Name Remorse?

I have always loved names. For as long as I could remember, I was planning what I would name my children. The name I remember loving the most as a kid was Sara(h). I don't remember if I liked the H at the end or not. I knew I would have a great time naming my children when the time came.

The time came in 2007 when I became pregnant with my first. I had a spreadsheet with names that I've liked in the past. I had a column for first names and middle names. I finally had a last name to go with these beautiful names I had conjured up. Now on to naming this child!

What I discovered was that I am very picky. I didn't want a Top 5, 10, or 25 name. I wanted a name people knew how to spell. I wanted people be familiar with the name. I didn't want a name that was a flashing sign for the year my child was born. This became a task that suddenly weighed me down.

I gave birth to a baby girl and named her Audrey Grace. I loved the name until I had her. Fears overcame me. I just knew she would hate the name. It didn't fit her. What was I going to do? I know a guy whose parents changed his name at 2 months (I think). Was I going to do that? I'm a horrible mother. That feeling of doing my child a disservice lasted about a week. She can't be anyone but Audrey Grace. I love her and her name.

Then I got pregnant again. This one was even more difficult because it had to match the style of Audrey's name. I pretty much resigned to whatever my husband, Michael, wanted. He liked Julia. I don't think I would have ever listed Julia on my spreadsheet, but I dwelled on it for awhile. It grew on me and I agreed to name our second child Julia Kate.

I haven't been too nervous about the name Julia, but I still haven't truly connected with it yet. It is even hard for me to remember at times, or maybe that's because of my lack of sleep. I do know I love my beautiful daughter, Julia. And I know that she will grow into the name really soon and no other name will do.

Do you like your name and are you still happy with your children's names?

One Year Ago Today

We found out we were pregnant. I was curious if I was, but did not want to waste a test. I had felt some pain in my side and was suddenly having bleeding gums and nose bleeds. I asked Michael if I could take the test in the morning and he said sure and that he would get up with me. So, on April 11, 2007, I woke up and told Michael I was going to do the test...and he stayed in bed! I looked and announced we were pregnant and I think it took awhile for it to sink in for Michael. He sat up and we hugged. That was it. Nothing cute or fancy, but still very special.

My Stars won their first playoff game last night, 4-0 BABY! I have to DVR the games and watch them during the day. Michael and I usually are watching a Season 1 LOST show after Audrey goes down at night. I spent the day with friends and a made sure that no one told me the results of last night's game. I was actually anxious all day just wondering how the game went.

Last night, Michael and I had our first date night! Ma and Poppy came over to keep Audrey while we tried out a new resaurant, Firefly. I loved the ambiance, but disliked the food and the price. Even Michael didn't like the food. I think we're accustomed to American-Asian food and maybe this was authentic Asian food. Very different - and I had salmon. We weren't there for very long, so we went for dessert at Nestle's. We didn't want to appear to not trust Michael's parents with Audrey! She did great! She slept for the two hours we were gone. BTW, she is catching up on her sleep that she has missed out all week long! I am not as tired as I should be. God has really taken care of me!

Mary, Mother of Jesus

When thinking about pregnant women in the Bible, this was the first to jump into my head. But, of course, I knew I should wait closer to Christmas time to share this new perspective I have of Mary.

First of all, how strange it would be to be thrown into this predicament. This could not have come at a worse time for her. How scary for such a young lady to carry such a HUGE responsibility?! How would Joseph react? I'm sure she was grateful when God took care of that. But then there was the public scrutiny. I simply can not imagine what she went through.

I often wondered if God spared her from morning sickness. My thoughts are that He had compassion on her and made this one of the easier pregnancies - but what do I know?

Now that I'm closing in on the end, I have so much respect for Mary. I thought teaching was hard to do while being so uncomfortable. Mary had to get up on a mule or donkey and travel to Bethlehem. How difficult! I wonder if they had little bags of snacks for her to munch on when she got terribly hungry? Did she have to stop and "go" several times on this trip? Joseph had to be one patient man. The mode of transportation alone probably sent her into labor.

