Showered with so much love!

The planners: Charlie, Chel and Brigitte
Girls just wanna have fun! Monique, baby Arianna, Anne, Brigitte, Chel, me, Charlie, Rebecca, baby Asa and Michelle :)
That friend you see on the far left looking so innocent holding her baby?! She shoved that cupcake in my face. Mmmmhmmmm!

How cute is this?!?

Seriously! Where do I even begin to share about all the FUN we had! I'm always thankful for the amazing girlfriends I have, but it's also overwhelming at times...in a good way! These girls are like sisters! Charlie, Chelsea and Brigitte planned this amazing shower for me and my boy. Charlie and Chel are both elementary school teachers - Can you tell? Brigitte is a graphic designer. They are so creative! The thing I love is that I look at this group of women and realize that the story I share with each of them is nothing short of an act of God. I met each of them in such unique ways. That never happens by accident! I feel soooooooo blessed!

Just Wondering...

How does a pregnant lady go from looking like this to THIS in a matter of about 1.5 weeks?! Amazing! This kid is GROWING! I was really hungry when Aaron took this picture and sometimes that makes my tummy look larger, but now it just sounds like i'm making excuses for my "large load." :) I'm almost 27 weeks and feeling pretty good. Thank goodness the second half of pregnancy seems much better for me than the first!

Yes, I am THAT mom.

...You know, that one that tries to do everything "just right" the first time around. Yeah, the one that makes all the "seasoned" mamas laugh (because they really know that nothing ever goes the way you imagine it!) and the whole reason why the book, "I was a really good mom until I had kids" hit the market. Well, today my OB gave me the paperwork for the hospital i'm delivering at. Though i'm not even quite 26 weeks, apparently the hospitals need the paperwork at least 60 days in advance. So what did I do after getting that paperwork? Went home and filled it out right away. I also admit that I started packing my hospital bag. Ok there. I outed myself.

First Baby Shower

Aaron getting all prepped for diaper changes!

Aaron with his boss, AnnMarie

Our diaper cake, courtesy of Jen!

Some of the finished burp cloths i've been sewing (plus a few more patterns i'll be using.) One side is a cloth diaper, the other a fun pattern. Totally not necessary but oh-so-fun!

More hand-made burp cloths and blankets made for me by friends Jen Naipo - from back home in Olympia, and Brooke Johnson - the wife of a Major Aaron works with.

The dress I made...perfect for pregnancy and after!

Wow, first off, we are SO BLESSED. We couldn't ask for better friends than the ones we have. Jen, the wife of one of the Colonels Aaron works with, planned this amazing lunch/brunch baby shower for us and it was a blast! She even had a friend make an incredible peanut butter chocolate chip cheese cake. Um, YES! Aaron's boss was in town for meetings, so it was wonderful that she could be there. Almost everyone from his "section" in his office came to celebrate our little boy! Even a few wives came that we had never met before. It meant so much to us and we are thankful for the support system we have here. It's true that the people, not the place, always make home feel like home. We got set-up with a few things off our registry that we need and I have to say, it's fun (and strange at the same time) perparing for this kid! Sometimes I still can't believe i'm actually a mom. I had always hoped that one day i'd be preparing for this and here I am! Aaron is going to be such an incredible dad, too. Just last night, baby was moving around a ton. He likes to curl up on my left side in the evenings after dinner time. It makes my stomach look very lop-sided. Then I poke at my stomach just to mess with him. Aaron gives me a hard time for doing this, but seriously!? If you had a person growing inside your stomach, you'd mess with him too! It's amazing. Last night Aaron put his ear/head on my stomach and the little guy gave him a nice swift kick! Aaron jumped up and had such a big smile on his face. He loves it. :) We can't wait to kiss his sweet face!

25 Weeks!

My sister asked for a "belly shot" so this one's for her. :) It's hard sometimes being far away from family because we miss out on many of the small, everyday things. Our little guy is definitely growing! Just this morning he was moving around so much that it looked like he wanted to jump out from the middle of my stomach. It cracks me up! And I love how it feels especially since he isn't quite big enough to kick my ribs yet - or else he's just being really nice to his mama! I think I've finally started gaining a little weight. I saw my general practitioner last week and if the scale there is right, i've put on about 8 pounds now. Yeah!

