March 28th- 18 Weeks

18 Week Pic:

I weighed in at 136.6 at the 18 week mark. Only 2 more weeks and I'm halfway there!

Mom Witt sent us another package in the mail this past Friday! She is so good to us. Check out the new onesies for Baby Jeopardy. So cute. She said we would have to put a bow on the red & blue ones if the baby is a girl!


And this one is hilarious. She sent me these small toilet paper rolls for our hikes that I can't seem to make it through without a potty break! I love it.


She also sent me 2 more maternity tops and a pair of capris. Here is a picture of the capris that we shot right before my camera battery died:

I have been feeling pretty good lately. And I am definitely growing by the day. Just yesterday (which was Tuesday-3/30), I went through the whole day at work, came back to the apartment for a walk on our trail and then returned home for a shower. As I was getting undressed, I looked down at my body, and thought, "oh my goodness, where did that belly come from? It wasn't that big this morning!" ha ha. Amazing that there is a little life growing inside of me! And so quickly!!!

March 23rd- Baby Kicking?

Okay, so I have not wanted to jump the gun and say I am feeling the baby kick. While I know this can happen as early as 16 weeks...usually it is difficult to detect by first time moms. But I am feeling something. It just feels like something is going on in my belly. It kind of feels like bubbles or something moving in water. But it's not gas...as far as I can tell! :) I feel it most at times like this when I am laying still on my back. So for documentation purposes...I am posting that I might be feeling the baby kick in the 17th week (and I did feel some of this last week also.) But I am just too new at this to know exactly what it is! I am sure in a few more weeks there will be no denying when the baby is kicking.

By the way, Baby Jeopardy is about 5 inches long and weighs 5 ounces this week!

March 22nd-Announcing the News to Work

So...I finally did it. In Monday morning meeting, with my boss, Chuck and two other marketers, Andrea and Lisa, I let the secret out. I tried to be clever. When Chuck asked me if I had anything on my schedule to share I first mentioned a date this week that I had a breakfast scheduled at Springs Village Care Center and then asked everyone to turn their calendars to August to get a date penciled in there as well. I said, "On August 30th, I'll be having a baby, so you might want to write that down." It took them a second...but they were so surprised! The ladies were going crazy of course and Chuck was letting it sink in. But everyone was excited. And of course, they could not believe that I was 17 weeks along and had not said a word. They all claimed they had no clue and wanted to know where my belly was. Although, the next day Chuck told me when he told his wife, Mary, she admitted that she suspected when we were all at their home for dinner last week. She noticed my "bulge". She is perceptive because that is the first time I met her! But I knew some people had to have noticed. I have caught a couple people looking at my stomach...so I thought I better spill the beans.

In all honesty, it has been a little difficult after sharing the news with work. (Which we knew would be the case...that is why we waited!) So, as everyone who is reading this blog is close friends and family, I am asking for your prayers for Matt and I. We have some decisions to make. Three people have already asked me at work if I plan to return to work...one being my boss. My answer has been that Matt and I not there yet in regards to that decision, but I will of course need some time off after having the baby. Chuck told me today (Tuesday) that they would support me in whatever decision I made. While our plan has always been for me to stay at home and I am fully prepared to do that...we want to know that this is the Lord's plan. There are many variables...and I have never considered that Encompass may want me to stay in some capacity...even if not full time. The hard part for me is what if you say you are leaving, give a resignation date, train a replacement, and then something goes wrong in the pregnancy? I then have given up a job that I love. Is this having too little faith? It is also a transition as I know that work looks at a pregnant employee differently, even if they try not to. The last three weeks we have had some sort of corporate interaction where I have been told of their big plans for me within Encompass. While I know that climbing the career ladder is not my desire, I don't want to perform at any lesser of a level or be viewed differently now. But I know I will be.

Please pray for wisdom for Matt and I as we make these decisions...as well as some choices as it relates to his job and insurance benefits for me and the baby. Whenever he makes a switch, we will be without insurance for at least 60 days if I am not working when he switches. We did not take benefits for me with Encompass because we did not want to compromise our integrity by deceiving them into thinking I was returning just to receive the health benefits, if I indeed was not. So please pray for these decisions and the timing of them.

And also just pray that each of our decisions are made according to God's specific plan for us and our family. That we do not compromise our integrity or resort to deceit because of our own fear of the unknown or lack of faith in the One who has blessed us with this tiny life we get to welcome into the world in just over 5 months!

Thank you for your love and prayers for us! We feel so blessed to have you all in our lives!

