An Unexpected Surprise

Eric and I were thrilled to learn that we were having a girl. Eric has three nephews and I have two nephews... no girls so far! Our sonographer informed us that she was "confident" that our baby was a girl, but I wanted to be sure. So I searched around and found a reasonably priced ultrasound office that performs elective 3d/4d ultrasounds. I had scheduled the appointment for this past Sunday, and invited my parents to come up and participate. My folks arrived at 2:00 and we drove nearly 30 minutes to the appointment. When we arrived at the medical office, however, there was no one around! The ultrasound clinic was dark and there were no cars in the parking lot. I called the number on the postcard they had sent me, and a woman answered. I explained that I was at the office for my appointment but no one was around. She had no knowledge of me or my appointment and explained that one of the receptionists was new and had made a mistake.

I was so upset at the realization that I was not going to see Anna in 3d! And I felt bad that my parents had driven up just for the occasion. Once we returned to our house, my mom suggested we go to Babies R' Us. Eric and I have been meaning to go in and start a baby registry, but have not been able to find the time. So the four of us set off for Babies R' Us and it ended up being such a fun afternoon and such a blessing to have my mom and dad help us make decisions. My mom made suggestions about things that I had never even thought of! We were able to add items to our registry and feel confident that we were being wise in our choices... Thanks Mom!

My dad was very enthusiastic about this outing as well. He splurged on a few outfits for Anna as well as the froggy mobile that we attached to her crib. Below is a picture of Anna's "nursery" area in our bedroom. Dr. Sears, a respected obstetrician, recommends babies to sleep in the parent's room for 6 months! According to him, studies have shown that babies who sleep in the parent's room are less likely to have complications and are at a much lower risk for SIDS. Since we don't have a choice, we were glad to hear this news!

Ta Da!

Anna Grace is due on June 25th

Ultrasound Photos!

Our precious baby...

Boy or Girl???

Eric and I just walked in from our ultrasound! The sonographer said that everything looked fine and that she was able to determine the baby's sex! Unfortunately, we can't tell you yet!

My mother is very disappointed that we are not going to wait and be surprised. Thus, she wants us to reveal the baby's sex in a unique and exciting way. And until I figure out how to do that, I'm not going to reveal if the baby is Anna or Isaiah on the blog!

I will try to post the ultrasound photos on the blog soon!

A Class Vote

On Tuesday we have our big ultrasound and will hopefully be able to find out the sex of the baby! So just for fun, today at the beginning of each class period, I took a poll. I told my students our name choices, Anna Grace or Isaiah David, and let them vote on whether they thought the baby was a boy or girl. At the end of the day, the tally was:

Girl = 62 students

Boy = 97 students

The majority of my kids think it will be a boy!... But we have to wait a few more days to find out!

Baby Scare

Today I went to the OB for my 16 week appointment. The nurse practioner attempted to find the baby's heartbeat on a small, hand-held machine with a single speaker. I was disappointed that she did not bring in the sonogram machine, as I love to see the little arms and legs, but hearing the heartbeat would at least reassure me that everything was going okay. After moving the microphone thing all around my abdomen for several minutes, she declared that she couldn't hear anything. She left the room for a few minutes and my heart sank. I was terrified that something was wrong. The whole time she was out of the room, Eric was trying to comfort me but I just kept praying "Please Lord, Please Lord".

A few minutes later she brought in the sonogram machine. After a few seconds of searching, we could see the baby... much bigger than the last time! The arms and head were moving around and I could see the legs bend and then kick the side of uterus! I still can't feel it, but the NP said since it is kicking, it would probably only be a few more weeks until I could feel it. Finally she found the right position and I could see the heart beating. She had Eric stand next to the monitor and point out different features to me... the spine, head, heartbeat, arms, legs, etc. It looks so much like a real baby now. I could even see the leg bones. I am so in love with this kid and sooooooo relieved that everything is perfectly fine!

We go in for our official ultrasound in two weeks and hopefully I will be able to post some pictures. We are also considering going to a 3D ultrasound clinic to confirm the gender and get some neat images of our little one. We'll keep you posted.

New Year's Eve

Eric and I had really been looking forward to attending our church's New Year's Eve party. It started at 6:30 and went until after midnight. We got there around 7, had a great potluck dinner and for a few hours I was really enjoying myself. Eric played dodgeball and sumo wrestling and I just chatted with all the ladies. By about 9:30, however, neither of us could keep our eyes open. We had planned to stay to celebrate the New Year, but we went home, were in bed by 10 and asleep by about 10:02. I did wake up at midnight because someone near our place must have set off a firecracker or something that made a loud pop. Happy New Year! Hope yours was more exciting than ours. I did get some good pics of my wonderful husband proving his manliness (wearing red).

Christmas Fun in Lake Arrowhead

This Christmas we rented a cabin in Lake Arrowhead. The cabin was beautiful and with 4 dogs running around, it was a very entertaining weekend. On Christmas Eve, we ate at a wonderful resturaunt called "The Raven's Nest". We worked on a nearly impossible puzzle and did a lot of relaxing!

As Requested...

One of my faithful blogging fans (Big K) has requested a picture of the traditional Peruvian food: Cuy (guinea pig)... Enjoy

Back in the Kitchen... but maybe not such a great idea!

