Bitter-Sweet

Well, it's official. I am no longer employed.

Pete and I decided for me to be a stay at home mom for little Noah. I am so thankful that this was an option for me. Being a mom will be the most important job I do and it will be nice to dedicate myself to it completely.

On the other hand, I will miss my amazing co-workers. I worked with some great people who love the Lord. It was very rewarding to work with kids and spend my days trying to help others. I was working at the local MHMR facility doing counseling for kids diagnosed with things such as depression, adjustment disorders, and PTSD. My duties were counseling, intake assessments, diagnosis reviews, and case management. My kiddos I worked with will be missed! It will, however, be nice not to hear so much negativity everyday. Most of the kids I worked with had some rough lives, made some poor decisions, or were doing poor in school...or a combination of all of these. All I can do now is pray for them. Praying is probably the most useful thing I did for them anyways.

As I close one chapter of my life I look ahead with great excitement and anticipation. As of today I am 30 weeks pregnant. Noah will be here in about 10 weeks!!!

Leah's Wedding Shower

Leah had a wedding shower this past weekend, so I went to Emory for the event. It was lots of fun getting to know her fiance, Kyle, better. He is a great guy and really lives his live for the Lord. I am so happy for them! They got some great gifts that will help them start out their marriage in style.

While in Emory we kept busy. Kyle, Leah, and myself help mom plan a bunch of beautiful flowers in her beds by the house. I went with mom and dad to a movie. And of course we ate great food from dad's ribs, to the best biscuits and gravy at Ya'll Come Back Cafe, to my best friend's family restaurant, Chubby's. And one of the best parts of the weekend is that my sister and her husband came with their sweet kids, Chase and Ava:

I continue to feel great! Here is what I look like these days:

3rd Trimester!

It's official! I am in the third trimester. Time has just flown by! I had a doctor's appointment today (he sees me every two weeks now) and I got a good report. Noah's heart rate was 143 and by belly measured appropriately. He has been moving so much and I can feel his tiny arms or legs poking me at times.

Here is the latest from Baby Center:

Your pregnancy: 28 weeks
How your baby's growing:By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

I have been having some Braxton Hicks contractions, which apparently is a good thing. My body seems to be 'practicing' for labor. Also, today I pre-registered at the hospital and signed up for a class at the hospital. Everything seems to be going well!

Today was spouses day on base so I went with some friends to fly a C-130 Simulator. It is supposed to be what it is like to fly the aircraft Pete flies. I did pretty good, and only got a little nauseous. Not bad for a pregnant lady.

Work Baby Shower

First of all, I work with some of the most amazing people! I work at a state ran Mental Health/Mental Retardation center and incredibly all my coworkers are wonderful Christian people. God really had a hand in placing me there. Three of my co-workers: Jenni, Nicki, and Amy, threw me the sweetest baby shower. They went above and beyond to make it special for me by decorating in Noah's colors, playing creative games, and having yummy food. It was a small group, but I got some great things for Noah such as: cute outfits, bottles, paci's, baby scrap book, bath toys, washclothes, and bath products. They were so good to me! This coming week is my last week to work with them and I will miss them all so much! What a blessing they have been.

Just as a testament to their great qualities, my coworkers have been very supportive. They have gone to movies or out to eat with me when Pete is deployed, have invited us over for cookouts, Nicki's husband, Mathis, is mowing my yard currently and refuses payment, and Lloyd took me to pick up my crib recently. What a great place to work!

Leah's Graduation

So I am a little behind, but a couple of weeks ago I met my family in Portland, OR for the college graduation of my little sister, Leah. It was fun to hang out with family. Leah is graduated and officially has her teaching degree. Now she is planning a wedding to Kyle Beard in June. Oregon is beautiful and it was nice to see real spring weather. I also met up with my college roommate, Lacey, who is in med school there.

hot weather!

It is only the beginning of May and already it has felt like July. The last two days we had temps over 100 degrees!! Getting in and out of a car all day at work, in the extreme heat, while pregnant was interesting. Then i realized...i am only getting bigger and we will only have more of these hot days. I might move to Alaska with my in-laws for the summer. :)
The weather man must have heard my cries, because today it is only 70 degrees...thankfully. I guess this buys me some time to find a pool to soak in this summer.