Good News!

So, I almost feel silly for making such a big deal out of the bed rest, but I know it's a big deal, and still a big deal, but I am relieved to share A LOT of good news with you.

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At my doctor's appointment today, they did a sonogram to check my cervix and found it is still good and closed and nice and long...not a lot of thinning, which is excellent. I also got to do an ultrasound with a few 3D pics that you can view below, which showed Weston looks good, already weighing in at about 6 lbs. 12 oz. at 33 5/7 weeks! Yikes! He's measuring at 36 weeks instead of the 34 weeks I will be on Wednesday, but we all knew I had a tendency for big babies=)
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The good news continued as I continued in to see the doctor. She said there was a little more amniotic fluid inside than normal, but 99% of the time that is attributed to the fact he's a big kid already. She didn't seemed too worried about whatever the other 1% explanation could be, and quite frankly I wasn't going to borrow worry by asking. God has been so faithful thus far, I fully trust His decision for whomever this little guy needs to be.

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Doc said it was important that I make it past 34 weeks (2 more days) then it wasn't going to be such a giant ordeal to stop me from going into labor. Basically, I'm past the really scary part come Wednesday, but it won't be good if he comes this early. (Plus, we REALLY don't want to pay for NICU bills!) With that said, I'm to stay on bed rest for the remainder of this week and can return to at least caring for Savannah by next week, but I still need to get plenty of rest.

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What will this look like for me? Well, the plan right now is that I'm still going to be grounded. No errand running, no being in and out of the car unnecessarily, no picking up Savannah if it can be avoided, etc. So, I'll still be here at my house, fiddling my time away, just not confined to a reclined position and ecstatic that I will be able to care for Savannah when she needs me. It's torture listening to your child cry for you when someone else is putting her to bed=(

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What will this look like for my friends and family? I have been and continue to be overwhelmed and eternally grateful for all the well-wishes, prayers, meals, help, and support everyone has freely offered. God has truly blessed our family through you all. All of your offers are still appreciated, and of course, if you feel like God is still calling you to help in any way, I will gladly welcome your company and/or your food in my home=) I won't turn away a willing heart, but seeing as the doctor isn't mandating it, I don't want to be an imposition on anyone by continuing to ask for specific help either. So please all feel free to offer as God leads, and I will continue to be grateful for any and all your services! BUT KEEP PRAYING! August 19th is still the goal!

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With that said, please enjoy the pictures below of our little man. God never ceases to amaze me. I am in awe at how I could have told you this was a boy just by looking at his facial features! How different boys and girls are already...even in the womb! If I can dig up Savannah's 3D pictures, I'll post another blog with the comparisons=) Enjoy!

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Profile shot in 2D. He might have Joey's head...Hmmmm...lucky me....

To give you an idea of what you're looking at...the marbled "thing" squished up next to his face on the left is the umbilical cord....look closely in this pic, and you can see the hair (Yes! He has a head of hair!) on top of his head. The old wives' tale of indigestion means head full of hair has proven true 2 for 2 for us!

Furrowed little brow and pouty lips=) The "thing" that appears to be covering the right side of his face is actually the placenta wall.

Isn't God amazing?!? How can anyone doubt that there is a Great Creator in heaven? Wow....so what do you think? Does he look more like me or Joey?

The World As I See It....

So, if you haven't been informed by email already, I have been officially placed on bedrest until Weston arrives. Why? Well, turns out all those Braxton Hicks contractions I thought I was having, well, some of them were actually real contractions, and now at not quite 34 weeks, my cervix is softened and possibly beginning to thin. August 19th is Weston's "safe zone" where no NICU will be needed, so I'm following doctor's orders: "You are not to stand for any reason other than to use the restroom and take a 15 minute shower; otherwise, you need to be horizontal at all times."

So what does the world of a bedridden mother look like? Here's a glimpse at The Needed Essentials for Surviving Life from Your Bed.....
1) A loving, adoring husband who gets you a new 22" flat panel TV with built in DVD player (since we don't have a cable jack in the bedroom.) What else are savings accounts for, right???

