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!