Movin' on up...in pants sizes :)

So you don't have to look real close, turn your head sideways, and squint one eye to see that I'm pregnant now! yaaaaay! I've never been so excited to get big! I remember telling Nolan early on that I couldn't wait to start showing and he just didn't get it. I told him I just needed some outward evidence of this pregnancy besides all the yucky throwing up and constant nausea, not to mention the hourly trips to the fridge/pantry. So...now that the yuckies are gone (mostly), baby Ella has decided to show herself. Then again, maybe she just liked London because that's when she really made herself known :)

Here we are in our hotel in London. It was then I realized, whoa I better get a pic because it's officially begun! This would've been around 16 weeks:




And...here we are now at around 19 weeks. Laura made a good suggestion to keep taking pics in the same outfit so we can really see the growth...we'll see how long this dress can hold up!



At our last dr's appointment, the nurse had me step on the scale, she tells me my weight and I was like "whoooaaa!" She looked at me with this disgusted look and I quickly replied "No, no, I'm not complaining, really! Just suprised at the jump." Guess my nightly PB sandwich and milk are doin' the trick :)

But, according to Laura, I'm in denial because I haven't given in to the maternity pants yet ;-) We were having fun shopping in Gap together and she looks at me like a crazy lady when I grab my regular size in some shorts to try on. I was like - what? they ride low, below the belly! She laughs, shakes her head, and by the end of the weekend, she and mom so kindly led me into a Gap maternity store. By the time I made my way to the back of the store, my sweet sister had an armful of clothes for me to try on...hint hint. I haven't been able to bring myself to buy the huge pants yet, but I did get some other fun stuff courtesy of my sweet mom. And I'm sure by the next month, I'll be waiting in line to buy the very large pants!

Please Pray

So I've been wanting to blog about this for awhile now but haven't - mainly because it is such a huge issue and I'm afraid I won't do it justice. But rather than ignoring the issue, I think we can all do our part to raise awareness of what is going on in Iran. So forgive me if I left out important facts/details, and know that my desire is simply to spread the word and encourage.


Growing up in America, I must admit I know very little about most other countries. Sadly, like most Americans, what I've known about Iran is limited to what I've seen on the news, which admittedly is never very positive. If I were not married to an Iranian man, it would stop there. Thankfully, through he and his amazing family and friends, I have learned that Iran is so much more than what I knew. In fact, the depiction that we have here in America is so inaccurate. If you had asked me 8 years ago what Iran is like, I probably would say...desert, Muslim, terrorism, violence, oppression...I'm ashamed to say that, but it's solely because of my ignorance. I knew only what I saw on TV. Having been blessed like crazy by my amazing husband and his sweet family, I now know so much more...(and have plenty more to learn!!)

I know that Iran is a country just like any other, yet unique in it's own ways. It is a very beautiful place with a vast terrain. It has a culture and a history that is so rich and dates all the way back to biblical times with King Cyrus the Great, and before.

Please watch this video - it's awesome and depicts more of Iran than CNN can show

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=126629081448&ref=mf

(I couldn't save it to my computer to upload it here, so it has to be viewed through facebook. If anyone knows how I can embed this please let me know.)

It is a country that embodies my husband's heritage, and now, my daughter's as well. It is a place that one day, God willing, we can take our Ella to, and show her that, as much as America is her home, so is Iran. She will be a lucky girl...what a rich and diverse background she will have. How much more educated about the world she will be, so much more than her momma was - I'm so excited for her!

It is full of people that are just like you and I. But people who, right now, are desiring freedom and change so badly that they are willing to risk their lives for it. Something that, I admit, is hard for me to fathom. Would I do the same? If my government were oppressing and threatening me, would I have their bravery and courage? Would I be willing to stand up for freedom at all cost? Would you?

As I said before, my goal in this post was not to give all of the facts, because inevitably, I would leave so many out. I just wanted to remind everyone of our duty - to pray... relentlessly, without ceasing, and with great faith. God promises us that:

"Where two or more are gathered in My name, there I will be also."
Matthew 18:20.

"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there' and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you."
Matthew 17:20

Scripture regarding oppression:

"Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy,

I will now arise," says the LORD.

"I will protect them from those who malign them."

-Psalm 12:5

"But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread;

so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites"

Exodus 1:12

"Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.

Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow"

Isaiah 1:17

“I will deal with all who oppressed you;

I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered.

I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame.”

