Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

It is downright cold around here tonight!!  Even the pregnant girl thinks so :)   But it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, which makes me happy.  Now all we need is a little snow.  Reason # 1,846,026 that I have a wonderful husband:  Adam helped me put up and decorate the Christmas Tree this weekend and pretended to enjoy it. This picture showcases my lack of photography skills, but here is our pretty tree.

I did buy one new thing decoration this year.  I had a coupon at World Market and I had to spend a little bit more to use my coupon, so you know I just really didn't have a choice ;)

Here is a picture of my 29 week belly.  Please excuse the post-workout good looks :)  While I was working out I noticed that this outfit does a very nice of showing off the belly.  Plus, I got a little scolding from my sis today for not updating the blog in a while.

We are in the third trimester now - the home stretch!!  I do not have gestational diabetes and everything is still very normal and good.  I am feeling her movements more and more.  I think there a few times that she has jumped over the past few days - once during the Iowa game and once during worship at church. This morning I read the verse in Luke about how John the baptist leapt in Elizabeth's womb when Mary came to visit her and it reminded me of our little girl.  Maybe she is just like her mommy and daddy and just get really excited about football and worshipping the Lord with music.

Thankful

"Every good and perfect gift comes is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights" - James 1:17

I am so, so thankful for my many good gifts (including those that I didn't have good pictures of on my computer:))!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

28 Weeks

We are 28 weeks along as of yesterday! According to my weekly e-mails our little girl should have fully functioning lungs now - her last organs to develop.  If she was born now she would have a very good chance of survival, not that we are planning on that of course :)
On Wednesday when I came home from work, Adam was convinced that my belly had grown since just that morning.  The shocked look on his face of how big I looked was priceless and so funny!  I don't know if I was really noticeably bigger in the course of a day, but I have been growing a lot lately, so I thought it was high time for a belly picture.

Do I look bigger than the last picture??  I think so.

We are going to the doctor again on Tuesday.  I have to take a glucose test, which includes a really sugary drink and then a blood test.  Bleh :P  I actually don't mind the blood test - it the sugary drink that kind of grosses me out!  
Lately, I have been going back and forth between having an insatiable appetite and feeling like only very small portions of food will even fit into my squished stomach.  I am really hoping that for Thanksgiving I am in the crazy hungry phase :)

Meet my new bf!

I don't know if I can totally blame pregnancy, but I am so HOT almost all of the time lately!  Maybe I just have really good circulation?? :)  I am especially warm at work.  At my office the temperature is kept at around 76 on an average day, which I find a little excessive.  It is not uncommon for me to perspire while just sitting at my desk - not exaggerating.  So I broke down yesterday and purchased this little gem and it is making me a much happier worker!  It was actually the only fan in the store, everything else in the aisle was a heater - ha :)

Painting Pictures of Egypt

Pregnancy can be overwhelming at times.  As it should be really.  Entering into the most responsibility I have ever known should cause some reflection and some serious awareness of my need for help.  Lately....moment by moment...I am either so excited or so scared. Eek! I can't believe that I am going to be responsible for every physical, emotional and spiritual need of a tiny, eternal soul.  I know this didn't start when I became a mom, but I often think about how important every decision, even the seemingly small ones, really matter because it will affect her.  It matters what I eat, because she needs all of those nutrients to grow into a lovely and healthy little girl. My body is not my own. It matters that Adam and I treat have a relationship that is characterized by love, patience and respect, because she needs to know that she has a secure place to grow up.  And on a more important scale, it matters that I nurture my relationship with the Lord and work hard at having a soft heart and letting God mold me into a woman of godly character, because I am the example that she sees.  It really, really isn't about me any more. 

