Surprise

I've long been remiss in posting.  I'm about 15-16 weeks along now and feeling a little bit of flutters and movements but nothing quite distinct.  This is a little different than it was with our first child, who I distinctly felt at around 16 weeks kick me sharply (not painful just very distinct).  I don't think I knew then what to expect or what I might be feeling either.

 I've been dealing with a lot of sciatic pain (pain that shoots down my right leg to my little toes) since about the Friday before Thanksgiving so I've not been doing a lot of sitting... mostly laying around... which might not sound too hard but it definitely gets old after a while... especially since I already have the urge to clean my house and get everything I can ready for the new addition to our family.

Several people have asked me if we plan on finding out whether this baby is a boy or girl.  The answer to that question is a resounding: yes, when he or she arrives ;)  We feel that there can never be too many "good" surprises in life and this is one of them.  So we wait patiently and expectantly to find out about our new baby's gender.  My father-in-law is already convinced it will be a boy.  I and DH (darling husband) are content for it to be a boy or girl and are praying that he or she is very healthy.  DS (darling son) wants a brother... only time will tell what sort of blessing God will grant us.

Thanks for keeping up with me.  I'll try to post more often as God leads and I continue to recover.  God is good and blessings to all who read my blog.

Inspiration

So I should tell you about the inspiration for the name of this blog.  Cherylyn, isn't that a beautiful name, over at Mamasandbabies wrote this blog post which she reposted on facebook the day I was starting to write this blog...  the post really made me think...

I, among many, sometimes want to make things easier for those who are struggling around me but at times it's best to allow the struggle to continue because it makes whomever is struggling stronger in the end and ready for the challenges that lie ahead... if I intervene that can inhibit the preparation that is taking place... Let me CLARIFY, that I am NOT saying we shouldn't help people around us.  What I am saying is that there are times when we definitely have to let others do things for themselves... maybe we provide encouragement or resources or advice... If for example someone is struggling in a math class if we do their homework or let them cheat then we haven't helped them at all; rather we've done them a grave disservice because they won't have learned anything and if they ever need to understand/know the math they were trying to learn they will be at a loss.

I think with our children there are often times when it is best to be the encourager/adviser.  It's actually fascinating sometimes to watch my son figure something out.  It's neat to see how his mind works... and to see and hear how happy he is knowing he accomplished the task he was aiming to accomplish.  It definitely brings joy to my heart.  Yes, sometimes you have to show a child how to do something 100 times before he/she can do it on their own but once they do ~ YAY! WOW! Way to go!  And the smiles are worth every ounce of effort. 

I also feel very strongly about what Cherylyn had to say about labor and birth. She says, "You would never break open a chick's egg to get it out faster knowing that as a result it would be too weak to survive. Why would you do the same thing to your own baby?"  I felt so strongly that my first child was born at 43 weeks (by his EDD) without induction.  I am definitely not offering advice here on what others should or should not do concerning post dates babies.  I am just offering a bit of my own story.  My son was definitely healthy and ready to come out by that time... and it's entirely possible that the dates were off but not by more than a week or so...

Well, there you have it... that's how I got the name for the blog and I think it's kinda' cute.  I also have to say that another friend of mine should get an honorable mention ~ Hope Mabry.  Why?  You might ask.  She is a photographer and on her site the photos she'd taken of children used to be categorized as "chicks" (she was living in the UK at the time so it may be a European thing).  She's a great photographer, too.  If you're ever in her area you should definitely check her out.

Beginnings

About 6 years ago God choose to bless us with my now five year old son... a few weeks ago God decided to bless us again.  Yes, that's right I'm pregnant.  How exciting, amazing, and overwhelming all at the same time.  I can hardly believe it.

I am starting the blog to share my journey with you... I want to share honestly not only what I'm thinking and feeling but also what cool, interesting products I'm finding useful along the way.  I promise to let you know if I was given any of the products or discounts and how you can acquire the item for yourself as well.  I promise to let you know if I find something less than useful or maybe how it might be improved.  I will likely have a few recipes and links to other blogs to share along the way as well... like the one that inspired the name of this blog.

I'm really hoping that I'll have some exciting things, and maybe even discounts to share with you along the way.  So click on follow so you'll know what's going on and easily be able to find me... feel free to comment on my posts and let me know what you think but I do ask that you follow the "golden rule" when commenting and say only things that you would like others to say to you...

So, what am I thinking and feeling now?  I'm actually terribly excited.  I've been feeling better pregnant the last few weeks than I had in months... more energy, deeper sleep, and believe it or not the only "craving" I'm having is for green leafy things... my darling husband (here on out referred to as DH) was shocked to hear me say, "that seems too sweet," after I took a sip of cranberry juice the other day.  To explain, I generally LOVE anything sweet... plus with my first pregnancy the only thing I craved (the entire pregnancy) was grape juice. As you can probably guess I am eating very healthily already with this pregnancy... Today, for example, I had a smoothie (including milk, cabbage, avocado, cocoa nibs, homemade yogurt, blueberries, beet, persimmon, banana, flax seed, ice and that's all I can remember but there was likely more in there than that) and yes my 5 year old drank it and said he liked it, too... cocoa and avocado make it reminiscent of a chocolate shake... It's definitely exciting to be pregnant but to feel great and crave healthy things... that's just like icing on the cake... I feel very blessed.

Thanks for coming along on this journey with me... I'm looking forward to all that lies ahead.