For the past 4 days I have felt pretty good. I actually almost feel back to my normal self. I am on Christmas break right now and have been very busy doing all sorts of things. Today I spent the day with a co-worker and friend of mine. She scrapbooked, and I worked on a baby quilt for my brother and sister-in-law. When I got home around 5:00, Eric and I, both sick of take-out, decided to go to the grocery store. I was planning to cook my first meal in over two months! I bought tomatoes and cucumbers to soak in vinegar, rice pilaf, and a Polska Kilbasa. When I got home and began to prepare I realized that I bought the wrong kind of vinegar. Then I browned the rice and added the water and left the pan on the "High" setting on the stove as I began to cut up the meat. After about 20 minutes the whole place was filled with smoke and a horrible smell. The rice is supposed to simmer on "Low" but instead I burnt every last piece of rice. The Polska Kilbasa came out ok, but it was a weird "meat only" kind of meal. An hour later we still had to have all the windows open and fans blowing... the smell was still overwelming. It seems my hiatus from cooking has caused me to forget how! Tomorrow night I have to make chicken flautas for a pot luck... Wish me luck!!!

Belly Shot

Okay folks. I am only 14 weeks pregnant I promise!!! I attribute some of this bulge to a little extra padding I had to start with, the baby (roughly the size of a fist) and a big dinner! Here is my first official "Belly Shot".

First Baby Purchase!

Tonight Eric and I decided to walk around Babies R Us and get an idea of what we will need when the baby comes. We have a VERY small apartment, and only a small spot for a crib. So when we were looking at the cribs, we found one crib small enough to fit in our space... and the price was right- so we bought it! It seems silly since I am still early in my pregnancy, but we haven't bought anything and it was too fun we couldn't resist. We won't set it up for months, of course, but it was a great outing. Since the crib is much smaller than standard crib size, we had to special order bedding. These are the pics of the crib and the bedding set we chose!
This is the "Malawi" bedding set.... And this is the crib... but we won't put wheels on it.

Natural Childbirth

I am now almost 14 weeks along in my pregnancy. These last 2 months have been rough! I am still feeling nauseous and tired. I have occasional good days and I get bursts of energy that I try to take advantage of. Sometimes, though, just the thought of food sends me running.

I have also done a lot of thinking, praying and researching during the last few months. Before I became pregnant, I always just assumed that when it was time to give birth, I would get an epidural and follow the doctor's recommendations without hesitancy. I began to think differently about the issue about a month ago.

My mom and I were staying at a hotel together in November. We were attending the ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) convention. One night we were laying on the bed in the hotel room talking about a variety of things. It occurred to me that I had never asked my mother about her birth experiences. She has given birth to 5 children! I was surprised to find out that she delivered 4 out of the 5 of us entirely without medication! She was not given a choice when she delivered her first son, my brother Chad. There was some sort of complication and an epidural was administered. She does not recommend receiving the epidural. She didn't like the way it made her feel during or after the delivery. She was much happier with the following pregnancies... she felt awake, alert, energized, unmedicated and overjoyed!

I have heard similar stories from other women as well. I always assumed that delivering a child without medication was unheard of these days... but after some research, I discovered that there are plenty of women successfully having umedicated deliveries! I know that there is always the possibility of complications and sometimes intervention is necessary, but I am feeling very confident about the idea of delivering my baby without medication.

Eric and I have done some searching, and after comparing several birth methods and classes we have decided to learn the Bradley Method of natural childbirth... also called Husband-Coached childbirth. Nationally, Bradley couples have a much higher rate of natural childbirth and a much lower rate of C-section (less than half the national average!)

Please pray that the Lord would give us the strength and health to deliver a healthy baby without medication. Once we start our classes (in March) I will post some updates!

Morning Sickness Blues

When we started trying to have a baby, I was so excited about the prospect of being pregnant. Now I am excited about the prospect of one day being able to eat food again without having to control my gag reflex! I can't wait to go into a grocery store and buy food without feeling sick to my stomach. I never imagined that I would feel this bad during pregnancy. I wake up in the morning feeling sick and the nausea never goes away!!! I am trying all the common remedies... eating crackers before I even get out of bed, eating small, frequent meals (that consist of crackers) throughout the day so that my stomach never becomes empty, sipping on 7Up and gingerale, taking vitamin B6, and the list goes on. There is no relief!!! I will be very, very happy when this phase is over! Even my students have noticed and feel badly for me and are constantly asking me when I will feel better... (they don't yet know the cause). This is all Eve's fault!!!

About Us

Cuzco, Peru

Eric and I met in High School during our senior year. Turns out we had attended the same school since the 6th grade, but our paths had never crossed. We both needed a date to the Prom and we were set up by a good mutual friend, Faith. As soon as Eric came to pick me up in his cute little tuxedo, I was hooked. After graduation, however, we went our separate ways. Eric began attending Calvary Chapel Bible college in Murrieta, and I moved to San Luis Obispo to attend Cal Poly. During our time in college, we had both seen the Lord move and work and began to feel the Lord's call to missions. I spent a summer with Calvary Chapel Priluki, Ukraine and Eric spent a semester at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Lima, Peru. When we reconnected in 2003 and decided to get married, we suspected that God would continue to lead us toward the harvest of foreign missions. Now we are expecting our first child and are being prepared by our beloved home church, Calvary Chapel Santa Fe Springs, for the mission field. Living for the Lord is such an adventure, and we can't wait to see what God has in the next few years!

Getting Started

I am very new to this whole "blogging" world... but my husband, Eric, and I have friends and family in so many different areas, this seems like a great way to keep everybody updated. I didn't feel qualified to have a blog before now, as our lives didn't seem very exciting. But now, with Baby Tharaldson on the way, things are sure to get more interesting. We are also still planning on moving to Peru as missionaries. We realize that life continues to become more complicated and it is harder and harder to stay in touch with all those people we love. We hope you will check in every once in awhile and see what we're up to!