Life in Saipan

These last few weeks have been insane...like something out of a movie. I can't even begin to explain everything so I won't try. I will say that we have grown tremendously and been changed by our move to Saipan. We have been deeply saturated in a cultural experience like none other, we have gotten to spend more time together in the last few weeks than we have in any other 4 weeks in our marriage. That has been a blessing. But things are different and there are things that we have to adjust to and things that we have to decide if we can adjust to. It's all very intense.

As far as baby, he is moving like never before. It reminds me of that game where those groundhound things pop out of holes all over and then going disappear. I have lumps appearing and disappearing all over my belly. It's pretty funny! I can't believe I am nearing 33 weeks. That is so insane to me. I have been looking forward to this moment since I was a little girl and here it is just weeks away! I have to say that as the time draws near it is bittersweet to imagine family and friends not here to celebrate with us. Particularly our mothers and sisters being here to greet our sweet munchkin as he is just minutes new into the world. That is hard. But God is good and we continue to hold on to the fact that we are here for a purpose.

Overall this is truly a season of patience, obedience, and spiritual growth. Though there are difficult moments I believe Aaron and I have realized that we are both stronger and more resilent then we thought. We have also grown closer to one another through this process. And we have been able to spend these last few weeks of my pregnancy together, making decisions and enjoying each other's company. I can't say that this would be the case in the states and for that I am forever grateful.

Enough for today. I will be back soon. Honest :)

Big Changes!

I'm just going to pretend that I have not majorly failed at blogging for the entire month of July. I have actually been dreading writing this blog entry because so much has changed in a matter of a few weeks that I feared I would be writing the world's longest blog entry. But I will try to be brief.

In the world of pregnancy: I am HUGE! Bending has become a commodity along with a normal ankle size. But I am so very grateful to be this far along. I remember being in the first trimester things 30 weeks seemed years away. And here I am, closing in on 31! God is good and we could not be more excited to welcome our sweet baby boy. He has been moving and kicking and it is just so precious to be able to create life. I am completely grateful. As I fold his little clothes I get teary thinking of a little body fitting in these cute outfits one day soon.

In the world of our life in general, we moved! No...not down the street. That would be far too convenient. Instead, we moved across the world to a small gorgeous island called Saipan. It is a U.S. Territory that no one has heard of and it is pretty incredible. See the pictures?!

But rewinding a bit...how did this come to be?!?! I actually heard about it from my now previous boss. He is helping to start a golf school here in Saipan and mentioned that they were looking for a young Christian couple to stay in the dorms and serve as houseparents to the kids. That's us! So it's really that easy. We prayed about it, communicated back and forth with the individuals heading the program up in Saipan and about 5 weeks later we were on a 18 trek to Saipan from good ol' Houston, TX. And here we are. The opportunity is very exciting though it has turned into something a bit different from what we originally thought. There are no children here yet and most likely won't be until September or October at the very earliest. So our focus has been preparing for them, marketing, and getting the basics taken care of. I think it works out pretty well as it has given us time to get acquainted with things here. The island is lovely and the people are most hospitable. It's great place to raise a family. The only unfortunate thing is that the island is really struggling economically. It largely depended on the garment industry up until a few years ago but was completely shut down by the US government due to wage issues. That could be another blog entirely but everyone has their own opinions. Either way, it is sad to see businesess abandoned or struggling, people living in poverty trying to make it day to day.

Before I left Houston, we had a lovely baby shower/going away party. See?!

There had to have been a good 60 people there. It was great...and sad to see so many of the people we love gathered in one place to acknowledge the pending birth of our sweet baby, but also our departure. These past weeks have been very emotional for us. We are excited because we truly feel God placed us here and that he orchestrated everything so beautifully so that we could be here. But it is hard nonetheless. We miss our families and some of the luxuries we took for granted in the states. But we are humbled as well...in a very healthy and spiritually awakening kind of way.

In sad news, we have to find another home for our puppy, Lilah. My mom moved into our house which has been great but I think Lilah is a bit much for her. So we are going to find her a good home with the help of my friend Katt and her husband. It is so hard to think of her as gone. She quickly became a part of our family and even though she chewed up a huge part of our home, we loved her. But we have to trust that this too is happening for a reason and that it will be best for our loving pup. She came into our life for a reason. It makes me cry to type this...so let's move on.

So that is that...quite the post full. There is so much more to say and write but I will save it for another entry, hopefully in the not too distant future. Thank you all for reading...for caring about our lives. We are excited to share with you our adventures in Saipan as well as our soon to be adventures in Parentland. This is sure to be an action packed blog in the coming months!

Until next time!

24/25 Weeks

I wrote a 24 week post and I just realized that it is not here! So now I have been forced to combine two weeks...again.

Recap...the last few weeks have been insane. Lilah was sick...now she's better (or at least getting there). There was a lot more in the vanishing post but I can't remember. :(

I can't believe tomorrow will make 26 weeks! I remember being in the first trimester thinking thirs trimester was decades away. Now it's practically here and I am unprepared! We finally picked out nursery furniture but other than that...we have done nothing!

There may be some pretty insane news coming up but I am going to hold off until it is final.

Other than that, I guess I've got nothing to say. Hmmmm, that's a first.

22/23 Weeks

Don't judge me!

I know I am way behind but life happens. I'm trying to think of something of importance to type but I'm really coming up with nothing.

