HE'S HERE!!!

He's finally here!!! Noah Wesley Wohlgemuth came at 10:38pm on Christmas Eve weighing 6lb 14oz and measuring 19 inches long. All is well, he is a great baby, and we are so excited. I don't have time to write out everything just yet (maybe I'll hit that at one of the early morning cry sessions...) but I did post a bunch of pictures at our new picture site: http://littlewoogie.shutterfly.com/

Check that one out and look at the absolute cutest baby in the world! We will keep updating that picture site and this blog (hopefully) so keep checking in! We love you and are so blessed to have Noah here! Thank you for your prayers and they were definitely answered!

36 Weeks (Finally!)

Ok, so we're now at the point where some people say the baby is full term. Thank you, Jesus! And not a moment too soon, as Emily had another doctor's appointment on Monday and she is now dilated to 1 cm. So the process has started (officially, even though it seems to have been going on for seven weeks now!) and we are on our way. Emily has had a little bit of bleeding but nothing too worrisome, it is often a sign of the coming labor. The doctor was not concerned. And as you can see, not much change on the outside!

Noah's room is basically done except for some further organization and we feel ready to bring him home ASAP after the delivery. Our bags are packed and ready to go as well!

We will try to get a quick update on here when Emily goes into labor but that will not be our first priority! Just know that as soon as we can we will post pictures and get a message out about what is going on. Keep praying for us, please! The next couple weeks will be the craziest and best of our lives. What a Merry Christmas this will be!!!

Love you all,

John, Emily, and Noah

35 Weeks

Today (Tuesday) is 35 weeks. We are so close. Yesterday was another doctor's appointment and thankfully still no dilation but the thinning is now to about 75%. So we are getting closer every day. Emily is still planning on laying around until about 36 weeks and then we will let Noah come when he comes! But the doctor was so encouraging and was on board with nearly all of what we were planning for the labor and delivery. That was great and we are looking forward to the process.

I also finished my semester last night with a Hebrew final. God gave me so much grace through this whole thing and there was no way I would have been able to finish it without Him. So that is a relief for a few weeks while Noah comes into the world. I only have 15 hours left and plan to get them done in the next year.

The baby room is nearly done (only the border left) and it is going to be so cool. I will post some pictures (if we get it done before he comes). This picture is what we are planning off of, and it should be close!

I am leading worship and teaching at youth tomorrow night, so once tomorrow is over I will be able to relax a little bit while getting ready for Noah. I love to do what I do with the youth and I am really looking forward to tomorrow night! Pray for me as I teach on one of the harder parables in Matthew 22.

Love you all and the three of us will see you soon!

The Woogie's

Nearly there...

Hey everybody, not much change since last week! Emily went to the doctor again on Monday and still no dilation but her cervix is thinned out to about 50% now. So we are still progressing a little too quickly for comfort, but the doctor is fairly confident that Noah will not come for at least another week or so as long as Emily stays on her back. So at this point we are really not worried about anything but we are getting anxious for Noah to get here! It is amazing to think that we could have a son in the next few weeks. God is so good; may we be good stewards with what He has given us.

After this weekend (hopefully!) we will have Noah's room done so we will post some pics of it. It will be a great room for our little pilot (that's the theme). Thanks so much to everyone who gave us all of our great decor!

Our Young Married's class at church (and many others at church and in our family) has been amazing through these last few weeks by cleaning our house, cooking a ton for us, and helping decorate both Noah's room and for Christmas. We are so blessed to have a 'family' like we do!

We are so close to the end of this it seems surreal (which is actually the beginning, but you know...). We are so excited to share Noah's God-ordained life with you and have you help us raise a godly man who is both a warrior for and a slave to Christ. May God give us the grace and strength to do this.

