Growing???

The girls in the office tell me that they can see my belly getting bigger right in front of their eyes - every day I look a little bigger than the day before. The aching in my lower back tells me they're right. What do you think?

Nemo has a name!

It has been several weeks since we found out that our precious little Nemo is a little boy and after much discussion and contemplation he has a name . . . . . Breckin David Lasher. Many of you already know this but we had to try it on for size for a couple weeks before we posted it, because now that it's posted we absolutely cannot change our minds!

In other good news, we got a great report from the doctor last week - the placenta has migrated to the appropriate position and we're out of bleeding danger. God is so good! I fully expected that He was able to move the placenta and He would keep us safe - I just didn't realize He would do it so quickly. Thank God, 'cause He sure knows that this 9 (ten actually) months to meet our son is a long enough wait for me, I'm not sure I could have survived mentally if I had to wait the rest of the time sitting on my butt - I'm not known for my abundance of patience!

For those of you who are wondering when I'm going to get fat - make your call. I've posted a new belly picture. I'm still wearing some of my non-maternity pants, just with less zipping and buttoning and more rubber bands holding things together!

I Put Jesus on the Cross

Easter - a time of celebration for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. A time for thanksgiving to God that He sacrificed His son's life for our sins. For all sins. For my sins. How many times have I heard that before, that Jesus died for my sins. However, this Easter was different. I heard it a different way. A much different, but very liberating way.

"I put Jesus on the cross. I murdered Jesus." I am not proud to say that. I am not proud to type that. When I wrote that down during the sermon on Sunday, it took me a minute to write it. Even as I type away here, I slowed down to type that "I murdered Jesus." Jesus wasn't put on the cross because the Jews turned him over. He wasn't crucified because the Romans and the people thought he had turned against the Roman empire. I put Jesus on that cross with the my sins. I, born 1,982 years after Jesus' death, am responsible for his crucifixion. God sacrificed His son because I was going to be born and was going to be a sinner. Each time I stop to think that I put Jesus on the cross, that I murdered the son of God, I get shivers in my body.

I get those shivers for two reasons. First, I have done the most horrendous act to a human being. Second, Jesus forgave me as he was hanging on the cross. His last words, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) He's forgiving me, you, everyone, for the sins that we have committed, are committing and will commit. This man was dying on a cross, the worst way to die,and He forgave me!?! How liberating it is to be able to come to the foot of the cross and give Jesus my entire life.

This realization came to me on Sunday from the message given by our lead pastor, Jeff Kinkade. This was the most touching sermon I have ever heard. Listen to it by clicking here, Firewheel Fellowship, and click on the "Direct Link" under the sermon title Father Forgive. Your forty minutes of time is well worth it.

- Will

Thoughts on Co-Sleeping.......

I've heard many new moms and dads talk about the wonders of co-sleeping - you know having new baby in bed with mom and dad. I've been asked about my opinion on this and as many of you already know this is NOT an option for my children. Aside from the medical facts: More SIDS deaths occur when baby is in bed with the parents -- My husband is what can be called an active sleeper.

I've grown accustomed to sleeping on the far opposite side of the bed from him, with one eye open, but I cannot and will not put my child in that same danger. Early on in our marriage I woke up in the middle of the night to see Will rolled up on his elbow with his fist over my face. After wrestling his arm away and screaming furiously at him, he reassured me that he was attempting to protect me from the mugger who was attacking us on the vicious streets of Chicago. Forgive me for not feeling very protected! He's also tried to reclaim his wallet from between the couch cushions (aka my pregnant abdomen), kneed me in the back while playing sleep soccer, woken up in the dog's bed for no apparent reason. This is aside from the numerous conversations he has tried to have with me while soundly asleep.

So, if I want to get any sleep after our son is born he must be safely in a separate bed from mom and dad. The convenience and bonding experience of him in bed with us would be entirely lost because I would never be able to get any sound sleep trying to use my body as a shield between him and his father - the active sleeper.

I must add this disclaimer: I am fully confident in my husband's ability to be a wonderful and loving father who puts his son first in everything he does - I just don't think it can happen while he's sleeping!

