Even better...

A girl's allowed to change her mind, right? Especially a pregnant one... :)

Last weekend we swapped out our two extra bedrooms. The downstairs guest room is now also doubling as an office, and upstairs is officially the nursery. That's not what I changed my mind about though... I changed my mind about painting! What I was surprised to find was that I actually kind of like the color that is already on the nursery walls! It may not be what I would pick if I was starting from scratch... but I really like the addition of teal to the brown, blue & white color scheme I had already started. It's really soothing... reminds me of the Caribbean! I think with some flowing white curtains it will be perfect! & so Mike is spared a weekend of painting! Yay!

Walk for Life

Mike and I are participating this year in the "Walk For Life" which benefits the Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC) of Tidewater. The CPC is a ministry that serves women who find themselves in seemingly hopeless situations. Many are considering abortions and the center provides counseling and facts as well as ultrasounds so that these women can see their babies and know that there are other options available to them. They also provide general love and support and help meet these women & babies' needs in a way that does not condemn, but offers life.

We will be walking at the Norfolk Zoo on Saturday, May 2nd and are asking you to help support this life-giving ministry with a pledge. The funds will go directly to provide ultrasounds, literature, diapers, clothing and more for women in need. It's amazing what a difference it makes when these women see an ultrasound and know that there is truly a life growing inside them. You don't have to give me money right now... you can just send me an email with your name, address and pledge amount and you will be sent an envelope to mail in your gift. **If anyone would like to join us at the Walk, just let me know!!

Thanks for your support!

Melissa, Mike & BabyW.

Awkwardness...

Apparently along with pregnancy comes finding yourself in many awkward conversations. I find it quite humorous that people really say/do these things. Here are just a few of the strange, inappropriate or just plain stupid comments I've gotten recently:


"So you're feeling better? How much weight have you gained?" (none of your *!@# business)


"You know, you're going to be a mommy now for the rest of your life." (no, really??)


"It's probably only going to get more stressful from this point on." (thanks for the encouragement, I feel much better now)


"Are you wearing maternity pants?" (and then she proceeded to lift up my shirt to check it out herself!) (what the heck, did that really just happen?!!!)


Male co-worker in the hallway: "Were you engaged last fall?" I replied... "I've been married since before I started working here." He replies... "No, I mean... was your pregnancy engaged...like, when did you conceive?" (are you seriously asking me that? and expecting an answer??)


"You've doubled in size since last time I saw you." (well thanks, I love feeling huge)


"It's good you're wearing those (maternity) pants now, they will never fit you in a few months." (yes, I know weight gain is inevitable... but thanks so much for the reminder)


After trying to find the positive in the situation of throwing up constantly for 4 months, I tried to encourage myself by saying, well, maybe I won't gain as much weight in the end...to which I got the reply "oh don't worry, you'll gain plenty, trust me." (so much for light at the end of the tunnel)


Fortunately I've avoided any strangers touching my belly or anything like that... but I've had some close calls in the elevator at work. I find it best to strategically stand with my arms crossed and avoid eye contact... I may look unfriendly, but it helps them keep their hands to themselves. :)

Getting Antsy

I love to decorate. I've been brainstorming nursery ideas since long before we were even pregnant.... it's just my thing - I enjoy it! So here's the dilemma: since we are hoping to sell our condo... it doesn't make much sense to paint and decorate a room in our current home when we're hoping there's still a chance we could move before BabyW. arrives.

But...I still really want to! My logical side has been holding me back... but now that we're only like 10 weeks away from July, I'm really getting restless to setup his room. Our original plan was that if the house hadn't sold by June 1st, we'd decorate then... but that's not leaving much time! And we already have 2 weekends full in June. Hmmm... maybe I'll just get some paint samples this weekend. :) I really LOVE this idea for the walls... but maybe I'll just go simple, and forego the stripes since there's a hopeful possibility we won't be living here too long. But aren't the stripes great?! (sigh...) What do you think? Vote on the right.

27 Weeks... 3rd Trimester!

Well, we had our 4D ultrasound today. We had nearly an hour of checking BabyW. out... the u/s techs were amazed at how perfect his spine and heart looked. They said they could have scanned him all day because everything looked textbook-perfect. We saw his chunky little legs and even his hands with all the details. He kept his face hidden though! He buried it in the back of me and wouldn't let us peek! He sure didn't mind flashing his boy parts though... we got some good laughs out of that! So we didn't get any clues as to who this little boy will look like, but we got lots of reassurance that he is healthy and growing strong. He actually measured 3 lbs 2 oz. which is in the 99.7 percentile for 27 weeks... he's a BIG boy!! They still estimated my due date as exactly July 15th... just with an at least 8lb. baby. Both grandmas, Aunt Stiney, Grandpa Wheatley and Daddy were all there, and we had a great time. It's funny because as neat as it would have been to see his face, I think it will be a fun surprise in 3 months... so I wasn't too disappointed. Here are a few pictures if you can decipher them. (The orange one... picture his arms kinda crossed in front of his face and you can see one of his hands/fist.

Reality

As I was reading a very familiar passage in the Bible several weeks ago, something I'd never really focused on stood out to me... "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5) As I felt the baby inside of me move around, I was reminded that we all need a Savior. Even this little boy growing inside of me. Right now, he is untainted by the world, but that won't last long. Precious as he may be, he will like all of us, choose sin. In the eyes of his grandparents (and maybe even sometimes, his parents), it may seem he can do no wrong... but undoubtedly, he will. He will break his mommy & daddy's hearts, and he will break the heart of God, but we will never stop loving him.

As I think about the mistakes that I have made and the hard lessons I've learned, I am tempted to want to shelter him from it all... to not let him fall into the same traps. But then how would he ever know his need for grace? He has been known by God long before he was even a thought in our hearts. God knows every step he will take, and yet He loves him beyond measure. He already had this little boy on His mind when He went to the cross. He died for him 2000 years ago. And as we look forward to his arrival into our family, we pray every single day that he will one day give his heart and his life to Jesus ... that he will know that his life is a gift from God and that no matter what mistakes he makes, we pray he will always run back into the arms of grace that will have been there all along. We can't make that choice for him, but we will do all we can to lead him to it.

Two More!

New babies that is!!

Elizabeth & Luke Ehresman's sweet little girl, Audrey Lynn, arrived safe & sound on April 9th.













And Dee & Richard Brubaker are proud first-time grandparents to Nathan Marshall who was born yesterday, April 13th to their son Trent & new mommy, Jessica!













Congratulations everybody!! Can't wait for BabyW. to meet all his new friends!