To Alere.

Thank you for providing free diabetes testing supplies and insulin over the course of the past few months. You truly helped me out in a time of need and I appreciate your services.

However, I must confess I will not miss calling you every day to punch in my numbers nor will I miss your follow-up phone calls which always result in the same repetitive conversation.

I especially won't miss having to remember to pee on those little keytone sticks every morning when I get up - which has resulted in a nervous tick every time I pee because I feel as though I'm forgetting to do something important.

While I am grateful for our brief encounter, and always shall be, I'm just as grateful to be free from you. Thank you and goodbye.

Yours cordially,

Lauren Myers, recovering gestational diabetic

Comin' Along.

Lauren is sleeping next to me but somehow managed to dozily comment to me that I should write a blog. So, here we are.

Everything is comin' along. We were in the apartment yesterday and got Jack's room pretty much all set up. We're getting more things moved in almost every day and I think we're getting really excited to get all moved into the apartment and make it our home.

Everything is comin' along. Jack seems to be getting bigger by the minute, evidenced by Lauren's ever growing belly and her nausea caused by all his little growth hormones running amok in there.

Everything is comin' along. Lauren and I had a great Bible study together last night looking at the first few verses of Romans 6 and talking about what it means to be fully United with Christ in both His death and resurrection and what that is meant to look like in our lives. Convicting, powerful, and a solid reminder of our call to humility and dependence on the Glory of God.

Everything is perfect. God is on the throne and as long as we set our eyes to Him and seek unbroken fellowship with Him through Faith, Humility, and Obedience, we have nothing to fear.

Romans 6:4 "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."

Tired.

It's hard for me to keep my eyes open today and the baby isn't even here yet. This does not bode well.

Yesterday Tim won tickets from a radio contest. He didn't even know what the prize was, but since he knew the answer to the quiz he decided to call the number and waddya know, he got right through and won............... four tickets to see the new Shrek movie. Nothing too special, but better than a kick in the pants as I always say.

Jack's dresser was put together by his daddio yesterday. It's a nicer dresser than I've ever had. And he's just a baby. A baby who will become a toddler who will probably climb all over it and not appreciate just how nice a dresser it really is. We also finally found a piece of furniture to store all his books in which I'm pumped about. His room is coming together nicely :)

My next ultrasound, which I think will be THE ultrasound, isn't till next Thursday which feels like forever and ever. And by THE ultrasound, I mean... the one that will determine whether they induce me earlier than 39 weeks. Such suspense!

Yesterday I was craving turkey chili. Today I am craving tuna casserole. I haven't had cravings for a while. Maybe it's Jack's way of getting his last "real" meals in before he arrives.

102.1 FM

There's a radio station that plays soft rock music that we sometimes listen to when we're really desperate. Tim says that no matter what, whenever we switch it on I always seem to know the song and can sing along with it even though he's never heard it before. It boggles his mind apparently, especially since the songs are from the late 80s/early 90s. This has now become a game that I'm determined to win -so I always love switching it to that station when we're in the car together just to see if his theory proves correct.

And 95% of the time it does. I feel a mixture of shame and pride about this.

Baby Shower #1.

Today was our first baby shower!! Tim's mom (and sister) did an amazing job of putting it all together and we were so blessed to receive such love and support from family and friends, not to mention all the great presents! We were especially excited about each of the books we received to add to Jack's library :)

New Ink.

This past Thursday Tim got to revisit his other love, Tattooing. He's had the outline of an angel from a stain glass window on his arm for years, but has been waiting to get it colored and Thursday was finally the day of days. He had decided that instead of using his birthday money towards a "bass fund" he was going to switch over to a "tattoo fund" and to be honest, I couldn't be happier because looking at a new tattoo is way more exciting for me than looking at a new bass.

Lenses.

Thankfully, today's photography shoot turned out pretty good. I say that now, but I haven't actually sat down and really looked at the pictures to edit them, so we'll see. The funny thing about the whole scenario was that Tim had bought me a new lens for my DSLR camera for Christmas. I hadn't actually taken it out of its box till this morning (silly, silly mistake). Well what I assumed to be a macro lens was actually a telephoto lens. Why he chose that lens, I have no idea. Turns out that telephoto lens was my saving grace yesterday - everything had to be shot from very far back and without that thing I would have been working with some pretty useless shots. So thank you God, in all your wisdom, for knowing that I would need that telephoto lens in the worst way. And thank you to my husband for buying it.

