Belly Pics

WARNING: The following pictures contain a very pregnant woman's belly. Viewer discretion is advised. :)

Jonathan wanted to compare bellies!

I think my feet are down there somewhere!

Fun with Morphing

So, we discovered this hilarious thing called morphing. We hope you get as big a laugh out of it as we did! (My sister is going to kill me!)

Luke's Room

Here are some pictures of the nursery. All we need now is a baby!

Happy Birthday Peyton!

Yes, we do celebrate our dog's birthday! She is our only child (for a few more weeks anyway!). Peyton turned the big 2 yesterday. She spent much of her day outside running around, so she wasn't exactly in the mood for a celebration. Oh well!

Baby Luke Update

I went back to the doc today for my first weekly visit. I can't believe it's this close! Everything looks good. I've been having some Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing serious yet. I go back next Thursday!

My parents came this past weekend and helped us with the nursery. It is really starting to come together. We can actually keep a baby there now! :) I'll post pictures of the nursery soon. We actually got a new computer with the internet, so now I don't have to wait until we go to Indiana to post pictures anymore! It's amazing, I know. So, look for more pictures down the road....

35 weeks

Here we are at 35 weeks...I don't know how much more I can grow, but I'm sure I'll find out! :) I did want to mention that two days ago Jonathan and I celebrated our fourth anniversary. I can't believe it's been four years. I'm so lucky to be married to such an amazing man. Awwww! Alright, that's as mushy as I'll get. :)

Baby Shower

We made our way to Indiana for one last hurrah before Luke comes. My aunts threw me a baby shower this morning, which was really nice. It was good to see family and also Chris and Tonya, who drove all the way from Cincy. (Adam, too...he had to come to play with Jonathan!)

Julia Elizabeth

She makes grandbaby number eight on Jonathan's side!

Birthday & Graduation

Thought I'd get pictures posted of Jonathan's 27th birthday and my brother's graduation from IWU.

Blessed

Only 5 1/2 more weeks to go! We cannot believe it...Luke will be here before we know it! It's really starting to sink in more because other people who were due shortly before me now have their babies. Jonathan's sister had her baby girl (Julia Elizabeth) about a week ago. It's her third (but first girl!) and grandbaby #8. Poor thing only gets to be the youngest grandkid for a month or so until Luke comes! My old college roommate Erin and her husband had their first this past weekend. Also a girl, Emma Grace. We're so excited for everyone and it makes us even more excited about ours!

Jonathan got to come with me to the doc this morning. He says everything looks great. Luke was extremely active during the appointment. It took the doctor a while to track down his heartbeat long enough to get a reading! It was 160--the highest it's been, but probably because he was so active and that's his awake heartbeat.

We have a huge praise financially! School gets out in about a week, so our extra income from my subbing (although not huge) will be gone. But, Jonathan will be able to pick up extra hours at work that will replace, if not exceed, that loss of income! He's going to be seeing a few extra clients per week (about 5 extra hours). So instead of having every Friday off, he figures he'll have about every other Friday off. And he gets paid a lot more hourly for these clients. Hopefully we'll be getting the internet soon, which will be another praise because he can do a lot of his paperwork online, which would mean working from home some!

I think that's all the updates for now. We are just feeling really blessed. It's awesome to see how God provides!

Mother's Day

Well, my first Mother's Day was pretty good. My parents sent me a card, which was nice. Poor Jonathan wasn't sure if I qualified as a mother yet or not, so only after some berating from his older sister did he realize that he did, in fact, need to acknowledge this day! :) I got a sweet homemade card around 11pm Sunday night telling me what a great mother I will be to Luke. Thanks hon! :)
I went to the doc yesterday and everything is pretty much the same. Nothing too exciting to report except that Luke is healthy and everything looks normal at this point. I go back in two weeks and hopefully Jonathan will be able to come to that one. We have one more week left of our childbirth classes. We got to tour the hospital this past Monday. It was nice to know where we will be at for the big event! Kinda freaky, too, though, knowing that it will really happen....and soon!

