39 weeks.....

We had our last doctor appointment today and almost had a baby! My measurements were off a bit more this week and so Dr. Craig got the ultrasound machine and did more measurements of the little guy. He wasn't liking his measurements and so sent me to the hospital for more accurate measurements on a better machine. His reasoning was that my placenta could just be done causing baby not to grow anymore and if that were the case, lets get him out now. The second set of measurements set his (and our) mind at ease as they were just fine, so no inducing today. However, if we didn't have an induction date for 2 days away Dr. would have gone ahead and scheduled one just to be on the safe side with this placenta of mine. So, Friday night is still the night (if he doesn't decide to come sooner on his own)!! As of this morning I'm 1cm dilated, 50 % effaced and head fully engaged. Dr. is very confident that labor wont be long at all with the initial jump start. So some very encouraging news. I have been contracting more and more these last few days, so we just sit and wait.

Merry Christmas!

With me working tomorrow we decided to have Christmas morning today. We realized today that we never really had a Christmas morning before, we kinda did Christmas in the evening. Maybe because family has always been at our home or we've been in Iowa that we just did it that way. After this morning though, we will continue to celebrate in the morning. It was just too much fun! We woke up, had cinnamon rolls, opened gifts and watched one those gifts :)

The pup's stockings are always easy to fill. They received some very nice bones this year :)

Mike got one of his newest favs of DVD's "Grown UP's" and a "man" diaper bag (a North Face day pack that he wont be embarrassed carrying around)

My sweet husband sent me on a treasure hunt around the house with clues to find my gift. A gift I've only dreamt about owning for as long as I can remember......REAL diamond earrings!!!!! I don't think they will ever leave my ears :)

We've had a great day with our family! And to think the greatest gift will come next Saturday...our son!

Our Great Provider

We survived yesterday! The new water heater is in place and Mike will lay new the new padding today all in time for our Christmas tradition tonight (watching Home Alone and eating pizza)! Yes, the house still looks like this, but I've been told for only a few more hours :)

It's been so great to see how the Lord has been taking care of us these last few weeks and his provisions. Last week Mike needed to have a root canal (badly) insurance covered a bit of it. Two days before the procedure I received a truly unexpected Christmas bonus at work that virtually covered the remaining expenses. Then yesterday after purchasing the new water heater Mike received his generous Christmas bonus that covered all but $5.00 of the heater! God continues and will remain the Great Provider!  I read 1 Timothy 6:17 today which says, "Command those who are rich in this world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." Yet another lesson He continues to teach me which greatly humbles me at the same time.

Please hold off at least one more day sweet boy....

I never thought I would be saying this but, "Sweet baby boy please don't come today." Last night we noticed our hot water heater began to leak. Big bummer but this happened about 2 years ago so we kinda knew what to do. Pull up a bit of the carpet, get all the fans out of the house and dry the padding and the carpet. Mike's brother diagnosed it as a dead water heater and the plan was today to get a new one (oh the joy of big purchases right before a new baby). We woke up today to the carpet not drying at all, in fact it was worse. Something continued to leak throughout the night. So right now I'm sitting on the half of the living room where all the furniture has been shoved to, looking out at half the room that is cement floor due to the carpet being all the way ripped up! A friend of ours just called me to swap her husband to come over and help Mike for me to come and watch movies with her and have a hot shower. I think that sounds like a great plan due to Mike not letting me do anything to help (something about being 9 months pregnant I keep hearing him say). Well I'm off to head to a fully working home (with hot water and all!)! The next post should bring a new hot water heater, new carpet/padding (probably something else also, I'm sure of) but hopefully not a new baby yet....We need to get our home back in order before we bring our boy home. :)

36 weeks 3 days

Last night we went out with some friends to Tulsa. We saw some great Christmas lights that a church has every year. Last year we stayed for a  few hours walking around, but last night about 20 minutes was our limit! It was freezing!!!!

