Fun Times

Well, this week has been crazy busy and a lot of fun. My dad came up to visit for a few days and I got absolutely nothing done while he was here (including dishes) I still think I have a couple in the sink that are older than three days... oops! I did finally find my constructive bone again on Saturday, which is good because my wonderfully clean house now looks like it did before I cleaned it... well not quite that bad. But I have a bit of work to do again.

Also, I have a pumpkin to process for pie. Mmm.... Right now Jake is working on a paper and I am well... blogging obviously. I haven't taken pictures for a couple of weeks (I think I'm in week 19 now, holy cow!!) so I'll try and get that done tomorrow. We shall see, there is a lot to do. Also, we're hoping to get the fall edition of our newsletter out in the next couple of weeks, so wish us luck on that! If you want a copy, just let one of us know.

Other than that... it's very sad that the Broncos lost so terribly today isn't it? Sigh... oh well... Yes I'm boring and have nothing to talk about. But I thought I would update everyone just to let you know we're still here! Maybe next week I'll think of something more interesting to say.

Blessings!
Dalas

Baby Bump!

I'm back! And I have pictures :)

First of all, I wanted to show you a beautiful gift that we recieved... well... a while ago. This was a quilt and pillow set that a family friend made for us as a wedding gift. We've been using it on ourr bed, and it is absolutely gorgeous!




This is the other side of the quilt, blue skies and bald eagles...

Here is a close-up of the embroidery and the beading on the pillows. If you notice at the bottom the brown pillows have beading around the edges.

Pillows!!!!

Here is a close-up of one of the squares on the blanket. There are several like this with Scripture and the hymn Amazing Grace.
And... finally... baby pictures!

Here is an updated Week 16 picture. (I'm actually 17 weeks now, but I can take those pictures tomorrow.)

And week 16 again... just in case you needed a better look :)

The End!

Week Thirteen

No I have not been avoiding the blog...

And I most certainly have not been avoiding the blog because I promised pictures and don't want to put them up...

No I am not not wanting to put up the pictures because I had a little mysterious bump that mysteriously dissapeared after week ten and has yet to return... three weeks later...

Oh alright... yes I did do all of those things. I am guilty. Is this really the second time I've been having to post an apology for pictures I promised and don't want to put up? Maybe... yes... I'm sorry.

But really! There was a bump and the next week it was gone! And I'm still skinnier now (week 13) than I was in week 10. I will save you the ponderings about what could have caused the cute little bump that is now gone, but I assume you can do that all on your own without my help. So pictures will be postponed until... well until there's actually something to look at. Unless you all want me to post the bump pictures so you can laugh at me. But I will ONLY do that if expressly asked... by more than one person... ahem.

Now, on to new orders of business. We had our first prenatal appointment yesterday!! It was wonderful. Jake and I have decided to use a midwife and have a homebirth, for various reasons that will wait for another post. So we went to the midwife's assistant's house (She's closer to Fort Wayne. Our midwife's office is about an hour and a half away, so she has an assistant to help with births in this area.) We went over lots of paperwork, got on the scale... which actually wasn't too bad, and listened to the baby's heartbeat!!

I think it sounded like a boy, but I'm not really sure why. The heartbeat was 150bpm which is perfect range for the development right now. Our next appointment is scheduled in four weeks and I'm excited. Oh yes... and I have to start taking iron supplements along with my prenatal vitamins. My midwife looked at me and asked if I had a history of anemia... apparently I look anemic... probably because I am. Sigh... well at least pregnancy is forcing me to take my vitamins right?

WOOHOO!!!

I have a job!!! Hooray!!

Finally, after being here for almost two months, I found a job! For so long in my life, I have always looked for a job, and one was there. I've never had to go "job hunting" per se. I would want to start working, find something I could do, apply, get hired, happy ending. Not so this time. I've applied for dozens of jobs in the last month and have had very little response. We were beginning to worry that I wouldn't find any job in Fort Wayne. Jake had a job already, so what was taking me so long? I was frustrated, worried... broke. And then I realized how for so many years I have been taking my jobs for granted. I've just always expected them to be there. When instead I should have been thanking God for His gift!

This time His gift has manifested itself as a lifeguarding position. I will be working at a boarding school type facility that happens to have a wonderful, indoor pool. I'm so excited! I have extensive experience with lifeguarding, and all things related, so it's something I'm quite comfortable doing. And I LOVE the water! But I can't remember the last time I've been swimming :( So now I can actually go swimming on a regular basis, for my job! Woohoo!! I'm excited :) Oh yes... and we can start paying rent... of course... :)

This job is only part time, so I'm hoping to find another part time job babysitting or some such thing; we will see what I can come up with. The Lord is providing marvelously for us, through the generosity of many of you and also through this gift of a job, which I will no longer take for granted.

