One Last Hoorah!

Been wanting to blog for several days, but hadn't gotten motivated, partly because there has been alot to write about, and we weren't real sure how to fit it all in. So here are a few updates before getting to updating on baby news!

1. Jonathan had an amazing time in Eleuthera. Thank you to everyone that supported us in prayer and financially. Their trip was definitely profitable. Here are a couple of pictures from the trip (I bet if several people comment, he'll actually blog about the trip....but he doesn't think anyone reads the blog, so he's been reluctant ;))!!!
The Working Pictures:


The Scenery Pictures:



2. Bailey has finished 18 hours towards her Masters in Literacy. This is great for a couple of reasons...a) PAY RAISE!!!! b) It is mid-way through the program and is a good breaking point for baby. I will take a year off from classes, and return next June.

I also wanted to post some pictures of Emrick's room. It is completely done, and I have a couple of favorite features...actually, I have alot of favorite features:


These are two things that Jonathan brought back from Eleuthera. The map and the shells fit the decor perfectly, and it is super special that Jonathan retrieved this shells himself off of the ocean floor!



These are two paintings done by Jonathan's grandfather. We loved them when we first saw them, but they fit perfectly in Emrick's room, and we couldn't resist putting them in there for him to enjoy! Plus, they are way more prominent than where we had them displayed before. Thanks Grandpa Becker!!!!


This saying is very special cause when I first realized I was pregnant, I was scared to death that I would miscarry. I would pray for peace, and then sing this song to Emrick with my hand on my belly. The Lord definitely would comfort me, and I am sure this verse will guide Emrick, Jonathan, and I as we learn together about the things you learn about when your family grows!!!


My good friend Libby had her mother-in-law paint this rocking chair for Emrick, and it is precious. I had a little red rocker when I was little that had been in my family, and really wanted to get Emrick one, so it was a great addition to his room! Thanks Libby and Vicki!!!!

And...one more belly picture (by the way, can I mention one more time how gross I think these are?):

Yes, I know it will be the last belly picture! As I write this, Jonathan is packing the car with our bags, and making sure that we have everything we think we might need for the hospital. I went in for my check-up today, and the doctor and I decided we would induce in the morning (July 11)! If you see this, please pray that things will go smoothly and as uncomplicated as possible! AND, check back for details about little Emrick!!! Love to all!

Time to Update!

I don't have a ton of pictures to put up, although I probably should because we have been busy. Maybe the pictures will come soon! First off, Jonathan and I haven't really spent time together alone, just us hanging out without an agenda, for FIVE weeks. Everything that has been going on has been great, but I'd be lying if I said we haven't missed each other some. It all started May 16 when Jonathan went to Eluthera in the Bahamas for a mission trip. He was gone for a week, and came back the evening of the 23rd. He had an amazing time, and from the pictures they seemed to have worked hard, but also had a ton of fun.
The following weekend, "the boys" went to Jonathan's parents house in Sparta, NC for a weekend to celebrate Jermile, and his upcoming wedding. I am not sure I or you want to know anymore details, but they seemed to have fun, as they are trying to plan another trip maybe in August sometime...
Then, it was June, and the first weekend in June, my mother-in-law Susan and I went to Mississippi and Louisiana for the last time before Emrick arrives. My dad's wife and her family held a shower for me, and it was really nice to spend some time with friends and family.
Last weekend, we were priviledged to celebrate the marriage of Jermile and Haley Brooks!!!!! After the rain delay, it ended up being an absolutely beautiful day and wedding. It was a day we were all excited about, and were so extremely thrilled to see come together the way it did. Everything ended up being just perfect! Jermile and Haley, thanks for letting us be a part, and we love you. (Jonathan was in the wedding, and so we stayed pretty busy the couple of days before the wedding trying to be helpful and such).
Needless to say, we have been WORN OUT! We are looking forward to trying to spend some quality time with each other in the next couple of weekends before Emrick arrives!
So, on to more information about that!!! I started my weekly visits yesterday, which I think will make things really seem to go by faster! I am at 36 weeks, and measuring 37 weeks. It looks like Emrick is dropping to me, but there isn't any progress to show that he will be coming early. I didn't really expect anything different than that, as I have been pretty much comfortable. I have been really blessed with a somewhat easy pregnancy so far. I haven't had much back pain, and haven't felt anything that I would describe as Braxton Hicks. Although, I am starting to feel huge, and get little sensations in my lower back every now and then. Like I said, nothing to complain about, and I definitely feel blessed by that. So, 26 days and counting!
We have been working hard in Emrick's room, and everything is done except hanging the ceiling fan. It is a great feeling to know that the little man can come any day, and we will have a place for him to rest. In finishing off his room, we had a small internal conflict....do we buy the ceiling fan we can afford and will look fine in his room, or do we buy the ceiling fan that is out of our price range cause its awesome...here are the two fans:

