Preggo Friday

Baby Progress:
The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.


My Progress Report:
How far along? 12 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: 4 lbs.
How much does baby weigh?
Symptoms: Occasional waves of nausea, tire easily, gassy (ew),very dry skin and lips, pregnancy brain as settled in already, very sensitive.
Maternity clothes? Most things are except for a few shirts.
Stretch marks? nope
Sleep: Most of the time good.
Best moment this week: Heard baby's heart beat!
Food cravings: Funfetti cake!
Food aversions: Leftover Taco Casserole...for some reason the stench from it being reheated was totally disgusting.
Gender: Still waiting...
Labor signs: way to early for this.
Belly Button - in or out? in.
What I miss: nothing as of right now, I've waited so long for this.....
What I am looking forward to: finding out what baby is; but that won't happen until the end of May!
Milestones: making it 12 weeks, they say the 1st trimester carries the strongest chance of miscarriage.

10 for the Week

1. Obviously,I did not post 10 on Tuesday so I decided to just do it for the week. I am so far behind on being good to update my blog weekly, so this is to help make up for things!
2. Currently, we are in Iowa with my parents. I am looking forward to spending tomorrow afternoon with my mom, were going to lunch and maybe a little shopping. Joseph is going with my dad to a preacher's meeting!
3. Next week is our ladies retreat and I still need to finish my thoughts for my workshop and tidbits. I am so excited about doing the workshop, I have had the desire to do this particular workshop for a long time. My workshop is, Serving God in the Unplanned Journey.
4. Since I am attempting to drink as little caffeine as possible, I have discovered Vanilla Bean Frappuccinos from Starbucks...so good.
5. But, one thing that I don't want to drink is water...I need to I just hate it so much-it is disgusting to me. Nonetheless, I am trying and I am hoping that everyone is right and that I really will crave it in the summer heat.
6. I have to say, I was very disappointed in the Butler/Duke game...I was pulling for Butler and my mother in law was unfortunately pulling for Duke-which kind of makes me doubt her salvation! Just kidding! But, a big congrats to her for being the only in our family to win the bracket!
7. In a couple of weeks we go to Wyoming for a couple of weeks for some meetings. Please pray with us that God will give us meetings this summer we really need them since we will not be able to schedule them for fall because of our bundle of joy that is on the way!
8. I had my 1st official prenatal visit today and it went pretty good. Uncomfortable but I think good. I will post some pregnancy updates tomorrow with possible belly shots as I am now 3 months!
9. With my prenatal visit, I had lots of bloodwork done and it now hurts to bend my arm. But, thankfully I don't have anymore bloodwork to look forward to until somewhere between weeks 28-30!
10. Well, I must be going my parents have Thursday night church and I must make myself presentable...see you tomorrow when you are reading Preggo Friday!

