You know when you're at the right place at the right time and you can't believe your good fortune? Well, that happened to me on Friday. I was in Sherwood Park for a work presentation and had some time to kill so I went to Home Sense. I didn't have any money on me, which I thought was a good thing so I couldn't impulsively purchase some novelty item. Well, of all the days for me to assume I'd just find a novelty item and not something we actually need. (*side note: Dave would argue that this item was indeed a novelty and something we don't need just yet.)

I was looking through the children's section and low and behold there it was - the most unbelievably, perfect rug for our baby's room.... that is if our baby is a girl. I was blown away by the rarity of finding something that is actually our style designed for a toddler. This rug is maybe 4 feet by 3 feet. It has a bubble-gum pink boarder about 3" thick and the main focus of the rug is indeed leopard print! It also has two pink flowers on it.

As soon as I got home I told Davey all about it. Unfortunately when the moment came for him to see it, and essentially for us to purchase it, it was a rather anticlimactic moment. Granted, he's a guy and can’t appreciate how incredibly awesome this rug is like I do. Logically I realize that we don't know the gender yet ... but if our baby is a boy, I will find a place for this small, 50 dollar treasure.

These past couple weeks have been a whirlwind and have flown by. I’m steadily getting rounder in the middle and the majority of my clothes don’t fit anymore. My mom took me shopping for my birthday and spoiled me (*thank you mom!) so now I can breathe while wearing pants.

One of my big frustrations right now is why do maternity clothes look like they were designed for 40 year old women? Don't get me wrong, I love the clothes I got and they are perfect for work. However, most of the tops I've looked at since seriously look like something older women would prefer. (*another side note: I realize 40 is the new 30 and I really don't mean to offend anyone here but this is a really discouraging reality.)

We are now in the process of finding a new place to live and all those “wonderful” decisions that come along with that - Do we rent? Should we look into buying? I’m not too stressed and I know what ever happens, it will all work out.

Until next time....

xoxo

janelle

Home Sweet Home

Sorry for the delay but I was experiencing some technical difficulties…..

After a tumultuous start to our trip, the 18th Annual (my 2nd) Russ Reid Mission's Development Conference went really well.

We were scheduled to leave at 8:00 am on Tuesday morning but we were delayed by almost 2 1/2 hours. That morning was SO cold we had to wait for the sun to rise, thus in turn for the temperature to rise to -37. We boarded the plane at 10, where we watched the airport crew de-ice the plane.

Fortunately at 10:30 we took off and it was a very smooth flight.
I was going to post a couple of pictures up but for some reason Blogger doesn't want to upload any at this time. However, I will post the de-icing of the plane photo as soon as I can.

Baby Update:

I've been feeling slightly more energetic than I was last month. However, I have been getting that stretching feeling throughout my stomach muscles and sides. I've also been a lot more irritable lately. Of course it isn't intentional so I apologize in advance incase I snap at anyone. It seems that I'm most irritable at work. I'm not entirely sure why .... maybe it's because I'm usually sleeping or doing something unproductive when I'm at home. Speaking of which, I could really go for a nap right now.

xoxo

janelle

Arg!!!!

Who would have thought buying a vehicle would be so aggravating! AHHHHHHH! So, to make a long story short, Dave and I were pretty much set on trading our truck in on a Subaru Outback. It seemed like a good choice - a nice family vehicle sans depression brought on due to minivan-itis. Well, it didn't work out. So then we looked at a Jeep Liberty. We were sold! We loved it and it felt better to drive than the Subaru did, which I felt was hard to believe.

We spent a large portion of our weekend at Northside Mitsubshi. That is where we found the Subaru and the Liberty. The owners of the dealership also own a Dodge dealership; thus they were willing to give us a good price for the Dakota. (We've been looking for a new vehicle for almost a year now and this place has given us the best quote on our truck.)

Well, being we are still financing the truck, the bank Mitsu deals with doesn't want to assume the rest of the truck because the Liberty isn't a 'high enough value'. UGH! I'm not sure what we are going to do. Buying a vehicle SUCKS!

However, I must give praise to the two guys - Doug & Chris - who have totally gone for bat for us at Mitsu. When the time does come for us to get something different, that is the place we will go.

There is a chance we are going to go test drive a Cherokee after work tonight. Then I have to go home and pack. I'm off to LA until Sunday for the Russ Reid conference. I'm pumped and am distracting my thoughts from the flight.

I'll be sure to post pictures of my trip, although the vast majority will be in the hotel conference rooms.

Stay warm this week!
xoxo
janelle

The March of the Penguin

I know that with pregnancy comes waves of emotions - highs and lows; anger and bliss; and crying because you're happy, sad or you don't even know why. Well, the other night I was in a crying mood. The reason why I started to cry now is really funny, but at the time certainly was not.

