Happy Easter Sunday!
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live."
John 11:25
"He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying."
Matthew 28:6
This past week has brought on some anxiety for me. Gentle reminders from God encourage me to "trust even when I cannot see" and that He will go before Trevor and take care of him while overseas but I hate that Trevor is leaving. When we first heard about the deployment we were in tears. Then I got angry. Upset that I had to give up time with my love, even just temporarily. Before the military, our lives were simple and we saw each other every day since we were 17 and 18 years old. I reasoned most couples don't have to deal with this. Seems like the relationship would be put on hold during deployments, but that's not always the case. It has the potential to keep growing, deepening in connection and strengthening in communication and understanding. That's what we aim for in our relationship and that's what we achieved during his time in basic training, while he was away for technical school and during other trainings along the way.
I keep finding myself in a catch-22. Desiring that the time we're apart would pass quickly so that we can be together again in the blink of an eye, but then I stop myself. It's still time. It's still life. And I don't want either of us to miss out on the enjoyment of embracing each day.
Prior to finding out we're pregnant I had created a list of 50 things I want to accomplish during the deployment. This is my way of coping; to set goals for myself. To be productive and to always be seeking self-improvement. That was one reason I even decided to join the military. Figured I had a year and half to do whatever I wanted so, at the time, I chose that route. This new path is beautiful and will lead us to cradling our firstborn in our arms and so glory be to God that this is the one we're on now. Even so, I want to continue my list of goals, although I will likely change a few things out to shift my focus to preparing for the baby. If you're interested in reading the list once it's completed, let me know and I'll post it!
Other thoughts have been spent on wondering who this baby is. Who will this little person be? What will he or she look like? Who has the Lord made and placed in my womb? Who has the Lord entrusted us with to guard with our lives, raise up to know Him and serve His people? What a privilege it already is to know God has created life and given him or her to us to parent. My belief is the Lord gives us children to deepen our understanding of His love for us; for everyone. Can't even begin to imagine what that kind of love must feel like. Although, I'm still tripping out to know that there is a baby in my womb who is both Trevor and me. Combined! This baby is both of us. How freaking amazing...
In anticipation of new symptoms that may arrive at the 6-week mark (mainly morning sickness), Trevor's week-long training in North Carolina and our trip home to California, this past week was filled with checking things off of our lists. Plus, a visit with Katha and a fun purchase to talk about.
10 April 2017: Tickets ✔
We booked our tickets home! We're excited to go home and share the news with more loved ones. My mom will be the first to know once we're home and I have a few friends I'm excited to tell in person. Trevor's other brother Casey (and his family) are on our list to tell and he may get a chance to share the news with his mom, dad and sister in person also. They think we're just coming home to visit before Trevor's deployment but they'll be in for a much bigger surprise. Hoping they can make the trip down to the South Bay while we're in town because Trevor would be so thrilled to be with them when they learn we're expecting.Speaking of announcing to family, we picked up a few things from the Dollar Tree a few weeks back. We gave one egg to Emily last week, and the rest will be for friends and family when we head home to California in a week. To say we acted like kids in a candy store is spot on... as we were in the candy aisle. And we're basically 9-year-olds when it comes to candy. We had so much fun putting together these eggs, filling them to the brim with candy! We reminisced that as kids we hated Easter eggs that weren't packed full of treats so we decided to make sure these eggs stayed true to our values, haha.
Each egg will have a pink and blue chocolate malt, pink m&ms, pink or blue gummy, pink and blue jelly beans and a candy bracelet. Basically, it's too much candy. Folded up inside each egg will also be this little note:
12 April 2017: Indiana Jones Themed Pregnancy Announcement Pictures
I'm not too sure how much longer I will feel good for. My best friend had morning sickness that started at 6-weeks and lasted until she gave birth. We decided that while I was feeling good we ought to take the big announcement picture now.
So let me tell you about this hat. Trevor's mom gave it to him as a birthday present one year and ever since it has been included in many events in our lives.
Here it is atop Trevor's grape at a friend's wedding.
It's seen here at my best friend's wedding as Trevor is catching the garter. Fun fact: As a bachelor, Trevor caught the garter at every wedding we went to! Tradition doesn't allow for married men to jump for the garter, otherwise I'm sure he would gladly continue to compete for it.
Last summer, it joined us along our road trip through eight states.
And, of course, at our wedding it was part of the main event!
It wouldn't be right to not include it in this next big moment in our lives.
14 April 2017: Upgraded Storage Unit and a New Stroller!
This opportunity fell into our laps. We had discussed upgrading our unit to house all of our furniture, stuff and everything else while Trevor is deployed and I'm in California. The more we thought about it the more we rationalized getting it sooner. We took a trip Wednesday to reorganize, toss & donate things when we ran into the manager of the complex. He's a new hire and we ended up talking to him for what felt like an hour and a half (I was exhausted afterwards). Former Marine Corps pilot and so from one military family to the next, we had a lot to bond over. He helped us get a unit double the size of our current one for a little bit more per month. Gotta love military discounts!