Fan #1 (except the one we would put up has ivory light holder thingys):


OR

Fan #2


It would probably help if you could see the decor in his room...but it would look really neat!!!!! So, would you go on the splurge, or go practical????? We ended up going practical, and decided maybe one day we would upgrade when Emrick actually cared what fan was in his room!!!!

8 weeks? C-R-A-Z-Y!!!

That's it...8 weeks until due date! At my last appointment, I measured 33 weeks verses the 30 weeks that I should've been measuring. This doesn't mean Emrick will come 3 weeks early, it just means he will be big!!! I am definitely getting excited, but the hormones are beginning to hit as well...I'm actually beginning to clean a little, and also freak out about how in the world I'm going to do everything and fulfill all the expectations of a mom and a wife once he gets here...a little overwhelming!!! I know that God will continue to bless and lead us through this though! I've put some pictures below so you can compare belly growth...but everyone knows this isn't my favorite part, so be nice on the comments!!!
Also, don't forget to be praying for Jonathan and his teammates in Eleuthera...that's in the Bahamas. I know they are working hard, and building a ton of relationships!
11 weeks:

31 weeks:

Spring is Here! And brings pictures and updates!!

Spring is finally here, and I am so glad. I really don't like the cold weather at all, so I am excited that it is finally a little warmer. However, I am beginning to feel the hormones working, and it isn't really warmer, but it is hotter...not complaining, but I think that I finally got my wish to be warm!!! A couple of weeks ago, these precious baby squirrels were playing in the tree in the side yard. They had both Bristol and I mesmerized....although I think for separate reasons!


I feel like our life has been spinning the last couple of weeks. We have been so busy. It has all been a blast, but we are both feeling the effects. Jonathan recently realized there is something on his calendar every single weekend until the last weekend in May! So crazy!!! One thing that kept me busy recently was a two night/three day field trip to Barrier Island with 80 fifth graders. It was a pretty fun trip, and I was able to catch a couple of cool shots!


When I got home that Friday night, Jonathan was so very excited! He made me close my eyes for a surprise in Emrick's room. This is what I found...

Emrick's first piece of mail! It was such a great piece of mail as well. Emrick's great aunt (Randy's sister) made him this incredible quilt. It has pieces of Randy's old clothes as the letters and some of the objects on it. It is so special to have a gift that comes from Randy. Aunt Jeanne did an incredible job...here is one square:

And the whole quilt:

That night, my mom and my brother's family, and Jonathan's family all came to town. They came to attend the wonderful shower that my great friends hosted for me. Here are my wonderful hostesses (although I think they had some other helpers too):

And some of my great friends that came to show Emrick some love:

Everything was so pretty, and great:

I felt completely blessed as I looked at the incredible amount of love that was shown to Emrick!

Not to mention all the other great things that we got last weekend, Crystal (my brother's wife) brought me all of the baby furniture from her two boys. On Saturday afternoon, we (THEY) put everything together. In addition to the furniture, Crystal also brought 7 boxes of hand-me down clothes, shoes, toys, necessities, etc. So for the unveiling of the room:

It is really beginning to come along! I am SO excited!!! (And YES, the house is officially off the market). AND, I almost forgot, Emrick's daddy bought him his first HotWheels!

Irony?

