Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Baby Shower

This past Saturday my wonderful friends Lindsey and Erika threw me a baby shower and it was a blast. The day included lots of delicious food, fabulous conversation and a great group of women that I am so blessed to call my friends. I am/was overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and in absolute awe of these ladies and their kind spirits.

Take a look at the some of the pictures from the day....oh and by the way I cut my hair (a little too short) in case anyone is confused by my appearance.

Baby Shower

Monday, February 11, 2008

Lopsided Belly

The little man is on the move again today and it appears he is favoring my right side. It may not be as noticeable to the outside world but I am pretty sure if you looked closely right now you could see that my stomach is somewhat off kilter and vearing to the right (my right that is). It feels like he is pressing his whole little body to one side of my stomach and although it doesn't quite hurt it is also not super comfortable.

Speaking of our little man's body, at this point (33 weeks now...only sevenish more to go!) he is weighing in at over 4 lbs and is about 17 inches long! Can you believe it!???? According to the email updates that I get from BabyCenter.com he is looking just like a newborn at this point and would probably be ok (with the exception of a longer hospital stay etc.) if he was born right now.

I truly cannot believe this miracle that is happening inside of me and I also cannot wait to see what our child is going to look like.....I hope he has Ryan's eyes.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Roller Coaster

(Let me preface this entry by saying that I apologize to my husband for hijacking “our” blog that he created for our family and for filling it up with my deep thoughts and stories….with that said, here comes another “Deep Thought by Annie Singletary” with more to follow, I am sure.)

When I was 12 years old I was terrified of roller coasters. Although I was intrigued by these “scary rides” I just couldn’t wrap my head around how anyone could enjoy their speed and force. At the same time however, I was jealous of the kids without fear, the ones who squeaked and squealed with anticipation while waiting in line for a coaster.

Then one day I had had enough of my fear. That day I challenged myself to just do it, just go on one roller coaster and see if I made it back alive. I was sick of being afraid and although it might very well take my life, or so I felt, I had to at least try.

I am sure I was shaking the entire wait in line and once I actually made it to the front I can remember the rush of terror that came over me when I was finally strapped in…..no turning back now. The worst part was the build up at the beginning, that ticking noise that the coaster makes as you slowly climb the first hill. Tick, tick, tick. Then before I knew it I was flying past trees, gliding over a pond and twirling out of control. I both loved and hated this ride.

Once the ride came to a stop I jumped out of my seat, body buzzing and my mind running wild. I couldn’t believe I was alive and the strange thing was that I actually kind of liked it. Quickly however, before I let on that I was so thrilled, I took my 12 year old “I’m too cool to act excited” pose and shoved my hands in my pockets before anyone could notice that they were still shaking.

Inside one of my pockets I felt an unfamiliar cardboard disk that I couldn’t identify with touch alone. My curiosity grew so I pulled the disk out and remembered what it was, it was a POG.

For those of you who don’t remember POGs, they were strange cardboard disks with pictures on them that for some reason kids collected for a time. I was not one of those kids but instead had found this POG in a box of candy that I bought earlier that day and then shoved in my pocket because a trashcan was not handy.

In that moment I had an epiphany. I was convinced that it was a magic POG and it was because of this lucky charm that I had made it through the ride. Without it I would have perished. A little melodramatic, I know, but such is life when you are a 12 year old girl….or at least when you are a 12 year old Annie.

Anyhow, I was thinking about this POG the other day and remembering that from that day on I always made sure to have my “magic POG” with me when I went to an amusement park….and I’m talking for MANY years after this event. Eventually I grew up and lost the “magic POG” but for a time that POG was the only thing that I felt could protect me from death on a roller coaster. I needed it to survive.

Today I don’t believe in lucky charms anymore and it makes me sad that as a little girl I didn’t know the Lord well enough to trust in Him but instead I put my trust in a cardboard disk pulled out of a box of candy. Today I know that it is Jesus who gets me through the good and the bad and that in the end God works ALL things for good. I wish I could go back in time and talk to that little girl and let her know that the cardboard disk she held onto so tightly was just a piece of cardboard and not the truth. I wish I could go back and tell her that Jesus died for her, rose from death for her and is in heaven alive and well, watching over her. I wish I could tell her that she needs Him to survive, not a thing. Things are impermanent, things break or get lost and in the end no thing can give you peace or true joy.

I pray that Ryan and I will be able to teach our baby boy not to love things or rely on them as a savior but instead to trust in the Lord and turn his heart to Jesus for comfort, peace and the only true joy I have ever known.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

My New Favorite Song

Here are the lyrics to my new favorite song as well as a link to a You Tube video that has the song in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X0J1P5Thk4

Song Title: How Many Kings
Band: Downhere

Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe after all we’ve projected
A child in a manger

Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliness hero, wrapped in his mothers shawl
Just a child
Is this who we’ve waited for?

Cause how many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Bringing our gifts for the newborn savior
All that we have whether costly or meek
Because we believe
Gold for his honor and frankincense for his pleasure
And myrrh for the cross he’ll suffer

Do you believe, is this who we’ve waited for?
It’s who we’ve waited for

How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me

All for me
All for you
All for me
All for you

Friday, February 1, 2008

Changes

I used to have a belly button, it was an innie....now it's just kind of flat but I am sure it will soon be an outie. I also used to have a waist and putting my shoes on was easy, funny how things change.

It's sort of amazing how your body changes throughout a pregnancy. Some things change gradually throughout the weeks/months while others seem to change overnight. For instance one day my stomach looked pretty normal (for a pregnant lady) and then the next day (or so it seemed) I had this slightly darker than skin tone (my skin tone, that is) line running down the front of my stomach. I have read that this is normal but it still strikes me as odd every time I look in the mirror.

Some other interesting pregnancy developments have been things like my heels aching like crazy (I suppose carrying aroun 21 extra lbs is getting to them) and incredible hip pain that wakes me up in the middle of the night.

It is a strange process, this whole pregnancy thing, but also quite wonderful since as I type this I am feeling my little man squirming inside my belly....he's so cute!