The Woogie's

32 Weeks (or so...)

So Emily is now at a little over 32 weeks, which is great because we are still progressing along nicely! We went to her doctor again on Friday (Nov. 21) and had a sonogram to make sure everything was okay, which it was. Also, Noah measured out at about 35 weeks (they said he was a little over 5 pounds!). So we still think he will come a little early (like the first of January). We also recorded his heart beat and womb sounds to place inside the teddy bear that I built for Emily and him when we found out it was a boy. The pictures are from 7 weeks and 32 weeks, amazing difference!

Emily’s doctor was not too concerned with the ongoing contractions but did say to stay off of her feet even more so now because her cervix is beginning to thin a little bit due to the pressure of the baby’s head. No dilating yet (thankfully) but the thinning is the preliminary step. So now even minor laundry, dishes, etc., are out of the question for her, and she is only supposed to get up to use the restroom and very few other times. Some of you may have experienced this before and you know that it is not much fun for anyone. We are ready for this baby to be full term now ASAP and move on to the next stage!

Because of this bed rest, Emily wasn’t able to go to the baby shower in Stillwater last weekend so I went alone. It was an amazing blessing to see everyone and to hear their concern for us and to have them provide us with so much great baby stuff! So many family members and Hillcrest people (our church there in Stillwater) came to love on us and we are so grateful. And, as usual, my sister (Lori) and cousin (Sarah) put on an incredible display of décor and creativity. It was so cool! Check out some of their pics through our Facebook pages or at this link.

Today John and some friends will be working on getting the house ready for this baby to come by painting the baby’s room, putting together furniture, cleaning, etc. We seem to have a lot to do yet and it appears that Noah wants to get here quickly, so we better get on it!

Work is still going well for John and he is getting further along in handling his own stuff as they give it to him. Still learning a ton but seeing a little more light in the tunnel now. And his head is clearing up from the concussion a couple weeks ago as well, but still only to about 97%. Keep praying for our health!

We can’t say it enough, you are awesome to us! Such an encouragement, very needed, and so loving. If only we could reciprocate it to each of you! And just thought I'd include a picture of our boys as they prepare for a new addition to our family as well!

John, Emily, and Noah

P.S. Our SS class is having a baby shower for us at our house on December 7^th. We are still registered at Babies R Us and Walmart, along with gift certificates to www.cottonbabies.com for reusable diapers.

30 Week Update

Ok, so it's been another interesting week! The last two weeks have been the most demanding and challenging weeks of our lives, but I guess it's all preparation for the rest of our time with children!

Last Saturday (Nov. 1) I was playing in a flag football game at the seminary when I came down hard after a catch and hit my head on the ground. The "screen flashed" and I went cross-eyed for a few seconds while feeling dazed, but felt okay enough to finish the game. Had a headache the rest of the day but the fun began that night. I woke up at about 3am and felt like I was on a carnival ride spinning so fast, I couldn't even stand to lay down. Woke up again a little later doing the same thing then felt like I was seconds away from throwing up. Laid around all day and felt a little better but all week I have had those dizzy spells at night and just a touch hazy during the day. The doctor on Friday didn't seem worried and this weekend it has been getting slowly better. Please pray for that!

Emily hit 30 weeks on Tuesday (Nov. 4) and has still been having regular contractions. They increase in the evenings but they are not consistent/severe enough to cause concern. Some of them hurt, but she is more frustrated with the fact that she has to lay around all day and feels like she can't prepare herself for the delivery. Everything else seems to be going smoothly with Noah, he is still moving a lot and nothing appears to be progressing too early. Emily actually went to work for four hours on Friday morning (Nov. 7) and did okay but was pretty worn out and had a few abnormal contractions. Please pray for her encouragement, strength, and healing. God is good and we are so blessed to be saved first of all, and also to have the love of friends and family that He has given us.

We are praying for you as well, and we love you. We hope to both make it up to Stillwater this coming weekend for our baby shower up there, but it may just be me. We'll see how Emily feels.

Rough Week

The last week has been an interesting one, to say the least. Emily has been laid up for the week per doctor's orders, and things were going as well as they could considering the circumstances. But Wednesday night she started to have some more intense and quicker contractions that really worried us both because they hurt a lot more than the earlier ones. So at midnight on Wednesday night we headed to our hospital downtown to check things out.