Then they finally arrive, and there is no place to stay. (Joseph was probably recounting all of those bathroom stops in his head each time they were told to go elsewhere.) Most people these days would see a very pregnant woman and do anything they could to find her a place. This may be how they ended up in a stable. I'm sure Mary was thrilled and was thinking, "Yea, this hay will be soooo comfortable while I'm pushing!"

One last note on Mary. She was one of the few that knew what she was having before sonograms. Too bad she couldn't register for all of the cute blue things at Babies R Us back then.

Nursery

Here are some pics of the nursery. We're going to get a mirror to put over the dresser and my mom is getting us a glider. I can't wait to see it all together.





Here I am approaching 32 weeks. I look so tired...maybe it was the trip to Abilene and getting in really late or maybe I'm just exhausted carrying this baby!
This may be the last true belly shot you will get to see. Unless I get really HUGE, I think you get the idea that I'm growing. I am gaining in places besides my belly. Take a look at the Homecoming pictures in the next post...my face has gotten bigger. My students will tell you that my rear is larger since I keep bumping them accidently. I am most fearful about my legs. Hopefully some good ole exercise will slim them back down after Audrey is born.

Sarah and an Update

I haven't written about pregnant Bible women in a while. I have a lot of things floating around in my head, but I hardly get the time to write about those things.
Recently, in Bible class, we discussed Abraham and Sarah. So God has promised Abraham a nation even though Abraham and Sarah are aging. Sarah already considers herself barren. That in itself is a hardship for her. It seems that people were once so cruel when a woman failed to become a mother. Do you remember the post about how Hannah was ridiculed? Awful, just awful. But Sarah has faith and believes that she will conceive. Years pass and Sarah is still not pregnant. She tries to figure out what God is really saying and convinces herself that maybe the nation will only be through Abraham and that he better become "better friends" with Hagar. Abraham (age 86!) and Hagar have a son named Ishmeal. I can't imagine what it felt like to make that decision. She was acting on faith, believing what God had told Abraham. She just wanted to be sure she was out of the way and allow this promise to happen. Turns out she was wrong - that had to feel pretty bad.
Then, God tells Abraham that Sarah will have a baby in a year. Sarah laughs. Wouldn't you? She has gone through her child-bearing years without ever becoming pregnant and now that she's about 90 years old, she becomes pregnant!?!
If you have been pregnant before, you know the strange things that occur to your body. Can you imagine that body being 90 years old and going through that? There are some really funny things I would love to write here, but it would be WAY TOO MUCH for a public forum.
Sarah has a boy that she names Isaac and the song "Father Abraham" comes to mind. This was how it all started.
I admire her faith, her selflessness, and her ability to carry a baby at such an old age. Way to go Sarah!

****Updates****
*Michael has been in San Diego all week and comes home tonight!!! I miss him so very much!
*School is still stressful.
*I gained 11 pounds at my last appointment. That makes 26 pounds in two months. Oops.
*I'm slightly anemic due to the pregnancy.
*There are 4 teachers at school who are pregnant and we're all having girls. Another teacher is naming her girl Audrey as well.
*I have to get a shot because I have a negative blood type.
*I did pass my glucose test though!!
*My husband and brother get to work together for a finance class at church. I don't think Michael knows Brett very well, so this will be good for them. Oh, and they love to talk finance anyways, so they are super excited. (At least Michael is, but I'm pretty sure Brett is too.)
*Michael is almost finished laying the thresholds for our new wood floors. We're even okay having company over now! He did a great job and the floors look really good.
*I just came back from a coworker's baby shower. They will induce her next Friday. She's a short girl, but she is HUGE! The size of her once teeny-tiny belly scares me.
*I think I have laughing gas in my pregnancy hormones. Everything seems funny and I can't help but laugh really hard...and snort too. (BTW, I snort when I laugh for those of you that don't know me well.)
*I'm thrilled that tomorrow is Friday and my husband will be home!!!!!!!

December, Come Quick!

