:: 20 Weeks ::

It is hard to believe but today I 'm 4 1/2 months pregnant......and it just keeps getting more exciting and fun. Here are some pictures that Trevor took of me this morning................

There's a tummy!Things are still going really well...........going to see the midwife again next week and I will get my ultrasound results. Not much new to report. Starting to feel a little bit more movement mostly at night when we tuck into bed. And...........we're still playing the name game............

"Hello From The Sandbox"

I was so excited to open our inbox this afternoon to find an email from my brother overseas in Afghanistan. It was very relieving to hear from him that he had arrived safely, which is half the battle! If I calculated right, they are 13 hours ahead of us which makes it about 11:30 in the morning on Sunday the 24th there right now. I've taken a few blurbs out of the email................"Not a whole lot going on at the moment. For the most part we are trying to catch up on some much depleted sleep. It was approximately 24 hours from the time i arrived at shilo to the time we touched ground in Kaf...........It is rather strange being here right now because truth be told i don't feel like i am here. When we stepped off the plane after arriving i looked around and it felt like i was back in wainwright again or shilo for that matter...........It has been so long in coming and my guys just want to get out there and start doing our job. For right now we don't know when we head out or where we are going but i am sure it won't be to much longer.........The weather is rather pleasant right now not to hot and not to cold, although it won't be that way much longer. The camp itself is massive and there are all sorts of people from about 6 different nations running around. Checking out the different weapons and uniforms has made for some entertainment. Especially with the yanks, a couple of my guys were drooling over there toys this morning, it was quite amusing. It looks like for the most part we are going to be living rather well while we are here, save when we are on an overnight patrol.........All in all i am excited to be here to be doing to job which i have been training for for 8 years. I got a good section and a good platoon going out there with me and that gives a man confidence. Although i miss home and all of you i can't think of a place i would rather be right now. I will keep you all up to date as often as i can and i hope to here from you all soon."
We could covet your continued prayers for Nathan and all the troops serving overseas.........Mahalo.

:: We Salute You ::

So this morning came the moment that we have been anxiously anticipating as a family for a few years now. My oldest brother Nathan has been a reservist with the Canadian Armed Forces ever since he got out of high school and ever since he joined, talked about touring overseas. Now that day has come, and this morning Nathan left to begin his six month tour in Afghanistan. When I spoke to him last night he had very few details as to where and how many other soliders are deploying but we do know he left. Nathan will be in charge (I think) of giving and receiving information from head base as well as the the driver and foot soliders in his LAV (light armoured vehicle) platoon. Hell be postitioned exposed from the shoulders up in the LAV. Your prayers for safety and victory in their mission would be so appreciated. We are putting our trust and faith in our God and Father to keep him in His loving care and hold him in the palm of His ever watchful hand. We know that our God does not sleep or slumber and that he will have His protection over Nathan until his return. Let's pray for our troops, their families and those left behind.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9
If you don't stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them.

Yep, That Good

Well the verdict is in.........and I either have a lot of really good liars in my life, or the bread didn't taste too bad. This is all that was left as of this evening, just two days after it was made.So since Trevor was at his mentorship leaders course tonight I figured I had lots more really realy ripe bananas in the freezer, I may as well do another one. But this time I made sure to add a few more chocolate chips :) And I made sure so stop buy the store and get some measuring cups on the way home :D

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Bread, Oh My

Mmmm..........yummy (hopefully). Today after getting home from errands and picking up new bananas because ours were getting icky, I figured I might as well make good use of the bad ones and bake something for once. So I get myself all set up and find out that I don't have any measuring cups to speak of (strange, I know). Already kind of being in a downer mood I slouched down on the kitchen floor and had a good cry (darn pregnancy hormones). But my dear husband was there to pick me up and we fudged our way through it. We found a great recipe online (my cookbook one required buttermilk that we had none of) for peanut butter banana bread, pretty much my two favourite things. Just as we were finishing up we decided to chuck some chocolate chips in for good measure! The finished product and man does our house smell yummy. We are taking it over to D&C's for dessert to Chelsey's spag dinner and I'll let you know how it tastes (fingers crossed)!

:: The Mercy Of Our Great God ::

Today I'm going to use this post as a personal journal of sorts. I just had a wonderful word from God this past week and I just feel that I needed to share how He is working in my life.
I was having my weekly coffee with my bestest girl Kerry on Sunday and we were discussing life and catching up and the conversation turned to some challenges I have been having with a person in my life. I will leave it at that, but as I shared my frustration, God, in His very subtle way, started to reveal to me that I had very much become bitter and resentful towards this person and hardened my heart to them and had not been taking my hurts to the cross and asking God to give me mercy and grace. It certainly stuck with me as something I needed to really start working on, and soon. We made our way to church and as the offering was being taken, I was being ever so resourceful with my time and clearing out the pockets in my bible cover, when I came across a small scrap of paper that had Ezekial 36:25-26. The interesting thing was that it was written in the writing of our dear and beloved Pastor Carol, who we lost in a year long battle with brain cancer last year. It triggered that she had given me this piece of paper as a prophecy at a youth conference a good five or six years ago. I flipped through my bible to the passage and was truly overwhelmed and struck at the words I read......."I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." I guess I'll just leave it there but I had to testify to the greatness of the God I serve and His relentless, unconditional and never-ending love that He has for me and all of us and that He will NEVER cease to draw us to Himself and shower us with blessings, if we can trust Him enough to let go and allow Him to.