They monitored Emily and Noah for a few hours and ended up giving her a small shot to stop the contractions (made her a little bit loopy!) and a test to see whether the baby might come in the next two weeks, which came back negative. Also, she is not dilated at all and in fact is very far from it, so that's nice. We headed home about 4am and I got about an 2 hours of sleep before heading to work (slept through the alarm and was nearly late!). But Emily has to stay at home for the next few days until her doctor's appointment on Tuesday and just lay around. My mom is coming today (Friday) and staying a couple days to help out and spend some time with us.

Everything is fine, the Lord has provided and is working everything out first for His good and then our best even when it seems wrong to us or not the best way it could be done. I trust His judgment better than my own!

Continue to pray that Emily has the strength for as much of a natural birth as possible and that she is able to do the things she wants to do in the next two months. Early January now seems a long way off but it will be here before we turn around. We love you all and look forward to sharing Noah's life with you!

Prayer

Hey folks,

We had an eventful weekend, if you haven't heard already. Friday evening, Emily was heading east of Dallas with some friends for a girls' weekend when they had to stop quickly on the interstate and were rear-ended by a pickup which pushed them into the pickup in front of them. The truck that hit them was estimated to be going about 25 mph. Thankfully the girls were in a bigger Toyota SUV so they weren't crushed, etc. But they did get jostled pretty severely and they all have sore backs and necks.

But with Emily being pregnant there was an added worry, so her parents (who happened to live only about 10 minutes from the accident) took her to the hospital and I started to drive from Fort Worth (over an hour away). She wasn't feeling anything was wrong but we wanted to be cautious. The ER checked her vitals and an x-ray and she was fine and also checked Noah's heartbeat and it was strong. But they wanted to keep monitoring things to make sure, so they sent us up to labor and delivery for the rest of the time. We spent the night there until noon the next day and they watched her and the baby. She was actually contracting only about two minutes apart but they were not strong. That worried us (obviously) so they gave her a bag of fluids to try and calm the uterus. The contractions slowed but they picked up again every time she got up to go the bathroom. But they kept slowing and they didn't have to give her any medications, which was nice. The on-call OB told us that she wished every one of the babies she works with looked like Noah in the womb. So everything was fine, but Emily was still very sore.

She has been laid up for the last few days as her spine hurts and her uterus is sore from the contractions. She went to work on Monday but probably shouldn't have, and has since (until at least Wednesday) stayed home. It all seems to hurt pretty bad and she has to move very slowly. Please pray that her strength will come back and that she will not have to be bed-bound since she wants to have the baby naturally and this will severely set that back. Again, they both are fine, the baby is strong, but there are just some precarious things we have to deal with right now. We want him to be a full-term baby but two months seems like a long time away right now.

Thank you for your prayers and for the incredible encouragement I received throughout the process. The friends involved in the accident, their spouses, and our families were amazing through it all and have truly showed us what the body of Christ looks like in daily life. We love you all.

In Christ we place our hope and our trust.

The Start of the 3rd Trimester

We have made it to the homestretch and it seems so close now! It is only a few weeks away that we will be able to hold Noah Wesley in our arms and share life with him. A few things have been going on that make it seem so much closer.

We registered for baby stuff at Babies 'R' Us and Wal-Mart, so picking actual stuff out for him made it a little more real. But it was fun and we have been blessed with so much stuff given to us already (things not on our registry that others won't use, etc.). Also, we have planned at least two showers, one being November 15th in Stillwater at Lori's (my sister) house--if you're in town that day, come on by!--and the other for Emily's family at Thanksgiving. So we don't deserve any of the stuff but it will be great just to get to be with everyone!

Also, we had our childbirth preparation class this weekend at our hospital in downtown Fort Worth. To say it was an eye-opening experience is an understatement. I understood that we were going to see some things, but the nurse didn't even warn us beforehand!!! That would have helped a little bit. But the miracle of childbirth is even more real to me now as well as how intense the curse due to the fall in Genesis is!