On Wednesday night Davey was cooking dinner while I read one of many pregnancy books that was lent to me. I flipped to a page that talks about how women "waddle" in their third trimester. Now this isn't anything new. I've seen women waddle and I've thought they looked cute. However, no matter how cute I thought she may be, I never imagined myself as that waddler. At that moment it occurred to me that I am going to be THAT waddler! No matter how cute I may be (which I hope is the case) the only thing I will be aware of is that I look like a penguin. I'll probably feel fat and before I know it .... I'll be walking around like an emperor penguin.

So naturally I burst into tears. I was sobbing uncontrolably but could not and did not want to tell Davey why.

Davey: "Awwww..... what's the matter?" as he hugs me.
Me: Shrugs my shoulders.
Davey: "Just one of those moments, hey?"
Me: "I gu-gu-guess sa-sa-sa-sssso."
We sat down and I put my head on his lap.
Me: "Davey, I don't want to waddle."
Davey: "Uh..... huh?"
Me: "Will you laugh at me if I waddle?"
Davey: "Of course not! You'll look so cute when you waddle."
Me: Sniffles, "I don't want to look like a penguin."
Davey: "Baby, all pregnant women waddle. It's just because you're joints are getting looser through your hips for when it's time for the baby to come."
Me: "I know... but can we not call it 'waddling'...."
Davey: "Of course, we can call it the pregnant strut."

I'm not sure if he was making fun of me or the situation but it seemed to help. This was about a 1/2 hour worth of sobbing. My poor husband.

This event ended with me asking if we can watch the "March of the Penguins" together. I loved that movie and he didn't want to watch it before ... but I know he'll like it.

xoxo
janelle

Mangoes and Avocadoes

I can’t believe how fast this weekend flew by! Friday was even a bit of a blur.

I started seeing an acupuncturist back in November for my wrist and she is fantastic. Wendy, the acupuncturist, was a midwife before taking up the skill of tiny needle insertion in certain points of the body. After dealing with my bout of morning sickness I called her up and made an appointment to see her.

Wendy squeezed me in right away and my visit was fantastic. Doctors are great but they seem to be in a rush. Half of my appointment on Friday was spent just talking about minerals and vitamins - beyond the prenatal recommendations - that I should be taking. Wendy suggested that I take Floradix, an iron and mineral supplement for my liver. Being that my liver is working on over load, this natural, baby friendly, supplement goes straight to my liver. This in turn is supposed to give me a bit of an energy rejuvenation and help with nausea. I’ve only taken it for two days so far so it’s still a little early to tell if it’s making a difference; however, I have been feeling really good since Friday.

I had some needles placed on my feet, knees, elbow and sternum. It’s pretty crazy how acupuncture works but I haven’t been nauseas at all since then.

Dave and I went grocery shopping on Saturday morning and we loaded up on fruits and vegetables. I bought mangoes for the first time and realized I’m not exactly sure how to cut them. Silly, I know. Granted, I was doing it first thing this morning and was still waking up.

Tonight, I’m going to attempt to make guacamole. Apparently it’s pretty easy but it’s me we’re talking about….. Here’s trying!

xoxo
Janelle

Welcome!

Welcome to our first blog posting! This blog was created so that we can share our news and photos with our friends and family. We are so blessed with all the love and support, encouragement and excitement, and questions we've received from everyone.


I had my first ultra sound yesterday and it went really well. I was nervous, which I think is normal, as I laid on the table while the technician took all the measurements the Dr. requires. She didn't say much so I wasn't sure if everything was normal or OK. The she jumped up, with a big smile, and said she would go and get Dave. Once he came into the room she showed us the first image of our baby.


It was the most intense and surreal feeling I've ever had. The little guy is 4 cm long and I am 11 weeks along. He has two legs, two arms, a huge head and a heart beat. We were silent as we just stared at the black and white screen while the little guy moved around. This baby is already a little rocker as he/she was moving his/her arms up and down like he/she was pounding on drums or listening to Iron Maiden. It was awesome! The technician showed us a couple of different angles and reassured us that we're only having one baby.

We'll be visiting the clinic again in about 8 weeks for a more detailed ultra sound. We also want to find out the gender of the baby so we'll have the opportunity to then. We are so excited and feel so blessed with this special gift.

I also feel a bit of a relief knowing that my first trimester is almost over. December was a really hard month. I got the worst flu of my life that took me about three weeks to get over. I didn't have an appetite whatsoever, which was especially hard at Christmas. (My mom even made her TACO SALAD and I could only eat a little). Once I got over the flu, I instantly felt the wrath of morning sickness. It lasted about two weeks but felt like two years. Fortunately these past couple of days have gotten much better. I'm in better spirits. I'm friends with food again and I haven't been sick in the mornings. But, I'm just going to take it day by day.

Keep posted for more updates coming soon.
xoxo
Janelle