Half Way There!

We are half way there!!! I am officially 20 weeks pregnant now. The baby is moving every day now which I absolutly love! It also gives me peace of mind and a way to feel like I will know quickly if something is wrong. The baby should be about the length of a banana and just growing growing growing.
It would be just a few days until my ultra sound but because one of the people we invited to be there with us couldn't make it I postponed it a week. I discovered how selfish I am......the decision to change the ultra sound was NOT easy! Anyways, now it's done so let the count down start again. The ultra sound is scheduled for Thursday July 10th at 4:30pm. I can hardly wait!
Our poll to vote for gender is closed now and as you can very well see boy has the votes. Also four of my friends are due in November, five counting me, and 3 out of 5 are having boys. Me and one other friend don't know yet. Also the chinese calendar says it will be a boy. Did you know the chinese calendar is correct a very large percent of the time? But you never know we just might get suprised with another girl. I would be thrilled if we have a girl because Elizabeth can have a close friend and we are pretty much already settled on a girls name. But at the same time a boy would be lots of fun, obviously have plenty of friends, and would be an new adventure. So we shall see on the 10th. :)

Just for Laughs! :)

This is Elizabeth's first ponytail. :) Don't worry my friends, I didn't leave it in.

Elizabeth's Birthday

Happy 1st Birthday to Elizabeth! Okay, so her birthday was April 22; but hey, I just finished the video :)

Here are some highlights of Elizabeth's first big day. We had several family and friends over to celebrate with us! It was a great time and Elizabeth had a lot of fun.

The next kid birthday we will celebrate is baby Werner # 2's!

Elizabeth Tidbits

Here are some short clips of Elizabeth over the last few months (10-13 months old). I have several more that I will post later.

Check back in the next few days for Elizabeth's First Birthday highlight video!

We heard the HEART BEAT!!!!!

I am so so so excited to have gone to see Ann today! You have no idea! She didn't do an ultrasound like I was hoping but we did get to hear the heart beat which was such a wonderful and welcome sound. Also, I felt the baby move on Saturday which was also encouraging. Two weeks from Thursday is the big ultrasound for the gender reveal. :) I am excited. I already want to pack our bags for the hospital...don't worry I'm not going to really do it. Maybe I'll just make a list of things to take. :) So much fun!

Have a great day!
Rachael

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! I am so grateful for the wonderful father Brandon is to Elizabeth. It is exciting to have another child on the way because Brandon does such a great job with them. When Elizabeth was newborn and still had night feedings sometimes Brandon would get up just to make sure we were ok and that I didn't need anything. He loves to play with Elizabeth. He even does some of the "dirty jobs" with Elizabeth to help me out. Here are some pictures of Elizabeth and Daddy over the last year.




Thank you Brandon for being the man that you are in our family. Thank you for always striving for better even though you already do great. Truly you are a blessing to me, greater than I can say. I look forward to watching you with all of our other children! It is my honor to stand by your side in this journey! Your the best!

Rachael

Happy Birthday Papa!

Yesterday was Brandon's dad's birthday. We went out to eat at Ted's on Sunday with them to celebrate. I hope you had a good birthday dad. Thanks for all you do for us!

Elizabeth gave us some before dinner entertainment.
A friend of mine got several really cute dresses at a garage sale for a really good price. Her little girl is not big enough for them yet so she is letting Elizabeth borrow them for awhile. They are so cute!




Ok, so I know this picture isn't so "cute" but we all need a laugh every now and then. The sun was really bright thus the weird eyes and I particularly like the drull on the chin. :) Sorry Elizabeth, Mommy couldn't resist. P.S. if you click to enlarge the picture you get better detail. :)

Baby Werner Week 17!

Hello world! I am 17 weeks old and am growing quickly. This week my skeleton is starting to change from soft cartlidge to bone. I can move my joints now and I weigh about 5 ounces. (About the size of a turnip.) Mommy's belly is getting bigger too. She is anxious to feel me move. She is also very very excited about going to the doctor next Monday to hear my heart beat for the first time! Maybe I will let them take some pictures of me too. Only five more months before we get to see each other face to face! Please keep praying for me as God is very carefully knitting me together in mommy's womb.

Yesterday we celebrated the life that Granny lived and her home going. It was a nice service but I must admit I'm glad it is over.

Elizabeth LOVES to play outside. (She gets that from her mommy.) We have a cracked driveway but I count it as a blessing because it gives Elizabeth some rocks to play with which she loves!


Take note of the boo boo on Elizabeth’s head. She fell in the house Sunday night and hit it on the handles to an inn table in our living room. I thought it was going to be much worse but turns out there was no blood and she didn’t even cry very long. Mommy still doesn’t like it when things like that happen.

Hope you all are having a wonderful day! Just do right!

Rachael

95 Years to Perfection

Yesterday morning my great grandma completed her life here on earth and began her real journey with Jesus. We were blessed to be able to celebrate her 95th birthday with her last November. My mom and dad have been live in care givers to her since she fell and broke her hip nearly three years ago. They have done a wonderful job! She was such a sweet little lady and had one of the biggest hearts ever! She loved the Lord very much and was a great prayer warrior. Even in the end she would cry out to the Lord to help her. My little sister Amy even heard Granny expressing her love to the Lord during a scary and difficult time by saying these words, "If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus tis now." What faith and devotion!? Her mind was weak, her body was even weaker but her relationship with Jesus never faltered. As loved ones go on before us, I get more and more excited to be in heaven, worshiping at the throne of God with them. We truly are "encompassed by so great a cloud of witnesses". We love you Granny. Thank you for the impact you made on the world and the heritage you left behind!
This was taken in April of 2007 a few days after Elizabeth's birth.