enjoying our time

The last few days we’ve had our first free weekday evenings in a long time, and it’s been great. On Tuesday evening we had a Planet Earth date to the desert. It really is amazing to see God’s creation on that video series. Yesterday Joshua got to work from home, so it was good to be able to see him around here all day. A friend brought over a yummy dinner last night (because I guess Evalana’s supposed to be here by now), and that was a great treat! And last night we met with our lifegroup and studied Sacred Marriage; it’s always good to get together with them. So, while we’re very excited to see our little girl very soon, we’re also enjoying this last time before we have to take care of her.People keep asking if I’m nervous about labor, and I think I’m probably supposed to be, but I’m not. I guess I just figure it’s not going to be comfortable, and Evalana will come out. It looks like there are just a few people now who could still be correct on their birthday guesses. I think any day now would be a great day for her birthday!Tomorrow afternoon we have an appointment with our doctor and may also have another ultrasound.

40-week ultrasound

We just got back from our ultrasound appointment. They looked at the placenta and fluid and movement and said that everything looks excellent. She also said that Evalana can hear, and she confirmed that Evalana is a girl (the thing Joshua and I were probably most relieved to hear). She said that this biophysical ultrasound shows that everything should be good for at least another three days. They didn’t look at her size because they’re not worried about her being too big at this point. She did say that Evalana has not dropped yet. The ultrasound tech said that they probably want to induce me at the end of this week, but, again, I said I don’t want to be induced, which seems to really surprise everyone. So we have our next appointment with our doctor on Friday, and we’ll discuss more about our options with her then. I just don’t want to pull this girl out when everything’s still going fine in there and she’s just a few days past her due date. Please keep praying that she comes out on her own, on God’s timing. Thank you. Oh, and we couldn’t really see much of anything too interesting, so we didn’t get any pictures from the ultrasound.

don't rush the baby

I had my 40-week appointment this afternoon, but my doctor had to go deliver a baby, so I didn’t actually get to meet with her. The doctors want me to think about being induced, now that I’m past my due date. I have an ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow, to check and make sure everything’s still going well with Evalana. So far all of the measurements, her heart rate, movement, and everything they can tell from this side of the belly looks good, so I don’t have any worries at this point. As long as they don’t see any concerns, I don’t want to rush this little baby out on our timing. If tomorrow’s ultrasound goes well, then my next appointment with our doctor is on Friday afternoon, so we’ll see what we need to do at that point. It sounds like the doctors are wanting me to be induced at the beginning of next week, but I really don't want to be induced, so we’ll see how tomorrow and Friday go, and maybe she’ll be born before then anyway. Please help us pray for God’s timing in Evalana’s birthday. Thank you!

40 weeks

Yes, I'm still pregnant. I guess it's just comfy in there. I still think she'll decide to come at the beginning of August, but I'd be happy for her to come any time now. Joshua's really excited for her to be born soon so that he can hold her. Average first babies in American Caucasian moms are born 8 days after their due date, so I'm not concerned; she'll come out when she and God decide she's ready. Maybe I should have told everyone her due date is August 3rd. My waist grew another inch this week, so someday she will have to decide to come out before I truly do turn into an elephant. A few months ago I realized that most maternity clothes are only made to fit in the second trimester (which I think is dumb and frustrating), and I now have only two shirts which cover my belly. My mom came over yesterday and fixed up Evalana's closet; it looks fabulous now! Tonight Joshua's finishing up his school work for his summer class, so it will be great to have that all done. Joshua and I may even get a few free evenings together before her arrival; that'd be nice! I'm still working on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but, on the days I'm home, Samson (our dog) and I have been enjoying our 2-hour afternoon naps. I'm still sleeping great at night, too, so hopefully I'll have plenty of rest stored up for the big event. We do have an email all ready to send out to everyone as soon as we're ready to head toward the hospital, so don't worry; you should be notified when something happens. Thanks so much for thinking of us!

Photo is my belly at 40 weeks.

She'll be here soon!

Thanks for visiting our new blog site. We'll put updates on here after Evalana's born.

still pregnant

I've realized that everyone else is constantly wondering if I’m in labor. Not yet! Sometime soon, though. It’s so exciting to think about meeting this little girl soon! Joshua’s really looking forward to holding her, and I’m looking forward to giving him a turn. We continue praying for Evalana, and it’s fun to think about her starting her life here outside of the belly and wondering what all she’ll do in her life. The rest of our family is so excited to meet her, too. It’s exciting to know that any day now could be her birthday! I’m still comfortable and sleeping well and enjoying being pregnant. Joshua and I are also enjoying the projects and time together and sleeping we’re able to be doing before she’s born. After being pregnant for so long now (266 days), I think it will seem very strange not to feel her inside of me all the time. But sometime in the next couple of weeks she’ll have to decide to come on out and meet everyone. We'll send out an update when there's news to report.
If you haven't made your guess yet on Evalana's birth stats, you'd better do it now, before you wait too long! Just click on the ExpectNet link below.