The picture above describes how I have felt at school the past two weeks. Even the doctor said my blood pressure was high at my appointment last week. AGGHH!! This school year is soooo different than other years.

I teach 8th grade science. Science will be "held accountable" in middle school for the first time this year with the TAKS test. I have already had two meetings with the new middle school science specialist our district hired this year. We never had to have one in the past, but now science is being taken seriously. She has been so great and has helped us so much already.

We quickly gave our students a baseline test the first week of school over 6th and 7th grade material. They bombed big time. We have to collect, sort, and evaluate this data to determine who will be coming to a TAKS tutorial program each week after school. That program starts in 2 weeks.

I have a meeting during almost every planning period. I've had meetings before and after school. Seriously, my team has no time to plan or get work pulled together for the classes we try to teach...if those meetings would just hold off while I'm teaching. I've been at school almost every day for hours after the last kid has left . BTW, I'm working on the weekends too.

Today, I had a team member say that this will probably be her last year to teach 8th grade science. She may not even teach again. How can the TAKS test be good if it forces great and experienced teachers to hang it all up?

Thank goodness I have a little one on the way and can say goodbye to it all in just a few months!

Another Belly Shot

So this picture is taken at home by me. I had to use the bathroom mirror to get a somewhat good shot of my growing belly. I am about 22 1/2 weeks. I'm wondering if my belly-button will pop out. I hear that some just stay flat while others become an outie. I'm well aware that this might be TMI, but I have to write enough here so that those who really don't want to see my belly won't be subjected to it! :) If you are courageous enough to comment on whether your belly-button popped out during pregnancy, then by all means let me know!

BIG NEWS!!!

We were thrilled today to find out we are having a girl! Even more thrilling is that the baby is as healthy as can be! What a relief that is! She is growing just right and has all of her small little organs. The technician gave her an A+ for cooperating today. Below is a picture of her leg. Isn't that something? She looks like she belongs to a Perkins with a long leg like that!

I also discovered that I have gained 15 pounds in the last month!! When you count in what I lost while being sick, I'm right on schedule. I guess I'll have to skip on a few of my daily Blue Bell Cookies n' Cream dessert!

I got to spend the afternoon with my mom to celebrate her birthday - which is Friday. I think she's pretty happy with the gift of another granddaughter.

For those of you concerned about the baby pool - the gender isn't worth any points to keep it fair as the game continues. If you just can't stand that you're guess is wrong, it can be changed. If you registered when you guessed, you can do it yourself. If not, you can leave a comment or email me and I will change it for you. Also, there has been no change in the due date.

Thank you for all your prayers so far. This all has been such a blessing!

Hannah, Mother of Samuel

Hannah may be one of my new favorite women in the Bible. Her faith is incredible! I'm impressed by Hannah's actions before and after her pregnancy, so this post will be a little different then the previous ones.

First of all, Hannah is married to Elkanah. Despite having two wives (I can't imagine living this way today!), Elkanah is a faithful follower of God. (Praise God for all of the great husbands out there!) He makes yearly trips to Shiloh to make sacrifices to God. He gives meat to his wife, Peninnah, and her children, and double to Hannah. You see, Hannah can't have children.

Peninnah treats Hannah horribly. For years, Peninnah makes fun of Hannah for being barren. It goes to such extremes that Hannah cries and stops eating. Can you imagine dealing with this woman? Elkanah tries to console her. Although he is sweet to her, he just can't help her right now. She turns to God for help. She prays and prays hard for a son. So hard in fact, that Elkanah thinks she's drunk! In her prayer, she says she will give her son over to God for life. After she prays, she eats something and is happy and confident.

Hannah becomes pregnant! She has a son she named Samuel. I don't know how long women nursed their children during this time, but as soon as she stopped nursing Samuel, she turned him over to live with Eli, the high priest.

Now wouldn't you want to flaunt this baby in front of Peninnah? Wouldn't you want to just thank God and go about your life, raising the son you so desperately wanted? Hannah is so selfless and thankful that she keeps her promise and leaves Samuel with Eli. She wants to see him grow up in the Lord. What an amazing faith!

