Exciting News!!!

We are getting the internet TODAY!!!!! So get ready for some post and TONS of photos! Also I`m getting checked at the doctor today when I go (37 weeks & 6 days today)! So we will see if there is any progress or if Mr. Parker is holding his ground!

Pregnancy Survey

Sorry no photos!

How far along?: 35 weeks & 3 days
Total weight gain: 15-16 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight
How much does baby weigh?: I think websites say he should be 5 1/2 lbs now
Maternity clothes?: Now that I`m home I got my older sisters maternity clothes, it was like Christmas day! All my bottoms & dresses are maternity. I can still wear normal tops as long as I have a tank top on under it. But I have been wearing the maternity shirts my sisters gave me.
Stretch marks?: Still none BUT I have heard horrible stories about people getting them the last week! I really hope not!
Sleep?: I usually go to bed around 10pm & wake up at 6 - 6:30am. I wake up about twice to use the restroom. But I toss & turn all night & I have dreams all the time now.
Best moment this week?: His nursery is finally coming together
Movement?: All the time but he for sure moves a lot at night
Gender? a boy
Food cravings?: The Florida Citrus Cake at Beans & Brushes in LW! You have to try it!
Labor signs?: Not yet
Belly button in or out?: It is pretty much out but not all the way
What I miss: Wearing cute clothes! I don`t understand why they make maternity shorts come down to your knees & baggy. Just because I`m pregnant doesn`t mean I don`t want to look cute!
What I'm looking forward to: HIM, we are so close!
Milestone: I`ll be 9 months this Friday, I can`t believe that. Well I can because I feel like I have been pregnant forever!

a LONG Time

It has been a long time since I have posted! We left Fort Knox May 3rd & made it home to Lake Wales in a days trip. It was quite the experience since we had to stop every 3 hours for me to walk about 15 minutes (plus walk the dogs). It made the trip much longer, but we were just happy to be heading home. I love that I never have to go back to Kentucky, it is the best feeling! Even though for the first 2 weeks Matt & I kept feeling like we were just on vacation. We now finally feel like we are here for good. We are moved into the ranch house & everything is pretty much in place. I have had 2 baby showers thrown for Parker & I. His nursery is coming together so cute! Matt is working for my Dad & looking for a job, while I am back to work for the Interior Designer I worked for while Matt was deployed. I`ll work up until Parker is born, then I`ll take about a month. I`m going to start looking for work in August, but I have applied at some places already. But I did let them know I won`t be able to start until August.

Sorry for no photos (I have SO MANY to share with yall!). I`m actually on the Internet at my parents house. We have decided we are going to get the Internet at the ranch, but are still looking into who will give us the best deal. We have to get one of those air cards. So for now if we want to get online, we have to come in town to my parents.

I got to keep my ID Card, thanks for all the prayers! It made it all so much less stressful. I have payed for my epidural & I have gone to my first Dr. appointment down here. I go again this Thursday & from then on out I`ll be going every week.

Thank you all for letting me know yall miss my blog! Sometimes I feel like I`m just writing to myself. I promise once we get the Internet at the ranch the post will be coming! Please still keep us in yalls prayers. Between job searching & getting ready for a baby, it has gotten stressful. But I just keep telling myself,  "God doesn`t give us stuff we can`t handle!"

So Close I Can Taste it!

We leave Monday night for Florida! I can`t believe it is almost here! We got our moving truck yesterday & today we are picking Matt's Dad up from the airport at noon. I am now 32 weeks & am no help for all the moving. I have also been informed to try & sit back & let him & his father clean the house.....but we will see how that goes!

On the pregnancy front everything is going good. I had my 3 hour glucose test on Tuesday, ugh, that was not fun. But thank goodness they called yesterday & I passed! Praise the Lord! I`m a little stressed still with insurance though. Even though Matt won`t be Active Duty, he is going into the National Guard. So we are still keeping Tricare (military insurance), the only difference is we pay for it now. If you are familiar with the military, we use our ID Cards as our insurance cards. Well, when we leave here we have to turn in ID cards. BUT I still have Active Duty insurance till May 28th. Then on May 29, I will be enrolled in the National Guard insurance & will receive a new insurance card. SO I have insurance but no card, & we all know the dr. offices want to see your card when you go in. So I have to have them call a number to confirm I have it & it is just a big pain in the you know what! I just feel like nothing can be easy for us right now. I pray about it every night but my anxiety & worry are still there. I`m reading "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" & chapter 3 is really helping me through all this right now. It is about worry & how it is a sin when it gets to be too much, which is exactly my life right now. I know I shouldn`t worry because it isn`t good for the baby, so then I worry about worrying......help me. So please pray for me, I know I ask that a lot. But the hormones, the move, the insurance, becoming a new mom, I just feel like I`m running in quick sand. I can`t go a day with out crying (good ole' hormones). I just need the peace of God on me really bad right now.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11: 28-30

Happy Easter

Today is Easter Sunday! Happy Easter yall! I hope you enjoy this day with church, family & a nice lunch (and some Easter candy!). Today, here in Kentucky, it is rainy & overcast, it is suppose to rain all day. Not the prettiest Easter Sunday I could hope for. But this is our last holiday we have to celebrate away from our families.
Here is a verse that I really  like (did a post on it in 2009)

"Out of that terrible travail of soul, he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many "righteous ones," as he himself carries the burden of their sins. Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly— the best of everything, the highest honors—Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep." Isaiah 53: 11-12

I like this verse because it is talking about Jesus before he was even born. That is crazy to me. He's whole purpose was to die for us, the black sheep. I`m a sinner, big time, I complain, I get mad, I get jealous, I get lazy in my devotion, I care about earthly things, I could go on & on & on! But Jesus still loves me, even though sometimes it seems like I don`t need Him. If He didn`t do what He did, I would have no chance of getting into heaven. I`m so thankful He died for me. I`m so thankful He loves me & all my baggage.

