Peeking out from under the table after using the table legs as a jungle gym. Love this boy!
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Friday, April 05, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
In & Out and A Few More People
This is the second year we've had a team from LeTourneau University in our office for Spring Break Code-a-Thon. It's fun seeing the changes between the two pictures.
So blessed to be able to work with great teams each year!
March 2012
(Note the baby still "in.")
(Note the baby still "in.")
March 2013
Just a few more people... and the baby hanging out on the back instead of the front.
So blessed to be able to work with great teams each year!
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Visiting Missions
Monday, September 10, 2012
First Bubble Tea
Baby J attempted to get his first taste of Bubble Tea while visiting with "Auntie" Cherry and "Uncle" Jason tonight in Seattle.
Baby J doesn't use a straw yet, so Mama got all the tea (and bubbles) instead. But he tried!
Wait, Mama! I want to get my hands on it!
Now how does this work?
Oh, right! Shove this round thing in my mouth just like I see Mama do!
Baby J doesn't use a straw yet, so Mama got all the tea (and bubbles) instead. But he tried!
Ooh! A New Toy!
I was sorting out some things in the van during a stop on our recent road trip. A loaf of bread got dropped onto Baby J's seat while I rearranged food items. I snapped this series of photos...
Ohh... what's this?
Maybe I can pummel it with my foot...
Oh! Squishy! This is fun!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
A Quiet Day
It's late. I know. I should be asleep. But I just had to take time to blog for the first time in a really long time. The house is quiet except for Greg and I on our computers. Mother and Dad G. are asleep in the basement, L is asleep upstairs. Baby J is sleeping too. The conference has ended. LightSys staff have finished team retreat and are heading to their next ministry stops.
And we had a quiet day here for the first time in a long time. Mother and Dad watched Baby J this morning while Mr. A and I slept in. We lounged until noon when we decided to use a gift card and visit Red Lobster. Back to the house for a nap. Afternoon thunder shower. Mother G. made BLTs for supper. Evening hanging out, watching Baby J smile, laundry washing... After working 18+ hours days for the last four weeks, today was a nice rest.
There are more things that need to be done, but it's nice just to have a day to breathe after a marathon schedule. And a nice lunch date. And conversations in the rain. Time to give Baby J a bath and sing Music Machine songs without rushing off to the next to-do item. Ahh....
Meanwhile, prayer is needed for this missions leader who has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. It makes things a whole lot more real when you've met someone personally.
And we had a quiet day here for the first time in a long time. Mother and Dad watched Baby J this morning while Mr. A and I slept in. We lounged until noon when we decided to use a gift card and visit Red Lobster. Back to the house for a nap. Afternoon thunder shower. Mother G. made BLTs for supper. Evening hanging out, watching Baby J smile, laundry washing... After working 18+ hours days for the last four weeks, today was a nice rest.
There are more things that need to be done, but it's nice just to have a day to breathe after a marathon schedule. And a nice lunch date. And conversations in the rain. Time to give Baby J a bath and sing Music Machine songs without rushing off to the next to-do item. Ahh....
Baby J laughing with Grandpa
Meanwhile, prayer is needed for this missions leader who has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. It makes things a whole lot more real when you've met someone personally.
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Pics for the Friends
Okay, friends, here's the pics for those who have been wanting them...
My little friend the Princess and myself at the wonderful baby shower hosted by my church. Yes, I know. You can't really see the bump in this picture. But you can see my adorable princess friend!
And here's the baby bump that afternoon. Forgive the look of concentration. :)
It's 10 days later now. I think I'm bigger. :)
Monday, April 02, 2012
At My Desk
Sporting the John Deere cap gifted by a friend, enjoying my bouncy office chair, and feeling a little pregant! 3 days til due date (and probably a week or two of waiting after that). :)
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Moving Day!
It was moving day! I could go on and on about the wonderful people who have helped us get to this point. Melissa, Joni, Virginia, Josh, and Cecilia who helped me scrub the house. Mom and Dad Gates and L who have spent hours on cleaning, fix-it projects, and packing. Church family who has helped track down help and unloaded our boxes. And other friends (more than I can list) who let us borrow their hand trucks, use their paint sprayers, and organize our kitchen. Friends who let us call them at 9:45 at night to move a 600lb piano, fix our pipes, or share an air compressor. We are so blessed!
More stories than I can tell and more credit than I can give. But I'm exhausted, so a few pictures will have to suffice...
More stories than I can tell and more credit than I can give. But I'm exhausted, so a few pictures will have to suffice...