March 21st- 17 Weeks

Week 17: Expanding Waistline has begun!

I weighed in at 135.6 this morning.

Picture before church...in comfortable jeans that actually fit and leave room to grow!


And the trench coat that I mentioned in my last post for these cool mornings that have been warming up by afternoon...big enough to make it through the season!

Matt and I went on a long walk this afternoon (beautiful sunny day in Colorado!) after having lunch with our friends from small group. I am going to try to be more committed to exercising and not let being tired talk me out of it! Apparently, just 30 minutes a day will do wonders for my pregnancy (mood, shape, weight gain), my labor (quicker) and even the baby (some studies say that babies whose moms exercised were more stimulated in the womb and scored higher test scores and were more healthy themselves later on)! I don't know how much of this is true...but I'm smart enough to get that it is a good idea! So thank you, Lord, for some beautiful days that make it easier to say yes to a workout!

March 19th-Package from Dennis & Carrie

When arriving home from work on Friday night...I was delighted to find a package in our mailbox! Dennis & Carrie Gaul sent us this cute card and gift from South Bend, Michigan.


Matt loves these soft baby socks:

Dennis is Matt's mom's cousin. And Carrie and Matt's mom (Deb) began their friendship in high school. They both work for LifeAction ministries and Carrie works with Nancy Leigh DeMoss & Revive Our Hearts. This couple has become very dear to Matt and I throughout our married years. They have wisdom and discernment that only comes from walking closely with the Lord. Thank you Dennis & Carrie, we love you!

It was a nice surprise at the end of a long week. I could not believe how tired I was this week, how incredibly hungry I was (and in turn ate!) and how much I felt like I was growing! Then I read my pregnancy journal and I felt better...that I must not be crazy: "This was a week of rapid, whole-body growth for your baby. Existing structures became larger and more well developed, but no new structures were formed. The chances are good that this week's growth spurt for your baby also resulted in a growth spurt for you." Absolutely! (this is what I wrote by this statement!)

After a minor meltdown on Saturday of clothes not being able to fit and all of the sudden feeling huge...my wonderful husband took me shopping for a few items for work...to get me through this next stage of growth without busting through all of my clothes! I am not big enough for maternity clothes, nor am I sure that I am a fan of how the pants fit anyway, but a size up in a pair of jeans, a few larger tops and a black trenchcoat that can expand with me was a lifesaver! Thanks, Babe. :)

March 14th- 16 Weeks

16 Week Picture:


Before Church:


I weighed in at 133.4 this morning. I have been so tired this week and weekend. I can't seem to get enough sleep! Plus, I can barely make it through a church service without leaving to go to the bathroom! Not to mention when Matt and I took a min-hike yesterday at Palmer Park and I couldn't make it through the hike...thank goodness for the great outdoors and Matt standing watch! Ahh, the joys of pregnancy! :)

March 11th- 4th Dr's Appt & Package from Jessie!

I had a fairly uneventful doctor's appointment today. I got to hear the heartbeat again...which I love. It's so amazing. And I feel myself breathe a sigh of relief when Dr. Shelton finds it. Yay! There is a baby in there. Dr. Shelton said everything seems to be going well! I'm gaining weight at the right pace and on April 14th we are scheduled for an ultrasound....where we COULD find out the gender of the baby if we wanted to. But we won't. Though I feel so strongly that we are going to have a girl...we will have to wait until August to find out if I am totally crazy or not!

Today was the appointment where we could have the blood testing to find out if the baby has certain diseases or defects...such as down syndrome. But we chose not to do the testing. I would certainly be the one to get a false positive and go insane for no reason!

This week and last week I have been SO tired. I can't seem to get enough sleep. While they have been busier weeks as far as work is concerned...I don't think that is the only reason. I never had the extreme exhaustion in the first trimester but now I am beginning to feel it. I have gained probably as much weight in the last two weeks as I have gained so far in the pregnancy so maybe the baby is having a growth spurt that is making me tired. I don't really know...I'm just guessing!

I was elated to discover a package in the mail when I got home from work & my doctor's appointment! Jessie sent us the cutest gift. She made me four burp cloths and a strap that you can clip onto any blanket to create a nursing cover! Thank you, Jessie. I love your gifts! And now to share the package with the rest of you:


This girl has the most perfect writing I have ever seen:


The cloths and strap:

She even made us pink & blue so we are good with either gender :) And by the way, Jessie, the blue color is perfect. Not a baby blue...but the blue I like. And with brown! You are too good. I was just telling Matt the other day that if we do have a girl, I want to incorporate pink into the room with the brown and blue. I may have to wait until the li'l squirt gets here to decorate! :)

Close-up of patterns:


Thank you, Johnston Family!!!!

