We are the proud parents of....

Just ONE new baby. :-)
We saw the baby's heart beat...which was AMAZING. I totally fell in love with my baby right then (not that i didn't care about it before). It looks like a blob, but it is MY adorable little blob. It is 1.08 CM long, so about 1/2 an inch and it is 7 weeks, 3 days old. So, the new due date is July 20th. We are totally thrilled and I am slightly relieved that it is just one, and not two. I know that God would have provided the strength for two, but I am glad to ease into this thing called motherhood.

In other news....here are some pictures from my trip to Colorado:
My 16 year-old brother Jon was in the play "The Music Man". He did a great job and I am SO proud of him.


This is probably one of the cutest kids ever to grace this planet, my niece, Isabella:

This is me and my four brothers:


And lastely, my darling husband put up and decorated our Christmas tree this year. He did a stupendous job:
That's it for tonight!

Why do I live in Siloam???

I have been starving latetly...no joke, I am ALWAYS hungry. I read somewhere that you only need 300 more calories a day when you are pregnant, but that is only like a glass of milk, a tablespoon of peanut butter and an apple. My stomach is not in agreement with the online source of information. But, my dilema today was that I got home from work and had a snack before Jason got home. I flipped on the TV and watched a little "Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations". He was in Ghana, eating what looked like the most delicious food. (For those of you that don't know, I grew up in South America and also in Spain, we spent some time in Morocco and my mom loved to cook ethnic food. So, for me, non-American food is normal and WAY better than a burger and fries.) Anyway, all of the sudden I had this enormous craving for Indian food. The thought of curry, dahl, nan and yogurt sauce sounded amazing. I pulled out my Indian cookbook and realized quickly that my local grocer (aka: walmart) does not carry fenugreek seeds or another 1/4 of the ingredients that ALL the recipes were calling for. "Well", I thought, "I could wander down to the new Thai restaurant and have some rice and some chicken satay with peanut sauce". So, I called Jason to remind him that my tummy was having a hard time being patient. He came home, picked me up and off we sped to the new restaurant....only to find that it was closed! My dreams of rice and some savory sauce were quickly going down the drain. We ended up at the old standby of Thai Spice...and dinner was still very good, but it left me asking one VERY important question tonight: Why in world do I live in little Siloam Springs? If I was in any metropolitan city, I could have popped around the corner and solved my belly's ache. If this is what this pregnancy is going to be like, then I have some serious spice shopping to do the next time I am in a town of greater than 13,000 people.

(PS...I am working on getting some pictures up, I promise!)

Very fun stuff

Hello to all my friends in the blogging world! I have missed you. :-) The past month has been incredibly hectic and I have no idea how it is November 26th today. Where did the time go? Work has been super duper busy and I made a trip out to Colorado to see my family (will post pictures asap) and then we have Jason's family here for Thanksgiving. They flew in on Saturday and Sunday, so we have been just up to our ears in activity and busyness. Thankfully this weekend we have not much planned. I think a trip to pick out a Christmas tree is on our top priority list along with some serious homework time. Actually only two more weeks left and then this semester is done, crazy to believe! I am so looking forward to my month off of school...it will be a true holiday!!

So, the latest on our baby front is that on day 29 Jason and I woke up and took out the perfunctory little dixie cup to pee in. (does anyone else hate holding the pregnancy test while trying to get pee only on the little felt tip?) I started to brush my teeth and figured that once again....it would be negative. My heart started pounding though when I looked a little closer and saw a line start to appear on the "positive" side. I thought...no, just bleery eyed and surely it is negative! BUT....it wasn't. Yup, folks it is true, Jason and I are going to be parents. :-) We took a few more tests to be sure, but they were all positive. I went early that week and had some blood work done and my HCG levels were totally high and my progesterone was at 43. Now, for those of you that know about progesterone levels, they were just looking for it to be above 11. With such a high level (two weeks ago) and the fact that we were on 150mg of clomid, I am to go back to the doctor next week to do an ultrasound and to do a "head count". AH! When it rains it pours. It doesn't mean that there are twins, but it is an indicator that it could be. We are still trying to absorb all this information and not get too anxious until we know for sure. Looks like the due date is July 19th...so I am only 6weeks and a few days. Still pretty early, but feeling good overall! I am just hungry ALL the time. The nurse told me today that I can only gain 20-25 pounds for the whole pregnancy unless there is more than one and then I get a higher range. (great....doesn't that sounds fun!)

We are so thankful to all of you who have so faithfully prayed for us and walked this long journey with us. God has been so good! This past month I finally reached the point where I was truly at peace with NOT being pregnant and just being content to live the life that God has placed before me. Whatever happens, whether one or two (or more....but I kinda hope not) we know that God will continue to be faithful and ever so present in our lives. We have felt your love and support and know that it means the world.

If anyone has any mommy or pregnancy advice, please send it my way! There is so much to learn and so many choices....who knew there were so many options to car seats? Gosh, I totally thought you just buy one and then sit in it all strapped in. Got a lot to learn. God is GOOD!

Not so fun stuff...

