Every Day is a Gift

It amazes me how each day we just assume that we will wake up for the next day. We live each day looking forward to what is to come and not cherishing what we already have. Being pregnant, it is almost impossible not to think about the future and wish time would go by faster. I cannot wait to meet my son, feel less pregnant, and move on to the next phase of our family with Ryan. Last week I realized that this is not always what happens--today might be all we get.

Last Friday, Ryan and I were shocked to find out that Ryan's sister Nicole lost her husband Bill (our much loved brother-in-law) in a tragic work accident. They were so in love and happy together--an inspiration for us all. They were truly meant to be together. On October 9th, we were so excited to be present for their marriage. It was an amazingly beautiful autumn day, and they both seemed to glow in each other's presence. They spoke vows that brought tears to almost everyone present, and they made God a strong presence in their relationship. Only 12 days after their marriage began, and a couple of days after their return from their Hawaiian honeymoon, Nicole lost her soul mate. Here is a picture of the wonderful couple.

Please keep Nicole and family in your prayers as we all mourn Bill's death. The funeral and visitation were both overwhelming--so much support and love. Now that the planning is done and family has gone back home, the tough part of moving on with life begins. It seems that the world should stop for such pain, but yet it continues to move on. I pray, especially for Nicole and family, that peace rises to meet you in the mornings and that love surrounds you when you need it most.

Into the home stretch -- 35 weeks

Today we took advantage of the beautiful weather we've been having and took Melissa's 35-week bump portrait at Perry Farm (which has become our favorite location here in the Bourb). We walked through the woods along the creek and came out near the infamous Indian Caves. Duncan had a great time, and I think Melissa did too (though at the end of the walk, she no longer had the energy to suppress her super cute pregnancy waddle).

Here are a couple of other shots from our walk this afternoon:

A view into an area of the Indian Caves

Milkweed pod

 

Brains! (osage oranges)

Peanut's room

One of the perks of having fall break is that it gave me the time work on my "Honey Do" list around the house. Some of these things were random things that needed to be done, but several of them revolved around Peanut's impending arrival. Today we finished decorating Peanut's nursery, and we wanted to share it with you.

As Melissa and I look around this colorful room, we become overwhelmed by the immense generosity of our family and friends. We couldn't have done much of this without you! Peanut isn't even here yet, and we can already feel all of the love you have for him. Thank you all so much!

To the eighth month -- AND BEYOND!

Sorry for the lack of September updates. Life here has been very busy! Ryan is immersed in his first semester teaching at Olivet Nazarene University, and he has had very little time to do much online social networking or blogging. Melissa has been keeping herself busy too. She even spent a week up in Michigan in anticipation of her cousin Sarah's wedding, which included making the wedding cake for the now newlyweds' big day:

But throughout all of this, Peanut has been continuing to grow! The last two check-ups with our new doctors here have gone splendidly. Melissa is measuring right where she should be, and Peanut's heartbeat is always very strong. Here's Melissa at 32 weeks:

This past weekend we were blessed by the Bebej side of the family with a huge co-ed baby shower/get-together. It was a really great day--Aunt Dawn and Grandma Linda sure know how to throw a party! And the generosity of our family and friends was SO overwhelming--we are very thankful! This kid is going to be so well-dressed!

Melissa's mom and dad were also able to come down for the party. But we put them to work during their visit too. They've pretty much become our own personal paint crew. Any time we plan on painting a room where we live, they come on over with their rollers, brushes, and drop cloths in tow. This time we painted the nursery. While the nursery is not 100% ready for Peanut's arrival, it's really starting to come together. Here are a couple of shots of the nursery now that the walls are painted. Even without the bedding set up yet, the Mesozoic theme is already obvious (please note the awesomeness of the lamp on the dresser, which ultimately won Ryan over in choosing these Jurassic and Cretaceous reptiles over a mammal-themed nursery):

We'll try and be better about posting in the coming weeks!

Long time, no bump

I know that Melissa and I have been slacking off on this blog since we moved, but we've been pretty busy. So busy, in fact, that we haven't taken a picture of Melissa's bump in over six weeks! Here is what she and Peanut currently look like:

 Melissa and Peanut at 28 weeks

In other pregnancy-related news, I am happy to report that Melissa successfully passed her 3-hour glucose test! I wish that she hadn't had to take this awful test in the first place, but at least now we know that her blood-sugar levels are normal. Let's celebrate with cupcakes or fro-yo or some other sweet delicacy!

It's Been Too Long!

So it has been a long time since I have updated our blog, and a lot of things have happened in those short weeks. So I thought that I would update just a few things, but in this post--THE MOVE!

We had a lot of great help getting our truck packed up on Friday July 29. Thank you Matt, Phil, and Jesse for coming to help! My mom and dad, Lynsey, and her new fiancé Darrel also came to do the heavy lifting while I watched Duncan, directed traffic, and picked up lunch. Things got packed really quickly, and we had the afternoon to explore Ann Arbor one last time and allow Ryan to play his last softball game. That evening there was even time to play some Dominion Prosperity!

