18 Weeks and It's A.........

Boy!!!

We're having another sweet baby boy. Isaac was convinced we were having a girl. And when we took a peak on Mon, I thought it was a girl too, but got a good look today and saw that it was definitely a boy.

For now, the name is Judah, but we don't have a middle name. We have it narrowed down, but luckily we have plenty of time.

How far along: 18 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Last appt, we, the total gain was 3 lbs.

Maternity clothes: For the most part, I'm in all maternity and was super excited that Motherhood at Macy's was having a wonderful sale this week!

Stretch marks: None so far.

Best moment this week: Watching Curtis with my parents and finding out this sweet Little Bug is a boy.

Miss anything: I actually miss salads. I just do not have a taste at all for anything green, but I miss healthy stuff.

Movement: I think I've felt a few kicks, but nothing consistent yet. 

Food cravings: I've craved wings lately. Isaac was so sweet to take me Buffalo Wild Wings last week so I could fulfill that.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Dog food and cleaning out the fridge.

Have you started to show yet: Oh yes, and people in public are asking about it so I must really be showing.

Gender: He's a BOY!!!

Labor Signs: None 

Symptoms: I still get headaches pretty often and some nausea and vomitting. But most days I feel pretty good.

Belly button in or out: In but probably not for long..

Wedding rings on or off: on

Happy or Moody most of the time: I've been pretty happy most of the time. Especially now that I'm feeling better

Looking forward to: Going to Colorado and seeing all of our family and watching Curtis with them :)

18 weeks and Christmas Pictures

So we had our anatomy ultrasound today and found out what we're having. We're waiting to share with everyone until we see Isaac's family later this week, so we'll announce then what we're having :)

So other than gender, baby stuff is going well. I am finally feeling better, for the most part. I've still been throwing up, but it's not an entire day thing anymore. I can eat normal food again, drink coffee, which is incredibly important. I missed my coffee. I have my energy back. I've been able to go for walks with Curtis and Baxter. Pretty much, as much as a pregnant person can feel, I feel back to my old self.

This past week, my parents came to visit which was so fun. I love watching Curtis with our family. It didn't take him very long to warm up to them, thankfully and when he did it was so cute. He had fun entertaining mom with falling into the couch and trying to walk. Dad loved rocking Curtis in Grandma's chair, so much that he rocked him to sleep, more than once. It always makes my heart happy to see Curtis with our family. Which makes me look forward to tomorrow and the next week when we get to introduce Curtis to all of Isaac's siblings. It will be so fun watching him with his cousin's seeing him with his Aunts and Uncles and seeing him have so much fun with Nana and Nono. 

Since we're not announcing the gender of Little Bug today, here's a few Christmas pictures of Curtis. These may be some of my favorite's that I've taken.

Happy Thanksgiving and 15 Weeks

Today was a different Thanksgiving than we've had before. One thing I've learned with a husband in the Navy, is that we don't always get to celebrate holidays on the actual holiday and that's where we are this Thanksgiving. But nonetheless, it has been a wonderful day. Curtis let me sleep till almost 7. Isaac came home midmorning and spent a few minutes with us before going up to bed. Curtis and I watched the Thanksgiving Parade, which I hope becomes a tradition cause I really enjoyed it. We skyped with both Isaac's family and my family. And now, Isaac and I get to enjoy a few hours without Curtis since he goes to bed so early. It's not been a normal holiday, but it has been wonderful. I got some snuggle time with my little man, which never happens cause he is not a snuggler anymore. I got to talk to my Grandma and she got to see Curtis' smiling face. And I got to spend the afternoon with the 2 people I love most. And bonus, I have not been too nauseous today thanks to Zofran. It has been a lovely day.

We do get to actually celebrate on Saturday, which I am looking so forward to. We always do holidays with some friends who moved up here with Isaac from Charleston. They have 2 little ones as well, so it should be a fun, loud, and crazy afternoon/night of eating and celebrating.

How far along: 15weeks

Total weight gain/loss:I'm still not able to always eat a lot, and never actually finish breakfast, so I'm not really sure if I've gained, but I find out next week at my 16 wks appt.

Maternity clothes:I'm pretty much just in maternity clothes. I finally do have some more pants, b/c I was wearing and washing the same pair for almost a month.

Stretch marks: None so far.

Best moment this week: Snuggling with Curtis after his nap time today

Miss anything: Coffee, Although I think I may try to drink some this week since I am beginning to feel better.

Movement:I keep expecting any day now to feel some little flutters.

Food cravings: Steak and pizza. I could eat steak all the time if we could afford it.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still a lot of stuff makes me queasy, but it's not as bad. Random smells, having a baby still in diapers is not easy, especially since we do cloth diapers and I have to clean the diapers. Running pregnancy tests at the clinic is not easy. Feeding Baxter is hard when Isaac isn't here.

