A New Year and New Beginnings

I have finally figured out that blogging is not one of my strengths.  As you can tell I don't post as often as I would like to or probably should.  I hope that you will all forgive me for this. :-) Over the past month we have had the excitement of holidays, family visiting, relaxing, and preparing more for our baby boy's arrival.

 There aren't to many things to update everyone on but I'll start with the biggest thing in our life right now...the baby!!! :-)  Baby Boy is moving around a lot and Andrew and others finally were able to feel him kick on the outside.  It is so much fun to share with Andrew the joy of being able to feel our little boy kicking around.  He is growing a lot and it shows in my belly.  We can't wait to start putting his room together and preparing for him more and more.  After Thanksgiving we were able to go to different stores and register for him and it was a lot of fun (for me at least) to pick out stuff for our little boy.

This picture is 21 weeks 

This picture is 23 weeks and 2 days

We were blessed to be able to be in NY for Christmas and spend time with family but before we went home my parents and niece Lily took a mini trip down to spend some time down here with us! They arrived the Saturday before Christmas and were able to come to church with us on Sunday.  We braved the cold weather that afternoon and walked around D.C and saw some of the monuments.  On Monday I had a check up Dr. appt. and was able to bring my mom along so she could hear her grandson's heartbeat.  I am so glad that my mom and I are so close and that I can share with her the joys of her growing grandson.  While my parents were in town I took them to a small indoor water park and Lily loved playing in the water and swimming there. We also were able to enjoy a light show put on by a local park in the area.  My parents were heading back to NY on tuesday and I had decided to ride with them and then Andrew drove up when he got off work on Wednesday.  Since I went up a day early I was able to watch my little brother play basketball as a Senior, where has the time gone.  

Lily loved going down the small slide! 

Did I mention our landlord bought a horse? His name is Gunner! 

Festival of Lights

Christmas came and went way to fast but I am so glad that we were close enough to Ny to be able to spend time with our families.  I especially can't wait until next year when we have a little one to Celebrate Christmas with.  I can just imagine bringing him out of his room and him having big eyes at all the Christmas lights.  He will still be young but being able to enjoy Christmas as a family of three next year, in a place we can call home is so exciting to me.  While home for Christmas we hosted and Ugly Sweater Christmas Party, attended two family Christmas Eve Parties, and had two Christmas' on Christmas Day.  We weren't going to leave NY until Sunday afternoon but the forecast of bad weather made us decide to leave Christmas night.  The weather wasn't bad on Sunday but we were glad we left because both Andrew and I ended up with a stomach bug that would not have been fun to deal with in a car ride.  We are so blessed and so thankful for all the gifts that we received over Christmas.  Andrew and I discussed a lot the weeks before Christmas how the true meaning of Christmas should be our central focus not just at Christmas but all year long.  We have been so encouraged by the messages preached at church on how the Christmas Story still can be related to us today in so many different ways.  I'm hoping (no promises) to put up a post about everything we have been learning in church lately.  

Francis Family Christmas

Reed Family Christmas

As we look forward to the New Year there are so many things I am looking forward to.  I am so excited to meet our little boy in April and see what things God has prepared for our little family.  God has been so good to us this past year.  The other night at bible study I was reminded that even though we may think nothing exciting is happening in our lives at the moment God is still working.  Having 'normal' lives every day is a gift from God and we should be thankful for that.  Most of the time we thank God when things are going great and exciting things are happening but what about the days that we wake up and are able to breathe and make it through a day.  As I look forward to the new year there are some resolutions I hope to achieve.  

-I want to be a more loving and gracious wife and soon to be mother

-I want to be a better steward of the money God has given us

-I want to spend more time in God's word and learning more about everything He has done for me

-I want to have a child :-)

-I want to keep up to date on my blog more, not just updating everyone on life but sharing thoughts, lessons learned, and be able to encourage others. 

