EASTER 2007

In my family, any holiday is a great excuse to get together and have a little fun. Easter is no exception. So yesterday Josh, Beckham and I packed up and headed over to my sister's house. My favorite part about these times is I get to play photographer and take pictures of my favorite kiddos. As I have said before. I LOVE being an aunt!! My nieces and nephews are precious to me! So of course I have to share them with everyone. And yes, there are a few of Beckham in there as well!!

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Here's the latest video of Beckham. Look how much he's grown!!!

Memory Lane....

I was just looking back at some pictures of the day Beckham was born. I find myself doing this quite often. He's just growing so quickly!!! Somedays I feel like time is on fast forward. Especially since I only have 1 more week of work left. I don't want to seem like I am not grateful for my time, I truly am! But it has gone by way too fast. I am not ready to venture back to the daily routine of work yet. I have so enjoyed just being Beckham's mom, that I am not ready to be a dental hygienist again! I still pray that Josh can one day find a job that allows me to stay home. But until then, we are still extremely blessed!

Friday, December 29, 2006

UPDATE....

The acclaimed Ferber sleep method lasted a total of...TA DA...45 minutes! Yes I caved! I went in and picked him up after 45 minutes because I just couldn't take it anymore. So what's next? I have NO idea. Last night he had one of his worst nights yet. I think I may have traumatized him by Ferberizing him! He didn't want to be anywhere but in my arms. As soon as I picked him up, he was fine. I'm afraid and am creating a MONSTER!! A cute monster, but none the less, a monster!

So for all of you moms in Blogland, PLEASE tell me what you did that worked! I need some advice!

DR. FERBUR.....I DO NOT LIKE YOU!!!!

Ok, so Beckham is not the greatest sleeper. I have known this for quite some time now, but have chosen to ignore it because I have been on maternity leave. Well, maternity leave is coming to a halt in 2 weeks (I am SO sad!!!), and I have got to get this precious child of mine in some sort of sleep routine, otherwise, I will be walking zombie at work. And that's not a good thing when you deal with sharp metal instruments in people's mouths.

So the method that is suppose to work is the Ferbur method. Dr. Ferbur method is this in a nutshell:

1. You place the baby in his crib when he's tired, but still awake.
2. You kiss him, tell him you love him and goodnight, then leave the room.
3. He will cry, but wait 5 minutes before going back in the room. Then go in, tell him you love him, and say goodnight. 60 seconds or less.
4. The baby will cry even more!! This time you wait 10 minutes and then repeat the same routine.
5. Continue this in increasing 5 minute increments until the baby has fallen asleep. And each time the baby cries louder, and louder and louder!!
6. This is suppose to go on every night for up to 4 nights. Supposedly by the 4th night, he's got the routine down, and goes to sleep all on his own.

Sounds easy right? UH UH!!! There is just something in this new mom that so desperately wants to go pick up her son, love on him, and let him fall asleep in her arms. I mean, that's what a mom does right? We nurture, we love, we calm, we kiss boo boos, etc... I know that in the long run, I am doing us both a favor. He will learn how to fall asleep on his own and self-soothe, and I will ultimately get good sleep for the first time in 3 months! I know this in my head, but it sure does make my heart hurt to hear those screams. And I feel like I am lying to him every time I go in there, tease him with a little love, then leave abruptly just to hear him scream and cry louder. Dr. Ferbur has obviously never been a mom!

So, I am trying this method, but I am hating EVERY minute of it! We'll see how long it lasts...

Since the last one went so well....here's one more. Thanks Uncle Nick and Aunt Jesse for my Mavs gear!

It's Video Time!!!

Since Uncle Sam was so generous to actually give us some of our money back this year, we decided to buy a camcorder to record all of Beckham's cuteness! He's beginning to get more animated these days, so here is our first adventure into the video sharing world....hope this works!

Here are the latest pics! He's getting SO big!! He holds his head up for longer periods of time now, he's awake for longer periods, and he's officially out grown newborn diapers! He needs to slow down a little for Mama's sake!!

KYLE OGLE....

Kyle is the son of the Dr. I work for. Many of you have heard me talk about Kyle, and ask for prayers for him. About 10 years ago he was diagnosed with rare form of cancer called Synovial Cell Sarcoma. Since then, he has fought hard and put all of his faith the Lord to heal him.