What's With People?

So the end of last week I come home from work and notice that our covered front step was wet and our front doormat was soaked with water. Being pregnant and tired and having better things to do I proceeded inside and didn't think about it again. Then when Trevor got home he walks in the door and before saying hello (he had evidently noticed the wet step as well) asks me outright if I had opened the backyard gate, to which I replied no. He then went on to ask if I moved the garden hose that is attached to the front of out house, to which I responded with a funny look and a certain no. He THEN went on to tell me that someone had apparently stolen our garden hose. That's right, a hose. At first, I was optimistic that maybe it was just borrowed, but five days later I am starting to doubt that. Then Trevor comes home yesterday from work with a large plastic bag. I, of course, inquire as to what is in the bag and he tells me it's all the contents from his to-and-from-work car because it was broken into Monday night. Which I'm sure sheds some light on why I could NOT sleep for about 3 hours Monday morning from 3am until 6am. It doesn't appear that anything was taken but it is surely unnerving. I have never been one to ever worry about stuff like this or live in fear of such things at all. Until I met Trev (who's had numerous vehicles broken into) I used to leave my car parked with open windows and unlocked doors with the keys in the ignition, purse on the seat along with my CD case, over night. So I've been spending more and more time in prayer for the protection of our home and possessions and leaving my full trust in the One who is watching over our home and well-being. But still...........a garden hose??

Can't Wait To Meet You!

So today we FINALLY got a chance to see our sweet precious life! We had heard some not so great things about the female sonographer so lots of prayer went to having the male tech but low and behold we got the lady. But, I was pleasantly surprised at how nice she was for not really being able to talk to me about the scan. She spent a good five minutes with Trevor in the room showing us the baby and getting lots of different views. And here is our baby's debut.........

You can see just behind the head up around the forehead is one of it's hands. I had a couple of moments of tears and just being totally overwhelmed with emotion and joy at the incredible blessing growing inside me. She showed us the feet and legs, arms and hands, spine, kidneys, and the heart beating. We got to see "it" opening and closing it's mouth and clenching and un-clenching it's hands. She said the heartbeat was up around 147 bpm. So it seems like everything is all good and well. I will get my results at my next midwife visit in March.

The Newest Member Of Our Family

So Trevor and have been discussing and praying into some other ways that we can give of what we've been given to further God's kingdom and both felt that child sponsorship was a definite option. So I did a little research and a little looking and came across this precious little girl from Indonesia named Aprilia Karma who will be five years old this April.We so look foward to sending and recieving letters and watching her grow and being part of her education and teaching about Jesus.

:: It's Official ::

So after much much deliberation and discussion, we decided, along with Daniel and Rebecca (our travel parnters), that we would take our babymoon (their holiday) in the Dominican Republic and more specifically, Punta Cana. These are some photos of the resort, the Barcelo Punta Cana. :: Heaven On Earth ::
It has certainly been too long since Trevor and I have been away together and even though we are going with friends, they are bringing along their 10 month old so we will both have lots of time with just our significant others! The countdown is on.........March 27th.

Silver Ain't Too Bad

At work on Saturday, I got a call from my mom saying that my little brother Ryan was in a wrestling tournament and would be wrestling for the gold medal in his weight class. So I went down to the school and hung out with my parents for while waiting for his match.He wound up with the silver medal but was just psyched to be in the final match because apparently his opponent was extremely good. And the other great thing was that it qualified him for the provincals in two weeks! Way to go Ryan and best of luck in the provincials!!

Oh, Baby

Today I had my monthly appointment with one of my midwives Beirta and things are still going really well. The baby's heartrate was 150 bpm and the fundus height is measuring 17 cm which is right where I should be for 17 weeks. Since I had yet to weigh myself thus far in the pregnancy my starting weight as of today is 130 lbs. I still feel really great save for a couple days of weakness and dizziness that I can chalk up to my slowly dropping hemoglobin. The most exciting part is that I've started to feel movement! It's very sporadic and almost unnoticable but I've definitely got the "bubbles" (as my mom calls them) in my belly. I've also got my ultrasound on Monday so be sure to check back for our first baby pictures! Oh, baby........oh, baby!

If Only.........

This is definitely a fantasy post but I just keep seeing these sexy beasts all over the place and I had to write something. And I know that the post directly below this is a posting all about our new truck that I LOVE but, I had to share my little dream. In a perfect world, I would be driving this.....a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer, this color, this model but with nicer wheels. There is always one parked in the same spot near the Staples in town and I always drool when we drive by. Well today I drove by and now there are TWO. Parked side by side, the new one is white. I almost came to a complete stop but managed to control myself. I have always been a car girl and have always had a thing for the 1987-1993 style Mustang GT (my very first car) if I had some money to burn...... I tell ya, you wouldn't have to sell me on these that's for sure! Maybe one day when we win the lottery you'll see me cruising around in one of these, until then, I'll just have to dream and drool.