Wedded Wednesday

25 Random Things About Our Wedding

1. I was 25 and Joseph was 27 when we were married!
2. We had no clue as to what we were supposed to be doing at our wedding reception, so we didn't stay around to long!
3. In the middle of the night, on our wedding night, we opened all of our gifts and cards...because it was so spontaneous, to this day we do not know if proper thank you notes were ever given to the people who were the actual givers of each gift!
4. The only thing we had to eat at our reception was the bite of cake we fed one another.
5. I wanted wedding mints so bad for the wedding, so my friend and her mother made them for the wedding and I didn't even have one-so sad.
6. Joseph gave the groomsman cuff links and money clips for their gift...our groomsman all thought the money clip was a tie clip-it was very funny!
7. Our Wedding Songs: Household of Faith, When God Made You and Lord, Bless Our Home.
8. Our good friend, Jeremiah sang, When God Made You and basically made up his own lyrics to the song because he noticed that I started to tear up and it made him lose his concentration! But, he did wonderful-I didn't even notice that he wasn't singing the right words!
9. Joseph's dad did the wedding charge and my dad did our vows!
10. We did not have a traditional flower girl, Joseph dropped the petals down the aisle to prepare the way for his bride!
11. I am a gum chewer and at the last minute realized I still had gum in my mouth and didn't think it was really appropriate to be chewing it during the ceremony...so my good friend Chelsea held out her hand and took the gum! What a true friend she is!
12. Joseph and I did not see each other on our wedding day until I started my journey down the aisle.
13. I was fine all day long, then after I had my pictures taken before the ceremony I started to hyperventilate and my matron of honor, Diana, had to give me a stern talking to!
14. I wore white lacy tennis shoes!
15. Our wedding party wrote out grades for our kiss; but our kiss was so short they barely had time to unfold the paper to show our guests!
16. When it was time to exchange the rings, Diana and Jennifer thought it would be funny to tuck the groom's ring into a Cracker Jack box. Mmm...
17. Our wedding night was spent at the Comfort Inn in Brandon,SD! It was so nice that we didn't have far to travel after a very busy day.
18. To this day, we joke that our ushers were actually our bodyguards as they all stood above 6 feet tall!
19. I had our wedding programs printed a week before the ceremony, the Tuesday before the wedding the couple who was to sing "Household of Faith" were very sick and to be replaced with Clarence and Sandy Collins-so unfortunately our actual singers did not make into our wedding program. But, we know who they are and are ever so thankful for them stepping in at the last minute!
20. We spent, maybe $100 for the sanctuary decorations...in my opinion that is cheap and I believe it was decorated beautifully! Beauty doesn't have to cost tons of money!
21. Our only real issue that happened during the ceremony was that our aisle runner kept getting stuck and would tear; but other than that our ceremony was smooth, beautiful and wonderful!
22. Kinda funny, but during the 1st song, Household of Faith-after my dad had given me away, no one at the altar could make eye contact with one another because we knew if we did the tears would come.
23. I always said, I would never be one of those couples that talk during the songs; but during the lighting of the unity candle, thats all Joseph and I did was talk.
24. When we lit the unity candle, wax poured all over my wrist-ouch!
25. January 4th, 2008 was one of the best days of my life! Forever and always!

Wedded Wednesday

♥ What are your middle names? Daniel and Marie

♥ How long have you been together? 3 years

♥ Who asked whom out? He expressed 'interest' first

♥ How old are each of you? He's 30, I'm 28

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most? Mine, he's an only child

♥ Do you have any children together? 1 on the way!

♥ What about pets? its hard to have a pet while on deputation

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? getting ready for another round of meetings and nearing the end of our travels after months of being on the road...we tend to get a little testy.

♥ Did you go to the same school? Nope!

♥ Are you from the same home town? No

♥ Who is the smartest? Probably him

♥ Who is more sensitive? Definitely me!

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Panera Bread or Chilis

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? We travel all over since we are on deputation, from south dakota to florida/south dakota to new mexico-who really knows!

♥ Who has the craziest ex???? Thankfully neither of us,we don't have ex's!

♥ Who has the worst temper? I don't know that we necessarily have tempers we just equally get aggitated easily

♥ Who does the cooking? Me

♥ Who is more social? Me

♥ Who is the neat-freak? That differs in certain areas

♥ Who is more stubborn? Unfortunately, I think we're equal on that one!

♥ Who hogs the bed? He does! He's always taking my covers...

♥ Who wakes up earlier? Me

♥ Where was your first date? another good question...my parents house! lol!

♥ Who has the bigger family? me

♥ Do you get flowers often? Not usually, its hard to care for flowers on the road...

♥ How do you spend the holidays? With family

♥ Who is more jealous? Me

♥ How long did it take to get serious? A month

♥ Who eats more? Him

♥ Who does/did the laundry? Me, but he will help when he has a chance

♥ Who’s better with the computer? he is

♥ Who drives when you are together? we take turns! we both like to drive!

Playing Catch Up!

So, its been ages since my last post-my sincere apologies to all my faithful readers. We don't have internet access at home, so I don't have the time or the capabilities always to get into town where there is a wireless connection and do updates. Please notice the following post...its a baby update!
Since being home we have been busy noticing how much stuff we have, how tiny our apartment is and realizing how much more stuff we are going to accumulate when baby comes. What a task that lies before us! Were going to have a rummage sale this summer and we are already going through things...stuff that we convince ourselves to keep year after year and still never use it! Well, this time-we are standing strong and saying no more...its time to get rid of our junk and make a little extra cash for spoiling baby!
Joseph is trying to schedule meetings for summer and this is proving to be a difficult task. Normally, we try and take summers off since it is harder to schedule meetings due to Pastors knowing that people in the church will be vacationing, VBS going on, church camps, etc. and therefore, we then book our fall! However, this year I can't travel after Septemeber 22nd and we want to stay in the area in September so we are trying to book last minute summer meetings. Pray that God gives the necessary meetings in a short period of time.
Well, this was my quick update and I'm going to post my Wedded Wednesday blog as well! I figure that I'm playing catch up on here so why not!

