A Kick to the Head

I’m doing okay today… despite a rough start this morning. I had a bit of a wardrobe crisis, which sent me into a spiral of self-pity and lacking confidence... which made me a little late for work. Yep, it’s time to go shopping again… all the good ol’ clothes are getting tight! TOTALLY uncomfortable and very deflating. What’s a pregnant girl to do when all she wants to wear are her husband’s t-shirts and big lounge pants because they are the only things that are comfortable anymore – and she has THREE MORE MONTHS to go???! It’s such a strange feeling to outgrow clothes in such a way when you are trained your whole life to maintain your figure. It’s a real trip!

Flashback: 17 Weeks

Today: 26 Weeks

Do you see what I'm talking about??

But let’s get some perspective here (a kick to the head, if you will) … Baby Boy is growing well and moving a lot, which is a true joy. He is a little miracle, and we thank God for him every day. He’s already spunky, we can tell… a mini Kevin in the making, no doubt! For example... Last night he kicked Kevin in the head – hard! I'm not joking! It was so funny!

Storytime: Kevin had his head on my tummy and he was talking to Baby. With each reverberating word, Baby would move around in response. Kevin loves that Baby Boy responds to his voice like that, and as he was talking to him, Kevin said he thought he could actually hear movement like a swishing sound. Then suddenly without warning… POW! … right to Kevin’s noggin! Kevin immediately sat up in astonishment and said, “Hey! He just kicked me in the head!” I felt it too; that was a hard kick! Baby Boy probably mustered all his strength to get that kick in, as he probably proclaimed, "Oh yeah? Watch this!" We both got a good laugh out of that. So much personality, and we haven’t even met face to face yet…

Caution: No Sudden Moves!

I think I scared the poor little guy last night! I was having some strange dream I can't remember when I suddenly flipped over from my right side to my left. It was so sudden that it even woke me up. And then I felt poor Baby slightly twitch and start hiccuping! Poor guy. I probably jarred him out of some sweet dreams! In my sleepy stupor, I found myself apologizing to him while rubbing my stomach to say everything is okay. I'll have to somehow remember that when I'm sleeping... no sudden moves!

Oldies but Goodies

I was busy organizing our pictures, and I came across these fun pics. This is from my birthday party last October - the theme was (as you can tell) the decade of my birth, the awesome 80's. I am fortunate to have friends that love to have fun and be weird, so it was a total blast! I chuckle every time I look at these, so I wanted to share the fun with you... hopefully you'll get a laugh out of them too!

Enjoy!

Girl's Day Out - A Little Pampering

Ah, and the pampering was perfect! Yesterday I went to get pedicures with a number of my girlfriends from our Bible study. It was heavenly and oh-so-fun! We all agreed that this should become a regular occurrence - especially since it is no longer possible for Marian and I to comfortably or successfully paint our own toes.

From L-R: Jaimie, Mindy, Amanda, Autumn, Leslie, and my fellow prego Marian

(Exit one prego, sub in the second)

Leslie already had perfectly done toenails, so she opted for a french tip manicure instead. Here are all of our pretty nails!

I got "Tagged"

I got tagged by Carrie, so here goes...

What was I doing ten years ago?
This time of year ten years ago I was finishing up my junior year of high school and looking forward to summer break. That summer was AWESOME – hanging out every day with Erica and Chris Taylor (C.T.). We went to the movies, the beach, cruised around town, went shopping, had multiple sleepovers (just Erica and I. No boys allowed, C.T.). Yep, fun carefree times!

Five Things on Tomorrow’s To-Do List:
Well, tomorrow’s a Saturday, so hooray for weekends!
1. Have Heather and Amanda over for lunch and hang out (mmm, sub sandwiches)
2. Relax
3. Go to church - since Kevin works Sunday ... again :(
4. Krista’s birthday party at Skateland… although I won’t be doing any skating. I’ll comfort the fallen, I suppose.
5. Have fun

Five Snacks I Enjoy:
These are five things I have LOVED (some newfound, some deepened relationships) since getting pregnant.
1. Frozen yogurt
2. Cereal (I know it’s breakfast, but it’s been my go-to snack too!)
3. Fruit – bananas, green apples, grapes … pineapple!
4. French Fries
5. Yogurt

Five Things I Would Do If I Became a Billionaire:
1. Pay off all of our debt and invest a chunk for our kids and retirement
2. Buy a nice house for Kevin’s parents, and repay my parents for their many generosities over the years
3. Travel around the world – beginning with Italy!
4. Let Kevin have some play money in there somewhere… ;)
5. Give some to our missionary friends and our church

Five Bad Habits
1. I’m a piler too, Carrie! Clutter clutter clutter. Drives me nuts, but somehow it’s always there.
2. Lead Foot: Always in a hurry to get to my destination. Kevin constantly tells me to slow down and enjoy the ride! Most of the time I just let him drive because he's good at that. I just can't rest until I'm there... Maybe having a kid will slow me down. Then I'll give all the speeders dirty looks as they whiz by my precious cargo.
3. My dentist is the only one that sees this … I have a nervous habit to bite my cheek! Gross, I know, but I can’t kick it.
4. Procrastination … or can we just call it being busy?? ;)
5. According to Kevin I move his stuff around and he can never find things (it's called organizing)

Five Places I’ve Lived:
1. Wahiawa, HI - fun place to grow up and swimming at "our beach" Waimea Bay
2. Renton, WA - wearing sweaters for a change and Sunday drives & camping with the fam
3. Yakima, WA - cruisin' with Rachel Peters and playing h.s. volleyball
4. Simi Valley, CA - girl bonding with Erica over girl drama and lovin' being a "CA girl"
5. Portland, OR - college days and meeting the love of my life

Five Jobs I’ve Had:
1. Kitchen Crew (in college)
2. Solid Rock Café barista (most fun job I’ve ever had! Socialize, make coffee, and taste test the cookies to make sure they’re okay for the general public)
3. Preschool Teacher’s Assistant (cute kids, but learned quick it’s not my calling)
4. Service Representative for Hospital Admission at Adventist Medical Center in Portland
5. Human Resources Manager

TAG, YOU'RE IT! Krysten, Cheryl, and Christy

Who Woulda Thought?!

