Rest

A couple of weeks ago, I went in for my monthly doctor visit and discovered that my blood pressure was elevated. I was hooked up to the non-stress test to monitor the baby for a while and then sent to the hospital so they could monitor my blood pressure.

I obviously wasn't expecting anything other than the usual "Do you have any questions?", "No", "Ok, we'll see you in a month!" So, the hospital visit threw me for a loop! I had absolutely no issues with my first pregnancy and this was all new to me!

I was ordered to be on bed-rest through the weekend and was reevaluated the following Monday. At that point, I was officially put on bed-rest and told that I could not go back to work for the remainder of my pregnancy. It was crazy news to hear! I was only 30 weeks! The good news is that I do NOT have preeclampsia yet, but they are trying to prevent that from happening this early in my pregnancy. The only way to "cure" preeclampsia is to deliver the baby and we are praying that does not happen anytime soon!

My last two doctor visits have been great! My blood pressure is lower and Isaac is measuring right on track! I'm feeling good and not feeling any symptoms of high blood pressure. However, that's what makes bed-rest hard. I feel lazy when I lay around all day. But I know that's what's best for Isaac and me, so that's what I do - lay around all. day. long.

Bed-rest can be a bummer, but I am thankful for this:

• Parents and in-laws that are incredible at helping! My mom has come up a couple of times and brought tons of food. My in-laws take Michael for the day and make sure he's entertained! My dad is taking Michael for a weekend soon! I am blessed so much by the parents in my life!

• Devouring my stack of books... finally!! I just finished reading Reshaping it All by Candace Cameron Bure and Life of the Beloved by Henry Nouwen. Both great reads! Now I have about 8 more in my stack.

• Having more time to read my Bible and pray. I serve a healing God and I know that He is why my blood pressure has been down lately! Thank you Jesus!

• I get weekly ultrasounds to look at my baby boy! LOVE this!

• I was forced to eat healthier and I'm glad! I cut out my two loves - Coca Cola Classic AND sweet tea. No more fast food. I've become very aware of the sodium in the foods I eat. I'm eating more fresh foods, etc...

• I've caught up on all my DVR'd shows and I've learned more about what's happening in the world by watching FOX news. I don't watch the news - ever - so, it's all new to me!

• I'm saving gas money by not driving anywhere but the doctor. And, with prices rising, we're saving a lot of money!

I will post updates if anything changes. Please pray that Isaac will continue to grow and that all my levels will stay somewhat normal to prevent a pre-term delivery!

Ok- back to resting. I also have some pictures from a while ago that I need to blog about. Another positive to bed-rest... catching up on blogging!

Catching up...

It's been a while since my last post, so here's what you've missed in our lives:

-Sam and I celebrated our 8th anniversary in Atlanta! He got me tickets to see West Side Story and made reservations at Ruths Chris Steak House...YUM! We spent the night in a hotel and enjoyed sleeping in the next morning! With it being the busiest time of year for us (basketball season), it's hard to find even a day to spend with each other and celebrate our anniversary. I was so thankful for Sam to be off on a Saturday night! I'm thankful for him and for our marriage and I pray for many more years together!

-I tried to dye my hair a light brown and it turned a little reddish. It's lightened up a lot, but that's why you may notice my hair isn't quite as blonde. I know it's a little vain of me to talk about my hair, but I'm pretty sure I was made to stay blonde, no matter my "natural" color hair... ha! I plan on making a hair appointment before Baby Isaac gets here so he can see his mama the way she's supposed to look! :)

-I'm 28 weeks along in my pregnancy! Time has really gone by fast, but I feel like these last 12 weeks are the longest to get through. I still continue to feel great and Isaac is growing right on track. I'm getting larger and larger by the minute these days. These are some things I've heard over the past week:

-"Are you sure you're not having twins?"

-"How far along are you? You look like you're about to pop!"

-"Your belly is bigger than mine!" - said by a girl who is 36 weeks

Wow... sure makes a pregnant lady feel great!!

On another note, I am one of four women in my small group expecting a baby. We've really enjoyed going through this time together! It's fun to share stories and anticipation with each other. We threw a shower for my friend Jennie last weekend and were able to capture the four of our bellies together. Jennie is on the far left and she is due in just a few weeks!

My Baby Can Read!

Have you heard of the "Your Baby Can Read" program? Yeah, the informercial comes on TV when nothing else is on.

I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing.... But I do know that when I would watch these informercials, I would feel these pangs of guilt.

I would think thoughts like

"Is Michael behind his peers if he isn't reading at 9 months?"

MAN!! Seriously? WHY would those thoughts cross my mind?

Anyway.... We did not invest in the program, but I have noticed that Michael IS in fact reading (or recognizing logos...whatever)...

These are the words he can read:

-Kroger (his first word to read)

-McDonalds

-Burger King

-Chick-fil-a

-Wendy's

-Chili's

-Target

-WalMart

Can you tell how we spend our days?

Mr. Snow-tato Head

The snow did indeed ice over last night and made for some great snowman making. Sam headed out during naptime and started the snowman all by himself so that Michael would only have minimal work to do. I stood by (looking out the window) for moral support!

We didn't prepare for our snowman's face by stocking up on carrots and coal, so we improvised! We have a large Mr. Potato Head and we used his facial parts to complete our snowman... We've named him Mr. Snow-tato Head! Isn't he handsome?