Have you started to show yet: I feel like I've been showing for a while, but it could have just still been Curtis, but I do definitely have a little bump.

Gender: Hopefully we find out in December

Labor Signs: None 

Symptoms: Nausea/vomitting and fatigue are the most noticeable, but I do get bad headaches, probably from dehyration, as well.

Belly button in or out: In for now.

Wedding rings on or off: on

Happy or Moody most of the time:I think I'm happy most of the time, but I am exhausted so the happy is probably understated.

Looking forward to: Dinner Saturday night and celebrating with friends

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Boy!!

At 7:20 tonight, my baby boy will officially be a year old. The closer we've gotten to his birthday in the last couple of days, the more I've thought about last year. That last OB appointment when no one suspected I would go in to labor the next day. That last day at the CPC, where I'd apparently been contracting the whole day. Making dinner rolls in preparation to have friends over the next night. Calling Isaac, scared to death, not knowing what to do. Our wonderful friend, Michael, driving me to the hospital. Being told I was dilated and the nurses trying to stop the labor and contractions. Being admitted and realizing much sooner than anticipated, Curtis would be joining our world. The contractions. The wonderful epidural. The pushing. The forceps. The sweet little cry of our baby boy and getting to briefly hold him before he was whisked away to the Observation Nursery. It was a whirlwind and I was so thankful the whole process was over. Little did I know, the hard part was only about the start. 

I've taken care of kids and been around kids my whole adult life. I had no clue what I was getting in to by being a Mom. This has been the most challenging, frustrating, sleep deprived , joy-fulled, wonderful, happiest time of my life. Our little one is not an "easy" baby. He doesn't sleep. Meal time can be very frustrating. Weaning has not been very easy. But any of you who have been around him for any amount of time also know how completely adorable he is. He has the brightest, happiest smile of any child I've ever met. That smile just makes my heart melt every time. He giggles so loud when he's playing and wrestling with Isaac. He flirts with every pretty girl he sees. He's so independent and such a busy body, always wanting to know what's going on with everyone around him. Yes, this past year has been a huge challenge, but I would never trade it for anything. God has shown me so much about myself, and so much about what it mean to really love, no matter what. I am so thankful for our little boy and excited to see how much he will grow and learn and come into his personality in the next year!!

We see both of these faces a lot lately. Curtis has learned to stick out his tongue in the past few weeks and the little round lipped face, that's how he talks a lot :)

Some Very Exciting News... :)

Yep! Curtis is going to be a big brother!! Our new Little Bug will hopefully join our family mid May, not follow in their brother's footsteps and come early April :)

We are super excited to be adding to our little family and looking forward to where this adventure takes our family. The past few weeks have been rough with dealing with normal pregnancy symptoms that I pray go away with the start of my 2nd trimester, although I am not counting on that as they lasted completely through the 2nd with Curtis. Isaac has been super dad and super husband these last several weeks, taking care of me, doing dishes, taking care of Curtis, washing poop diapers since they usually make me want to throw up, helping with dinner, getting up with Curtis at night and letting me nap during the day. I tell him all the time, he wins the Husband of the Year award because I just don't know what I'd do without his support. I am so incredibly thankful for it.

How far along: 11weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Since I'm nursing and pregnant and constantly nauseous, I've actually lost weight. It seems almost impossible to keep up my needed calorie intake, so right now, I'm eating whatever I can, although a lot of time, it's just a few bites...unless it's bread or cheese.

Maternity clothes: I started wearing maternity pants around 6 or 7 weeks, and it was the best decision ever. So much more comfy :)

Stretch marks: None so far.

Best moment this week: It's only Tue, but probably going to be going to look for a new dog today....that story will come later

Miss anything: Coffee, I'm back to not being able to drink it, be around it, wash coffee dishes, roast the beans, I can't do anything with coffee. I can't wait till that changes.

Movement: None so far, but I'm hoping since this is my 2nd, it won't be too long.

Food cravings: Steak and pizza. I could eat steak all the time if we could afford it.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Everything makes me queasy. Luckily I have an amazing doctor who hooked me up :)

Have you started to show yet: I feel like I've been showing for a while, but it could have just still been Curtis, but I do definitely have a little bump.

Gender: Hopefully we find out in December

Labor Signs: None 

Symptoms: I have every typical symtpom.

Belly button in or out: In for now.

Wedding rings on or off: I'on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Isaac will say I'm a little more moody, but I think I'm still pretty happy, just exhausted all the time.