I almost forgot to put in a little bit of bragging! I think I have full bragging rights to this one! I have the most amazing husband ever! :-D Andrew has been working at his job for 5 months now and a week ago he found out that he had been nominated for NOC Engineer of the year! He had to go into work and answer a bunch of questions in front of a board of managers and to his surprise he won! He has worked so hard to learn his job in such a short period of time and deserves every bit of this award! :-) Can you tell I'm proud?!  

Thankful for blue things and worship

The past few weeks have not been super busy so I am not sure why I haven't updated the blog in a few weeks.  Here we are now and there is a lot to update everyone on! I think I'll work backwards to update everyone starting with our trip to NY/PA this past weekend for thanksgiving.  Andrew had to work the day before Thanksgiving so kind of last minute we decided to leave wednesday night after he got out of work (11pm) and drive through the night.  We made it to NY/PA in record time and I think were going to travel this way every time from now on!  We woke up Thanksgiving morning to SNOW, which was very exciting for us since we haven't seen snow in virginia yet and haven't seen snow in general in about 2 years since being in Hawaii.  

We had an amazing time being home with family and celebrating Thanksgiving.  We truly have a lot to be thankful for this year! We spent thanksgiving morning relaxing with the Reed Family, ate dinner with the Francis Family later in the day, and then back to the Reed's for dessert! We were able to see all of our extended family and catch up with everyone. 

On Friday morning (black friday) I didn't take advantage of any of the sales at stores but instead took advantage of being able o get together with some close friends for breakfast.  I think it is starting to become a tradition to have breakfast together over thanksgiving break.  We were also able to go out to eat with our friends Collin and River on Friday night!  It was so good to catch up with each of them and of course eat some yummy food too! 

The rest of Thanksgiving weekend was spent doing exactly what you see below! RELAXING! It was so needed and we were very grateful to be able to go to NY/PA and just chill.  On Sunday we were able to worship with both of our families at church and then spend the afternoon playing games, decorating the Christmas tree, and eating more food with the Reed side of the family. We then headed back to Virginia later Sunday and again, thankfully, hit no traffic!

Baby update! 20 weeks today! We are half way through the pregnancy (40 weeks)! The past month of pregnancy has been awesome! I have been feeling great and love being pregnant.  Last week we headed to the dr office for a very important ultrasound.  The Dr would be taking the baby's measurements, checking its heart, and of course telling us what the baby's gender is! The technician was mean and saved the best part for last haha and as soon as she rolled over our little baby's bum bum she said "I don't think I even need to tell you what that is!"  ITS A BOY!!!! The tears immediately started rolling and she has to stop to get me tissues.  We are so excited to be having a little boy and couldn't wait to get to Ny/Pa for thanksgiving to tell all of our family! 

The belly picture below was taken at 19 weeks 5 days, this little boy is growing lots!

Before we headed to NY/PA we had to think of a clever way to tell all of our family.  We decided to make cupcakes and fill the center with blue icing so that when they bit in they would discover what the baby's gender was.  

Everyone in our families are so excited that we will be having a baby boy! It will be the first grandson/nephew on the Reed side which will be a lot of fun! 

Our little boy is making his presence known more and more by moving lots inside of me.  Andrew can't feel it yet on the outside but he is definitely in there.  We are thinking of little boy names all the time now but will be keeping the name (and ideas) under wraps until this little one is born in April.  At the ultrasound our little boy weighed 9 oz give or take and is still measuring due April 20th.  We are starting to prepare for his arrival already and are very thankful for friends and family who are handing over all their boy clothes to make his wardrobe! 

I love his little foot!

I believe it was in my last post that I mentioned how Andrew and I have been searching for a home church.  I shared our frustration and asked for prayers.  Thank you so much if you did pray because we believe we have found a church to call home.  A friend suggested checking out the Acts 29 network of churches so we did! Acts 29 network is a church planting network that plants churches all over the country and soon the world! Acts 29 was started off of Mars Hill Church in Seattle WA which we have listened to their sermons many times! We searched for churches in our area through the Acts 29 network and found one in Arlington.  We checked it out and were truly blessed.  Andrew and I both got in the car and looked at  each other and said "yea?"  "yea."  There was no doubt about it! The church is a fairly new church plant (7 months) and is renting a space in an arts center until they get their own facility.  We were so blessed to see so many young couples and families in the church.  The preaching and worship was exactly what we needed to be fed by God's word.  The church has community groups (bible studies) through out the week so we are excited to head back to church this week and get signed up for a community group!  We are so excited to get involved in the growing of the church and to get involved with the fellowship there.  Thank you so much for your prayers in this whole process and we will definitely keep you all updated on our involvement and what we learn there!  

