A Little Pregnancy Update

Here's a little update of all the pregnancy highlights, just in case you were dying to know. ;)

How Far Along: According to my doctor, (who knows best, right?), I'm 19 weeks along. Almost 5 months! Can you believe it!?!?

Size of Baby: Hooglet is a whopping 7 ounces and 5-6 inches long.

Gender: Still unknown by any human at this point. It's cool to think that the LORD already knew this whole time.

Movement: I'm truly stumped by this one. I think it's still too early to feel Hooglet moving around, but sometimes I feel weird things that I've never felt before. Process of elimination tells me it's gotta be the baby, right? All I know is that I'm not getting excited about anything until I know for sure.

Maternity Clothes: I have no choice when it comes to pants: stretchy all the way...which made for a wonderfully full Thanksgiving. (Have you ever seen the episode of Friends where Monica challenges Joey to eat a whole turkey, so he goes and puts on a pair of Phoebe's maternity pants? Yup...I love being pregnant!) My tops are a mixture of maternity and normal. I'm beginning to outgrow my t-shirts...bummer.

Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty well. I only get up once to potty. If I'm not sleeping well, it's not because of the baby growing inside me, it's more likely because of my "baby" elbowing me in the face. Sure do love that man. ;)

Cravings: The daily pickle thing is gone. I still thoroughly enjoy pickles, but they're not mandatory anymore. The weird craving this week was Five Guys Burgers. Not sure why. And we still haven't eaten there. But I'll tell you what...when we do, I'll ask for extra pickles.

What I'm Missing: I'll be honest. There have been several times I've been mightily tempted to pour myself some coffee. I'm also REALLY bummed that eggnog is out of the question. Truly, I'm still not completely convinced that I can't have any and I plan to ask my doctor at the next visit. But my darling, protective husband has me on lock-down. You'll know why if you see him and he has a black eye. ;)

New Discoveries: I painted my own toenails for the last time for at least 5 more months. And even then it was probably not the best idea. I never thought I'd not be able to safely and comfortably reach my feet. I guess this means a pedicure is in my future.

Best Moment This Week: There are several. 1. Being with family and talking LOTS about Hooglet and baby names and plans and hopes and dreams. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it brings so much joy to my heart to know how much this baby is already so loved and celebrated. 2. Being with my precious sisters-in-law and niece and them being so anxious to know the sex of the baby that they Google every gender-predictor-test known to man...errr...woman. Turns out, I'm having a BOY! Or maybe a GIRL! But probably a BOY! But it could also be a GIRL! I guess we'll have to just wait and see for ourselves.

Looking Forward To: Actually going to have the ultrasound/sonogram (whatever it's called) that shows us whether Hooglet is a boy or girl. The appointment is for a week from today (Tuesday) and I'm tempted to just crawl in the bed and hibernate until then. It's funny to me that we waited for almost 2 years to even get pregnant, but that hasn't been nearly as hard as waiting the handful of weeks to find out about this baby's gender.

Daddy's Involvement: Y'all, I have got to brag on my baby-daddy. Last night, while I took my small groups girls on an outing, he took it upon himself to open the door to "The Dungeon", also known as the storage room and what will be the baby's room, and actually began to clean it out. I have been stressed out about nothing else in life except this nightmare of what will one day house my precious child. I can't even begin to tell you what all is in that room,but let's just say that the door stays shut at all times.
Thank you, Love, for being my brave and courageous knight-in-shining-armor who has attempted to slay the dragon from the underworld. (Y'all think I'm being dramatic.)

This picture that I leave you with has absolutely nothing to do with anything that was in this blog post, but I just can't stand to have a picture-less post. So, since we were still on our honeymoon this day three years ago, here's my favorite picture of the 2 of us. We're standing right on the shore of Cape Cod with the Atlantic Ocean in the background. Hope you're not grossed out by the public display of affection. :)

On This Day Three Years Ago

I can vaguely remember just about everything that happened on this very day, three years ago.

