On the cusp of a New Year, it is time to stop and reflect for a moment. At work we have talked about how we never could have predicted what 2011 would bring to World Wide Village and the people of Haiti. In my personal life, I never could have predicted what 2011 would bring either!
1) As I sit and type this, I am 6 months pregnant with Dahmon's and my first child...a boy whose name will be Drexel (haven't determined a middle name yet, though we have something that might work). A boy who has everyone very excited even though his presence was just a bit unplanned. =) A boy who has already given us a couple of scares through an "interesting" early pregnancy.
2) My brother has gotten married to a lovely young lady named Serena in a beautiful ceremony in Palmer, Alaska.
3) We moved...again - this time to Minneapolis, a city that I never thought I would live in. Next August we will move...again (can you tell I hate moving? Fifteen years in the same place to moving every year. yesh.), this time in with Dahmon's parents until we have to move the next year for Dahmon's internship year in seminary.
4) I only have one semester left in a graduate school degree that God definitely plunked me into. Now, I'd love to plan out what this means for the next 10 years, but it is also my experience that any time we have a 5-year plan figured out, or even a 3-year plan, God brings Dahmon and I into something different than expected (latest example: Drexel).
5) A bunch of people have come into my life via professional and personal ways that I have been completely honored to know and work with on various levels (at WWV, as a part of my modeling/acting career, church, Antioch, etc).
A lot of other things have happened, but I can't list them all. God has been good (though isn't he always?), and I've had a lot of opportunities to see and experience his goodness in a lot of areas (ask me about what's been going on in Haiti). 2012 is going to be another eventful year, especially with Drexel being born in March/April, and it will be interesting. :)
Dec 31, 2011
Dec 27, 2011
Things they don't warn you about....
Pregnancy. The time of a couple's life that is perhaps the most filled with expectation, wonder, and nervousness. A time when a new human being is being crafted in the hidden recesses of a woman's body, blood vessels and brain stem being established with no conscious active effort on the woman's part (save, perhaps, not drinking and trying to eat more than two colors in a day).
There are, however, some things they don't warn you about pregnancy until you have joined the expectant-mama club. (Beware - this post may contain TMI, but that's okay.) For example...
1) Fuzzy tummy
They warn you about the lush hair and epically awesome fingernails. What they do not warn you about, however, is that the same hormone that means the hair on one's head becomes very nice also means so does the hair on one's...um...tummy! So, the reason a woman's hair is awesome during pregnancy is because the hormone that releases hair is diminished, on one's head and one's...tummy! Seriously, my tum tum looks like a peach.
2) Stuffy nose
Who knows that something about the hormone soup coursing through a gals body during preggo-nancy causes inflammation of the mucus linings? Not quite sure how that makes sense, but I sound like I've pretty much got a chronic cold. *achoo*
3) Sore backs
Oh sure, you do hear about the sore backs that a woman has when pregnant, but do you know that can start as soon as 10 weeks (this soreness usually due to hormonal fluctuations)? My poor back has been sore for a long time, compounded by the fact that I've got some back problems. HOWEVER, I was not expecting that to start so quickly! Now I'm at 25 weeks (close to the end of 2nd trimester and big enough that strangers are getting less shy about staring at my belly) and now my back is more sore than before.
4) Baby brain
Now, this is something you may have heard about if someone in your vicinity has been pregnant, or else you may not hear about it until you have joined the Sisterhood of the Expanding Pants. Seriously - it's like all the blood that had gone to feeding my brain has gravitated elsewhere to grow a baby. Memory? You should see the sticky notes papering my cube at work. Thought process? Give me a sec, and I'll get something figured out. Maybe two secs. :) I thank then Lord that finals this past semester consisted of essays - those I can generally do at home and are open book, a God-send to this preggo who is having a hard time remembering why in the heck I got up to get across the office?
5) Gas!
My poor hubby already grimaces when I eat cheese. Not that I'm lactose intolerant, but somehow my eating cheese has detrimental affects on bystanders who are not warned that lactose can make my intestinal tract determined to do its best to poke holes in the ozone layer (okay, I'm not that bad). Being pregnant just makes this worse!