He's had some rough times lately, but I wanted to share his recent entry on his blog. He's an amazing man with an amazing story. You can access his blog thru a link off of mine. Take a look at his family pics!


This is Kyle posting – I gave Darla the night off. We got really good news today – the tumors did not grow (and just might be a tad smaller)! Stable disease is a good thing – especially when it has been on a war path as of late. We are really on cloud nine! We will be sticking to the same regimen - I got more poison today (round 3 began). It is so humbling to have so many people praying and thinking of us. I am selfish, so please do not stop!
So many of you wonder and ask why would I keep this up? Why keep fighting? Why go through all this? Why the silly grin attitude? Am I sick in the head, too?
The reason I fight is in the pictures attached to this website. I have three unbelievable reasons. Hey, I gave my right arm for them! I will never give up. My job while I am here is to take care of them. Until God tells me different, this is where He wants me. I will run this race with everything I have, all the way to the finish line. But when I do break that tape, I will burst forth on the other side victorious.
I am going to drop a bomb on everyone here, you have been warned. Bad things are going to happen to you in this life. You will have troubles, and it won’t always be easy. And you know what really stinks - nobody gets out of this alive. Every one of us is “circling the drain”.
How can a guy that has lived so close to death for so long always have a smile like the cat that ate the canary? Do I like pain, suffering, and watching my family suffer through this with me? I have been given a gift, at a young age I had to come face to face with my mortality. What an incredibly humbling feeling, but what freedom. Life is a terminal illness. We all have it, and we all have to deal with it.
The second bomb is coming now, beware. People always make the statement, “Why do bad things happen to “good” people? It is just not fair.” I have news for you, there are no good people and the fair is a place where you eat cotton candy and go on cheap rides. We all can put on a good act, but when it is just you looking in the mirror, are you really ready to say that you are good people? Have you done enough?
I hope that my life and the way that I live is an example of my commitment to Christ, but I know even on my best day I am a sinner. The wages for these sins is death. Not just of this world but eternal separation from a loving God, who by His nature is JUST and must punish sin. The bad news/good news is that there is absolutely nothing that I can do to wash these sins away. I cannot earn my way to heaven. I have looked in that mirror a lot over the last ten years, and although I have seen a lot of changes, there is absolutely no way I am ready to put my faith in the guy looking back at me. I know his past. Nothing, Nothing, Nothing I can do will make these sins go away. So what is the sacrifice that will pay for these sins? Did God provide a way out?
Who is good enough without His grace? Was David? Was Moses? God said no. Hey, if these guys, biblical heroes, are not good enough, how am I going to pull it off?
There is only one man, one person who lived a perfect, sin free life. Jesus Christ, The Lamb, is the only man who qualifies. Nothing you can do, except ask Him to save you from your sins will do. His life is the only acceptable payment for our sins. The greatest gift God could give. True, free grace. So that none of us can boast of our own greatness. We have to hit our knees, come to terms with our depravity and need for His grace. We are just dogs begging for scraps, dead in our sin. I came to this point at seventeen, kicking and screaming the whole way! God opened my eyes, woke me from spiritual death, and I gave my life to Christ. I did nothing to earn it, it was His grace. Free to everyone.
We all know that we are going to die. So we all have a decision to make. Are we going to put our faith in our own sacrifices or His? You have to make a decision on Christ. Yes or No?
As for me, I think I will put my money on the guy that healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the thousands, walked on water, and most importantly….
walked out of His grave three days after His death on the cross.
“He’s alive and I’m FORGIVEN!”

RANDOM PICTURES.....



BUDDY LOVED THE SNOW TODAY!!



MORE PICTURES OF BECKHAM!!

I'VE BEEN AT IT AGAIN! I LOVE TAKING PICTURES OF BECKHAM! HERE A FEW THAT I TOOK. SO CUTE!!

SWEET BABY OF MINE!!

He's such a little blessing! I absolutely adore him! Even though I don't get very much sleep these days, I am confined to the house for another 5 weeks, and my body will never be the same again...I DON'T CARE!!! He is completely and totally worth it! I mean, look at him...have you ever seen a more precious baby? I apologize to all of you who hate "baby blogs" but I can't help but share my joy with everyone.