I woke up early when my alarm went off and just lay in bed for a few moments. I had to remind myself to soak in every detail of the day. I thanked the LORD that I was alive and that my life was gonna totally change that day.

Then, I got up and immediately started getting ready. I bathed and made sure to shave my legs really well. I threw just a light touch of make-up for confidence's sake. All my girls and I went downstairs to the lobby of the hotel and ate some continental breakfast. Then, my sister and I were out the door and on our way to get our hairs did. It was rainy and chilly. And yet, it was such a beautiful day.

Afterward, we stopped off at the good ol' Chick-fil-a and picked up our large order of nuggets and fruit and sweet tea. Then we went across the street to Walgreen's because I had to have real coffee and I bought some Excedrin migraine as a precaution.

Next, we were on our way to the church. I remember calling my mom on the way and having to talk her down from a ledge because her hair lady messed up her hair..."big" time. ;)

We arrived at the church to eat some nuggets and continue the marathon of getting ready. Make-up, dress, touching up hair, touching up make-up. Then we took lots of pictures. Then we did some more touch-ups.

Next, my closest and dearest friends surrounded me and prayed over me. What a precious time. I was chill the whole time.

Anticipation grew as we filed out of the dressing room and into the foyer of the church. I got a quick peek inside the sanctuary. The hand-picked music was playing and the pews were filled with smiling faces. It was decorated so perfectly.

My closest friends began the walk down the isle. They closed the doors in my face. When they opened them again, a thickness of suspense came rushing out the doors from the guest. And from that one man standing in front. I grabbed my dad's arm and we walked. And I smiled. And he cried. And that one man smiled. Maybe he cried too.

We stated our promises. We gave tokens. We lit a candle. We kissed. We rejoiced. We kissed some more. We smiled. We laughed. We posed for pictures. We gave thanks to the LORD. We ate. We danced. We drove away.

I could go on. Moment by moment. Detail after detail. I remember all...well... most of it.
It was one of the greatest days of my life. Yes, there were a few minor details that didn't go according to plan or how I had envisioned it happening. But it was still a day packed full of sweet, sweet memories. Ones that I could never forget. And just in case I do, I've made a point to write them down here.

Dear Love of my Life,
Three whole years. Can you believe it? Sometimes I feel like it's been twenty...in a good way. But I know this is still just the beginning. And I love that. To me, it means that we still have so much life ahead of us. Thinking through everything we've done and gone through in the last three years, all the ups and downs, makes me wonder what the next three or twenty or sixty years of life will look like.
We've experienced so many joyous moments. Times of that deep-belly kind of laughter. Times when we were left speechless and in awe of the way God worked things out. We've made many sweet memories together. We've relished many triumphs and victories. And have seen the LORD bring hope and beauty to people's lives (including our own) that we couldn't even imagine.
We've also experienced heartache together. And frustration. And confusion. Sometimes because of each other. We've experienced what seemed like endless lack and the tunnels of darkness that seemed to have no end in sight. We've plowed through the hard grounds of ministry. We've made mistakes. We've disappointed each other.
All in three years.
All the good. All the bad. And there's no one else in the world I would ever want to experience any of this with but you. We said, "For better or for worse. In sickness and in health. For richer or poorer." I meant it. I know you did too.
I love our life together. Could we try harder? Change habits? Learn from mistakes? Make more of an effort sometimes? Stop and really listen more? Definitely. But I love our life together. I love that I get to learn the ups and downs of marriage...and life in general, with you. I love that we have so much more life ahead of us to learn. Are you excited? I am.
I love you.
Happy Anniversary,

Yo Baby Mama :)

Grown-up Red Riding Hood (minus the hood part)

I am LOVING the new fresh cool air that's seemed to settle in around Houston. I love being able to wear my scarves (compliments of Liz Silva) and jackets. And let's just be honest...I rather enjoy being able to bum around the house in my sweat pants. There are a couple downsides to the cooler weather (super dry skin, chapped lips and not being able to enjoy the warmth and goodness of a hot cup of coffee), but I'd rather not focus on the negatives, if you please. It'll all be worth it once it's cold enough to cozy up in my HOTT new red coat.

