...and growing, and growing, and...

Poor Kaiden doesn't have much room to move around these days. He has stretched my belly beyond what I thought possible and I must say that I'm not finding his presence very comfortable either. Nine more days little one, nine more days (please!)! I finally have my hospital bag packed, my birth preferences all typed up and ready to give to the doctor/ midwife, and...well, your nursery isn't all put together yet, but I don't even mind if you come before it's completely ready. Hopefully my next post here will have pictures of a baby boy. :)

Baby Shower

Last night Natalie threw me a wonderful baby shower. We were outside a little tea shop off of Pearl Street (downtown Boulder) and the weather was gorgeous. In addition to the Emmaus girls, my friend Donna (the lady I work for) and Becky (a girl I roomed with in college and who just moved right outside of Boulder) were both able to be there. I had a great time and received lots of wonderful gifts! Thanks Natalie and everyone who helped celebrate!

All of us girls (minus Tara--taking the picture, and Michelle--hiding behind Sidney's head)

Natalie, Josey and I with a rattle and beautiful blanket they gave me.

Donna and I with a gift from her dog Tazzy (Donna has already given me so much I told her she couldn't bring a gift, so Tazzy gave me something instead :))

All the wonderful presents from the shower!

Hail Storm

Last week we had a hail storm here. It was a bit scary since we had just laid sod (which isn't cheap) and since we have no garage for our car! Even though the ground was covered in white ice by the end of the storm, it did no damage to anything (Praise God!) and really was quite beautiful. It seems that everything is beautiful here with the foothills for a backdrop. Standing by the front door and watching the hail drop reminded me of these verses from one of my favorite chapters in the bible--Job 37.

“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways….He says to the snow, ‘fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that all men he has made may know his work, he stops every man from his labor. The breath of God produces ice….He brings the clouds …to water his earth and show his love. “

Jobs and Such

Brandon is officially a Comcast man. He started training last month, which he will be doing for another couple months still, and really likes it! In the picture you'll see his company vehicle, which is GREAT for us. Now when he's at work I still have a car--such a blessing. Brandon's also pretty excited about the cable package we get complimentary...ok, so I don't mind the 200+ channels and being able to "pause and rewind live TV" either. :)

Here's also a picture of us outside just this evening. We've been having beautiful hot weather, and contrary to what most people tell me, I'd much rather be pregnant in the heat than the cold. Also, praise God that Kaiden is still inside! As much as I feel I can't get any bigger, he's hung in there one more week and everything is looking good, so hopefully he still has a few more to go.

In a Hurry to Arrive

The countdown till little Kaiden Dean makes his arrival is indeed getting closer and closer, but as excited as I am to see him, please join us in praying he decides to stay inside a bit longer.

Last Friday I awoke Brandon in the middle of the night with what seemed to be Braxton hicks that were abnormally strong and close together. We ended up going into the hospital and sure enough I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes. Seven weeks before my due date this was much too early so I spent the next 32 hours in the hospital as they tried to get the preterm labor to stop. The first medication didn’t work and so the doctor ended up giving me a couple doses of steroids in order to speed up Kaiden’s lung development…just incase. But the second med seemed to work and I am now back home and “taking it easy”. Still, 50-70% of the time women who go into preterm labor end up having the baby early. The reassuring thing is that Kaiden should be perfectly healthy if he is born now, but there would still be complications, such as a yet-to-be-developed ability to eat on his own, that would keep him in the hospital for at least a couple weeks, probably with an IV in his little arm.

Please pray that Kaiden will be safe and grow strong, and that he won’t arrive prematurely. Pray that I will be able to take it easy as I am supposed to. I am currently still working as my employer has no one else to fill in for me, so pray she can find and hire someone else fast so that I’m not overexerting.

Spring is here!

"Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land." Song of Solomon 2:12


This evening our adorable little neighbor girl, Phoenix, brought us these wild flowers she had just picked "from her garden". I love spring!! Everything is either blooming or is on the very brink of blooming, and I can't think of a better place to be experiencing that than at the foot of the mountains, still capped with snow.

It's a boy!

Yesterday I had a long-awaited ultrasound and we found out our baby is a boy! As any of you mothers and fathers would know, it was so incredible to see him and his little features swimming around inside. We saw some amazing angles of his face and limbs and beating heart. As usual, he was jumping around a lot during the ultrasound and the coolest thing for me was seeing him reach up with his fist and punch me in the stomach and, of course, feeling it at the same time. Toward the end of the ultrasound he was turning around to lay face down and that's when he gave us a good flash of his masculinity:). Of course when he was face down that's when he decided it was time to take a nap...right before it was picture time. So unfortunately the ultrasound photos aren't very exciting. But here they are none-the-less.