Sweet Little K is at 36 weeks and 3 days. Thursday will mark the 37 week term mark! The pep talks have started with him, he knows what he needs to do to come out it's just if he'll be obedient :) I can't complain at all though with how I'm feeling. I'm sleeping again at night (I've adjusted to waking up every 2 hours), heart burn has dwindled away a bit, I can breath a bit easier, I'm not too uncomfortable. Yes, I get worn out very easy, but I really don't think I have it bad at all. My newest craving has been loaves of french bread. Yes I said loaves. I haven't had a craving this bad all pregnancy, but I have it bad. I could almost say I want a french loaf more than ice cream! Yes, you may even see me at Wal-Mart with a half eaten french loaf in my cart :)

 

(I really don't know how Trig ends up in these pics, but he is really good at staying very near to me)

Below are two family pictures we had taken while we were in Iowa. They turned out so great :)

My heart this Chirstmas

I struggle most times with putting words to exactly how I'm feeling. I do wish I were more eloquent, however, I'm just not :) I came across this blog today (I have no clue who this girl is) but, she placed into words exactly what my heart is feeling and thinking this Christmas season. Here is the blog address: http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/2010/12/mary-did-you-know.html to visit what she wrote or read below as I copied and pasted her words to my blog:

Much like most of you - I grew up my entire life hearing the Christmas story. I knew all about Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus from a very early age. But it seems like just now - in my mid 30's - the story is coming more and more alive to me as I think about them - not just as Luke 2 - but as people who actually lived and breathed on this earth and were such an important part of my Christian faith.



When I was waiting for a baby - I would read Elizabeth (Mary's cousin)'s story over and over and read about Elizabeth who was "old and barren". I felt like that described me. And then I read how God gave her a son and said "With God ALL Things are possible". And I would wonder how excited she must have been and claimed that verse for myself!



The last two years I have thought so much about Mary. I thought about her when I was pregnant with Harper at Christmas time. I kept hearing that Faith Hill song "A Baby Changes Everything" and I couldn't quit crying. I thought about how she must have felt as a young unmarried girl knowing she was carrying a baby who would be the Messiah! I thought she probably took extra prenatal vitamins and drank lots of water and got lots of rest - because you would want to take extra care of that special baby! What a responsibility! ha!



I thought about her caring for Jesus - a son she loved. I'm sure she rocked him and cherished him and probably wondered what He would be when He grew up - like most of us moms do with our kids. She had no idea He would die on the cross to save the world from their sin.


This year - I'm thinking a lot about Jesus. I'm wondering what He was like as a toddler. I'm so curious about Him knowing He lived a life without sin. And as any mom of a toddler/preschooler knows (and will be quick to tell you! ha!) - we are BORN with as sinful nature. As I watch Harper try to run and hide from me in the pantry so she can eat chips or throw fits or do something over and over even after I say No and even discipline her - I wonder what it was like for Mary and Jesus during those toddler years.



Jesus became flesh. It's so hard to completely take hold of the idea that our Savior who bore our sins and now sits on the throne in Heaven - the one who made the heavens and earth - came to this earth and was a living, breathing human just like us. I was reading the story of Lazarus yesterday where after he died - the verse tells us "Jesus wept". Jesus felt all that we felt. No matter where we are today or what we are going through - He knows! He has felt what you feel and He understands! Isn't that comforting? I pray that during this Christmas time - if you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus - that you will find that. It would be the greatest gift you could ever receive!

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Update....

How in the world is the Christmas season upon us already?! We've been anxiously awaiting this season sense May, when we found out we were expecting, and a huge welcome to it! :) Our minds have been 100% on sweet baby boy and I don't expect that to change. Everything from making sure all his clothes are washed, diapers are set, all the things a sweet baby needs, and making our home ready, we've been busy. It's a great busy though, no complaints here. Mike and I are SO ready to go from Mike and Ashley to Mom and Dad!!!!

We celebrated our 5 year anniversary with a little night away in Tulsa. We did our real celebration in July when we went to Kauai. The Tulsa get away was just perfect. We stayed at our absolute favorite hotel, ate at PF Chang's (oh my!!! sooooo good!!!!!) watched our wedding DVD, and to top it off ordered up room service for breakfast. You can't get any better than that :)

We then ventured our last trip without baby to Iowa. We were a little nervous traveling 8 hours with me being 34 weeks pregnant but were up to the challenge. Gunner and Trig had no complaints about us stopping every 2 hours and all walking around awhile, and Mike and I had no complaints due to me scoping out the Dairy Queens or Culver's that happened to be at our stops :) It was great to spend 5 relaxing days with the family!

