Pregnancy Update - 11 Weeks

There is not too much to report on the pregnancy front this week.  I am just thankful to have made it to eleven weeks.  I do think that the nausea is lessening.  Maybe James was right about the sickness only lasting another week.

September is a month in which I have had two miscarriages, one of which occurred ten years ago today.  To say that it is no big deal to be about as pregnant as I was when I lost those babies would be a lie.  I keep praying and trusting God as I near the end of the first trimester. 

Next Tuesday I will go back to the midwife and I will be so thankful to hear the baby's heartbeat again.  It is a wonderful sound.  I am thankful I recorded the heartbeat last week because it has been fun to listen to during this past week.

After we heard the heartbeat last week my husband said we should try to come up with some boy names we like.  We will definitely call the baby Janna Caroline if it is a girl, but will have to do some more thinking to come up with a Biblical boys "J" name that we like.

Joshua has a notion to scrap the whole "J" theme.  When I asked him what he thought we should name the baby if it is a girl he said "April" (The baby is due in April.).  I then asked him what we should name the baby if it is a boy and he came up with "Computer".  This is why 5 year old children shouldn't be allowed to name their siblings.  :-)

Pregnancy Update - 11 Weeks

Sweet Potato Harvest

Our garden is officially finished. I hate to admit that the last month I really didn't do much with the garden.  I know I have a good excuse, but I hate to see any vegetables go to waste.  I canned and froze a lot this summer, and I am thankful for what we were able to preserve. 

A week and a half ago I asked my husband to help me find the sweet potatoes.  You see, the weeds had totally overgrown that area and I wasn't sure if there were any potatoes there.

So, my husband got on his trusty tractor and mowed a path.  It had rained the night before, so the ground was soft enough to dig up each hill.  Check out what we found when we started digging...

...all of these beauties.  Well, they weren't so pretty because they were muddy and had to be hosed off, but that wasn't a big deal.  We now have lots of sweet potatoes that should last us all winter.

The biggest sweet potato weighed in at just under 7 pounds.  I think that one potato could make a whole sweet potato casserole all by itself. 

We had a great garden year and I am thankful for the blessings that all of the produce has been and will continue to be this winter.

Did you have a garden this year?  How were your harvests?

Sweet Potato Harvest

Pregnancy Update - 10 Weeks

Today I am 10 weeks pregnant.  I am still feeling nauseous and tired in the afternoons and evenings, but it is not unbearable.  James asked me today if it would only be one more week until the morning sickness stops.  I told him I wasn't sure, but hopefully it wouldn't be too much longer.  He said he hoped so, too.  He is so sweet to think about when I will start feeling better.

In other pregnancy news, I am finding that my pants aren't fitting so well anymore because of my expanding belly.  I am here to say that things expand more quickly and easily the more children you have.  It doesn't bother me at all, though.  I am happy to look pregnant.

My midwife let me come in today to try to hear the heartbeat.  She kept hearing my heartbeat, but finally we heard a faster heartbeat that was definitely the baby's.  It was a beautiful sound, and the baby's heart rate was great at 144.  I recorded it, and just let my kids listen to it.  James said it sounded like a train, and Joshua wanted to hear it twice.

I am so thankful to have heard the heartbeat.  I go back in two weeks for a regular checkup and will be glad to hear the heartbeat again.

Pregnancy Update - 10 Weeks

Benefits of a Large Family

Benefit #1:  There is always someone to play with. 

When I went downstairs after cleaning the kitchen this morning I didn't see my children, but I heard them.  I quickly snapped this picture as soon as they all popped their heads out of their fort.  What fun!

I am linking this post to Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things in Life.

Benefits of a Large Family

Pregnancy Update - 9 Weeks

Today I am officially 9 weeks pregnant.  Not much has changed in the past week.  I am still feeling pretty good in the mornings, but by the afternoon and evenings I am pretty nauseous and tired.  I am managing and trying to make sure I eat enough and take a nap every day.

Since that isn't too exciting I wanted to share some of the funny things that have been said by my children, mainly my 5 year old, since we told them about the baby.

The Sunday we announced at church that we were going to have a baby the children's story involved blowing up a balloon several times and letting the air out of it.  The point was that the more we sin the easier it becomes, just like blowing up a balloon several times stretches it out.