Mea Culpa... Mea Culpa Maxima

In other words: My own fault, My own Greivious fault... I'M SO SORRY!! I promised pictures last week :( Good news: I DID take the pictures!! Bad news: I'm still working on getting them on a computer I can actually use internet with. But I do have pictures of my belly at 10 weeks (I look like I ate too many doughnuts) and I will be taking an 11 week picture this week AND I still have that surprise picture for you. So when I DO finally post them, you'll just get extra :)

Also, I've started working on our family newsletter, that will be going out to family and friends through our course at seminary. If you are interested in receiving a newsletter, please leave a comment (or shoot me an email) and let me know! If you want us to send it to you in the mail rather than email we will also need a mailing address.

Last but not least, please be praying for us and the larger Fort Wayne area. This city has lost approximately 100,000 jobs in the last two years and unemployment is at a whopping 9.6%. I have still not been able to find a job. I applied to work at Panera a few weeks back and I went in to introduce myself to the manager and let him know I applied. He said that there were 560 applications for that one position being processed!! Sigh... I'm afraid it's a tough economy up here. Please, be praying that I find work so Jake can continue his studies and that more jobs would be brought into this town for the 9.6% of us who need them.

Blessings!
Dalas

My Attempt at a Cliff Hanger

This evening Jake is working at Target, and the house was depressingly lonely without him there. For some reason I can handle the afternoons fine on my own, but the evenings are a little worse. So I decided to head over to Panera and use the internet here. I bought a couple of the shortbread cookies, which are great by the way. And they also taste like Christmas... maybe that's why I like them so much. There were no open tables by an outlet, which is essential since my poor, old computer has a battery life of about ten minutes these days. (Yes Jake, I did say my computer. I just let you use it :)

It has been an eventful week. I had three interviews this week, only one and a half of which were actually promising. The first is Bethesda Lutheran Services, they called me back for a second interview and, from what the lady said, it seems almost garaunteed that they will hire me. Praise the Lord! There are some upsides and downsides to the job though.

First of all, I will be working evenings, which is simply hard when Jake is at school all day and we won't see each other until bedtime. Upside, I might be able to transfer later to a dayshift. Downside, there is a lot of strenuous work involved with this sort of position and I'm a little worried if I'll be up to it during pregnancy. Upside, I've known personally, two women who worked the exact same sort of job throughout their pregnancies and had no complications, so I'll stop worrying. Downside, I can't start training until the 6th. Upside, it's almost September!

So I suppose it will work itself out. Also, I had both my arms drilled for blood on two seperate occasions this week. I had been having a bit of bleeding and some strange cramping and pains, so my midwife wanted me to get labs done just in case. Everything is normal, so the baby should be doing just fine. And it's looking more like a human every day! Part of the pain, though, I think is due to the fact that I'm practically showing already. Well, sort of... no one else can tell, but I definitely can not stick my tummy in as far as it used to go. And when I try to it feels like there's something in the way. My oversized uterus perhaps? Anywho, it's a really weird feeling.

I'll be taking a picture of my belly next week and I'll post it, along with a surprise picture of an unknown object. If the suspense is killing you, like I know it is, come back next week to see!

Prayers and Pregnancy

Morning sickness... ugh... not fun. I have quite mild morning sickness most of the time so, I am grateful for that. However, it lasts all day long. Whoever you are that erroneously named this particular ailment of pregnancy... well just so you know you ERRONEOUSLY named this particular ailment of pregnancy. Eating, which used to be a wonderfully joyous activity for me, is now a chore, a rather annoying one at that. I'm usually not hungry, and when I am hungry I'm also nauseaus at the same time.

Poor Jake is having to fend for himself in the kitchen mostly... I feel bad but he either eats chicken or tuna. Tuna has always been icky and chicken is a new aversion that I can hardly be in the same room with. Sigh... but I did make banana bread yesterday using my mom's recipe. See I got some bananas, because they're healthy fruit... but I can't eat them so they went overripe. So I made banana bread! I can eat that :) mmmmmmmmm......

Secondly, prayer requests. Yes I know the post has prayer requests first and pregnancy stuff second, but this is just how it's going to go. I had a nannying job working for a wonderful family with adorable twin boys. However, I told them on Monday about the pregnancy and they felt (understandably so) that it was going to complicate things a little too much come April. So now I don't have a job, but I did get a phone call from Bethesda, where I applied a MONTH ago (they said they would get back to me in two weeks....) asking if I would come in for an interview today. They called me at 10pm nonetheless, but who am I to complain, it's a job opportunity right? So please pray that I find a job soon. Jake already has a job at Target, praise the Lord!

Lastly, Jake and I met a wonderfully pleasant homeless man named Hal last night. Please pray that he would be able to find work as well. It's pretty tough in this town. And also for his friend who has schizophrenia; her name escapes me at the moment. As do most things these days... hmm... anywho I'm beginning to feel too ill to stay in the library much longer. Miss you all and I hope to hear from you soon!

Blessings,
Dalas