a quick picture

I have been meaning to post and write, but honestly...not much has happened lately.  Just work, homework and house work.  Ewww...that isn't very fun to write about.  ;-) 

Anyways, my sweetheart took these pictures, and though I think my rear end looks like it is expanding as much as my "front" end, I thought I would post them so you guys can see how Baby Herron is shaping up.  My tummy just feels like it is stretching all the time.  Most of my pants I can't wear anymore!  Jason is fascinated by my belly and is convinced that I look VERY pregnant. Most people though say that I am hardly showing.  I dunno.  Here they are.

and the baby is a....

BOY! We went to the pregnancy center in town today for an ultrasound. It was so fun to see him stretch and move around in there. I couldn't believe how big he is already. :-) Here are a few pictures:
This one is his whole body. Look at his spine and the little dark spot in the middle is his heart.
Of course they can't say "for sure" whether the baby is a boy or girl, but this picture is looking at his bottom with his little legs bent on either side. The arrow is pointing to my little boy's "man parts".
This one is harder to distinguish what it is, but on the right side his little leg is bent and you can see a few of his toes.

We are SO excited to know what gender our baby is. I go at the end of the month to the doctor's office for the big 20 week ultrasound and so we will hopefully confirm that he is in fact a "he". I am excited about all the trucks and trains, dirt and bugs, boy scouts and camping and all the other BOY things that await us in the future. I love my son already.

In other news...Jason and I when to KC this weekend and had a blast. We ate at some SUPER fun restaurants, wandered around the plaza and saw that the world really is bigger than our little town. :-) BUT...perhaps our favorite thing to see was this:
We were passing a hotel parking lot and saw this! We just had to stop and take a few pictures. It's not often that one comes across the wienermobile.

baby it's cold outside

I usually whine at how ugly Oklahoma looks because of all the broken trees due to terrible ice storms. Looks like I am going to have to expand my whining to include Arkansas. Monday night it started raining...Tuesday the drizzle and sleet continued on and on. And well, today, the sun came out but it is too cold to do much. Our power has been out since yesterday morning and so I tossed all of my freezer items outside and am waiting for power to come back on before I tackle the stench in my fridge. Jason and I each have little caving headlights that came in awfully handy for cooking and reading last night. This morning though I realized that the novelty of not having power/heat/hot water/internet has completely worn off. Today I went to the university and got a hot shower in the locker room, and then successfully got stuck in the parking lot. Jason and I have bummed from place to place looking for heat, an outlet and some wifi. We have been successful. We are sitting in a little side room of the local coffee shop getting some internet stuff done and charging our laptops so that maybe tonight we can watch a movie all huddled in bed together. Fortunately our house only dipped to 50 degrees last night, so it was chilly, but not unbearable. Work and schools were all closed today....here are some pictures of our yard. LOTS of work ahead of us.

From our front porch, some of these branches fell on the house, but no damage that we can see.

My poor front tree...it gets uglier each winter and spring. We may end up taking it down, but I will greatly miss it.

This picture kind of shows the war zone our poor neighborhood is in.

Ok...so here it is..a belly picture. This was actually taken three weeks ago? But I don't think much has changed. I look awful in this picture and there is a wierd shadow in front of my belly, but here it is just the same:

The other day my husband and I took our dog for a frisbee run in the soccer field, he was being a clown, but I love this picture.
Ok...I am going to brave the roads again and go home. I better get the candles going again before it gets too dark. Hope everyone else is fareing well.

some challenges of mine

You know, it never ceases to amaze me at how God brings such great blessings and great trials at the same time. I think the blessings offset the trials, and I am trying to learn to be mindful of the daily "little" blessings that I tend to overlook during the "monstrosity" of my trials. The past few weeks have brought me both...