Looking forward to: The CPC banquest, kind of a date night, wonderful food, and getting encouraged for another year of volunteering :)

Curtis' First Birthday Party

This past weekend we went to NC to celebrate Curtis' first birthday with our family. It was a busy weekend, as always, but it was such a perfect weekend. The whole day was filled with family and friends. We had a little party around lunch time, complete with cake. He was so cute and gentle with the cake, unlike so many other 1yr olds I've seen. He didn't smash it or dig his face in to it like I thought he would. But he did enjoy the icing while my brave husband held him. It was pretty cute. Later in the day, my Aunt Bec Bec and Uncle Chuck came to visit. It was there first time meeting Curtis. It was so great to see them. And so fun watching Curtis interact with them. I love watching Curtis with my family. Sometimes it takes him a little while to warm up, but once he does, he is so funny to watch. To top off the day, Juan, Brenna and Prudence came by. Curtis was already down for the night and I was waking up from my nightly nap, but it was so great to see them. It was the perfect end to such a wonderful day.

I know we probably won't be able to celebrate every birthday with our families, but it was wonderful to celebrate Curtis' first with mine. To be able to share it with my Grandma, parent's, brother and sister-in-law and nieces, it just made the day so special.

In about 2 weeks, we get to celebrate his actual birthday, which I am looking forward to!

11 Months

So I'm a little late with this post. This past week has been crazy. Curtis had his first little virus this week. Thur, in the wee hours of the morning, he ran a super high temp and then all Thur, he was just pitiful. He refused to take a nap most of the morning. I would nurse him, he'd fall asleep, I'd unlatch him and he'd start screaming and we'd start the process all over again. I was so incredibly thankful when Isaac came home from duty and put him to sleep so I could take a nap. We took him to the dr and she said it was just a virus, so for that, we're thankful. And he seems to be feeling better, although he's still fussy and taking very long naps, the latter I am thankful for.

Other than that, We've been pretty good around here. I can't believe it's less than a month now till my little man turns 1. This year has completely flown by. Everyone told me it would, but it's crazy how right they were. Curtis is growing up so much. He's babbling like he's trying to talk and will have a whole conversation with you. It seems like he has so much to say, I can't wait till all those little babbles turn in to words. We're working on weaning, which has been pretty hard because, so far, he's started refusing most foods that I try and feed him. And until he eats food, I still have to nurse. But Hopefully in the next few weeks he'll start to get it and enjoy food.

Next month will be his birthday post!!

Dear Prudence Turns 1

This past Sunday, we celebrated Prudence's 1st birthday. It was an absolutely wonderful day! Last year, about this time, Prudence was clinging to life in an incubator at Forsyth Hospital and this past week, we got to enjoy seeing her crawl, stand, play with Peaches, get in a pool, scream at the ocean waves, eat her birthday cupcake, sweetly fall asleep on her daddy in the pool and play with Curtis. We went down Sunday to spend the day with the Perez/Lamb family in Rodanthe on the Outer Banks. We were so excited to be invited to celebrate Prudence. And it was such a fun afternoon. Curtis got to be in a pool for the first time, which he was not too sure about, but eventually warmed up to. Lucy loved swimming around with her Papa Ash on her "boat" and going fishing. At one point, all 3 children napped and we got to have a quiet afternoon in the house resting :) We walked down to the beach where Lucy loved the waves splashing around her, although Curtis and Prudence both did not care for them at all. And then came the birthday party. I love one year old's parties. I love watching them with their cake. It's the funniest thing to see their excited faces as they taste the icing and get it all over their faces. Pru was no exception! It was a wonderful, perfect birthday party!

On Tuesday this week, I went back down for the night since Isaac was duty. This was a fun adventure. My birthday was Wed and the plan was to leave after breakfast Wed morning so I could get back and celebrate my birthday with Isaac. Well, Wed morning, we woke up to flooding and major storming. So I waited a little, and had a birthday breakfast of pork chops and gravy, eggs, toast, and sweet potato butter made by David and Tara, such an amazing breakfast! The rain was not letting up at all, so I thought I'd try and leave before it got any worse. I packed and began to load the car but got soaked so I gave up on that. At that point it was looking like I was going to be flooded in for the day. We ended up driving in to Manteo and it took forever, the flooding was so bad, but luckily by the afternoon it dried well enough that I was able to get my car out and beat the next storm system coming through. I finally made it back home, although I'd missed our date for the night, thankfully we were able to reschedule with our babysitters. It was a huge adventure and a fun one. If I couldn't spend the day with Isaac, spending it with Brenna and her family was an awesome substitute!