After church James, my 8 year old, rubbed my belly and said that it was getting pretty big.  (I wasn't even 7 weeks yet.)  A friend said that it was just like the balloon from the children's story.  I laughed and said that it was exactly like that balloon.  :-)

The next day Joshua, my 5 year old, pushed on my stomach and I told him not to push too hard or he would squish the baby.  He looked at me so strangely.  It was like we hadn't even told him about the baby.  He then seriously said, "How did the baby get in there?  Did you swallow it?"  I tried not to laugh and told him that God put the baby in my belly.

Joshua also has labor all figured out.  He told me that when the baby is big enough to be born that I will drive in the van and God will get the baby out.  I am not sure if he thinks the baby will be born in the van or if I will make it to the hospital first.

He has also been asking to see how big my tummy is getting.  He will then stick out his tummy and say that it is getting bigger like mine.

One day Joshua was talking about the baby getting bigger and being big enough to be born.  He said that the baby will hug him and talk to him when he or she is born.  I told him that it will be quite a while before the baby is big enough to talk.  He seriously said, "Will the baby speak Spanish?"

I am sure there will be more funny anecdotes in the coming months.

Also, I appreciate all of your prayers and ask for your continued thoughts and prayers, especially until I get out of the first trimester. 

Pregnancy Update - 9 Weeks

Pregnancy Update - 8 Weeks

Have you ever had a time when you had a desire for something, but couldn't imagine asking God to bless you with this desire because He had already blessed you so much?

Some of you may remember that back in June I sold or gave away almost all of the baby items I had been saving all of these years.  I cried as I went through each box, not because I would miss the items themselves, because I thought I would never have another baby.

My husband and I had pretty much decided that we should probably stop having children.  We have four beautiful, healthy children and figured that our three boys and one girl were all that God had planned for us.

I had given God control of our family size many years ago, but had tried to take that control back.  Sometimes God laughs at us when we try to take control of situations.

We had been using natural family planning since the birth of our youngest 2 1/2 years ago.  I thought I had a good handle on my cycles which were averaging 34-35 days.  When I started my cycle on July 13th I still thought I had things figured out.

When I ovulated a week earlier than normal I started to realize I didn't have everything figured out.  On the morning I ovulated I awoke to the sound of a voice telling me that I was going to have a baby girl and that we were to name her Janna Caroline.* 

I kept those words in the back of my mind over the next several weeks as we were busy finishing our kitchen project, getting ready for school to start, etc.  I started feeling pretty tired and took naps every day that I could.  At 5 weeks I told my husband that it was a good possibility I might be pregnant.  He said to wait a few days before I tested since I might have been stressed or something.

I waited until it had been 5 weeks and 5 days since my cycle started before I took a test.  It was positive within seconds instead of the three minutes it said it would take.  My husband and I were very happy that God had chosen to bless us in this way.

I called a midwife the next morning and got in right away.  She confirmed the pregnancy and ordered some blood tests.  After hearing my history she also ordered an ultrasound.

The baby measured exactly the 5 weeks and 6 days it should have and the heart rate was 153.  My 2 1/2 year old was with me for the appointment and when he looked at the ultrasound screen he said "baby".  I don't know how he even knew.

The tiredness has continued and I have experienced afternoon and evening nausea which I am actually happy about because I know they are good signs.  It is also why my blogging has been so sporadic.

This morning I had a full exam and the midwife said everything looks great and that my uterus is the size it should be at 8 weeks. 

I am overjoyed that there is a little life growing inside of me.  Regardless of whether the baby is a boy or girl we will love him or her no matter what.  However, I do believe the baby is a girl because of what God told me that morning several weeks ago.  My daughter would be so excited to have a little sister. :-)

We have been praying for this baby every day and are thankful for all of those who are lifting us up in prayer.  God is awesome.

*I looked up the meanings of each name and found that Janna means "God's gift" and that Caroline means "beautiful woman".  I thought it would be fitting to think of the baby as "God's beautiful gift".

Pregnancy Update - 8 Weeks

August Decluttering Update

August literally seemed to fly by and not much decluttering happened.  What with finishing our kitchen project, and my husband and children going back to school it seemed like I blinked and missed August.  

(If you want to see details about the previous months totals check the links below.)

January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010 
July 2010

During August I only gave away a tote box of clothing items.  I counted 2 and 3 piece sets as one item though.  That made my monthly total 53 items.  That makes the total number of items I have given away this year 1652. 

I still need to crochet seven more hats to meet my goal of 50 hats for charity this year.  I also have plenty of decluttering to do in these last few months of the year.  I am happy with what I have accomplished so far even though I didn't do much last month.  Have you done any decluttering lately?


I am linking this post to Amy's Declutter Challenge at The Finer Things in Life.

August Decluttering Update