Thank you for continuing to pray for us. We are so encouraged by you all and love what God is doing with us even here and now. We don't always enjoy being broken but we have a sense of joy through it all as we realize what He is making us into. May He receive the glory for everything that happens in our lives, including the suffering through which we will all proceed. Get ready now because they are coming if they are not already here!

We love each one of you.

John, Emily, and Noah

The One With The Name...

Ok, here goes.

We have told both of our families now, so it is free game for the blog. The name of our baby boy coming in a few months is..................................NOAH WESLEY WOHLGEMUTH.

John's middle name is Wesley and Noah means peace or comfort in Hebrew. We pray that that is true of him! Please pray with us that he becomes a warrior for Christ and is used by God in a mighty way around the world for His Kingdom!

We love you,

John, Emily, and Noah

26 Weeks

Hello,

So Emily had her 26-week doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and everything was fine, plus she measured at 30 WEEKS! Everyone tells her she is bigger than normal, some even saying that she is as big as they were when they went into labor. So as you can see, her belly is stretching nearly beyond its limit!!! She feels like it will pop if she touches it sometimes! Yeah, he's apparently still a very big boy. We will see if the January date holds up or we may have a December baby! By the way, we'll let you all know the little Woogie's name next week...

My job has been an interesting ride so far. They have put me right in the mix on a couple projects, doing things that my limited knowledge of their systems can handle. I have also made my share of copies. Not the most fun thing in the world, but I am getting paid for it all! It seems like it will be a good place to work, and we will always be busy.

We love living where we now live (close to seminary and church) and we are spending more time with our friends finally. Grandpa and Grandma are coming down this weekend as well and we are super excited for that!

God is so good, He continues to give us peace and joy in the midst of uncertain and often difficult times. Jesus is enough and I am realizing that more and more as we go along!!!

We love you all so much.

John and Emily

P.S. We went and saw the movie "Fireproof" last weekend with Kirk Cameron. It was great and I highly recommend it to all of you! (We will use some of it when we do premarital/marriage counseling with couples in the future!) Plus, we plan on seeing the new movie about Billy Graham this weekend called "Billy." Check them out, you won't be disappointed.

New Job Today!

Started my new job today as a Mechanical EIT with Huitt-Zollars in Fort Worth. It is only a 15-minute drive from our house to downtown (very nice) and the people I will be working with are very helpful. I got a chance to actually do some work today as I figured out AutoCAD (computer program we use) and learned the ropes. The office has a ton of work on backlog so that is really nice. It was a great first day overall.

Emily continues to do well. She seems to have a little more energy right now but it can fade quickly if she does too much. Things are rolling along for us now and it is only three months away from the big event!

P.S. We are going to tell the baby's name in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned!

24 Week Update

Quick note and a couple pics: Emily is feeling fine, but not sure how much more her stomach can stretch! Everything seems to be going well, we think he is still big and he is kicking a lot now. We are starting to think about registering and getting dates firmed up for baby showers so we will let you know. Thanks for your continued prayers as I start my new job on Monday!

Boston Trip

Hey all!

Back from Boston and ready to move on to a new phase of life. We had some adventures and some interesting experiences but it was a great weekend.

We left last Thursday and immediately got bumped to another flight (direct to Boston) due to our original flight (through NYC) being delayed. The only problem was, our bag was still on the original flight. So we were praying that that flight would make it in time for our bag to transfer, but unfortunately it didn’t. So we spent the night Thursday without our bag but it came early the next morning and they reimbursed us for our overnight purchases! Worked out fine. Plus we got comped breakfast on Friday morning at our hotel. Nice.

We spent all day Friday in Boston, working the subway and seeing the sights. Went to Fenway (Boston Red Sox), Boston Common (oldest public park in U.S.), Park Street Church, Old State House, the Cheers bar, Paul Revere House, Old North Church, USS Constitution, took a ferry across the bay (doesn't Emily look so pretty in the ferry picture?!), Faneuil Hall, ate clam “chowdah,” and generally walked the beautiful streets of Boston. The fun part was that we got to spend time together doing all these things!

