She's Still A Girl! :)

I interviewed with a midwife today to talk about doing my prenatal care with her and possibly a home birth. Anyway, we were able (by the generosity and grace of God!) to get a sneak peak ultrasound at our little baby and she's still a girl! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and her name will be.........................

LUCIE JOY!!! :) :) :)

(our "joyful shining light")

We can't wait to meet you, Little Lu!

20 weeks!

HALF WAY THERE! (CAN THIS BE?!?)
I haven't felt any DEFINITE kicks in there yet, but if I push on my belly, and leave my hand there, I can feel a little pressing back... it feels like a strong pulse to me, but it only happens once, not in a pattern like a heartbeat. :) Today I ended up laying on my stomach for one moment but I quickly hopped back up because I could feel a "form" in there! :) It was so strange to not just feel like I was laying on a big belly, but on an actual "being"! I could tell where she was, as if I was laying on something that was really on the bed! Crazy!


This week has been a very enjoyable one. After a refreshing prayer meeting on Monday night, where both Brian and I received a good dose of lovin' from our friends through insightful prayers and specific words of encouragement about where God has us right now and how He is going to take care of us, we came away realizing how important it is to live IN the moment, not in the past, and not worrying about the future... I've been reading Luke 12 where it talks about not worrying about your life, and not storing up treasure on earth... and we've been endeavoring to walk in that kind of trust, knowing that if God cares about birds and lilies, how much more does He care for us!

We've been taking walks around my parents' neighborhood almost every day. (Good exercise for the pregnant mama!). On Tuesday, our friend Linda Lu invited us to go fishing with her, so we spent the day with her and our other friend Todd Peroud, out on Lake Conroe catching fish, snacking on chicken salad and other picnic treats, and soaking up the sunshine and beautiful day!

Wednesday, I did hair at the house most of the day. Brian cooked an AMAZING spaghetti dinner and the Crouse family plus a few guests sat down around the table to chat it up and enjoy the tastiness! Our friend Diane was over and I think we ended up all chatting til 12 in the morning! Good-good times...

Here's Han's new haircut (pre-color)... It's real cute. ;)



Today I tried my hand at making banana bread muffins, and they turned out quite tasty indeed! I'm really enjoying being home, and having time on my hands... time to be productive, and to do things I wouldn't normally take the time to do... it's nice to live here, with all the conveniences and treats of our western world, but without allowing the stress of the usual fast paced American lifestyle to be in charge. It's a blessing to be here at my parent's house and we are going to be cooking dinner more often to show our appreciation!!!

Home Sweet Home

We are home and it's GOOD TO BE BACK! I've definitely been enjoying the tastes of Texas! And it's been quite a convenient time, as I have really noticed my appetite increasing these last two weeks! I'm 18 weeks today and GROWING. :)

Yesterday was my first day "out and about" on my own. Brian had some things to do, so I borrowed my mom's car and went driving wherever I wanted! I checked out the Conroe shopping scene after grabbing an iced Passion tea from Starbucks. I hit up Hobby Lobby just to do some browsing and happened upon the YARN isle where there was a huge sale... all this yarn for only $1.99! This was VERY convenient for me, since I have been crocheting a baby blanket with some multi-colored yarn my mom sent to me in Africa. I had been wanting to get some orange yarn to go with it and there it was... 2 rolls of the exact same brand as my multi-colored yarn--on sale! I bought that up! Now that I'm home, I work on the blanket during late night conversations with my parents, at prayer meetings, and at band practice. It's coming along nicely!

After Hobby Lobby, I headed over to Old Navy, TJ Maxx (THAT is the place to get everything!), and random shoe stores... I was behaving myself and not spending money though I would have liked to buy the whole world! Need to wait 'til we have some sort of income before I start depleting the small savings we're floating on right now. It was still fun to look around though.:)

Then, I headed toward the Outlet Mall, where I browsed the Motherhood maternity store. (I actually tried on a pair of pants that were too SHORT for me. That has NEVER happened before! EVER!) My last stop was Carter's which I had been hearing about from new mommy friends, and I looked around for a while before deciding that I HAD to buy at least one thing for my baby (my first baby purchase ever). Isn't this cute!?!

All in all, it is WONDERFUL to be back home in the U.S.A. Brian and I are seeking God's direction for this next season of our lives, and we can't wait to see what He has in store. For now, we are staying at the Crouse House (THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!) and taking care of the small things that are in our hands until we know a little bit more about our future living/working situations. Please keep us in your prayers.

Here are a few bonus pics of us during our layover in London on the way home.
We rode the underground "tube" into central London and froze as we walked around trying to soak it all in... We ate at a little hole in the wall GENUINE Italian restaurant, and the food was VERY tasty... but I couldn't help feeling self-conscious that I didn't know how to use a fork and knife "properly". :) Here we are:

FUN TIMES!