When we returned it was full fledged Christmas decorating! The lights and tree are up, the house is decorated, the candles are burning, we are just waiting and waiting to see if we can add a Christmas baby to the mix.

A friend recently reminded me of how neat it must be to be expecting at this time. With celebrating the anticipated birth of our Savior, this season has been different. I've been able to place myself more in Mary's shoes and able to better understand how she must of felt at this time and how truly dedicated to the Lord she and Joseph were to place continued trust in caring the Savior of the world! How scared she must have been about the uncertainty of it all, but how unbelievably wonderful to have been entrusted by God to carry His Son! We were at a Christmas party last night and watched a brief clip from Charlie Brown Christmas when Linus (I think) shared the meaning of Christmas. The Lord spoke to me clearer than day during this clip. He reminded me that His Son was born in a cow barn a stable, with hay all around Him. Yet, His Father provided and took care of Him,Joseph and Mary. I've been getting anxious lately thinking Mike and I wont be ready for Little K to come with material things, but the Lord will provide just as He provided for His own Son all those many years ago. My prayer is that this Christmas season wont be filled with material things but with the pure celebration and remembrance of our Savior coming as a baby all for us! To forgive us of our sins, so that when we put our trust in Him alone and have a relationship with Him we to will get to spend eternity with Him in Heaven!

This blog is getting lengthy, I'm sorry for that. But a quick update on Little K. We are down to weekly Dr. visits! So on top of seeing my Dr. at work 3 times a week, we get to see him in the office once a week :) The tentative plan right now is for sweet boy to be born on January 1! The plan is the Wednesday before the 1st we go to Dr. Craig, and if my body has begun to kick itself into labor than he will induce me on the 1st! If not than, before the 6th he'll be here because I will not go over 40 weeks. But it's looking like sweet guy is going to be a New Years baby, if he doesnt' come before than!!!!! :) He could come as soon as December 16th!

One more thing, we had family pics taken in Iowa. You can check them out here http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zenfolio.com%2Fnewcreationphotography%2Fp633074855&h=067e9YZgzXFeeZpILBe1OSRG1nw the password is "placenta".

Five years!

Five years ago I became the luckiest most blessed girl, I got to marry the man of my dreams! It's funny because back on our wedding day I knew I loved him more than anything, and I did don't get me wrong. But when I think back on these last 5 years and how much we've grown together, my love for him now doesn't even come close to what it was then. We've had so much growing to do between the two of us, and there have been moments that times were not fun at all, but I'm so thankful for every moment we've gotten to experience with each other! The last 8 months have brought out a new side of him that continues to make me fall more head over heels for him. He has looked out for and taken such a great care of me while being pregnant with never one complaint or grumble. Lots of times I have to remind him I'm not going to break or I can get off the couch to get my own water. I love listening to him talk to our sweet boy in my belly and I love finding him in the babies room just sitting in the rocker counting down the days till the baby is in the crib. On top of being a great and wonderful husband, he is going to be a great and wonderful dad and I'm so excited to see him hold his boy for the very first time! Oh Lord, thank you for blessing me with Mike. I praise You for bringing him into my life and I praise You that I get to spend the rest of my life with him! 

Anything Like Me.....

Meghan found this song for me and within 15 short hours has become mine and Mike's favorite song. Brad Paisley just always does a great job at putting life in songs. Sometimes I really think he writes his songs specifically for Mike and me because they are so true of us :)  Here is the like to youtube.com and also the words, enjoy :)

Anything Like Me by Brad Paisley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVcxiZrri1k 

