20.5 weeks

Sunday, we decided to take a few pictures outside to mark the half-way point.  I can't believe we are half-way there!!

20.5 weeks

This is ONE lucky kid to be in THIS family!!  Bet he can't wait! :)

Rogue Runner 2012

Last weekend, Mike participated in the Rogue Runner Race.  It was a 10K race with obstacles along the way which included:

Their team of 7 people included Mike's brother, Marshall, and sister-in-law, Jaime.  Baby boy and I were able to walk around and take pictures along the way.  Unfortunately, about a mile in, Jaime turned her ankle pretty bad and was taken out of the race by the medical team.  Thankfully, it was just a bad sprain so she hung out with me until the end.  It was a beautiful fall day and took place at a farm about an hour from where we live.  

Getting ready to start

And, they're off...

Hay Bale obstacle

Peg Board obstacle

Here they come!

Stopping for a short picture break and to tell me about Jaime, not too dirty...YET!

Balance Beam action

After a lot of time passes...here they come again...MUCH more dirty!

Really Mike?!  What color are those legs??

Nothing an 'ol Slip-n-Slide can't help!

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

A little cleaner!

Final obstacle...

With a little help...

Almost there...

FINISH LINE!!!

Group shot at the end...WAY TO GO!!

20 weeks

20 weeks...4 1/2 months...a lot to process...

20 weeks ago, I had no idea that God had someone ready to be formed inside of me.  Mike was just arriving home from 7 months in Afghanistan and we were "open" to the possibility of starting our family, you know...thinking it might take a little while.  But, God had us on the accelerated program!

• Around 15 weeks ago (week 5), I discovered that I was pregnant and told Mike that weekend when we were together.
• Around 13 weeks ago (week 7), I started having the "wonderful" symptoms of pregnancy.
• Just 12 weeks ago (week 8), we got our first glimpse of this baby!  Barely more than a little heartbeat, but we got to hear that too!  Wonderful sounds to nervous but excited first-time parents.

• Finally around 8 weeks ago (week 12), I started liking food again and not having to take naps EVERY day at 2pm.  And, we got to hear that wonderful heartbeat again!
• Around 3 weeks ago (week 17), we had another appointment - this time with our new doctor in Virginia who had wonderful news of a strong heartbeat again and that we would be able to have another ultrasound/sonogram in the next week or so.
• Finally, 1 week ago (week 19), we finally got another peak inside.  Instead of just a little "bean" of a heartbeat, we got to see the heart with all 4 chambers, a face, arms, legs, kidneys and other internal organs...and well, the knowledge that we are having a baby BOY!  It was amazing to see his features already and that he had his hands in his mouth at times and was MOVING like crazy (but this may be attributed to a little Cherry Coke that I had for lunch before the appointment)!

And now, 20 weeks into this, we now know we are having a boy and have named him and know he was created to be in our family at this time.  And, that God has known him before he was even formed (Jeremiah 1:5).  What an amazing thought!

The next 20 weeks will, I'm sure, be much different from the first 20 weeks.  BUT, how amazing to know that in 20 weeks (give or take!) we will get to see this baby boy in real life...no ultrasound pictures needed!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is Mom's birthday!!

And, although it is a little different from her celebration last year when we were all together in Gatlinburg and had a couple of extra "guests",

I hear that where she is celebrating today has been full of fireworks and parades this week.  Those Guatemalans know how to make you feel right at home.  Who else would be privileged to be the Mom to this crazy bunch?!

So, Happy Birthday Mom!  The closer I get to this "mom thing", the more I appreciate you and what you have done (and are doing!).

So, what's in a name??

You may know that names have meanings behind them.  People will search for months to come up with a specific name for children with certain meanings.  Well, this isn't a post to reveal any names we have come up with for our child...sorry.  But, it is to tell you more about the meaning behind a specific name of a volcano - Fuego.

You may remember, if you follow my Facebook, that I was able to visit my parents, who live in Guatemala, in April.  We were able to go up to a location high above their city and take some great shots of 3 volcanoes, one of which is still considered active.  Here are the pictures that we took that day.

