Maternity Pictures

I got my hair cut today and since it's beautiful outside and my hair looks better today (having been "fixed" by someone else) than it ever will again until it gets cut again, we decided to go ahead and take some maternity pictures. We figured it's now or never, since I'm 38 weeks along tomorrow and I really could go into labor any time. We had a good time and just did the pictures ourselves with a tripod and remote. Here are a few of the nicer ones.

Domestic Life

What a beautiful weekend this has been! It has been so nice and we have gotten SO much done, which is great!! Let's see if I can remember everything we've accomplished... Yesterday (Saturday) we woke up fairly early and Dan changed the oil on the Altima, Exped, and Willy (our tractor). While he did that, I did my Bible study, picked up around the house and prepped and cooked a turkey that we had in our freezer. This was somewhat of an all day project, as it took a while to cook, then I took off the meat and made broth out of the bones. I also worked on thank you cards (for my shower), read my CPR book for my upcoming class and did some other online education for my work. Just after noon, we headed to my Aunt Janis's house where we picked up a bunch of rocks my Uncle Leroy has graciously been collecting for us for several years. They are beautiful and I'm excited to use them in our landscaping. After getting home, we mapped out where our yard will be, measured and re-measured where we were going to put our sprinklers. Dan did all the brain work on this. I just helped him with the measuring tape. I also staked a whole bunch of the trees that we planted a year ago as well as this year that weren't looking very good and were falling over. Hopefully this will help them survive the summer. I'm not very hopeful. In the afternoon I also was able to weedeat our blueberry bushes. It felt so good to get so much accomplished and my body did pretty well with it. I had some contractions walking up and down the hill to work on the trees, but for the most part I was okay. The evening they came on more frequently and stronger, but they were manageable. The only bummer part of yesterday was our expedition started leaking transmission fluid. Boo! More on that later. Today, we woke up to beautiful blue skies again and headed off to church. It was a great service, but we weren't very successful at getting out immediately. We headed to Home Depot after a bit and picked up some sprinkler parts as well as the trencher and headed home. I was pretty tired, so while Dan worked the trencher I took a little nap, then headed outside to finish staking trees. I just have to say I have the hardest working husband I know. I admire him greatly for his ability to take on big projects. He's good at figuring things out intellectually and he has the gumption to do all the manual labor as well. He's been out there since we got home working himself like crazy. Tomorrow he's going to be tired, no doubt.

While he's been putting in trenches, I finished taking care of the turkey broth, made some bread (a recipe my brother recommended from the website thecannyhomemaker.com). Pretty good stuff. I also finished making cheez-its. I had made the dough a couple of days ago and got them in the oven and baked today. They are really good, though I'm not sure I'd make them super often. The recipe is from a book called "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter," a cookbook my brother and sister-in-law got me. I love it and it's been so fun making random things. Other things I've tried from the cookbook are peanut butter and yogurt. Other things I'd like to try from the book are almond butter, hot cocoa, vanilla, salsa and a few other things. It's a really fun cookbook...one I've been reading through cover-to-cover. Anyway, here are some pictures of my recent endeavors. Maybe this is my form of nesting. Cooking rather than cleaning.

Peanut butter. So easy and will definitely continue making!

Plain yogurt. Also fairly easy and so good with strawberries and honey.

Thirty-Five!

We are celebrating 35 today! 35 weeks are under my belt and only 35 days until my due date. Yes, that's just 5 weeks. I guess I should start thinking about what I'd like to pack for the hospital. And we still need to get our infant car seat. Also, we just heard today that Wedley has his passport!! Now for the Visa...

Update on the boys

Well, I've been waiting to post because every day I have kept thinking that maybe, just maybe we'd finally get some Wedley news. We finally got some news yesterday, though it wasn't exactly what we were hoping for. Turns out that we had some mis-information. That in fact, he's only just now entering into the passport phase and that it looks like he'll probably be getting his visa appointment right around my due date (May 25). We will have to wait until after the baby is born for Dan to go pick him up. I'm so excited to bring that little guy home, but I have peace regarding the new timeline. I was feeling a little stressed about the potential of me going into labor while Dan is gone and then having to figure out taking care of a newborn (in particular breastfeeding) all the while feeling torn and like I need to spend my time bonding with Wedley. This way I can more easily figure out the routine with my newborn. I'm hoping it'll be best for Wedley too. I was looking forward to getting to know him without being distracted by a newborn for at least a few weeks, but this way, he'll only have one major adjustment to make, rather than coming and trying to adjust only to be thrown for another loop. Alls I can do is trust that this is God's perfect timing.

As for our other boy, I'm so thankful to say he's still inside me kicking away! Over 10 weeks ago I was so scared that I might deliver early because of all the contractions. Now I'm just a few days short of being 35 weeks! Hallelujah!!! He just needs to make it a few more weeks and I think he'll probably do just that.