This is crazy...at least to me! I think that Jonathan and I have decided to investigate refinancing and if we can get a good rate, with a good outcome we would decide not to sell. I am really ready to have a peace about where we will be when Emrick gets here, and although we can afford a new place, we might be happier financially staying put a little bit longer. Okay, so we decide that (for the most part) we aren't selling. Since this decision, we have shown the house twice in three days. WHAT??? And, since Jonathan painted, three times. We have doubled the number of times we have shown it in like 3 weeks time. I am not sure what this means for us, but it sure is ironic. The only thing that would be crazier is if we actually got an offer. I do have pictures of the newly painted nursery should we stay and a funny story about that, but it will have to wait.

Not too much important, but lots of rambles!

1. Snow!
I've tried to resist the urge of joining all my friends with the snow post, but with lack of other things to post...I'm posting about snow! March 1 it snowed a good snow, and some parts of Greenville got 4 or 5 inches. It was very pretty, and we had fun watching it fall, and playing around in it. School was called off for 2 and 1/2 days...which was good in some ways, terrible in others.



2. Yes! The house is still for sale.
We have shown the house a total of 3 times since December 19. I try to remain hopeful because I would love to have just a little more space for little Emrick to live and play. But as I get "pregnanter," I almost start to hope that it doesn't sell. I am so ready to get his room ready, just because! I know, I know, I have plenty of time, but I am just so excited. Therefore, Jonathan and I (well, Jonathan really) have started this....


yep...painting the nursery. Before we started, the room was a tanish color with a cute little chair rail. We are painting it a real light tan color on top, but we are leaving the bottom the darker color. We figured even if the house shows, it will be a color that shows well. It gives me a little peace of mind that I can pretend that we are painting it for Emrick.

3. I LOVE MY MOM!!!
I am so excited, my mom is coming to visit this weekend. She flies in on Saturday. And since she's coming, Jonathan's parents are going to come spend the day on Sunday. Our moms' birthdays are both next weekend, so I am really excited that they will both be here, and we will all get some hang out time together. Mom has also offered to help do some of the painting...Jonathan doesn't feel like she should spend her time here painting, so we'll see!!! One added bonus, mom will get to go to my doctor's appointment on Monday. I'm excited that she will get to do this so she will feel more apart since she's far away most of the time.

4. My Friend Steph
Stephanie came to my wedding and is a great friend of mine from college. She is due two days before I am with her first child. She has a small textile/sewing type business, and makes super cute items. She is doing a drawing on her blog about baby items you can't live without...so, all you moms out there, leave her a comment and be entered for a drawing...see her blog for more details! **PS - If you aren't a mom still check out her blog...I'm planning on asking her to make something for Emrick! Her stuff is really cute!
Her Blog -- www.moonpie-designs.blogspot.com

Meet Emrick!

As many of you know, I had another ultrasound this week. It was a precautionary thing done because last week at my regular doctor, they saw a couple of things that she "didn't want to over look." Today, I went to a wonderful fetal medicine doctor to have a second look...I just enjoyed being able to see Emrick (the baby - more on the name below) again so soon. This ultrasound went pretty well (other than him being comfortable, and not wanting them to look or mess with him). His little hands and arms were moving a good bit this morning. He even made it into his mouth while we were watching today. Oh, he will be so ROTTEN!!! The doctor also seemed confident that everything looked "normal." We will do one more ultrasound during the third trimester to make sure that he is staying up with the fetal development rate.
His little fingers must already be a favorite:

His little foot:

Boy parts:

Him thinking he wishes the ultrasound tech would quit trying to get him to turn over by shaking mommy's belly:


About his name: We have decided to name him Emrick Scott Edmonds. Emrick is my mom's last name, and we are naming him after her late husband. He was an incredible man, and we didn't get to spend nearly enough time with him. I don't think there was anyone that did not like him, and we can only hope that we makes friends and impressions as well as Randy did. Scott is the name of a good friend of ours...so good that he performed our wedding ceremony for us. We are privileged to have such great men, to name our son after. (**Just a note there are other great men in our lives too, like our fathers, that we hope Emrick follows the example of).

I finally feel like I am showing some. All of the sudden Saturday, it was like my belly just decided to wake up and start poking out. Although, I am not crazy about posting pictures of my belly, they have been requested...argggg! So, Libby, for your viewing pleasure (I hope you feel better)!