I remember saying I don't care either way
Just as long as he or she is healthy I'm ok
Then the doctor pointed to the corner of the screen
And said "You see that thing right there well you know what that means"
And I started wondering who he was going to be
And I thought heaven help us if he's anything like me
He'll probably climb a tree too tall and ride his bike to fast
End up every summer wearing something in a cast
He's gonna throw a ball and break some glass in a window down the street
He's gonna get in trouble oh he's gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It's safe to say that I'm gonna get my payback if he's anything like me
I can see him right now knees all skinned up
With a magnifying glass trying to melt a Tonka truck
Won't he be a sight with his football helmet on
That'll be his first love til his first love comes along
He'll get his heart broke by the time he's in his teens
And heaven help him if he's anything like me
He'll probably stay out too late and drive his car too fast
Get a speeding ticket he'll pay for mowing grass
He's gonna get caught skipping class and be grounded for a week
He's gonna get in trouble we're gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It's safe to say that I'm gonna get my payback if he's anything like me


He's gonna love me and hate me along the way
Years are gonna fly by I already dread the day
He's gonna hug his momma, he's gonna shake my hand
He's gonna act like he cant wait to leave
But as he drives out he'll cry his eyes out
If he's anything like me there's worse folks to be like
Aw he'll be alright if he's anything like me

Of course I change a couple lines. If his heart get broken, I'll break the girl and also Little K just will never leave us, so the last few lines just don't fit at all :)

Doctor update.....

We are seeing our doctor every 2 weeks now, how crazy is that! Little K's arrival is coming so quickly :) Sweet Little one is still doing great, though, we found out yesterday the chances of me baking a professional basketball player is highly unlikely. Dr. Craig is a bit concerned by the very slight  lackage of growth I've had sense 2 weeks ago. He grabbed the ultrasound machine and started doing every type of measurement of Little K. Everything is measuring out great. Plenty of amniotic fluid for him to swim in, his head is greatly proportionate, the bones in his legs and arms are fine and his abdomen is great also. His measurements fit into all the normal ranges, just on the lower end of normal. So praise the Lord everything is fine!

 I don't know why though the appointment bothered me so much. I kept thinking about how I didn't like their was even a concern in Dr.Craig's mind about the baby. Also untop of being overly emotional lately, I just did a lot of crying yesterday convincing myself something was wrong with little one. After talking with my mom last night my concerns were put to rest a bit. She told me that her doctor was always concerned with all her pregnancies because she always measured smaller than what she should have been. Even to the point with me, her Dr almost sent her to a specialist because she thought I was going to be a midget! Well I'm far from tall but no midget. So I guess I'm just following after my mom in this area of pregnancy.

A few tidbits of pregnancy as of now:

• Leg cramps and restless legs have begun (mostly in the middle of night)
• Heartburn and indigestion make their daily presence. I have really come to enjoy taking Tums.
• Little K has found my ribs and my right hip and really likes to play with them :)
• The bladder seems to always be smashed lately, causing very quick runs to the bathroom at a moments notice
• We get to meet our little guy in 7 1/2 weeks! Just knowing how soon it is we can take these "joys" mentioned above gladly because we will be snuggling him so soon!
• Below is the belly at 32 weeks!

A little side note. The last 2 weeks at work have been very tough emotionally. I can't share, but I'm sure you could figure it out with me working labor and delivery. With two separate, but yet very different situations, I was reminded again of how God is truly our only stronghold we can cling to. I will probably never understand why the events of the last weeks needed to happen, however I'm so comforted in the fact that I do know the Lord and I know that through ANY situation He is still God. And for that I'm praising Him even with having a very heavy heart and through numerous tears, He is God and all the comfort I truly need!

Fall picnic

What a gorgeous day it was in the 'Ville today! Not a cloud in the sky and a perfect crisp fall breeze, also my day off from work. This all equates to a perfect fall picnic with my favorite family :) We swung by the Rolling Pin to pick up some sandwiches, soup and the greatest chocolate brownie and parked ourselves at the park for a couple hours!

This is how Gunner enjoyed our time eating, his little head shoved between our legs. He was so convinced we would drop something :)

The 31 week (7 months 3 weeks) belly. This belly has caused our walks to be a little slower lately. Mike understands completely, however, the pups just don't get why we go so slow.

My favorite boys! If you could hear the pups they were just crying because they did not want to stop at all. They had too much to sniff to pose for a pic :) I can't wait till Little K is in these pictures with my boys ;)

Soon after this picture was taken, Trig got a bit carried away with some of the geese. Well he ended up chasing them away as he dove into the pond for a little swim. He was in big trouble to say the least and had to ride home in the back of the truck! I was so heartbroken for the poor guy as that must be so scary (I don't think he minded though, I actually think he liked it). 