Saturday we drove down to Plymouth (where the Pilgrims landed), a quaint little town with a ton of history. We saw Plymouth Rock and a replica of the Mayflower (their boat). Then we walked the shoreline and the shops, seeing the church where the oldest congregation in America meets. I also had a lobster roll there, which is sort of a chicken salad sandwich with lobster instead.

Saturday night was a trip. We were asleep by 11 but were awakened by the fire alarm going off, so we evacuated with everyone else (including the huge wedding reception party—maybe they had something to do with it?) at 1:30am. So it was tough to go back to sleep again but we eventually did…until the alarm went off again at 3am. So it was a tough night! Interestingly, the fire alarm was also going off while we were eating at the lobster roll place earlier that night. Hmm…

Sunday we got up (got comped breakfast again!) and drove through Cambridge (Harvard U) then went up along the coast north through New Hampshire and into Maine. It was so beautiful and the coast towns are really neat places! The tall grasses and beaches are really what I imagined New England to be. We hung out on the beach for a while and shopped a little while until our flight left late that night.

It was a great trip and the best part was just being together. We enjoyed it all and everything worked out great. Take a weekend sometime and head up there!

Love you.

Job Offer

Huitt-Zollars called me today and said they are formally offering me a position as a Mechanical Engineer! They are sending the contract/letter in the mail so I may be working as early as next week! Thank you all for your prayers, it is a special feeling knowing that so many are praying for us.

We are also getting ready to go to Boston this weekend! We leave Thursday afternoon and come back Sunday night. Any last minute tips would be appreciated!

Have a great day in the Lord!

John

22 Week Update

Beloved,

Much has happened since we last had an update. We are starting to feel ______ kick a lot now (don't fret, you will find out soon enough!) and we are also seeing some movement in other areas of life.

I had a job interview last week with Huitt-Zollars for a Mechanical Engineering position. I thought it went well, they seemed to like me and want me around even though I have a lot to learn. Well, they called on Saturday and unofficially, verbally offered me the position! The pay is great and it seems like a great place to work. They told me not to accept it yet (they still have a few things to look at HR-wise) but they wanted to make sure I was still interested. So this is a big week for us, as I could potentially be signing a contract and starting work very soon!

OSU held an engineering career fair Tuesday (9/8) and I attended just to hedge my bets a little bit in case something falls through. I made a few good contacts that I will follow-up on and I also got a call from another company here in Fort Worth that is looking at my application there. But on Tuesday I got to be in Stillwater and see my mom, sister, her husband, and my beautiful niece, Laney! I also got to check in with some old friends at church and the football program. But anyway, God is great and has a unique way of handling our "issues" as we work through this job thing.

Classes are cruising along, I am enjoying Hebrew and also getting to study the New Testament more thoroughly. Also, I get to disciple someone and get credit for it! How cool is that! And church is going really well also, we just can't seem to stay away from being completely involved wherever we are.

Emily is feeling okay, too much activity will drain her pretty fast but still no sicknesses or debilitating issues. Tuesday was her 22-week doctor visit (pretty uneventful) and she measured at 24 weeks. As you can see from the pics, she is growing straight out! And her belly button seems to be a little off-centered now, but whatever! Apparently, he is a pretty big boy in there so it could happen earlier than the January 13th date. We are getting really excited about this upcoming process, the challenges and the joys, of raising a boy to become a godly man. We will need your help as we attempt this monumental task!

We love you all so much and thank you for your prayers and support for us down here in Fort Worth! Keep us up on how you are doing, we love to hear from you!

The Woogies (soon to be three...)

Labor Day (not labor for Emily yet though...)

Hello,

So Emily has been feeling the kicks for a week or so now, but I just the other night got to feel him kick for the first time! It was crazy, so subtle yet you know a little person is in there! He is starting to get a little more active, Emily says.

And the Pokes won nicely, should be a decent year.