These days he is growing so big. He's over 7lbs now, I'm sure, and he's awake more often for longer periods of time. He lifts his head up for a few seconds at a time and turns to look at who's talking to him. He loves for you to sing to him. He looks at himself in his little mirror (thank you Uncle Darrell and Aunt Beth!), and he changes everyday. One day he'll be the spitting image of his daddy and the next he looks just like my baby picture.

Sometimes I can't believe how blessed we are to have this precious baby with us. He has certainly changed our lives!

Are my boys cute or what??? As many of you know, Josh is a huge Florida Gator fan, and they just won the National Championship last night. So we celebrated by putting Beckham in his "Little Gator" shirt. So precious!

BECKHAM JEFFREY FARIS

He's here!! Beckham was born on December 29, 2006. He weighed 6lbs 1 oz. and was 18 1/2 inches long. I think he's absolutely perfect!! But that 's just this mom's opinion.

Things have been a little crazy around here, needless to say. I mean, you think you have in your head at least a little bit of what to expect with a new born, but I truly had no idea! I apologize to all of those people that I rolled my eyes at when they said to get sleep before the baby comes. Because let me tell ya....I should have listened. And to all of those people who said it would change my life....Amen! It has! But it has all been worth it! He's just the most precious little boy!

I will try to post later with more updates and pics. We are still adjusting to our new routine around here....or should I say just trying to establish a routine around here. Unfortunately, blogging hasn't been penciled in the schedule just yet.

THE TRIFECTA!!

I have always heard things come in three's. Good or bad, it seems that things in life often happen in three's. I can' t explain this phenomenon, but I can confirm it this week.

Over all, I can't complain much about my pregnancy. I haven't been terribly uncomfortable, I have been able to sleep most nights, and PRAISE THE LORD, Beckham has been healthy by all measurements and tests. But the Trifecta rule has come true again!

When we first found out we were pregnant, the Dr. did some blood work and found out I have B- blood. It isn't any really big deal, it just means I had to have a shot a few weeks ago, and I'll need another one at delivery. But only about 15-18% of the population have this. Weird thing #1. Then we found out about the 2 vessels in the umbilical cord. Again, nothing too serious, but only about 20 % of the population has this. And I have NONE of the risk factors for it. Weird thing #2. Well, yesterday we found out I now have Preeclampsia!! Weird thing # 3!!! And only about 5-8% of the population has this!

Preeclampsia is a series of symptoms that are more hazardous for the mother than for the baby. Symptoms can be high blood pressure, protein in the urine (sorry to be a little gross), pain the the upper tummy area, blurred vision, swelling, and the list goes on. At my appt. on Monday, my blood pressure looked good, as usual, but I had a little protein in my urine. So they made "collect" my urine for 24 hours! YUCK! She also wanted me to take my blood pressure twice a day to keep an eye on it. And yesterday we got the results back. Evidently, the protein levels were pretty high. My blood pressure this week has been a little elevated but not high. And I have complained about a "pain" in my upper tummy for a couple of weeks. I just thought it was stretching!

So all that means....I am on bed rest for the next 4 days until I see my Dr. again on Monday! UGH!! Doesn't my body know it's Christmas and I still have shopping to do? Doesn't it know I had 2 Christmas parties to go to this weekend? Doesn't it know I still have 3 days to work until we are off for Christmas? My house isn't immaculate. My carpets aren't cleaned. I don't have time for bed rest!! I thought I had a couple more weeks!!! So I am now praying that since my symptoms are so mild, I will be able to limit my activity and work next week, just not over do it! Something in my gut tells me that won't be the case.

The only "cure" for preeclampsia is delivery. So, in theory, I guess we could have this baby at anytime. I hope my Dr. will hold me off until after Christmas. Anytime after that, I am totally cool with! But, we are "prepared" as we will ever be. I mean physically prepared. I don't know that we will ever be mentally and emotionally prepared for parenthood, even when Beckham is 20! But the nursery is done, our bags are packed, the car seat is purchased....prepared. So why am I so nervous??

IMPATIENT!!!