Today marks one week since I stopped taking my anti-nausea prescription. Zofran has helped me in many ways. For the past nine weeks its kept me from throwing up so I could keep food down. BUT, it brought with it many "fun" side effects. Sorry for TMI but it created terrible constipation. Since pregnancy already causes that, let's just say it was an interesting 9 weeks. Ready to put that behind me! I've felt nauseous off and on here and there, but i've promised myself I won't run for the Zofran unless I feel the puke coming up. It's better for me and our son to be off meds. Right now i'm battling a little cold so I feel somewhat out of it. Though overall, I seem to be finally gaining some energy. My dr. found that my iron is still a bit low, so i've started taking an extra supplement. I wondered from the beginning if this was part of my problem with feeling dizzy, but oh well. Better to try late than never! My food cravings are pretty minimal but I can't seem to get enough citrus! I'm obsessed with grapefruit specifically. I eat a half grapfruit just about everyday. I'm also loving Kashi brand foods right now. They have these meals I get from Whole Foods that have no additives or preservatives. They're low sodium and packed with protein, whole grains and veggies (quinoa, kale, etc.) I love them! Also, homemade taco salad seems to be a favorite. It's a good thing that Aaron loves all the things i'm craving these days! My weakness this week has been girl scout cookies....the caramel/coconut ones. What can I say! They are heavenly!

I have an OB appointment this Friday and I think i'll be sent for my glucose test. I'm very curious about it! I hear it tastes like really high-sugar soda. If that's true, it'll be a shock to my taste buds because soda has never been a part of my diet, let alone really sweet drinks.

I've started a few sewing projects and organizing some things for the baby, so my next post will be pictures and updates on all of that. I love crafting!

Who Will You Love?

Romans 12:9 "Don't just pretend to love others, really love them."

Sometimes it seems easier to "love" others half-way and it becomes like fake love. It's easiest to respond this way to people who annoy, frustrate and make our lives more challenging. It's amazing how I learn to love the ones in my life better who are easy to love by practicing genuine love on people in my life who are difficult to love.

I have been so encouraged this morning is many ways after reading Romans chapter 12. God's word comes to life for me every time I open it. It truly is a changing from the inside out. Physically, I wake up most mornings feeling "fluish." Between allergies, nausea and exhaustion, it feels like I have to literally "peel" myself out of bed. Please don't mistake me for being a complainer, i'm simply sharing my reality. But this morning my devotion from "Jesus Lives" by Sarah Young (I highly recommend "Jesus Calling" also) spoke to living in constant hope. Because hope transcends our circumstances. Whether we are sad or happy, broken or encouraged, the hope we have in the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ is the joy we have to keep us going through another day. And simply calling upon the name of Jesus has healing power. I am being honest with you when I say that I already feel a whole lot better this morning...even physically. My body is weak, but my hearts desire to serve and honor God is still strong. And through that committment to my father, HE is my strength. Not my own body. Praise God for His never-ending faithfulness even through the daily struggles of this life.

Romans chapter 12 - probably one of my new favorite passages in the Bible. And to think i've read it before, it means so much more to me now than at other times. That's how God's word comes to life!

Let's Get Real

My body does not love pregnancy. There. I said it. I actually don't feel bad anymore saying that, because it has NOTHING to do with how much I love my baby and carrying him in my body. But let's get real here, folks. I have been sick....real sick for most of my pregnancy so far. I'm still having to take a strong prescription to keep me from tossing my cookies all day long. On top of that, i'm tired all the time. Who said the 2nd trimester is the most wonderful?? Not me. And i've come to grips with the fact that for most people, that's true. But not for me. And you know what? I'm ok with that. Every kid is different, so every pregnancy is most certainly different. I have still been very dizzy and experiencing heart palpatations that are rather scary and uncomfortable. And for the 3rd time, I went to the ER last week. My experience was horrific after the dr. got all scientific and said I might need a CT-Scan to check for a blood clot in my lung (long story, won't get into it) that (in his very words) "could quite possibly kill your baby." What?!? Who says that to a first time pregnant woman who is alone in an ER with no support. Why would I get a CT-Scan when you're telling me it could kill my baby?! Terrible. I don't know how true all that was, but I didn't have the scan, though I did have a panic attack following that conversation. Not one of my proudest moments. It was a memory I would be OK with soon forgetting.