And I have a job interview at Huitt-Zollars in downtown Fort Worth on Tuesday afternoon at 1:30pm! Kind of nervous but mostly excited to see what opportunities could come and how God could work all of this out in His time! So be in prayer that I am ready and that God shows us either obviously yes or obviously no at this point.

Everything is going well otherwise, though. You all have a great day off tomorrow and we love you!

J, E, and

20 Week Update - Halfway Home!

Hey all,

Today marks the halfway point for Emily and our baby boy! And, over the course of the last week Emily had thought she felt something move in there, but wasn't sure. Well, this morning, she sure felt him kick a few times and move around, so she has felt him move for about a week now even though this morning was the first time it would be considered official. I am excited about getting to feel him kick as well! From the pictures, notice how big Emily's bump is getting! Also, if you look closely, you will see the belly button beginning to move from "innie" to "outie"! So much fun to see the changes!

We are finally getting settled a little bit in our new place (come visit!) and our dogs are getting adjusted, loving the big yard and the constant access to it by way of doggie doors I installed last week. There is still stuff nearly everywhere in the house but we're getting things put where they need to go. But it is still so great to be close to church and seminary and friends.

I started classes online last Thursday and Hebrew 1 on campus last night (Monday). It will be a very different semester than the three previous but these classes (7 hours total) will be very enjoyable.

Still nothing job-wise. I am still applying nearly everywhere there is an opening, but until I get a full-time gig somewhere (most likely engineering) then I am going to substitute teach at area schools. The pay is decent and I will get to impact kids who may never want to step foot in a church. So continue to pray for God's timing (which is always on time) and for these opportunities.

Emily and I are planning a so-called "babymoon" to Boston in late September (thank you American Airlines miles!) so any tips you can give would help greatly if you have been there before. I have spoken with Sarah W a bit about it and she has helped a lot.

You all are awesome and we look forward to hosting you at our new place! We love you so much!

The Woogie's

Craziness

Hey folks, so it's been a crazy last week!

We found out last Tuesday that we were having a boy (awesome), then I spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday looking for a job and finding us a house (which we didn't have until Wednesday night, and we closed the sale of our house on Friday!). We then moved all day on Thursday from our old house to the new house (you can see info and pics by clicking here) and finished a few things on Friday. We then spent the weekend unpacking and getting things set up as much as we can.

It was kind of hard to move out of the awesome house that we had, but we know that it is for the best in the end. It is so great to be near the seminary and our church and friends.

The next step is a job for me, which we are trusting God to break loose very soon. Keep praying for that!

We love you all!

John, Emily, and _______

18 Week Update

Well........................
IT'S A BOY!!!!!

We had our first sonogram yesterday and the tech was very clear that it was a boy! She was not even looking for it and was surprised by it! So, we are excited to bring a boy into this world. His name is ____________. (Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough...)

Raising a son is a daunting task because I know myself as a boy/man. Only God can change his heart, but I pray that I can shepherd it in the right direction. We are holding him with an open hand as God will do what He wants with him, and we are so excited to see what that will be!

Also, __________ is a big boy, apparently (10 oz.). We are pretty sure we are at 18 weeks, but the sonogram put us at 19 1/2 weeks. So either we are wrong (but we were charting so it would be hard to be wrong) or he is a big baby right now. Either way, it looks like right after the first of the year we will have a son if everything goes to full term! But they said everything looks great and no problems that we can see. Praise God!

Looks like we have a rent house to move into, we will get the contract today to make sure everything is good and that they will let us get in there the next couple days to move our stuff. We have plenty of help and that is a blessing because it may be an all-day Thursday move! But this place is perfect for us and we are excited about having everyone over!

My job search is frustrating. It seems like every road is blocked, but it has been a blessing from God because I have all day to pack and look for a house, etc. So God's timing is perfect, maybe after this week things will break loose. Please pray for that.

We love you all and look forward to sharing our son with you! _________ is truly a miracle and a blessing to us!