Preggo Update

My Baby:
Your baby has continued to grow over the past week. Now almost 2 inches long, your little one has been engaged in some heavy acrobatics, kicking and stretching inside your womb. Remember, though she is getting bigger, it may be some weeks before you feel her moving around.

Her skin, though still paper thin and transparent, is forming a protective barrier around her body. Her tiny fingers and toes have begun to separate into unique extremities, and she's also begun to open and close her fists. The first signs of where her teeth will form appear this week, as tiny tooth buds begin to pop up under her gums. She may even have her first case of the hiccups as her diaphragm begins to develop.

My Progress Report:
How far along? 11 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: I haven't gained a pound...yet!
How much does baby weigh?
Symptoms: Occasional waves of nausea, tire easily, gassy (ew),very dry skin and lips
Maternity clothes? Mostly skirts, they are more comfy than my regular clothes now.
Stretch marks? nope
Sleep: Pretty good though I get waken up by frequent bathroom needs.
Best moment this week: I would have to look back to a couple of weeks ago, heard baby's heart beat and found out baby's heart rate is where it needs to be!
Food cravings: White Chocolate Reeses Peanut Butter Cups!
Food aversions: Leftover Taco Casserole...for some reason the stench from it being reheated was totally disgusting.
Gender: Still waiting...
Labor signs: way to early for this.
Belly Button - in or out? in.
What I miss: nothing as of right now, I've waited so long for this.....
What I am looking forward to: Sunday, wearing wearing my 1st maternity dress...
Milestones: hearing baby's heart beat...awesome-what a miracle!

10 on Tuesday

1. Today, we are homeward bound and will be home for at least another month!
2. Last night, we were able to have dinner with our good friends the Metsingers! We met them at Famous Daves, enjoyed some good food; but most importantly a good time.
3. Tomorrow, it will be time to get my followup ultrasound to check on baby's heart rate. Please pray that baby is okay and that the heart rate has increased. My appointment is at 10:45.
4. I am seriously contemplating getting my hair chopped off, I had been trying to let my hair grow out; but I don't know how much more I can take of constant tangles. I am getting my hair done this week, will I come home with a simple hair trim or a complete new hair style?
5. This is my 100th post, I thought about making a big deal about it; but have decided to make my big post, the 101 post!
6. This past Saturday, I was able to spend the afternoon with my great friend Lindsay! I am so thankful for her friendship and that we were able to spend some time together, even though we were both very tired.
7. Speaking of Lindsay, its crazy to think but her and I have actually known each other for 10 years now-which is absolutely crazy!
8. Our church's ladies retreat is just slightly a month away and I really need to start ironing out my workshop details! I am so looking forward to doing the workshop-I hope its a blessing to all that attend my workshop.
9. I have been to the driving range twice now with my new driver and I actually can see improvement in my swing! Joseph also bought me a new golf bag-one that looks more girly...we got such a good deal, it was on sale, plus we got another $10 off! Sweet deals!
10. Thanks for being a faithful reader...I love doing my blog and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it!

Preggo Friday!

If everything goes right and I actually do it on time, I have decided to deem Friday's, Preggo Friday! A weekly update of how my little "firefly" is developing and how I am feeling. I stole the progress report of how I am doing from another blog and the questions probably don't all apply at first; but it will still be fun!

Week 8-My Baby:
Though you might not feel it, your baby, now about the size of a kidney bean (8-11 mm), is moving inside of you! Your baby’s facial features become more obvious this week, as his lips, tongue, nostrils, and buds for teeth have developed. His arms and legs are growing, elbows and knees develop, and his fingers and toes, though still webbed, become visible while any traces of his “tail” are almost entirely gone.
This week, your baby’s bones also begin to harden through a process called ossification. Inside your baby’s brain, nerve cells are branching out creating his first neural pathways. And though it’s still too early to discern your baby’s sex, as any external genital organs have yet to develop, an ultrasound at week 8 could detect the beating of his little heart.