All in all, it was a great afternoon at the park and I can' t be more thankful that fall is finally here in the south!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Easter Bunny and the farmer carring her pumpkin :) (Yes, thats really the farmers belly!!)

Hello 3rd trimester!

With the beginning of the 3rd trimester last week, Mike and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate then with making an appointment to get 4D ultrasound pics of sweet little K! Today was the anticipated day, and for great reason because we (and Meghan) got to see Baby K's little intricate details! First I'll include my belly at 28 weeks. I feel as if I grow by the day :)

Now for the good stuff! Our sweet baby! A little disclaimer, but also a praise. Supposedly the tech didn't think these pics were as great as they should be, so....she is letting us come back next week for round 2 with no charge!! How fun is that!! Honestly we thought the pics were great, but we are not ones to argue for seeing him again :)

His right hand was pretty much over his face the entire time, but how sweet. He does look nice and cozy :)

Side view. Gosh! I just want so badly to squeeze those cheeks and smother him with kisses!!

We think he's flexing and showing off where his muscles will be someday :)

Kinda a creepy pic of his face, but a great one of his hand. 1,2,3,4,5 fingers are present with a little thumbs up. We think he really likes us looking at him :)

Thank you Lord for knitting together such a perfect boy! You are beyond worthy of all our praise!

Shower fun :)

This last Sunday the church had a shower for Little K. It was filled with so many of my favorite ladies, so many laughs and such great cheesecake! :) Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for everyone who was involved in planning!!!!

Today is officially the last day of my 2nd trimester, I enter into the 3rd and last tomorrow! I'm so excited everyday that everyday that goes by is a tiny bit closer to being able to hold our sweet little boy! New developments in this last week have been:

• His sweet little kicks are a thing of the past. His kick are now saying, "Move this bone out of my way, well okay your not...then I'm just going to keep kicking." Or he shoves his away around with little pauses of relief :)
• Slowly the comfort of sleeping is slipping away. My hips have been in a bit of pain lately. I'm bringing pillows to bed tonight and then if all else fails, the recliner will be brought back to our room.
• Mike and I continue to watch my belly, and Mike has been laying his head on it and our sweet son will give him a whack in his face :) This continues to be the ultimate highlight of pregnancy, how amazed we are and how entertained we can be with simply watching and feeling him move.

Room makeover

We've been these last few days starting and completing Little K's room! Our "adopted" grandparents, Carol & Richard, came down from Iowa for a visit and a with a clear mission to complete his room. We felt like we were on a Trading Spaces TV show with how quick we worked. But the nursery looks absolutely perfect! Of course we still need to add nick knack things to it and add a baby, but the main part of it is done :)

Richard was in charge of loving the pups and he ran lots of errands grabbing things we were forgetting.

Carol was the main "commander", all ideas went through her :) Her main projects involved her sewing machine. She re-covered the glider cushions, made a valence from a bumper, hung the quilt and hemmed some pants for me.

Mike did lots of the painting, sanding and hanging. Meghan painted letters and prepped the room for painting.

We wore out Gunner & Trigger :) Such sweet pups!

I focused on meals, baking pumpkin cookies, eating pumpkin cookies, taking out stitches, ironing curtains and a great job at falling asleep :)

Now I invite you to Little K's room:

We love this monkey theme as we feel like I have a little monkey in me :) Mike & I were so excited to wake up this morning to go look at his room. I promise you it looked more adorable this morning than it did before we went to bed last night and it just keeps getting more precious my the minute!

Sweet baby is 27 weeks old (just under 7 months). Next Thursday I will enter the third trimester! He is about 14 inches long and weighs right around 2 pounds! Last week I began to feel his weight I'm carring. Thankfully sleeping is still comfortable it's just moving that's a bit tricky. It's always nice when someone is around to give me a boost up or grab my hand to pull me up when I'm on the floor. The teens continue to be amazed at how he is growing and just love to feel his little kicks. I have recently taken on a strong liking to Tums as I have figured out what heart burn/indigestion feel like. Tomorrow afternoon the church is throwing a baby shower and of course that will just be such a great time! That's kinda all for now, the best way to sum this up is to say that life is good and we are blessed!