Ultrasound Training Part 2

When I began volunteering with the Keim Center 2 and 1/2 years ago, I was told there would be opposition from the enemy. I experienced it some, but not much. It wasn't until I began ultrasound training that the opposition became real. Satan has some pretty awesome tactics, not just attacking me, but the other nurses, our babysitters and even their families. I explained some of it in my last blog and how God completely worked everything out in His timing. We experienced much the same thing with the ultrasound class in Fredericksburg this past week. The plan (funny, we should never makes plans) was that my director, Shannon's, mom was going to drive up from Richmond to watch Curtis at the hotel both days during the class. Shannon texted me on Monday saying that her mom couldn't get out of a commitment on Friday and wouldn't be able to come to Richmond. So I tried not to panic and we worked on an idea. On Tuesday, we decided I would stay in Richmond Thur night and leave Curtis on Friday and we'd pick Curtis up there on our way home. That was the plan we were banking on as we left on Wed. Everything went well with the drive, Curtis did pretty good. He did great at dinner and went to sleep pretty easily Wed night. Well, he decided it was party time at 4AM so we were up for the morning which was gonna make for a long day of class, but it was ok, nothing I couldn't handle without never ending coffee. Curtis did great with Shannon's mom, he even ate some liverwurst :) which cracked me up. She got him to sleep, which was amazing. And I was able to feel comfortable, not worry and pay attention to class. The first day was all about the legal implications to what we do and a lot of the history of the pro life movement. I really enjoyed all we learned and all the info was incredibly helpful. I was on information overload, but that's to be expected after 8 hours of class. Around 4:15, I got a text from Shannon. He dad was going to the ER with blood clots in his leg. Needless to say, Shannon's mom needed to leave and so I left class just a little early and got Curtis. Thankfully, her dad was ok and did not have to be admitted, but we needed a new babysitter...at the last minute...in a city we weren't familiar with. We had everyone on the job looking for someone. Shannon had enlisted some of the staff at the Keim Center to find someone. One of our instructor's had a call in to one of her friends to maybe watch him. And my friend Tori had called a friend of her's who lived there to see if they knew anyone. God perfectly worked it out that a girl in campus ministry was home raising funds and had the whole day completely free. And even more, He worked out that we could have our room until 2 and our sonographer from the Keim Center was going to stay, so Curtis could stay in her room after that. Curtis loved his babysitter, and I, again, could easily pay attention learning ultrasound basics while Curtis was being taken care of.

It was so amazing to see how God worked everything out. I admit, I panicked and just assumed the worse, so easily not trusting in Him to work things out. But he did, in His perfect timing, not mine. And because of Him, I was able to learn more of the skill that will help me show women the LIFE that is inside of them. I am so thankful for all the things he worked out, so thankful for letting me get through the class, so thankful for the growing friendships that He's giving me through the Keim Center, and so thankful that, one day soon, I'll be certified and will get to perform ultrasounds on the women of this city showing them their sweet babies.

In a week and a half I have part 3 of the training, 2 days of testing. I have some studying to do between now and then, but I am looking forward to this final step.

10 months

Curtis is 10 months today. Like every other month, so many things are new, so many things have changed. It has been quite a busy month for us all with doing my ultrasound training and figuring out how to juggle all of that. With that, we did have some firsts for both Curtis and myself. Curtis took whole bottles from a few of his baby sitters, which was awesome since he had not done that since he was 4 months old. It was also the first time we had been away from each other for that amount of time. I didn't like being away from him for so long. I didn't like only getting to spend an hour or so a day with him. But am thankful for the reason that it was like that. The training went well, and we begin the 2nd leg of it tomorrow with a drive to Fredericksburg (more on that later). 

A few more new things and some things that just crack us up: He's begun eating more solid foods and chunky purees and seems to like them. He actually tried roast tonight. That's been the only thing he voluntarily puts in his mouth, I think mostly because he can't pick up the other stuff easily, but he will eat it if I feed it to him. He's begun babbling much more, so we're trying to work on "mama" and we're working much more on sign language, hoping he'll pick it up soon. We've let him play in the kitchen some and he absolutely loves the kitchen spoons and ladles with the pots. It's a great way to keep him entertained while I'm trying to wash dishes. And probably one of my favorite things is that he thinks he has to go everywhere head first. Anytime he's sitting on our laps, he goes for the floor head first, so we hold his feet (of course) and he walks on his hands till he's far enough away from the furniture to get down. It's pretty entertaining to watch.

Doctor's appts this month have been fun. He was almost 21lbs and 29 1/4 inches. And the best news, he is murmur free! We had an echo confirmation a few weeks ago to confirm he no longer has his VSD heart murmur, which makes this mama incredibly happy!