Progress Report:
How far along? 8 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: I haven't weighed myself recently and I have a feeling that I don't really want to!
How much does baby weigh?
Symptoms: Occasional waves of nausea, tire easily.
Maternity clothes? The Bella Band, I have noticed some of my skirts are beginning to leave button/zipper marks in the skin.
Stretch marks? nope
Sleep: I sleep pretty well; but I wake up achy, however, this could be the result of sleeping on an air mattress this past week.
Best moment this week: Making it another week!
Food cravings: none.
Food aversions: Monday KFC chicken disgusted me; but since then I have ate other chicken just fine! Lasagna was also offered to me, I had it on my plate and when it was time to eat it, I couldn't do it, it suddenly looked very unappetizing.
Gender: Still waiting...
Labor signs: way to early for this.
Belly Button - in or out? in.
What I miss: nothing as of right now, I've waited so long for this.....
What I am looking forward to: my ultrasound next week, can't wait to see that baby is okay!
Milestones:

Thursday Update

So, I discovered this morning that I am going to be the emotional queen of pregnancy-ugh. Joseph received a phone call from the Pastor of the church we will be in on Sunday. The pastor informed Joseph that since we were so close he would like us to be there at 10 a.m for visitation on Saturday-I had made plans a few weeks ago to spend the morning/afternoon with my friend Lindsay. I just started crying, knowing I would have to cancel my plans with Lindsay. And I also could not get over the fact that I was crying over all of this, I should not cry this easily...its one thing to be disappointed; but to add tears to the mix is another thing. Thankfully, Joseph-the best husband I have ever had-asked the pastor what his plans were for the afternoon after visitation and lunch, the pastor is going to let me go off with my friend for the afternoon.
We have been spending the week with my brother. We have had a great time with him! Last night we took him to Chili's for dinner-he has never been and the last meeting we had had given us gift cards for there! We even managed to have money left on the gift cards so that Joseph and I can go again! After dinner, it was off to Southwest Baptist Church-I love going there and seeing old friends! And finally after church it was off to ice cream with friends from home that are down here going to college! It was a great evening to catch up with everyone!
Joseph and I have discovered the fun internet tool of Skype! So far this week we have been able to chat with Joseph's parents on it as well as a good friend of his from Michigan! Its really fun to use and I am sure it will come in handy for when we go to Norway! So, if any of you has skype you should let me know, so we can set you up on our contact list! And just so you know, Skype is totally free! Yay!
Okay, well I should probably really find some motivation for the day and accomplish a few things before we head over to a friends house for dinner...have a happy Thursday!

Wedded Wednesday

So, I am stealing this idea from my great friend Lindsay....
My Courtship/Marriage

1. When was your "engagement" anniversary: July 9th, 2007

2. When is your "marriage" anniversary: January 4th, 2008

3. How long have you known your spouse: 3 years (though we did meet once when we were teenagers)

4. How long did you date/court before you were engaged: 4 months

6. What is your spouses full name: Joseph Daniel Barnhardt

7. Do you have any children yet: I have a baby in my tummy!

8. How many: 1 on the way

9. Do you have any house pets: no, kind of hard when on the road all the time

10. Do you own a house or rent: rent

11. Do you live in the country or town/city: town

12. What is one of your favorite activities together: Friday night homemade pizza nights watching movies or in the summer playing golf together as well-I like to give him pointers! lol!

13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot: We have never really 'vacationed' considering were already travelers...but we have been to Virginia Beach for a short visit and I don't think I would mind vacationing there!

14. Siblings (including in-laws): 1 brother and 1 sister

15. What church do you attend: Eastside Baptist Church

16. Is this the church you were married in: yes

17. What town is your current address: Tea, SD

18. Do you work or stay at home: our home is in the van always traveling....missionary wife

19. Where did you honeymoon: Niagra Falls/New York

20: Leave a piece of marriage advice: Communicate...love your spouse with the Cross in mind! Jesus loved us so much that He took the cross for us....