13 weeks and Happy Birthday Shannon...

Happy Birthday Shannon! I know she's in heaven having a party, but I still wish she was here for her 18th. I have a feeling she would have gotten a cell phone for her birthday!

I'm now 13 weeks and pressing onward into the 2nd trimester!!!! I'm feeling better and have figured out how to keep my blood sugar stable on most days. Sunday's are still hard because we're at church for so long, but Cheese Nips are my friend, so at least I'm getting a little protein.

I don't know if it's just my thinking, but my belly is feeling a little heavier. It's the weirdest feeling! I can tell my days of lying on my back are gone because I can feel things pressing down and it makes my insides hurt. Thank goodness Raun bought me my pregnancy pillow for Valentine's Day. I have abs now, which is great! I always have Raun press on my belly because it's nice and firm...probably from the fun bloatedness that I wasn't warned about. However, now I'm starting to be able to feel more firmness in my entire belly. It will be so cool to feel the baby move. Remind me of that when I'm in my last month and it's really kicking and sitting on all my organs! I went shopping with a friend from church and bought a belly band that you can use to cover over your pants, since I have to wear them unbuttoned with the hairbands holding them together (a great trick every pregnant friend has told me about, thank goodness!). It's really comfortable and adds an extension to my shirts. I also got some preggie pops, which are great because they help when I'm feeling nauseus. I can't wait to go shopping for spring clothes and get my bathing suit! There were so many cute things out.

I'm really excited about this weekend. The women's ministry at our church is having a women's retreat at the Calhutta Lodge in Georgia. I'll post some pictures next week because it's supposed to be incredible views. I was asked to lead the worship time, so I'm excited about that. I've been working with a friend from church who is helping me out with singing, because I'm not entirely comfortable leading it on my own.

I'm also playing a solo with the handbell choir at church on Sunday. I'm playing "Be Thou My Vision." It's my favorite song, but I am a little nervous about it since it's all in the higher register and my chops aren't like what they once were. I'm hoping Mom and Dad come for that. It would be lots of fun for them to hear it, and then we can go eat our weekly Japanese meals!

We didn't get any snow, unfortunately. However, it's extremely cold and very windy. I thought spring was just around the corner. It was 65 on Monday (Raun took half a day to go golfing, which apparently so did everyone else because the course was packed, he said) and in the 20's today. It's supposed to be back in the 60's this weekend, so I think Raun's taking his Saturday to the golf course! He has been itching to golf.

I'll post some pictures next week of our trip. Love you guys!

Goodbye 1st trimester!!!

What a great day today!!!! I had my doctor's appointment and there was no blood work, no stabbing, and no getting undressed! It was the greatest day! Oh...and to top it off, we heard our baby's heart. It was the coolest thing ever. I had to have a full bladder (which I forgot about until I got there, so I drank lots of water in 30 minutes). She put the doppler on my lower right side of my belly and there was the baby's heart beat. It was so clear and was beating a good 166 bpm. I held my tears in until I went to the bathroom and then I cried. I just couldn't believe that God was blessing us with this little life. I mean, there really is a baby inside me that I'm providing life and nourishment to. It definitely made it more real and made me feel closer to it, since I can't feel it move, yet. But not too much longer until I get to feel the movement! Raun said that he couldn't help but smile when he heard the heart and that it made it more real for him, as well. I know I'll cry when I actually see the baby for the first time in in a few weeks...around 18-22 weeks.

I'm loving being pregnant now. There's just so many new and constant things to adjust to, but once I figure them out, I'm okay. The nausea is getting better and I'm eating more foods. I've cooked more, but we have to eat earlier than normal because I will get extremely sick if I don't.

I've been working on my college scrapbook--I've got so much to hurry and scrapbook so I can be caught up for my baby's book in 2 months! Raun's bought the first stage of hardware to work on downstairs. In a month or two, Dad and Raun are going to be lifting and building the walls and since I can't help, I'll cook while Mom paints! I promised that after the baby, I'll help her paint her house.

We're going to Manchester this weekend to see the family. We're going to see Aunt Patricia and Uncle Ray and the kiddos on Friday night. I've got to chase them around a bit and make sure their being nice to each other! I love hanging out with all of them. I'm planning on going to the cemetary, as well, to see Shannon's headstone. I can't believe her birthday is on Thursday. It's going to be so weird to not call her and hear her list of birthday presents and hear all about her party. I miss her so much and some days, I still struggle with the fact that she should be here. Especially now that I'm pregnant, because that's what she couldn't wait for. I wish, more than anything, that she could be here to hold our baby and babysit. She was so great with children!