This next few months will be pretty exciting as we have Prudence's first birthday to celebrate and Curtis'. At the end of this month, we'll head to the Outer Banks to celebrate Prudence's life. We are looking so forward to that day, and know that it truly is a gift from God. Then, just 3 weeks later, we'll have an early birthday party for Curtis. So lots of exciting things ahead :)

Ultrasound Training Week is Finished

Last Wed, I began limited ultrasound training for the Keim Center where I've been volunteering at for a little over 2 years. It has been one crazy, wonderful, stressful, educational, awesome 8 days. I've learned several things about myself and about what it really means to be apart of a ministry. 

A little bit of the saga of the past week just at the clinics alone: The first 2 days, that I can remember went really well. The 3rd day was when we really started feeling the attacks from Satan, knowing he wanted to discourage us as much as possible from finishing the training. It started off with Curtis screaming every time I tried to put him down or hand him to his wonderful 3rd Grandma, Grandma Charlotte. Then, Tori's shoe broke. That makes a job wear you have to stand all day very difficult. And then, while our fearless leader was taking a much needed day off to work on her house that she's suppose to move in to next week, the printer on the ultrasound machine broke. It's not a huge deal at the time because the actual machine still worked, we just couldn't give our ultrasound models or patients any pictures, and could not print off our images for our doctor to review. Pictures for models are not such a huge deal, but for pts, when they are seeking an abortion after the ultrasound, for the clinic to use our ultrasound measurements, we have to provide the pictures, so this made that kind of impossible. So we got a trainee repair guy to come out and look at it while we rescheduled all ultrasound patients to our Va Beach clinic. The repair guy was shady, did not tell us from the get go how much we would be paying him, then gave us a way more than necessary quote for doing absolutely nothing and possibly making the machine worse. Saturday, we saw just ultrasound models, but still could not give them pictures. Isaac tried to look at the computer part and fix it, but it didn't happen. Monday morning, with our first model on the table at 9AM, the machine just quit working. We fiddled with it some, tried figuring out something to do to make it work, but it didn't happen. So, we moved everything out to the beach location, which was still open as a clinic as well. So now, we're doing our training and also trying to figure out how to see pts. That was interesting...but good practice for when Tori and I will be solo nurses at the clinic. Tuesday, we started our blessings (eucharistao) list because we needed to keep our perspective on Jesus and off of everything Satan was trying to do. I think it was that day that we were clearly told our ultrasound machine was dead and it would not be usable any longer. Wed was an encouraging day, but somewhat stressful as Tori and I covered the clinic as well as did our training. It started out with scanning one of my favorite people here in Virginia and finding a heartbeat and seeing that everything looked like we wanted it to with the baby. I wanted to do a little happy dance at seeing that little heart beat :) but I contained my self :) Then, our fearless leader was told there was an ultrasound machine in Chesterville, but they had to go look at it then, so she left and it was Tori, Heather and I. I then, had my first patient who, once leaving, told the advocate that she was leaning more towards carrying to term after talking to me and the advocate. That made my heart happy. Today was a wonderful last day. We had a pretty easy morning so we did our book work and reviewed, saw 3 patients and really didn't have much craziness going on. That is the type of day we like. And we were praising God that he provided us an ultrasound machine in Norfolk and can't wait to try it :) All in all, we did 57 scans in 8 days. I feel like I've run a marathon but am so thankful for the past week.

On the family side of things, Curtis stayed with 7 different babysitters, traveled from close to Portsmouth, to Va Beach, to Chesapeake, to Suffolk and has been a trooper the whole time. The first few days were pretty difficult and it just broke my heart to leave him, but he got to where he would take his bottle and eat food and most of the time nap for the baby sitters. We are so incredibly blessed to have so many friends to help us do life and make it through the harder times. 

Some of the things God has taught me this week:

1.When working for a ministry (or really anywhere) you have to be flexible. You never know what's gonna happen. I've always felt like I was pretty good at that, but God really stretched it this week and showed me that it wasn't me who was gonna make it happen. I had to rely on Him for the flexibility to not have my plans happen.

2.God has solidified in my heart that He wants me as a stay-at-home mom right now and it was the right decision to leave the hospital. It has been incredibly hard to leave Curtis every day and I hate only spending an hour or so with him a day before he goes to bed. And he has struggled as well. He would cling to me in the morning before I left, which is abnormal and nurse forEVER, which is not normal since he typically gets distracted very easily. I am thankful for this opportunity and look forward to hopefully working part time for the ministry in the future and love my days where I volunteer, but I am exactly where God wants me for now.

3. He has also taught me that this type of nursing is where he wants me. It's hard, mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically. It challenges my brain, stretches my comfort level and sometimes breaks my heart. But it is right where He wants me that's exactly where I want to be. I love this ministry. I love it's purpose. I love having the privilege of being apart of saving lives and am so thankful for the opportunity to get to do that.