This weekend Jason and I took off work a little early on Friday and headed up to Wichita to visit Jason's mom and we were hoping to get together with some good friends, Jared & Heidi. We had been looking forward to this trip ALL week as a chance to get away, spend some time together and just relax. So, we asked Jason's brother to house/dog sit for us while we were gone. We got to my mother in law's house in time for dinner and we were watching a movie when we got a phone call. It was a dreaded phone call. It was my brother-in-law, calling to say that he had just flipped Jason's car on it's side into a ditch. When he called the car wasn't on 4 wheels, which is never a good thing! He and the girl were ok, but we spent the next hour and half calling the insurance company, a tow truck and friends to see if someone could show up to the scene and make sure everyone is ok. Daniel and the girl riding with him were both ok and it could have been a LOT worse, considering they were driving super fast around a 'S' curve with the top down on the miata. Thankfully they were wearing seatbelts. The two of them came out without a scratch. The car, on the other hand...was not so lucky. My poor husband has dreamt of having a car like that for years and we were finally able to afford it and make it happen. We haven't seen the car yet, but apparently the driver's side was the side that is torn up, chances are an axle is broken and the engine joints are damaged. The maddening part is that neither of us can remember exactly what our insurance policy covers. We are praying that it will cover all the repairs or the cost of a new car. In the meantime, we are praying about how to react to Daniel and what to say. He isn't our kid, so there is only so much we can do. We need wisdom and grace. Needless to say, our weekend was not the same and Jared and Heidi...we are sorry we didn't get to call you to hang out.

Life sure is crazy, huh? Hope you all had a better weekend than we did. (Oh, I left my cell phone with Daniel in case of emergency (glad I did!), but I am not sure where my phone is at the moment. You can call me at 479-427-9094 for now...sorry, but I don't have any #'s stored in my work cell).

fun stuff

I apologize for not posting more often. I have been swamped with work, school and all the things that I open my mouth and say "yes" to before I think. Does anyone else do that?

Two exciting things have happened in the past week.

#1- I am flying home to Colorado to see my youngest brother act in "The Music Man". It turns out that all my brothers are coming home for it, so I am totally pumped to go out and catch up with the family. It is also Jon's 16th birthday, so we are going to plan a party to celebrate him. The poor kid has been feeling a little lonely since all of us older kids are off on our own, so I am thankful for this opportunity for all of us to get together.

#2- Jason and I went shopping last weekend. When we built our house we though "no, we don't need can lighting in our living room, we will just have lamps". Well, turns out it is SO hard to read at night on the couch because there isn't any good lighting. Last Saturday we shopped and shopped just looking for the right sofa table that could put behind our couch. We ended up, the last stop of our day, at Pottery Barn...and we were able to get a phenomenal deal on this table and lamps so we are a little excited:

And....that's all folks!

a few happenings....

My younger brother came to visit this weekend. Despite the fact that I was reduced to whispering becuase of laryngitis, we still had a blast together. I dreadfully miss being around him and find him so inspiring. He has such a passion and love for those less fortunate than himself. He is a precious soul. (Note: He doesn't normally have what my other brothers and I refer to as a "molest-ache", but since he knew he was coming to see me... he trim his facial hair just for a laugh. Gotta love those brothers).

This past week when I was sick, I happened to look out my back window and this is what I saw:
Either my dog has been suntanning, or I have a bona-fide Snoopy on my hands. Anyone have a little yellow Woodstock?

In other news....the pregnancy tests were all negative this month...followed by my period. But the silver lining is that my period started on its own again. This is the third time in a row and all between days 34 and 36. Progress, however slow, is being made. This journey isn't getting any easier, but I am learning to just let go a little bit more each day. This is my last month of Clomid and then I either pick a new doctor or just give it a rest for a while. I am going to be praying about which road to choose. I was reading in Psalms last night and the verse that kept being repeated was "I put my hope in the Lord, for yet I will praise you". That is my prayer tonight.

The body says NO MORE!

So...I have been running around like a little chicken with my head about to pop right off! Monday morning, my body said "Enough already....I am making me stay home". I promptly listened to it because it gave me sores on my throat, achy bones and fatigue. The last two days have been spent on my couch with my dear little dog all curled up at my feet keeping me warm. It has been bliss (minus all the symptoms of sickness)!

This weekend we went to OK to visit our dear friends and go to their daughter's tenth birthday party! I am kicking myself that I took my camera but forgot to pull it out and take pictures. I can't believe that little girl is no longer little. I've known her since before she went to kindergarten and watching her grow up has been both a pleasure and a blessing. She is passionate about life, caring/mothering to her siblings, and she longs to do what is right and love the Lord more with each day that passes. I have learned a few things from her in the past few years and though she is much younger than I, still I am honored to know her. Watching her has reminded me about the words of Jesus when He talks about becoming like a child again.

The big news today is that my little brother Andy called and said that he has a girlfriend! AH!! How did that happen? He is too young for women...ok, ok, he is 21, so I suppose it is normal. I hate not living near him so that I can meet her and give my "yay" or "nay". Supposedly she is rather smart. She is from Houston, TX but speaks Chinese, Thai, Spanish and English (of course). I snooped on his facebook and decided that she looks sweet and cute. Just not ready to be dethroned from my position in my little brother's life. Time and age is a cruel, cruel thing.

I also wanted to say "thanks" to those of you that have prayed for us in the past week or two...it means the world to us. May God be praised through all that happens in our lives.