Belly @ 14 weeks

Many people have asked for 'belly pictures'...so here is the first one. My good friend Jen took belly pics every 2 weeks, and it was so cool to see the progression of her belly getting bigger! I'm going to try and do that- belly pics every two weeks.

Birthday on the Beach

All the boys

Claire, Katey, Stew, and Matt

Angela, myself, and Danielle

John and I

Matt, Daniel, and David

We celebrated Jon Lancour's 30th birthday on the beach with a bunch of friends.

It was so great to chill on the beach with friends, tiki torches, sand, and the waves in the background. Things have been pretty busy lately, so it was GREAT being able to hang out with everyone! John and I always feel so blessed to have great friends we can share good times, and laugh with.

Easter (just a few weeks late...)

John built a fort for the kids out of couch cushions, and blankets. Sam used John's headlight to explore...it was so cute!

Sam bossing Rebecca around...probably something to do with how the eggs will be counted.

Stella loved Kaya's crate!

Getting ready with their Easter baskets.

Kaya and Stella enjoying the view

My whole side of the family came down for Easter, and we had a really good time! This was the first time my brother, sister-in-law, and their two kids have ever been down, and the first time the whole family has been down all at once. I wasn't able to get a lot of pictures, but here are the one's I was able to get.

To, Leah...Love, God

I saw this verse on another blogger's blog today. Although I've read this many times before, and seen it on plaques in baby rooms...today's interpretation was different.

It's like God wrote me a verse...

' I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.' ~ 1 Samuel 1:27

Ant Invasion

How gross is this?!

This is only after like an hour of the gel being on these little cardboard tabs!!

About two weeks ago, John and started seeing a few ants here and there on the stretch of counter tops where the sink is in the kitchen. I went looking for Terro brand ant traps, but couldn't find them, and settled for a different brand. No big deal.

A few days later, they appeared in the dishwasher...gross! I had to douse the ants in a Clorox/water solution. It helped for a little bit, but then the ants came back! John took the dishwasher apart, and we found ants in the dryer vent in the dishwasher (weird)! While we had company, it was a HUGE pain in the neck, and we found ourselves running the dishwasher everyday, just to keep the ant down. (The ant traps clearly weren't working.)

I called Katey to remind me of the brand, which is Terro, and bought them this morning. It's a different way of killing the ants: you put a little drop of this gel ant killer on these little cardboard tabs, the ants eat the gel, bring it to their colonies, and all the ants die! I remember this working great last year when we had ants, so I was anxious to try it again.

I put the tabs, and gel down about two hours ago and it's creating an ANT INVASION already! Oh my goodness! I had to take pictures of it because it's pretty amazing how many came out of where ever they've been hiding.

The next step...

I announced a few days ago that John and I are expecting a baby in October...and so far, all of our appointments and ultrasounds have been great! I still experience some amount of anxiety, doubt, and stress surrounding the pregnancy. Many people (including the doctors) have said that getting through the first trimester is HUGE, and that the chance of miscarrying is much lower, but...there is still a chance. I knew someone who went in for her 20 week appointment, and expecting to find out the sex of the baby that day, instead, they found out that she had miscarried. I know it's rare, but I'm sure my friend didn't think she'd be in that tiny percentage.

I guess the next step is to continue to pray continually (which I feel like I'm always doing!!) for Baby Bean, and his/her development. I am doing everything I can on my end to ensure a healthy 'home' for Baby Bean- taking my prenatal vitamins, finishing up the last of the progesterone hormones, eating well, and resting when I can...the rest is up to God!

If you feel lead, we would so appreciate your prayers throughout this entire pregnancy!

Prayer for the following:

* For a healthy baby to develop
* Good news at each appointment/ultrasound
* Peace for both John and I in between appointments
* More energy for Leah (the pregnancy and meds have been wiping me out!!)
* Allowing excitement to overcome Leah, instead of fear and nervousness

We'll continue to keep you posted along the way. Our next appointment is in about 3 1/2 weeks. We'll get to hear the baby's heartbeat, and they'll measure my belly.

Meet Baby Bean...

Happy Daddy!!

Baby Bean @ 12 weeks

Baby Bean @ 10 weeks

Baby Bean @ 8 weeks

Baby Bean @ 7 weeks

Baby Bean @ 6 weeks

We are SO excited to share our good news: we're pregnant, and I'm due October 14th! I'm a little over 12 weeks along, and things are going really well :-) Here are our ultrasounds up to this point: