First Pictures!

here are the first pics...

Baby A AND Baby B!!! holy smokes!! today was awesome! the ultrasound tech quickly found BOTH babies and their heart beats. yes, we got to see and hear both of their little hearts beating. what a joy that was for us again! i of course started crying! that sound has got to be one of the best sounds ever!! then to hear two... so amazing!! they are measuring great, everything else looks great...just a great day!! because we are having more than one, this pregnancy is considered high risk, so i will go every two weeks for an ultrasound and check up. more pictures will be so great! :)

peter and i are beyond thrilled! we are so blessed and grateful that God is choosing us to be parents again, especially to two little ones. please pray for healthy, normal growth for both babies. that is all i care about now!! please pray for all four of us!!

ahhhhh...TWINS!!! so awesome!

we are blessed!

blessings, ALo

New Stuff

i know that so many of you have been asking how i am doing, how i am feeling, etc. part of me feels bad talking about my pregnancy...being excited. i mean, we are...we are so excited. but i remember what it was like for those so many months when all people could talk about was their pregnancy and how horrible some of it was, how awesome parts were, etc. i know that if you have been following my blog, you understand/know that this has been an emotional roller coaster almost 2 years for us. while i will never purposefully complain on facebook or twitter or even here in my blog, i know that so many of you are genuinely praying for us and just want to be excited with us. so...here is a little update. please do not read this if you are in a place that you are unable to read about my pregnancy. i totally understand that and do not blame you at all!

today (8/21/12) we are 6 weeks and 6 days. wednesday is my new week day...meaning every wednesday i up a week :) 7 weeks tomorrow. i had been doing pretty good about "ralphing" until the last two days. before monday, i had only been sick once, but suffered constant nausea after 3pm. this week it has become an all day battle...me versus nausea...the last two days i have not always won. i also have pretty horrid acid reflux. last night i was up at 3am ralphing because of the reflux. but, all of this is fine by me. i may not look that great, but i am fine. pictures with my besties from atlanta this weekend could be interesting! :) i have been pretty tired in the afternoons. i am trying to go to the gym as often as i can...depending on my morning nausea. so, days that i do get into the gym, i definitely need a nap by about 4 pm. i remember getting pretty horrid headaches when i was really tired when i was pregnant with Charlotte. thankfully, i have not had many of those...just one. thats it...things are good/normal as far as i can tell...as normal as pregnancies go.

this friday we have our first ultrasound. i have had so many of you tell me you have the "twin feeling". my grandma even said, "i hope you are having twins...i am not close enough to be up with you all night long" lol. thanks grandma! but, we will find out friday how any are in there! at this point, because so many have said we are having twins, i would not be totally shocked...still surprised, but not shocked. as long as we can walk away knowing that our child is growing safely and healthy, i will be so excited!! so, be on the look out for baby's first picture on friday evening! :)

thanks so much for all the support, love, encouragement, and prayers. i know i have been off the grid...just to make you feel better, there has not been too many new things happening here. :) just keep praying for our little one to grow big and strong like his/her daddy! :)

please also be praying for a new friend that i have meet. "B" and her husband have been trying for a family of their own for several years. they have tried IUI a few times with no success. they are praying for guidance and direction from God as to what to do next. please pray with me that God would make that path very clear! please pray with me that God would open her womb and that she would become pregnant!! i cant wait to report back to you very soon that our prayers have been answered!

blessings, ALo

God's Grace

i had the first of many doctor's appointments for this little baby on monday. it was a "confirmation appointment". just meant that i had to pee on one of their test sticks and have some blood work and an "exam". i was only told it would be the urination test part, so the rest was a surprise...i should have shaved my legs! sorry, nurse patty! lol. anyway...i am definitely pregnant! so exciting! patty (the nurse practitioner) said that i should stay on the metaformin (blood sugar pill) to help with my nausea and the progesterone to help since i dont produce as much as i should. they switched me over from the oral progesterone to the "non-oral". when i went to pick up the Rx, it was going to be $587 per month! uh...for real?? i mean if that is the only choice, it will be worth it, but there are other options...lets try that first! i have left a few messages to have the new Rx that patty said would be manageable financially. hopefully they call me soon...i dont like not taking a medicine that will help my little growing baby! today i am exactly 5 weeks along. we will get our first look at our little one in just over 2 weeks. friday, august 24th at 2:15. my awesome friends from atlanta will be here too...they will get to meet our little sweet when we do. :) so, things are good. i am feeling good...only nauseous when i eat sweets (rough, huh?!!?? oh well!). we are praying for good, healthy growth. we are also praying that God calms our nerves as we continue in this pregnancy. after our journey with Charlotte, we cant help but be a little nervous/anxious/think the worst.

our high school worship band played this song tonight in worship and it hit me right where i needed it. an awesome reminder!! hope you enjoy it!! i really wish you could all hear my friend, amos, sing this song. he and the band were so awesome tonight! i am so blessed by them each week! "to testify of your wonder and grace forever! there is none beside You God!! i live my life to shine your light!" here is a link for all the lyrics.