2) A thoughtful, observant husband who also purchases Season 1 of all your favorite TV shows: House & Bones for starters. (He has already called Comcast as well to get them to install a jack in the bedroom immediately, but to be honest, I don't miss the commercials...bring on the DVR!)
3) A comfortable bed with all the essentials in close range...
4) LOTS of comfortable pillows to arrange in various places for optimal comfort...
5) A handy snack...cookies in this picture...
6) The doctor prescribed bottle of water that must be drained and refilled constantly...
7) Bible...my life support...
8)Bible study workbook...even if I can't attend my small group, might as well keep learning...
9) Journal...my outlet...
10) Book to read--TV does inevitably get old....
11) House phone...
12) Cell phone...all texts and blackberry messaging are greatly appreciated...
13) Laptop...my other necessary outlet to the outside world.
14) On one bedside table, you see my purse, in case I need to leave in a rush (let's hope not)....
15) Fully-loaded iPod...
16) Clock that reminds me time IS passing...
17)Tums because no matter what position you lay in, at this stage, heartburn is inevitable....
18) Prescription for stopping any contractions that might begin....VERY important...
19) The other bedside table containing a neurotic project in case I get REALLY bored. Yes, I am going through ALL those Southern Living magazines, cutting out the recipes I want to keep, and taping them to index cards to file in my recipe box...
20) All necessary tools for neurotic project: scissors, index cards, scrapbooking tape....
21) Remote control for TV/DVD...my third arm...
22) A closet nearby to harbor a 2nd neurotic project: Savannah's quilt. Thanks to my wonderful friend Brooke, all the squares have been pinned together into strips, now I just have to sew them all together. Given I can't sit upright at a sewing machine, I'm actually contemplating hand-stitching them together. (What else do I have to do?)....
23) All necessary bags packed for hospital visit. Savannah has two: one diaper bag and another for overnight essentials. Joey has the sleeping bag and blue suitcase, and I have the other Vera Bradley bag waiting. Each bag has a written list of items in the top that must be grabbed last minute before we leave the house and placed in the bag. YES, I am prepared=)
24) And last by not least, in order to survive bedrest, you must have a decent looking ceiling fan to stare at that doesn't drive you completely insane...plus your body is overheating from being pregnant anyways, so this is a lifesaver!
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And those are the key essentials you should be prepared to have within reach when your world becomes your bedroom=)
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All things considered, I'm doing reasonably well, but mostly because my friends and family are the best support anyone could pray to have. Thank you all so much! You have no idea how deeply, truly, grateful I am to have you all in my life.
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No more mass emails from this point on...keep checking back here for updates on what's going on. Next doctor's appointment is Monday, and they are doing an ultrasound, so I should have more baby Weston pics to post! Love you all!

Picture Preview

Savannah just had her latest photoshoot with my friend Dezirae with SugarSnap Photography. Go here to preview the pics! And in another week or two, I expect I'll be able to show you a whole lot more=)

Where I Am...

Ok, it's time for a few confessions on my part and some honesty. (This is a long one people, so hang with me or stop now. When I write like this, it's more for my own catharsis anyways, plus God tells me to=) This pregnancy has been hard, difficult, and in some ways, very lonely for me. It's just the way God has seen fit to orchestrate circumstances in my life--Joey in school, my mom going back to work full-time, no more Bible studies, so friends are busy, busy with their own lives, etc., etc., etc.--excuses, excuses, excuses.

NONE of these factors should result in the negative attitude of self-pity I have given into over the past few months. Yes, it's hard. Yes, it sucks being stuck at home by yourself, A LOT, with an almost two-year old and a boulder strapped to the front of your lower waist. But God has shown me recently that I have allowed my negative thoughts and attitude to strap me into a subtle, puddle of sin. Not a mire, or a pool I'm drowning in, but enough that I can feel pretty dirty and miserable of my own accord too often.