Instead, i'm now under the supervision of a cardiologist. I really don't think anything's seriously wrong with my heart, but my OB sent me to this guy just to be sure. So i'm now the proud owner - for the next two weeks - of a constant heart monitor. I am also having an ultrasound of my heart on Wednesday. Furthermore, i'm under strict orders not to get behind the wheel of a car until all of this testing is done. It's all for the good, but this certainly has and continues to be a long journey. Praise Jesus that our boy is doing perfectly fine. It really does appear to be me. And who knows, perhaps they will just confirm what I said at the beginning of this post - That my body does not love pregnancy. The funny thing is, I would do this all over again. That's just how much I love my baby (and future child(ren)) already! It's amazing.

I am constantly reminded of the very heart of God in all of this. Of all His creation, He loves PEOPLE the most. If He didn't, Jesus life and death wouldn't have been necessary. So i'm comforted in knowing that I am held by the creator of the universe and so is my son. God knew how my journey would go, but thought it important enough to create this little one and choose me to carry him and be his mother. I just know God's plan for our baby in marvelous and i'm overjoyed just thinking about it. Who will he be? What will he become? I look forward to sharing with him this experience and using it as one of many examples to show him how faithful and wonderful our father God truly is.

I've begun journaling privately and digging into scripture more than I have before. It's true that the word of God is living and active and brings comfort to the broken. I am experiencing it ever so deeply (Hebrews 4:12). I know that I will be able to look back and continue to see the constant faithfulness of God. That's why I want to journal. I want to give God all the glory for how he works through me. And I will learn just a bit more about His very character through this process...the only thing my heart really longs for.

We Still Have a BOY!

"Hey, look over there, Mom and Dad!"

Uh, DEFINITELY a boy.

He looks so sweet and cuddly!

Aaron and I had the most amazing 20 week ultrasound this morning! Our tech was so sweet as was the radiologist. They spent about 20 minutes capturing pictures and letting us watch our little man! It made me cry, laugh and want to hold him! I can't wait. They said everything looked absolutely wonderful - Baby boy Meredith is good and healthy! My favorite part is when he stuck his tongue out at us...not sure that will be as funny in a few years. Hmmm..... ;)

I feel so blessed that God chose me to be this little one's Mama!

Back In the Game!

Christmas 2010 with the Gordon fam!
Aaron and my dad the day the Seahawks won the Division - one of the best days of both their lives.

Addie sure loves her Uncle "Ernie" (Aaron) :)

One of Addie's favorite things about the Super Mall!

Cute as can be! And almost 2. I can hardly believe it!

My dad's face when he found out our baby has a penis. BIG DEAL since our family is flooded with GIRLS!

Aaron flying his new helicopter he got from my parents for Christmas. My dad bought himself one, too. Do boys ever grow up?

Sorry for the random bullet points, but here's the latest:

Washington was wonderful - it only rained a few days and the sun shined the rest (contrary to what people who are not from WA might think!)

