Another Appointment

Well, I had my second high risk ultrasound-- just to make sure that little Collins is still growing like she should! And again, she is PERFECT! She is about 12 ounces now! She is straight up and down right now and the doctor said she was doing two step on my bladder! Hehehe! :) I LOVE LOVE that image! And literally, when he was doing the ultrasound, you could see her moving her feet up and down! So fun! She has been moving a TON! I love that she just reminds me that she is there! So last night, while laying it bed, she was moving, moving, moving and I told Damon, put your hand right here and I think you should feel her move! Low and behold, she started kicking and Damon got to feel her for the first time! I think it made it so real for him! He started talking to her! :) So precious! I think this little girl already has her daddy wrapped around her finger!

Dr. Chatelain did a couple more detailed views-- one to ensure that she was still a she! SHE IS!! And two, to check for a cleft pallet-- which she doesn't have!! Everything checked out normal! Below are some pictures! I hope you love seeing her as much as I do because I just can't get enough of her sweet little face and legs and feet and hands and heart!

Her upper body (like she is laying down).


Her heart-- has 4 chambers and is beating 154 beats a minute!


Her little face! (Doc said it was still hard to tell who she looks like!) Ha!


This is the detailed view of her nose and chin (it's sideways) when he was checking for cleft pallet. Totally a cute little nose and chin! :)


Her foot-- which is about 1 1/4 inch long!


Her little hand.


And then he said, "I did tell you, you were having a girl last time, right?! Cause it is DEFINITELY a girl!" Whew! :)


I can't believe that we are already almost to the half way point of meeting our little Collins. 20 weeks on Saturday! CRAZY! I will post another belly pic soon... still not showing a ton, but you can definitely tell that I have put on some weight... though as of right now, I have only gained about 3 pounds! I know it will catch up, so for now... I'll take those 3 pounds!

My prayers this week:
- She would continue to grow healthy.
- My blood sugars would continue to be good (they have bene great!).
- For energy... I have had something every night since last Tuesday and haven't been at home much... making this pregnant girl TIRED!
- Doctor's Appoints... I have 3 over the next 3 weeks. I know these are good, but I really don't like the doctor-- I think it was God's sense of humor giving my diabetes... or I would probably NEVER go! Ha!
- Decisions on visiting family! Damon's extended family is in CA, his mom and step dad are in Idaho, his dad and step mom in Washington, my extended family in Minnesota-- we want to see EVERYONE and introduce Collins to all of them... but finding the money and vacation time is going to be a challenge!
- My job. I have decided to stay on part time at Fellowship Associates (20 hours total, 10 from home, 10 in the office). This will be good, but I want the transition to be smooth and find someone to help out when I am not around who just works well alongside me!

I think that is it! Have a great afternoon! I am headed to get some lunch! :)

Honey Do Projects!

In order to save money on the baby room, I have put my husband to work! He keeps saying to me... "More projects?! My life is OVER!" (maybe in those words... maybe not) in some dramatic fashion! He longs to go play golf instead of work on projects-- so this evening, I have give him a break and he is playing golf!

I though I would give you a sneak peak into some of the projects...

A door- Bought at a Habitat for Humanity Restore for $25.00. Stripped, glass knocked out, repainted.... and yet to have another coat of paint on each side, be antiqued and stained!


Dresser- This was the dresser in our room. Good solid oak. Stripped (the nasty goo stuff to get all the lacquer off), sanded, twice painted. Next step, antiqued and stained!


Changing station- I was so excited when my dad told me that the dresser we had was the one that we (being Landon and I) had when we were little... and that it had a changing station to go on top of it! Woohoo!! It had to go through the same process as above.


Bedding- Grandma is busy sewing! So glad I have such a handy grandma!


Curtains- Thanks to a sale at Cynthia East, I was able to buy these... now just for a little altering... :) Gotta add a little SPICE!


Honey Do List (not started yet): Refinish, stain, paint pallets... (like wood shipping pallets)... Let your imagination roll. Find a little bookshelf or something (I want it to be CHEAP and hold baskets)... it too will probably need to be refinished. Painting the room. The paint is bought (thanks to 40% off at Sherwin Williams)... stripes on one wall. Baseboards-- bought and antiqued... another project that I am leaving to your imagination! (Gosh, I can't reveal EVERYTHING until it is all complete!

Hope you had a fun little sneak peak... :) More pictures to come as Collins's room is finished!!