Ok, anyone who knows me really well, knows that I am not a very patient person. Josh can rarely surprise me without me bugging him to tell me what the surprise is. I use to set my everyone in my family's alarm clocks for 5:30am on Christmas morning. And the list could go on and on.

So... This waiting for this baby to be born is killing me!!!! Is that sad? I can't even be patient in pregnancy!! And it's not like I didn't know EXACTLY how long this whole process would take before I got pregnant. I mean, it's no secret! But I am SOOOOO very ready for Beckham to here! I want to meet him! I want to know who he looks like, how big he's going to be, what color hair, if any, he has..... And I am not very comfortable these days either. I really shouldn't complain. By all measures, I have had a pretty easy pregnancy. But I have reached the uncomfortable stage for sure! My feet hurt, my hands hurt, my back REALLY hurts! I have to tinkle a lot, the heartburn is terrible, and on and on and on..... So needless to say, I am very ready for this little journey to be over! And I still have 5 more weeks to go!! UGH!!!

Enough complaining! Beckham is still looking really good by all the tests. At the last sono he was 4lbs 6 oz! BIG BOY!! The dr. said if I carry to term, he should be 7-8 lbs. I am still hoping to deliver a little early. I ask the Lord daily for that! The week between Christmas and New Year's would be great!!! My family will all be in town that week, so it would be really convenient for us, but we don't really have much say in the matter at this point. The Lord and Beckham are running the show!

FINALLY FINISHED!!!

As many of you know, we, or should I say, Josh, has been working a long time on finishing the nursery. Well, we are, for the most part, finished!!! Aside from a few little "touch ups" that need to be done, it looks great!!! I love it!!! We still need to get few things to hang on the walls, but I am saving a lot of that space for photos after he is born.

Here are a few before pics:

And here are the AFTERS!!!

Isn't it cute!!! I love my sweet husband for working so hard!!

As far as the pregnancy goes....

All is well. I am still going in every week for the NST's (Non-stress Tests), and Monday I have my next ultrasound. I am anxious to see how big he is now. Last time he was 2lbs 12 oz. He will probably be 31/2 - 4 lbs this time!! It's crazy! I can't believe it is getting so close! Only about 6 weeks left.

Well, I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving this week. Christmas is just around the corner, and then a brand new year. Anyone making resolutions yet?

My favorite kids!

One of my favorite things in life is being an aunt. I absolutely love it!! So I thought I would share some pictures of my nieces and nephews.

This is Cal. He's 6 1/2 and in the first grade. He is one of the sweetest kids you'll ever meet. He's a little shy when you first meet him, but before you know, he's up in your lap telling you a story. He says his favorite subject in school is math! (He's doesn't get that from me!)

One of my favorite stories about Cal is when he was probably 2 or 3 and he was riding in the back seat of my car singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." When he was finished I said "Cal, do you know 'Jesus Loves Me?' " And he so innocently said "Jesus loves me too!!" Too cute!

This is Cameryn. She is 4 1/2 and she is in Pre-k. Oh my goodness, this child makes me laugh. She also is little shy, but boy once she starts talking....

My favorite story about Cameryn was when she was 3. I had spent the night at my brother and sis-n-law's house and was getting dressed in the bedroom. Well, Cameryn came in (with out knocking) and I had all of my clothes laying in the bed. Well, she pointed to one of my "feminine" articles of clothing and said "What's dat?" (she had a little speech problem) I, thinking I shouldn't expose her to anything too young (silly me) said "That's something girls wear when they get big, like Aunt GiGi. She looked up at me and very matter of factly said "Oh, it looked like a bra!" Too funny!

This is Cannon! He's 3 and he is the youngest of my brother's clan. That smile he has on his face rarely ever leaves. I have hardly ever seen him upset. He's just such a joy. He was the "unexpected" child, and I can honestly say, life would not be the same with out Cannon. Everyone who knows him, absolutely LOVES him! He just has that effect on people. He's too precious!!

This sweet little face belongs to Marin. She is my oldest sister's only child. She was adopted when she was 14 months old from Guatemala. What joy she has brought our whole family! She is 3 1/2 now (she and Cameryn share the same b-day) and you would never know it by the way she talks. I always say she's 3 going on 13! She is quite the little diva!