Tuesday Night. 10:00pm. 10 degrees outside. Snow on the ground. Mr. Amazing. A wonderful dad. Two incredible friends. Unloading a 600 lb piano. Wow.
Sunday afternoon. Signs up for the moving party.
The start of furniture in the baby room.
Lots of boxes to unpack! (And couch cushions that Josiah and Benjamin thought it was fun to jump on!)
Moving friends. (Minus Bob and Patti and Dave R. who had to leave early.) Love the diversity of the group. One friend from GFA. One friend from Sterling. One friend from Taylor. One friend from Atlanta. Two friends from our local life group. All live in our area now. And family! :)
To the bump addicts: too bad I left my jacket on... ;-) But yes, that is my bump, not just jacket pooch.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Today is my Due Date
Today is my baby's due date.
Wait, you say. I'm confused! Didn't you just announce this month? Aren't you due in the spring sometime?
Yes, and yes. But I've had two due dates this year already. And this is part of my story...
It was a year ago November that I got pregnant. We discovered the first week of December, danced excitedly around our little trailer, and eagerly counted down the days until we could announce. After a flawless prenatal visit at 8 1/2 wks, we announced to our families at Christmas.
12 wks arrived and I was still happily pregnant. My pants were getting snug and I had the usual symptoms. We were on the road, traveling to college missions weeks and daydreaming about how we would announce the news on facebook. :)
It would be nice if we could hear the heartbeat before we announce, we thought. But we were 1,000 miles away from our doctor and not due back in KS for another three weeks. A few phone calls later netted a Crisis Pregnancy Center near our host home that was willing to do a quick ultrasound (u/s) for us. YAY!
When the tech started the u/s, a small, fuzzy dot appeared on the screen. I was puzzled -- That's not what the baby should look like! The tech asked how far along we were.
"12 weeks," I replied.
"No, I'm seeing a 6wk baby. Your dates are probably off."
The tech thought she could see a heartbeat, but we couldn't see it. We left the office, shattered and confused. What was really happening? If we were really off on our dates, that would mean I wasn't pregnant yet at our first prenatal apt and we knew that wasn't true.
The next morning, my pregnancy symptoms were abruptly gone. The day after that, I started bleeding. We traveled on to our next destination (another college missions week). Two days into the stay at our new host home, I miscarried. That evening, I had the opportunity to share with a group of college students about God's faithfulness even when our dreams come crashing down around us. I blogged that night, although no one would have known from the blog post that a very personal dream had just crashed down around me.
Our doctor called it a "missed miscarriage." The baby had stopped growing, but the body hadn't gotten the message and continued to give me pregnancy symptoms for weeks. We buried the tissue in my parents' garden, near where my mother's miscarried boy had been buried 20+ years ago.
Weeks passed. We finished our road trip, packed up our KS home, and moved to Colorado in March. A week after our move, we found out I was pregnant again.
This time, we held our silence - not even telling our families. The weeks crept by as we waited to see what would happen. I was scared to bond with this unborn child. Afraid even to pray for her after I had prayed with such fervency and faith for the last one. Angry with God for having taken the last baby. Anxious in the waiting. (Yes, the baby was the "project" referred to in the post.) Gradually, my heart opened to love this little life and we began to get excited.
10 wks arrived. We met with a midwife who offered to check for the baby's heartbeat for us. But before we could do that, I discovered I was bleeding. The u/s showed a familiar sight--a 6wk old fetus. Not 10wks. 6wks. No heartbeat and the miscarriage was starting.
I miscarried on Mother's Day and wrote this post.
A co-worker thoughtfully assembled a cross for us. We buried the tissue in a mountainous area and set aside a weekend to grieve our two little buds that would never fully bloom.
The journey continued. We wondered if we would ever have a little one to hold in our arms. My finger traced the pregnant stomach of the Willow Tree "Cherish" figurine in gift stores and my heart ached, despairing that it would ever be me. We researched and waited, hoping (and fearing) each month that I would be pregnant again.
Sure enough, a couple months later, we had yet a third positive pregnancy test. I cried. I wasn't sure I could walk this path again. We immediately told our families so they could be praying. This time, I was determined to love the baby from the beginning. After all, I didn't know how many days I was going to have with the baby. Our local midwife and KS doctor worked together to get me extra progesterone during the early weeks of pregnancy in case that was the problem. But still, I worried. I struggled with issues of WHY, faith, belief, answers to prayer, and God's love for me.