Update on Luke

I went to the doctor today and everything is looking good with Luke and I. I didn't gain much weight this past month, so that's good. I feel like I'm back on track now, thankfully. My doctor said my glucose test came back fine and that I am normal sizewise. That's a relief, because Jonathan was convinced we were having twins, I was so big! :) I go back in two weeks now instead of four!! Less than 10 weeks to go!

Busy Weekend

Well, Jonathan and I are recovering from a hectic, but fun, weekend. It started out Thursday night with Jonathan's birthday. He's the big 2-7 and feeling a little old. :) We didn't really get to celebrate his b-day because he had to work a 12 hour day and didn't get home til nearly 9pm. Too late for a party with family, considering that's bedtime for the kids. I did make him dinner, though, and had two fancy chocolate cupcakes I bought at the store with candles for him to blow out. Friday morning, we got up and headed to Indiana. On Saturday we went to IWU to see my brother graduate. That was fun being back on campus, though it's hard to believe it's been four years since we graduated! After graduation, we all went to Outback to celebrate Jacob's graduation, Jonathan's birthday and my sister's 19th birthday (which is today, actually--Happy Birthday, Em!).
Next we headed out for Cincy to visit our good friends Adam and Tonya and the Chrises for the rest of the weekend (Jonathan took Monday off work, so we had a little extra time). We had a great visit with everyone and got to meet the Chris and Chris' new little girl, Linnea, who was born back in February. We all went frisbee golfing on Saturday and I must say, we were quite a sight! We brought Peyton along with us, so we had two strollers, a dog, and a pregnant lady waddling around. What has happened to us?? haha

Visiting Family

I went down to Indiana this weekend to see my sister star in her high school play. She had a lead as Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls. Way to go, Emily! :) While there, we got some pictures of Luke with his Aunt Emily and his Grandma and Grandpa. I'm about 29 weeks now. Woo hoo!

His Name Is....

This is the latest ultrasound (sorry about the lousy color) of our son. It's a profile shot and he's sucking his thumb. :) I checked with Jonathan and he was okay with "officially announcing" his name. haha Although we haven't completely decided on the middle name, we are planning to name him Luke.

Nursery

Jonathan got the nursery painted! Isn't it so cute?? (I'm freaking huge, I know.)

Our New Purchases

We're very excited about our new purchases! Jonathan and I were having an issue with what to do about a car seat and stroller. Jonathan's sister gave us her old car seat/stroller combo but told us the car seat was outdated and she recommended getting a new one. Then his other sister offered to give us their newer stroller but they're keeping the car seat (for their new baby due in June). So we were going to register for a car seat, but weren't sure if we could find one that would be compatible with either stroller. We were out with his sister's family and they suggested going to Sears so they could show us what kind of car seat would work with their stroller. While there, we found a stroller/car seat combo that was on clearance! Plus, Jonathan signed up for a Sears card and got an extra $15 off. Jonathan's parents had given us some money to use for the baby and we had just enough left to cover the stroller and car seat! We were so excited! (Okay, maybe excited is a bit too strong of a word for Jonathan, but I was excited at least!)

Our other purchase was a couch, which we desperately needed. People came over to visit us and we never had enough seating! Plus Jonathan and I could never sit together and cuddle to watch tv (it's hard to cuddle in a papasan when one of you is seven months pregnant!). We found the couch at a store in Grand Rapids that sells gently used furniture. It's practically a brand new couch and we got it for just $200! Jonathan was actually excited about this purchase! :)

I Survived!

Well, I had my glucose screening test last Friday and I made it through with no problems! A big thank you to those who recommended the orange flavor over the cola. It tasted like flat orange pop...not too bad but by the end of the glass I was glad it was gone! I'll try to get the latest ultrasound picture on here by the end of the week. It's so cute--he's sucking his thumb! :)

Update on Baby

I had another doctor's appointment this morning. All is well with baby and me. We do have a name picked out that we've been calling him, so I suppose I could just start calling him that on here, but I'd better check with Jonathan first. He's afraid of commitment when it comes to this poor kid's name. :) Anyway, his heartbeat was 138, which is great. I have to get my glucose screening in a week or so. My doctor said he wants to see me in four weeks, and then after that appointment it will go to every two weeks! How exciting!! I am still feeling pretty good, although I am starting to understand what pregnant women always meant when they said they were "uncomfortable". I feel like I weigh 500 pounds and switching sleeping positions is next to impossible. And I'm only at the start of my third trimester! Jonathan keeps reminding me it will only get worse before it gets better. Thanks, hon. Such great support. ;)