Speaking of my new red coat...Seriously y'all, it's beautiful. As sad as this may sound, it's my first real adult coat and I'm super proud of it. All through college and for the last few years all I've had to keep me warm on those 3 really cold days we have here in Texas is my HUGE puffy red coat. You know the kind. Where no one can sit next to me and I can't wear it in the car because I can't buckle my seat belt and cops look at me sideways because they think I'm hiding a stolen child (or 2) inside it.

Don't get me wrong...it's a super fun coat and it's kept me warm and the center of everyone's attention for many good years. But let's face it. I'm 27. I'm married and am basically a mom. It's about time I graduated to something more mature.

So, thank you, Mom, for buying me this awesome, new, beautiful red coat for my birthday. I'm sure I'll be even more thankful when I actually get to wear on those 3 days.


P.S. When you click on the link to see a picture of my beautiful new red coat (because I know you all really want to), make sure you check out the back of the coat too. It's my favorite part!
Also, please remember that I will never look like the woman wearing my coat. Especially not this winter. No, I'll probably look more like Santa Claus in it this year. :)

A Little Thursday Humor

As I was perusing through one of my pregnancy books, I came across this odd little section called Old Wives' Tales. Some of these I've heard before and some just made me laugh out loud. I thought maybe some of my darling readers might get a kick out of reading some of these.

* You may need calcium if you crave ice cream.
*Cold feet indicate a boy.
*A lot of heartburn means your baby will be born with a full head of hair.
*Refusing to eat the heel on a loaf of bread means you're going to have a girl.
*Dangling a wedding ring over your tummy indicates the sex of the baby. (Not sure how this one even works.)
*Your baby will be born with a hairy birthmark if you see a mouse while you're pregnant.
*If you carry out in front, it's a boy---carrying around your middle means it's a girl.
*Eating berries causes red splotches on your baby's skin.
*If you perspire a lot, it's a girl. (Or you live in Houston where it's still in the 90's in Oct.)
*Taking a bath can drown the baby.
*It's a girl if you crave orange juice.
*Stretching your arms over your head can cause the umbilical cord to wrap around the baby's neck.
*If you carry high, it's a girl---carrying low means it's a boy.
*Dry hands means you're going to have a boy.
*Craving greasy foods means your labor will be short. (And so will your life.) (Sorry, bad joke...but I couldn't resist.)
*Craving spinach means you need iron.
*Your baby will be cross-eyed if you wear high heels.
*Your moods during pregnancy affects your baby's during pregnancy.
*Using various techniques or substances will start labor.

Have you heard any good ones?

Question and Answer Time

WOW! Has it really been over a month since my last post? I could lie to you and say that I've had a million different things to post, but no time at all to post them. But like I said, that would be a lie. You want the truth? Here it is:

I may or may not have spent all my time and thoughts being completely and utterly consumed with this little one. Do you blame me?

For those of you who may not know...this is MY very own (and my husband's, of course) tiny little one currently growing in my belly. We are beyond ecstatic to get to be Mommy and Daddy to this little miracle baby we affectionately call "Hooglet."

I thought I'd just go right ahead and answer some questions you may already have swimming around in your noggin about this baby/pregnancy.

1. How far along are you? I am currently at the end of week 13, moving right along into week 14. This essentially means that I've been pregnant since the middle/end of July. It also means that you can expect to get to meet Hooglet sometime towards the end of April.

2. Was this planned? Here's the reader's digest version: My husband and I had been wanting to get pregnant for almost 2 years now. There were plenty of ups and downs for both of us, but mostly just a steadfast trust in the LORD and in HIS timing for our family. There was a long period of time where we actively pursuing pregnancy (whatever that means), but kinda just got distracted and SUPER busy for awhile there. It truly just became something we really didn't think much about for a couple months. Then, all of sudden...it happened. So, yes...this was kinda planned. But no, we were not ever in control of it. Thank the LORD for His goodness to us!