At 8 1/2 weeks, we stopped by the midwife's office for a quick u/s. With bated breath, we watched as the picture began to show up on the screen. There was a baby. But it was bigger than the previous two u/s pictures. And it moved. And it had a heartbeat. And I cried for joy.
We knew we weren't out of the woods. But a 10wk visit with the midwife brought the sweet sound of a baby's healthy heartbeat. We traveled off to Seattle for a month and stopped by the midwife's office again as soon as we were back.
14wks. And there was the healthy heartbeat - still there!
Now we're 21wks and the baby is busy kicking. How I cherish that feeling, that reassurance that my baby is still alive. My tummy is growing and I'm wearing maternity clothes. And I'm still in awe that (Lord willing) we may really get to keep this baby.
But I am learning much from this journey. I'm learning about the pain that couples go through as they suffer miscarriage, late-term loss, or early infant loss. I'm learning about the roller coaster of hope and devastation that couples struggling with infertility experience. I'm learning that it's okay to grieve, even when the grieving is for someone that you've never met. I'm learning about faith, strength, hope, and belief.
I'm learning that God is good. It's not my circumstances or prayers-that-work-out-the-way-I-want-them-to that makes God good. It is God's character. God makes God good. And nothing I do or experience or question will change that.
So yes, Baby #2 was due today. And I miss her. Just like I miss Baby #1.
But this is not a mourning post. Perhaps in a sense, but it's more the telling of a story. The story of our journey. A story to open your eyes to other people's journeys. A story to encourage others who are going through a miscarriage. A story to reach out to those "happy young couples" who are silently struggling with infertility. A story to say, "I know a small piece of your pain." A story to remind you, my reader, to cherish the moments you have with your family, your friends, your little ones. Whether our loved ones are born or unborn, tomorrow is not promised.
But finally, this is a post to say: I know that my Redeemer lives. I wrote this post in the middle of miscarrying Baby #2 and how true it is. Despite the pain, the times I don't understand, and the times I don't know how or what to believe, I know that my God reigns. I know He works all things for His glory. I know He brings life to all situations. And how thankful I am for that promise of life.
Wait, you say. I'm confused! Didn't you just announce this month? Aren't you due in the spring sometime?
Yes, and yes. But I've had two due dates this year already. And this is part of my story...
It was a year ago November that I got pregnant. We discovered the first week of December, danced excitedly around our little trailer, and eagerly counted down the days until we could announce. After a flawless prenatal visit at 8 1/2 wks, we announced to our families at Christmas.
12 wks arrived and I was still happily pregnant. My pants were getting snug and I had the usual symptoms. We were on the road, traveling to college missions weeks and daydreaming about how we would announce the news on facebook. :)
It would be nice if we could hear the heartbeat before we announce, we thought. But we were 1,000 miles away from our doctor and not due back in KS for another three weeks. A few phone calls later netted a Crisis Pregnancy Center near our host home that was willing to do a quick ultrasound (u/s) for us. YAY!
When the tech started the u/s, a small, fuzzy dot appeared on the screen. I was puzzled -- That's not what the baby should look like! The tech asked how far along we were.
"12 weeks," I replied.
"No, I'm seeing a 6wk baby. Your dates are probably off."
The tech thought she could see a heartbeat, but we couldn't see it. We left the office, shattered and confused. What was really happening? If we were really off on our dates, that would mean I wasn't pregnant yet at our first prenatal apt and we knew that wasn't true.
The next morning, my pregnancy symptoms were abruptly gone. The day after that, I started bleeding. We traveled on to our next destination (another college missions week). Two days into the stay at our new host home, I miscarried. That evening, I had the opportunity to share with a group of college students about God's faithfulness even when our dreams come crashing down around us. I blogged that night, although no one would have known from the blog post that a very personal dream had just crashed down around me.
Our doctor called it a "missed miscarriage." The baby had stopped growing, but the body hadn't gotten the message and continued to give me pregnancy symptoms for weeks. We buried the tissue in my parents' garden, near where my mother's miscarried boy had been buried 20+ years ago.
Weeks passed. We finished our road trip, packed up our KS home, and moved to Colorado in March. A week after our move, we found out I was pregnant again.
This time, we held our silence - not even telling our families. The weeks crept by as we waited to see what would happen. I was scared to bond with this unborn child. Afraid even to pray for her after I had prayed with such fervency and faith for the last one. Angry with God for having taken the last baby. Anxious in the waiting. (Yes, the baby was the "project" referred to in the post.) Gradually, my heart opened to love this little life and we began to get excited.
