Family and birthdays

My mom came this week. She was here from Wed-Sat. Wednesday night we had dinner as a family, Ryan made soup and talked until bed time. The next day was a typical mimi comes to visit day. We went shopping all day. We shopped for Charlie and threw a little bit in for mom as well. I made her buy sensible shoes. They are still very cute but are more practical then what she would have picked for herself. We did find Charlie's Christmas dress. It took a while. I hate roses and too many bows. I wanted something cute and understated. For those of you that knew her, it reminds me so much of Linda Buis. I know she would love it! There are still so many things that both mom and I would love to buy for her but we must have some self control. But needless to say we shopped till we dropped. We had a late dinner out with Ryan and went to bed early. Friday was our working day. Mom helped me wash, sort, separate, unpack and clean the nursery along with all the shower gifts that were shipped to us. We even got the wall decal hung, which was a miracle. We started at 8PM and finished a little after 10. On our first piece I thought we were going to kill each other. But I told mom if we could finish this and survive we had a great relationship. It ended up being a fun and we laughed a lot. It was great to have mom here. She got to feel a part of the pregnancy which she hasn't got to until this point. I wish she could have stayed longer.
Birthday Bash
Ryan's birthday was Saturday and I wanted to do something special for him. So I took him to a comedy club in our local mall to see Mark Curry. He was popular in the 90's with a tv show, Hanging with Mr. Cooper, but hadn't heard anything about him since. We sat at a table with 2 strangers but they were very nice and it was great to meet new people. The comics were funny and Charlie was moving the whole time. I don't think she has ever had so much stimulation from mommy laughing so hard. The last few minutes Mark called up people who were celebrating something and I made Ryan go. Everyone had to share what they were celebrating, let Mark make fun of them and do an embarrassing dance. For those of you who know Ryan, know this is WAY out of his comfort zone but he did a great job and I laughed a lot. Mark told me this was going to be so good it would break my water. My response was Hartford Hospital here we come! Then Charlie decided that she didn't want to sleep ALL night and I was up with an awake and busy baby causing mom pain and the inability to sleep. This was our first time of this but I don't think it is our last. Honestly I thought I was having contractions for a while the pain was so intense and not localized but it stopped around 8am this morning.
Our agenda is to put together our last few big purchases for the baby on Sunday, as well as do some crafts to get the nursery ready. Ryan is even willing to help me, so I will post pictures of our craft time later. We have much to do and are anxious of getting it done. We both have a feeling this little one might come earlier than Thanksgiving. We can't believe we have less than a month and we are both so excited and ready (at least we think we are) for her to be here. Ryan spends tummy time with the baby everyday. I can see his love and excitement growing with each passing day. May it come quickly.

bellies and babies

This week has been the hardest week for me physically since May when I was in the hospital for half a week. I will spare you the details but know that it is extremely painful, and there is nothing I can do about it. Boo hiss for no relief. We thought we were going to have to go to the hospital last night because of it but thankfully it was just a very long night. Ryan was great. When I finally attempted to go to bed he held me while I cried at 4 am with no complaining that he had to go to work in 1.5 hours later. Needless to say it was a long night and around 6 am was finally able to fall asleep. I woke up in time for my ultrasound today. Even though I still feel horrible it is now bearable because of our appointment today.

What we know about Charlie so far:
-as of today she weighs 5 pounds 5 oz
-as of today she is 17 inches long
-she has hair
-she is in the 49th percentile so far. Average is okay with us
-If she goes 2-3 weeks early she will be between 7-7.5lbs
-if she waits till her due date she will be between 8-8.5 and could be 22 inches long
-she was breathing great and was very very active today

Everyone kept telling us how great everything is looking. I will give a pat on the back to myself right now. I only gained 1 pound over the last 2 weeks and only 21 overall since being pregnant. Now when you see pregnancy pics below you may not believe me but it is true. We aren't counting the 10lbs I gained over our first 4 months of marriage, shhh don't tell.

This is dad (Ryan's) belly. We don't know why it was taken but I thought if I am showing mine he can show his too.

This is my belly shot.



This is us and my new hair cut. It was windy but you get the jist.


WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS A DISTORTION. I AM TRULY NOT AS BIG AS I APPEAR IN THE FOLLOWING PICTURE. REMEMBER 20 LBS TOTAL!!!



NOW WHAT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR...


CHARLIE

I want to say she looks like me but I know its way way to early. Almost all babies look alike when they come out but this is our first good glimpse of what Ryan and I made. I was so happy he got to be there today to see her. We are both so overjoyed with our biggest tiny blessing.

her profile

Thank you for sharing our joy with us, even though it is far away. Feel free (PLEASE is what I really mean) leave a comment so I know who is reading this from home. Next picture post will be of our apartment for grandma b who has been asking for a long time.

