Planned C-section birth plan

Hello Bloggy world,

If you had a planned c-section birth plan, I would love to see it. I keep looking on the Internet and I've found a few, but not to many of them. I'm almost 20 weeks, and am starting to feel the urge to "prepare." I would appreciate any help.

thanks!

Belly update

A fun picture at 19 weeks. We go in next week for our big ultrasound, even though, I already know who this is. Luke continues to be fascinated by my belly, but I think it might be the stage he is in. If I don't put a onesie on him, he lifts his shirt all day long to stare at his belly button. It is really cute until he starts doing it to strangers. Gets a little bit awkward at that point, but who cares. He's cute and 14 months old.

Taking all bets. . .

Hello! Sorry it has been so very long again. I do have some pictures from our weekend at Cedar Point, but we lost the camera. :) I'm sure it will turn up one of these days. I would take updated pictures, but I don't want to share what the inside of my house looks like right now. Overall, I have been feeling better and getting some things done but I'm afraid that it does not look like much.

On the Christmas front, we are done shopping for Luke and his goodies from Santa are hidden in the spare bedroom. We forgot the other day and he walked in, eyes wide. You see, most of the gifts we purchased are safely hidden in bags or already wrapped (thank you Pottery Barn Kids) but there is one toy that is going to just get a bow Christmas morning because it is a 4 foot pony he can ride. Needless to say, Luke is already in love. What boy wouldn't be.

The smallest Graham continues to grow and has begun to let me know of his or her presence. I got kicked all the way through service yesterday and enjoyed every minute of it. Just to put it out there, I know the gender of our child!!! And no, I'm not telling. Matthew does not want to know and I am trying to honor his wishes. However, I simply had to know. I'm one of those Mommy's that has nightmares about bringing my baby home and not having anything for the wee little one. So, not to copy a certain popular book series, are you Team Boy or Team Girl?

Falling into God's plan

I know I don't usually publish a whole lot of serious stuff and truth be told, I have a whole lot to be grateful for. God has blessed us richly and we like to celebrate His goodness. Matthew and I are always seeking God's will with the direction of our lives and He likes to surprise us in the direction that He is going to take us. The thing is, we seek, and seek and seek and feel that we have a good direction and we start in that direction only to have God spin us 180 and take us in a new way we never even thought of.

Take Luke for example. We tried to conceive for years and after tests, and doctors, and prayer, we decided to adopt. Three months later, I was pregnant and we had no maternity coverage. Talk about surprises. But the thing is, God provided. He provided insurance coverage through my temp job and has been providing enough for us to make payments on the rest. I'm not saying there has been a lot of extras and we have had to make due without a few things (like matching plates, new shoes, and date night at a non-Taco Bell establishment) but there has always been enough.

After Luke, we decided that we had had our miracle and we were considering our options again. I know that God is capable of doing anything and I do believe that, but when you receive the gift your heart desires most, you are content. Sure, God could do another great work, but I didn't dream of asking.

Funny how that works sometimes. I didn't dare ask, but God is gracious and blesses us even when we don't ask. I found out I was pregnant 10 weeks ago. We are, again, without maternity coverage. I have been staying at home with my little guy, so the temp agency insurance thing is out and we are having a planned C-section because my body does not work properly. We aren't even all on the same insurance because we can't get Luke covered due to his seizures in the past year. sigh. It is really tough to look down the barrel of a 18,000 dollar gun and know that the trigger is going off April 21.

The thing is, we are just falling into God's plan and trusting that He is going to provide. He has not brought us here to watch us struggle and fail but rather to make His glory and miracle that much bigger.

So to the doctors, who said it wouldn't happen, my heart with its fears and the hospital billing department. . . bring it. God knows what He is doing.

Trunk-or-Treat

My parent's church was hosting a trunk-or-treat so we dressed up our little Duck and had him gather some candy for us. In all fairness, we left him the suckers and the M&M's. But I just think he's a bundle of cuteness and had to share!

Last Week

Sorry to be so behind in our fall fun updates! Our falls just go into fast forward sometimes. Last weekend, we went to Russel Farms, a small family run farm in our area that has corn mazes, a petting zoo, pumpkin patch and hay rides.

This won't be our Christmas picture because Luke was not smiling, but I still think it's fun!



Luke and his Daddy in the corn maze.



Then we went to look at the goats. Luke really enjoyed this part of the day. However, he was a bit confused. He liked to walk up the the goats ends instead of their fronts and he was also under the impression that they needed a good, solid thumping. The goats did not agree.



Luke and Christian were able to rally together against the goats when one decided to nibble on Christian's pacifier.



Next came the hay ride and pumpkin patch. Luke thought this one had great potential.


And wondered why Daddy thought it was a bit to big to carry out the patch. (Keeping in mind that Daddy had to carry the pumpkin and Luke.)


So, Luke decided he would take matters into his own hands and eventually had to concede defeat.

We were able to compromise at the end of the day and find a pumpkin that made us all happy!

random bits

Happy Fall! There is a chill in the air that I love. It makes me want to carve pumpkins, drink apple cider and start making my Christmas shopping list. I will be 11 weeks tomorrow and I am hoping that means a quick end to my morning sickness. Matthew will be a very happy man on that day. Poor guy has been doing all of the shopping and cooking.

This past weekend was one of our last peaceful, lazy weekends for a long time. The next few months are full of family outings, a trip to Cedar Point, bridal showers for my soon to be sister-in-law and getting ready for the holidays.

Matthew's mom's birthday was this past weekend and she requested a picture of Luke in one of Matthew's old outfits. We, of course, could not let a picture taking event pass without spiking the little guy's hair.