• My dad took Aaron to his first Seahawk game since Aaron last went in the Kingdome - Yes, that would be since 1988! They had a great time and of course it was a HUGE game since they won. Yeah!
• Addie is growing up super fast - She's absolutely hilarious and says the funniest things. She's pretty advanced (verbally) for her age. Right now she loves Toy Story 3. And can you guess who her favorite character is? BIG BABY. Seriously - The creepiest character in the entire movie! When you ask her, "What does Lotso say?" She attempts to deepen her voice and says, "Hey Big Baby." SO FUNNY. She also loves Buzz, Woody and Jessie. Sometimes she'll just babble on and on and then at the end of a no-nonesense phrase say, "Buzz!" We watched Toy Story no less than 7 or 8 times while we were there. But I must say, hands down one of my favorite Disney movies of all time.
• Addie also loves her uncle Aaron. Though "Aaron" actually comes out of her mouth as "Ernie." Easier to say I guess. And it usually comes out like "Eunie" almost with an East Coast accent. We die laughing everytime she says, "Where Eunie?? EUNIE! EUUUUUUUNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" It really is comical.
• I am not as cool as Uncle "Ernie." I'm the default when she's upset. I can be in a different room entirely and she'll be mad at my sister or Tim or really anyone else and you'll hear her yell, "NO Ney!" (She calls me "Ney" since she can't say the "Jen" part.) Oh well, i'm sure she'll grow out of this stage!
• She can identify all the letters of the alphabet, as well as numbers 1-10. Her favorite letters are all the vowels.
• Telling my dad that we are having a boy was his Christmas present. My dad has waited half his life to hear that a boy will be joining our family (well, he got Aaron and Tim, but this is blood relation now!) As you can see from the picture, his reaction was quite fantastic. I wrote a funny poem. It was perfect.
• My parents got spa packages for my sister and I for Christmas. BEST GIFT EVER. Two hours of massage and facial. HEAVEN!
• In case some of you are wondering, we found out at 15 weeks we were having a boy (not planned) but when I passed out the first time and went to the ER, they did an ultrasound just to be safe. Baby looked just fine. AND we saw "the goods!"
• I was tired a lot out in WA...slept a ton and ended up back in the ER after a few more near pass-out spells. It takes a lot out of me. Still, they can find nothing "abnormal" as they put it. Yesterday, I almost passed out while driving. This is getting FREAKY and, quite frankly, RIDICULOUS. Driving and passing out is my greatest fear: hurting myself, baby and God forbid, someone else. :( I feel like an old person who needs to realize it might be unsafe for me to drive and I should really stop....The OB says I should stop working. But I haven't brought myself to do that yet. Like I said, this is getting ridiculous.
• I'm still carrying very small. The OB says it isn't a big deal since everything (by measure) is spot on. I still think it's a bit strange, but I suppose I better just enjoy it.
• I started really feeling our little guy move and groove the other day. I LOVE it! It's so surreal, wonderful and miraculous to feel! He's most active at night. This has me nervous for June! His nights and days are already mixed up. He's ready to rock and roll at midnight. I, on the other hand, am not. It's amusing now, but will certainly not be once he arrives!
• Wednesday (1/19) is our 20 week ultrasound. I'm so excited to see our son! This will also be the time to confirm he is, in fact, still a HE. Yikes. It would be better to find out now than in the delivery room! Right?!
• Wednesday is also a big day for Aaron. He is having his first cavity filled. This is a BIG DEAL since he's been saying our entire married life already (all 2.5 years of it...ha!) that he has "superior genes." DORK!
  
  More updates to come!

Hello, Baby!

When I sat down on the couch this morning, I literally laughed outloud when I looked down. It might sound strange, but I often feel like my body changes on a DAILY basis! I am exhausted and still not gaining much weight on the scale (only 1/2 lb. up from pre-pregnancy weight), but the baby seems to be growing just fine! This week the doctor said he expects that I will start gaining pregnancy weight within the next few weeks since apparently as you get closer to the 20 week mark, they see a healthy progression of weight gain. I suppose if they aren't concerened, i'll try not to be. :) I'm still exhausted and struggling with dizzy/light-headed spells, but it's all worth it in the end. The medicine I got has really helped my nausea. Things are looking up! Or out - in my case!

Baby Meredith also got his/her first Christmas present from G and G Meredith! I love presents and I get to open them for baby at least for a little while!

Lord, help me!