John and Emily

House Appraisal

We got a phone call concerning the appraisal of our house and it has cleared that final hurdle! Praise God that that is (as far as we can control) on the final leg! Now, next step is finding a house for rent down by the church/seminary. We are down to 2 or 3 options, with an application going in for one that only God brought our way. But we are in competition with another applicant and we think they have the edge. So pray that this works out for us in the best way! We love this house and think it is exactly what we need, but "it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" (Proverbs 19:21). NOTE: that verse is on a poster right above my computer! I am posting a couple pics of our current house for those of you who haven't been able to see it. We love it and hate to leave but it has to happen! God bless you all!

P.S. Job search seems very slow right now, please continue to lift that up to the Lord.

16 Week Update

Times they are a-changing! As you can see from the pictures, so is Emily! Her baby bump seems to have gotten so much bigger in the last two weeks! She is still a little tired, but that's improving as well and she still is not sick at all. And we haven't felt a kick yet, although last night she thought she did but couldn't verify it (maybe it's just in our minds, wanting it to happen!). We go back to the doctor on August 12th when we have a sonogram scheduled to hopefully see whether it's a boy or a girl!

My job search is still off and on. I have a few contacts but no interviews yet, and we are nearing the start of school when I will have to make somewhat of a decision on whether to work this semester or not. I don't want to waste these next few months. The sale of our house is going nicely though, as the only possible catch between us and August 15th (closing date) is the appraisal (which should be fine but you never can tell). That will hopefully occur early next week. Also, we are narrowing down our list of rent houses down by the church and should know that soon as well.

So, I am now waiting on callbacks, praying for a job, a house, and our baby, and packing as much of our house as I can. Other than that, we are just waiting as the baby grows! Love you all!

So Blessed!

(A few words from Emily:) Before John and I got married, I couldn’t wait to become his wife and knew a few years later I would desire to be a Momma (his baby’s Mom as some would say-Ha!). Now that we are here, it is neat to see the many blessings God is lavishing upon us. We feel so blessed to have such a great family and group of friends. Since we told our families and friends about our exciting news, we have received Prego clothes to borrow, books to read, money for expenses, free 'baby equipment', and advice from others; not to mention the many others who graciously listen to me telling of this exciting time. This past week end, Marva (John’s Mom) gave me her Trail Blazer (SUV). This gift was beyond imaginable and I am so grateful. John and I bought our cars in high school and have gotten by without having car payments; thank you God! I’ve never cared about what I drove until recently when my car’s attitude got worse and worse by the air conditioning not working (last Fall-didn’t matter last winter!), the car overheating in the least bit of traffic, and my odometer failing (last September). John’s car isn’t doing much better…that’s another story. But most of all, I knew it wouldn’t be easy to fit a car seat in either of our two-door cars. So, this gift is deeply appreciated. Thanks again Danny and Marva! Another huge blessing is the selling of our house, as John mentioned in an earlier blog. God continually amazes us with blessing after blessing – all of which we don’t deserve but are truly grateful! Thank you God!

There are so many things yet to be worked out but we know God will reveal each open/closed door for us. We hope to find a rent house VERY soon, John is looking for a full-time job as a Mechanical Engineer, and the baby and I will try to stay healthy and rested through it all.

Waiting and Wondering

(From Emily's perspective) It has been so fun watching my belly grow and seeing all the crazy changes that are happening. I love every minute of it (ask me to say the same thing when I can no longer see my toes....Ha!)! It is also tons of fun to talk to friends and family, learning of their experiences and seeing how each pregnancy compares and contrasts. They are all so different! I do feel we are in a bit of a waiting period though. I am anxiously waiting to feel the first kicks as well as to find out the sex of our baby. I do feel like I can feel little flutters but I think it is more in my head, only hoping it to be true. I know once they start, they never stop....then, I will hope to have a break! Ha! What fun!