I'm sure you noticed the new blog design! I'm a little bit proud that I created it all by myself! I took advantage of naptime today by doing some research on how to make my blog a little cuter... I also learned how to make pictures larger! I was a little hesitant in doing the whole *pink* theme with me being the only girl in a house full of boys. Most of my blogs are about my boys, but I needed to express myself in the background (sounds silly) and I love all things pink, so that's just what it's going to be! :)

Snow Day 2K11

Wow.... TONS of snow at our place! We woke up this morning to around 7 inches of snow! That has got to be some sort of record around here! Needless to say, we didn't have school today. So Sam and I both got to stay home. It's supposed to be my week to work and I got today off and we're getting tomorrow off too! I always welcome the opportunity to stay at home with Michael, but it's even better when Sam gets to stay home with us!

We hopped in our 4-wheel-drive vehicle and drove to our friend's house (only 2 miles away) and played in the snow with their family.

Michael and Kaylin are best friends and they enjoyed throwing snowballs and riding on our makeshift "sled". The snow was so powdery that you couldn't form a ball, much less a snowman. So, we decided sledding was the best idea! Nobody owns sleds here in Georgia. We use trash can lids and laundry baskets... But, my friend Robin had the idea of using this baby play thing-a-ma-jig as a sled and it was awesome! Sam even rode on it a bit...

Our family could only take the cold weather for a little bit before we had to head in and warm up by the fire. Side note: We are known to go snowboarding for hours, but when it comes to playing in the snow, we're wimps! Go figure...

We spent the rest of the afternoon at home in our nice warm house by our electric fireplace. We made rice krispy treats and snowcream. (I'm not a fan of the snowcream... I'd rather have a Chick-fil-a icedream instead.) I'm so excited to have another day at home tomorrow. Maybe the snow will stick enough for us to make a snowman this time!

As of this afternoon, we are officially iced in our house. We watched out our window this afternoon as a man was trying to drive up our street. He was going really fast trying to make it up the hill and would spin like crazy. He reversed and tried again several times before getting stuck in a ditch. Sam helped him out by shoveling snow... After half an hour, he was unstuck. Doesn't look like we're going anywhere tomorrow... maybe even the next day too?!

The Name...

"A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold."

Proverbs 22:1

We have decided on a name for our baby boy.

His name is

Isaac Scott

The story leading up to his name is such a God story. Isaac was always the name we had in mind for our second boy. Sam loved the name so much and I just simply agreed to give that name to our boy. However, when the time came to choose names for a *possible* boy and girl, I threw Isaac out the window. One of my friends from college chose the exact same first/middle name combination and I wanted to be different. I was never super crazy about it and I talked Sam into choosing another name.

We knew Scott was going to be the middle name because that's Sam's father's name. It's important to us to incorporate family names in our boys (Michael is my father's name). We also knew we wanted a biblical first name. So, I wrote out probably 10 names that I liked and Sam didn't like ANY...back to the drawing board.

We compromised on the name David... David Scott. We even told our families the name like it was official. We thought it was official. I acted happy about it, but I really never felt a peace about it. I never felt like that was our boy's name, but I never told Sam.

Two nights ago, I was feeling really uneasy about Baby Boy's name. I just knew that God had not chosen the name "David" for him. I prayed about it and asked God to show me a different name for our boy. I actually gave God a deadline....ha! I prayed that he would show me the name THAT NIGHT so that I could talk to Sam about it. I know God doesn't work with deadlines, but I was praying for an answer soon because we had already told people a different name. PHEW! Why is naming your child such a stressful event?

Anywho... That night I dreamt our child's name was Isaac. The name I didn't choose. The name I made my husband forget. The name our best friends chose for their *possible* little boy. I woke up at 6:00 wide awake - very unusual for me - because I had gotten confirmation from God just like I had prayed. I took the next hour and a half and prayed over my family. God is so good in answering prayers.

I dreaded telling Sam that my pregnant brain had changed her mind. However, he was so receptive and LOVED that God had told me a name....especially the name God had given him years ago. I have no doubt that God named our child!

So, Isaac Scott he will be. It's official. I'm going to monogram some onesies this week!

Isaac means "laughter". God made Sarah laugh when she became pregnant in her old age with her long awaited son and he has made me laugh by being so faithful. Why did I ever think anything different?

Happy New Year!

I love the feeling of starting fresh. I get that feeling every January 1st and throughout the year it just wears off and then comes back full force the next January 1st. It's a time for me to start new healthier habits, take better care of my family and my household... I'm just so motivated.

I've made a few resolutions in my head, but they're all random (like washing my face every night before going to bed - don't do that often...ha).

We celebrated last night with our good friends, Jacob & Robin. They brought their kids, of course. We put them to bed so they didn't ring in the new year at midnight. It won't be long before they're asking to stay up late... We'll take advantage of early bedtimes while we can!

I think this is our 7th year (?) celebrating New Years' Eve with them. Crazy! It's fun to see how our lives have changed since we've become great friends. I wish I could find a picture from 7 years ago, but that might be a daunting task that I'm not willing to do. Here's our picture from last night... there will be 2 more babies next year. Robin is expecting too!

Happy 2011 to you!