyone at school, we were able to go home & order the bedding & many of the other items in this picture. Our little man is going to have such a cool room - I can't wait to get started - in fact that's on the agenda for next week!Thank you again to my BES family! I am so thankful to go to work every day with such a kind & caring staff - you guys rock!

Belly Dancing

There are definitely some milestones during pregnancy that I have looked forward to from the beginning: 1. The sonogram to find out the sex of the baby, & 2. Being able to see/feel the baby move & sharing that with John. I already blogged about how amazing our sonogram experience was a couple weeks ago, but over the last week we've also reached milestone #2. :) The first time I noticed my tummy moving, seemingly of it's own accord, was last week as I was talking to co-workers after school. It was so cool & that was the first time I was able to touch my belly & feel a kick. It's taken several more days, but John was finally able to feel the baby move last night. Today our little guy has been even more active & I've been caught several times standing in the middle of the hall at work just staring at my stomach. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but right now I'm completely mesmerized by this little life who is making his presence known more and more each day.

Baby Notes @ 21 Weeks

I realized that the blog is steadily becoming the place where I record thoughts, feelings & happenings in relation to our little guy, so here are some things I've been thinking about over the last week or so...

• Afternoon seems to be little man's favorite time to wake up & get moving. Everyday around 2:00 I feel him start jumping. I usually feel him a lot throughout the evening too, but the 2:00 hour is definitely his favorite at the moment.
• Craving of the moment: dairy. Ice cream, milk, cereal with LOTS of milk, anything in the diary category really - that's what I want. I've never been a big milk/cheese person before, (in fact I usually hate milk) but it's what I want lately. I've already gone though a lemon/vinegar/pickle phase where I guess I just wanted anything with a strong flavor - oh yeah, that included salsa too.
• I'm starting to get some back pain,which isn't so fun, but it's just one more sign to me that we're moving right along & my little guy is getting bigger. (Thinking about it that way makes it worth it, right? ;o)
• I'm super excited to meet our baby & probably just as excited to see John as a daddy. He's so awesome & I know he's going to be an amazing daddy!

I think that's enough words for one day, so here are some pics to finish it off: Here is the quilt my mom gave me for mother's day - I love the bright colors & I can't believe how quickly she made it!

Here's another blankie mom made - our little guy will have no shortage of soft blankies to snuggle with - thanks to my mom!

Here is my newest Willow Tree Angel. I wasn't expecting anything for Mother's day, so I was totally surprised when John/the baby gave me a gift & a card. The inside of the card has a sonogram pic saying "I can't wait to see you! Love, Your Baby Boy". John said he knew this angel was kind of a step ahead, but he also knew it is what we are both imagining right now - & he's right. I love it & of course I cried (cheesy, but true.)

Finally, here I am at the halfway point!

Junk on Display

Today's the day! We went to the doctor for my 20 week appointment & sonogram & got some great pics of our baby! Here's the cute little alien face (& abdomen):

If you can't tell what's what, the head is on the right & the baby is 'looking at' the camera. The mouse arrow is pointing to the right eye...I think. ;o) Other than the sonogram, we also got all the test results back from bloodscreen/etc. & everything looks great! We are so thankful that we have a healthy & active baby (it was going crazy flipping around, doing the running man, & waving at us the whole time) - God is good!

Now for the big reveal!

This is the 'sitting on the copy machine' view with the booty on the upper left, legs sticking out at 3:00 & 6:00, and there in the middle - well, we've got some boy parts, y'all! In case you missed it, the ultrasound tech was nice enough to point it out with the mouse arrow! Ha ha! So, there ya go! It's a boy! :)

We are ecstatic! It was the definitely the most emotional event of the pregnancy so far for both of us. I think it finally made it 'real' for us & we're thrilled to be able to say HIM instead of IT all the time. We're working on names & we think we have one ready, but we're still thinking & praying on that for now.

Speaking of praying, as I was driving from work to pick John up for the appointment, I was praying a "Thy will be done" kind of prayer. I felt that amazing peace that only God can give & Psalm 139 came to mind (especially verses 13-16). It's one of my favorites & it definitely became special in a new way today. I just keep thinking about how God already knows & loves our baby boy even though we haven't met him in person yet.

On a fun note, John had to go back to church/work after the appointment, so I celebrated with a pedicure:

I had to go with blue! Also, we found this bedding a while back & knew if we had a little boy, he would have this theme for his room! My favorite part is the drumset rug & quilt!

I think that's enough for one day! Can you tell I'm excited??? :)