4. I have the best husband ever! I've told him several times this past week that he wins husband of the year and I've meant it every time. He has driven all over our wonderful city to pick Curtis up, and pick me up. He tried his hardest to fix our ultrasound machine. He took care of our crying, fussy, sometimes screaming child. He babysit for our god daughter while taking care of Curtis. He has helped with dishes, laundry, cooking, and cleaning. I am so incredibly thankful for him and know that if it weren't for him helping me, I would not have made it through. God knew what he was doing when He gave me Isaac :)

All in all, it was a wonderful week. We still have our classroom part in Fredericksburg,and then competency, but I think compared to this, that will be a breeze :) I'm looking forward to seeing what God will do.

9 Months

Our sweet baby boy is 9 months old today. I can't believe in just a few months, he'll be a year. The time truly does fly, but it is such a sweet, sweet time. I love how, as he grows, he is coming more and more in to his personality. Some of that personality is showing to be stubborn and hard headed, but that's only a small part. For the most part, he is an incredibly happy baby. He laughs all the time. He loves to make noises such as growling, screeching and yelling and then laughing at himself. He's learned to clap. He's learned to begin chasing Peaches around and loves it when Peaches comes and sniffs him because it tickles him. He loves playing with his little friends at church, but hasn't quite figured out that he can't pull up on them like he does us. He loves to stand at the door when Peaches is outside and bang on the door and yell for her. He's begun babbling some rather than just making sounds. He makes a sound that sounds like he's trying to bark, I guess because he hears Peaches bark, but it's hilarious. He keeps us laughing all the time. There is pretty much never a dull moment. At the same time, if he's not happy, he definitely lets you know it. He has a very pitiful cry that is hard to resist when he's mad or sad. 

Here are some of his 9 month pictures and a few others from this past month.

This particular picture is getting somewhat dangerous to do, so it might be the last month for that considering he definitely tried to come off the chair.

Isaac's tie and Grandpa Creed's hat. Sadly, he wouldn't keep the hat on very long, but it was cute while it was on.

Enjoying some kale chips

The happy face that he pretty much always gives Isaac.

Making one of his favorite screeching sounds

On the Move

As promised last week, this blog post is back to your "regularly scheduled program" :)

The last few weeks, Curtis has not only started crawling, but pulls up on everything and has become quite a master at getting around and getting in to things that he is not allowed to get in to. I can already see his very head strong (determined) personality coming out in his focus on getting in the kitchen and playing in Peaches' water bowl, and climbing up the stairs (gates are now in place), pulling off all the DVDs from the shelves, using his walker to pull up (very dangerous) and playing with various cords that we try to hide, but apparently not well enough. It most certainly has been a fun adventure but I am looking forward to him mastering this pulling up and standing on his own so I don't have to worry quite as much about him falling, busting his head open on some edge of something and/or getting a brain bleed (these are the things a nurse/mom thinks about). It's fun to watch his excitement over every discovery, over every new things. He loves going new places and being in crowds to see all the new things he can see. He loves being outside, but does NOT like his kiddy pool. Hopefully in August that will provide some entertainment, but for now, not so much.

Some new happenings in our family:

We have officially joined the Redeemer Norfolk church plant. We're both very excited to see this church take off, and hopefully spread the gospel to that area of our city. If anyone reading this is looking for a church, let me know, cause this is a great one!

Also, I have been given the opportunity to train in limited ultrasound at the Keim Center where I've volunteered at the last few years. We are still working out logistics with Curtis. He is not the easiest baby as he doesn't like a bottle or sippy cup, but yesterday was encouraging because he did drink about 1/2 an oz so I am hopeful God will work this out and allow me to complete the training. This training is going to allow me to be apart of showing mother's-to-be the wonderful LIFE growing inside of them, and hopefully help encourage them to carry that LIFE to term. I am super excited about this and am looking forward to how God will use it in the future. 

Isaac finished his school last week, passed all his finals, and so is now back to the ship. So we are back to duty days every 4th day and most weekends, he will either work or be sleeping. The 5 weeks away from the ship were a wonderful break from this reality, but I keep telling myself, we do have it easier than a lot of families and at least he's not deployed at the moment. God has blessed us with him staying here for at least 2 more years, so for that, I am thankful.

Learning to stand

Love those sweet eyes peeking over the couch

He loves his Daddy so much

Trying to climb the stairs

Playing with his diaper bag

His first unrestrained bath. 

The Real Reason American's are so Angry over the Hobby Lobby Case

I've been thinking about this blog for several days now. It's definitely not a normal post for me. Normally, people coming to this blog to see fun pictures of our family and friends, sweet stories about our little one, and that's about it. But that's not what this is. I'll be back to that later this week with some fun pictures of Curtis, but for now, I want to talk about Hobby Lobby.