Dominion being played on the only surface we could find: the Dyson box.

After a night of sleep on air mattresses, we packed up the last of our things and headed out to Bourbonnais. Here are a few pictures before we took off.

The Bebej family with our very loaded truck

Our huge truck with the morning commuters (and my mother taking the picture)

My new pet names?

So I am almost 24 weeks (Friday) and I am feeling--shall we say--much larger? Due to this change in my body, Ryan and I have had some pretty funny conversations.

One day I was doing something that Ryan was worried about, so he made the comment that I was carrying precious cargo...
Me: "So you're just worried about my cargo, huh?"
Ryan: "No, it's like you're the Ark of the Covenant--important on the outside AND carrying precious cargo."
Me: "Um...thanks, honey." =)

Another day I was saying how I feel much larger...
Me: "I feel like a whale!"
Ryan: "I think you underestimate how much I like cetaceans."
For those who do not know, cetaceans are whales, and my husband did his Ph.D. dissertation on the movement of ancient whales.

6 Year Anniversary

On July 16, 2005, I got to marry my best friend. To celebrate our 6th anniversary this year, we went out to dinner at a local restaurant called Pacific Rim. The food was excellent and the restaurant was so beautiful with all its wooden decor. We started out with pork confit mu shu tacos (tender slow-cooked pork confit with a shiitake-jicama slaw and scallion mu shu pancakes), followed by soup (Ryan got the coconut curry soup, and I got the special chilled avocado with crab soup). We then had a nice spring salad while I sipped the house lemonade and Ryan drank his Coke.

For the main course, Ryan got a pan-roasted pork loin chop: Black Oak Farm pork loin chops crusted with panko and togarashi, with shallot soy-mustard sauce, lentils, and grilled zucchini, eggplant, and asparagus. I was limited in what I could eat due to the fact that so many of the dishes contained raw ingredients, but I was really satisfied with my grilled lemongrass chicken: lemongrass-marinated Miller Ranch all-natural chicken breast with rice, grilled vegetables, a chili-lime dressing, and scallion oil. After dinner we walked around downtown Ann Arbor and visited a few favorite shops, such as Vault of Midnight, and The Cupcake Station for dessert.

Then we went home for the rest of the evening. Ryan and I have the tradition of watching our wedding video, slideshow, and reception video on our anniversary each year, which always makes us smile at the people who are in our lives and realize how much has changed since we got married. We also wrote in our anniversary journal (another tradition), in which we write down the highlights and lowlights of that year of marriage while reading back over (and sometimes laughing at) what we wrote in prior years. So much has changed in six years, but one thing that has not is how much we love and adore being together.

Speaking of change, my baby belly has gotten bigger in recent weeks. Ryan even felt Peanut kick for the first time last night! Here I am on our anniversary at 22 weeks:

And here I am snuggling with our furry baby Duncan after we got back from dinner on our anniversary:

"Showered" by Wonderful Friends

It has been a busy couple of weeks, and a lot has happened. I am now "unemployed" since I really am not a stay at home mom yet...well unless you count Duncan and unborn Peanut. Our apartment is almost unrecognizable after all the boxes have taken over, but that will be a post all on its own, I promise. During these busy weeks, I had wonderful friends and co-workers throw me baby showers.

Kellie and Laura worked hard to give me a really adorable baby shower on July 9th at our church. It was great to see so many friends there and to receive love sent from others who could not be there. My parents were able to come up for the weekend and even catch a softball game before the shower on Saturday morning.

After a fun game, I received some super cute Kellie-made bibs and burp cloths...
U of M of course!

Super soft blanket with puppies from Lynsey and Lori

I continued to receive more of our cloth diapers!

The super cute diaper cake with more burp clothes and onsies with cute little tub toys (the whale on top was a Ryan favorite)! We will definitely enjoy the disposable diapers the first month when Peanut arrives.

The great group of friends and family who came (and the love that came with them from those who could not attend)

A week later, I ended my 2 1/2 years working for the U of M Anesthesiology Department. I will greatly miss all the people I worked with and was overwhelmed by their love and generosity on my last day. They threw me a "going-away baby shower" on my last day. I have never been sadder to leave a job. I will greatly miss all the wonderful people I worked with and hope to stay in contact with them all! (I didn't bring my camera so I missed out on pictures for this one... Sorry!)

More Good-Byes

So we are coming down to weeks, not months until we move to Bourbonnais, IL. I only have two days left at work and then the packing can really get into full swing. The hardest part for me right now is the unbelief of this all changing. It is really hard to believe that walking Duncan this morning I will not be waving at Matt and Courtney through their slider door. I still don't believe that after Thursday I will not be going to work at the OR desk with so many wonderful people that have made me feel unbelievably loved. We are going to be going to our last midnight movie with Jess and Michael this week. It is really hard to believe that what has become the normal after 6 years in Ann Arbor will all change soon. Ann Arbor has become home, but one thing that I have learned is that change can always be managed and enjoyed.