I am so excited to meet our little one for more reasons than one! First and foremost, because I can't wait to watch and see all that he/she becomes, who he/she will most look like, etc. But for goodness sake, my morning sickness is TERRIBLE and I desperately can't wait for it to be over! I'm still having trouble eating enough and still throwing up regularly. Sigh. And of course, Aetna still won't approve the only medicine that will actually work! I'm going in for my 16 week appointment tomorrow, so i'm hoping the doctor can help me figure something out. I've been doing my best to pack back on all the weight i've lost so far in this pregnancy from being so sick. I even had a crispy chicken sandwich from Dairy Queen the other night. Yes, i've resorted to a bit of fast food (NO McDonalds, though (ick)). I've been baking a lot more chicken and potatoes, but we'll have to wait and see what the scale says tomorrow. This might just be the only time in my life I will actually try so hard to gain weight. I pray I've gained the weight!

Appointment Update

Today I went and saw one of the OB's in the practice I go to (I rotate between 5 and they're all wonderful!) She was disappointed when I stepped on the scale and was nearly back to my pre-pregnancy weight (112). Two weeks ago at my 12 week appointment I had gained up to 118 which was awesome. I've never been so excited to gain weight in all my life! And I never thought I'd be so disappointed to see 114 today. I have fairly high ketones in my urine and the doctor said that's a sign of lacking nutrition. Aaron and I have always been fairly healthy eaters....a lot of vegetables, fruit, etc. and I realized today how important it is that I start eating more meat and protein. I never anticipated this being such a problem! But it really woke me up. The doctor thinks the lack of protein is responsible for my fainting spell. Fortunately the baby is prefectly fine, so our little one must be taking all he or she needs! I heard the heart beat again today and that never gets old! My uterus is also up closer to my belly button now - It's the strangest thing to feel stretching throughout the day...I can't wait to start feeling the baby move!

Thank you all for your prayers. This is probably the best case scenario considering that it just requires a change in my diet (at least we're hoping this is the cause - we'll know sooner than later!)

So i'm happy to say that my first step in altering these eating habbits included a giant grilled chicken sandwich from Fudruckers right after my appointment! I think i'll enjoy the holidays with my new orders to "eat more calories!"

Scary Times!

I've not been feeling well lately and just yesterday experienced a black-out/pass-out spell (followed by "no warning" vomiting that ended up on my neighbor's living room floor - ugh.) I have the sweetest friends. My neighbor wouldn't even let me help her clean it up. Seriously. I felt terrible, but God blesses me so much through these women He's brought into my life. I started blacking out yesterday morning and somehow made my way down the hall to my neighbor's condo. I am so thankful she was home. My memory of what happened is fuzzy, but it was the scariest thing I've ever experienced! My other neighbor took me to the ER and they did a lot of blood work and sent me for an ultrasound of the baby (for some reason they couldn't find the heart rate on the hand-held thing.) Baby looks wonderful, cute and perfect, measuring at 14 weeks 2 days, so we're thankful for that! I had pretty low blood pressure, but i'll have a follow-up with my OB this week to hopefully figure something out. Praying and trusting in God's protection. All of this is so out of our hands!

Thankful and More...

I've heard many women say this happens, but boy did my tummy "pop" today! No sucking this in. Please excuse my lazy look. I'm just preparing myself for what my "usual-do" will probably look like! ;)

I haven't updated in a while. Perhaps it's because I'm finally on the "home-stretch" of probably the worst flu virus i've ever had! Who knows how I got it, and let me tell you, it came on QUICK! I spent all of Monday feeling just fine. Then about 20 minutes after Aaron and I ate dinner, I started feeling sick to my stomach. I thought it was morning sickness returning, but no. I was throwing up about every 20 minutes! I couldn't keep anything down...no food, fluids, nothing. So I called the on-call dr. in the middle of the night to get his advice. He said he wanted me to go get iv fluids in the ER. So, I made the quick trip there and they got me back to a bed right away. I was soooooo sick. They hooked me up to fluids and gave me some anti-nausea medicine in my iv and it worked quick! I'm so thankful for doctors and medicine. At first we thought it might be food poisoning, but then I came down with a high fever yesterday. My OB said not to let my temp get above 101 without going back to the ER. Well, the highest it got was 100.9. Thank you, Lord (and Tylenol, too!) Ironically, I had a pre-scheduled 12 week appointment yesterday, so even though I was still sick I went in. They were worried they may have a hard time finding the heart beat, but nope! She put the wand to my belly and picked it up right away. We have one cooperative baby on our hands! It's so comforting to know that even despite whatever attacked my body, the baby is safe. Amazing.