Picture Page picture page, everyone loves a picture page!

This is us at a fair. We are in the ferris wheel, the only ride for pregnant women.

This was Ryan's dinner. As you can see its quite a corn dog. I really didn't want to take this pic next to the scary clown trash can but we did. It made me nervous.

The beginning of a bed

actually working

I really did help for a moment, then went back to taking pictures

Almost done

ta da!!!!!! This is all you get to see for now. I am turning our nursery from drab to fab with my crafty projects. I know I am not my sister but it will be fabulous anyway. More pics as I go.
Bedding Product is Cotton Tale, Lizzie is the set name.

missing everyone

So yesterday we went to the hospital because we hadn't felt the baby move in about 3 or 4 days. We tried caffine, sugar, exercise and more but not a budge. So I called the doc and since it was already 4 we went to the hospital. We were on a baby monitor for about two hours. At first she was still but eventually they saw movement and told me she was beautiful according to her stats. The doctor was very nice and said that she would rather us come in for 10 false alarms than have us sit at home and worry. On the upside we saw where we will deliver and met some of the nursing staff. They were very funny and nice and we look forward to delivering there in a short time. My orders are to lie down and make sure I feel the baby move 4 times/hour. If she doesn't I do it again. If we fail that I call the doc. She has been active since we got home so that is good. I guess I am breeding a lazy girl. She doesn't want to move or breath at times (don't worry its optional for them at this point). We are thrilled with our doctors in the practice. We go for our sizing ultrasound on the 14th and hopefully will have new pics to post.
On a very different note, today is my dad's 60th birthday. All of our friends and family went for dinner to celebrate. I was feeling homesick today but tonight at about 7ish I couldn't hold in my sadness or stress from the day before and I fell apart. I wanted so badly to be there with the people I want to see most right now, minus a few key people. It is hard to be out here. Both my sister and I are daddy's girls. It's who we are. But I didn't get to be one today. I called but its not the same. I am sorry I missed it and love you very much, dad. Thanksgiving can't come soon enough!!!!!!!!!!!

Baby Crazy

So I am writing this feeling a little under the weather. I have a soar throat and a stuffy nose. Hopefully I will feel better in a couple of days. But I do have news in our house. We are praising God all the way over here for what He has done on the Chastain's behalf today. Also we are now spending spare time trying to get the nursery ready. We are attempting to put together a crib, find a changing table, receiving and organizing our baby stuff that will come via Indy and find a glider. (Not much left, he) We are at 32 weeks and have less than two months to go. Ryan and I are both getting excited. He may be upset if I share this but I am going to anyway. I can tell that Ryan is getting more and more excited for Charlie to come into our world. Yesterday we were doing our Bible study when he went to go get a package from my in-laws. Amongst the goodies was a hooded terry cloth robe/suit for after bath time. After we were done with our study he held the outfit up by the hood and said, "did I mention how cute this is?" I smiled my full toothy grin and we talked about baby things for like 20 minutes which for a man is an eternity. When we go to a store we always stop to look at baby clothes and things and now there is no further objections no matter how much time we don't have to be there. He will even pick things up and show me to see if I like something. Needless to say we are both excited.
I did come to the reality today that my sister will not be joining my parents to come visit at Thanksgiving to see our baby. (She is the only one I really wanted there, no offense mom and dad. PS this isn't a guilt trip Cari) As I talked to her, she acknowledged that it wasn't fair and that she was just as upset as I was. My natural instinct was for me to throw a pity party because our birth will not be what I pictured it, but she tried to cheer me up with the good things that it will be. I have already told Ryan that if no one comes to visit us in the hospital that he will have to make a very big deal time and time again, like maybe every hour. He asked me if I realized how out of character that is for him but he promised he would. Our people will arrive just a couple of days later and Ryan and I will have our daughter all to ourselves until then. But in this conversation I have realized how much my sister and I have grown up over the years. And I not only appreciated her Godly advice but will be putting it into action. So for all the people who we will miss, our siblings, grandparents, cousins, and friends who are family (grandma barb) we would love to have you all there but we understand that it won't be, so save time around Christmas or Jan (we don't know when yet) to hold and dote and make the biggest late deal over our little girl. We can't wait to meet her and will be faithful to post pics for all of you till you see her in person. God is helping us to be content where we are for now. May we grow in trusting His Sovereignty and plan for us.