Hearts

Today was another appointment to hear our little Collins's heart beat! 155 beats a minute... INCREDIBLE! Especially considering that my heartbeat is probably somewhere around 70-80 beats a minute... Her little heart is beating twice as fast as mine! Her little body is just working so hard to grow! She is almost 6 inches long at this point! Little mini baby! :) I should be feeling her move around more soon... I feel little flutters now and then, but can't really distinct them as "baby movement" so I am excited when I will really be able to feel it even better! I have only gained 1 pound now! Man, slow down Lindsey!

Ephesians 3:16-19
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Hearing my little girl's heartbeat is one of the most amazing sounds I have ever heard. But as much I pray for her physical heart to keep growing strong, I HAVE to remember to pray for her spiritual heart. I pray that she comes to know Jesus and follow in His footstepts, daily. That way, her spiritual heart will WAY out beat that physical heart that will one day (hopefully a VERY long time away) fail to beat any longer.

A small tangent... Recently, the creation of life by God has consumed my thoughts. I got to see all the detailed views of Collins's little body before most do... and everything was so distinct... all her parts were already formed (they are formed at 12 weeks) and just grow from there on. But another thought crossed my mind-- abortion is still legal! You can totally see this little baby, it's fingers, toes, legs, brain, spine... EVERYTHING and yet, the world says that it is still okay to kill this precious life... Gosh, it just breaks my heart! And what is even more crazy to me is that according to the law, if you were to kill me at this point, you would be charged with a double murder... the taking of 2 lives. How does our law have two laws that so completely contradict each other?!

My prayer this week for my little girl is that her heart will grow physically and spiritually. Pray with me for her! And for all of us-- I know that we can all relate to this... How is your spiritual heart looking, as well as your physical heart?

Introducing....

So, I told you in the last post that we had a name picked out, but that I couldn't reveal it because it would be TOO MUCH FUN for 1 post!! So, here is the next post... We have decided on the name...


We LOVE it!! Just different enough, but not too different that people think it's weird!! We don't have a middle name yet-- have it narrowed down to a couple, but haven't decided for sure... so we will keep you posted on that.

I have been feeling pretty good overall... mornings are definitely still hard, but work has been flexible, so I go in a little later and stay a little later. Works well for me! :)

Well, I have had a couple of requests to see my belly... but there is still not much to show. Below is me at almost 17 weeks! (Please excuse the dusty mirror... The flash made it look WAY worse than it really is!! Ha!)


Hope you guys have a great weekend!

It's A.....

I woke up Wednesday morning nervous, but so excited!! I knew that today was the day that I would find out if everything was okay with my baby. It is a little bit of a scary thing when you KNOWING that you are about to find out if your baby has any abnormalities. Sometimes, I think it is easier when you don't know! However, as I laid down on the table, warm goop on my belly, and the doctor started taking a look at my baby, I was just in awe of this little being...

He started with the head and worked his way down. (I have several images that I am going to upload, but several more as well... too many to upload all of them!!)

Below is our baby from head to toes!



Baby's head was perfect! No signs of any down syndrome! PRAISE JESUS! Next, was the baby's heart. Baby has all 4 chambers and a great heartbeat. This was the thing that I have been praying hardest for because the heart is most likely to be effected by my diabetes.

Below is the rib cage and spine!



Next were the arms and legs!



Hehe! I love seeing our baby's little legs all curled up! Then, he showed us the little feet! I LOVE this image!! You can totally see the little footprint!



Then he said, "Are you ready to know what you are having?!" and I said, "ABSOLUTELY!" and Damon just got the biggest grin! So he started looking... and baby was all curled up... he couldn't see a thing! He started poking my belly and you could see the baby moving around-- trying to push the doc away... And then the baby went straight up and down!!



Great for a good view except then the umbilical cord was in the way! OH MAN! He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to tell... at this point, I am just praying that he will because we had a party planned with my family for the big reveal! Finally, the baby cooperated... and he was able to get a good view...

But, I am going to tell you about the party first!! :) I had Blue Cake Company make a cake and had the icing in the inside colored for what we were having... Below is the cake! Isn't it so cute?!



We then had my mom cut it open... and here is what she saw... drumroll, please!!!



IT'S A GIRL!!!! :) Below is the picture from the doctor!



Damon and I could not be more excited about having a baby girl!! Our family is full girls, and we are so excited to add another!! :)

We have a name, but I can't reveal all of that in this one post... Ruins the fun for future posts!! :) Hehe! So... check back later for that information!

Hope you enjoyed seeing our little girl as much as we did. We are praising good for a beautiful, healthy baby GIRL!!! God is soo good!! I'll leave you with a video of the reveal!! It is pretty funny!! :) FYI, in case you can't tell, my Dad didn't want us to find out what the gender was. HAHA!