Recently we were at my step-dad's birthday party and I was asking her if she had learned any songs at school. She said yes so I asked if she would sing me one. She looked right at me and said "No, I don't want to, but maybe later, I'll do a little acting for you!" Acting? How does a 3 year old know what acting is?? Well, let me tell you, this one does. "Acting" to Marin means to act out her favorite scenes from her favorite movies. And I mean with every hand gesture, every voice inflection, every word verbatim! It's too cute! My sister better put her on a stage...soon!!

I have 2 older ones in Tennessee. I am so sad I don't have any pictures of them! The oldest is Zachary and he's 14...soon to be 15 in Jan! I can't believe I am old enough to have a 15 year old nephew! Zach is a great kid. He was always such a handsome boy (you could see that if I was a good aunt and had a picture of him). He's in the 8th grade now, and he's trying out this week for the Basketball team. I haven't heard yet if he made it or not. Zach was the first grandchild, so we all pretty much spoiled him! I remember holding him for the first time. Makes me a little teary-eyed just thinking about it!

Zach's sister is Shelby. She's 10, almost 11 in Jan. She's hysterical! She always makes laugh. She and my sister are pretty much inseparable. She's definitely hit the "tween" age, too. Very girly! She also plays basketball. I think she and Zach keep my sister pretty busy!

Well, I just thought I would share a little bit about some of my favorite people ever! I love these kids SO much. It's hard to believe that in a few weeks, I'll have one of my own. Thanks for indulging a proud aunt!

ALL IS WELL....

Not much to report. I had another Dr. appt on Mon. It was the one I have been dreading. We did the glucose intolerance test, I got my Rhogam injection, and we did a sonogram. Well, the glucose thing wasn't bad AT ALL!! Praise the Lord! Because I heard it was terrible. It just tasted like an orange soda to me. Then I got to do the sono. He's definitely growing! He's 2lbs. 12 oz!!! I couldn't believe it! He still hasn't turned head-down yet, but the Dr. said that could happen anytime now. By 32 weeks, he should be there. ( I am 29 weeks tomorrow) We have scheduled our c-section date. If I carry him all the way to that day, I will deliver January 9 at 12:00. That's kinda cool because it's my best friend, Cara's, birthday, too. Happy Birthday, Cara!!

I start seeing my Dr. every week now. Each visit will consist of a NST-a non-stress test. That just means they hook me up to a fetal monitor and make sure he's not in distress. He's showing NO signs of that so far, and we are praying he just continues to be content and happy in there as long as he can. I am extremely anxious to meet him, but not for another few weeks! I get another sono after Thanksgiving. FUN! I love seeing how he's growing.

Speaking of Thanksgiving...I can't believe it's only 3 weeks away! Before we know it, we'll be ringing in 2007!

Here's the latest sono pic. It's hard to tell, but the first one is of his little face. Turn your head side-ways and see if you can see it!

There are 76 days until my due date on January 18, 2007. Only 67 until my c-section date!! (1/9/07)

I am 204 days pregnant.

I am 6.7 months pregnant.

I am in my 7th month of pregnancy.

LONG OVERDUE UPDATE...

Honestly, there isn't too much to tell. Things in the Faris house have been pretty routine. We have finally started working on Beckham's room. Josh is painting, I am helping where I can. Everyone tells me not to paint due to the fumes, so I am complying with that...even though I really want to help. We have alot left to do, but I really think it is going to be SUPER cute when it's all finished. We have changed the bedding from what I posted a while back. It's still a sports theme, but we liked the colors better on the new stuff. I will post pics when it is all painted and put together.

