6 weeks and 5 days to go!

The end is in sight! Sometimes it seems as if the next few weeks are going to be the longest of my life! The more I feel Jellybean's little back, butt, knees, feet and hands the more I just want him to be here right now! Sleeping has not be that great for me lately, but then I guess I'll be more prepared for when Jellybean arrives right?!

I went to the doctor yesterday and everything looks great. It seems as if Jellybean had his growth spurt back around 20 weeks and now he is growing at a "normal" rate. He is around 4 -4 1/2 pounds right now and expected to be around 7 lbs. when he is born. I was THRILLED to hear that! I was not looking forward to delivering a big baby!

We've been to our Childbirth class and have the nursery all ready. Now I'm just looking forward to my showers coming up and taking care of all the gifts from those. Everyday I meditate upon the awesomeness of God. I hope I never loose sight of what an AMAZING miracle God has brought into our lives.

I've been doing a lot of thinking and studying upon what kind of mother I want to be. I've had the blessing of being able to watch many godly women raise their kids throughout the years. There is one mother who sticks out to me: my mom. My mom and I are best friends so of course I've always looked up to her. The closer I get to physical motherhood though the more I stand in amazement of my mom. I seriously think she would be a great mentor for many young mom's out there. She has always shown such sacrifical, selfless love (in otherwords TRUE love). She raised 5 children, homeschooled the 3 oldest K-12th, makes wonderful homecooked meals, bought clothes etc. for us often leaving no money for herself, thought of the neatest crafts and outdoor excersions all throughout the year (don't remember her complaining about coming out and playing with us in the snow), and through it all always made us laugh. In fact in a day when I hear so many young mom's complain about this hardship or that hardship of motherhood I think of my mom. What stands out the most about my mom is that she is full of JOY because she knows where true JOY comes from:

Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.

In highschool and college my friends would always tell me "You have the coolest mom." Yep I do.

I'm in the 3rd Trimester!

Here is a picture of me at 28 weeks. I'm actually measuring 29 weeks. Right on track for Jellybean being in the 90th percentile. My placenta has moved up and his head is facing down so everything looks great!
I know it has been forever since I've posted updates. I've been busy showing hospitality and getting ready for Jellybean. I've lost track of how many people I've fed these past 5 weeks! I'm so thankful that I have had more energy this past month then I have had my whole pregnancy.

Here are some pics of Jeff putting the crib together.

All ready for our little boy (except I need to get a mattress pad). Later that night we were leaving to head out for my parents and Jeff said, "Just a minute I have to go look at my little boy's room." The next morning I caught him standing in the doorway staring in. So SWEET! He is going to be the BEST daddy!

I'll post more pictures of the nursery once we get it done.

Jellybean is a BOY!

Most of you have probably heard by now that Jellybean is a boy. A very healthy boy! He is in the 91st percentile for height and weight. If he is keeps growing at this rate he might be an April baby instead of a May baby! :-)
We are thrilled that Jellybean is a little boy. Growing up I'd always pictured myself as having a girl first, but all that we have been through these past 5 years has a way of changing those "picture perfect" dreams. Many thoughts come to mind after finding out Jellybean is a boy:

1. This isn't our first child, it is not even our second  or third child. Who knows anyone of the children we lost could have been girls.
2. Waiting, praying, and crying for just one healthy child for all these years has made me thankful for either a boy or a girl. We are just thrilled to have A child!
3. In all the infertility challenges a thought that made me the saddest was the fact that Jeff is the last Johnson and I wanted so bad to give him a little boy. Someone who would carry on the Johnson name. In God's miraculous goodness He had allowed me to give my loving, faithful husband a little boy.
4. Ever since I knew for sure that I was pregnant I have felt that Jellybean was a boy. So I have had 5 months to sit and think about raising a little boy. There isn't a better man to raise a son than my husband. Lord willing one day our little boy will be a fine Christian man thanks to the loving, faithful example of his daddy who daily exemplifies the love and compassion of our Heavenly Father.