Nothing Too New

It's been a couple weeks since our last post, so I thought we'd update it. Only, there's not much to update you on! Jonathan did get the nursery painted yesterday and it is so stinkin' adorable I almost can't stand it. :) It makes it seem that much more real that this little boy really is coming...and soon! I go back to the doctor next week on Wednesday, so we'll see how things go then. I think I have to take the glucose screening test soon. I've heard it's awful from everyone except my sister-in-law. Get this, her doctor lets her eat 18 jelly beans before she comes in for the test instead of drinking that stuff. She's done this with all three pregnancies! Now, has anyone else heard of this?! I want to know if I can get that hook-up.

Jonathan and I are both working. I've been subbing quite a bit (four days last week!). I enjoy it, though it is tiring after four days straight! The kids make fun of me for my Indiana accent. Apparently, I say certain things wierd. I think they don't know how to say things right in Michigan. I want to take a poll. How do you say the word "crayon"? This is the toughest word for me to say (and I use it a LOT when subbing for kindergarten!). They say it "cran" but I say it more like "crown". I had a kindergartener seriously look at me like I was crazy after I told her to pick up her crayons and she sneered and went, "Did you just say crown?!". It was kind of funny actually. So, wow, this update turned out to be longer than I thought. So, let us know what you think: what is the appropriate pronounciation of crayon? :)

IT'S A BOY!!!

Thanks for your patience...I know it took a while to get the post up. Yes, it's true, we are having a boy and Jonathan is SO excited! :) Though we weren't given a percentage by the ultrasound technician, she did point out his, um, boy parts and they were all clear enough for even Jonathan and I to tell what they were. haha It's so much fun now being able to refer to our baby as a "he" and not an "it". We think we have a name picked out, but Jonathan doesn't want to commit yet, just in case he comes up with another great idea (like Arson--ha!). We got to meet my parents on Saturday and share the news with them. They were thrilled, though not all that surprised--my mom has said from the beginning she thought it was a boy. Jonathan is very proud that the Athearn name will carry on. He has done something his brother can't (or at least hasn't yet): produced a boy! ;) Needless to say, we are absolutely thrilled and cannot wait for his arrival. He has been kicking harder and more often lately and Jonathan was able to feel him kick for the first time on Saturday, which was awesome. It's so wierd to see my stomach twitch and move when he kicks! I forgot to mention in the previous post that the technician said she measured me a bit further along than my doctor, so she gave us a range on my due date from July 3-8. So, he may be here sooner than we thought!

Another Ultrasound

I went to the doctor this past Wednesday and everything looks great with baby and I. I really put on the pounds this past month, though. I can't fit into any of my old clothes anymore and my appetite is insane! Jonathan's upset about this part of the pregnancy because instead of getting all of his meal and part of mine, now he's lucky if I don't eat part of his! :) I was scheduled for another ultrasound and luckily didn't have to wait long--we went Thursday night! It was SOOOO amazing--the baby has grown so much! It was cool to be able to see the baby move on the screen and feel it at the same time. Everything looked good on the ultrasound, too. Our baby even had its fingers in its mouth...too cute!! For those of you who are wondering, YES WE DO KNOW WHAT IT IS!!!! We found out, but will have to wait to post it. We're meeting my parents tomorrow to tell them in person. So, until then...
p.s. Thanks SO much for all the great baby advice...it's been very helpful! :)

Looking for Advice

We're probably going to be registering for the baby here in the next month or so. We've been out looking at various things at different stores and one thing is for certain: we have no idea what we're doing! It's kind of overwhelming, trying to figure out what things are a must, what things we can do without, what brands are good, what things you can skimp on and what things you have to go with top-of-the-line on. So, we're asking for help! If you have any advice about baby stuff, let us know. We'd really appreciate it!! :)

Picture Time!

We went to Indiana this weekend to visit my family, so you know what that means...access to a computer where we can actually post pictures! We hope you enjoy our mass picture update. :)

21 weeks

I'm starting to feel pregnant!

