While I had a few minutes I thought I'd post a few more photos of Grace. These were both taken at 21 weeks. I have one from 24 weeks as well, I just need to get it uploaded onto the computer. As busy as my many doctor's appointments have kept me, I've enjoyed catching extra glimpses of Grace from time to time.

Well, as of yesterday, I am officially at 25 weeks. This time has flown by! It's hard to believe that in a little over three months she'll be here. Ken is hoping for a Cinco de Mayo baby. He's been saying that all a long actually, I just never gave the thought any credit until today. Grace measured 5 days a head of where her due date put her at our 20 week ultrasound, and my fundal height (I believe that's what its' called) consistently measures a week a head as well. So maybe, just maybe, Ken will get his wish:) Poor Grace may be spending all of her birthday dinners at a Mexican food restaurant. In fact, if she is born on Cinco de Mayo, I think she may be be getting her first sip of a non alcoholic margarita on her 1st birthday as well as her own cake:)

For the past 2-3 weeks now we have been able to feel Grace move from the outside of my belly. Each night I lay on the couch or my bed with my shirt up waiting for her to move so that I can watch and feel it. It has been one of the neatest experiences ever. I can't even describe it. It has me grinning every time. I keep thinking that the complete awe of it will wear off, but so far it hasn't. Last night I had Ken try to hear her heartbeat by placing his head by my belly (I read online that at this point in the game, you can sometimes do that). Well, we had no luck with him hearing the heart beat, but Grace did give him a few swift kicks in the head:)

I Came Across This Photo Today...

and my gosh did it make me laugh!

It's a Girl!

Ken and I went into the doctor this past Wednesday for my 20 week appointment and it looks like we'll be welcoming a little girl into our family come May:) We are psyched! Fenix was really hoping for a girl and to be honest, I secretly (and sometimes not so secretly:) was really hoping for one too. However, I know we would have been just as happy with a boy. I actually was expecting a boy, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was a girl. Below is a the latest ultrasound picture. She was being somewhat difficult and spent most of the ultrasound curled up, which means we will be going back in a month for another ultrasound. I also attached a picture of my growing belly (at 20 weeks) and the slice of cheesecake that Chile's gave us (we went out to eat with my sister and the kids after the ultrasound) to celebrate our new addition.

"Today we have lost the comfort of Elizabeth's presence but, she remains the heart of this family."


I pulled this quote off of an article written about the passing of Elizabeth Edwards. I didn't follow her life or her husband's, but the quote really touched me and it puts into words how I feel about my mother's passing.

Well, I've made it facebook official, so now I suppose it's time for me to make it blog official:)

Ken, Fenix, and I will be expanding our little family come May. Yup, that's right! We're pregnant! (Well, actually I'm pregnant, but you knew what I meant:) And, we are ecstatic! There honestly are no words to describe this feeling or how excited we are. I really feel like we're ready. This is our time. Even though we've just been married three years, I feel like we've waited a while for this...and patiently too (for the most part:). We wanted to wait until the right moment. It's still really hard to believe. In fact, when I look at the 12 week ultrasound, it's still almost unbelievable. There's a baby in my belly! Who would have known?! It's crazy to think there's a living thing in there. I'm sure it will be a bit more believable when I start to show, or possibly I'll spend my entire pregnancy in a state of awe.

I will be 14 weeks tomorrow and the baby should arrive sometime around the 12th of May. Already this baby has perfect instincts and is waiting (well, planning to wait), until after ISATs. Then, I should have the entire summer with him or her.

Ken and I went in 7 weeks ago to have out first ultrasound and then a week and a half ago I went in on Thursday to have a test done that involved the ultrasound (had I not had the test done, we would have had to wait until 20 weeks to see our little poppy seed...err...lemon, again. Each week there's a new food that the size of our baby is compared to, and right now I think we're at the lemon stage). The first picture of the baby is just a little blurb, so it was amazing to see the baby at 12 weeks. It actually looks like a baby! And, it was moving like crazy! On the Friday following the ultrasound, Ken and I went to my doctor's appointment, where we met the doctor finally (who I love), and we got to hear our baby's heart beat! We saw it on the first ultrasound, but nothing could compare to actually hearing it. The minute she located it, Ken and I were grinning like crazy. I think that has been my favorite moment so far.

I feel really grateful that Ken and I were able to get pregnant this time round. We gave ourselves a very small window of opportunity, so I can't help but wonder if we have someone pulling for us upstairs:) I'm really excited to be embarking on this journey with Ken. It means a lot to me that we're bringing a life into this world, especially after losing my mom. I couldn't imagine traveling through this experience with anyone other than Ken. I'm already confident we'll make good parents, because I feel like we've done a really good job on working together as parents to Fenix.