Trails:
Work. I think that when God created Adam and gave him a job that Adam truly enjoyed his job. But then, who wouldn't love hanging out with animals all day?! For me though, my job has been increasingly difficult and full of conflict and tension. It isn't that my actual work is all that hard. Sometimes I find myself short of patience with families that I work with, but on the whole it isn't that taxing to the mind or soul. However, in the past few months and especially the past few weeks my boss has taken quite a toll on me. I struggle with his micro-management style and his belittling demeanor. I know that his heart is in the right place (most of the time), but at the end of the day, I often walk out of my office feeling less than two inches high and second guessing every decision that I made. He oversteps the boundary lines of personal and professional life continually which has become profoundly infuriating. I find myself just thinking of retorts to his ridiculous demand. That is NOT how I want to live! I am praying for God to give me grace and patience, but also the guts to confront him.

Home. So, in preparing for this child to arrive, Jason and I have looked at our budgets and decided that it would be wise for us to sell our house this Spring. We will most likely move into a rental place while we build a smaller home. We learned a lot by building this home, and paid through the nose for it too. It is terribly bittersweet. We built this house as an investment and if all goes as planned, it should pay off. But, we poured so much effort, love and sweat and many tears into this home. It brought much grief and much joy at the same time. It is also saddening to think of not really putting together a nursery right away. I had in my mind a picture of how I was going to decorate one of our guest rooms and turn it into a fun baby room (granted, I have still only come up with ideas for a boy, so if it is a girl I will have some problems). It is a lot of transition, but we feel good about it and know that this is the right step.

Friendships. The past two months have been super busy and though on the Meyers-Briggs I am an extreme ENFP, I have never felt so introverted in my life. I haven't returned phone calls like I should, I have just kind of hid away in my house. But, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I feel lonely. And hiding is safer than just admitting that I am struggling with that area of my life. I miss two dear friends that both moved away about 2 years ago. If I could pack myself up and move to Muskogee or Nashville, I would! This past weekend though I came to realize that this is still the situation I am in and there really ARE great people that live in my town and that I DO really enjoy spending time with. I need to quit hiding and make an effort. Chances are that someone else needs some friends as much as I do.

Perpetual Tiredness. I have entered the phase of pregnancy where really only 11 hours of sleep a night, coupled with at least one 2 hour nap will make me feel like I am not a zombie. I don't want to be so tired ALL the time. I keep thinking, this is only the beginning of the lack of sleep...I better learn how to cope with it. Stinks though that coffee, at least the caffinated version of it, should be avoided during pregnancy. That would surely help!

BLESSINGS.

Baby. I am now in the middle of 15 weeks. We will find out at the end of February if it is a boy or a girl. I am totally thrilled that this little child is on its way. It is zapping me of all my energy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I saw a 3 month old the other day and thought "I will soon have my own to hold". My belly is starting to really pop out. Monday was my first official day of wearing pregnancy pants. I didn't know that these things were so comfy! Why doesn't everyone have pants like this? No domes or buttons or zippers. Good stuff I dare say! This week our babe is the size of an apple. He/she has put on a WHOLE once since last week.

Co-workers. I have been totally blessed to work with two friends, who also happen to be pregnant. It is so fun to be able to spend my days with these girls. I will miss them greatly when they give birth next month, but am totally excited to meet their sweet babies. Also, I have about 8 students that work for me and they are SO fun and I enjoy getting to be a part of their lives. though I will not miss work at ALL when I quit this May...I will sorely miss interacting with those students on such a frequent basis.

Spring. Yes, I know that it is only mid-January. But, I feel like I have been suffering from a bout of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Today I went to the grocery store and saw pints of luscious ruby red strawberries. I refused to pay the $4.00 for a pint, but, it did give me hope that all the good things of Spring and Summer will shortly be on their way. I can't wait for flowers and gardens and green grass and walking barefoot in the creek.

School. Although sitting in class for almost 6 hours straight every Tuesday night can make concentrating a little hard, I think it is going to be a really good semester. I am taking Family Sexuality this semester, along with Psychopharmocology. Who wouldn't like taking classes on sex and drugs in the same night? Good times my friends...good times. ;-)

Husband. I really did marry my best friend and I am still honored to be his wife. Sometimes he drives me crazy when he turns EVERY sock inside out when he takes them off, or when his motto of "if it's worth doing, then it's worth over-doing" is taken a little to the extreme. But, he comes home every night and kisses me and says that he is thankful that he married me. We don't always see eye to eye, and we did have a spat last weekend, however...I wouldn't trade spending my life with him. God knew that I needed him, and that he needed me. It is nice to be needed.

