Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The belly grows....

So much to catch up on. I'm nearing the end of my second trimester and have been feeling great! I started "nesting" early in anticipation of an uncomfortable last couple months and that has kept me away from blogging more than I anticipated. But more on that in a later post.

First things first. My sister Elizabeth did an amazing maternity shoot for me today and I couldn't wait to share. I'll be 7 months in just a couple of days. As you can see, the baby continues to grow nicely.

Next up ~ Madeline. She did get her cast off, after Easter. They could not determine if there was a fracture in the growth plate, and after 3 rounds of not-so-successful xrays, we decided to just take the splint off and see how she did. She's regained all motion, so we are hopeful that she is healed. We did get some cute Easter pictures, thanks again to Elizabeth, although she still wasn't too happy with her arm at that point.

Also, I am happy to announce we are now "pacifier-free!" I will admit, bedtime is not as self-motivated as before, but it is one more thing I can check off my list before the new baby arrives. Thanks to Super Nanny, we went with the reward system: mail all your pacifiers to the Paci Fairy so she can share them with other little babies, and the next morning a big girl present will arrive in its place. I was going to tell her this a few times in preparation, but the first night she started asking for an "enbelope" to mail her pacis. I scrambled to get a decent big girl present together by the next morning (some new bedtime water cups, a new bedtime blanket I sewed that night, and some dressup stuff) and that was that. She will tell anyone, she is a big girl now!


And last but not least, thank you for all your prayers for Crystal and her kids. They continue to struggle to find their new normal without a husband and daddy. From the outside, I can see that Crystal is doing a great job at continuing to keep things running, but understandably she feels overwhelmed at different times. We missed Mike's laughter at our Memorial Day swim and Bbq. We miss him during basketball playoffs. We miss him when we see his girls and all their energy. I can't imagine how many times a day she misses him.

God has been faithful during this time. We all feel His presence and see Him at work in their situation. It doesn't take away the seeming senselessness of it all, but it does bring real comfort. Specifically, please pray that we will continue to be sensitive to Crystal's needs and obedient to respond. And also, just practically, for her to be able to get some good sleep at night. Her kids have been waking her up 3 to 4 times a night, and as Moms we know it's hard enough to function normally, much less on very sporadic sleep.

I know this post has been all over the place, thanks for sticking with me. Hopefully, I'll be back sooner than later.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness... you look amazing! Your picture of you and your two daughters - priceless! :) Thank you for sharing. I pray you continue to get the rest you need for number three.
Cindy

Melanie said...

Hi, Rebecca! So good to hear from you and know all is going well. The pictures are just GREAT!

Amy W said...

Your maternity pics are AWESOME! I was such a stranger to the camera while I was pregnant - I'm not sure why, but I definitely regret it. Glad to hear you are doing well. :)

Amanda Hoyt said...

Hi Rebecca,
I'm so glad to hear from you!
You look absolutely beautiful!
Many hugs and prayers,
Amanda

Jennifer Nordin, LMT, CPT said...

You look beautiful! :) I have an award for you on my blog, BTW.
Thoughts and prayers, Jen

Jenileigh said...

Gorgeous pictures, you are SO beautiful! Good to see all is well.

Blessed Among Women said...

You look so cute,Rebecca!!!! I can't believe you're almost ready to have your little one! I am 5 1/2 months as of now and we are having a boy! Everything has been good,I'm just so busy at home with my husband and Daniel. I'm glad your little girls are doing good and they are so beautiful,just like their Momma.

Carol said...

You look beautiful!!! I guess you are getting close by now. Thanks for your comment at the Cafe. Sometimes when I'm feeling my worst, I make myself pick out a kickin' outfit and it just makes me grin. I'm hoping I can hang in there these last nine weeks. Phew. Only by His strength...

God bless! :) Carol