it's coming along

I must say our apartment is coming along. This weekend we spent a lot of time getting things into a livable condition. We are still working on it but it is coming. We now have a couch to sit on, a vacuum cleaner for our carpets along with a shower curtain. I know these aren't spectacular things but they are great for us. We made some makeshift curtains to block out the light both at night and during the day in our bedroom as well as cover the exposed windows. They aren't perfect but they were cheap and work just fine. It's amazing what fabric, safety pins and a water pipe can do for a room. Tonight our task is to finish a makeshift cabinet that Ryan made in MI that will be used as storage for some things we don't have room for in our kitchen. Then once that is done we will be able to make room for a television. We will have to buy a table/place to put it, then our living room will almost be complete minus a few finishing touches like a table cloth, throw pillows and pictures on the walls. Ryan doesn't think they are necessary but I am going to nest, even if its just for a short time. My tasks ahead of me are my looming closet, going through what fits and what doesn't. The what doesn't pile is quite large. I will be expanding my fall/winter wardrobe soon but the house comes first. Once things are the way I want them I will post pics for you to see our humble abode.
Pregnancy alert: My feet are now to big for my shoes both in width and length. My flip flops will soon be out of season. And I am swelling a lot in my legs and feet. So I do some things, then put them up... We may ask my doc for compression socks if it doesn't get any better. Ryan promised he would help me put them on everyday before he went to work, as he giggled to himself thinking about what a task that will be. We are also looking for a photographer in the area to take some maternity photos of us. Hopefully that will be soon.
In other news we seem to have been planted into an unlikely ministry on Sunday afternoons. Ryan was playing tennis with his dad in a local park when his strings broke, and they couldn't play any longer. There was a softball game going on and they were ushered into the game. These players are all members of a 12 step program for drugs and know each other through meetings. Some neighborhood kids come down to play as well. They meet for fun and play ball for a few hours. They love Ryan because he hits homers over the fence. Each team fights for who gets him. They are open and told us about who they are. I sit and watch while they play. We are hoping to share Christ with these people, through our actions. A little salt and light could go a long way. We hope to build relationships with a few people on the teams and maybe have their families over for dinner some time. It is our prayer that we will foster these relationships before the weather stops the games. It is becoming fall here with hints of summer lingering but they are just blips in the weather. Another ministry we have is eating at an Indian Restaurant. They just opened up about 3 miles away from home. They are so friendly and we talk about India. They love having customers who have been there. Last night we went for dinner and realized it was a new ministry. We will go every couple of weeks and talk about India, my missions work there and anything else. It doesn't seem like much but it is an open door for us. Also next week starts our church activities that we are hoping will bring us friends. Hope things are well with you all. Feel free to post something. Not sure who reads or follows our blog. But I will be more faithful in posting. Three in a week is something for me. I do believe I am now out posting my sister if I continue at this rate. Let the battle of the blogs begin, dear Cari

A matter of trust

Before you read any further know that what is to come is the ramblings of a nervous mother. There is no reason to panic but I would like to share a couple thoughts I have been having. I went to the doctor yesterday and she asked me how the baby was. I told her I haven't felt her move for a couple of days. So I was whisked away for a 30 minute time out on the baby monitor. I did feel her move some but not enough. So then we went for an ultrasound. The tech said she passed and all is well. We had to do a few things to get her to move, ( I noticed her breathing was slow). But the doctor said she is 100% healthy. Now why is it when she was cleared my worrying didn't stop, it just began. I know I am just entering the stage where I should feel her move consistently but it wasn't a huge worry until we failed the test. Now it seems to consume my thoughts. I push and massage my belly all the time, waiting for a hint of movement. My next appointment is Sept 30. Can I wait that long to make sure she is ok again? Am I turning into someone I don't want to be? I pride myself on the fact that I don't and refuse to be a nervous mother, but right now I can't help myself. It has been a long time since I have had to leave something this big in the hands of the Lord. My salvation was the first, my health, my life in other countries, but this by far seems the most difficult. My baby. Perhaps the death of my niece makes this more of a reality. I don't know. Perhaps I just have NEVER really given up total control of my life, just in parts that were easier. I am leaning towards the latter if I answer honestly. And sadly if I am even more honest, am not ready or in the position to do it. If I were where I should be spiritually I would say a prayer and attend to the piles and piles of boxes that are scattered about my house waiting to be unpacked. But all I want to do, is eat something sugary, lay on my side and wait for confirmation that she is moving. I thought throughout this pregnancy that I was holding Charlie loosely so that God could do what He wanted with all three of our lives. I guess that was easy when I knew everything was great. Now it isn't when there is doubt (by me not the doctor). So I guess in response to my ramblings I come to a request. Please pray that Charlie is 100% healthy. Also please pray that I would fully trust my God, and that I would lay my worries down once and for all. Or at least for today, and then I will tackle it again tomorrow.
On a lighter note, we have a bed again. I know that sleeping on an air-mattress for 3 days isn't so bad but my pregnant belly and sore arms and back say otherwise. The movers saved our air-mattress' life today. Death by safety pin would have been a slow and miserable way to go. But it seems only fair for the misery it caused me. Anywho it lives another day for out of town guests. Yay for beds and pillows, ooh and shower curtains as well.