We'll hang out with Mom and Dad for the weekend and I've put in my order for my Dad to cook steaks. I'm craving steaks, much to my family's delight! We're actually having it tonight, too...even thought it's raining! Raun could care less because he gets his red meat!

We have a birthday/going away party for my friend's husband, Josh and Nessa. Nessa's not going anywhere, but Josh is being deployed to Afghanistan for 15 months in March, so a bunch of their friends are coming to give him a huge party. I can't wait to see all of our college friends and to hang out with Jen and Nessa for a little while. We've got a lot of planning for our girl's trip to do!

Well...I think that catches everyone up-to-date. Not too much longer until I get my baby bump!

11 weeks....

Only one more week left until we get to hear our baby's heartbeat! I can't wait! This past week has been gradually getting better for me. I've been able to clean and cook a few things. Standing up for longer than 5 minutes isn't making me feel sick anymore, so that's good. I made my ever healthy oven fried chicken, and topped it off with green beans. It's Raun's day to cook today since I don't get home until around 8:00, but I'll try again tomorrow. It feels so good to be eating healthy again.

I'm still working out and it feels so wonderful. It feels weird to run (don't worry...I don't do it for more than 10 minutes and I got an okay from my doctor) because I can feel things bouncing. It's such a huge stress reliever and it helps me not to feel so sick. I've done slight weights, but nothing like I used to do. That's just another something for me to look forward to a few months after the baby's born.

Work has been fairly interesting. At my Knoxville place, we had to place an emergency letter to a judge on a particular boy who is 19. He offended apparently a few days before turning 18, so we have the joy of having him. He's a nightmare. He is so inappropriate and likes to talk and do inappropriate things. Yesterday topped it off because he had carried his IPOD into the session (which he wasn't allowed to have). I documented it and showed it to the principal and they took it away. But from then on, he threatened to put a pencil in my eye, hurt me, and constantly tries to walk behind me, stand behind me, or grab my legs. The scary thing is that we keep telling the judge he'll reoffend or kill someone if they don't put him in prison, but the judge is still thinking of letting him on the streets. We put in a stalker form yesterday as a protection for me, as well as 6 other Sexual harrassment forms that we are hoping will sway the judge. He needs some prison experience and let them whip his butt into shape...if they don't kill him first for being a sexual predator. He's very antisocial, which is you typical serial killers. He's awful. He's the first one I've come around (and I come around many and far worse, like gang members, etc.) that I feel so uncomfortable. I haven't told them that I am pregnant yet because I want to wait until we go to the doctor and my risk for miscarriage drops, so I'll tell them in 2 weeks. I think after that, the principal will forbid him to come near me without one-on-one protection. For the most part, they are fun and I know that if anything were to happen, the boys would protect me, since they all hate the one boy. I love my work, despite it's risks, because we're influencing lives. I actually have some boys in my forensic unit (they are court-ordered there for 30 days for committing crimes and to see how they should stand trial) who want to completely change their lives. We've been making goals and one has really taken a lot of heat from another black peer because he thinks that this particular black peer wants to do "white man's work" since he wants to go to college. We've been trying to impress upon the other guy that just because he's from what he calls "the hood" that he can still go to college and make something of himself and that getting a real job isn't "white man's work." We'll see if we make any difference on him. I did get him to come to the realization of all that it had cost him for the crime he committed and he did say he wouldn't have done it if he could do things over. Slight progress!

I had my meeting at the Alzheimer's unit on Monday and we're set to start working with them on next Friday. I'm so excited! I got a chance to talk to some of them, and I can't wait to find out their stories and to get the to have a purpose in life. I'm making a stop by one gentleman's room during the last 5-10 minutes to ease the pain of his passing away. He is quickly deteriorating, but he loves music. Hopefully just singing to him will relax him and help him to not be so scared. The family is a Christian family and are so excited that I'm coming! There's one lady there whose husband was a fighter pilot for Hitler. She's from Germany, but doesn't speak German or English to anyone. She just likes to touch you or sleep. What a story that would be if she could only tell it! I have my challenges, but it's going to lead to some enormous possibilities with other facilities and within the one I'm working at. The doctors and nurses are even on board with it and are willing to write prescriptions for it for their patients! Have I mentioned that I absolutely love my work and I am so happy that Raun allows me to do what I love and has been so patient as it keeps growing and growing. I mean, my work doesn't even feel like work....well, that is, until I have to do paperwork!