It is also fun to hear what people say we will have...a boy or a girl or even twins! I don't really mind either way; it would be fun to have a boy and get all the cute boy (I mean MANLY) things (HA!) but also neat to have a girl for all the pretty dresses. We have two nieces so we would definitely have plenty of girly clothes to pass around! When we got to hear the heartbeat at the 14 week check up, the doctor thought it would be funny to say he heard two heartbeats. He didn't actually hear two (as far as we know now) but I am still not counting out having twins, given that they do occur in John's family. I would think it more likely that our kids would have twins when they have their own children but we will see! He also said there is an old wives' tale that girls' heartbeats are between 140-160 beats per minute while boys are between 120-140 beats per minute. Our sweet baby's was 145 beats per minute-right on the line, of course. Well, until these two surprises are revealed...we will enjoy watching my belly grow!

14 Week Update

So, a lot has happened in the last few weeks! I need to be more regular and diligent about this…

We went to the doctor on Tuesday, July 15^th (14 weeks - DUE DATE IS JANUARY 13TH) and we had the blessing of hearing a strong heartbeat!!! Our doctor said that everything seemed to be going along fine and that we will have a sonogram at 18 weeks, hopefully determining the sex of the baby at that time as well.

Emily is feeling ok. She gets tired very quickly but otherwise feels fine. Her belly is growing every day (as you can see from the pictures!) and we are continuing to get more and more excited for about six months from now! This week starts her second trimester.

We also got to experience Emily’s sister giving birth to a beautiful baby girl, Makenna Hope Landers, a few weeks ago! The families are growing!

God is good. In order to cut costs and move closer to the seminary and our church we put our house on the market three weeks ago. Well, we had seven people look at it over the course of that time and two offers, one of which we have accepted! Our closing date is August 15^th.

John is also looking for a full-time position most likely as a Mechanical Engineer somewhere. Please pray for that search and for wisdom to make decisions. Also, keep praying for strength and health for Emily and the baby.

We love you all and thank you for your support!!!

Stories of Telling Our Families

We told Emily’s family first about our pregnancy. We went out for breakfast on a Saturday for Father’s Day to celebrate her dad. Her whole immediate family was there. She wore a plain black t-shirt with a white t-shirt under it which read “Mommy To Be.” After we had all ordered, Emily went to the restroom, took off the black shirt, then walked back to the table holding the black shirt over the words of her white shirt. She then revealed what the white shirt said to the family as they were totally surprised! Obviously they were very excited.

We told John’s family the next weekend at Laney Henry’s (John’s niece) first birthday party. The whole family was there (and more) and as we celebrated beautiful Laney turning one. At the end of the party we got our immediate family together for a picture. We took a few then John got out his camera for a couple more. Before the first one, John said, “Say cheese!” Then before the second one, John said, “Say Emily’s pregnant!” It took everyone a second to process it, a few people chuckled as if it was a joke, then it slowly registered that we were serious! We caught all of their reactions on camera; it was classic!

So much fun, our families are amazing!

Story of How We Found Out

Frequent-flyer miles allowed us to go to Kauai (also to Honolulu for a day) for our third anniversary in May. It was so beautiful and I would encourage you, if you ever get a chance to go to Hawaii, to go to Kauai! Well, as God would have it, we had a sneaking suspicion that we may be pregnant before we left so we took a test in case. On Mother’s Day, we could wait no longer and Emily took the test. It came out positive, of course, but like millions of others, we went and bought another one just to make sure!!! And yes, it showed positive as well. We then celebrated our third anniversary a couple days later, in Kauai, just finding out, on Mother’s Day, that we are pregnant with our first child. Amazing and perfect!

Welcome!

Well, here you go, the progress of both us and our little one for the next however long we can keep this up!

As you can see, like Pilgrim's Progress, this will be the Baby Bump's Progress! We will try and update regularly so you can continue to pray for us and follow along this incredible journey!

Right now Emily is 11 weeks along and feeling fine. We go back to the doctor at 14 weeks. We have enjoyed it so much so far and look forward to the rest! May God bless you!

Note: The top 2 pictures were taken at 7 weeks, the bottom two were taken at 10 weeks.