The number one culprit to this negative attitude? Not having my daily quiet time. Simple. A few weeks ago, some of my friends started meeting every other week for the next four weeks to do the study Me, Myself, & Lies by Jennifer Rothschild. Now, I'm not terribly fired up about the study...it's good, don't get me wrong, but my attitude has been lately, "What's the point? Why waste your time? No one gives a rip about what you do or think anyway?" Lies, lies, lies...all lies, right? I see this now, but getting stuck in a puddle is not nearly as hard to recognize as getting sucked down into quicksand.

So I begrudgingly decided one day to actually commit to completing my studies. I would view it like homework, an assignment that needed to be completed, and quite frankly, just do it. How grateful I am that even when God knows our heart He is gracious enough to give us what we do not deserve despite ourselves. And boy has He shown up in my life! Not in anything outstanding because every day I sit down with my Bible like I'm completing a homework assignment, doggedly determined to do something right in a day, but He shows up in how just doing a homework assignment changes your outlook, your attitude, and the way you can accept circumstances in your life without having your joy stolen. Just from being willing to open His Word and read and think. He truly has been so good to me.

So what exactly has my problem been? Here's a few quotes from the book to give you an idea:

Sin shows up in self-loathing, negative attitudes, and accepting lies as truth. Yeah, didn't really think of my negative attitude as a "sin" per se until I read that....

It is sin to believe lies when God equipped you to recognize and receive truth. Ouch! Again, didn't know I was that bad of a sinner....

One day talked about the sin of assumption and presumption which is to take for granted that your way, your view, and your opinion are worthy of forming the foundation of your thoughts. Presumption shows itself in me when I wrongly assume my perspective is complete but it is actually limited by my experiences and flawed by my sinful nature. Yikes!

That last one hit too close to home for me. I "expect" and "assume" things of Joey, my friends, and family all the time without them or myself really even recognizing what I'm doing. I end up disappointed, and they end up getting their feelings hurt or seeing me as a person I don't want to be, all because I'm not allowing God to control my thought processes. So although those quotes I pulled (out of context) may sound like I'm condemning myself, I'm really just sharing with you the quiet work of instruction and discipline God has been allowing in my soul. With this new perspective on my daily sin, I am better able to respond rightly to God, prayerfully hand over to Him all the expectations and assumptions I want others in my life to fulfill, and be content with what He chooses as the outcomes.

Unfortunately for me, the consequence of just now recognizing my mistakes after so many months is that I've already hurt and distanced people from myself without even realizing what I was doing. So if you are one of those that has kinda written me off for the time being, so to speak, because I've been too much of a "Debbie-Downer", please forgive me and know that I'm a work in progress just like everyone else. I'm learning more and more that no one ever has it all together completely, no matter how good things look or sound from the outside.

So that's where I am, that's my confession. I pray this enlightens, helps explain, or maybe just makes you feel like you're not alone in how you struggle. Let me end with something I wrote in my journal for my kids a few weeks back--(I actually can't believe I really wrote something like this...it sounds too profound, but that just means God wrote it, not me=) Psalm 40 was my inspiration: "Sometimes we need to get to a point in our lives when we realize the depth of even the simplest of our sins, so that we can truly appreciate the goodness and faithfulness of our God. May I always feel out of control, alone, and unworthy if it means I get to feel His hand at work in my heart teaching me otherwise. How great is my God!"

Nesting????