Jochebed, Mother of Moses

I'm writing about my thoughts on different women in the Bible and what their pregnancies may have been like. My subject this time is the mother of Moses. She is living in Egypt, where the Pharaoh has ordered all baby boys to be thrown in the Nile river.

I am not as anxious as many mothers are about discovering the gender of our baby, but this situation would cause anyone to have high blood pressure. To think that if you have a boy, the baby will most likely be murdered immediately would have to bring such a dark cloud over the pregnancy. She must have prayed so very hard for a baby girl. (And we complain today that sonograms are not 100%. How petty!)

The thing that is such a surprise to me is that she didn't have a plan on what to do if it was a boy until she saw that "he was a fine child." That may mean that he was a quiet baby or that he just looked really cute. To me, every mother would think her baby was a "fine child." It was at this point she decided to hide him to save his life.

You know the rest of the story. I can't imagine the stress every pregnant woman must have gone through during this time. Also, what a hard time to bring a child into the world. What pride she must have felt (if she was still living) when her son(s) delivered the Israelites. Way to go Mom!!

Baby Pool

At the top right of this page, you will see a banner for our baby pool. We still have some time before the baby comes, so you might want to wait to put in your guess. I wanted you to know that your guess is welcomed. The gender is worth zero points, as we'll find out soon. It wouldn't be fair to you early guessers if the gender was worth a lot! Have fun!

My Thoughts on Eve

Since becoming pregnant, I have thought a lot about women in the Bible. I will share with you some of my thoughts, beginning with Eve.

Eve was the first to ever be pregnant. Now, I have my doctor, mom, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and friends to talk about my pregnancy with. My questions get answered. Take a moment and think about what Eve had to feel through this pregnancy. Remember she was also pregnant with TWINS!

• If she had morning sickness (she was the one that sinned and brought pain to childbirth, so I bet she also had morning sickness), you know she had to wonder why she can't get over her sickness.
• All of the sudden she is tired. She doesn't know what to tell Adam. She just wants to sleep!
• Suddenly, everything Adam does is annoying. Where is her sweet Adam?
• What is happening to her body??? Everything is growing and is sore! You've got to bet she's wondering why.
• What is all of this movement she feels? What could possibly be inside her?? (You know Cain and Abel had to be moving a lot!)
• Once she figures out that there are humans growing in her...imagine her jaw dropping. How will these humans leave her body?? Now, she remembers God saying that there will be pain in childbirth. She knows it is going to hurt however it happens!

I just can't imagine being alone in all of this. Thanks to everyone that has answered my questions or has given me advice. I appreciate you!!

18 Week Belly

I'm finally having a good week health-wise. :) :) :) Here are some shots of my growing belly. The baby is the size of a large sweet potato! I'm feeling movement a lot!

The Waiting Game

If your checking this today to find out what we're having...you'll have to wait another month. Sorry! As you may know, my doctor had been on maternity leave and we had a misunderstanding on when this oh-so-special sonogram was going to take place. I'll be 21 weeks when we find out. I know my mom is really disappointed, but we're relieved in a way. I was concerned that it might be too early (even though it has been possible to tell for about 2 weeks now) and we would either not be able to tell or be given incorrect information. I can't imagine having clothes and a nursery all ready for one sex and then bringing home a baby of the other sex! So we'll wait.

Even though I am not gaining any weight, the baby is growing and seems to be doing well. When we listened to the heartbeat today, we were able to hear the thuds of movement. That was cool. I feel flutterings sometimes, but I don't know if these flutterings are stomach grumblings are the actual baby. I'm looking forward to that first strong kick. I'm sure I will want the little guy/gal to take a rest when I try to sleep, but it will be exciting to feel the rascal.

I've kept it no secret that I am struggling with vomiting and nausea. I am sorry if you're tired of reading about it, but the good news is that I'm on different nausea medicine and may not feel bad anymore! I may sleep all day because of the medication, but hey, that's what summer vacation is for!