So today I'm thankful for many things. 1) Baby's health, 2) My improving health and 3) Good friends - who are like family - and brought me mashed potatoes. I wanted my mom so bad!

I'm also thankful for our sweet families (and friends) who have blessed us and our baby with his or her first gifts! We told my parents on Halloween about the baby, so that's why they sent us the cutest little Halloween infant set. My sister mailed us Goodnight Moon - A must have in baby's book library! Aaron's parents sent us the cutest little strawberry hat. Aaron's mom Patty is incredibly gifted at knitting. She knits various fruit hats for all new babies born in their church (strawberries, blueberries, etc.) Isn't that precious?!? I couldn't wait to finally get mine! :) And my dear friend Charlie gave us the sweet little elephant. Charlie and her husband Klaus just had their first little boy, so it's fun to be in baby-mode together!

Even though tomorrow might be a very low-key Thanksgiving for us - depending on how i'm feeling - we still have so much to be thankful for. God is good and we rejoice in Him in all of our circumstances. I hope everyone has hearts filled with thanksgiving!

Ooooh Baby!

Baby is facing down - You can see both sides of the brain, a small left hand and a few facial features!

Well the word is out! Aaron and I are expecting our Mini-Meredith sometime around June 6, 2011! I'm about 10 1/2 weeks right now and had planned to wait to share the news until 12 weeks, but as many know it's nearly impossible to wait that long! We told our parents at 8 weeks and knew we absolutely couldn't ask them to keep it a secret, so it slowly started to leak out from there.

Amazingly, I was pregnant when we ran our recent half marathon but had no clue. And even better, I had my best running time. Awesome! So I wonder if we might have a future athlete on our hands. :)

I found out the morning after the pregnancy center banquet. I didn't sleep well that night and couldn't figure out why. It dawned on me that I should take a pregnancy test?? Not to mention that the morning before, my devotion reading for the day had me praying through Psalm 139. I cried through the entire thing and thought I was simply emtional because of the miraculousness of life! Actually, I thought I cried because it reminded me how well God knows me even when I'm confused about myself. But my heart knew something my mind didn't yet. Since I work at a pregnancy center, one might think that I just took a test at work. But since I have Friday's off, I had to run over to CVS to take a test. I peed on that little stick and set it down on the counter. I watched it for a second and didn't see anything (I've never been good at following directions!) so I left the room thinking, "I'm such a nerd...why would I be pregnant?!" But when I returned, I saw a faint little line. That's when I threw all of my work training out the window and thought, "It's too faint to be a positive." HA! Can we stay stupid?? So I went to ask the pharmacist and I showed her the test while I quietly and timidly asked, "Is this a positive?" She glanced slowly up at me and said, "Any line is a positive." DUH, again, I work at a PREGNANCY CENTER. I see this ALL THE TIME. But there's something about it happening to you. CRAZY! Let me tell ya. Although I can't say this pregnancy was planned, we weren't trying to keep it from happening either. But as a friend recently said, trying or not, a pregnancy is ALWAYS a surprise! I love that. It's so true. So of course I paced around the house the rest of the day taking in all that this means and it took all the patience I had to not call Aaron right away and tell him. But I was successful and waited until he got home from work that night. He was surprised too, but so excited. We had an early ultrasound at 6 weeks and saw our little one's precious beating heart. It was nothing short of incredible. But the picture I posted is actually of our 9 week ultrasound. The baby changed a lot in just 3 weeks! Everything is looking great. I'm measuring spot on now (was a bit small at 6 weeks) and the baby's heart rate is strong at 155. I wish I could see that everyday!