I had a doctor's appt twice this week. Yes, I am a paranoid first-time mom, and ran to the doctor for no reason this week. Although, they reassured I can never be too careful, and that I wasn't the only one who had been there for the same reason. Beckham moves constantly!! Well, Tuesday I didn't feel him move hardly at all. Like, for 2-3 hours! He perked up a little that night, but not like he usually does. Then Wednesday morning, he was the same way. So I called my Dr. and they said to come in. So, I get there, and of course...I sit down in the waiting room, and Beckham decides it's play-time! I couldn't believe it! He was squirming all around! So I went ahead and let them check everything. I felt like a big dummy though! As for the second appt...I had my regular visit with my Dr. She confirmed everything looked fine. From here on out, I start seeing them every 2 weeks and I get an ultrasound every 4 weeks. CRAZY!! It feels like it's getting really close! My next appt will be a yucky one. I have to do my glucose test, and form what everyone tells me, it's really bad. They make you drink this really sweet orange drink, then draw blood an hour later. Sounds fun, huh? Then I also have to have my Rogham shots (for the B- blood thing). More fun. But the good thing is I get to have another ultrasound and see how big he's getting! That's kinda the whole reason for them. This thing with the 2 vessel umbilical cord can cause him to stop growing at any time, so we will be measuring him regularly to make sure that's not happening.

So, all that to say, we are all well here. Josh got to spend a few hours in Chicago this week. He's gearing up for his big trade show in February. They are doing some fun, new stuff on their booth this year, so he's actually enjoying work a little more right now. Praise the Lord!! It is going to keep him a little busier, but in a good way!

Can you believe the holidays are so close??? Halloween is almost here and it always seem like the year flies by after Halloween. We all get busy with family, parties, shopping, etc... I am still trying to wrap my brain around the thought that this is our last Christmas with just Josh and I. Never again will the holidays be same!! It's an absolutely wonderful thought, and yet a little bit of a scary thought at the same time. For months, people have told me that my life was going to change...YADA YADA YADA.... You hear it so much, you almost resent people who say it. And yet, when I sit and ponder things, they are SOOOOO right! But I know it's a good thing. It's just a strange feeling.

Well, that's all the rambling for now. I'll will update later with nursery pics and hopefully some new ultrasound pics in week or so. Here are a few little facts:

I am 27 weeks pregnant.

Dates and numbers:
There are 89 days until my due date on January 18, 2007 (Only 80 days until my c-section).
I am 191 days pregnant.
I am 6.3 months pregnant
1st trimester: April 13, 2006 to July 12, 2006. (0 - 12 weeks)
2nd trimester: July 13, 2006 to October 25, 2006. (13 - 27 weeks)
3rd trimester: October 26, 2006 to January 18, 2007. (28 - 40 weeks)

HAVE YOU HEARD???

Fall is by far my favorite time of the year! I love that the weather is cooler, and we have a whole 3 seasons before it gets blistering hot again. I love the color changes in the trees, yadda yadda yadda... But the BEST part about fall is...ALL OF THE PUMPKIN FLAVORED FOODS!! Yes. I LOVE pumpkin stuff and I personally think you should be able to get all of these delicious treats year-round. But you can't, so I savor the short time I am able to get all of my favorite pumpkin flavored things!! Among my favs are the Pumpkin Latte at Starbucks, the Pumpkin pancakes at IHOP, and my very favorite...the Jack in the Box Pumpkin Milkshake!! YUMMY!!!! I had my first shake of the season today, and it totally was everything I expected it to be! So try these out, and let me know if you run into any other yummy pumpkin goodies anywhere else I should try!!

A LESSON FROM...EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER
Does anyone besides us still watch this show? Well, if you don't you should! It truly may be the only show on TV that has any sort of good message and meaning to it! For those who have been under a rock and don't know the concept of the show, each week a group of designers/carpenters/home builders basically build a whole knew house in 1 week for a very deserving family who, otherwise, would never have been able to afford it. Not only is it amazing that an entire house can be built in 7 days, but the houses are AMAZING!! They only do the best of everything. But the house is not the focus, the families are. And this week's family blew me away. Now, maybe it's the hormones, but I was SO touched by this family, I cried from beginning to end! The Llanes family immigrated to the U.S. from the Phillipines. The father of the family has a rare, genetic condition that I cannot remember the name of, but basically, sometime in his young adulthood, he lost his eyesight completely. Sadly, because it's genetic, his 2 daughters also have the disease. Both are legally blind and can only see if they look at things very close up. Both will eventually lose their eyesight completely as well. And if that's not enough, while the mother was pregnant with the son, she contracted German Measles and this caused him to be deaf. They also have Grandma living with them, who is also blind. What an amazing family!! Their sweet spirits touched me so much in so many ways! I can't imagine being able to see for so much of my life, and then suddenly never seeing again. Another thing was the father had lost his sight before his son was born. They never were really able to communicate directly, because dad couldn't see son signing, and son couldn't hear dad talking. Not to mention the house was a disablilty on it's own. Well, the team did not disappoint! They built this family an incredible house, filled with all sort of techno gizmos that they will use for sure, from braile computers to a program that Dad can talk into and it's signed on a computer screen for the son. They will be able to communicate directly for the first time!!

