Bethlehem Live!

It's that time of year again. It's almost Christmas and that means Bethlehem Live - our evangelistic outreach that tells the Christmas story in a unique way to our community. To read more about what exactly Bethlehem Live is, read last year's post. Dave and our friend Kris are heading up this massive undertaking ... so things have been a little busy in our household as of late. Hopefully in the next few days we can post some pictures to give you a little peak of the action.

23 Weeks: Missing Modern Medicine

So far 23 weeks hasn't been much fun. Not because the baby isn't well, but rather because I've caught a nasty cold.

I've felt it coming on for the last week and a half, but this weekend it came on in full force. That's right, I have the sore throat, the cough, the chest congestion, the stuffy nose and the sneezing all at once. For years I have complained about the taste of Neo Citron but now that I can't take medicine to cure my ills, I miss that yucky warm lemon taste with a hint of medicine dearly.

Happily I can say today that I feel the worst is behind me. I have survived the worst of the common cold by common means ( a lot of rest). Here's to a good night's rest and the capacity to function the rest of the week!

Week 22: The Bump Gets Bigger

Believe it or not ... the baby may almost be a pound by now and about a foot in length. Of course he has a lot more growing to do and so do I. I think I'm in trouble because I'm already having trouble putting on my socks and shoes!

Week 21: Kicking Like Crazy!

It's been a little while since our last update, but that's because we spent last week at our annual District Prayer Retreat in Banff. We drove down with our friends Kris & Melody who are also pregnant - but much farther along (just over 8 months at the time). Needless to say, there were a lot of bathroom stops and walking around to prevent any blood clots.

Of course while we were in Banff we did a little shopping and it goes without saying that we had to buy something for our son. Dave is rather famous for the size of his big toes (especially the right one). Some guys on his floor in college actually carved it into a pumpkin one year for Halloween. Anyway ... we came upon a great find in a children's store. There is a series of plush monster dolls called "Ugly Dolls". There are a variety of creatures with multiple arms, missing or multiple eyes and buck teeth. One of the dolls is actually named "Big Toe" and so we couldn't resist ... we had to buy one for our future son who could possibly inherit the same digits.

As far as what's new with baby ... our little guy has become an acrobat. I've been feeling very sporadic, and infrequent kicks for about a month. But as of the end of October our son has found his legs, arms, and elbows and has begun kicking frequently. Of course most of the time this is in the evening and especially when I've laid down to go to bed. Dave jokes that our son is actually nudging me with those big toes! No matter when, why or with what he's jabbing me with - there's no other feeling like it in the world. The second trimester is great!

Week 19 . . . It's a Boy!

Today (Oct. 31st) was our first, 19 week ultrasound.

That means, our baby's first pictures.

It really is amazing at how much you can see on an ultrasound ... the beating heart, his spine, fingers, and toes, even our son's smile! And yes ... it's a boy! Apparenlty the little guy has a lot of energy because he was moving around like crazy .... not that I can feel all of that yet. We're so excited for our little miracle!!

Doing some more flips

(You can see the spine)

The baby's face (top view)

Daddy's feet? (Look at that big toe!)