Give thanks...

Every year we all celebrate Thanksgiving…a time when we can sit back, enjoy good company, good food, and be thankful for everything and everyone we have in our lives.

This year my husband and I seem to be in a tight spot with several issues going on in our lives and I am struggling with everything even more now that my hormones and emotions are raging from being pregnant.  Regardless of all the things that have happened in the last few years and the struggles we currently face, I am still thankful for everything I have been blessed with.

I have a husband who loves me with every bone in his body and will work himself to exhaustion to make sure that there’s food on our table, that the bills are paid, and that our little world continues to go ‘round.

Despite the loss of my step-mother a year-and-half ago, and then my dad recently moving to California, I am still thankful I continue to be surrounded by family and those who love me.

I am 19 weeks pregnant with our first little one, and even though we have no health insurance to cover the bills we continue to move forward knowing that whatever we need will be provided by Him.

Even though we have a very small living space, I am thankful that I have a roof over my head, a warm bed to sleep in, and a place to call home.

I am truly thankful for everything in my life, everything that has happened in the past, despite whether it is good or not.  I am thankful that I can continue to have faith that everything will turn out for the better, even though some days I struggle.  I could go on and on about the things I am thankful for, but my point is that no matter how hard your struggles may be, or what adversities are handed to you- you should be thankful that you are human, that you have the ability to overcome, the ability to have faith, and the ability to live.  Do not forget what you are thankful for, and do not forget that He will never give you more than you can handle.

Tick Tock...

Have you ever had to wait for something really cool to happen, and it seems like time slows down to the point where you’re constantly annoyed that things are taking FOREVER!??!  That describes pretty much every day for me.   I’ll be starting my 18^th week tomorrow and I have yet to feel the baby move.  I’ve felt some weird things, but since this is my first I’m not really sure what I should be expecting.  People have described the movements as flutters or butterfly wings- but I’m not exactly sure what that would feel like inside my frickin uterus!!  Oh well… I guess I’ll know for sure when the baby kicks me in my bladder or somewhere else inconvenient.

Another thing we’re still waiting for is to find out the sex.  Our baby’s big debut will be November 29^th and he/she better be ready and willing to show off its junk because I’m dying of anticipation!! I started out hoping/convinced/’knowing’ that it was a girl…but now I’m not so sure.  And at first I felt I would be disappointed if it wasn’t a girl- but, I’ve had a lot of time to myself to think about things and I would be happy either way.  At least we’ll know for sure in 3 weeks J

As time moves forward, ever so slowly, my belly continues to grow…and my wardrobe continues to shrink.  I’ve lost the ability to wear a lot of my shirts since most of them were ‘snug’ in the first place, yet I’m still clinging to my pre-pregnancy pants.  For a while I was trying to wear a belt thinking that it would help keep my pants in place- but noooo….I was constantly struggling with my pants ALL day and I’m not ready to give in to maternity pants yet.  So, I bought a belly band.  I’ve read about them but never really understood how they could be effective at keeping your pants up while an expanding belly makes things difficult.  Well, it works.  The elastic is just strong enough to keep my pants up, even if I decide to wear them unbuttoned, and at the same time is comfortable to wear all day.  Problem solved –for now.

And since we’re talking about clothes, I’m pretty surprised that some one-stop shopping stores either carry a small section of maternity clothes or nothing at all.  Pretty annoying.  I guess at some point I’ll have to force myself to venture out and make the 30 minute drive to the closest shopping center that actually sells a variety of maternity clothes.  Now, I’d like you to understand that yes, I know 30 minutes is really not that bad- but I HATE clothes shopping in the first place, and since I’m pregnant driving can make me really tired and/or nauseous.  So a 30 minute one-way drive is quite a daunting task for me these days. 

TIP:  Never be over-confident in your bladder’s ability to ‘hold it’ for an extended period of time…it may give up when you least expect it.