Reader Beware - Belly Shots

This past Thursday, my mom took a couple of belly shots at 12 weeks. I'm a lot smaller than I thought I would be at this point, but I have lost weight this trimester. It's amazing to me that I have to buy new clothes, yet I've lost weight. I guess the baby truly takes over your body. Not only does the baby affect my hormones, smell, appetite, sleep, hair, and everything else, it also takes care of itself and makes sure it gets what it needs and grows. Truly a miracle. Speaking of my appetite, Michael had the brilliant idea to buy me some popsicles. I didn't know I much I would want these! He bought the Breyer's frozen fruit bars. This is the only thing I have truly enjoyed eating in months!! I highly recommend them!

Okay, I got the pictures to work. I'm not sure how I feel about putting these pictures up. I guess it is part of being pregnant. It will be neat to look back and see how I've grown.

Another Good Appointment

This morning, Michael and I went in for another prenatal appointment. This time, I had a different doctor since my doctor is on maternity leave. I got a call this morning asking if I could come right then because this doctor will be doing a C-section at the time of my appointment. So Michael and I went looking pretty rough. Michael had not shaven (his beard grows super fast) and my hair was wet, but we made it! I arrived at the office and there was much confusion. Here were the things that caused the confusion: 1. I filled out paper work that should not have been sent to me 2. My 4 different names always bring confusion (I go by my middle name and they still have my maiden name on file) 3. I was not seeing my usual doctor 4. I was early for my appointment. At one point I was asked if I was here for the C-section! They were relieved when I said no, seeing how I don't look 9 months pregnant!

The real exciting part was to hear the baby's heartbeat. I am so thankful we were able to hear it. It is reassuring to know that the baby is continuing to live and grow inside of me. I liked the doctor that I had today as well. She was very sweet and took the time to answer my questions, even though I'm sure she had an eye on the clock! She also made me feel better about my battle with the prenatal pills that I can't swallow anymore. She liked what I was already doing about that. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks, I'll be able to keep my food down without any problems and can swallow pills again.

We may be able to find out the gender at my next appointment. We'll keep you posted!

Yes, I Know I Look Pale

I have to tell you, the first 2 weeks or so of knowing I was pregnant was fun! I felt good, I was excited, we were able to share our news with the family. It was really great. I've been sick for over a month now. I basically feel sick the entire day and night. I have no energy. Fortunately, I have only truly been sick one time. There are a few bright spots to this and here they are:
1. A sick mommy usually means a healthy baby.
2. I have a coworker that spent days in the hospital and had an IV in her for weeks. I'm sooo not that bad off.
3. It should be over in a few weeks.
I know when I'm at my worst, yet people like to tell me what kind of coloring I have in my face. I'm either pale, green, or hey-your coloring looks good today! I also just love (please note the sarcasm) when someone says that it may never go away while I'm pregnant. Don't people know that hope is what humans strive on the most?!? A huge component of faith is hope. Teachers would quit if there was not the hope of summer break. Single ladies can face a new day with the hope of finding that special someone. Even chemo patients fight with the hope that their cancer is gone. So, do not destroy my hope!
I have 3 more days of school. I will then be able to stay in bed or on the couch and let the days pass until I feel like I can eat again!

Family of Three

Michael and I are pregnant!!!

We're having Baby Hall a week or so before Christmas this year. Here is a picture of our little one:

I haven't figured out how to rotate the picture w/o compromising the quality. When it comes to sonograms, you need all the quality you can get! I hope he/she is smiling for the picture!

So, I'm in the middle of my "morning" sickness. The doctor has given me some medication for it, so we'll see if that helps. I'm also pretty tired, so I may not blog for another few weeks.

Michael and I feel very blessed to be given the opportunity to raise a child. We're anxious to see what this child will be like! It will be so wonderful to see the little tyke grow, discover it's gender, feel it move, etc.

If you have any cool things you do with your children or know of any special things (daily or for a special event), I'm interested to know what you do.

We thank you for any prayers you send up on our behalf!