Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!

I wish you a very happy and blessed holiday!

(I can't believe I am awake at 6:45 in the morning on Christmas eating a bowl of Cheerios!! I should be sleeping! )

A little pale

I have been feeling pretty pasty lately, and since I don't think we'll be seeing the sun anytime soon here in MI, I decided on getting one of those sunless tanners. I have never used a sunless tanner in my life, but I definitely knew that I didn't want to be orange! So I ended up getting this:

It is supposed to give you a "natural" looking tan after using for a week. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT! I wasn't expecting to be super dark or anything, but was at least expecting some color. Nothing. Nada. Ugh.

I am tempted to try something else, but have no idea what! Any suggestions?

13 Weeks

Oh I wish I had a camera. I need to capture the picture of the ever growing belly. The belly that has started to pop out and the same belly that has been getting a lot of stares over the past week. See only a handful of people at work knew, and well, everyone else was beginning to wonder if I was just packing on the pounds. I had to break the news to the whole store today and was happy to do it!

So here are the 13 week Pregnancy Highlights!!

How Far Along: 13 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: Not sure since I haven't been on a scale since my last doctor's appt.

Sleep: Yes please! I am ready for bed by 8:30 or so every night, not that I actually GO to bed that early. I still get up a few times a night to go to the bathroom. Having crazy vivid dreams!

Best Moment this Week: The realization that I am starting to touch my belly. A Lot.

Gender: No clue. Not even a hunch.

Movement: Can't feel any movement yet. I wish!

Food Craving: Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream, QDoba Naked burritos

What I Miss: Energy! I miss being able to go-go-go at work, and not feel drained.

What I'm Looking Forward to: My next doctor appt. on the 8th, starting to work on the nursery.
Weekly Wisdom: Appreciate every aspect of pregnancy, even the bad stuff!

Symptoms: Lack of energy, food aversions.

Another day down

Is it bad of me to wish that Christmas was over with already? Ok, not the celebration of Christmas, but just the long hours at work part. I am TIRED. I am ready for some normal work hours! As I type this I am feeling so sleepy and just ready for Mike to bring us home some dinner! I wish I could say dinner is going to be a healthy meal that I cooked as soon as I came home from work today. Reality? It's going to be McDonalds tonight. I know, I know! ;( But Mike and I are both too tired to conjure up any kind of a decent meal on our own, and well, fast food, is..well, fast.

So that being said, my post tomorrow will be my 13 week Pregnancy Highlights. I realize I was 13 weeks yesterday, but like I said, this girl is tired.

New Scripture Verse

The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy. PSALM 126:3

That is my new Scripture verse for the last 2 weeks of December, and I think it fits my life so perfectly right now. To say that we are filled with joy is an understatement! I can't believe that we are in this place. I mean, I had faith that God was with me and heard me all the times I cried and believed He was making a way for me, but I just never imagined THIS. Sometimes, I still feel like I am waiting for something bad to happen. Like it's too good to be true. But then I remind myself that God IS good and to enjoy every minute of this experience. This is His plan!!

Pregnancy Highlights

I had my 12 week Doctor's appointment today! Other than having to wait forever at the office, it was a pretty good visit. We were able to hear both heartbeats with the Doppler and both were in the 15os. Relief washed over me, as it does every time I hear that awesome sound. My doctor said everything looks good! So here are the Pregnancy Highlights this week...

How Far Along: 11 weeks 6 days (ok, so practically 12 weeks!)
Total Weight Gain: 3 lbs
Sleep: No problem, but still getting up at least 3 times a night to go to the bathroom.
Best Moment this Week: Hearing the babies' heartbeats!
Gender: Don't know yet
Movement: None
Food Craving: Bagels and cream cheese, chocolate milk, QDoba Naked Burritos
What I Miss: Hot baths!
What I'm Looking Forward to: Our next ultrasound
Weekly Wisdom: Whenever you can, rest.
Symptoms: Nausea is gone, but I am still tired.

Thankful Thursday

I have officially started my Christmas shopping! I should have started a few weeks ago, but I really didn't have the energy. I was hoping to get the majority of it done today, but no such luck. By the time I made my way through 3 stores, I was tired and in desperate need of a nap. Surprisingly, the mall wasn't as busy as I thought it was going to be! Maybe everyone is already done with their shopping, or perhaps they are just waiting until Christmas gets closer? I don't know, but maybe it's just a sign of our finiancial times.

And that leads me to my Thankful Thursday...

Today I am so thankful for...

*that Mike and I are in a position where we are financially stable and have not had to face the struggles of losing our jobs, our home, etc. like so many others have.

*God who reminds me that the greatest gift that we could ever have is His son Jesus!

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Mike and I did, as we do every year, and there was entirely too much food, but that's one of the best parts of Thanksgiving, isn't it? I had to be to work on Black Friday at 5 am, which is sort of like sleeping in! In past years, I've had to be there as early as 3:30, so being there at 5 was actually kind of nice. I even went to bed early which is hard for me do (I usually end up tossing and turning). We were busy and had one of the most successful Black Friday's we've ever had, but things ran so smoothly that it didn't seem like it was chaotic at all. And not one grumpy person!

But I have to mention my little bl0gging hiatus for a moment. There was actually a concrete reason behind my lack of blogging, even though I said there wasn't. And although everything I said in my last post is true, there was just more to it. Mike and I had something going on in our lives that was all consuming and something that I couldn't share at the time. It was an emotional time for us, but we are feeling so blessed beyond words. Here's 2 reasons why...

(Sorry for the terrible picture--my scanner is not cooperating, or maybe it's operator error!)

I'm beyond happy to announce that I'm pregnant! With twins! This ultrasound pic was taken at 7 weeks and we were able to see both babies perfectly and see and hear their heartbeats! I bawled my eyes out and Mike started laughing. Hard. Like it was the funniest thing he had ever seen or heard. I honestly didn't know what to say, and the words didn't come out right away. I just cried.

We had another ultrasound at 8 weeks, and I will post those this week (if I can figure out how to enlarge them). Again, the babies looked great and the hearbeats were the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. It was such a relief to hear the heartbeats, I can't even tell you.

Currently, I am at 11 weeks and still am pinching myself. I can't believe we are here. I can't believe that everything that I have been praying for has been answered. I feel a million different things, but blessed is the best word I can think of to describe this. Or maybe thankful beyond all description is better.

So that's the major reason I have been away from the blog world. I was waiting to tell my brother Paul and sister-in-law Heather and other loved ones in our family on Thanksgiving, and I couldn't seem to want to blog about anything else.

I started this blog when I was in a sad place, thinking that it would give me a place to truly be myself. And it has. You have witnessed my road of difficulty as I dealt with my miscarriage, and my journey with infertility, and now I can't wait to share this new chapter of my life with you!