16 weeks

here i am at 4 mos and boy is that belly poppin! the baby is clearly growing with no holding back and as a result, here i am. i love it.

at a recent doctors appointment they were trying to listen to the heartbeat and couldnt find it for a while. when asked what was wrong they said the baby is moving around so much they cant get it. we laughed and laughed as we kept hearing noises of it shifting over and over again. finally it was still enough to catch the heartbeat. strong still. praise God!

i am starting to feel something pretty cool. if i lay on my back sometimes i will feel a tightening inside. if i put my hand where that feeling is i can tell the baby is there. i even kept my hand on it the other day and felt it move to another location that tightened. thats the best i know how to explain it. it is amazing and such a gift. and i have been told it just gets better from there.
we go on dec 31st to do the thorough ultrasound to check the baby's condition. we will also find out the sex of the baby. we cannot wait. we will love either/or, we just want to say he or she when we talk about what is residing in this belly.
i would also like to extend a personal thank you for all who continue to pray for us, whether you know us personally or not, through this incredible journey. your prayers, hope, and faith in what God is capable of are knitting this child together. thank you from the bottoms of our hearts!

spoiled? nah!

dont adjust your screens: daniel is this handsome and clover is this rotten. clover loves to wake people up from naps by getting right in there with them and soaking up the cozy as much as she can. i would say she does a pretty sufficient job.

oh christmas tree, oh christmas tree

daniel also put up and decorated our christmas tree this year. he wouldnt let me have any hand in it, he wanted me to rest. but i was a great supervisor! christmas is almost here. we can smell it. it is our holiday so it is so very exciting!

now i lay me down to sleep

with things going so well with our pregnancy we figured it was safe at this point to go ahead and get the crib we had been looking at for a while.
daniel got right to work putting it together and in no time it was up and ready to go. so helpful that man is :-).
and it turned out beautifully. we couldnt be more satisfied with the result. we put pillows in it for right now. they are made by our friend rizzie in athens. saving the spot for something really special to come in may.
dad tested, mom approved.

the weather outside is frightful

kentucky has turned to winter and just the other day we got our first real appearance of snow.
clovers walks became briefer and briefer as she would stop at a sudden halt and run back home not too far away from the house. okay, so its getting too cold for her. we pulled out her coat and lets just say it doesnt fit the ol girl anymore. been there. so we went to petsmart and got her a new one.
man she loves this thing. she would walk outside all day if we let her now. she is so much warmer, happier and....sassier. is that even possible?

visit from williams's

at the end of november we were fortunate enough to receive a visit from some more family. i was so proud of grandma and grandaddy for making the long trip to kentucky with dad and anne. they are real troopers and i loved seeing them so very much.
we had a lot of fun walking around downtown georgetown. we went to antique stores and had lunch at favas. frickles anyone? it was so cold but we had a lot of laughs between the 6 of us to keep us warm.
heres a pic of me, dad, and his next grandchild to be. it was so wonderful to spend a little time with dad.

13 weeks and still baking

here i am at 13 weeks, starting to show a bit more. still having some nausea and fatigue but i am starting to see the light of second trimester relief coming into focus.
but of course every bit of it is a blessing. i praise God for every day that is a success!
here is daniel at 13 weeks :-). he is trying to keep up with me in all this craziness. his school year is coming to a close and then we get to have some time together over Christmas break. cant wait.

when the grahams come to town

when the grahams come to town, a lot of things get done. daniel and his dad put a really cool dimmer switch in the nursery and fixed the dish washer. so handy those graham men.
me and mrs graham hung out and chatted, catching up on all sorts of things. we all watched lots of movies, ate ice cream and read. the thomases got a visit as well- judah had to make his debut for the grahams.
it was so good to have the grahams in. we always enjoy our conversations together.

beckley, here we come again

mom actually had a couple days off work in a row. we decided that the three of us girls and the one little man would meet in beckley for the day. and boy did we have fun. we had lunch at macado's, a classic from college.
i couldn't believe noah. he looked so grown up. beth had him dressed so precious. he needed shoes though so we went to the shoe store and got him his first pair of sneakers. then he really looked like a little man.
check out beth! she has worked so hard and lost so much weight! she looks unbelievable! i couldn't be more proud of her discipline and vision- looks like its paying off for sure!
and of course mamasita was as beautiful as ever. i think she is getting younger each time i see her.
here's the monkey bunch. oh what fun we had. but it always has to come to an end sooner or later. we left the next morning after much hugs. boy do i miss everyone. praise God for beckley.