All of this to say, that I realize in situations like this that I am SO amazingly blessed!! I have a wonderful husband that I love so deeply. We have a home that is a healthy and safe place. Both of our families have been pretty healthy. No major problems. I have 6 nieces and nephews who have all been born healthy and remain healthy. And I could go on and on....

And now Beckham is on the way, and by all medical standards so far, he is growing healthy and just as he should be. PRAISE GOD!! Of course the thoughts have cross my mind numerous times, what if he's blind or deaf or disabled in some other way? What will we do? What will I do? But seeing families like the Llanes family reminds me that it could always be worse, and yet better at the same time. So many healthy families aren't as close as they are. So many healthy families don't love each other the way they do. So many healthy families don't rely on and support each other they way they do. And in this, and in the faith that the Lord is in control and has a perfect plan, I find strength and peace. Don't get me wrong, if we should find that Beckham has some sort of diablilty, I will probably cry and ask why. But I will always put my faith in the Lord! He has been SO good to me so far, and I know He won't stop!

So, catch an episode or 2 this season of Extreme Home Makeover. It really is a great show. It makes me count my blessings every time I watch it!

WHO KNEW??

These are some fun numbers I came across on a website I read everyday...


Dates and numbers:
There are 131 days until your due date on January 18, 2007.
You are 149 days pregnant.
You are 4.9 months pregnant.
You are in your 5th month of pregnancy. (huh?)
Your 1st trimester: April 14, 2006 to July 13, 2006. (0 - 12 weeks)
Your 2nd trimester: July 14, 2006 to October 26, 2006. (13 - 27 weeks)
Your 3rd trimester: October 27, 2006 to January 18, 2007. (28 - 40 weeks)

For any of you who may be or soon will be pregnant, the website is:
i-am-pregnany.com

It has great photos and a daily message board that I love to read. Just fun FYI

The fun begins!!

Ok, time for a little honesty. As thrilled as I was when I found out I am having a healthy, precious baby boy, I still mourned the fact that I'm not having a little girl. Does that make me a bad person? I mean, I knew from the very beginning I was having boy, I guess it was "Mommy's intuition." And of coarse, I prayed for a healthy baby, regardless if it was a boy or girl. But that little part of me, deep down, that always saw myself with pink and bows, was a little...well...sad. I'm just being honest here. Maybe men go through the same thing when they get the news they are having a girl? I don't know. But I am glad to say the saddest has past, and I have embraced the fact that I am going to be the mommy of a rough and tough little boy! So the fun now begins...the nursery. We spent most of the weekend cleaning out the closest, getting ready to paint. We are thinking a football/sports themed room. Let's face it, I married a sports nut! And truly, I enjoy sports,too. So why not try to pass that love on to Beckham? So here are a few pictures of what we want for bedding. I love it!

ALL IS WELL!!

Let me first say that Josh took the whole day off today. I forget how fun it is to have a random day off with my husband, not a holiday or a weekend! I love it! I wish we could do it more often!

Anyway, we headed to the "high risk" Dr. today. She was great! She did confirm that there are only 2 blood vessel in the umbilical cord, but that it is really nothing to be too concerned about. In fact, she didn't seem concerned at all! She took a good look at everything and confirmed that Beckham(she confirmed for sure it's a boy!) is growing exactly how he should be. His heart, brain, and spinal cord all look great. And she looked for facial abnormalities and didn't see anything. So PRAISE THE LORD!!! ALL IS WELL!! She said that she sees this fairly often and in only 2 cases has the baby's growth been affected. So, all it means is that I will have ultrasounds every 4 weeks until I deliver, and starting at 28 weeks, I'll be seen at my regular Dr. every week instead of every 4. So the fun part is we get to see Beckham alot as he grows! And growing he is! He's already gained 2 oz since Monday!!! So thanks for all of your prayers! We truly appreciate them!

