Jam in the Winter.

2 weeks ago my friend Sara and I took my sister & her daughter to the Winter Jam tour! It was awesome! A packed arena full of people there to worship God. And rock out to some pretty amazing artists!

At McDonalds, ready to fill our bellies & stand in the freezing cold to get our tickets!

Inhaling our food so our fingers don’t freeze off! It was so cold! Seriously, I thought I’d be good in a sweater and a coat. I was wrong! I think I lost feeling in my fingertips and kneecaps pretty quickly!

Our seats compared to where the stage was. We didn’t want to get floor seats because I knew I’d want to sit at some point. So we sat in the second row from the floor! Great seats if you ask me, or better yet the girls. They approved!

Cute little best friends!!

Little baby e’s second concert! He/she loved it, I’m sure! Mama, however realized she is definitely not young & spry anymore. I was tired and ready for bed about halfway through. Not that the concert wasn’t a blast, it was..I think my body was just done with the day.

My sweet friend Sara!

Jamie Grace & Toby Mac. I only snapped pictures of these two. But the concert consisted of Royal Taylor, RED, OBB, Newsong, Sidewalk Prohets, Matthew West, & speaker Nick Hall. All were amazing. Although, I was a little terrified during RED’s performance. Not my style, perhaps because I couldn’t understand a word they sang.

Love this!

The end was pretty great. I even woke myself up a bit to stand and cheer! It was a confetti mess!

And no trip is complete without a Starbucks breakfast!

Everything about our trip was great! We got there with plenty of time to guarantee we would get tickets. {tickets are only sold at the door, to make it more affordable for everyone, they’re only $10} Besides freezing & having tons of people cut us at the last second, we got great seats. The girls had a blast. Got some t-shirts & bracelets. I only had to spend $4 on a bottle of water inside the arena. We found our hotel quickly & it was very fancy! Ate lots of junk food at midnight! Made it back to NY safely! It was definitely a trip I hope the girls remember for a lifetime! And if you ever have the chance to visit Penn State, I recommend it! I wish we had a whole day to explore. It’s like it’s own little town!

Definitely go to Winter Jam if it comes to a city close to you!!! It’s so worth it! The speaker did an amazing job sharing the message of Christ & I recommend it for youth groups everywhere!

Baby E. 18 Weeks

So this is a little late since I’m actually 19 weeks today, but it’s more for my record keeping than worrying about being on time!

Baby E’s Stats

Due Date: June 24, 2013

Baby’s Size: Bell Pepper or still a sweet potato depending on what source you look at!

How Far Along: 18 Weeks!

Sleep: Lots of naps!

Maternity Clothes: Still leggings & long sweaters!

Food Cravings/Aversions: Not this week!

Symptoms I Have: Still having sciatic pain. I’m hoping it’s just a passing stage of pregnancy.

Doctor’s Appointment: Tomorrow, 1/29!

Movement: Still a question of gas or baby! I think I'm close to being able to tell the difference though!

Belly Button: Still in, but getting shallower.

Gender: We’ll know tomorrow : )

Best Moment of the Week: Little sis & little friend saying "Hi, baby" to my belly and hugging it! Be still my heart.

What I’m Looking Forward To: Seeing little bit tomorrow!

What I Miss: Clear skin.

Thoughts: I gave baby their first taste of extreme laughter Friday night. We went to see a Christian comedian, Tim Hawkins & I seriously felt like my side was going to split open! It was painful, but so worth the laughs! And the mini corn dogs I indulged in at the Cheesecake Factory after the show were so worth the long, uncomfortable ride in the car!

Baby E. 17 weeks

*Not the greatest picture to see the growth of this belly! I finally convinced hubby to take it & he was rushing me! 

BABY E’S STATS!

Due Date: June 24, 2013

Baby's size: Sweet Potato or apple, depending on which source you use. I don’t see how those two are close in size & I love sweet potatoes, so let’s go with that one!

How far along: 17 weeks!

Sleep: Not really. Not sure if it’s because of this head cold my kindergartners gave me or if it’s just baby symptoms. I do know that I pee every morning at 3:30. No change in that schedule for the past week.

Maternity Clothes: I wore a pair of maternity jeans this week. They. Are. Comfortable. Not gonna lie about it. But it’s still leggings and dresses most of the time.

Food cravings: This one is so weird for me to answer. What really is a craving? I eat an onion bagel every morning. Does that make it a craving or just my morning routine?

Food aversions: After finding a fly in my vinegar, I’m going with that for this week. It’s sad really. I love my vinegar.