God has truly blessed our little family this past year and we have so much to be thankful for.  Someone mentioned the other day that we shouldn't just be thankful for 'stuff' but be thankful for all God has done for us and for what He is going to do for us.  

Live every day as if it were your last

4 months! We are now 4 months into our pregnancy and many of you may think oh only 5 more months left but pregnancies are closer to 10 months then 9 so we have a little over 5 months left! :-D Over the past two weeks we have had a good amount of rest and relaxation and got a lot of things done.
Today marks 15 weeks and 5 days and I will be 16 weeks along on wednesday! Since we will be busy I wednesday I decided to update the blog now or else it wont get done for another week.   Our leaves are finally changing colors here and it is such a blessing to see God's hand at work! Our road is covered with leaves and at times it is hard to see where the road goes!

As for baby updates there are a few.  I have been feeling ten times better then I was during the first trimester, I think in the past 2 weeks I've only thrown up maybe 2 times which is amazing compared to doing it every day! We had a doctors appointment on our 14 week mark and it was wonderful to hear our baby's heart beat for the first time loud and clear.   Its heart was pumping fast at 163 bpm.  Our doctor told us we have one happy baby in there! During this appointment we were given the go ahead to make our appointment for our next ultrasound somewhere between 19-21 weeks.  We have a check up appointment at 18 weeks and then exactly at 19 weeks (the day before thanksgiving) we will have an ultrasound!!  I am so anxious for this day to come!!! They will check on the baby's heart to make sure it is all healthy but what were really looking forward to is finding out the sex of this little one!!! We have been brainstorming more names and have our list but will keep them a secret until the little one arrives.  It is so much fun preparing for this new addition and it will get even crazier once we know the sex of the baby.

Andrew is still enjoying work and putting extra hard work in by doing some overtime to save some extra money for the baby! :-) What a good daddy!! I am still loving nannying and am becoming closer to the family every day! :-)

These past two weeks haven't been super busy for us but just enjoying every day life.  Natalie Myers came to visit us for a day while visiting her grandparents but other then that not much has been going on.  We have been trying out new churches which has been challenging.  We still haven't found a church we feel God is leading us too but have learned so much about our beliefs, other church's beliefs, and what kind of teaching we are seeking.  Please keep us in prayer as we continue to seek God's will in this area (and every area of our lives) as we search for a home church.  Andrew and I have really enjoyed listening to sermons from Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington and have even joked about moving there to go to the church.

Since the past two weeks haven't been super busy I guess its time for us to be busy! Tomorrow night Andrew's sister and two kids are coming to visit us! They haven't seen our apartment yet and it will be fun to just hang out with them! They are here until thursday night and then on Friday morning my mom and three of her friends are coming to stay with us for a shopping trip! Lets just say Andrew is very glad he was put on to work that weekend! Since he is working this coming weekend it means that we get a long weekend over Veterans Day weekend! We are so excited about that long weekend because we have no plans!!! We are trying to get a couple friends together over the weekend and it will be really fun if it happens because all of us were stationed in Hawaii together and all happen to live in this area now!

This past Friday we got a phone call from some friends in Hawaii who delivered some very heart breaking news about another close friends of ours.  Our friends had lost their unborn baby girl.  They were so close to the pregnancy being done and they don't know what went wrong but if you all could keep them in their prayers as they go through this tough time.  It is so hard to not be in Hawaii especially at times like this when we need to be there for friends.  It really hits home not only because they are close friends and we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of this little one but it hits home because of our pregnancy too.  It makes me commit more to allowing God to have total control over this pregnancy and the growing life inside of me.  Please keep them in your prayers over the next weeks, months, and years.