The Hobby Lobby Supreme Court case is a landmark case. When I saw the verdict, I literally did a happy dance with Curtis in my arms because, though it small, it was a victory for LIFE, a victory for religious freedom, a victory for the first amendment, and, in my opinion, a victory for women. I have come to see, sadly, that this victory may be very short lived and that grieves my heart. As I watched Lila Rose on the news speaking about the bill being introduced in the Senate to overturn the ruling, and saw the hope that this would not gain popularity, I was right there with her, hoping and praying that people would see that the justice system got something right. But sadly, because I tend to be a realist, while I can hope and believe that God can change things, it will be a fight to not overturn this ruling.

I have a somewhat unique view point on this subject because I am of the demographic who would typically be outraged by this landmark decision. I'm a women in her 20s, of child bearing age who, until 9 months ago, had a very successful career as a nurse that I worked incredibly hard for. Most women my age are not married, still partying after work and on the weekends, still having sex with any man who buys them a drink, focused on their career and having a good time. So, I am different, but I'm not ashamed of that. I'm not ashamed to be married, to be a stay at home mom of one, but hopefully many more. I'm not ashamed that I never fell into the demographic of women my age who were just looking to have a good time. Because of these things, people may say I am wrong, or my opinion doesn't matter, but there's one other thing that makes me qualified to talk about this. I am a nurse who works with pregnant women in crisis, who sees the worst place a woman can be in, the scariest situation she's ever faced. I love these women, thank God that they come to our clinic, praise Him when their hearts are broken for the LIFE they see inside of them and rejoice when they make the decision to carry that LIFE to term.

Some facts about the Supreme Court decision that I have seen misinterpreted, skewed and downright just plain lied about:

1. Hobby Lobby insurance coverage offers several different types of contraceptives including the pill, patch, ring, shot and implant. Most of these, from a nurse perspective, I would not recommend, but I have no problem with women using birth control and neither does Hobby Lobby.

2. This decision DOES NOT make any form of birth control illegal. All forms of birth control that were legal before the ruling are still legal now. Any woman who chooses to use emergency contraception or an IUD can still use them. I've said it 3 different ways now, but I'm not sure it can be re-iterated enough, any woman can still use all types of birth control.

3. Hobby Lobby does not tell it's employees that they cannot work for them if they choose to have an IUD or use emergency contraception. In fact, I assume Hobby Lobby would never ask an employee such a personal question.

4. Plan B and Ella are over the counter medications. Sadly, the law is now, that any person can go into their local Walgreens and buy these medications without a prescription, ID or parental consent. So while it won't be covered by insurance, it is still readily available.

5. Any person can walk into their GYN office and ask for an IUD, and get one placed. Yes, it may be more expensive than other birth controls in the short run, but since it's good for 5 years, the cost really evens out. So while it may not be covered under insurance, it can still be purchased and used pretty easily.

With those facts stated and widely known for the public knowledge for anyone who has a TV, or access to google, the Supreme Court's decision should not be as controversial as what it is. It is not a war on women. It is not a bunch of white, republican men dictating what kind of birth control woman can or cannot use. It is definitely not men infringing on a woman's "reproductive rights". This is a simple decision if anyone has any knowledge of the first amendment's protection of a person's freedom of religion. The Bible clearly talks about protecting the least of these, it talks about how important LIFE is, it talks about God forming us in our mother's womb and how sacred that time is. No, not all people believe the Bible and I completely understand that, BUT Christians have to respect other religions, so other religions, or the lack there of, should respect what a Christian believes. The right to LIFE is one of the most basic beliefs we hold, and therefore, if the owners of Hobby Lobby don't want to violate their conscience by providing drugs that disrupt and KILL that LIFE, then other religions should respect that and acknowledge their freedom protected by the first amendment.

I see the use of emergency contraception and IUDs often where I volunteer. This post modern, feminist world is so excited about both of these things because it allows them to have freer sex, not worry about if they took their pill, if they have any shots left, if they brought a condom, or if the condom broke/slipped or whatever the situation may be. They think these methods of contraception are wonderful because, if nothing else, they're a back-up, but pretty much, they allow them to do whatever they want, when they want to. What I have seen and experienced, leads me to the conclusion that these are not good forms of birth control and for the most part, should not be used (there are a few exceptions such as a clotting factor problem).

Plan B can be used up to 3 days after having unprotected sex. It's kind of like birth control on steroids. It provides a very concentrated amount of hormones to stop ovulation, thicken cervical mucus so sperm can't get through, and the abortifacent part...thin the uterine lining to stop a fertilized egg from implanting. This is not meant to be used as normal birth control, but because it is so readily available, women use it all the time as their normal means of birth control even though it says on the website and instructions to not do so. 