Because I'm bored.....

I wish I were more creative with the titles to these blogs, however, I just lack that gift. Fore warning, this blog is simply because I'm home by myself and bored so it might rattle on. Mike is up in Kansas City with some of the other pastors on staff. They left yesterday afternoon with the plans of going to a Royals game, staying the night and coming home earlier today. Well....they are not home yet. Four of them decided they should stay for another game tonight and drive home after to get home maybe 1 or 2 in the morning. Mike was the only one pleading to come home as planned and his opinion just didn't matter I guess. So he's stuck at the mercy of everyone else. I don't think I would be so upset by this if I, like all the other wives, got to see my husband for more then just a couple hours a day. Life has been absolutely CRAZY lately with me working and him taking on college ministry we just don't get to spend the time we used to together. I work tomorrow and Thursday, youth group and college service will be tomorrow night, so I'll not get to see my husband till Thursday night. I'm sure life will calm down soon......right? It has to.

Anyways......now that my pity party is out of my system.... Some exciting news in the Kaelber house is that we have finally replaced our fence in the backyard (it looks sooooo good!!! now if only I could develop a green thumb, our backyard would be perfect). Also, we have officially made our last payment on the Pilot! We own two cars!!! Thats a huge praise because our goal was to have it paid off before Little K comes! I'm also praising the Lord right now for the event of tonight. After I got off work, I took the pups to the park. Theres a great field where they can run their little hearts out chasing each other and the ball. Well, we were there for at least 30 minutes and soon as I got them into the car to leave, I spotted a coyote not even 100 feet from us that Gunner spotted immediately. Thankfully we were in the car already and I just needed to roll up the windows to stay safe, but oh my word! Thank you Lord for keeping all of us safe! It really was all the Lord that nothing happened because that coyote had been watching us and there is just no reason I can think of as to why he didn't want to "play" with the boys. Thank you, thank you, thank you Lord!

Last week we had our 35 week appointment. Sweet little man is doing great and getting huge! Now if we could just get my varicose veins to go away this would be the greatest, most boring pregnancy ever. I can't begin to tell you how active this kid is! He's been up all night last night and most of the day today really trying to bust his way out! Even though, yes, he has caused me some loss of sleep, I can't help but love every single movement of his! I got to see him at work today and he was just waving away! Last week some friends of ours had a baby boy and I was holding him against my belly and well lets say Little K got a bit jealous as he kicked his sweet little friend over and over till I handed him away! After the visit with our friends Mike walked away saying, "I just don't know how I'm going to be able to let anyone else hold our baby, I want to be holding him every second that you are not." HA! I hope I never forget that statement :) I love seeing and hearing how much love he has for him already!

Well....it's time to start heading to bed. I hope to have pictures with the next post of the fence and my 26 week belly :)

Day hike and then some....

The boys and I ventured out for a fun little afternoon hike today. It was great to get out of the house (and even from the hospital)! The weather was a little cooler, only 85 degrees today! How I can't wait to be able to turn the AC off and open the windows!

A side view of me at 23 weeks, this baby just keeps getting bigger and bigger!

A few highlights of pregnancy:

• Today was the first day in months that Subway has sounded good!
• I have now gained 12 pounds in the last 5 1/2 months! (I'm pretty sure Mike has gained some also :)
• This sweet little boy of ours kicks like crazy! Sometimes I feel he might just bust his way through me!
• I've noticed right after a baby is delivered and is crying our little man begins kicking even more!
• The 7 of the 8 babies that will be born in our church within a few weeks of ours will all be boys
• I love caring this boy, however, we are both ready to be carrying him in our arms!

One last note: Mike, Meghan and I were eating out last Sunday and another of the pastors and his family were at the same place. Well little to say that the dinner turned into Mike's birthday dinner. So funny and yet so embarrassing :) Mike had a very good 7 month early birthday celebration! The crazy servers also brought Meghan into the celebration with drenching her nose with whipped cream :)