Me looking slightly pregnant

Might I add these photos were not anticipated! I had been delaying, procrastinating, postponing what have you (for no real reason), for several weeks now, and Brent caught me off guard after we got home from church yesterday.

But, alas, the first pictures have been taken! :-D

How many children is too many?

Last week, the news media was all over the incredible story of a mom giving birth to octuplets! Imagine, all at one time. And apparently, the mom and doctors were only expecting seven. The media loved this story until the revelation came that the mom already had six children.



Immediately, responses from the media and water-cooler talk hailed the now family of 14 children as "stupid," "irresponsible," and "insane." This was my first time through personal conversations that I've heard coworkers reveal their large family bias. I am not unwise to the fact that American society seems to deplore large families, and I'm not referring to families with 3 or 4 children (although to most that is what constitutes a large family). Several of my favorite bloggers have several children...i.e. 8 or more. I guess I've kinda gotten used to that being a large family.

My problem with the majority of criticisms surrounding mega-families is that people don't realize that these children are seen as blessings, not burdens to the parents. Honestly, why does it matter if a family chooses to have God decide their number of children if they desire it so? Most of the time, these families are not living off of the bloated welfare system; their parents are providing for them in a responsible manner. One of my favorite mega-families is the Duggars. I recently read their new book, "The Duggars: 20 and Counting!" Truly inspirational in so many ways.

Big families certainly attract intrigue, considering the average American family has 2.1 kids. It's no wonder that the Duggars' tv show as well as Jon & Kate Plus 8 are getting mainstream attention. Most people, especially parents cannot fathom taking care of a literal classroom of children. Might I add that most parents cannot fathom having well-behaved children.

The title of this post, "How many children is too many?" will not be answered here. It's a rhetorical question that requires serious thought and introspection. I just thought it'd be interesting to weave implications regarding families into the mix.

Here are a couple of links related to families...

Some people believe 2 children should be the maximum.... yet "Worldwide, birthrates have declined by 50% in the past half-century," the groups say. "There are now 59 nations, with 44% of the world's population, with below replacement birthrates." A birthrate of 2.1 is needed to replace current population, but the European Union has a birthrate of just 1.3. By 2030, the group's estimate, Europe is expected to have a shortfall of 20 million workers.

Al Mohler examines the impact of children

One of my favorite bloggers, Jess, looks at the implications of living in a birth-control infatuated society... explains very common stereotypes and misconceptions.

A compilation of large family comebacks :) Q."Do you know what causes that?!" A. "Yes, I do...cold winter nights..."

Another post from Jess on what Scripture reveals about children, moms, and dads.

And this mom of 8 challenges my thinking in "Is eight enough?"....

"To look in each of the faces around our dinner table, to know that we thought we were probably done with the baby thing after 1, then after 2, then after 3...sometimes my heart is in my throat as I think, "What if I had called it quits? You wouldn't be here! I would have missed the amazing miracle of you..."

Tiny tidbits involving my tiny tidbit :)

1. 13 weeks now and still goin' strong :)
2. Weight gain: 2 lbs.
3. Regular pants have not fit me for some time now, but there's a wonderful wardrobe accessory called a BellaBand, which I use with pants. Highly recommended! It helps convert your non-maternity pants into maternity...pure magic. You can get one at Target for $16.99.
4. Bump rubs from someone other than Brent: 2, a coworker and a friend from church. Not as awkward as I thought it'd be, lol. Is this what my dog feels like at times?
5. What upsets my stomach? Plain ol' orange juice....I'm now avoiding it like the plague.
6. Hormonal? Earlier on, I could cry extremely easily. When I watched "It's a Wonderful Life" back in December, I had never bawled at a movie before until then. I was hysterical, and Brent actually thought I was laughing and/or faking. Go figure. :)
7. Doctor visits: 2
8. My sweet tooth has gone on hiatus. If you know me, somewhere a pig must be flying overhead. Now, if only this would resume after the birth!
9. My favorite food (group) thus far has been carbs. Bring on the fettucine alfredo with garlic bread, and I'm a happy girl.
10. We will definitely be finding out the sex of the baby, sometime in March.
11. Some call it "peanut" or "bean," we just call it "plum." :) Actually, there's more to it than that...every week we've had the pleasure of calling our baby a different food (ha!) based on its relative size. At one point, it was a mere poppy seed! We've noted its progress as it grew from sesame seed to blueberry to raspberry to prune. :) I think "peach" is up next! Although one of these days, "watermelon" will be more like it.
12. Several friends have noted that they questioned if I was pregnant (before I'd announced) based on my face. The radiant glow of a mama?....no, mine was a pale, ashen face. :-p
13. Piggybacking on #11, others noticed I was ahem more bosomy.
14. I am excited that several of my friends are having babies all within months of each other. Insta-friends for our kids :) Plus, I get to learn from them along the way.
15. Our baby will be the first grandchild for Brent's parents and the third grandchild for my parents.
16. Lastly, August 5th can't come sooner!

