Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We hope all of you have a very blessed Thanksgiving!!! Thank you for being part of our lives (or just reading our blog if we don't know you!) :)

Week 21

I have been terrible about journaling about my pregnancy, so I am going to start keeping a weekly log. Here is this week's:

Week 21

Symptoms - Morning sickness has returned every single morning. Energy level is not so great, but not so bad either. I still feel WAY better than I did the first trimester and can't complain. I've said it before, but it's true...this is so worth it for our sweet little Addi! :)

Memorable Moments / Highlights - We went to the doctor and got to see our precious baby girl again! :) I love watching her on the screen and love the look Jared gets on his face as he watches her. She had her hand in the air waving to us again. ;) We found out that she weighs 15 ounces...one ounce shy of a pound! They are now 100% certain she is a girl, which means I can continue to eat My Little Pony and Disney Princess fruit snacks. Jared said if it was a boy, I would have to stop. The ultrasound technician said Addison's spine and heart are beautiful! Last time another technician said the same about her brain. We are so thankful that everything seems well! We also found out that Addison will have another friend to play with. One of my good friends from church is 7 weeks pregnant today! :) It's so much fun to experience pregnancy with others...I LOVE it! :)

Feelings/Thoughts - We felt a little overwhelmed this week as we started discussing baby sitters and our lack of family around the area. But, we figure we can swap babysitting services with some of our friends from time to time as needed.... and are pretty certain that our families will be here quite a bit to help out on a lot of weekends anyway. :) As we have started decorating for Christmas and listening to Christmas music pretty much all the time, I can't help but think about how different next year will be with a little one! What fun!!! :) Other than that, we're just feeling very thankful and excited! :)

Quote

"God uses your weakness, not your strength." - Pastor Loran Livingston

How Addison Hope Got Her Name

We came up with the name Addison months before we conceived. I knew I wanted to call our little girl "Addi," but only wanted that to be a shortened version of a longer name. I wracked my brain trying to come up with a name. After a couple of days, Jared suggested Addison. We both love it!

We came up with the middle name Hope because during our long journey of trying to conceive, we never lost our hope. We knew that God was going to allow us to be parents someday, somehow.

Also, one of the songs that I really loved during the most difficult months of our journey has the following words:

When my life is like a storm
Rising waters all I want is the shore
You say I'll be ok and
Make it through the rain
You are my shelter from the storm

(CHORUS)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free

You've become my hearts desire
I will sing Your praises higher
Cause Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free

The irony, until two weeks ago, which was long after we decided on the name Addison Hope, I didn't know that the name of the group that sings this song is "Addison Road." I love how God works! :)

Wedding

On October 3rd, I had the great privilege of watching my sister, Brandy marry the man of her dreams. The wedding was outside in my parents' yard and was absolutely beautiful! :) I was filled with such joy as I observed the happiness on both Brandy and her husband, Jason's faces.

Jared and I wish you both the best as you go through life together!! We love you guys! :)

Observation

I made an interesting observation the other day. On my digital camera I have pictures from our beach trip in June, the video of me telling Jared I was pregnant, and pictures of our house the day we closed. No, the observation I made was not that I need to download my pictures, though that probably wouldn't be a bad idea. The observation was how far we had come in a few short months.

When we went to the beach in June, one of the many things that we did was have an intense discussion on what we needed to focus on in terms of financial priorities. We both agreed that the number one and two spot would be to adopt a child or pursue fertility treatments and to buy a house. Our human minds, figured it was either a give or take situation. We could either have a child or buy a house. It was tough...our hearts were screaming, "you want a child," but our heads were telling us a house would be more practical at this time.

Who knew what God had in store. It's funny how we try to write our own story and He makes it so much better! We didn't have to give up or delay either dream any longer than He chose.

A Letter for the Baby - Story One

Dear Our Precious Miracle,

By the time you are able to read this, I know you'll know just how loved you are by so many people! :) You will also know the amazing way that God allowed you to come into our lives - something I'm positive we'll tell you over and over again! Most importantly, you will know that Jesus loves you very much!!!

Just in case you forget the many stories that I'm sure your daddy and I will tell you several times, there are a a few that we really want for you to remember. For now, I'll just share one:

How I told your daddy I was pregnant with you!

I bought a bib from Target that says "I Love Daddy" and taped two of the six pregnancy tests that I took on the bib. The night I told him, we had our first House to House get together. You'll know all about House to House growing up, so I'll spare you the details here. Anyway, on the way there, your dad expressed how concerned he was because I had been sick for a while. I wanted to blurt out that I was pregnant right then, but since we were in the car and he was driving, and we were already late for our dinner, I decided to wait!

After a fun night with great people, we finally got home around 10:30. I couldn't wait to give your dad his present!!! I knew I wanted to record his reaction on our digital camera, but also knew he would think it was odd if I gave him a present and started recording him. So I came up with a lame excuse that I wanted to record him doing an impersonation (something I sadly admit has entertained us quite a bit in the past). About half way through his impersonation, I stopped the camera and told him I had a present for him. He looked at me funny as I handed him a gift bag (he later said he thought it was a candy bar!). When he opened the present and saw the bib, he looked at it for a few seconds and then said, "Are you pregnant?" I responded with, "YES!" He then said "REALLY?" at least three or four times. I have the video to prove it. :) Once I turned off the camera, he hugged me and then said, "We need to thank God!" He prayed such a sweet prayer, thanking God for you!

After the prayer, he called two of his college roommates, Scott and Jordan. They very happy for us and your daddy was beaming when he mentioned you! :)

Finally around 12:30 we went to bed. I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and could not fall back to sleep, so around 5:00 I woke up your dad! We talked a lot about you: How shocked and amazed we were to find out about you. How much we wanted you to love God. How much we wanted you to be healthy and happy. How it seemed like an eternity before we would be able to hold you in our arms. We laughed and cried until almost 7:00. We thought it was funny that you were already keeping us up at nights! ;)

We sure can't wait to meet you and we love you so much!!! :)