10 wks arrived. We met with a midwife who offered to check for the baby's heartbeat for us. But before we could do that, I discovered I was bleeding. The u/s showed a familiar sight--a 6wk old fetus. Not 10wks. 6wks. No heartbeat and the miscarriage was starting.
I miscarried on Mother's Day and wrote this post.
A co-worker thoughtfully assembled a cross for us. We buried the tissue in a mountainous area and set aside a weekend to grieve our two little buds that would never fully bloom.
The journey continued. We wondered if we would ever have a little one to hold in our arms. My finger traced the pregnant stomach of the Willow Tree "Cherish" figurine in gift stores and my heart ached, despairing that it would ever be me. We researched and waited, hoping (and fearing) each month that I would be pregnant again.
Sure enough, a couple months later, we had yet a third positive pregnancy test. I cried. I wasn't sure I could walk this path again. We immediately told our families so they could be praying. This time, I was determined to love the baby from the beginning. After all, I didn't know how many days I was going to have with the baby. Our local midwife and KS doctor worked together to get me extra progesterone during the early weeks of pregnancy in case that was the problem. But still, I worried. I struggled with issues of WHY, faith, belief, answers to prayer, and God's love for me.
At 8 1/2 weeks, we stopped by the midwife's office for a quick u/s. With bated breath, we watched as the picture began to show up on the screen. There was a baby. But it was bigger than the previous two u/s pictures. And it moved. And it had a heartbeat. And I cried for joy.
We knew we weren't out of the woods. But a 10wk visit with the midwife brought the sweet sound of a baby's healthy heartbeat. We traveled off to Seattle for a month and stopped by the midwife's office again as soon as we were back.
14wks. And there was the healthy heartbeat - still there!
Now we're 21wks and the baby is busy kicking. How I cherish that feeling, that reassurance that my baby is still alive. My tummy is growing and I'm wearing maternity clothes. And I'm still in awe that (Lord willing) we may really get to keep this baby.
But I am learning much from this journey. I'm learning about the pain that couples go through as they suffer miscarriage, late-term loss, or early infant loss. I'm learning about the roller coaster of hope and devastation that couples struggling with infertility experience. I'm learning that it's okay to grieve, even when the grieving is for someone that you've never met. I'm learning about faith, strength, hope, and belief.
I'm learning that God is good. It's not my circumstances or prayers-that-work-out-the-way-I-want-them-to that makes God good. It is God's character. God makes God good. And nothing I do or experience or question will change that.
So yes, Baby #2 was due today. And I miss her. Just like I miss Baby #1.
But this is not a mourning post. Perhaps in a sense, but it's more the telling of a story. The story of our journey. A story to open your eyes to other people's journeys. A story to encourage others who are going through a miscarriage. A story to reach out to those "happy young couples" who are silently struggling with infertility. A story to say, "I know a small piece of your pain." A story to remind you, my reader, to cherish the moments you have with your family, your friends, your little ones. Whether our loved ones are born or unborn, tomorrow is not promised.
But finally, this is a post to say: I know that my Redeemer lives. I wrote this post in the middle of miscarrying Baby #2 and how true it is. Despite the pain, the times I don't understand, and the times I don't know how or what to believe, I know that my God reigns. I know He works all things for His glory. I know He brings life to all situations. And how thankful I am for that promise of life.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Trips, Friends, and Weddings
Another road trip! This time from Colorado to Indiana to Michigan to Indiana to St. Louis to Colorado. But we're still on the "Indiana" part of the trip. We'll leave for St. Louis tomorrow. The purpose of the trip: share about Missions IT opportunities with students at Taylor University and at Calvin College and then attend a friend's wedding.
In between busy schedules, we got our newsletters sent out with the news to "Celebrate!"
We missed pictures of our time at Taylor U. with the students. :(
We did get to see friends and supporters while we were en route to Michigan.
Friends that we played air hockey with. My worthy opponent scored the game ending goal!
And... friends put us up at the Essenhaus Inn for our 2nd Anniversary. It was delightful!
The quilt and handicraft shops were (genuine) old farm buildings.
And you could go up inside the silo!
And look out the top!
On the nearby streets, there was lots of traffic - both 4 wheeled and 4 legged!
Then up to Calvin College to talk to students there!
Then back to Indiana for a wedding!
Us and the bride and groom!
Us and the bride and groom!
And with good friends (eh?)
And finally, just for you, dear readers, the only picture that comes anywhere close to showing the tiny bit of a baby bump that (if you can imagine really well) I might have...
Tomorrow - HOME! Well, at least heading that general direction. :)
Thursday, November 10, 2011
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