I'm sure there is more...but I can't remember it. :) More to come later.......
There are, however, some things they don't warn you about pregnancy until you have joined the expectant-mama club. (Beware - this post may contain TMI, but that's okay.) For example...
1) Fuzzy tummy
They warn you about the lush hair and epically awesome fingernails. What they do not warn you about, however, is that the same hormone that means the hair on one's head becomes very nice also means so does the hair on one's...um...tummy! So, the reason a woman's hair is awesome during pregnancy is because the hormone that releases hair is diminished, on one's head and one's...tummy! Seriously, my tum tum looks like a peach.
2) Stuffy nose
Who knows that something about the hormone soup coursing through a gals body during preggo-nancy causes inflammation of the mucus linings? Not quite sure how that makes sense, but I sound like I've pretty much got a chronic cold. *achoo*
3) Sore backs
Oh sure, you do hear about the sore backs that a woman has when pregnant, but do you know that can start as soon as 10 weeks (this soreness usually due to hormonal fluctuations)? My poor back has been sore for a long time, compounded by the fact that I've got some back problems. HOWEVER, I was not expecting that to start so quickly! Now I'm at 25 weeks (close to the end of 2nd trimester and big enough that strangers are getting less shy about staring at my belly) and now my back is more sore than before.
4) Baby brain
Now, this is something you may have heard about if someone in your vicinity has been pregnant, or else you may not hear about it until you have joined the Sisterhood of the Expanding Pants. Seriously - it's like all the blood that had gone to feeding my brain has gravitated elsewhere to grow a baby. Memory? You should see the sticky notes papering my cube at work. Thought process? Give me a sec, and I'll get something figured out. Maybe two secs. :) I thank then Lord that finals this past semester consisted of essays - those I can generally do at home and are open book, a God-send to this preggo who is having a hard time remembering why in the heck I got up to get across the office?
5) Gas!
My poor hubby already grimaces when I eat cheese. Not that I'm lactose intolerant, but somehow my eating cheese has detrimental affects on bystanders who are not warned that lactose can make my intestinal tract determined to do its best to poke holes in the ozone layer (okay, I'm not that bad). Being pregnant just makes this worse!
I'm sure there is more...but I can't remember it. :) More to come later.......
Dec 18, 2011
Update time!
Alright, I'm horrible at updating this...sorry!!!!!!!
More pics will come later...for now they are stockpiling on my computer.
Quick update:
More pics will come later...for now they are stockpiling on my computer.
Quick update:
- I am done with the semester and Dahmon will be done tomorrow. My master's degree major project degree focus may have changed, but I still need to flesh that out (basically, I found the book I wanted to write about kids with disabilities in the Church, so now I want to do something else to avoid duplicating efforts).
- My head is now 15 inches of hair lighter - went in and got a whole bunch chopped off this afternoon. Not sure that I like the resulting 'do yet, but we'll see. =)
- Drexel is doing well - moving and kicking up a storm. Though I do find it amusing that Drexel is pretty active until Dahmon is around. Dahmon is apparently very soothing to our son, as Rex calms down and stops moving around as much when Dahmon is present. I know who the baby whisperer is between us with this particular child (provided this pattern holds out). Rex also seems to know when I haven't eaten for awhile, as he will move around and not calm down until I'm full. =) I'm starting to feel him kicking up by my bellybutton, and am not terribly fond of his habit of shoving his foot in places and then leaving it there...that starts to hurt after awhile.
- Drexel is registered at Target, for inquiring minds that want to know.
Ummmmmmm, I think that is it for now. I'll be posting some of my papers from this past semester once I've gotten grades back.
More regular posts to follow, hopefully. =)
Dec 2, 2011
Progression of tummy so far - Currently week 21
Here is a pictographic progression of my tummy so far (yes, this blog is overrun with pregnancy stuff....so is my brain - deal with it):
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| Week 10 |
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| Week 11 |
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| Week 12 |
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| Week 13 |
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| Week 14 |
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| Week 15 |
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| Week 16 |
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| Week 17 |
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| Week 18 |
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| Week 19 |
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| Week 20 |
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| Week 21 |
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