What a week...

Well, the week started out really great. We got the news that we are having a baby boy, and for the most part everything is looking perfect and right on schedule! All good news!

It sorta went down from there. I hesitate to even post this blog, only because I know that Josh and I are so incredibly blessed, and I don't want to sound ungreatful at all, but sometimes ya just need to vent! So here it goes...

Tuesday morning I woke up feeling ok, but not exactly "right" of you know what I mean. Well, by 10:00 that morning I was throwing my toenails up at work. Never a fun thing! I thought is was a little strange to be having morning sickness this late, especially when I have felt so good the past few weeks. Well by the the time the aches, fever and other fun things that come along with a stomach flu set in, I was pretty sure this is not morning sickness. So I finished my last 3 patients of the morning, called my temp, and headed home to spend the rest of the day wretchedly ill! The good thing is it only lasted 24 hours, but I went ahead and called in for Wednesday, just in case...

So Wednesday morning, I am feeling a little better, PRAISE THE LORD, when Josh calls and says his car is on the fritz, and he really can't get above 50 MPH without it doing some scary things. Well, any of you that know Josh's car, know that it is on it's last little miles anyway. It's a 1992 Honda Accord w/ 180,000 miles on it and it has NO A/C!! Fortunately for us, we have been using his brother's car for the past 5-6 weeks while he's been traveling, so Josh hasn't had to battle the 100+ degree heat w/ no a/c. That has been a HUGE BLESSING!!! Anyway, we decided it is probably time to bite the bullet and just buy a new car.

Can I just say, it was less stressful buying our house than it was buying a car! The guy we worked with was really nice, but you just can't help but think you are getting ripped off somehow. Maybe that's the cynic in me, or maybe car sales guys have a bad rep for no reason, but that's how I felt. Nothing and everthing sounds like a good deal all at the same time! So to make a long story longer...we now are the proud owners of new car, well, semi new car. We bought a 2006 VW Jetta w/ 19,000 miles on it. it's white w/ tan interior, very basic, but I love it! And more importantly, Josh now has a reliable, safe car! God really is so good to us!!

So tomorrow we go to the "high risk" Dr. for the level 2 ultrasound. I am hoping to get some really good pictures of Beckham, especially since Buddy ate the last ones! (I won't even start on that!!) I'll post when I know more.

OK...ok...ok...

I know it's been a really long time since I have posted anything. I have had 2 Dr. appt's since my last posting. And today we found out we are having a LITTLE BABY BOY!!! Yes, a boy. I never thought of myself as the mom of a boy, but I love the thought of it now. And I know the Lord has given me exactly what I am suppose to have. Josh is, of course, THRILLED! He has wanted a boy since we found out we were expecting.

The guy who did the sonogram said everything is looking right on schedule. He is exactly the size he should be. He has all of his arms, hands, legs, feet, eyes, etc... His kidneys, brain, heart and spinal cord all look good too. The only "bad" thing we learned was that there may only be 2 blood vessels in the umbilical cord, where there should be 3. So Friday I am heading to the "high risk" doctor to have a level 2 sonogram to help us to see if that is really the case. If it is, then we will be monitored very closely from here on out. Starting at 28 weeks I will be having weekly appts. and a sonogram every month. That will be to track his growth very closely, and if he shows any signs of growth problems, my Dr. said she will deliver me early. I am praying that the tech was wrong about the whole thing. And if it is true, that he will continue to grow normally until term. Although, a few weeks early would give us a great tax deduction for 2006! As long as he is healthy, I am good with that!

So for the long weekend, Josh and I are planning to start on the nursery. We are hoping to put up a chair rail and paint. We are thinking a football themed room!

I feel him moving around all the time! Just about the time I begin to settle down at night, he decides it's time to "play." I guess that's why so many babies are born with their days and nights mixed up. I am feeling really well. Morning sickness is completely gone...Praise the Lord... And I haven't had any really weird cravings. Well, that 's all the scoop for now. I will try to post again after the second sono on Friday!

Here's the latest pic of BECKHAM JEFFREY FARIS!! Isn't he CUTE??