Rhythms of Grace by hillsong (aftermath album)

ps. we need a nickname for our sweet baby...any ideas? we called Charlotte "babyLo" until we named her :)

blessings, ALo

Susie

i have written a few times about my friend, susie, and her journey over the last 8 months. susie and ben had baby annie a few weeks ago. both baby and mom did so great! now, today is the day that susie starts her radiation and chemo. this is going to be a hard road for susie and also for her family. please, be praying for them! they post a lot of specific prayer requests, so please be checking their blog for updates. i really wish i could be there to help...at least give sus a really awesome haircut!

please pray that the treatments work. please pray that the side effects are minimal. please just pray for these sweet friends of mine!!

http://www.benandsusiethomas.com/

blessings, ALo

Try these!

i am sitting on the couch, watching the olympics...loving life. i am still so excited! not sure that feeling will go away for a long time! :)

i realized that i never delivered on my promise to give a few recipes that we have loved lately. over the last few weeks, i have done a TON of baking and some cooking. i love the feeling of baking for people. i have gotten much better at it over the years...it has become quite a little hobby for me. pinterest and food blogs only feed that hobby...much to the delight of people here around me! so, rather than re-typing out all the recipes, i am just going to add a picture. that picture will link you to the website with the recipe. enjoy!!

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

this is by far one of the most delicious. flavorful, and EASY recipes ever!! i use a rotisserie chicken (almost the whole thing, sans skin, because we like lots of chicken). we do a toppings bar with avocado, cheese, green onion, tomatoes, black olives, and sour cream. try it...you will love it and me for sharing!! :)

Pineapple Crockpot Chicken

this is another really easy meal! if you have a crock pot, try this! i love this blog...they have several great things there. i use this meal a lot for new moms or company. just 3 ingredients, plus a side of white rice and steamed broccoli...easy! its even better with a little bit of red pepper flakes. 

now for a few desserts...the good stuff!
i made three different kinds of cookies for a wedding last week...they were all good, and there were not any left. guess they were a hit!

Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies very fluffy

White Chocolate Chip Orange Cookies my favs

Glazed Lemon Cookies these are great too

now for the grande finale... you have to make this..tomorrow!! for real...do it! i actually used two recipes, because i wanted a bundt cake, not cupcakes (shocked!), but wanted the icing from the cupcake recipe. so..here are two links plus the pic of first time i made this...yes i made this twice in one week! :) but to my defense, the first time i didnt eat any and the second time i had one piece...plus i am eating for two! lol.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

Brown Butter Glaze/Icing

this was the first one i made, for christina

 ENJOY!!!

blessings, ALo

1,000 words

Pictures are worth a thousand words!!!

Party of three, the story begins!! WE ARE PREGNANT!!! just a few weeks, but i know everyone has been waiting as patiently as we have to find out, so i couldnt wait to tell you!! :) we are thrilled!!! our prayers have been answered! now we are praying for healthy growth!! 

this pic shows the progression of positive tests. i took the first one saturday night, and it was barely visible as positive. it was early to take one and late at night, but i couldnt wait. the second one is from sunday, still faint, but the line is there. i was still worried about a false positive so i continued to take them! monday afternoon, tuesday morning, and yesterday morning. yesterday's came up immediately (like while i was "taking it") and it was very dark pink right away. definitely pregnant. i am also now three days late...i am never late. i have a few other classic symptoms, but i dont need to share all of that!

just pray with us!! we are going monday for our first doctor's visit. at this point, i am not considered high risk. since Charlotte had a chromosome disorder and not a genetic disorder, they are not too concerned. they will be monitoring my levels and i will continue on progesterone until week 13. Lord willing, we will have a baby the beginning of APRIL!! my calculated due date is april 9.

thanks so much for all the love, support, and encouragement!!! we are blessed! we are so full of joy!!

thank you to my awesomely talented friend, christie lacy for an impromptu photo session!! check her out!!! she is seriously the best and also a very sweet friend of mine!! here are two others she did for us...

ahhhhh!! so giddy!!! :) now, i feel nauseous!!

Psalms 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

blessings, ALo