My doctors are wonderful. I go to a completely pro-life, faith-based OB/GYN practice. I love knowing that my doctors pray for me and celebrate the gift of life in all circumstances. I've opted out of the 1st trimester testing, so I won't have another ultrasound until we find out the gender at 20 weeks (sometime in January.) Aaron and I made this decision given that we are low-risk by all accounts for birth defects. We also know that there are way too many false positives. Pregnancy is scary enough, so I don't need anything else to worry about! Plus, the 20 week ultrasound would show more accurately if anything looks unusual. So we're very happy with our decision and are just taking each week as it comes!

I'll keep posting as I go to fill you all in on the progress!

In October??

No joke, I've been trying to grow this pepper since sometime in June. I realize the problem has been that the pot is far too small, but what else do you do when you live in a condo?? Regardless, the weather has stayed so nice that I FINALLY have a lovely little pepper to enjoy! I'll be able to eat it in one bite, but i'm still excited. I also noticed a new one blooming yesterday, but i'm sure this 70 degree weather is about to end any day. I can't wait to have my very own garden in my very own backyard someday!

Half the Distance, Twice the FUN!

Aaron and I ran our very first half-marathon together today! We've both done them before, but never together so this one was extra special. It's wonderful to face such an incredible challenge with the love of your life! The race overall was AMAZING. The weather was perfect - about 70-75 (a little chilly when we first started...but who's complaining?!? I'm just thrilled it's not humid!!) There were about 4,000 people racing and we finished right in the middle. I PR'd at 2:15 on the dot - WOO HOO!! I hadn't even done that well in any of my training runs! I was shooting for 2:30, so I'm definitely pumped about how well we finished.

It was the first ever race across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge which connects VA to Maryland. It started at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate (where we got engaged) and went all along the GW parkway into Alexandria, across the WW bridge and ended at Maryland's National Harbor right on the waterfront. If you're thinking it sounds beautiful, it WAS! We felt awesome the entire run, including the uphill run for half of the 2.5 mile bridge. At the start of the bridge, there was a sign that read "Welcome to the Rude Awakening." Uhhhh, excuse us?? Not what we want to read at mile 8! It was pretty funny. And for the record, there's a statue at national harbor that has a huge hand coming out of sand and it's called "The Rude Awakening." So I guess that's where they came up with the clever idea (Ha...Ha.....sarcasm!) Mile 11 was the hardest (the true "rude awakening") because it was entirely up-hill, so that was the point where my body said, "Ummmmm...STOP NOW PLEASE!" But of course I pushed through it and we finished strong. Up until that point, I really hadn't felt tired at all.

Aaron did an incredible job for not training nearly as much as I did. He has a runner's body, which i'm a bit envious of, so running comes a little more natural for him. My man was sweet enough to let me cross the finish line first....do I have the best husband or what?!? Especially considering that he is very competative. ;)

The question continues to come up as to when I plan to run my first marathon, and my answer continues to be the same....I don't have ANY plans for that! I just haven't felt the desire to do one, or put my body through it! It's funny how you forget just how tough the end of these races are until you do it, but of course we come back and do them again...and again!! (I wonder if this is what child birth is like??) So everytime I hit mile 12, a marathon sounds terrible! Haha! We hope to do some more races over the next year and see how things go! I can't get enough of running - It's such a spiritual experience for me....more time to talk to God (as I realize how weak I am in and of myself) and I think of the scripture Hebrews 12:1-2 that talks about throwing off anything that entangles us (destructive sin) and running the race with perseverance while fixing our eyes on Jesus (who went before us to prepare a place in Heaven.) Oh what a wonderful image that comes to my mind when I think on that!

Our "Iron-Man/Iron-Woman" pose

The beautiful view from the WW bridge

This man was my hero of the day.

Trying to catch a good picture during the race...we sort-of failed!

