Hawaii 2013 - Days 1-4

A few weeks ago Joel and I had the opportunity to take a vacation to Hawaii. We used military planes to get there which means free airfare and once we got there the fun and relaxation kept going.

Day 1-

We were met at the terminal by our friend who greeted us with the most wonderful smelling leis you've ever smelled. A true Hawaiian welcome.

The beautiful sights were around every corner. Our guide wasted no time throwing us into the  many tourist spots on Ouahu. This is me 16 1/2 weeks preggo, a small bump is beginning to form. 

Right from the airplane to a hike up to see a lighthouse with another great view. Behind us in this pic. is Diamond Head Crater which we later climbed.

Refreshments after a long wonderful day. This is our wonderful friend and best tour guide you'll ever have, Megan.

Day 2- We hung out at our cabin by the beach, relaxed, and did laundry. In the evening we went to dinner at the Yard House where I felt the baby move for the first time! It was unreal!

Day 3-

Our day at Pearly Harbor was truly sobering. 

Day 4- We hiked up Diamond Head Crater. Needless to say it was a bit rough for me. Joel said it was because I was breathing for 2. How sweet he is! We made it to the top! 

A pic. from the top into the crater. 

A beautiful view of Waikiki

Glad we made it!

A New Adventure

Joel and I are embarking on a new adventure starting this November. The adventure we're going on is going to be challenging, rewarding, stressful, and wonderful all at the same time, or so we've heard. Our adventure is...parenting! That's right, I'm pregnant.

Week 15

Baby Size: An apple or orange. 2 1/2 ounces. 4 inches long

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +4 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: One pair of capris (that I LOVE). Regular tanks. Regular jean w/ the help of a hairband

Stretch Marks: Nope

Sleep: Between getting up to pee and generally being uncomfortable, I haven't been able to get much sleep. Naps are great though!

Best Moment This Week: I went to the Dr.'s and heard baby's heartbeat. And finding out that I am "on track" weight gain wise. I was a bit worried.

Miss Anything: Mostly wine and beer

Food Cravings: Anything spicy

Anything make you queasy or sick: trash smell and dog food smell

Have you started to show: A bit, but I think it looks more like chub belly than baby belly

Movement: Fluttering a few days ago! So strange. The Dr. said I was "really in tune with my body." Mostly I've just been waiting for this since I read about it this week.

Gender: Don't know yet

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding Rings on or off: Off from a while ago. I kept reading horror stories about women who wake up one morning with so much swelling that their rings are stuck on their fingers and have to be cut off. I thought, "better safe than sorry."

Mood: Generally happy

Looking forward to: Resort life on Hawaii with Joel and the parentals

Due Date: November 16, 2013

Ultrasound week 10

"Prayer is a work to which we must commit ourselves if we are to make sense of our lives in light of eternity." -Terry Glaspey

He's coming

Isaiah 25:6-9 "On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

 Recently I've been clinging to the truth that this place is not my home. The pain and disappointment of life are so strong and real, that at times, it takes my breath away. I await the day when He will come again in glory and in judgement. I am waiting for him daily to save me from the wickedness of sin upon this earth and from the sin my own heart. The mar of the curse touches everything. Just when I think there is relief from it, it rears its ugly head.

 But thanks be to God, He will come again. Death will be no more. There will be no more sorrow and no more tears. We will see him as he is, face to face. All will be made glorious. I can almost picture it...almost. Restoration. Renewal. I imagine what it would be like, knowing that I see in a mirror dimly. It will be unlike any of us have ever known. Revival.

 I sit and ponder. I sit and wait. I wait for him that he might save me.

Puppy love.

"We get the dog we need not necessarily the dog we want," Cesar Milan. This certainly is true about our dog. When we first got him was so skittish that he would cower and shake at the sound of my husband's voice. I've had to learn how to be a confident pack leader. He's gotten better, but still has a ways to go. He's not totally free from all of his quirks, but who is?

"now in the clear light of day..."

“Now in the clear light of day, I see that Jesus, if he was merely my accomplice, had betrayed me. If, on the other hand, he was God, he had freed me. For God is God, and if he is God, He is worthy of my worship and my service, and I will find rest nowhere but in His will, and that will is infinitely, immeasurably, unspeakably, beyond my largest notion of what He is up to." Elizabeth Elliot- No Graven Image. Job 42- God becomes the end. not the means to a good life. everything i have is a GIFT from god, my breath/life is grace. When i begin to think i deserve things, i've built my life/gain identity on those things. when suffering comes and it shakes those things. suffering can drive me from god. but if i see everything as grace i turn TO god in the midst suffering.

my sentiments today

"A heart torn between two pieces of earth. Between two different and unique people. This heart feels like it may break. With one, yearning for the other. And then a breath... Peace...Be with the one and keep the other close. So close you can almost taste, touch, and hear it. Red, the dirt. Beautiful, the faces. So distant yet so near. Always in my heart."