Symptoms I Have: The sciatic pain is still large and in charge. I was told to try prenatal yoga, so fingers crossed that helps! 

Doctor’s Appointment: Jan. 29th! We go for our anatomy scan & baby better cooperate at that one!

Movement: Is it gas or is it baby? That is still the question…

Belly Button: Still in.

Gender: Ummmm….no. Technician told us 85% of her guess was in one park, but we are holding that close until the 29th when we find out the 100% guess.

Best moment of the week: Seeing my belly poke out just a little bit more! And taking baby to his/her second concert tonight! I’m taking my little sister to see Winter Jam with a friend & her daughter! Hope babies ready to rock!

What I’m looking forward to: Feeling little bit move!

What I miss: Not having to pee every half hour. This one might never change.

Thoughts: This week has been busy! I’m definitely realizing that I need so much more rest while I’m trying to cook this baby & that “rest” has been hard to get lately. I’m hoping that I can put myself on a better schedule. And by hoping, I’m sure it won’t really happen. But a girl can dream, right? Still totally trusting God with our next step as a family! Not always easy, but I’m sticking with my word.

And because I didn’t really show a 16 week picture last week, here ya go. I’m sure you’ve all been anxiously awaiting it.

Hope you all have a great weekend! I'll be acting like a teenager and enjoying my 3 day weekend!

Friday’s Letters

Dear Husband: Tonight we are celebrating your birthday with mexican & friends! Wooot! So happy I get to spend this life with you! And I promise I’ll start helping with the puzzle. And by promise I mean it’s a slight, teeny-tiny possibility. Dear Water: Are you seriously my new bff? I feel lost when you’re gone. Dear Clementine's: You make my heart happy & my hands stinky. Dear Baby: You really want us to see your hands! Every time we get to watch you, you’re always waving! You’re already amazing! Dear Waist/Belly: You’re here. Now if you could just blend together nicely I wouldn’t be mad about it.

                 

Dear lock screen: I find myself looking at you all the time. It’s a frequent reminder that I’m not in control of this thing I call life. Dear Lord: I’m already struggling with my word for the year. Help me to completely hand it all over to You.  You already know the outcome to our living arrangement's and money woes, all I need to do is trust. Dear Coffee: You’re definitely a mind game. Decaf doesn’t taste any different but it just doesn’t feel the same. 5 more months friend, 5 more months. Dear Blog Friends: Thank you for all the comments, emails, and support since we announced little Baby Edwards! I’m hoping to be back to a bit more of regular posting soon!

Baby So Far.

BABY E’S STATS!

Due Date: June 24, 2013

Baby's size: Avocado

How far along: 16 weeks! (I promise I’ll start pestering Mr. until he will take better quality pictures!!)

Sleep: So much tossing and turning. I thought I was a side sleeper, which made me think this whole sleep only on the left side thing would be a breeze. But I’m discovering I actually prefer my right side or my back. And when I’m on my back I start feeling nauseous.

Maternity Clothes: I'm rocking the leggings these days. A girls gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Although I should admit that when I do decide to squeeze my giant self into my jeans, the belly band is my best friend. Seriously. Every pregnant woman needs one.

Food cravings: Just to do a catch up on cravings since I’m almost 4 months along & there have been plenty! I could NOT get enough turkey salad around Thanksgiving. I wanted it more than I wanted the actual turkey dinner. I want chicken wings all the time, but I don’t know if I can really claim that as a craving since I would have eating chicken wings all time before I found out I had a little pumpkin growing. Right now I am seriously addicted to clementine's. I. Can’t. Get. Enough. Oh and French Onion Soup. Get in my belly please.

Food aversions: Left-overs. It’s not that I won’t eat them, but I can’t exactly stand the smell of them. Like Chinese. I love me some Chinese, but don’t make me open the container on day 2 or I might lose my cookies.

Symptoms I HAVE: I was really hoping to avoid this but……. my sciatica is giving me trouble. It’s not all the time and it’s definitely not super intense. But it’s just dull enough to bother me. Also nasty skin. It’s worse then when I was 13. Praying that it passes quickly.

Doctor’s Appointment: Today!!! We are seeing the ultrasound technician for measurements & fingers crossed little bit will spread legs nice and wide with a shot of who he or she is!!

Movement: Is it gas or is it baby? That is the question…

Belly Button: Still in.

Gender: Hopefully next time I write this I’ll be able to tell you!!

Best moment of the week: Finally getting to see and hear baby last week!! I can’t even describe the feelings!! And celebrating hubby’s 28th birthday! So cool to think that this is the age he’ll be when we welcome our first child!!