March 7th- 15 Weeks

And here is your weekly picture!

I know you all say you can't see a difference...and maybe I just do because I know I can feel it in my clothes! Plus, the scale is going up every week now. I weighed in at 132.4 this morning. At some point I will need to do some side by side shots to show progression. That is why we have been taking them every week in the same outfit. So we can do a progression later that illustrates the growth! While now it is much more apparent to us...I'm sure I will quickly get to the point where you all will see it too! My doctor actually told me I will probably not show until 4 months. I'm getting close to that mark, but I guess we won't know until I get there!

And just because that same outfit picture seems boring (especially since it looks the same to everyone!) here is a picture before church this morning.

We got a $10 coupon from Kohl's this week for the grand opening of a brand new Kohl's (we have 3 now in Colorado Springs). I was so excited because you can use it on anything. So we purchased this top for work. These flowy tops are great because I can unbotton my pants underneath of them and wear my belly band around my waist with the shirt completely concealing what is going on under there! No one is the wiser. :)

On another exciting note, while we were in Vegas last week...we missed a big announcement from our Monday night small group. Kyle and Jen are pregnant! We are totally pumped about this as we were unsure about starting a small group with young marrieds without kids, when we knew we were going to be having one soon. Kyle and Jen are due in October so they are about 8 weeks along right now. Dale, another wife in our small group, called me immediately to share the news because we told her that we were pregnant last week! Her and her husband, Michael, could hardly hold in our surprise when Kyle & Jen shared theirs! Especially because Kyle's next question after the announcement was "Is anyone else going to have kids soon?" I think they were worried just as we were about how the rest of the group would feel about little ones running around! We are telling the rest of small group on Monday night our news. God has been so amazing as we have obeyed His urging to enter into this group in faith. Seeing how everything is working out better than we could have planned it ourselves...we are humbled and in awe. Michael and Dale are trying to get pregnant also right now and both Jen and Dale are going to be stay at home moms. So amazing. Thank you, Lord for Your sweet blessings!

March 3rd- Baby Card & Stuffed Lion

We received a baby card from Grandma & Grandpa Johnson this week!

So sweet. Thank you Grandma & Grandpa!

Also, I mentioned that Matt & I were in Vegas last weekend. You can find a complete account here.
What I forgot to include is that while Matt was out on the town (and I was in my conference) he bought the cutest little gift for our new baby! He went to the Lion Habitat at MGM on Monday. If you don't know this already...he is a big fan of lions. So of course, he probably just loved having an excuse to buy a souvenir! He bought this adorable baby lion wrapped in a tiny blanket! He is so adorable! (Matt and the lion!)

February 28th- 14 Weeks

We have completed the 1st trimester!!! Can you believe it? So exciting. And I will tell you. This weekend, my stomach decided to have a growth spurt. It is getting harder to hide these days! Here are the 14 week pics. (Although we cheated and took them a day early since we would be in Vegas on Sunday.)

See? There is a definite difference from last week. At least I can tell anyway. And so can Matt! I weighed in at 131.8 this week.


Once in our room on Sunday at Caesars Palace and before going out for dinner, we did snap a few pics so they were officially 14 weeks pics!

February 27th-Packages!

Matt and I attended the Focus on your Marriage simulcast that was broadcast live from Focus on the Family. We were up bright and early on Saturday for the live taping...and joined by two other couples from our church that were in our previous small group. Pictures of that event are on our Colorado Dreams blog.

When we arrived home from the event...2 packages greeted us at the mailbox!!! One we knew was coming from Mom Witt (thought we didn't know what!) and a surprise from David, Age & Colin! How fun. Despite the fact that we needed to pack and be up early again the next morning for my work trip to Vegas...we immediately tore into them.

Here's Matt with the exciting gift from his parents.


What is it? All sorts of good stuff! Stuff for baby, mommy & daddy!


And a little note:


Essentials for baby Jeopardy:




Maternity wear for mommy: (Lots more than this...I just didn't take pics of it all!)


Let's try it on


What it will look like in another few months :)


Love this lullaby praise cd!


Our baby's first book! It is a prayer book from David, Age & Colin. So cute! Made very durable to withstand drool and abuse! Thanks guys!

Oh yes, and I am wearing another new comfy dress! Thanks Mom Witt!!