Nemo is.........

Today was such an exciting time for Brooke, me, and Nana Martin. We got to find out if Nemo is a boy or a girl. Mother's intuition was correct.....he's a boy!!!! We even have the picuture to prove it.

Our son (man, that sounds great) decided not to be like Adam and Eve today and wear a fig leaf. He was actually pretty proud and you better bet the last time he'll be that proud. Dad'll make sure of that...well, so will his mother!

What is his name you ask? We have two thirds of it down....???? David Lasher. He has to be Lasher by default, which extremely excites me. I think one of the things that would have disappointed me the most was to not have the Lasher family name be passed down through me. I am so greatful that will happen. David comes from Brooke's dad and it's also her brother's middle name. So now on we just have to decided a first time. Any suggestions?

Our son is doing well, he has four chamber heart, two legs, two arms, a spine, two kidneys, a stomach, a liver, and after I named all those off to my mom she finished the list off with "and a penis." If you know my mom, that is a bit surprising of a comment, but a good one.

The one concerning thing we saw on the ultrasound is that the placenta is sitting on top of the cervix, a condition called placenta previa. This is a dangerous condition because it can cause a lot of bleeding, a risk that is even higher because Brooke needs to take blood thinners because she has had blood clots in the past. Dr. Ehmer feels that there is a good chance that the placenta will move on its own as the pregnancy progresses; however, if it doesn't a c-section will be necessary and potentially early to prevent Brooke from going into labor naturally. Of course, if she starts to bleed any time before it's safe for the baby to come - it will be complete bed rest! So, please join us in praying that God will move the placenta away from danger and our little man and his mama will be safe!

His first words....ok, so the tech typed them.

Is that his mom's nose or his dad's?

We couldn't leave without him waving hello and bye to us!

God brought Indiana to Texas!!!!

So today the weathermen here in Texas were all worried about the chance of snow, ice, and winter weather. Any time there is a chance of the temperature to be within ten degrees of freezing and precipitation, they go crazy. Being from Indiana, I turned on my cynical comments toward the Texas weathermen. All day I was making fun of them. Seriously, how much snow can we really get? It was 70 degrees yesterday afternoon, tornado watches last night and sleep disturbing thunderstorms this morning. This Indiana boy knows snow....he'll never see true snow in Texas.

Brooke decided to let Maya outside tonight at about 8:30 and sure enough it was snowing. Not just flurries, but sticking to the ground. After our Life Group left at about 9:30 I made a snowman and by 10:30 the ground was covered again. Right now we have about an inch of snow.....I did say I missed some snow.

No matter the situation God always knows how to present himself to us. For moment I must have forgotten how He can do anything he wants and he had to remind me of that with snow.....in Texas. Thank you God for bringing a litlle bit of Indiana to me :) You can now take it away.....I enjoyed my shorts, polo, and flip-flops this weekend.

(Is Nemo a boy or girl???? Check back on Wednesday night to find out!)

My first Texas snowman!!!

Maya loved running through the snow.

And I thought about mowing on Sunday!

And the leftovers of the snowman on Monday!

Normalcy is Great!

Ahhhhh what a refreshing weekend Nemo allowed us. This was the first weekend in a long time that we were able to do normal people things without Brooke feeling sick. For Valentines Day I got her gift certificates to get a pedicure. Saturday did she not only get her pedicure, she also got a haircut! Now for non-pregnant women and even most pregnant women this is no big deal. But for Brooke this was pretty big. She hasn't really been out of the house since mid-January besides to go to the doctor and to church.

We also went out to eat today with our Life Group. Thanks to lactating mom's who can't eat spicy mexican, TGI Friday's was such a great choice. Mainly because they put alcohol in their food. Not a big deal on most occasions, but when you haven't put any alcohol into your body since Thanksgiving, getting a little bit of Jack Daniels in your burger and sauce is great! Although, you can't really taste it too much nor does it give you any kind of special feeling. Today was the first time that we have been inside a restaurant since December 23. She felt good and the the large smell of food didn't even bother her.

Now we can only hope for normalcy, or as normal as can be for a pregnant women, through the rest of the pregnancy.