Today also marks one year since Andrew has been home from Afghanistan! I can't believe its ONLY been one year because it seems like so much has happened since then.  I remember the day vividly though, how anxious all of us wives were, the sounds of the marine corps band playing as the stairs came out of the plane, and then the moment I saw my husband walk off that plane and the feeling of running into his arms once again! I am so thankful and blessed that we haven't had to deal with saying goodbye again.  In fact I think since then we haven't spent a night away from each other and I would love to keep it that way! I love having my best friend, baby daddy, and husband around all the time. :-)

"God, husband, and an unbelievably wonderful miracle inside of me"

Yes first off I know its been a while since I updated and I am sincerely sorry for that.  Now onto the important stuff, the updates.  

This past weekend a friend gave me some books on pregnancy and one book called "When the Belly Button Pops the baby's done" is my favorite right now.  The author shares humorous stories about each month of pregnancy and what to expect in the real world.  Right now I am in month four and the changes that are going to happen in this next month are plenty.  As I took my week 13 belly picture tonight and compared it to the 10 week belly picture I took I was taken back on much bigger I looked! Then I was reminded of what I had read in the book this afternoon.  I will just quote a section of the book here so you get the same information that I did. 

"Your most treasured relationships-with God, with your husband, and with this unbelievably wonderful miracle growing inside of you-should be your focus.  Honestly, living as we do in our looks-obsessed world, this nine-month opportunity to take a breather from playing "mirror, mirror on the wall" can be down right refreshing.  In this season of weight gain, blotches and bleeding gums, you can grow by leaps and bounds as a person! Your character can become more solid! Your wisdom can deepen! Your appreciation for the infinite and profound can expand!  And besides, when you cradle that amazing baby in your arms for the first time, all the varicose veins in the world won't matte one bit."  Lorilee Craker

It doesn't matter how I look when I gain this baby weight, when my face breaks out, when my gums bleed, or when I feel blah, it is all about loving the little one inside of me, loving God, and my husband! 

Today marks 13 weeks into the pregnancy and I can't wait till I start feeling relief on the sickness.  I have been having more then just morning sickness (wont share details) but the doctor says all is normal and will check back with me next week. We have an appointment next week on our 14 week mark and can't wait to hear the heart beat and possibly see our baby again. We have been tossing around name ideas back and forth but only have lists of names right now. I am really hoping that we can fit in another appointment before thanksgiving so that we can find out the gender of the baby then. :-) As far as how I have been feeling it has been more and more throwing up during the day and mornings now and its not to much fun especially when it happens at restaurants or when your out and about.  I have not been throwing to much of a pitty party when sick (might get a different answer if you ask Andrew) but I try to remember that it is good that I'm sick it means the hormones are working and this baby is growing! I can't wait to be able to feel this baby moving and growing! :-)

10 weeks

13 weeks

In the past few weeks we have had Andrew's family come visit us, my family come visit, and we have gone home for a visit! Whew I get tired just telling you all that.  It has been a busy past few weeks but also a relaxing past few weeks if that makes sense at all haha. 

Andrew has been busy working some over time, and this week doing some training for a new certification.  He has been working so hard and I am so proud of him for all that he does for this little family :-)  We have been doing great in Virginia and have finally been seeing a little bit of cooler weather.  We are so excited for the leaves to start changing down here like they have in NY.  

My parents came down a few weekends ago to visit and brought a mini visitor with them! :-)

While we were home this past weekend we were able to cheer Bethany on at a swim meet! 

Celebrate our niece Dakota's 4th Birthday at a horse farm! 

Pick apples and pumpkins with my family! 

