Thanksgiving Thankfuls

Since today is Thanksgiving I though I would make a list of some of the things I am thankful for.

1. I am thankful to worship an amazing God who always loves, protects, and provides for me (even when he provides things in His time and not mine)! My faith in God has helped me through so many difficult and happy times, and it makes me wish that everyone had a personal relationship with Him.

2. I am thankful for my wonderful husband, George! I am so blessed to have met him so early in my life so that we can spend the rest of our lives together. He is truly the love of my life and my best friend. He is loving and protective of me, and he is a wonderful provider for me and our baby to be.

3. I am thankful for this little baby that is growing inside me! Myers is a much prayed for miracle. I can't believe how much I love him, and I haven't even met him! I can't wait to hold him in my arms.

4. I am thankful for my family. My parents have been wonderful loving role models for me throughout my life. Through the way they live, they have demonstrated to me how to be good parents, have a strong marriage, and how to be good Christians. I have an amazing extended family that have always been there to support me. I am also blessed to have married into a great family that I love (I have great in-laws)! I realize that not everyone has this kind of family situation, so I am very grateful for what I have.

5. This last one is a mix-mash..I am thankful for my wonderful friends who are always here for me. I am thankful that I have a house over my head, plenty of food to eat, and all of the other necessities of life. I am thankful for my puppies who make me smile and give me kisses when I need it. I am thankful to have a job that I love.

Baby Shower #2

On November 16th I had my second baby shower in Conyers. Jenny, Jenna, Beth, and Jane did a great job setting everything up! All of my friends and family made me feel very loved. We got some great gifts, and I think we are set for Myers' arrival!

Thank you to everyone who came to both of my showers. George and I feel very blessed to have such great friends and family!

PUPPPs

Last Thursday or Friday I noticed that my stomach was itching more than usual, but I thought my stomach was going through another growth spurt. On Sunday morning I noticed that there were little red bumps on my tummy. I thought that maybe the lotion was irritating my sensitive skin so I stopped using the Cocoa Butter lotion. At my 32 week appointment on Tuesday I showed the rash to my doctor and he said that I have PUPPPs (puritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy-say that five times fast). This is basically a skin condition that occurs only during pregnancy. This condition will not cause any harm to Myers or I in the long term, but is just annoying! It reminds me of the time that I got poison ivy, but this won't go away until Myers is born and the only thing I can do is soak in Aveeno Oatmeal Bath and put a little bit of hydrocortisone cream on it. So far, it has made very little difference in the itchiness. very frustrating, but I know it will be worth it when Myers arrives!

We had our 2nd baby shower on Sunday, and it was beautiful. I will post pictures as soon as I can!

Baby Shower #1

The McCown's
The Kinder girls

Cute outfits

More Cute Outfits

Gifts

More gifts

Gifts

Decorations

Topiary

I had my first baby shower yesterday. I felt very "showered" by my family and friends. Jackie and Ginny hosted the baby shower at Ginny's house. They did a beautiful job. The nametags were so cute and we had such beautiful decorations. Jackie even made a Giraffe topiary for the refreshment table. One of Jackie's friends said a beautiful prayer for George, Myers, and I.

George and I received some wonderful gifts! Most of the gifts can be seen in the pictures above. I think the only gift that isn't pictured is the travel system (stroller and car seat) that Honey and Pop (Mom and Dad) gave us. Thank you to everyone who was there!

Maternity Center Tour

Today George and I took the maternity tour at Northside Hospital. It puts my mind at ease now that we know where we are supposed to enter the building, where we are supposed to park, etc. I have been to the Northside Women's Center twice to see my cousin when her kids were born, but George had never been there so it was good for him to see everything. When we were going up the elevator to start the tour, a lady and her baby were being wheeled out to go home. The baby was so cute and tiny. I teared up thinking, that will be us in about 9 weeks! We also were able to see some babies in the nursery. They were all so tiny. George said, "Are they premies?" It is so easy to forget how small a newborn is when we often see our friends kids who are several months old!

My biggest question was what happens if all 42 labor and delivery rooms were full when we get there? I have heard horror stories about women laboring in hallways because there was "no room in the inn." The lady from the hospital said that they very rarely run out of rooms since building the new center, but now they had a back-up plan that was "nicer than the regular rooms." That put my mind at ease! They have also gotten rid of all semi-private rooms, so I was happy about that too.

30 week appointment

Today George and I went to the 30 week appoitnment. Wow, 30 weeks already! I can't believe it. We only have 10 weeks left (give or take a little).

According to Dr. Marcus, everything looks great. I am measuring exactly where I should be and Myers' heartbeat was at 148 beats per minute today. I am now going to the doctor every 2 weeks and then at week 36 (the week before Christmas) I will start to go once a week. They told me I am done with all of the big tests, until I have to do the Strep B test at week 35.

No matter how many times I hear it, when the Doppler picks up that little heartbeat, I am amazed. This miracle happening in my body just proves to me without a shadow of a doubt that God exists and is an amazing God!

On another note, George and I voted today after the appointment. Since there were so many reports of really long lines during early voting, I was worried about how long I would have to stand up and how many trips to the bathroom I may need to take during that time! Well, we pulled up to the high school at 10:30, and we walked out at 11:05! Yeah!