Zephaniah 3:19

I think that scripture makes it very clear that oppression is not pleasing to God, therefore, as Christians, we must pray diligently for this to end.

"The servants of the Most High, who would have Him honored

and His cause promoted by the extinction of 'oppression,'

must cry unto Him day and night, — must give Him no rest,

till He come and deliver the oppressed."

THINGS TO PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR:
1. Removal of the oppressive Islamic regime
2. Safety of the people of Iran, those who live there and those traveling to/from there
3. Families in Iran who have lost loved ones
4. Iranians here, who are heartbroken watching their beloved die, who feel helpless beyond
imagine.
5. Awareness around the world of the brutality going on there
6. Radical change of heart of those behind all the violence
7. Intervention as appropriate

Just know this:
Our God is BIG...there is nothing He cannot do. To limit our prayers to small requests is simply a lack of faith. Pray big! Pray for a revolution in Iran. Pray for equality for men and women. Pray for freedom of religion...that people there might know Jesus and be able to worship in freedom without fear. Pray that Iran would be the country that it has the potential to be, that it used to be. Pray for people's image of Iran to be changed...that they would realize that the violence and corruptness seen in the government there is not representative of all of the people that live there. Pray that God would bring change, and truth. But most of all, whatever you pray for, pray hard, pray fervently, pray without ceasing, and pray IN FAITH, knowing that God hears. It's the least we can do, and yet, it's the most we can do.

"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble."
-Psalm 9:9

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

So the long awaited doctor's visit finally arrived...I think I hardly slept the night before! I must have fallen asleep at some point, though, because I had a dream that I had the baby and it was a girl :)

Thursday morning we woke up early and headed to the doctor's office in the woodlands - with a brief stop at Shipley's first (can't do without those chocolate donuts). Our appointment was at 9:30 with my doctor and then we were supposed to go to an office up the street for the "anatomy ultrasound" as they called it. By about 10:15 we had yet to be called in and Nolan and I were very antsy, to say the least. The last thing we wanted was to miss the ultrasound!! Luckily I was next on the list and in we went. To be honest, I hardly even remember what went on at that appt, all I could think about was finding out. I do know that we were getting worried we would be late so the nurse ushered us out and told us to come back after the ultrasound to finish up (they were crazy busy in the office that morning). So we headed out, soooo very excited!!!

The second office got us in pretty much on time. We were led into the exam room and before I knew it, I was covered in ultrasound goo. The minute the tech put the little "wand/stick" over my belly, he quickly said "do you know what it is?" We quickly said "no, what????"



Immediately he replied "It's a girl." I squealed "I knew it!!!" and looked at Nolan - he was grinning from ear to ear. I don't think I stopped smiling for the entire day :)

For the next 20 minutes or so, the tech was just checking various things on our lil' girls body, her heart, lungs, etc. The funniest thing was that she was indeed being very shy, or as Nolan said "she's just being a lil' turkey." Every time the tech would try to look at something she would flip over. It was too cute. The doctor came in soon and did her own scans of everything. We got some pictures, but in most of them, she had her little hands over her face like she did not want to be bothered.

Here are some pics of our sweet girl:

Apparently she likes having her picture taken about as much as her mommy did when she was little!

I guess she's determined to make us wait until later to see her little face, that or she was having a really good nap and didn't want to be disturbed.

And...we finally got one

At one point the doctor finally caught her face and said "aww who's cute lil' nose does she have?" Nolan laughed and said "Not mine!" The doctor said "what?" and turned to look at Nolan and goes "oh I see what you mean." We were laughing so hard!!

It was the best day, we were so excited to see our baby girl and can't wait to finally meet her!! In the mean time, I'm already having fun looking around at sweet girly stuff, trying to decide how to decorate her room, etc etc. Thanks to Grammie and Aunt Laura, our lil' girl is already off to a good start at being a VERY well dressed girl:



These next few months are going to be so fun! The best part is, I finally feel good again, so that definitely helps. AND I don't have to eat every 2 hours, so that's exciting!! :)

So what's it gonna be??

So Thursday is the big day...well not THE biggest day, but one of the ones we've been waiting on since that little stick told us our lives were changing! Thursday we are supposed to find out what we are having....

BOY

or

GIRL

I cannot wait to know- the suspense has been killing me! I feel like once we know, we can finally begin to "prepare" for the baby, though I'm sure nothing will really prepare us.