Here I am at 29 Weeks along and so very happy.

We continue to feel more and more ready for our boys. I was so incredibly blessed by my friends and family at a couple of showers over the last few weeks. They were so fun and I really did feel "showered" by all the love and support. My sister, mom and friends Wendy, Darla, Carrie and Kari hosted some wonderful parties!

Making some Haitian food with Wendy and Darla!

32 Weeks along!!


In other news, I wanted to post a picture of my sweet little nephew who is now almost 3 months old. I can't believe that much time has passed and I'm just now writing about it on my blog! Not that I'm a faithful writer, but still... He's a really sweet little guy and will reward you with a smile when you look at him.

And this one is just for fun. A seahawks game we went to earlier in the year.

The countdown!

Wow, the time is quickly approaching that I will have TWO little boys in my home to love and care for. We just got the AWESOME news late last night that Wedley has entered into the passport phase! Hooray...and best guess, it looks like 5 to 7 weeks until Dan gets to go pick him up. Lucky duck! And tomorrow marks the 10 week mark until my due date! 30 weeks...It really is going by very fast. It is tempting to get anxious about the timing of it all, specifically that Dan might need to leave fairly close to my due date and what that'll mean, but then I remember God's timing and that comforts me. They'll both come at the right time.

30 Years Old

I've entered my 4th decade and it feels good! My 29th year was one to remember and I think this coming one will be even more special! The biggest highlights of the year include: 1. Major progress in our adoption, most importantly, knowing who our son would be: Wedley Etienne Stuart. 2. The blessing of our pregnancy! I can't believe I'm 29 weeks along, praise God!! 3. Completing our home and moving in! 4. Dan's new job, that so far he's really enjoying! 5. My new baby nephew, Levi. Such a sweet little guy. It's going to be fun to watch him grow.

God has blessed me so much, sometimes I get overwhelmed by all that he has given me. Things I'm grateful for (many repeats from the above list): #1. My husband. He is such a blessing to me and I can't imagine walking through life without him. #2 My sweet little Wedley. Just today I was looking at some pictures that were taken just after he came to COTP. I can't look at them too long b/c they make me sad...I just wish I could hold, hug and love on that little baby. He's not a baby anymore. And I can't wait to bring that little toddler home to make up for lost time. #3. My other sweet little boy growing in my tummy. The best part of my days are the moments that I get to sit down and watch my stomach jump around from his movements. I can't wait to meet the little guy, but I think there will be a small part of me that will miss having him jumping around inside me. I seriously LOVE feeling him. #4. My parents, brother and sister. Again, what did I do to deserve them? The answer is absolutely nothing, but they are a gift from God that I love with all my heart. They are my family and more importantly, they are my friends and are such a big support for me. #5. Friends. I have so many friends and this year I've been overwhelmed by the love and support of them all. They've helped work on our home, been so excited for us with our adoption and our pregnancy and just in general I've felt very, very loved. #6. My church. A church that aims to love Jesus and follow his leading. Pretty good stuff. #7. I'm thankful for my home. The past couple of years have been so crazy busy building our home, it's so nice to just be settled. I love how cozy it is in here. I love how we've made it ours. I could make a pretty long list of all that I'm thankful for, but it's getting late, so I best call it a night.

Contractions and a time of rest.

Well, as mentioned previously, I've been having lots of contractions. I think we've decided that this is probably just what my body is going to do. Still, I've been really trying to take it easy here at home. Though I'd give anything for these contractions to go away, simply for the peace of mind that he'll be cooking for many weeks to come, I've been trying to enjoy these weeks of quiet before things get really crazy around here. I've been so very thankful for my husband and my home. Dan has been so supportive through it all and I loved the extra time to read my adoption and family books while sitting in front of our wood stove. And one thing I've certainly learned over the years (this past year in particular), It's that God's timing is always perfect. This baby won't arrive until he has ordained it, just like his conception didn't come until God said the timing was right and just like I know that Wedley will come at just the right time.

God has been so faithful to me and I love looking back at how it's all been orchestrated. While things haven't gone as I would have planned, I'm so grateful that it was HIS plan that came about and not mine. I'm so very thankful that Wedley will be joining our family and I know he wouldn't be, had we been able to have children right away. I'm thankful that we were able to build our house prior to our kids joining us. I just don't think we could have done it otherwise. I'm in awe over the miracle baby that I get to feel wiggle inside of me every day. And I'm really, really, really grateful for these brief few months between our home being completed and our boys joining our lives for Dan and I to focus on our marriage. It's been wonderful having some laid back time to read together, watch movies together, play games together, go on walks and just to build our partnership. My life has been a story of God's faithfulness to his children. May the glory be His!