"What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole." 1 Peter 1: 3-5

Pregnancy Survey

How far along?: 31 weeks
Total weight gain:  14 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight
How much does baby weigh?: 3.3 lbs (babycenter.com)
Maternity clothes?: I still wear normal shirts, just my jeans & some dresses are maternity.
Stretch marks?: Still none
Sleep?: I`m napping a lot because I haven`t been sleeping good. I just wake up in the middle of the night & lay there. He moves a lot in the middle of the night now too.
Best moment this week?: I finally talked to the people in the Medical Records department! I have had the worse time trying to get a hold of them! It really made my day! I have to bring a paper copy down to my Dr. back home.
Movement?: He moves 24/7 now!
Gender? a boy
Food cravings?: Sweets, sweets & ummmm more sweets!
Labor signs?: Good ole' Braxton Hicks
Belly button in or out?: It is BARELY in
What I miss: Being able to hug my husband! I mean we can still hug but it is the "side hug"
What I'm looking forward to: We move in 10 days!
Milestone: We have now entered the Third Trimester

11 Days & Name Change

Sorry I have been MIA lately. It has been crazy around here, & it is going to get crazier. Which I didn`t think was possible but it is.

This is our house right now. It is a crazy mixture of boxes & trying to live around them. The big boxes are Parker's furniture.

Thought I would throw in some photos of the animals......like always.

This quilt was made by Matt's great-grandmother I believe. We both love it, old quilts are the best. It pretty much is my "blankie". When I don`t feel good I wrap myself up in it & lay on the couch. We always have the problem of the animals thinking it is their "blankie". They are always trying to sleep on it.

Remember in my last post I said that Matt has now claimed Bama as his. Well here are some photos to go with it. They are best friends.

So the craziness. Matt doesn`t have to go to work anymore, but that doesn`t mean he is free & easy. When you ETS out of the Army there are many steps you have to go through. He has to get signatures from people all over post. He has to get 2 physicals (which were suppose to be 2 weeks apart, remember 11 days left....opps. Thank goodness they waved that!). He has to turn in all his Army issued gear, which we have to clean & make sure he has it all. If he is missing something we have to pay for it. Plus he is trying to sale his truck up here so we don`t have to haul it down. We are trying to pack & make sure everything with the house is set when we leave. Again if something is wrong with the house, we can end up paying for it. Stressful time right now.

Now add that 30 weeks pregnant. Which I was hoping would be the one thing we don`t have to stress about, think again. First, last week  I got sick in the morning after I ate breakfast, didn`t think much of it. Matt picked me up to go get Parker's furniture from the store. We were riding in his truck & all of a sudden I thought I was going to get sick again. At that moment we were leaving base, going through the gate, no where to pull off. I told Matt pull into the parking lot once we get off base, I was going to get sick. Well all of a sudden everything started to go blurry, which I knew meant I was going to pass out. I keep saying to Matt, "I`m gonna pass out!" He was trying to clam me down & all of a sudden it went black. Thank goodness I was already sitting! I woke up & we were in the parking lot, I opened the door & got sick again. I was most likely out for not even a minute. But it was super scary.

So I called my Mom & she said I should call my Dr. Which I did, but we all know they take forever to call back. They did at about 2pm (all this happened at like 9:30am). They wanted me to come in, which is an hour drive to Louisville. So we go there around 3pm, & they admitted me to Triage. They asked did you pass your glucose test? I said yes because no one ever called me back. They gave me an IV & 2 bags of fluids. They thought either my blood sugar spiked & then dropped or that I was really dehydrated or both. We got home around 6pm, long day.

I went to the Dr. on the 19th for my last check up at Louisville. When we were leaving my Dr. realized my glucose test results weren`t in my file. She sent a nurse to find them & sent us on our way, think we wouldn`t have to come back. Well they called me yesterday, they found my results. I failed the first test, so now I have to go back for the long second one. Did I mention I only have 11 days left here? So I`m going Wednesday for the 2nd LONG test. Please pray for Parker & me. I`m not so much worried about myself. I just pray everything with him is good. My oldest sister went through the same thing & she was borderline. All her babies turned out healthy & I`m hoping the same is for Parker.

As you can see I finally decided on a new name for my blog. My husband was a big help in picking one. The new header & background were made by a good friend who is really talented, Katie. She is the one who designed my header for Branding Iron. I wanted to convey a country/home-y feeling with my new blog name. I love to sit out on my parents front porch on their swing & just think. You see so many people pass by & you hear the birds & see the Spanish moss blowing in the wind. I love sitting out there with my family while it rains & just talking. It is a time to just sit back, relax & talk about life & what is going on. That is the feeling I want yall to have when you read my blog. So I hope you like the new look & name!