Baby Athearn

This is our ultrasound from a while ago. I was only 15 1/2 weeks, so our child looks a little alienish. Oh well! :) We should be going back for another ultrasound in the next few weeks. Hopefully it will look more like a baby then and we can tell whether this is a boy or a girl!

Just Chillin'

Well, Peyton certainly is loving her new home. Whenever she gets quiet and I don't see her around, chances are I can find her here. She loves to sit on the stairs and look out the windows by the door. She can see other people's backyards and bark at their dogs from there. It's one of her favorite places to take a nap, too!

The Nursery (So Far)

Thanks to my gracious sister-in-law, Michelle, we already have some major parts of our nursery! (i.e. the crib, changing table, a stroller, etc.) We also happened to find the perfect bedding last weekend--and it was 50% off, too! We're planning to paint the nursery purple if it's a girl and green if it's a boy.

Home Sweet Home

Since we are now pretty much "officially" moved in, I thought I'd post some pictures of our house now that our stuff is there. :)

Three Month Pic

Getting Kicked Never Felt Like This Before!

I am currently 19 (almost 20) weeks along and right around the beginning of this week I started feeling these strange sensations. Not wanting to get my hopes up, I chalked it up to some gastrointestinal action. However, it has been happening numerous times per day every day since then! I can only guess that I am getting kicked by my very active child! :) My sister-in-law told me I'm probably past the stage where it feels like butterflies and am on to the definite kicking stage. I would have to agree with her! It is such a cool feeling, though.

Jonathan and I had a good Valentine's Day yesterday. It turned out better than expected. Wednesdays are always hectic because Jonathan goes straight from work to the church where we help with Awana. I was planning on a late, fast meal (of Hamburger Helper or something delicious like that) around 8:15 when we finally got home. But, fortunately, school was canceled yesterday which meant no Awana! So Jonathan actually got home at 6:00 (one to two hours earlier than most nights) and I fixed us a nice, candlelit dinner. Very romantic! I tried to make him a homemade chocolate cake with homemade frosting. Lets just say I am not a baker. I have tried this before and somehow forget that I CANNOT make it work! Oh well. Jonathan was sweet enough to tell me it wasn't that bad (I was ready to throw it in the trash!). I am really looking forward to tomorrow evening when we will go out to celebrate V-day. My husband actually planned an evening for us all on his own. We are going to the restaurant of my choice (still to be determined) and then he is taking me to the Grand Rapids Symphony!! Yes, I know, I could not believe it either. I have the best husband in the world...

SUPER BOWL CHAMPS!!!!!!!

So I know I'm a few days late in this post, but I've been snowed in (west Michigan's got it's worst blizzard in a while!). But, I am SOOOOO stinkin' excited! The Colts actually won the Super Bowl!!!!! Thank you to all those who made comments supporting my Colts. And for the anonymous Bears fan who left the "Go Bears" comment, I am truly sorry for your loss. hahaha :) Jonathan and I couldn't make it to our Super Bowl party because of the blizzard, so we spent it with his mom. It was still fun! (Though I did have to control myself more in front of his mom--I don't think she's seen my true side that comes out when the Colts play!).

Congrats to our friends Chris and Chris on the birth of their first daughter, Linnea. It makes us that much more anxious for our little one to get here! I went to the doctor yesterday for the routine check-up and everything is great! My doctor said I'd get another ultrasound in another month or so and hopefully at that time we'll be able to find out what it is! I think that's all the updates for now...

GO COLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

COLTS WIN!!!!!!

The Colts are going to the Super Bowl, baby!! After countless seasons of exciting regular games that led to disappointing postseasons, they finally did it. And against their nemesis, too. Darn those Patriots for always ruining our postseason...until now! I was so ecstatic last night I nearly cried. Then again, that could just be all those pregnancy hormones...I'm a lot more emotional lately! :) All I can say is, GO COLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's about time!!