The day (which had been quite stressful for me) ended on a wonderful note when Tim surprised me with a dinner at Aladdin's and a movie (Iron Man 2). Date nights are the best :)

The Beard.

Ever since I knew Tim was going to be able to reclaim his beard (about a week or so ago) I've been very excited. The beard, for both of us, is a beloved friend of ours. You may remember a post from about a year ago when I described the different scents it occasionally takes on - crayons, cedar shavings, but mostly a buttery kind of fragrance. Grossed out? Not me! And believe me, these smells are unrelated to Tim's environment or activity. Meaning of course... he doesn't eat sticks of butter nor is he an avid user of crayons.

But ever since the blessed day we found out he got the green light for beard regrowth, I keep hearing "The beard is back in town, beard is back in town" to the tune of "The boys are back in town, boys are back in town..." in my head. Yes, the beard has its own theme song now - and of its own doing, mind you. The tune came without any effort on my part. I guess I'm just subconsciously that excited about it.

Recovery.

Yesterday was a rough day for pregnant me. Lots of stomach cramps, lots of being sick, lots of Braxton Hicks. Every now and then this happens, leaving me wondering if I ate the wrong thing or Jack is having a growth spurt (which = mega hormone boost). I'm siding with the latter. Especially since I feel better today with no trace of yesterdays aches and pains.

This weekend, fingers crossed, we'll actually get to start setting up rooms in our ever-lovely, never-finished apartment. However, the blessed event will have to be squeezed in some where between many other blessed events including a wedding, a LOFT event, church on Sunday, a baby shower and dinner with friends. But its progress and progress is always welcome no matter where it falls.

Work & Side Jobs.

Tim started back at his old job today. Hallelujah! It was so nice having him home last night for the first time in about 6 months. And to know he'll be home again tonight - and home on the weekends - is giving me enough joy to last a while. I love being in a place to appreciate the little things, like having dinner together.

I'm taking pictures for a local non-profit event this Friday and I'm a ball of nerves over it. Don't get me wrong - I'm thankful for the extra income it will provide, not to mention flattered that I was asked to take part. But taking pictures of people has never been the most comfortable for me and the pressure to get good pictures always sends me into the depths of anxiety. It's one thing to take pictures for fun - its a whole other ball game when there are people depending on you to do a great job the first time around. So nerves really equals a lack of confidence I guess - even though my last photo shoot with this particular organization went well. One way or the other, I'll be glad when its over and the pictures are edited and I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Jack's Owl.

Meet Hoot.

We found him on Etsy.

He's going to be Jack's best friend very soon.

He's a gift from his dad :)

Gettysburg.

This past weekend we ran away to Gettysburg, PA as a part "babymoon" part birthday gift for Tim's 26th. It also worked out that it came right at the end of Tim's college finals and his last day of work with Chik-Fil-A (a good thing!) So there was lots to celebrate.

We've been looking forward to this trip for months, especially Tim who is a Civil War enthusiast. Our plan was to leave as soon as possible on Friday morning so we could get there early enough to get some sight-seeing in. Well.... that didn't work out quite as planned. Here's a rundown of our trip - in the shortest form I can manage:

Friday:

As much as I hated to delay our departure, I had noticed "decreased fetal activity" over the past 24 hours and didn't want to spend the whole car ride to PA worrying so I went in for a non-stress test. Of course as soon as I got there (and I mean, I literally sat down in the waiting room) Jack start wiggling and moving like normal, and then really moving during the test. Such a little fart - but totally in line with his little personality, as we both agreed. Anyways, after all that it was about two hours past our planned departure time so we didn't end up arriving in Gettysburg until around dinner time. It worked out ok in the end though because the weather was nice and after getting some food we walked around the square and took it easy. Tim even bought himself a cigar and puffed on that for a little bit (but saved half for the following day).

