Are They Kankles? Or Kneecles?

Ugh, my ankles are kankles... just look at these sock lines!

Actually, I normally have tiny skinny chicken legs, so the swelling makes me have normal looking legs. :) Pleeease don't look at my gross toenails, though! (Chris was so embarassed by them that he actually cut them for me the other day! I love that man.)

I'm 31 weeks along and I had a quick checkup today. I was surprised to be in and out of the doctor's office within 20 minutes! I've now gained 28 pounds - 3 of which I've put on in the last two weeks. She said that my screenings for gestational diabetes and preeclampsia from my last appointment were negative and my levels are "perfect". With how smoothly everything has gone, I shouldn't complain about swollen feet! We're really blessed. :)

I also pre-registered at the hospital this week. Talk about making this feel very real... I just can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone! Hannah is more active everyday, and I just can't wait to meet her!

Swab A Mouth! Save A Life!

Over the holidays, one of my coworkers lost his father to lymphoma. In his honor, a few other coworkers and I decided we would get on the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry. And I'm really excited to say that I did so today.

All they did was take a mouth swab, and they'll analyze the cells to see if there's a match in the system of a person needing a bone marrow transplant. Should they ever find someone that is a potential match, there will more testing before undergoing any donation.

Cancer is something that has always scared me. It's hit close to home as I've watched close family and friends battle the disease. But over the past few years that I've worked in health care, I've come to realize that in many cases it's beatable. With advances in technology and early detection, the survival rate is on the up-and-up. That's good news!

One word of encouragement though: take care of yourself! Eat well and exercise. Do your preventive monthly self-exams and take into consideration what your body is telling you. Schedule an appointment to see a doctor if you're feeling unwell. And find a good support system. We can't do this thing called life on our own.

If you're interested in becoming a donor, or are just curious what I signed up for, read more about it all at http://www.marrow.org/.

A Long Overdue Blog

Oh my gosh, this blog of mine is so neglected! I can’t begin to count the many times I’ve sat down to type out my thoughts, but have been too tired or distracted or busy. No matter. I’ll catch up my avid blog-followers (I dream there are many, but oh how few of you there are) on the past few months of my life as I enjoy the therapy that comes in wordsmithing.

So my life can be summed up in one word: pregnant. Seeing that I’m growing a person in my body – a real life human being – all I can do is think about the baby.

Today, I’m 26 weeks along. For those of you who find it hard to divide by fours (which was one of the harder multiples, in my opinion), I’m a little more than 6 months along. And in those 6 months, I’ve gained a whopping 25 pounds. I’m a small girl and tend to be a bit of a lightweight (i.e. wimp), so you better believe I’m quite excited. However, my child is only a pound-and-a-half of that. So I like to think the rest is all muscle… as I bite into this delicious coconut chocolate truffle.

In November, we found out we’re having a little girl and we’ve named her Hannah Riley. It’s pretty surreal that we’re having a child… until she gives me a good kick to let me know, “Hey, this is pretty real, Mom!”

I’m so thankful that this pregnancy has been so smooth and that Hannah is growing and healthy. Chris is pretty happy, too, that the hormones haven’t made me into some crazy woman. I’ve had a few emotional moments, which are actually pretty funny, but perhaps we’ll save those for another time. He and Hannah have bonded as he has discovered how to press on my belly certain ways to get her to kick back. He’s such a great daddy already.

Here is a picture of Hannah’s face in a 3D sonogram we had last month.

And here are a few pictures for you to see the progress of my expanding waistline. (I actually didn’t start looking pregnant in the least until about 19 weeks, so that’s where the pictures will really start.) I'll try to remember to add more.

6 Weeks. I had no clue.

19 weeks.

20 weeks. The shirt did not split. I swear it came like that!

24 weeks.

Big News!

So it's been over a month since my last blog. I've had so much on my mind, I couldn't sort it into words. I can barely do so now, so I'll simply say that we've recently found out we're expecting our first child! I am eleven-and-a-half weeks along, and Baby Freeman is growing like crazy. My pants barely fit me, and when I'm actually awake and do have an appetite, I eat everything in sight! Chris has been incredible, catering to my every whim and craving, barely flinching through my crazy mood swings. Here's a picture of the baby. My doctor showed us a healthy heartbeat, straight spine and little kicks. Quite amazing! God is good.

The Yokes On You

Simon Says. I don't know about you, but I was no champ when it came to playing Simon Says. After about five or six commands into the game, you would typically find me out on the sidelines. There were so many commands and twists. "Simon says, 'Sit down.' Simon says, 'Stand up.' Simon says, 'Sit down.' 'Stand up.'" Simon, I could never keep up with all you wanted me to do!

So today I write a little more about obeying commands. By the way, if there's one thing that you may not know about me is that I tend to be a bit nerdy (OK, a lot nerdy) and just eat up all of the historical facts of other societies, their politics and their culture. But particularly, the Jewish culture intrigues me most, though I wouldn't claim to be an expect about it. But here's something interesting that I have learned and think you'll appreciate, too (maybe).