Please pray for Michelle & Jeff...

For anyone that may read this, I ask as a sister in Christ that you please lift up two of my friends, Michelle & Jeff, who learned only this morning that they lost their 11 week old baby.

This especially hits close to home for me, because Michelle's due date was only a few days after mine.

Please pray for God's grace, comfort, and peace to be around them during this time.

Food for Thought

"A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate."

Proverbs 15:17

Insert dreamy sigh...

I came home yesterday from work and found these....

Along with this note....

I love my husband!!!

Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009

Sorry that I inadvertently took a random hiatus the past couple of weeks. It's been busy, whose life hasn't?

After dealing with a fun stomach virus for several days, then getting a blessed head cold the day after I could finally eat again, the middle of December wasn't the best.

However, the husband and I traveled to Gatlinburg, TN and met up with his mom and stepdad whom I hadn't seen since our wedding(!). Needless to say, it was great catching up with his parents that I've only met 3 other times. We hunkered down in a gorgeous log cabin that overlooked the Smokies. The first couple of days were frigid. Silly me forgot to pack real outdoor winter gear, aka hat, scarves, heavy coat, etc. The Lord kept me well thankfully :) We had a blast at the Ripley's Aquarium, Dixie Stampede, and DollyWood. A note about DollyWood, don't go during the winter. Why? Because all the rides shut down if it's below 36 degrees, which it was when we went. A full-priced ticket with no ride access does not a happy customer make. Despite the chilly weather, I had fun preparing homemade meals at the cabin and impressing the inlaws :)

It was a low-key Christmas for sure since this year we bypassed physical gifts and instead gave a donation to a project that I truly care about, Adopt-a-village Bihar, India. India is very near to my heart for reasons not entirely known, and Bihar is one of the poorest places with limited access to drinking water. Our gift will build a well for Bihar and allow numerous people to have better health. Not only that, but our well will enable missionaries to give a tangible example to the people that Jesus is our source of Living Water. We are looking forward to receiving a photo of the finished well along with some of the villagers. It's amazing what a little money can do...

As for what 2009 will bring, Lord-willing, Brent and I will become parents to a precious little babe in August :)

Last week we saw our little baby for the first time...lifting its head, wiggling a bit, and hearing that amazing heartbeat. Honestly, pregnancy hasn't felt all that real until seeing a tiny being in the dark of my womb. I'm already filling out a bit despite not having gained any weight. Yesterday, by a stroke of Providence, I randomly went on Craigslist and found just what I'd been looking for, an Arm's Reach CoSleeper for a steal. We were able to bring it home yesterday, so I happily went to work washing the sheets and cleaning it a bit. Needless to say, more and more it's getting real.

Since we've been traveling a lot the past few months, we're about to slow down considerably to save as much money as possible for the months/years ahead. Our "babymoon" will be a bit early than most couples', but we couldn't pass it up. My parents graciously paid for us as well as my sister and her husband to go on a Bahamas cruise in less than 2 weeks! This will be my first cruise and first trip to the Bahamas :) So those are the two major events predicted for 2009.

What have you been up to?