The Sometimes Blogger

Yes, I have disappeared again. Is anyone reading this anymore? I probably would have deserted me a long time ago because of my inconsistencies. I do have a fairly good reason, though. Mark and I have been staying with my mom for the last three weeks (long story there) and she only has dial up and it drove me crazy to do anything on the Internet. So, I basically have been computer free for weeks. But, we're back and I plan to blog at least twice a week. I mean, this blog isn't only for you guys to read, I love having a journal to go back and read myself. Let's see... everything is great with the baby. I feel her move all the time, plus I feel it on the outside and I can SEE her moving. It is crazy to be laying down and watch your stomach bounce up and down as she kicks. I have finally started shopping for her and I just started my baby registry today. I cannot believe I will be 26 weeks this week. It has gone by so fast! I cannot wait for September so we can meet our sweet, beautiful daughter. I have bought some of the cutest clothes for her..it is so much fun to shop for her! Also, we are going on another Encounter this weekend and I am EXCITED! I am excited for myself and all the ladies in my cell group. It is going to be life-changing as always! I'll tell you more after this weekend. Another exciting this for us-we've gotten the dog out of the bed!! We bought this awesome dog bed from Costco that looks like a little couch or armchair and Gidget loves it! We placed it right by the bed, and most of the time, she just gets in it and goes to sleep-no whining or begging. It has been so nice to get more room! We've been pretty busy lately and I have been trying to take pictures of everything, but I have forgotten a lot of the time, too. Whoops. Here's some of recent stuff:

Gidget being a model Pup:

Me with the Church Family at P.F. Changs:

Mark Praising God at the G12 conference:

This might have been the highlight of Mark's Week: Paying a dollar at the fair to shake the monkey's hand!

Well, We're Having A...

GIRL!!!!

That's right folks, I'm going to have a daughter! I've been feeling girl this whole time, so I am not surprised at all. I remember I told Mark a few weeks ago that I would be surprised if it was a boy. Not that I wouldn't have been just as happy. Little boys are awesome! But, now that I know that I am having a girl, I am so happy about it and so excited. Pink! Sparkles! Hair ribbons! Adorable Frilly stuff! If you haven't guessed, I am SUCH a girly girl. I love pink. So, this will be fun. I know there is a lot more to girls that just pink sparkly things, but right now that is all I can think of. And eventually she'll get to choose her own clothes, so I better enjoy this while it lasts. We had an amazing ultrasound (paid for by my mom and my mother in law) that lasted about an hour. We have awesome 4D pictures, but I need to scan them still. We also got a DVD of the whole ultrasound and our moms got to come in the room with us and watch the whole thing on a big screen TV. It was so cool!! Okay, so apparently I have a super, super active baby. Every midwife and ultrasound technician remarks on how crazy active the baby is. And she already weighs 1 lb, 2 oz.! Her heartbeat was 152 bpm and she just looked really good, you know? She is adorable, in my opinion. We think she has my nose :) I feel her move all the time now, which is so fun. Oh, and my placenta previa is totally gone. It has moved way up, and is actually on top on my uterus right now, which is why it took so long to feel her. I am just so, so excited!!! We are going to go do a tiny bit of shopping, now, since I haven't allowed myself to yet. Yea! I bet whatever I buy will be pink :)

All kinds of exciting stuff!!

So, I really, really did not mean to go a week without blogging. But, our Internet had been broken until last night. So, this last week has been amazing, of course. I love that. I love that my life constantly changes and evolves. God is always transforming me, and I can honestly look back at the end of most weeks and see how I'm different. Well, we went to a G12 conference in Sacramento last weekend and it was so AWESOME!!! It was so great to hear the messages given by Pastors who are in Pastor Cesar's 12 team. God was totally speaking to me through them, and it really touched my heart. In the ministry time, God totally gave me vision to see my ministry, now and in the future. I just feel so refreshed and SO excited! I know that I was created to not only lead a cell group, but to lead the multitudes!!! It was just an awesome opportunity to strengthen my relationship with God. We travelled with Eric and Morgan, and as always, we had an amazing time. They are some of our best friends, and we always laugh so much and have a great time. Better yet, they are basically our pastors so they are constantly ministering to us. I just love spending time with them!
Also exciting, I led my very first cell group on Monday night! Morgan gave me the opportunity to lead cell group, and I was really excited because I saw it as a big honor and responsibility. I have to say, my preparation paid off and God totally used me to speak to the women in our cell group. It was really fun, too! I had a great time and it was a great confidence booster, too.
On Tuesday, Mark and I babysat Katie's son, Sam, from around 6:00-11:30 pm and it was really fun. I had to give him and bath and put to him and everything. It went so smoothly and it was great to babysit with Mark. Sam was so adorable and it definitely didn't seem like work.
On Wednesday, I had a pretty quiet day, spent mostly cleaning the house, and going to Starbucks, ha ha! I went once by myself because I was CRAVING a chocolate croissant, but they didn't have any and I settled for an iced carmel machiatto (decaf, of course). I later remembered that I'm fasting sweets, anyway. Whoops, almost blew that one! Then, I went to another Starbucks with Morgan and our friend, Billie. Billie told us hilarious stories the whole time and I greatly enjoyed my decaf coffee with Non fat milk and splenda. Yum! While I was at coffee, Mark went to Home Depot with his mom and she bought us stuff we really needed for home improvement, including a new toilet and a new doorknob/deadbolt for our front door. Mark worked on that stuff all night, and it is great to have them done.
This morning, I babysat for my friend Joy's two kids, who are 2 and 3. They came over to my house, which made me way too nervous!!! I cleaned so much before because I just wanted it to be a good environment for them. My house is so not kid proofed yet! Ysa, the 3 year old girl, kept asking the funniest questions that would have been totally insulting if an adult asked them, but were just cute coming from her. Like "Why are there dark spots on your carpet?" as she pointed out a few stains. And when I took her into the bathroom to go potty, she said "Why is it dirty in here?" I really wanted to laugh but I just said "Oh, because I didn't clean it today". And "Why is your house so small and old?" I just answered "Because only two of us live here and it was built a long time ago." Trust me, I have motivation to really scrub my bathroom clean after all those questions!! After babysitting we picked Morgan up (rescued her?) because she had a flat tire and she was stranded outside a trailer home and all the yokels were staring at her (not that everyone who lives in a mobile home is a yokel. But these folks were). We (Morgan, Joy and I) all went to lunch at the mall and went shopping a little bit. But, it was waaaayy past nap time and the kids were getting pretty darned cranky. Later tonight, Mark and I are meeting up with people from our cell groups to go to Woodstock's for pizza. After that, I am hanging out with Allison at her house, which I know will be awesome.
Okay, I saved the most exciting news for last. On Saturday, at 10:00 am, Mark and I going to find out the gender of our baby!!!! I know there is a chance the baby won't cooperate, but we are doing this as an elective ultrasound and are paying out of pocket for it, so the whole reason for the ultrasound is to see if Baby is a boy or a girl. And, this baby moves A LOT, so chances are, we'll be able to see! YEA!!!! I am so excited. I can hardly wait to find out if we are having a son or a daughter. Very fun! I'll make sure to post a blog that day, because i know you are all dying to know, too. Right? You're on the edge of your seat with anticipation, right?? Ha ha.