God. This really shouldn't be the last on my list. It really is through the struggles that we turn to God and say "Dad, I need your help right now". I feel like I am growing in my journey of learning how to be reliant on Him. I see His blessings all day long and I am humbled by His love for me. I am reading through Exodus right now and I don't want to be an "Isrealite" who grumbles and complains at God despite the immense goodness that He has/is pouring out on me.

Ok....so there are some of the thoughts/things that have been rattling around my mind and soul for the past few weeks. God is good. I really DO promise to post pictures, but I am too tired to get up and go find the camera.

the swing of things

Why do people say "back into the swing of things"? Swings are fanciful and freeing. The "swing of things" is anything BUT! We are having a very large scholarship competition at our university on Sunday/Monday. I have over 250 people showing up on campus and I am the host for every one of them. Planning for the event has been smooth enough until yesterday. I am thoroughly wiped out, and there is still 5 days before it is over. I am supposed to be grocery shopping right now and planning for the week, but instead, I am camped on my couch...unable to move.

There have been many things that I have been mulling over in my mind over the last month, and I will write about them next week. Also, I will post a belly picture. :-) But for now, in the midst of all this craziness, I am celebrating this good news for a sweet friend.

God is still so good and very faithful. What a friend we DO have in Jesus.

I am back

December was a blurr. I could not even tell you what all happened during the month. I feel like life is just charging by and I am being trampled. I want to stop, and (pardon the cliche) smell the roses. Anyways, so that is what I did during the last three weeks. I took two full weeks off of work and though we spent a good chunk of that visiting family, which was great, I did manage to just veg out, not answer my phone or e-mail, I didn't get on my laptop and it was FABULOUS! I admit to being a hermit, but I am starting to feel a little refreshed.

We went to the doctor's today for an appointment! We are 12 weeks, 4 days though the pregnancy. I haven't really felt sick at all in the past week and, other than being extremely hungry ALL the time, I don't feel different than my non-prego self. Jason came with me today and we heard the heartbeat of our little peanut. It was amazing to hear that little pitter patter and know that it is growing and moving. Everything is going well so far, and we are right on track.

Next week will be a little crazy. I start back up to school and then we also have our annual scholarship competition at work, so I have roughly 120 kids and their parents coming to school. Needless to say, I am not ready to relinquish my holiday or "hermithood". :-) Happy 2009!

perpetually car sick

So, it has hit! I haven't really ever had the urge to run to the nearest bathroom and camp out near the toilet, BUT almost continually I feel like I am in the back seat of a 15 passenger van that has been driving down Hwy 16. All in all, not fun. Friday I woke up to my alarm and just could not physically open my eyes, so I called in sick/tired to work. It was fine for Friday, but I can't do that every day. I am slightly worried about the next few weeks. Between not being able to keep my eyes open and having a hard time wanting to put food down my throat, I guess I would say that I am exemplifying the classic symptoms of being pregnant. :-) Not great, but totally worth it (at least that I what I keep telling myself, since this is the first time....I don't actually KNOW that the outcome is worth it. Just kidding!)

No other big news. I have a final in class on tuesday and a presentation. One more paper and this semester is over! 18 hours down, 49 to go. I am making a dent in this program, the progress feels satisfying. We are heading to Wichita, KS the weekend before Christmas and are staying until noon on Christmas day and then we drive out to Colorado to see my family. Mom said she would hold Christmas dinner till we got there, but I told her if she is making a turkey, to please eat before I get home. The very thought of that for dinner makes my stomach turn and I want to gag. I think Jason's family does ham for Christmas, which does sound edible. ;-)

Hope all is well for you. Have a lovely Christmas seaon.