3. How did you know you were pregnant? Well, I was actually already 2 months pregnant when I started really having symptoms. And I mean SYMPTOMS! I was nauseous ALL day EVERY day. I didn't want to eat anything sweet (*gasp*). And other things that I will spare you. As much as I really didn't want to take another pregnancy test and see yet another negative, I kept feeling this urging from the LORD to just pee on the stick. So, I did...not really expecting anything different. And it turned up immediately positive! YAY!

4. How are you feeling these days? In a word...rotten. It's starting to get better a little every day, but it was pretty ugly for awhile there. And please don't get me wrong. I prayed for 2 years that the LORD would make it obvious for me when I became pregnant...and I'm truly thankful for every wave of nausea and every food aversion and every soreness or tightness in my body. These all mean to me that the baby is actually there and still growing. I may not be thoroughly enjoying the sickness, but I'm incredibly grateful for it.

5. Speaking of cravings and aversions...got any? Umm...YES! This baby LOVES, loves, loves pickles. I seriously eat pickles every day. Hooglet's also been known to beg for Chik-fil-a and Honey BBQ boneless wings from Buffalo Wild Wings. But mostly I just eat fruit and crackers...and pickles. I cannot stand even the smell of coffee. And sweets are not often eaten...which is very odd for me. And after a wicked case of heartburn last week, greasy and fried foods are absolutely off-limits.

6. Do you want a boy or a girl? I want a healthy human baby. I really am genuinely torn about what gender I want. I'm not at all being modest so you won't think badly of me, I just really keep going back and forth. I will say, however, that if I were a bettin' woman, my money would go on boy, for sure. That doesn't mean that's what I want, it just means that's what I think it is. We'll find out soon enough, and I'll be sure to let you know.

7. Have you thought of names? When Matt and I got engaged three and a half years ago we (really, I) started talking about names. Needless to say, they've changed and morphed since then, but i think we've finally agreed on both girls and boys names. I'm not totally sure I'm ready make them completely public just yet. But let's just say this: With a last name like Hoogendoorn, it's slim pickins for good names.

8. How did your parents react? Eh, they were kinda happy. FALSE! They (the moms) freaked out! They were wanting a grandbaby more than we were wanting a baby. They weren't the only ones who freaked out, though. Just about everybody either cried or jumped up and down or screamed or couldn't stop hugging or a combination of all. This was one long-awaited baby and the longer we all waited, the more joyous our reactions upon hearing the good news. It's one of the coolest feelings in the world to know just how loved this baby already is.

I've answered all I can think to answer right now. Please feel free to ask me any more and I will most definitely try to answer as soon as I can. We're excited and can't wait to get to meet this little miracle baby.

Until then, I leave you with Hooglet's very first picture ever, taken when he/she was a mere 7 weeks old. Doesn't he/she look like an alien Teddy Graham? Such a cute little Teddy Graham. :)

The BIG Dipper

No, this blog post is not about stars. Or constellations. It's also not at all about tobacco-usage of any kind.

This blog post is actually about my obsession with dipping my foods. I'm not really sure when I discovered this idiosyncrasy, but I definitely accept it as the truth. You see, I love to dip my foods. I don't just put ketchup on my hamburger. No, I have to dip the burger into ketchup a cup/puddle as well. But it's not just my burgers that get dipped. Anything I can possibly get away with dipping into something...I dip. Here are a few of my very favorite things to dip.

1. Arby's Sauce
This is probably the sauce that began my obsession with dipping. I love this stuff and of course, my roast beef sandwiches (and maybe a curly fry or potato cake) are no good without lots of it. (If the mean Arby's lady will give me more than 1 packet...Mom knows what I'm talking about.)

2. Frito Lay Bean Dip
I'm typically not a huge fan of Frito's Corn Chips, but somehow they are magically transformed by this incredibly unhealthy, amazingly delicious stuff.