Those are just some honest thoughts, and I thought I would share and old favorite song that I have been taking a lot of comfort in lately.  I just love the lyrics to this song so much.  It based upon Numbers 11.  God had just miraculously delivered the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.  They were headed to the promised land and they started complaining about how they wanted to go back to Egypt.  Crazy people! Did they forget about the SLAVERY part???  But, actually I do this too. When life feels hard or you are going through a big change it's really easy to feel unsure and just want to go back to a previous time, mostly because it is comfortable.   And I am going through a big change.  Not that I would want to change it for anything.  I feel so incredibly blessed.  There are just some worries to work through and it is good to remember all of the life changes that the Lord has brought me through in the past...and that every worry or anxiety...well they just aren't necessary :)

But Sara Groves says it way better than me...

Painting Pictures of Egypt - Sara Groves

I don’t want to leave here
I don’t want to stay
It feels like pinching to me either way
The places I long for the most
Are the places where I’ve been
They are calling after me like a long lost friend

It’s not about losing faith
It’s not about trust
It’s all about comfortable
When you move so much
The place I was wasn’t perfect
But I had found a way to live
It wasn’t milk or honey
But then neither is this

CHORUS:
I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I"ve learned
And those roads closed off to me
While my back was turned

The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise
And the things I know

BRIDGE:
If it comes too quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes too quick
I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?

Going Healthy!

One of my desires as a wife is make food that is good and healthy for Adam and I.  This also now goes for our little one now too, since whatever I eat, she eats :)  I really don't cook dinner very often right now.  Our lifestyle is just a little too out and about to lend to that very well, but I am actually excited about being home more and cooking more once our little girl in here with us.  Another desire of mine is to be frugal  - thank you Mom and Dad for this good quality!  It just seems silly to be to spend gobs of money on going out for lunch every day.  It adds up to a lot of money FAST.  I do believe that I now have Adam convinced that packing your lunch is best.  We were bringing grilled chicken salads with lots of veggies, but it gets cold in Iowa and my mom's tomato plant froze - sadness :(  Plus, we needed to change it up a bit.  I am always on the quest for easy/healthy recipes, so I thought I would share a few that we have been enjoying lately.

Chicken Salad 
This recipe is courtesy of Kristin at Iowa Girl Eats.  Super easy, super good and packed with lots of protein and good stuff that the pregnant girl needs :)  We actually have been taking this recipe x's 5 and eating chicken salad sandwiches all week for lunch.

Ingredients
6 oz shredded chicken
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 green onion, sliced
2 small ribs celery, chopped

Dressing:
1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons soy sauce
squeeze of lemon juice
salt, to taste

Directions
Combine chicken through celery in a bowl. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over chicken mixture. Toss to coat. Serve! Makes 3 sandwiches.



Turkey Chili
Again, super easy!!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground turkey
2 (10.75 ounce) cans low sodium tomato soup
1 (15 ounce) can light red kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch ground allspice
salt to taste

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place turkey in the skillet, and cook until evenly brown; drain.

2. Coat the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray (or use a liner like me!).  Mix in turkey, tomato soup, kidney beans, black beans and onion. Season with chili powder, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, allspice and salt.

3. Cover, and cook 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on High.

Wedding!

Last Friday Adam and I were in our friends Alex and Amber's Wedding.  Every wedding I have been in so far in life Adam has been my partnering groomsman and I like it that way!  Especially this time around...I have found my balance to be a bit off lately, so it was really nice to have someone to hold me up while walking down the aisle in heels!!  I was very thankful that my dress fit me, even though it was rather tight in the belly area.  That's okay though - at least I know our little girl is growing in there.  

Here is a picture of us at the DTC before the ceremony:

All of the sudden I feel like we need to get a move on with our preparations for Baby H, so we have been getting more things done lately and it feels good!   Thanks to our wonderful parents we now have our car seat and stroller.  We have also been making progress on the room we are finishing, so that I can get going on organizing/decorating the nursery.  Tonight I put my sister to work helping me clear all non-baby stuff out of the nursery.  Later this week I think we are going to again go shopping for a rocker/recliner chair.  I will have to post some pictures soon of our nursery progress...just don't have too high of expectations...I'm not that skilled of a decorator :)