Life is rolling right along and I am just trying to keep up with it! Our lives have been packed full and we have been beyond busy throughout the past month, but I would honestly have it no other way.
I have realized that my favorite moments in life are simply being with the people I love, and we have been blessed to be able to do just that over the past weeks!
We attended a dear friend's wedding early in October -- and Mckinley was so excited to get to go and dance the night away!
Justin, Mckinley and I have been working on baby boy's nursery, and we are almost finished! Mckinley is actually a great artist and her 'perfectionist' tendencies made her wall art projects look fantastic! My wonderful husband is a master at making my dreams a reality - I find a picture on Pinterest and I just assume that Justin can make it for me - and he always does (without having to spend a fortune!) With a nautical nursery, and a daddy that would spend all of his time on the lake if he could, our son has no choice but to love the water!
We were planning on going to Canada to spend time with Justin's family in October, but my doctor advised us to stay close to home, so we improvised and had a wonderful weekend as a family. Shopping, Build-a-Bear, and a Buckeye's party with friends was a pretty good alternative!
A few weeks ago my Great Aunt Jan passed away after a battle with cancer. Jan babysat my sister and I when we were growing up, and some of my favorite childhood memories happened when I was with her. She showed so much love and 'adopted' us as her stand-in grandchildren, and I am so thankful that she was such a huge part of my life. I absolutely loved having an 'extra' grandma! I miss her already, but know that she is enjoying life in the presence of her Savior. Every time someone that I love enters heaven, it makes it seem all that more real and tangible - and I truly can't wait to join them some day!
The past few weeks were filled with trips to the pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving, Halloween (with the cutest Minnie Mouse), a flu bug for Mckinley, a visit from Great Grandpa and Grandma Diller, a visit from Uncle Kyle and Aunt Jenny, a girl's weekend shopping with Mama and Emmy, and Uncle Justin's birthday! I absolutely love seeing Mckinley's personality unfold each day, and I am so grateful to have a child who LOVES life. She is happy and pleasant 99.9% of the time and I feel blessed to just get to be her mom.
Even though I love being busy , I have realized that an evening at home eating leftovers, taking baths, giggling
until we cant breathe, and extra long bedtime snuggles is my favorite
kind of day. I absolutely love my little family!
I am officially 36 weeks and 3 days along with our little man! A few weeks ago, my doctor was concerned that this little guy may come earlier than expected - so I was advised to take it easy in order to keep him 'cooking' a little longer. I have been having a lot of contractions for quite some time and some pretty intense pelvic pain which makes walking and doing normal daily activities difficult. My doctor had hoped that I would make it to this point, and then she wanted me to be able to deliver ASAP (which I am a-ok with). She is afraid that I won't be able to walk at all if I go all the way to 40 weeks.
I had an appointment yesterday, and this is what I learned:
1) I am still pregnant.
2) I am still having contractions and my pelvic bones are still separating.
3) There seems to be little 'progress' as far as the baby coming now.
4) There isn't much that my doctor can do to speed things along or to help with my pain.
5) My doctor suggested that I quit working and take it easy so that I am not on my feet so much so that I can conserve my energy and hopefully still be able to walk in the coming weeks.
8) And. I am still. pregnant.
After my appointment I was feeling very discouraged. I do not like to complain, but yesterday I had an emotional day. After being in the mindset that this baby would most likely come early, and now being told that we may have several more weeks, I just needed to cry. I am beyond thankful to be chosen to be a mom to my kids, but I think that I am just tired and overly emotional. I am also feeling discouraged because of the amount of pain that I am in. I feel that because of the pain and not being able to move much that I am not able to be a good teacher, wife, or mother. Justin was once again wonderful amidst all of my tears, and reassured me that we would make it through.
Today I woke up with a better outlook and realized that I need to simply rely on God for strength and know that I will have a baby boy to hold in a few weeks time. While I am definitely anxious and somewhat impatient, I realize that we will be a family of four in a (relatively) short amount of time!