due date week

It's getting close now, and I just learned some facts from our mothers that's made me a little nervous. I already knew that, even though an average first labor is about 15 hours, my mom had very quick labors (about 2 1/2 hours to about 40 minutes). Everyone has told me that the end of pregnancy is very uncomfortable, so I’ve been waiting to get uncomfortable as a sign that she might be coming soon. Yesterday I learned from my mom that she was completely comfortable right up until she woke up in labor. Yikes! That means that there’s a chance that Evalana could be coming any minute! An average first baby comes eight days after the due date, but I was born four days after mine, and Joshua was born three days before his. I talked with Joshua’s mom today, and she gave me his birth measurements—9 lbs 13 oz, 22 ½ inches long, head circumference 14 ¼”, chest circumference 15 ½” (averages are about 7 ½ weight, 20” length, 13 ½” head, and 12 ½” for the chest, although at least boys are usually bigger than girls). I’m still hoping that Evalana takes after me a little more in her physical stature.

On Friday Joshua and I got to go on a date together (our fifth official date ever, and our last date before our baby’s born). It was so much fun! We went out to dinner on a gift card we had received and had a wonderful time together. I’m very thankful for this time we get together. It was two years ago on July 23rd that Joshua proposed to me. I’m so thankful to be married to my wonderful Joshua husband.

This morning my grandma passed away, so, again, I’m very thankful that we were able to go visit her last weekend and especially thankful for the 29 years that I got to spend with her. She lived her life knowing Christ, and now she gets to be Home with Him, which is more wonderful than anything I can imagine. All the way up until the end of her life here on earth, she insisted that no one tell her if I was going to have a boy or girl. She has six great grandsons, so she thought it would be neat to have a great granddaughter, but she wouldn’t even put in a guess as to whether she thought this baby would be a boy or girl. I think that maybe right now she is the first of our family to know Evalana. I am thankful for the life my grandma lived and the legacy she’s left for this family. I pray that Joshua, Evalana, other future children, and I can pass Christ’s love on to all of the people we encounter through our lives. It’s amazing to think about God entrusting us with parenting Evalana.

Photo is my belly at 39 weeks.

38 weeks

Less than two weeks until Evalana's due date, which means she could come pretty much any time in the next month or so. She still hasn't dropped yet, so i'm expecting we might still get another couple of weeks before she's born. Joshua and i are enjoying these days before Evalana's born--just spending time together and also getting some things done. This past weekend we got to go visit my grandma in Lincoln. I'm so glad we were able to go see her since she's been sick, and it was great to see other family while we were there, too. We will be sending out an email when we go into labor (unless something strange happens), and I think we have most people on that email list, but just let us know if you want to be added, and we'll make sure you're on there.

Photo is 38 weeks.

growing, growing, growing

I just got home from our 37-week appointment. Less than 5 weeks left to go before she’s born! So far I’m still feeling pretty comfortable. At this point our doctor is guessing that she’s a little over 7 pounds, and most babies gain about an ounce a day at this stage. The group B strep test was negative, so that’s great news—means that I don’t have to receive antibiotics for that during labor. We practiced some relaxation positions with our doula this last Friday. I think Joshua’s working out his muscles so that he can hold up his large wife. My belly just keeps growing (currently 45")! Evalana keeps working on her muscles, too. She seems to have a morning, afternoon, and evening workout schedule. It’s almost hard to believe that pretty soon there will only be one body in this body.Here’s a little more information for you to use for your guesses on Evalana’s birth stats. Me: born 4 days after due date, 7 lbs 2 oz., 19 1/2 in.Joshua: born 3 days before due date, 9 lbs 13 oz, 22 1/2 in.
Go to http://www.expectnet.com/games/evalana to enter in your guess.
Also, for anyone who is wanting to write a note to Evalana, just mail it to us or send it to evalana @ comcast.net, and we'll add it to her baby book. Thanks!

Photo is my belly at 37 weeks.

evalana's room

Riley Asher

Everything seems to be going great with Evalana, but we have sad news about Riley. Riley is our collie-husky-chow mix who was about 5 1/2 years old and I had for about 4 1/2 years. In 2006 we found out that he had cancer, and last night he died. He was doing pretty well, even running and swimming at the park on Monday, but yesterday morning he was acting very tired, and in the evening he seemed very disoriented, so we took him to VSEC (the emergency vet). They gave him some IV fluids and I think some Valium, so he was able to lay down and rest, and he died there about midnight. They believe the cancer just rapidly spread into his brain yesterday. There are lots of things to be thankful for for the way all of this happened, and I think God has good timing in all of this, but we’ll certainly miss Riley a lot. Joshua took Samson (our other dog) up to see Riley’s body so that he might at least know what happened, so now we’re all sad. I guess our “get two dogs before having a baby” plan didn’t exactly work out, but I’m so glad to have Joshua, Samson, and Evalana here with me.