Family and Friends

This has been a hard week. Friday night, a member of the Fair Grove community lost her son (a 4th grader), husband, father, and uncle. They all died of hypothermia when their boat overturned in the Niangua river. Additionally, a long time member of my home church (FGUMC) is at home on hospice care. When things ike this happen, it hurts so bad and it is unfathomable what the individuals who actually lost the family members feel. It is times like this that you feel helpless and all there is to do is pray and rely on your faith is Christ. For me, part of the coping/healing process is to count my blessings and remember how lucky I am to have such wonderful family and friends.

Last night, Clay and Elissa graciously let Ben and I take one of their unused deep freezers for our house. We got it moved over here and then also had dinner as a family. Kathleen, Cooper, Brent and Kristy also came over. It was so much fun having three little ones running (or sitting) around everywhere. It is hard to believe that if the same group comes over in another 3.5 months there will be 5 little ones! Children make everything so much more fun. Cooper did so well playing on the floor (even by himself at times). William ran a million miles an hour until he got put to bed (which he did not like). And Margaret stayed up so late being cute as always. She eventually laid down on the couch next to Kristy and fell asleep as Kristy read her books. It was precious.

I took several of these pictures so don't expect good quality but they are still cute! (I just realized that apparently I did not take any adult pictures-oops!)

Update on my pregnancy

Well I am at the end of 23 weeks. The various baby websites that I visit frequently state the the baby weighs about the same as a mango and is the size of a butternut squash!

At 21 weeks we had our ultrasound and everything looked good. That was a huge relief as everyone knows that I struggle with worry. At the time of the ultrasound, the baby was measuring about a week ahead of schedule (1.5 pounds). We did not find out the gender; it was a little tempting!

I had already felt the baby move but only rarely and when there was nothing else going on to distract me. After the ultrasound, there was no doubt that I felt little Jackryn kick. For those of you that do not know Jackryn is what Ben calls the baby until it is born. It is his mixture of Jack and Kathryn. Since that day, it has been amazing to feel my baby on a daily basis. I can not wait until Ben can feel it.

Yesterday, for the first time, we went and looked around baby stores. It was so fun to think about what we need to get for the baby. It seems crazy that he/she will be here in a few months. It has also been so much fun to get some presents in the mail. This baby will be decked out in Oklahoma State gear. Thank you to everyone who has sent the appropriate apparel :).

I am loving this stage of pregnancy. I am having a little trouble sleeping at times and having frequent heartburn but for the most part I feel great. I have been able to work out and just enjoy dreaming about my baby!