Saturday:

Thank the Lord for answering my prayers for good weather! While Cleveland endured a pretty horrible storm Friday night we had beautiful sunshiney weather the whole time we were in Gettysburg (even if it was blustery and cold). After breakfast we went on our battlefield tour with a guide who drove my car around telling us all about ... well, the battle of Gettysburg. He was a very nice older man who was intent on smoothing down his perfectly quaffed hair throughout the day (as the wind upset it so often). I liked watching him take such care to make sure it was "just so." Then we did the Visitor's Center and Museum and Tim got to see

the stretcher that was used to carry his great great cousin (?), Stonewall Jackson, off the battlefield. We did a little more shopping, Tim finished up his $5 cigar in the garden at the B&B and then we had a lovely dinner where Tim had "the best meal of his life." I was just thankful to order something other than a grilled chicken sandwich with tomato, lettuce, and mayo which seemed to be on every single menu in town (thankfully, of course... but it gets old after a while).

Sunday:

At breakfast, we finally got to sit with one of the British couples staying at the Inn. Naturally, I made it my mission to have a conversation with someone from "home." The rest of our time in Gettysburg was spent seeing one last museum (side note: there was a young boy on the tour with us who stared at my pregnant belly, and me, the whole time with this look that left me feeling very uneasy well after the tour ended), drove around madly trying to get last-minute pictures with all the landmarks and picking up a few more souvenirs including an awesome little... figurine (for lack of a better word) for Jack's room. Then it was time to say bye-bye to our little getaway and head back home for the busy month ahead!

Luvin' it!

Today I am just lovingggggggggggg......

• my new amazing $7 sandals from Target
• my lunch from First Watch
• Tim starting back at his old job which means free nights and weekends!
• that he'll have his beard back in a few weeks
• the gorgeous weather
• that we leave for Gettysburg tomorrow!

Jack is movin' around. My glucose levels are down.

Life is good.

Hospital Tour.

The other night Tim and I toured the hospital I'll be delivering at in less then (dot dot dot) two months! I can't believe it's so close.

I liked the feel of the hospital - friendly and bright, but also safe and reliable. And that's saying a lot what with my extensive experience with hospital environments. I don't think I shall ever stop mourning the loss of qualifying for care in the children's ward.... a privilege I last encountered at the cut off age of 17.... however, I've been thankful that since then and up until now my days have been hospital-stay free.

While we both found the tour a little more in-depth than really necessary, I will say that it helped me come to some informed conclusions:

• a) I definitely want to deliver naturally - so long, of course, that no harm comes to Jack or myself as a result.
• b) I really hope I get one of the rooms with the jacuzzi tubs. If reservations were allowed, I would make one.
• c) I will definitely make the most of all available amenities - mainly the DVD player.
• d) I really really really don't want a C-section.

There were about 4 other couples with us on the tour, including one family with a two or three year old. He was one of those little boys who's interested in everything in sight. When our tour guide said something to one of the other nurses about having heard about one of the "fresh babies" that was just born, he turned to his dad and asked if he was going to get to see a fresh baby. I don't know why, but at the time it was funny.

And that was that.

Sausage Feet.

I think I should update every few days rather than once a week cuz I can't remember anything that's happened. Pregnant brain, pregnant brain, pregnant brain. Just keep blaming it on the pregnant brain.

After consulting my calendar, I now remember that we had another ultrasound last week and found out that Jack has a lot of hair and is quite big (but not abnormally or disproportionately large, thank goodness). He was also sticking his tongue out and as per usual, refused to allow the ultrasound tech to get a good look at all the things she needed to. I can't begin to express how much I'm looking forward to meeting this little boy, who kicks and hiccups his way through each day with focused tenacity.

We finally got to unpack some of our stuff at the apartment. The kitchen is all finished so we put away almost all of our dishes. And man, do we have a lot of dishes! They just kept comin and comin. My feet didn't take too kindly to the process, however, and swelled up like little sausages. Ever since then, they've been swelling freely and with determination. I'm definitely beginning to look forward to getting my pre-pregnancy body back.

Here is a sneak peek at our apartment-in-progress (it's going to be fabulous when its finished!):

Gettysburg this weekend! We can't wait :)