This ended up being a lifesaver. Most large storage units around town aren't available and, if they were to become so, they would still be much more expensive. We figured with summer approaching, any units that open will be snatched up with local college students emptying their apartments. We're slowly moving things into the new unit and because he's allowing us to take our time, we technically have two storage units for another month-no extra charge! Trevor has a lot of power equipment, tools and camping gear and I have a few large pieces of antique furniture so our old unit was packed to the brim. Now we'll be fitting in a small house worth of stuff so I'm glad we can take our time in transitioning things over.
One thing that will not be in our storage unit is this beauty. She's coming with me to California!
It's our brand new City Mini GT! After trying out Dustin and Anna's City Mini awhile ago, we knew this was the stroller we would love to own someday. As a nanny, I've struggled with many Graco strollers and I'm grateful that won't be our experience with our own baby, haha. Hopefully this kid likes riding in strollers because I'm hell-bent on using it!
Target was having several sales at once and it ended up costing less than half of the retail price so he chose to surprise me with it. It's a high-quality stroller that we know will last throughout our pregnancies (if we'll get beyond this one), so we see this as an investment. And we love a good deal... as if you couldn't tell already.
I swear this blog will be more than just thrifty purchases. Maybe. I'll try.
15 April 2017: Visit with Katha
As I mentioned last week, I was hoping to sneak in an appointment with Katha to pick her brain about all things pregnancy. She came bursting into the room with a huge smile on her face and hugs galore for Trevor and I. We went over a few things and she gave Trevor tips on how to best support me while he's in the States. Although I already own a copy of "What to Expect When You're Expecting" she gave us a new, revised copy for Trevor to have something to read on his own as well.
Told her that I would like to check on the baby sooner than 11 weeks, which is when my first OB appointment is set for. She excitedly agreed to let me come in for a heartbeat reading with their Doppler at almost 10 weeks! This is great because I would still like to announce on Mother's day, although I've been having second thoughts on announcing before seeing the baby or hearing a heartbeat.
16 April 2017: Easter Sunday, Fun at Horsetooth Reservoir and Filming for GMM!
Easter Sunday, today! After Trevor woke up, we made the drive back up to Horsetooth to try and get a few more pictures for the announcement. While we were up there we filmed an intro video for Rhett and Link's Good Mythical Morning segment "Wheel of Mythicality." We had a blast filming it! Although I will say, I have told Trevor 942893849832508520 times not to look at himself in the view-finder and that man cannot help himself.
He can't resist!
We had to have it facing towards us so that we knew we were in the shot and in focus, but dang. Just couldn't resist staring at himself... I'm not in the mood to film it again so, it'll have to do. It's both irritating and hilarious, much like Trevor himself (at times). So we're going with it.
Here's the video we're submitting:
Youtube is being a butthead. I'll post it as soon as it lets me.
And here's the full video:
We shot 3 different times and we felt the last one was the best (and he was actually looking at the lens!) but the camera battery died right in the middle of it. Coles' curse. I'm looking over to my left occasionally because there were a ton of people fairly close by that day.
Week 6 Photos:
Baby is the size of a lentil!
Week 6 Updates:
1. Size of the baby? Baby is a quarter of an inch long; about the size of a lentil.
2. What's developing this week? Major developments are nose, mouth and ears. Intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to the lungs has appeared.
3. Current weight? 117; appointment with Katha on 15 April.
4. Movement? Nope. But lower belly is harder.
5. Sleep? I've been waking up earlier and earlier. I try to go back to sleep but it's kind of pointless because I'm basically just resting. Having a hard time falling back asleep after waking up. Looked this up and apparently it's something a lot of pregnant women experience early on.
6. Symptoms?
- Nausea and cramps after (orgasm) sex. Never doing that again! We have had sex a few times since but we didn't *ahem* focus on me and I was fine afterwards. So, unfortunately, I am already making sacrifices, hah. No spotting or anything unusual.
- Starting today (16 April 2017), I had very slight nausea in the morning and at night. Eating something helps for a little while.
- Harder lower belly; still bloated as heck. Occasionally I feel tension on the left side.
- I feel thick lately. With my booty, thick thighs and now a bloated belly... I'm feeling frumpy and chunky.
- Boobs hurt first thing in the morning and if ever I'm laying on my side. This week I've been feeling more pain in my actual chest as well. Sharp pains as if someone was pinching the sides over and over.
- I've been exhausted! Moving the storage unit has been mostly Trevor's job because I need to sit down every so often. Once this week I took a nap because I just couldn't stay awake.
7. Cravings and Aversions? Nothing really.
8. Best moment this week? Hiking with Trevor to take the announcement picture. Finishing the design on my mom's sweater (more on that next week!).
9. Prayer requests? Safe travels for Trevor to and from North Carolina this week would be much appreciated! Also, please pray that the nausea stays a low level like it is now (or that it completely goes away). I'm actually glad for a little nausea as I've read having nausea is a great sign that the baby is healthy. Not sure what to expect this week but it's a little daunting to think he won't be here to help if things get bad. So hopefully it's not too bad and I'm able to feel good most days.
10. What are you looking forward to for next week? Ehhh, not much. Emily's having a birthday dinner tomorrow night so that will likely be the highlight of my week, haha.
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