3. Chuy's Jalepeno Ranch DipAgain, I'm just gonna be up-front and honest with you. I cannot stand ranch anything in any form. I gag at just the smell of jalapenos. So, why in the world am I so hopelessly addicted to this tiny little bowl of goodness??? Just please do me one favor...do not ever tell me what goes in this stuff. As they say, ignorance is bliss, my friend.

4. My Husband's Green Salsa and Famous Cheese Dip
Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of either of these insanely delicious dips, but get a load of this delicious dip. ;) But seriously, is there anything in the world that I would not slam dunk into his incredible green salsa or his cheese dip? Chips, breakfast tacos, regular tacos, quesadillas, my fingers.I mean really, the list could go on.

5. Cookies and MilkWhat would life be like without this little taste of heaven on Earth? Of course, oreos might be my favorite to dip into a really cold glass of milk, but no chocolate chip cookie is free from dunkage. I think I feel a craving comin' on.

Like I said before, these are really just a few of my favorite dipping components. I mean, dipping really does make food more fun!

What do you dip?

"Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

It's past noon and I still have not brushed my teeth or put on "real" clothes.

I've pretty much been on Facebook and have been reading various blogs all morning long.

Other than take a shower and straighten my hair (which is actually a HUGE undertaking), I haven't really done anything else very productive.

I have also spent time with JESUS. I'm so thankful that He chose to spend time with me.

Call me lazy, if you will. And I'm sure a few of you may even be groaning and rolling your eyes at my lack of activity today. I gotta be honest, it wasn't that long ago that I would be miserable with myself for taking such a lazy approach to a free day.

But in just the last year or so (more honestly, the last few months), I've really had to train myself to not just take a Sabbath day, but to also enjoy it as well. This is such a tough lesson to be learned when you've grown up in a fast-paced, too-busy-for-life, fill-every-waking-moment-with-something type of lifestyle we generally lead here in America.

Was it just me or when you were younger, did you also have school 5 days a week, with a part-time job or maybe athletics in the evenings and then mounds of homework on the weekends? And then did it also get worse for you once you entered the "real world" filled with "real life" and absolutely never have any moment of real rest, except maybe when you took a 3-hour nap on Sunday afternoons, just to wake back up to clean the house or go grocery shopping or do the budget?

Have you ever really thought about why "Keeping the Sabbath" is such a big deal in the 10 Commandments? I mean, just go to Exodus 20 and take a look at what the LORD says about it. Not only is it the 4th most important of all the commands, but it seems like there's more explanation for it than any of the others.

"Oh, that's Old Testament Law," you say? Let's flip on over to the book of Hebrews and try to figure out why there's almost an entire chapter (4) dedicated to this very same topic. The author of the book of Hebrews even seems to say that if you don't abide by this command, then you are being disobedient and are in danger of not entering into His rest.

I'm sure some of you might have heard before that "GOD's laws are a description of reality." Meaning, He knows, from an infinite mind and a loving heart, that if you do not take time to rest, then you shall surely burn out, mentally snap and go bonkers. So, He made this one of His top and most important laws (even more important than not murdering someone!) because He loves you and knows what's best for you. And at least 1 day of rest is best.

What exactly does He mean by "rest"? Whatever is restful to you. Reading people's blogs and going for a run is restful to me. Gardening and cooking is restful to my husband. Do you enjoy sleeping in and playing games with family? Or do you enjoy going on a hike by yourself? Some people find endless hours of shopping restful for them. I do not.

The Bible doesn't really seem to say what your rest should specifically look like for you, but it does say to make time for rest. And I think we're in danger of something pretty awful if we choose to neglect this (or any other) commandment.

Today is the day I have set aside as my Sabbath. So, what am I going to do with it? I'm going to continue to read people's blogs, then I'm going to pack up and head out to the lake to enjoy the company of some dear friends.

What will your Sabbath look like?