Moving Days...

The movers came yesterday and packed up all of our belongings -- where did we get all of this stuff? There are so many boxes! I am so thankful that my Mom was able to come last Friday and spend the weekend with me. She stayed an extra day and sat with me while the movers boxed everything up. It was a blessing to have her with me since I'm handling this on my own until my sweet husband is finished with OTS (Officer Training School). It was sad to see Mom leave, but I know we'll see each other again when the baby is born!

Locking up the house to head to our neighbor's for the night was strange. Waddles and I walked back over this morning at about 8am to meet the movers and they are loading the truck today. So far, so good. We have had so many great memories in this house -- holidays, birthdays, fun with family and friends -- so it's sad to close this chapter and start a new one. I have always said I wanted to live in Texas, so I guess my wish is coming true!

My final appointment with my doctor in Macon was on Monday and it went well. They have been so wonderful throughout my pregnancy and I'm praying we will be blessed with equally awesome doctor's in San Antonio. Mom was able to go to my appointment with me and see the sonogram of baby Matthew! We found out that he is "transverse" (he is basically "sideways" -- his head is to my left and his bottom is to my right). This isn't uncommon and my midwife told me that they usually turn head-down somewhere around 32-36 weeks (I'm 31 weeks). If he hasn't turned by 36 weeks they may try to "manually" get him to turn and if not, I'll be scheduled for a c-section. I'm praying he is a good boy and turns! I really want to avoid a c-section if possible, but honestly I really just want to make sure he is healthy!!

The most exciting part of my week will be this Sunday when I'm officially back with my Ryan again! We are both so ready to be together after this 12 week separation and we have so much to look forward to over the next 2 months -- his graduation from OTS, moving to TX and baby Matthew's arrival at the end of December! I promise to post photos from graduation and of our move. In the meantime, thank you for your prayers and support!

A whirlwind of a month...

I’ve been out of town for the last 4 weekends, so please forgive me for being absent in my baby postings. It’s been a whirlwind of a month so I'll do my best to quickly recap...

My dear husband continues to do great things in Officer Training School and I am so very proud of him. He was chosen to be the "Wing Commander", which is the highest leadership position in the training program. He had to go through several interviews to be chosen and now "runs" the program of 190+ trainees. Can you tell I'm a proud wife?!! I was able to go visit him last weekend and words can't describe how special it was to be together after the last 2 months apart. We took a few photos -- notice my new haircut (I went in for a trim on Saturday morning before I left and ended up chopping it all off!). This is me at 29 weeks...

We only have 2 more weeks and then we'll finally be back together again. My last day at work is this Friday, October 24 and the movers are scheduled to come on October 28 & 29. I've been busy trying to get things organized for the move. I am so thankful that we sold our house and closed on it in mid-September. It will make it so much easier to tie up loose ends after the movers come and not have to worry about a closing date. We were blessed with a buyer who was kind enough to let me stay in the house and rent the last month and a half. God has been so good!

My best friends from high school put together a baby shower for me in Rock Hill, SC on October 4 and I was once again overwhelmed with everyone's generosity. I feel so blessed! I attached a few photos below. It was so wonderful to be at home for the weekend and to spend it with close friends!

My First Baby Shower

I had my first baby shower last Saturday, September 13 and it was so wonderful! Four of my sweet girlfriends from work hosted it and I felt so special! My Mom was able to drive down from SC to attend with me and everyone was so thoughtful with the gifts they gave to us. I feel so blessed to have the most amazing and precious friends! Seeing all the tiny gifts and opening everything from onesies to a baby bouncer has made "Matthew's" arrival feel that much more real. I am getting so anxious to have him join us!

I posted a few pictures from the shower below, so I hope you enjoy! Have a great weekend!

24 Weeks

I reached the 6 month (or 24 weeks) mark yesterday and I am still feeling really good! Sleeping is slowly getting harder. I always loved sleeping on my stomach or my back, so it's been an adjustment to sleep on my side. I have an extra pillow on each side that I "snuggle" with and that seems to help. It's still hard to believe that I only have a few more months to go before our sweet baby boy arrives! We've been talking about names, and so far we both really like Matthew Charles. Both are family names. What do you think? It's not his official name yet, but we're "testing" names to see how they sound.

The wee one continues to kick and feel like a little miracle! It is so funny to see my stomach rise and jump as he moves around. It's actually quite hilarious at times because it's all so new to me too!

My sweet husband found out last week that we will be moving to San Antonio, TX at the beginning of November! Feel free to come visit any time!! It will be an adjustment to be so far away from family with the arrival of the baby, but we have faith that God will pull us through the challenges and joys that lie ahead!

I finally had a friend of mine take a few photos of me pregnant. We took them at her house and they didn't turn out great (the lighting was way off), but you can at least get the idea of how "prego" I actually look these days. This is me at 23 weeks.

Hiccups

My alarm went off at 6am this morning and I rolled over and hit snooze (as usual). Just as I was settling into "snooze mode" I was woken back up when I felt the baby jump. Or at least I thought he was just moving around. There was another quick jump....and another...and another.... Then as I pulled myself out of "sleepy-town" I realized he had the hiccups! It was so cute and precious! I just laid there with tears in my eyes at the thought of this little miracle living and growing inside me. God is so amazing!!

It's been a crazy (but good) month!

I have been absent from my blog postings for almost a month, so I thought I should give a quick update on how we're doing. First, my pregnancy is going well and I feel great! It's amazing how different you feel from your 1st Trimester to your 2nd Trimester! I'll be 22 weeks on Tuesday and have my next doctor's appointment on September 2nd -- I can't wait to see how much our Little Man has grown!!!

The past month has been full of adventures, so I'll briefly recap so you know what we've been up to lately. My darling baby sister got married on August 2nd, and it was a whirlwind of a weekend! We had so much fun spending time with family and celebrating her marriage to a great guy! They moved to Columbia, SC where my sister is a 2nd grade teacher and her new hubby will begin Law School at USC.

A few days after we returned from the wedding, my sweet hubby left for Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. He's basically in basic training for Officers, and is averaging 4 hours of sleep, marching, doing drills, getting yelled at, and has tons of academic work to complete with very little free time. Please keep him in your prayers!

It was hard to see him leave knowing that there is so much to be done here at home before our move at the beginning of November, but we know God will provide comfort and strength to us both while we are apart. And, so far, God has provided a huge blessing -- we put our house on the market to sell and it sold in 1 week!!! We close on September 15, but the new owner has agreed to let me "rent" the house from her until we move on October 31. Only God could orchestrate a miracle like that one -- especially with how rough the housing market has been this year!!!!

I'm staying busy with work and "projects" around the house. Our little man has become quite the kicker! It's the most amazing feeling when he starts to move around. Only a little over 4 months before we welcome him into the world! We still don't have a name picked out yet...but hopefully we can agree on one soon! I don't have a scanner at home, so I hope to find a friend who can help me scan some of our sonogram photos. I'll be sure to post some if/when that happens. In the meantime, he's a healthy baby boy and we feel so blessed that God would bring us this little miracle!

He's a Kicker!

I felt the baby move for the first time on Friday and it was so precious! I thought I felt some "flutters" in my stomach while I was sitting on the couch (I think I had felt him move before but just didn't realize it was him). I said out loud, "So, you're going to move around for me now, huh?" Then, I pressed my hand to my stomach and it kicked my fingers! I went running out the front door to find "Daddy" and tell him the good news! What a little miracle!!!