It's A....

baby! haha So we had the ultrasound Thursday evening and it went great. The technician mentioned that it was a little early to be doing one and that everything on the baby was so tiny she was having a hard time finding things. :) I asked her why I was sent in so early for one and she mentioned that my doctor may not have been sure about my exact due date and wanted to check and make sure it was right. Turns out, it is. I'm still due July 8. She was able to measure most everything, except the heart valves. I asked her if I would get another ultrasound and she said it was likely. That would be cool! Jonathan was bummed because she, of course, couldn't tell what the sex was. She said it's pretty hard to tell before 20 weeks. We did get some pictures, though, which was really cool. We got a good one of the baby's head with the hands up by the face. It looks very much like an alien at this point, but that's okay! :) We also got a picture of the little tiny feet--too cute! Overall, everything looks great at this point. I hope we get to go back for another one...she said our baby would look a lot different at 20 weeks than it does now! The heart rate was 150...up from the 140 it was at my last doctor's appointment. And the technician made the same comment my doctor did--we have a very active baby! It was moving around a lot and making it difficult for her to do her job. :) I guess this child will fit right in with Jonathan's family: go, go, go and don't stop except to do something else. (I swear they don't know the meaning of relaxation!)

Ultrasound

So, my doctor informed me the other day that I would be having an ultrasound soon. Turns out, it's tomorrow evening! It seems super early compared to what I've heard and read, but oh well. I'll be just shy of 16 weeks. Everyone wants to know if we're going to find out what the baby's sex is and the answer is...I DON'T KNOW!!! I can't decide!! Jonathan says that he absolutely 100% is finding out, so I'm guessing that we will if he has his way. :) Although, my sister-in-law just had her ultrasound and their baby was curled up into a ball so they couldn't even tell. Maybe I'll get that lucky and then I won't have to make the decision! haha

Mommy Update

I went back to the eye doctor this morning. He did a field vision test for my peripheral vision and checked my pressure again. My pressure was in the "high normal" range and my vision test results were (and I quote), "super duper, kiddo, and baby likes them too!". My eye doctor is this really sweet old guy--too funny! He told me he had no concerns at all and to have a great pregnancy. It was quite a relief! God is good!

My sister-in-law told me that when the baby moves, it feels kind of like butterflies in your stomach early on. Well, I had some butterflies last night, so I don't know if it was the baby or not but it was pretty cool!! :)

Also, Jonathan and I finally got new cell numbers, so if you didn't get a email with our new numbers and address and you want one, give me your email address and we'll send it to you.

Baby Update

I went to the doctor yesterday and Jonathan was actually able to come this time. It was a pretty quick visit with the usual--blood pressure, weight, pee in a cup, etc. I haven't gained much weight yet (not even five pounds) but the doc said that was fine. He pulled out the dopplar again and we got to hear the heartbeat! :) He found it right away and said the baby was really moving around and kicking (which I can't feel yet, but it's only a matter of time). The baby's heart beat was about 140. I'm not sure what the theory is about that--I've heard both ways that 140 could mean boy or girl, so who knows. My mom has thought it is a boy from the beginning...we'll see! Everything with the baby is fine and I'm feeling great, so we're pretty happy. Jonathan later told me that it was "really cool" to hear the baby's heartbeat. Trust me, that's pretty big for Jonathan. It's about as emotional as he gets! :) I'm almost 15 weeks and go back February 6th. Maybe I'll feel the baby by then 'cause that would be really awesome. We finally took a picture of my tummy. I don't know how long it will be before I can get it on here, though. The library won't let me post pics, so I have to wait until I'm at someone's house where I can do it. Hopefully soon, though!

What a Crazy Week!