I'll write more after we hear the heartbeat next Thursday!

10 weeks....

This guy was asleep and we thought it was funny! This picture is for you, Papa!

What a week! I'm not for sure what else to say, except that. I ended up having another sinus issue last week, which was not fun. I've been drinking more orange juice, though, thanks to Raun's mom's suggestion. It seems to be working because it's getting better!

We went to Altanta to see my brother and Molly this weekend. It was a lot of fun. We went to two of our favorite stores, BrandsMart and Ikea (I really wanted my Swedish chocolate and bought Heather's wedding presents). We also went to the Coke Museum, which was pretty neat. We got to see coke being made and filled into glass bottles. At the end of the tour, you get to taste coke products from all around the world. The machines were divided into all the different areas within the country. We liked a lot of African products (but not the north African products) and some Asian. Latin America was pretty good, as well! However, at the end, we had nothing but American coke. Everyone was flocking to that machine to get out the bad taste in their mouths from certain countries! After that, we went to Atlantic Station. It was so neat. It was basically a city within a city. They had stores everywhere and it was so incredibly beautiful. I have never seen anything like it. We ate at the FOX Sports Grill. It was pretty good. We even got a $5 certificate to go back. We topped the night off by going to Cold Stone Creamery. I think that our next trip to Atlanta is going to include the aquarium. It's supposed to be one of the largest in the world. It's huge! I love John living in Atlanta because there's so much to see and do!

Work is going good. God never ceases to amaze me! I had been praying about whether to take on any more clients since I wasn't for sure how long I could work with them when the baby comes, so I haven't called anywhere. However, I had specifically been praying about working with dementia/geriatric patients, but never did anything towards that goal. One morning I checked my email and I had an email from an Alzheimer's facility about 15 miles from our house (still in Chattanooga!) about working with their patients. I was thrilled! So, I'm taking it on because I absolutely love anything dealing with the brain and the neurological part. Alzheimer's is so fascinating to me because music therapy gives them so many times of lucidity and opportunities for their families to share in those moments with them. It's so incredibly rewarding! As long as you get out of the way of the purses they like to swing at you!

My autistic kids are doing well. They are really improving and speaking voluntarily now. They aren't saying huge responses, but I can ask "how are you" in our hello song and they respond with "fine" or "good." It's just awesome experiences to watch them progress so much in such a short time. I am working with a summer camp that is tailored specifically to children with special needs at our gym. I am currently working there with a group now and get a free membership (which is well worth the deal).

We woke up this morning to some really bad storms. We have a lot of limbs down and a nice stream flowing at the bottom of the woods, but nothing bad. It was so sad to see the houses in Memphis and Jackson and to see Union's dorms. Several of my friends had gone there and Ness and I had actually stayed there for some of our Spring Break one year. It was weird to look at all of the damage because tornados always remind me of the tornado that hit Aunt Patricia and Uncle Ray's house. It broke my heart to heart to hear of all the deaths from this storm. I definitely don't take tornados lightly after seeing one and then seeing the damage that comes from it. They're crazy looking! Anyway, enough of that!

The nausea seems to be lessening some. It's still hard to stand up for a long time and I get light-headed quiet a bit when I do stand up for more than 5 minutes without moving. It was hard to stand in line to vote, but I knew I had to do it! Only 2 more weeks until we hear the baby's heartbeat. Time is flying by! It's weird how monthly doctor appointments makes your month disappear so quickly. I kinda want time to slow down a bit so we can get everything done. Our baby's almost developed. All that's left if the details and weight gain! One of our friends have been so great and is taking me to some consignment sales to get more maternity clothes and some of the baby items. I'm excited! We bought our crib a few weeks ago because they only had 5 left. It's a 3-1 bed that grows with them until they are ready for a full-size bed. It's beautiful and I'll post pictures when we actually get it put up, which won't be until the basement is finished out!

Well, gotta get back to work. Have a great day!