Baby's First Picture

Here's baby's first picture that was taken on 8/16/11.

Hi! I'm 7 weeks old here.

I wish we had a picture to share from yesterday's ultra sound. We went to the doctor thinking hoping and praying we would get to hear the heartbeat. So, we sit down in the office all excited (and really nervous too - I wanted so badly to know our baby was ok). My doctor puts the doppler on my belly, but no heartbeat. I started to panic - internally and silently, but my eyes told her exactly what I was thinking. She looked at me and said, I'll be right back. Of course, I'm freaking out. I'm trying not to cry. I'm trying not to think the worst.

She came right back in with an ultra sound machine and within 30 seconds we could see our sweet baby kicking its long legs, waving at us and flipping and flopping all around. Wow! This was WAY better than just hearing the heartbeat. We could see it. And everything else too. This is one of the moments you thank God for unanswered prayers. He knew it would make us so much happier to see the baby than to just hear the heartbeat, and He totally worked that out for us.

The first time we saw our baby just 4 weeks ago, it wasn't recognizable as a baby. It looked more like a a dot on the screen (see above). Today it looked like a real, live, breathing baby. Head. Spine. Legs. Arms. Heart. It was all there. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on. We won't have pictures again until our November appointment when we find out if it's a boy or a girl. We can't wait to see how much Baby E has grown by then!

Also, I'd just like to take a minute to say thank you to all of you who have known our big secret and have been praying for a healthy first trimester. God is amazing. He's the giver of all miracles. And, we are thankful beyond thankful for this blessing!

And now we know what LOVE is!

I never knew love,
No I mean real love.
I never knew that kind of love,
Til this moment with you.

Today, Jared and I saw love. We felt love. It was the kind of love you never knew you had in your heart. It was the kind of love that makes you all tingly inside, yet you can't help but cry and all you want to do is shout it to the rooftops. Today, we saw our baby - our first love.

Happy Parents!

That's right. We're going to be parents. We have absolutely no idea what we're doing. But, the one thing we have already figured out is that there's no other kind of love that compares. If we don't do anything else right along this journey, we are sure to love this baby with all of our beings, our hearts and our souls. We're thrilled beyond belief, and we can't wait to meet our little munchkin somewhere around April 3, 2012 (depending on whether its stubborn like its daddy or always moving too fast like its mama).

Silly Parents!

Believe, Trust and Have Hope

Jared's New J-O-B!

Jared started his 2nd week at his new J-O-B today, and so far, we are BOTH loving it! Most of you already know that his last job at Nestle was tough on both of us. Check out this schedule:

2:00 a.m. - Jared wakes up (and I usually did too which made for a REALLY long day)
3:00 a.m. - Jared leaves for work
3:45 a.m. - Jared gets to work
3:30 p.m. - Jared leaves work
4:15 p.m. - Jared arrives home
6:30 p.m. - Jared starts trying to go to bed.

I usually don't get home until 5:30 p.m., so we only had an hour to see each other in the evenings. And, not to mention that he had to work almost every Saturday. Ugh! We're so glad it's over!

His new job is at Pilkington here in Lexington (yay! no more 45 mile drive - one way - to work). They make all kinds of glass, but his plant makes windshields and other glass for cars. He's the Logistics and Materials dude with Safety responsibilities too. He's so happy to not be working in production anymore. And, the best part, he goes to work at 7:30 a.m. and gets off around 4:30 p.m. AND no Saturdays! Yay! We have our life back! It's fabulous! Can't wait to be able to tailgate on Saturdays now.

So, all of you who know not to call our phones after 6:30 p.m. ... now you can call until 10:00 p.m.! LOL!

In all seriousness though, we're blessed beyond words. Thank you, Lord, for giving us this new opportunity. It couldn't have come at a better time.

My Favorite Time of Year

Time flies when you're having fun! It's been so long since I've shared anything on here, and well, to be honest, I've missed it. I love to write, but we've been so busy that time has just gotten away from me. Summer has come and gone, and now here we are again ... my favorite time of year ... Fall! There are so many awesome things that happen between September and the end of November, and here are just a few of the things I'm looking forward to:

Football
Tailgating
Keeneland Horse Racing
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Soup
Changing of the Colors (If you've never seen our beautiful mountains change colors, it's worth a trip to see us in October. We'd love to have you!)
Warm Kentucky Days, Cool Kentucky Nights
Toasty Fires
Roasting Marshmallows
Hot chocolate
And most importantly ... lots of time with family!

Speaking of football, here's a War Eagle moment before I sign off ...

What are you looking forward to this Fall?