And the IUD...the main function is to thin out the uterine wall to prevent an already fertilized egg from implanting. 

Both forms, you can still get pregnant. I've seen it happen several times. Pregnancy with an IUD in can be extremely dangerous. There is potential risk for miscarriage, birth defects and harm to the mother. These are not full proof methods. 

That's just my 2 cents about the those types of birth control in general.

I know my opinion isn't popular. I know it's "old fashioned" to think people should not be having sex if they don't want a child, and really shouldn't be having sex until they are married, but you can call me old fashioned. I'm okay with that. There would be a lot less uproar and anger over this decision if people chose to control themselves and only have sex the way God intended, the perfect way he planned. There would be less children murdered, less children without fathers, less broken hearts, less children abandoned. 

That is my prayer, that one day this will be a reality. That people will see sex as the gift from God that it is, and likewise, the result of sex, children, as the wonderful gift from God they are and then maybe there wouldn't be the need for all the arguing over whether or not someone provides insurance that pays for your birth control.

8 Months Old Today

Our baby boy is 8 months old today. It has been a crazy month of changes. My fairly "easy life" got much more busy this month as Curtis has become completely mobile. He now crawls all over the place and is a very determined little stinker! For now, we don't allow him on the kitchen tile because he's already konked his head pretty hard on it and we don't allow him near the fireplace. Those are pretty much the first 2 places he tries to go once put on the floor. So my mornings and afternoons are spent chasing after him and trying to keep him entertained away from the things that could hurt him. His other new trick is that he's learned how to pull up to standing. He first did it on the bottom stair, but now does it on all the furniture as well, so we said good bye to our coffee table for a while so that temptation is taken away, but every thing else is fair game. While it is more busy, this is such a fun little stage. His personality is definitely coming out. I am seeing more and more how determined, yet stubborn he is going to be. But also, he is very adventurous, not a whole lot scares him, and he's tough. Aside from a few hard knocks where's he's (understandable)broken down, he doesn't let a whole lot stop him. While I definitely have my hands full, we do have a lot of fun.

Those are pretty much the big things this month. Some little things: he's learning to eat lots of stuff, although still pretty much all purees. We'll start working on little finger foods this month, but for the most part, he loves all the purees, other than green veggies. I'm gonna try some zucchini from Jonathan's garden tonight, and am really hoping he'll eat it, but my guess is, he probably won't. He's also been teething a ton! I think there's atleast 2 or 3 new teeth this month. This last tooth he's cut has been kind of difficult, he's been more fussy than normal so I'm looking forward to it coming through. He went to the nursery at church this past month and loves it. They tell me he's such a happy baby, which makes my heart happy so I can be in the message, worshiping with Isaac and not have to worry about my little one. He has also successfully had a babysitter other than family stay with him and he seems to really love her as well. I'm so thankful for this because it lets me go to the CPC and be a nurse for a while.

We've had several visitors this month, which we always love. I love living in a city where people want to come visit. Our house is always open to people wanting to come spend a few days at the beach :) Ben and Jess came up for a weekend, a long overdue time together. Curtis just loved spending time with them, playing with Jess and Ben definitely intrigued Curtis :) Brenna came up for a night, another long overdue girl's night. It was absolutely wonderful to get to catch up with her, although we stayed up till after midnight and Curtis doesn't really get the memo to let Mama sleep in so we were up about 5:30, I think. But it was worth it to get to hang out with one of my very best friends. Also, from my blog the other day, mom and dad came up for a visit. It's so fun watching Curtis with my parents. They come down the stairs and he crawls to them, they leave the room and he cries, he just loves them so much!

On the family side of things, Isaac has been in a training school this past month, which has come with advantages and disadvantages. He has off every weekend, which has not happened in forever so we are cherishing our Saturday and Sunday's together. It's been so nice to enjoy pancakes and French Press together, to get to go to church together and even spend some days at the beach. The big disadvantage is his long work days. Every now and then he's lucky and gets off by 3:30 or 4, but most days it's later, which makes this difficult with Curtis, but, all in all, it's been pretty good. He has one week left, then back to the ship.

Here's a few pictures of our sweet little man:

He was not being easy this morning to get a good picture and now that he's pretty mobile, I had to be quick so he wouldn't go head first off the chair :) That, I believe, would be a Mama fail 

He loves playing at the door, although he's taken at least one pretty good hit to the head here.

He's discovered the joy of boxes

This picture is for GMama Jess' trip to Peru tomorrow. Last year, while on her trip, she found out Curtis was going to be a Curtis and not Mandolin, so she brought him back this sweet bib :)

Him and Peaches are becoming fast friends, although I'm still hesitant with them being together. Peaches still thinks he's a dog so she gets pretty rambunctious with him, but for the most part, they both enjoy each other