All in all, I've learned through the years that God's ways are not our ways. His ways are PERFECT!

I'm recovering from a sinus infection so you will just have to ignore how bad I look!

Jellybean stretching

His profile. Our favorite picture. He has Jeff's big head! :-) Just look at his cute little facial features!

The proof that Jellybean is definitely a boy! ;-)

Jeff's little baby outfit and shoes. His mom had them all washed and ready for us to take home and put on Jellybean! No we haven't decided on a name yet.

20 Weeks!!!

I have hit the 5 month mark! I am halfway done with my pregnancy! WAHOO!!! Best of all just in case you hadn't heard yet, we get to find out WHO Jellybean is this coming Friday!!! YAY!! That is as long as he/she cooperates. I had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and the cord was between its legs and Jellybean would NOT move for anything! Of course as soon as we get out into the waiting room he/she starts moving all around! I know, I know, with Jeff being the daddy antics like that don't surprise you right?!! Yeah, just one more thing that convinces me that Jellybean is a boy.
These past few weeks have been a lot of fun because Jellybean has been moving a lot. It is so cool how I can start to learn his/her personality. I have learned that he/she likes to hear me sing (or maybe he/she is complaining). He/she does a great job in distracting me as I am trying to practice for the Christmas Concert at church! I've also learned that he/she really likes it when I eat sugar. It feels like he/she does summersaults after I eat sugar! Mmmm...............what lies in my future???!!!

Make sure you stay tuned....

Thanksgiving Weekend

We have sooooo much to be thankful for!

My Latest Challenge

Well, I always told myself that if God allowed me to get pregnant I wouldn't complain about any of the symptoms. So I think God is just giving me all of these "lovely" symptoms in order to show me that I can't even not complain without His help.
Last night I was up b/c of a stuffy nose, intense sinus pressure, heartburn that really felt more like acid reflux, and aching legs. I was lying on the couch trying to get comfortable and trying not to grumble. I was praying and telling myself that it really is all worth it. When all of the sudden Jellybean started moving. At this point it feels like little taps. Its like he/she was saying, "Its okay Mommy. I'm here and yes this will all be worth it." So then I just ended up crying and my head started feeling better but I still couldn't sleep. :-)

4 Months, 16 Weeks

     It still seems so surreal that this is me. I keep wondering when it will all sink in. Probably the biggest news to report is that I'm pretty sure I have felt Jellybean moving around. He/she was pretty active in church yesterday. He/She liked the great sermons we had from Pastor Hofmaier (from the Philippines) and from Daddy. ;-) As Jellybean gets bigger I'm really curious to see how much he/she moves when Jeff preaches.We have 4 more weeks and we get to find out who Jellybean is. We cannot wait! I've been dying to decorate the nursery ever since we found out we were pregnant. Since I can't decorate the nursery yet I've been working on other things like...

-Organizing all my maternity clothes in my closet by color. (I have AWESOME friends who have given me lots of clothes. I guess there is an advantage to having your first when some of your friends are done having children.)

- Scheduling Childbirth Classes and hospital tour.

- Reading about and comparing about a million and one kinds of strollers, pack-and-plays, highchairs, etc. (I found a highchair and swing that match my livingroom and kitchen's decor! Pretty pumped about that. I figure baby gear is so big it might as well look nice taking up space right?)

- Getting books like Baby Wise and Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child to read and critique.

- Talking to other moms about what baby gear they like and don't like.

I like to be prepared and organized. :-) I've resisted the urge to sit down and prepare preschool lessons and materials. Because after all I don't know who my student is. LOL!

Once we find out who Jellybean is then I can go crazy registering and decorating! Since I haven't been substitute teaching too much and I am dying to do something with my hands I'm thinking I might sew some of the decor with my Grandma Chase. As soon as I told her that I was pregnant she said, "Well we'll be doing lots of sewing this winter." I've been sewing with her as long as I can remember!