What I’m looking forward to: Finding out gender and feeling those kicks!!

What I miss: Not having to pee every half hour. And clear skin, definitely missing my non-pimply skin.

Thoughts: I feel like I belly popped really quickly. Right when I first found out I really wanted to have a bump, so I might have pushed out a bit for pictures. Or it could have been a food belly. But now, now I’m not pushing at all and it’s definitely loud and proud. I’m not complaining. I think I’m one of the rare ones who will actually love this belly. It has so much meaning! I’m not saying I won’t ever complain about it or the fact that nothing fits, but I’m going to try my absolute hardest to embrace every change that comes! I will admit that I’ve felt the need to rub my belly on occasion just so anybody who doesn’t know the news won’t be thinking “wow, Liz really needs to cut back on the twix ice cream bars.”

Baby’s First Picture & Mr’s Birthday

…last Wednesday was one of the most amazing days of my life.

We  FINALLY got to hear our babies heartbeat & see little bug! There are seriously no words to even describe how amazing it was. Our little love was waving to us. As if to say, “it’s about time you saw me!”

Because of different reasons, I wasn’t able to actually see my midwife until I was 15 weeks along. 15 weeks is an extremely long time to wait for that confirmation. I can’t lie and say that I wasn’t consumed with fear sometimes. It was definitely there and overwhelming. As much as I’d like to say I trusted that everything was fine, it was hard to let it go. There has been so much prayer over this baby, not just by Mike and I but by our friends and family. God was certainly faithful with an excellent appointment and a very active baby. Nerves were calmed when I got to watch little bug doing flips and waving hi!

Something about seeing your precious baby for the first time to finally make it feel real. There are 3 of us now.

What better way to celebrate this handsome guys birthday than with the confirmation that our little peanut is growing healthy and strong?! I’m so excited for what this year holds for this guy!! He is going to be such an amazing daddy! Is it possible to be more excited to see him become a dad than myself become a mama? Is that what love is? If it is then by golly, I am head over heels for him. This is the year that he will meet his first born. The year that he will hold and rock the best gift ever. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for you Mr. You are such a pure man of God & it’s an amazing honor to do life with you! Am I getting mushy enough for you all? I just can’t help it! The growth I’ve seen take place since this guy’s birthday last year is incredible & I want to shout it from the rooftops just how special he is!!!

I mean how can I not love a man who let’s this sweet angels bow eat his face?

Happy Birthday love.

You, hands-down, make my life a million times better.

One Word.

I’ve been blogging for over 2 years, but I have never felt led to participate in this giant movement. The one where you pick a word to be your “theme” for the year. Looking back, I probably would have had to label 2012 as a year of patience. Complete patience. I felt like I was in a constant state of waiting. Waiting for a home. Waiting for a job. Waiting for a baby. Waiting for a change. Just waiting.

If I gave an honest reflection of 2012, I failed over and over. I struggled with the waiting. I didn’t want to be patient. I just wanted everything to happen. Fast. But God completely wrecked me. He continuously challenged me to be still. And oh how sweet that reward is. The miracle of life growing inside me, knowing that this is purely God’s plan. His timing will never compare to my wants. His timing will never compare to my selfish desires. He brought me to a place of brokenness.  A place where He “basically” slapped me on the head and said “if you want all the desires of your heart, then get to work. Be faithful to my promise & I will be faithful to my promise.”

Which brings me to this year. A year of  excitement and joy. The year that I will finally get the label “mama".” The year I will meet my precious gift. The year I will get to watch Mr. become a daddy. The year I will give abundant thanks to the King who continues to bless me.

This year will  be a year of trust.

I’m trusting that Mr. will find a more financially stable job, one that ensures comfort for me staying home. I‘m trusting that the Lord will provide a nice home for us, one that I will finally get to call my own. I’m trusting that our sweet little peanut will enter this world healthy and strong. I’m trusting that my faith will grow. I’m trusting that my relationship with Mr. will continue to increase.  I’m trusting that the Lord will continue to bless Believers Chapel. I’m trusting that the Lord will continue to grow friendships that foster respect and guidance. I’m trusting that I will continue to be blessed by the amazing girls in GLOW and Pearls.

I’m trusting that I will have enough trust.

2012 was a wonderful year, full of growth and new opportunities. It was also a year full of pain and frustration.

2013 will be a year full of trusting God & depending solely on Him. I’m recognizing my struggle with doubt and no trust. I’m recognizing that the more I doubt, the more I stress. It’s time I recognize that the more I trust, the more secure I feel.

What will your word be friends?

What will you commit to working on for this year?

What will you trust God with?