Wow! Talk about a crazy and hectic past week or so. We had a great Christmas in Indiana with my family and even got to visit our good friends the Mowats on our way back to Michigan. :) On our way back home, Jonathan and I were talking about what all needed to be done on our new house before we could move in. He called his brother-in-law, Andy, who said he'd be more than willing to help us move some stuff over that night (we were planning to get back to Michigan around 9pm Tuesday evening). Jonathan really wanted to spend the night at our new place, but we have some heavy bedroom furniture and I told him we'd probably have to spend one more night at his parent's and move it all the next day. We also talked about how we'd need a mailbox, since no one has lived there before to receive mail. We were so thankful because Jonathan's family all came over to the house while we were in Indiana to paint our bedroom and clean the carpets. It was such a blessing that we didn't have to spend more time doing that before moving in. Well, as we pull into the driveway of our new house, I see that we have a mailbox already out front! Then, I see that there is a Christmas tree with lights and all in our front window! I nearly cried because I had been so disappointed that I wouldn't get to have a Christmas tree in my new house (we closed on Friday the 22nd right before leaving for Indiana). As we walk into the house, Jonathan's parents and Andy and Katie are all there and we are completely moved in! They had moved everything over the weekend!! My kitchen was nearly all put together, the bedroom was ready, complete with a bed that was ready to sleep in! It was so completely overwhelming! Needless-to-say, we were surprised. :) What a blessing family is! Since then, we've spent the last week trying to get everything else out of boxes and set up. We are loving the new place and even Peyton is finally starting to realize that we are living here for a while!

On another note, I finally went to the eye doctor to get retested for glaucoma. He was so much nicer and more informative than the guy in Illinois! He did some tests and told me that my pressure was normal. He wants me to come back, though, to do another test and recheck my pressure in the morning, when it tends to be the highest. He told me not to panic, so I'm trying to stay calm. I go back on the 15th. My next baby appointment is next Tuesday, which I'm excited about. Don't worry, we'll get a picture on here of me, but I really don't have much of a pregnant belly yet. I told Jonathan that people probably look at me and wonder if I'm pregnant or if I've just had one too many donuts! :)

So, thanks for making it through this incredibly long blog. We just had a pretty eventful week!

Remember Us?

We know it's been a while, but we finally got some pictures on here!! We wanted to include a picture of us, just in case anyone forgot what we looked like (Peyton too!). :)

Our New House

Here are some pics of our new place. We move in our stuff in just a couple days!

Lydia Grace

Some pictures of our beautiful niece, Lydia. She's the 10 pounder! :)

We Miss Our Friends from Chi-town

We wanted to make sure to get some pictures of the Bachellers on our blog. We miss you guys!

What's up ya'll?

So yeah, like Amanda was saying, I was sick as a dog last weekend. The aftershock experiences were just as bad as the flu. On my way to work on Wednesday, I 'flaggelated' so bad that my eyes watered up and I had to open my car window. Also, there were a few nights Amanda threatened to kick me out of the bedroom. As much as you all wanted to know this, I have other pressing information to share: we finally closed on our house! We will no longer be living in a basement and have our belongings stored up in a box! Well, have a Merry Christmas.

-Jonathan

Yuck!

That pretty much sums up our week! Jonathan and his parents were all sick over the weekend with various cold/flu/stomach bug symptoms. I guess it's a good thing we didn't close last Friday because no one was healthy enough to move us in! Then, I caught what everyone else had and was so sick on Monday I thought I would seriously die! I threw up for the first time in probably 15 years (hey, if I had to live it, you have to read about it) and had next to nothing to eat that day (and even less of what I ate actually stayed down!). Since Monday I have felt better but still extremely tired and have wanted little to nothing to do with food. I hope this baby is getting enough nutrients! That is seriously the only reason I eat now. If it was up to me, I would eliminate food forever. It is so gross. So anyway, that's how I've felt this week. As far as the house goes, we were supposed to close Tuesday; then on Tuesday they told us it would be Wednesday; then on Wednesday they told us it would be Friday! So now we are scheduled to close tomorrow at 3pm. Obviously, we won't be moving in or anything until the middle of next week. We'll leave for Indiana right after closing. So, all in all, it's been a rough week for us. But hopefully the worst of it is over and we can just enjoy Christmas and look forward to returning to our new home!

A Little Frustrated

So, as you may remember, we were supposed to be closing on our house today and moving in this weekend. Well, our paperwork for the loan did not get completed on time (someone at the bank was slacking on the job) and so now it looks like we won't close until Tuesday afternoon. It's just kind of frustrating because we're heading for Indiana Friday, which gives us very little time to move in and get stuff settled. I doubt if we'll even put up any Christmas decorations, though I can't see myself going without putting up the tree at least! So, if we still have our tree up in March, you'll know why--we didn't get to enjoy it at Christmastime like every else! :) It seems like everyone in Jonathan's family is coming down with some type of stomach flu. I haven't been affected by that yet, though I am stuggling with a bit of a cold. And, of course, the nauseau and disgust with food is still there. Only a couple more weeks of it, hopefully!