Our New Home

As of April 1^st Brandon and I will be the proud new owners of a mobile home. We moved into this rental trailer on a month-to-month basis upon returning form Australia, planning to stay here only until we found something else we wanted to rent long-term, but God had other plans. I must say, I am quite excited about it. Odd as it sounds, I remember the first time I felt the desire to live in a trailer park. I rode my bike through a park close to school my freshman year of college and God begin conjuring up this desire within me not just to minister to those who lived there, but to “become part of them” in a mother Theresa kind of way. This desire was cemented even more when I got to know my friend Mel, who was the Jr. high pastor at our church and who lived in that same park. She and her roommate had such an awesome ministry with the kids in the neighborhood. They even decked out one of their rooms into a permanent fort for the kids. When Bran and I made the decision to move here to Boulder, I never thought about it fulfilling my longing to live in and love the people of a trailer park, yet it so perfectly fits the mission and calling of Emmaus Road. There couldn’t be a better community either; this trailer park has over 2000 residents! God is so amazing! I love the way he builds a passion in me for that which he calls me to—doesn’t just throw me into something.

On a different note, we love the house. Even more, we love that the two lots on our west are empty, giving us a gorgeous foothills view. This was my view when sitting on the couch having devotions a couple mornings ago. And another morning shot, from the street right out our front door.

Australia

We are almost officially "back into the swing of things" after being back for a week and a half from our 2 month vacation down under. After asking if we had a good time on the trip, it seems most people add, "were you able to do/see a lot of things?" Our answer to the first half? Absolutely! We had a wonderful tme. But no, we didn't do or see a lot of things...in fact that was the beauty of the vacation. Honestly, most days we were still in our pj's, playing games or watching the 42" tv, until after lunch. It was so wonderful not to have to get around for anything, other than an occational evening barby (that's bbq, for our American friends, and no, shrimp were not involved :)). Not only was it great for me not to have any demands for 2 months, but it was so relaxing not to feel stressed about having to come back to a draining school schedule. So for me this trip provided more of a relaxing, refreshing time than I've had since summers in middle school.
All that said, we still did/visited some fun places, and seeing as how that might be more exciting to you than pictures of me laying around the house in my pajamas, here are a few photos that highlight some of our unforgettable trip memories.

Christmas was interesting for me with the 90-100 degree weather and the Australian traditions. Notice the party hats that everyone wears for Christmas dinner.


We really enjoyed the beach (a 3 min. drive away). This particular evening we went down there with family and friends and Bran did some off-shore fishing. He caught a stingray (not that that's what he was after)!


One evening the family all went to a park overlooking Perth city for a picnic. From left to right is Lisa, Wuss (our affectionate name for Bran's dad), then Ma, Charlene, and her husband Rich.


We went camping "down south" over the new years weekend with friends. Although we didn't have to worry about any visits from what I would consider the usual camping pests (like racoons) we were visited one night by a kangaroo who broke into our food.


Bran and I went down south to visit his relatives on the family farm for a couple days. We stopped at Hamilin Bay on the way and I took some photos of the beautiful beach.


This was our last day in Austraila. Bran and his sisters and brother in law took surfing lessons. My oversized belly and I just watched and swam.

Little Moments

I have a new fascination. Borderline obesession?...perhaps. Every morning right after I peel my eyes open I begin what is becoming my ritual belly-stare. Usually it is uneventful, yet somehow incredibly intriguing as I watch my ever growing bump pulsate with the life that is being pumped into the baby's tiny body inside. Some mornings, however, my staring is rewarded by a sudden thump that can only be a tiny fist or foot testing out the boundries of his small dwelling. it's on those mornings that I wake Brandon up to join me in my mezmorized staring. Unable to force his eyelids open, he usually substitutes watching with touching and sets his hand on my stomach. As I feel a twitch I look over to see a huge smile on what otherwise appears to be a sleeping face. It is in those moments that I am convinced I've been allowed to be a part of some inexplicable miracle. And if that isn't enough, I've been given an incredible man to share it with--someone who is not just happy for me, but who is marveling in this beautiful miracle just as I am. Thank you, Jesus, for the little moments.