Enjoying the fall colors

Carved pumpkins with my family! 

football, fall, and fun

A week ago today the official NFL season started and in the Francis house this means that Sunday afternoons are spent relaxing and watching football.  For the past few years it has also meant watching Andrew's fantasy football points hopefully go up and up and up. This week also marks the 9 week mark of our baby's life.  Week 9 means that our baby's heart will be fully developed this week and all the muscles in the baby's body are forming this week too.  Through out this past week my sickness and not feeling well has been a little bit worse at times.  I haven't had morning sickness but instead 'evening sickness.'  There are also times when food just doesn't not smell or look good and I make a run for the bathroom.  I keep reminding myself how precious of a gift is inside of me and it makes it all worth it.  Have I mentioned how excited we are to have a baby!  This past weekend Andrew and I took our first trip to Baby's R Us as future parents.  Our mission was to test out some infant car seats in order to see if we would need to get a bigger vehicle or if we could manage with our cars.  We were thankful to find out that with a car seat behind the passenger seat I am more than comfortable in the passenger seat, Andrew is a different story.  We haven't picked out a car seat yet but once we do we know which ones fit and which ones don't.   In thinking about football season it makes me think about next year at this time.  In the past few weeks I have found myself saying to Andrew "at this time next year..."  At this time next year we will have a 5-6 month old baby and I am so excited that we are already prepared for football season for our little one.  This past Christmas a friend of ours sent a little Buffalo Bills onesie our way and now I am so thankful we have it.  It is the perfect size to be able to fit our little one next football season! 

Two weekends ago Tucker and his friend Laura came down to Virginia for an end of the summer road trip.  They had a lot of fun and so did we.  We were able to tour D.C, go to the water park, shop, eat out, and most importantly get Senior Pictures accomplished for Tucker and some for Laura.  Below are just a few of my favorites of Tucker's shots! 

I have started a new job two weeks ago and absolutely love it! I am nannying for a family that has 2 kids (8 and 9) and they are so well behaved and are fun to hang out with.  They are involved in a lot of activities so my job is to get them off the bus, do homework, hang out, and then get them to their activities on time.  It is just enough hours each day to give me something to do, and a little extra money, but is also little enough to have time to relax each day.  This weekend we have another set of guests coming to visit and are so excited for these ones! My parents and niece Lily are heading down tomorrow afternoon to spend the weekend with us.  I have missed my parents so much and can't wait to hang out with them this weekend.  We will be taking a trip to Ikea with them and hopefully touring the Marine Corps Museum one of the days.  Have a great weekend everyone and keep a look out for a new update next week! 

Loving a life so Little

1/2 of an inch.  How can I be so in love with something so small?  Tomorrow marks the 8 week or 2 month mark of our babies growing life.  I am starting this blog as a place to record all of the memories of pregnancy, things we do in life, how to love better, things I'm learning, and everything else.  Hopefully I'll be consistent with posts but my goal to start is to have a post once a week and if I get more in then great! Every day, over and over, I have to wrap my mind around the fact that I have a life inside of me.  It truly is a miracle and a gift from God to be given the opportunity to bring a new life into the world.  When we first found out we were going to be parents it was hard to believe but at the same time the most exciting thing we have experienced in our marriage so far.  This past friday we had our first doctors appointment and were able to see what looked like our little jelly bean.  The most amazing thing about the ultrasound was seeing the heart beating.  We weren't able to hear it yet but just seeing that tiny heart beat made my own heart skip a beat.  Something so small has a heart that is beating faster then mine at times.  Here is our first picture of our little one.  He/she measured at 5.8 cm on 7 weeks 2 days and is right on track looking perfect.  

    
     Life in general has been a blessing, we have been blessed with a wonderful job for Andrew in the D.C area and recently I started a nannying job for a few hours after school every day.  God is providing and it is obvious.  For example on our last leg across the country from Hawaii the air conditioning broke in our car. We thought it might be an easy fix but it ended up costing us a bundle of money.  God came through and money that we weren't expecting at the time came in the mail and covered all of the cost.  We have had a few visitors since being moved into the Northern Virginia area and can't wait to host more in a couple weekends.  Living life together is wonderful and spending time together is what we love the most.  There will be another post toward the end of the week and I really hope you all enjoy reading along as we grow from a 2 person 1 dog family to a 3 person 1 dog family!