Guess who I saw at my Subway today!! (I'm sorry, I don't have a picture to prove this, but you understand how awkward that would be.) I smile because when I lived in California for a little while, I remember going down to Hollywood and Rodeo Drive with the high hopes of viewing some celebrities. I would keep an eagle eye out for anyone who might look remotely famous... And then today in the middle of my usual routine, on a normal Wednesday, while visiting my usual Subway for lunch, I spy..... Shaquille O'Neal!!! You heard me! I'm not joking!

I was walking toward the door with my sandwich, and I noticed this big black man sitting at a table ahead. I thought to myself, "Hey, he kind of looks like.... Omygosh, it IS!" I was starstruck and forgot my manners as I kept walking and stared at him all the way by. Sure enough, that's him! He seemed to barely fit behind the dwarfed Subway table with his huge frame. And how can you not recognize that face? I didn't recognize the guy he was sitting with, but then again I probably wouldn't have noticed anyone else!

It wasn't until I reached my car that I thought of something intelligent I could say to him. I would have liked to tell him, "We're so excited to have you in Phoenix! Welcome to the Valley." Or something like that I guess. But then upon reflection, I suppose he was probably enjoying eating lunch like a normal person for a change. He gets enough attention, why bother him some more? Let the man eat in peace, I say.

Yep, all those attempts in Hollywood, and here I have Shaq at my own Subway!

24 Weeks and 100 Degrees!

So our summer has arrived... early. The thermostat on my car read 101* today. Can you believe that?? And while everyone else at the office is complaining about how chilly the AC is, I'm quite comfortable for a change! In fact, one day last week I actually broke a sweat... I think it was my first heat flash. Crazy stuff!

Well, here's a pic of me with a tree for some fun. :) 24 weeks, and Baby Kev Kev is more active than ever. I love it! ... except when he finds it fun to kick my bladder.... that doesn't help anything! (I'm already a frequent flyer in the restroom).

Praise and Thanks

The good Lord has been teaching me a lot this week through my weakness and through the amazing support of friends and family I have. I just want to praise Him for His patience and abiding love, and I'd also like to thank my friends for their continuing encouragement and prayers. It really means a lot to me!

I'm happy to say that I have come out of the funk that I was shrouded in last week, and I'm feeling much better. There are two things I've learned: Redefine "normal" because it's never going to mean what it used to. And lay down my expectations to take one day at a time. I've also been gently reminded by the Lord of my need to depend on Him for strength and for my well-being. Why is it so easy to forget and to start doing things by my own strength? Worry always overcomes me, and I find myself being way too anxious about life and any little thing that pops up. This anxious bug has been biting me a lot, and I didn't know why. DUH! Could it be that I wasn't connecting to the Lord? Could it be that I actually thought I could handle it all by myself? Foolish Rachel...

But as the old hymn says, His mercies are new every morning, and I am awakening with a renewed sense of His presence and my need for Him. Praise God that He is ever-loving, ever-gracious, and oh so patient with His children. He gently leads His flock as the Good Shepherd (and oh how we need to be led)!

Not only that, but He has placed an amazing group of friends and family around Kevin and I, which has been a life-support to us. I praise Him constantly for all of you and thank you for your love.

What the heck??

Sooooooooo does pregnancy rob you of an immune system? I mean, along with trading my brain cells for a faulty memory and absent-mindedness, and replacing my usually normal temperament for outrageous hormone levels, does the baby get my immune system too? This is something I've been wondering lately... especially since my now two-week sinus congestion has recently turned green and I inherited the pink eye from some unknown source (I considered offering you a picture so you could comiserate with me, but since it's kind of gross, I will spare you that one). Since I got pregnant, I have been sick with random illnesses that seem to cling like crazy glue. I don't normally get sick very often, moreover stay sick for weeks at a time, so while this may seem like no big deal to you, I have been having a hard time with it all. Can I just be healthy again?

And can we talk about sleep for a second here? Is it fair that I'm already losing sleep - and he's not even out of my womb yet?! Last night I woke up every two hours like clockwork, and somewhere in there it dawned on me that this is probably what it's going to be like when he comes. Perhaps it was around the 2 o'clock hour that I told myself that I'm going to have to get used to this... not much consolation, I must say.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be a negative nelly, a whiner, or a drama queen (although I have had my moments lately, as Kevin can attest). But really, what the heck?

Bowlin'

We had another fun group event with our Bible study on Saturday. This time we went bowling. Not everyone could make it, but we still had a lot of fun!

Some Reassurance

Well, I thought I'd fill you in on something regarding our baby... and whether we have a he-bun or she-bun in the oven.

I had another doctor's appointment, and I told him about our ultrasound experience. Does he think we should have another one just to confirm? Here was his response:

"I've been working with Grace [the ultrasound tech] for thirteen years, and she has never been wrong. She checked the box for boy... and I'd bet money on it."

So there we have it... upon that confession of faith, we deemed it unnecessary to request another ultrasound just to confirm the gender. We are pleased with our Doctor's confidence in Grace, and we're looking forward to our little boy!