Final countdown: 3 weeks to Baby

Thirty-seven weeks.

Sometimes I think I'm still sort of in denial about being pregnant. It still hits me every once and a while that Whoa... this is really happening! Of course, the symptoms are obviously kind of hard to ignore at this point... not being able to roll over in bed without great effort, significant fatigue, swelling... not to mention a belly the size of a beach ball that moves on its own.

Joe and I went to the doctor on Friday. Everything is right on track for this point of pregnancy! He said the magic words, too - "If you go into labor now, we're not stopping you." That's right - I'm finally full term.

I look back on all the transitions that we've made during the course of this pregnancy and think How in the world did we do that? We moved from our host family's home in Bulgaria to our own house in a mountainside village, then we moved from there to stay with our friends for a couple days before traveling back to the States where we stayed with my parents in Virginia for three weeks. Then we moved to Ohio and unpacked the boxes that have been in storage for almost a year now to set up our apartment.

Baby is actually quite well-traveled... During this pregnancy I visited Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Greece. I have flown through London, Vienna, Sofia, and Washington, D.C. and driven what seems like everywhere else in between.

With all of the changes we've made in the past few months it's been hard to really focus on the fact that we're having a baby. It's just been since we've gotten to Ohio that we've really been able to make the preparations that we've been wanting to make... And only in this past week that we've finally come to the point where we feel like we have a place for our new arrival (more on that later!).

Now we just have to wait for when Baby decides he/she is ready, too!

Joe's Pic[k]: Grandmas

October 2010

This is Baba Geena (Баба Гина). Baba, in Bulgarian, means grandma. She was our 92 year old neighbor during our home stay in Bulgaria. No matter what was going on, she was always happy to see us and had a smile on her face.

Baby is going to be my parents' third grandchild. My brother and sister-in-law's two girls call them "Meemaw" and "Pawpaw." So my mom (while she has made it clear that she will gladly be whatever Baby ends up calling her) is sticking with Meemaw for her grandma name this time around, too.

Joe's parents will be first-time grandparents when Baby arrives, so when we told them about our growing little one they had to decide what they want to be called. Joe's dad is sticking with the classic "Grandpa," while Joe's mom is going with the German name for grandma, "Oma."

P.S. I didn't post a "Joe's Pic[k]" post for last week until today. Click here to see it!

Cottage cheese

Joe thinks cottage cheese is disgusting. I'm pretty sure it's more of a texture issue than anything else. Last night, though, he made sure to point out that he had a serving on his plate.

Link to picture source

Throughout my pregnancy, most likely because it wasn't available in Bulgaria, I have craved cottage cheese. I'm not talking about the I-feel-like-I'm-going-to-die-if-I-don't-get-some kind of craving, just the I'd-really-love-to-have-some kind. So the first week we were back, Joe and I headed out to Kroger. You know what we got? Ice cream and cottage cheese. I'd say that beats pickles any day.

No worries... I didn't eat them together. However, I did find out that there are many, many choices when it comes to buying cottage cheese. Not only do you have differences in brand, but you've got 4% milkfat minimum, 2% milkfat, and fat free. On top of that you have large curd vs. small curd. And then you can get the cottage cheese singles packs that come with a fruit mix of some kind that you mix in. In case you're wondering, I recommend the Kroger-brand, 4% milkfat minimum, small curd cottage cheese. (Now that's a mouthful!)

My grandparents were here after church yesterday for an Easter lunch. We had all the fixin's... ham, corn, pineapple, four bean salad, crescent rolls, and (save the best for last!) chocolate-covered strawberries. Now, if you know my family, you know that one of our favorite meals is ham rolls made with King's Hawaiian bread rolls. We got to talking about them and that, of course, got my pregnancy tummy growling for some ham rolls, cottage cheese, and salad...

And then Dad and Joe volunteered to go to the store to get some! Now, they are obviously my two favorite men in the world, but don't go thinking their motivations were completely selfless... they did come back with a Redbox movie along with the groceries after all!

As for Joe's opinion of cottage cheese... he ate it, but I'm not sure he'll be craving it anytime soon.

The days to come

I've been blogging since 2004, when I went on a mission trip to Senegal with some youth from my church. With every big life transition I've made, a new blog has been created to accompany me on the journey. Joe and I just finished a 9-month missions term in Bulgaria, and now we're moving back to the States and preparing for the birth of our first baby, so a new blog seemed appropriate.



A year ago I was working as an RN in a local doctor's office. I never could have imagined then what my future held for me. It's strange to think that there was ever any other plan, though. Motherhood is a new adventure for me, and it's unique in that it has no end. My heart is already overflowing with love for Joe and I's little baby, and I am filled with hope for the days to come.