Back in the B.C., ancient Jewish rabbis would pray through and pour over God's word, which at this time were the first five books of our Bible. He would then interpret what God was saying through the scriptures and then help the people understand it, as well. A rabbi's interpretation of the scriptures is called his yoke, which also included his insights into holy living. These insights were generally conveyed through lists of do's and don'ts. When the people decided to follow a rabbi - called taking up his yoke - it meant that they would dedicate their lives to following his teachings and obeying the rabbi's do's and don'ts.

Most people don't realize this, but the disciples looked to Jesus as their rabbi. They not only followed after Him, but they took up His yoke and committed their lives to trusting Him. Jesus made an incredible claim about his yoke. He said that it was easy. (I once confused this in my mind with an egg yolk and always envisioned bacon and eggs over easy. Don't be confused. It's totally not the same thing.)

What does that mean - that His yoke is easy?

The yoke of Jesus was simple: love God and love others. He said that He didn't come to do away with all of the laws, but to fulfill them. We don't have to carry the burden of upholding lists and lists of laws because it's all fulfilled when we love God and others. Think about it. When you love God, you won't sin against Him or His people. In fact, you love His people. You're compelled. You can't help it. You don't have to think about it. When you love His people, you won't hate or steal or cheat. Instead, you see people as He sees them and you'll want to be kind and generous to them.

Do you ever get tired of trying and failing to be a good person? As I discussed yesterday, there's nothing good in and of ourselves. For anyone who is tired or frustrated of trying to be a good person, this is for you. Give up. You'll only grow weary of all the trying. And love God. You'll find yourself acting differently and seeing others in a whole new light. You'll stop acting so much like yourself and acting more as Jesus would.

I leave you with this:

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Not Tall Enough To Ride

Do you remember those signs at Six Flags or Disney (if you were lucky enough to go) that indicated how tall you had to be to ride a roller coaster? If you didn't measure up, you couldn't ride. Do you know that my Dad stretched every inch out of me and my sister? He was so ready to have roller coaster buddies that as soon as we were 36 inches, my little body was strapped into some of the biggest roller coasters in Texas. Of course, I was just as glad for the day I measured up, too.

Have you ever thought about how you measure up to God's standards? It took me a long time to realize that no matter how hard I tried, though I'm a Christian, I'll never live perfectly. You see, there's this standard of righteousness that you and I cannot live up to on our own accord. For example. Think about the Ten Commandments. This was the Law that God gave to show people how to live a holy life. Have you ever broken any of them? Well let's take a look at a few and see how we measure up.

God says don't murder.

Easy. You've never killed anyone! But wait, Jesus said that if you've ever hated anyone, it's as if you've murdered them.

God says you shouldn't commit adultery.

So you say, "I've never once cheated on my spouse," or "I'm not even married!" Jesus said that if you've ever once lusted after anyone, you've already committed adultery in your heart.

God says that you shouldn't steal.

You're no thief! Well, at least not with anything significant. But his commandment doesn't talk about how big the offense has to be before we've broken the law. Stealing is stealing.

So at this point, if you're like me, you're a thieving murdering cheater.

Romans 3:23 says that everyone has sinned and falls short of God's perfection. When I read this, I think DUH! There's nothing in my body or my mind that feels even remotely perfect. But then again I'm quite amazed - there are some seemingly perfect people out there and even they don't quite measure up.

So when we measure ourselves up against God's commandments - His Law - we realize that no one is perfect. No one measures up to God in and of themselves. But, here's the good news that has inspired me so much lately. When you become a Christian - meaning you allow God to rule over every part of your life - God sees us as He sees His Son: perfect.

For anyone who has ever felt like they just didn't amount to much or just couldn't measure up, this is for you.

Love!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

Check out my, Mom! Do I have great genes, or what??

My Mom is awesome. Everyone who meets her thinks she's such a blast to be around. And she's one of the most generous people you'll ever meet. Growing up, if I thought her shampoo smelled better than mine, she'd just give it to me. Ladies, that's saying a lot, isn't it? Now that I'm older, I appreciate the way she goes over and beyond for people. She never expects a thank you. She's merely satisfied in knowing that the people around her are taken care of. She truly exhibits a servant's heart.

Some of my favorite Mom phrases:

"Don't call me 'dude'."

Everyone was "dude" in the 90's.

"There's no crying in Mom's."

A League of Their Own. Hello?!

"Can you cut me a sliver of cake?

Who says sliver? My mom, that's who!

"Your face will stay like that."

And it really did.

"Are you wearing that?"

The answer was always yes.

"Come hold your sister's hands and tell her you're sorry."

So what if we were in high school. It worked.

I love you, Mom! I couldn't tell you enough.