The first picture is of the volcano, Agua, which means "water".  It is no longer active but in 1541, it erupted and flooded the city the water.  As you can see, there are many villages all along the base of the volcano.

This next picture is of two volcanoes which are side by side, Fuego and Acatenango.  Acatenango, the one with the twin peaks,  is no longer active.  But, Fuego, the one to the left, remains active.  Even while I was there in December 2010 and in April 2012, puffs of smoke would rise from the volcano throughout the day.

Well, getting back to that "name" thing...the name Fuego means "fire".  And yesterday, it definitely lived up to its name!  Fuego decided to blow a little more than puffs of smoke yesterday.  The local newspaper stated that it "began a new eruptive phase with ash columns that reached 3000 meters high".  Thankfully, my parents are not affected in their city by the volcano but many people throughout the country are.

Photo Courtesy

The local newspaper, Prensa Libre, had some great pictures and video of the eruption yesterday.  Below is a link to local newspaper so the language is in Spanish but the videos and pictures need no translation.

Video coverage from news:
http://www.prensalibre.com.gt/noticias/comunitario/Volcan-Fuego-podria-estabilizarse-horas_0_773922697.html

Picture Gallery:
http://www.prensalibre.com.gt/multimedia/Volcan_de_Fuego_5_773372656.html

It looks a lot different from the pictures that I took in April, huh?  Please pray for those people who are affected by the eruption, many of whom have lost their homes and livelihood.

Happy Birthday Dad!

I am so thankful for a Dad who is and has been a great example. Who loves God above all and his family a close second. There was a quote I saw on Pinterest recently that said "it's not that my standards are high, it's just that my dad set a really good example for me". That is kind of how I feel!

He is always there to take my call when I have questions or when I'm freaking out because there is a mouse in my house! He laughs with me in the hilarious times of life (and we all agree there are a lot of those! But NOT when there is a mouse in your house!!) and sympathizes with me in the tough times. He is strong and gives good wisdom and is more patient than I could ever imagine to be!

I love being able to call and talk things over with him. The call usually begins with "I haven't heard from you in days" (even if I called just a few days prior!) and usually ends with us both laughing about something funny.

I am so thankful for a dad who is a dad...who does fun stuff with his kids like:

climb volcanoes,

do zip lines (multiple times!),

jump waves in the Pacific Ocean,

and take fun pictures.

And even though we may have our differences, I still love him!

He is not one to just sit in the easy chair and watch life pass by as he watches tv, he gets into life! Wherever that may be...

Happy birthday to a great dad... Friend, mentor, encourager, laugh buddy, and adventurer!

1st Visitors

Recently, we had our 1st visitors to our new home.  Our friends, Tom and Christi, and their kids made the L.O.N.G. trip from Texas and spent almost a week with us.  We were able to catch up with them and also do some really fun things.

Sean loves trains so we thought the Metro would not only be convenient but would also be enjoyable for him.  It took a little muscle to get the double stroller to the platform...the elevator just wouldn't do!

We took the Metro (a favorite of Sean!) to the National Zoo.  The Zoo is free...you just walk right in.  Some of the highlights were the pandas, elephants, monkeys and the lions - especially the one that roared!!  I wish I would have thought about getting a video of this!  The lion exhibit had a hands-on area where you could push buttons to simulate different types of sounds/roars that lions make.  When we hit one button in particular, it really riled up the lion and he would stand up and roar.

We also checked out a local working farm which is just a couple of minutes from our house.  We rode on the wagon around the farm, checked out the animals and Sean rode the horse (carousel).

On Sunday, we took another fun Metro ride into the City and visited the Museum of Natural History, you know the one that was featured in the Night at the Museum movies.  It was pretty cool to see the life-sized exhibits.

Since the museum in right at the National Mall, we walked over to the World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument.

 

And, a 14 week shot.

We love that so many things are free and very accessible to us!  I think we will be making many more visits into the City to explore, especially now that things are cooling down a little.  We can't wait until we have more visitors!