We had names picked out going into this experience, but at this point, there are no guarantees. We've enjoyed looking into other possibilities and I think at this point we're pretty undecided as far as names go (especially in the boy department.) We should find out the sex RIGHT before Christmas and we're really looking forward to sharing whether it's a boy or girl with our family on Christmas Day, especially Fenix, who is pulling for a girl. I'll be happy with either. At some point I'd like to have a girl, because I'd like to have the same relationship with my daughter that my mother had with me. But this time round, I really don't know that I have a preference. I'm just so excited for him or her to get here!

All Saints Day

Today was the Feast of All Saints and so I joined Fenix's religious ed. class at mass this afternoon. I don't talk about my faith very much. In fact that only people I really talk about my faith to on a regular basis is my husband and Fenix. I'd like to think that instead of talking about it, I live it. Nonetheless, I am going to take a moment to talk about. I have never believed that there was one true church. It's just never made sense to me, especially when so many churches share the same basic set of beliefs. I've always believed that there were a few different paths to God, due to the vast variety of people that populate the earth. Being Catholic has always been the right fit for me. I find immediate comfort and peace when I walk into Catholic church. It's not something I find anywhere else. I will not say that my church is perfect or hasn't made mistakes. In fact, I won't even say that I agree with every aspect of my church, because to be honest there are still areas I need more information in. I will say that the Catholic church is the right faith system for me, and I am so happy to be sharing that with Fenix. The real reason I decided to post this is because today is All Saints Day, and despite already knowing that the Catholic Church is the right faith for me, the homily today reminded me of one of the many reasons why. In the homily our priest said that growing up Catholic, you grow up knowing that the dead are always around you; they are always a part of your life, watching over you, supporting you, whether it's a relative or a saint. He said that death can never separate us. I am happy that I belong to a system of faith that supports my belief that my mother and grandparents are always with me and that I'll see them again in the afterlife; no questions asked, no hoops to jump though. When this life is over, I will meet them again.

Eight Questions

Per Sharlee's request...Eight Questions.

1. Is there any one principle that you think all people should live their lives by? If yes-what?

“First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” Mathew 7:5


2. What is the most indulgent thing you do in your week?
Watch T.V., in particular reality T.V. I haven’t watched all that much recently because I’ve been super sleepy, but T.V. is by far the most indulgent thing that I do on a regular basis. Some favorites? “Teen Mom”, “Glee”, “So You Think You Can Dance”. Every week I insist on giving Ken updates on the girls from “Teen Mom”. I love him! I also love giving him updates. He, of course, hates it He puts up with it though.

3. Which one event in your life has had the most impact?
I really can’t choose one. There have been many big events and lots of little ones that have shaped who I am. Meeting Ken, losing my mother to cancer, HAVING my mom as a mom (if that counts as an event), going to Borders with John when I was in grade school, growing up without a father, working at Albertsons in high school, working at St. Lukes, West, college at BSU, getting hired at MMS, teaching Boise summer school, the birth of my niece and nephew, something that happened very recently that I can’ t blog about quite yet, becoming Fenix’s step-mom, high school…All of those events have had major impacts on my life and on shaping who I am. I really can’t narrow it down to just one.

4. What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you?
I have a friend who I met in high school, in choir class to be more specific. My junior year, her senior year, her father passed away from brain cancer. It was absolutely horrible. I had no idea what she was going through, but I tried my best to be a good friend. After she started college we grew apart (this is a huge regret that I have), but when my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, I posted a note for my friends to read about my mother’s diagnoses. This friend, who I hadn’t seen in years, sent me the most beautiful and caring e-mails. In one of them she prayed. Then, on the year anniversary of my mother’s death she sent me a text, asking how I was doing. In the last seven years we’ve seen each other once, yet she sent me e-mails in which she prayed for my mother and she remembered the anniversary of her death and then checked in to see how I was doing. This, by far, has been one of the kindest things someone has done for me.

5. you have to give a ten minute speech at a high school, what is it about?
Hmmm… no idea. I teach middle school, hypothetically I could possibly teach High School some day, so my guess is I’d be speaking at High School graduation.


6. What drives you every day?
Love…corny yes, but it’s true. Love for my family, for my students, for education, my friends, books, my faith, myself… I am driven by love:)

7. What talent(s) do you wish you had?
I wish I was a stronger writer. I wish I was more athletic. In fact, it would be nice to have one athletic thing that I was really good at (and that would make me really fit, or at least more fit than I am:). I also wish that I could sew. Oh, and I wish I had kept singing past high school, so that I could have developed that talent more.

8. What do you like most about yourself?
This is a tricky one. Physically, I like my hair. I like that when I look in the mirror I can see my mother. I like my blue eyes. I hope Ken and my children have blue eyes some days. Other than that, I love that I’m a teacher. I love that I cry fairly easily when moved by things. I love who raised me. I like my set of morals. I DO NOT like my lack thereof of patience, the procrastinator in me, and my potential “apple” shape:)

At this point I'm supposed to tag people, and come up with 8 more questions, however I only have one follower and two people that read my blog. That being said, if you are one of those two people, then I am tagging you...to answer the above questions:)