Oh! We got a new doggie! Her name is Lilah. We got here from the Humane Society and it has been an adventure ever since. She has been to the vet about 4 times since we picked her up May 27th because she ripped the stitches out of her leg (from having her dew claws removed) which we think caused her 105 fever! In addition, we are hoping that she simply has kennel cough and not distemper because she has an interesting little cough which we have been giving her medicine for. Lord, please don't let her infect Seven! He just had bladder surgery 2 weeks ago...we could really use a break! Lilah is a real sweetheart though. She is a German Shepherd mix and although she has torn up quite a few things around here now, she is extremely loving and very obviously happy to have a home. Her and Seven are cute to watch and Seven is MOSTLY happy to have her around.

I had a Dr.'s appt this morning. All seems well. I have been having this delightfully intense pain near my side which my Dr. believe is my gall bladder. She advised me to make note of what I was doing, or eating when the pain flared up and then to avoid doing it. Super... On a more pleasant note, I have only gained 12 lbs this pregnancy so woohoo!!!

We should be wrapping up baby furniture shopping today. We just started it yesterday officially but I have quickly discovered that with all the options out there, it's a good idea to just pick one and move on with our lives.

So that's that! Here's a picture of our sweet Lilah and I will try to get a picture of me up soon as well!

'Til next time...

21 Weeks and Life This Week!

We'll keep this fairly brief. As far as baby news, there isn't much. I will say that I have been feeling our little one moving around quite a bit this week, and a lot today inparticular. Everyone can officially tell I'm pregnant (for a few weeks not) pretty much no matter how loose my clothes are at this point. This is comforting mainly because for a while random people looked at my belly trying to figure out what was going on. So that's nice. Heartburn on the other hand is not :(

On Monday, I won home owners associate president. I am so excited and can't tell you how hard I worked for this and how many neighbors' doors I knocked on. There are so many things I want to implement...and have already started to implement. Anyone who knows me knows this is right up my alley.

Coincidently, someone broke into our house yesterday. So that was fun! They stole our lovely flatscreen TV which was not cool but we are feeling very blessed because it could've been so much worse. A neighbor actually caught them in the act because the genuises decided to drive a car and park it right in our driveway. Funny enough, I had just filled out the paperwork to get neighborhood watch going in our neighborhood so now that it a top priority. It makes me sad more than anything that some people think it is okay to take what someone else worked for. It's scary even. Something really funny is that we had been watching way too much Criminal Minds on our TV that no longer lives here so we entered out home yesterday as if it was our own personal crime investigation...assessing glass placement and analyzing random strands of hair and footprints left in the carpet. That part was actually pretty entertaining.

On a happier note, our State of the Marriage event went beautifully. It was our first attempt at it and it surpassed both of our expectations. I am so grateful for my wonderful and loving husband, our moments of immense growth towards God and one another, and the precious memories we get to create together.

20 Weeks!

So that's me at 20 weeks. I am sooooooo excited and thankful to be at the halfway point. We can't help but get more excited each day! This post will most likely be short because outside of being halfway through the pregnancy, not a lot happened.

I did decide to have a maternity shopping party. Most don't know what this is because...I made it up. Essentially, you buy gently used maternity items in your pregnant guests' sizes and then you have a party and let them shop. Pretty easy, huh. And of course food, fun, and fellowship are involved in this event. But I'm excited. It's gonna be pretty cool I think.

Today after church, Aaron and I are going to have our first "State of the Marriage". What is that you ask?! Well it's pretty similar to the State of the Union, State of the Club, or and other State of the... You discuss the where you've been, where you are, where you're going. I'm pretty excited. I heard about this concept a few weeks ago and knew it was something we should do. We will be discussing baby stuff, what values we will hold fast to as a family, finances, our upcoming Babymoon trip, and immediate priorities. There's a few other things tossed in there but you get the general idea.

Well, that's enough for now! Talk to ya soon! Oh...and check out my new blog Glorious Entertainment ( http://www.gloriousentertainment.blogspot.com )

19 Weeks

Well tomorrow I will officially be at the halfway point of my pregnancy...20 weeks! This past week was pretty baby-full! Last Monday, I had an anatomy scan which basically checks to make sure the baby is progressing "normally". We got more ultrasound pics and our little boy was going wild. He is absolutely precious with his little round head! We adore him already! Thursday we found out the results of the anatomy scan which went great. Everything appears to be progressing normally, an answered prayer. I often feel his precious little baby kicks. I love this kid! I attempted to take my first stab at nursery shopping. UNSUCCESSFUL! Really...how many cribs can one place have?!?!

San Diego was fantastic! I had so much stinkin' fun! My mother and I stayed with my Aunt Sandy which was such a blast. I hadn't seen my aunt since I was a little girl and it was wonderful getting to visit with her! She is so much like my mom...it's pretty much a nonstop comedy show. My friend Domashaa and I are more alike than I even remember. It's interesting how even though we hadn't spoken in about 5 years and seen each other in even longer, we are even more similar and closer than before. But we have our differences too...things that make our friendship exciting and allow opportunity for growth for each of us by rubbing off on the other. God is good like that. Anyways, I love her and I can't say how glad I am to have her.

My mother and mother-in-law came over for Mother's Day and we cooked them up a nice lunch which was attended by our two sisters. Then Aaron and I went over and swam at our sisters new place. I can't really consider what I did swimming but it was great to flap around in the water and spend time with my sissy.

Other than that things are pretty much the same around here. I am going to try to get back on track with this blog so a 20 week post should follow shortly.

'Til then...

Peace & Blessings!