Ok, so I could be in the wee beginning phases of my nesting stage...you be the judge. With Savannah, it started the two weeks before I went into labor--transplanting day lilies, organizing/cleaning every closet in the house, etc. The urge to organize, straighten, and clean was almost like a ball of panic in my stomach for those two weeks!
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This time around, there is no panic, only a slight hint of urgency as I seem to run across random things that need organizing--like the pile of cleaning supplies from all over the house I have gathered in one place, so as to put them in containers to make it easier for my cleaning lady who will come (once a month) thanks to my fabulous husband=)
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Or, like the sudden urge I had to go through STACKS of old Southern Living magazines, ripping/cutting out all the recipes I like in order to glue them to 4x6 index cards and reorganize my recipe box--which needed a good house-cleaning anyways--just so I could feel good about throwing all the old magazines away. I LOVE their recipes!!!
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Joey is awestruck by my latest tonight. I guess going through all those magazines made me realize how bored I am with our eating options, and their were several I ran across that I've really been meaning to try, so I did. I made this DELICIOUS Lemon-Basil Shrimp Salad in Parmesan Cheese Bowl!

Yes, I MADE the bowl! So simple...I'll pass the info along if you're interested=) Anyway, to my chagrin, I was struck with the realization about an hour before dinner and Joey arrives home from work, that he HATES, ABHORS, cannot tolerate cold shrimp. I don't know why this epiphany didn't hit me earlier...I guess I was too enamored at the idea of making Parmesan Cheese Bowls=) So needless to say, I made this fabulous, healthy dinner that Joey couldn't enjoy, but luckily I had some leftovers to suffice. He was gracious enough toward my mistake.
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So, what do you think...have I officially begun nesting? These are some weird quirks even for myself, but still not as panicky as before I had Savannah.

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Also...I have A LOT of leftover shrimp salad...anyone interested in lunch?

O.K. Husband here....

First of all my wife is a fabulous cook. Please do not think by her writing that she is any kind of slouch in the kitchen. Have you seen me lately....haven't missed too many meals. Anyway I am Just glad she cooked this time instead of yard work. Imagine my delight a little less than 2 years ago to arrive home from work and find my 9 month pregnant wife pushing a full wheel-barrow of dirt. For those of you who think Jennifer is not nesting and just productive I leave you with 8 words:

Lemon Basil Shrimp Salad in Parmesan Cheese Bowls

Cow Appreciation Day 2009!

Well, if you aren't familiar with Chick-fil-A's own self-proclaimed holiday, you should mark your calendars for next year=) I believe it's every year, the second Friday of July...Cow Appreciation Day. Anyone that comes into any Chick-fil-A dressed like a cow gets a free meal--yes, an ENTIRE meal, not just a sandwich! So Savannah had to make her first official appearance at Joey's store for lunch on Friday, and as always, she was everyone's little darling. In case you can't read the shirt, it says, '2 Coot 4 Burgerz.' =)

Family Palooza 2009

So it has been a long standing tradition on my side of the family to try and get everyone together for a family vacation at the beach. Now, with everyone being spread out all over the US and many in school and/or with jobs that do not allow for a week of time off, this is a feat to accomplish. Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach, FL was our host this year, and fortunately we all got to enjoy each other's company throughout the week as people came and went as needed. Tuesday was the one day EVERYONE was there all together, and the Family Cookout on the beach was amazing!! Good times, great memories=) I'll try to give you the highlights with the pictures I have....

Here's the whole crew just lounging around--with only five small charcoal grills, it was eat as it comes that night=)

Here I am, attempting to look cute, largely pregnant=) Jose' Diablo, my hubby, one of the many master grillers for the evening=) A great pic of our cutie taken by Aunt Amy. A fabulous picture captured by Joey of some volleyball fun. Our happy family=) This kind of hug or "squeeze" as we call it is Savannah's favorite. A sure way to get a smile.

Here we are at Osteen's restaurant in St. Augustine on Thursday night. Savannah was VERY entertaining once she actually got some food=) Say Awwww! My terrific family. Just us again=) Savannah practicing her best "Say Cheese" smile=) Her first merry-go-round ride...as with all things, you have to force her to stick with it for a while.... ....but as always, by the end of the ride, she had to have another, loving every moment=)

The tears started again when we had to leave=(

So, much fun was has by all, as usual. I look forward to seeing more pics and hearing more stories from my other family bloggers! Check them out in the left hand column of my blog!