Baby Oliver's Nursery

Baby Oliver is already blessed so much. Mainly, with the people in our family that love him/her so much already!! Baby Oliver has a great Daddy, amazing grandparents, sweet aunts and uncles, and many more!! I cannot wait for our baby to be here to meet all these people that are already loving him/her so much!!!

Here's a look at the nursery...of course, you can't see colors and every detail...only 3 more days until the gender is revealed!! But the nursery is well on its way ...Thanks to Andrew, a lot has gotten done in the past few days!! I've definitely been doing as well, but somethings are just better done by him!

starting on the crib

(Thanks Mama & Mr. Eddie)

Andrew taking a rest in the ottoman after assembling the crib

(ottoman/glider set we registered for-found on craiglist for half the price-brand new-score!)

both of our dogs love being under things...when we moved the crib towards the wall, this cutie crawled out

sweet gifts from Aunt Amy

God's Blessings Never Cease to Amaze Me!

My life would not be as amazing as it is without my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I cannot give Him enough thanks or glory for all that He has blessed me with, and I will continue to praise Him because I know He has so much more planned for my life. I cannot list the number of times God has blessed me and my family. Are their times when things seems hard and sometimes bleak and make you want to question? Oh yes, and God knows that we will have those times of doubt, worry, and struggle. However, because of all of His blessings, I just constantly pray that He leads me to trust Him and not worry or question.

In the past 3+ years since being married, we've had so many different events where God has just blessed us beyond our wildest dreams.

Jan. 2010: Andrew started his job
April 18, 2010: First visit to NewSpring and Andrew accepted to follow Christ
April 26, 2010: Got a call back from my interview at BCE and was offered a job
April-May 2010: Found our apartment
June 2010: Our Wedding & Honeymoon
(Oct. 2011)-May 2012: moved into our house (we started the process in Oct on our current home, and it took time, but God's blessings again were never eneding!
May 2013: Announced that we were extending our family and pregnant with our first child
June 2013: Andrew was offered another job, with lots of opportunity for him and us

The moment we give things over to God, He simply blows our mind!! This new opportunity for Andrew could not have come at a more amazing time, since we are expecting our first child. I'd been praying for Andrew and what God wanted him to do for the past few months. I wasn't praying specifically but praying more that God lead him and us in the right path, and I prayed that God would help us to trust Him and His plans, no matter our desires. I also read a dear friend's blog recently (Visit Ashley) where she was expecting her first baby and was so worried how her and her husband would provide for the baby-as this wasn't part of their plan. After reading her whole entry though, I realized I was feeling the same way, even though Andrew and I were planning for a baby, I was starting to feel the pressure of-will we be able to provide all this child needs? and after reading her entry, it hit me, if God has ALWAYS provided for me, why would He bless me with our first baby, another child of His, and not allow us to provide, and ultimately Him providing? He has already blessed our baby with so much!

The answer is, He wouldn't! If He was willing to bless us with this precious life growing inside of me, why would He make us struggle? He wouldn't. We love God, Jesus is our Lord and Savior, and serve Him everyday.  I am soooooooooo thankful for friends and family who will pray with us, that was another thing Ashley mentioned in her blog, praying, praying hard & often, and asking others to pray with you--we did just that!!

I CANNOT wait to see what God has in store for us. I have never been lead astray by following God, and every day and every thing He blesses us with, it just gives me one more testimony of how and why I trust Him COMPLETELY. There is no reason I would doubt Him, even when things are hard, He can truly create blessings no matter what. I hope everyone experiences and knows this kind of peace, comfort, and trust!

1/2 way there=20 weeks

We get to reveal our little baby's gender in 1 week!! 

First Feeling

A trip to the beach was just what we wanted! What could make it better though? Feeling our little baby move? Yes! When laying down on Sunday, June 30th, I noticed one part of my stomach looked a little bigger on one side, it looked like the baby was moved to one side. I said that to Andrew so he put his hand there and a moment later, the baby moved! He was freaking out, so excited! Funny thing, I have not felt the baby move from the outside, and at that moment when the baby moved, I didn't feel it, either, so weird, but I am so glad Andrew was able to feel the baby move. That morning I also felt like all of a sudden I looked bigger, like I was having a baby, lol.

Then today, Wednesday, July 3rd, I've come to find that the first pair of shorts no longer will no longer fasten! 19weeks 4days; we may have hit the mark of no return....might be all maternity clothes from here on out! These belly bands I'm borrowing from Jamie and Jessie are helping some of these pants last longer! I'm very thankful for those and for these girls sharing! 

Our trip to the beach has been fun, but rainy. On day 5, it finally stopped raining and we spent most of the day on the beach! Between sunscreen and the canopy, I kept from getting burnt. While laying out, I kept feeling the baby move, so I decided to put my hand on the place I felt the movement and all of  sudden I felt the baby move....craziest feeling ever! Amazing and can't wait until it's the norm!

Here's a pic of 19 weeks 4 days

a night out at the beach

19 weeks 4 days...these shorts needed a belly band when worn :)

19 weeks

We're almost at the halfway point....crazy to think! 

Baby Oliver is taking his/her first vacation and trip to the beach this week!! 

Super excited to spend time with family and be at the beach. 

Little Flutters & Kicks

Baby Oliver is a very mobile one. Like I mentioned in a previous post, during our ultrasound, Baby Oliver wouldn't quit moving :) I was surprised I wasn't feeling the baby sooner or at the office. Since the appointment, I have felt Baby Oliver lots more. I notice in the morning I feel Baby Oliver, sometimes after I eat, and other times when I lay down. A strange occurrence is when I am sitting with the laptop on my lap, I feel Baby Oliver move more, too. I am excited and it's a magical feeling, what a blessing! Now I'm even more anxious for when others can feel Baby Oliver move, especially Andrew! I hope that happens soon, maybe this week :) I know everyone says don't rush the movement, then the baby moves a lot and keeps you awake, but I am so excited for that movement, too!!

Next time we see Baby Oliver will not be until September. We've had our 3 ultrasounds at the doctor. Our doctor said unless they foresee a problem, then we will not have another ultrasound. So the plan is to have a 3D/4D ultrasound in September, which I cannot wait for!! We have scheduled the appointment, so about 12 weeks until then (our appointment is on 31 weeks). Can't wait!!!! 

Stock Pile

I've been told by 2 friends it's best to stock up on diapers and wipes while pregnant with the baby, so to not have to buy them once baby gets here...great idea, right? So we started. I've really been wanting to start doing stuff like this, because I feel like time is slipping away. Although November feels forever away and being 21 weeks away sounds like forever, it's crazy to think we're almost at the half way point of it all...so we found some good coupons and using some tips from http://www.southernsavers.com/2012/08/stocking-up-on-diapers-how-much-to-buy-at-what-price/ we started our stock pile.

2 packs of Huggies at Wal-Mart for $8.97 each

2 coupons for $3 off a pack of Huggies

equals

$5.97 per pack =11 cents per diaper!!! 

Wipes at Sam's 900 for $16.98 (2 cents per wipe)

They have a sale on the Huggies brand wipes, which actually come out a tad cheaper than 2 cents per wipe, might have to invest in those next Sam's trip. 

We are also recruiting family to print off more coupons for us. I am aware we will get more diapers and wipes at showers, but I like feeling prepared. Now to stock up on sizes 1, 2, 3 and more!!