The Most Beautiful Sound

Well, I had my 10 week check-up yesterday morning. Jonathan was unable to go (he had a meeting he couldn't miss), which was fine, because I knew it was going to be a long appointment of tests and questions. It was long (two hours) and full of questions, tests, and intrusive exams (to say the least--haha). They took about six vials of blood to test for various things, leaving me just enough blood to get home before collapsing. But the best thing was that my doctor surprised me and said we could try to find the heartbeat! I was so excited but he told me that there was only about a 50% chance he'd be able to find it this early on. After a couple minutes of searching, he told me we probably would just have to wait until next time. And then I heard it. It was the most amazing, awesome, indescribable sound I've ever heard. To actually hear that tiny heart beating reminded me of the true miracle of life. I know, I know, I'm getting a little corny, but deal with it. :) I called Jonathan right away afterwards to tell him (he was like, "That's cool, hon"--such a guy response) and then I called my mom and bawled like a baby! It was truly the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.

And the Award Goes To...

Emily, the aunt-to-be! Okay, so lots of people have been asking me what kind of reaction we got from the family when they found out we were expecting. Well, contrary to what most may believe, my mother did not, in fact, have the greatest reaction (though she did come in at a close second). No, no, the winner of the "Greatest Reaction to Finding Out Jonathan and Amanda are Expecting" goes to my sister, Emily. Her high-pitched screams repeated five or six times, combined with "Oh my gosh!", "Are you serious?!", and "I knew it!" clinched the title for her! I think she was still smiling in her sleep that night. What can I say? She can't wait to be Auntie Em. :)

Sorry No Pictures, BUT...

Yes, I tried to get pictures on here but for various reasons have been unsuccessful so far. However, we did have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and got to share with them how excited we are for July 8, 2007. :) Yes, it's true! After waiting (and waiting), the Lord has blessed Jonathan and I tremendously with not only a new house but also a new baby! Words cannot express the joy we are feeling right now. I'm currently eight weeks and, other than feeling exhausted and a little nauseaus here and there, have felt amazing! I go back to the doctor in a couple weeks (December 12) for my exam and tests and everything, so pray that all goes well. :)

We're SOOO Excited!!

We bought a house today!!!!! And it's not the one we most recently put a bid on. That one (the one with the fenced yard) we lost to another bidder. The bank told us that someone else had bid on it and we could raise our bid (without knowing what the other one was). We raised it a bit, but not too much and were outbid still by $500. But that's okay, because God (as always) knew what He was doing! Jonathan called the builder of the new house yesterday and we met with him this morning and signed the buy/sell agreement! He gave us an incredible price--I am so proud of my bargaining husband. :) The closing date is set for December 15--right in time for Christmas. We are absolutely thrilled and can't believe it's finally happened! So, everyone start making your plans to visit us in Michigan. haha

Coming Soon...Pictures!

That's right, folks, believe it or not, we will try to get some pictures on here next week! We'll be in Indiana for Thanksgiving and will be able to use a computer that we can actually post pictures with! It's only been since July that we've had any pictures on here. :) In other news, Jonathan and I bid on another house today. We went to look at it last week and are really excited about it. It's in a good school district and has a nice big, fencedin yard for Peyton. Plus, it has lots of room to grow. It's a foreclosure, so the bank owns it now. It's actually in really good condition for a foreclosure. It just needs some touch-up paint jobs and other odds and ends done to it. We got pre-approved for a mortgage loan on Friday. Right after the appointment there, Jonathan got a call from the owners of the brand new house we previously made an offer on! They want us to come meet with them and "renegotiate" the price! Jonathan left it open with them and told them we were making an offer and possibly already had a house we would go with. But, it's so nice to have options and to have them calling us! God is certainly good!! We are very excited to announce the new addition to the Athearn family. Jonathan's brother and his wife had their second little girl yesterday. Lydia Grace came in at 10lb. 11oz. and 22 inches!! (And, yes, it was a C-section!). We got to go see her yesterday in the hospital and she is absolutely precious. I think that's all for now...