Mullet Memories

I was looking back through some of our wedding pictures just the other day and came across this beauty. I still can't believe more than two years have gone by! What a fun day this was and i'm glad our photographers got so many great shots. Leave it to my dad to bring this bad boy wig to our wedding. And leave it to my husband to rock it on the way to the reception. I have a FUN family!

Sums It Up!

I love everything about this picture. Addie is so silly and this face pretty much sums up how much fun she is to be around. Aaron and I spent 10 days out in Washington and had a wonderful time. The Merediths had a family reunion on the coast and it was such a blessing to have both my family and Aaron's family in Washington. Even better, 3 days of that was spent ALL TOGETHER at my parent's place. We cherished every moment and it was perfect.

Triennial and Natalie Grant

Worship

Flags of just a few of the many nations represented at the conference
Woman from India speaking about sharing Christ through a sexual abuse recovery ministry
The international market - women from around the world hand-make all of these things and Covenant missionaries brought them over to sell
Our good friend Liz - She and her husband are missionaries in Mongolia

Miss America 2008 - Kirten Haglund. I attended her and her mom's powerful seminar on how God sees us vs. how the world sees us as women

Tiffany! Natalie's back-up singer. This girl is awesome!

The boys of the band. Funny, awesome guys!

with my sis, Natalie and my mom

My mom and sister flew out last week for the Triennial Covenant Women's Conference (amazing, by the way) which happened to be in DC this year and our guest concert artist was Natalie Grant. The three of us had the priviledge of spending a day with Natalie and her band. Natalie is actually from Seattle, so it was fun being in DC with another PNW native. If you haven't heard any of her music, definitely do it. She has an incredible voice, but more importantly a huge heart for Jesus. One major thing that Natalie and the Evangelical Covenant Churches have in common is that we're all very passionate about ending human trafficking in the US as well as around the world. Her new song "Human" was written after a trip to India where she saw 5 and 6 year old girls being subjected to prostitution. She also looked up at a tall building to see a young girl caged in the window. The song is all about how we're not just a bunch of empty beings roaming the earth without souls, but we're human beings, designed to have hearts and a passion for the suffering and lives of others.

Also, Paul and Kathy Wilson, friends of my in-laws who pastor a church in nothern California, started an organization called A New Day for Children which is a safe-house for girls forced into prostitution. It's projected that within just a few short years, human trafficking will surpass drug trafficking in popularity around the US because it's much easier, tougher to track and makes more money. If this doesn't lead us to action, I don't know what does because the truth is that this isn't just an "over there, overseas" kind of problem, it's happening in our own communities around the US. If you click on the link above, you can watch two powerful videos from the New Day for Children web site.

I love that the Covenant empowers women through Jesus Christ and very strongly supports women's ministries because we truly have the power to tackle the terrible violence against women around the world.

Texas Twenty-Four

This past week we spent a whirlwind twenty-four hours in San Antonio for Aaron's company meeting. His boss was so gracious to fly all of the families out, too! We stayed at a beautiful resort and enjoyed every second of our quick stay. I'm amazed by all the fun things we packed into such a short period of time. After everyone arrived on Wednesday evening, we had a great meal and we all chatted for a while. Afterwards, Aaron and I spent time exploring the resort and quite a while in the hot tub. The next morning, Aaron had a meeting and I had a long workout in the gym (a 3 mile treadmill run is FANTASTIC when your machine has its own television!!) Then Aaron and I enjoyed some Starbucks, packed up our stuff, went hot tubbing again (WITH our Starbucks!) and then the whole crew made our way over to the movie theater and we watched Toy Story 3 in 3-D. Let me just say that I think the Toy Story series is the best Disney has ever made! They're absolutely hilarious! After the movie, we trecked over to Red Robin and had lunch. Following lunch, we drove as fast as we could (through the wind and rain and everything else in the wake of the hurricane blowing through the south) and made it to our gate about 20 minutes before we boarded.

Like I said, it was a whirlwind trip, but absolutely wonderful! It taught me how important it is to be spontaneous and to make the most of a small amount of time.