Walking with the LORD, a Journey of Faith, Marriage and Motherhood: 1 month to go {or less!!!}

^"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11

We have entered the last month of this amazing journey, and the excitement and anticipation is building. We have everything ready for you to make your entrance baby girl, come whenever you are ready. 2013 ended with some quality family time over the holidays, and it feels like we haven't stopped moving since October. Chad and I hosted my Mom's side of the family for Thanksgiving (30 people!!), we took a trip to South Dakota to visit our friends Leah and Bryan (Who are expecting their first baby any day now!!), had multiple family gatherings to celebrate Christmas, and we rang in the New Year with friends! (Chad visited a few of our good friends, and I was at work celebrating with my fabulous co-workers and great kiddos.

It has been a few months of baby showers! My co-workers through all the first time Mom's (4 of us!) a shower right before Christmas, it was a great time with lots of fun games and good food. Three of my friends threw me a shower the weekend before Christmas, it was so fun to see old friends that I haven't seen in a while and we had lots of fun entertainment from a few little kiddos who joined in on the party! This past weekend, Chad's cousin Cindy threw a Dr. Seuss themed shower! The food and games were all themed, and the cake was gorgeous. Baby girl got lots of books to add to her growing library, and we got the remaining essentials we needed. I am so blessed to have such amazing support from my friends and family, this little girl is so loved already and she's not even here yet!!

Here are just a few pictures from my showers (I have yet to get my pics from Brit from my friends' shower so those will have to come later!)

Right before Christmas, Chad, Josh (Chad's brother) and Josh's girlfriend Danielle took a road trip to Madison MN to have maternity pictures taken by Danielle's cousin. They turned out amazing, and we had a blast road tripping with Josh and Danielle!!!

I have been feeling pretty good these last few months. It has been such an amazing experience to be pregnant, and I am so THANKFUL that God has giving me this gift. I know far too many people who have struggled to bring children into this world, and what heartache it is to lose a child before even getting to meet them. SO needless to say I have tried (sometimes not very successfully) to stay positive when I'm feeling crappy and thank God every day for this privilege of carrying a child. I must say I had an amazing evening at church on Saturday. With all that has gone on in our lives the last few months, Chad and I haven't been attending church as regularly as we usually do so it was really good to 1) just be at church, forget the fact that it was AMAZING! Worship was perfect and exactly what my heart needed, and then there was communion which is my FAVORITE part of church, it always has been! While Pastor Darren was talking about why we do communion, and remembering the sacrifice that was given for us, baby girl was going CRAZY!!! I'm holding the elements and trying to listen, but all I could focus on was the flips and somersaults going on inside of me. It made me so excited for everything she can look forward to at River Valley, and sharing these special moments with her once she arrives.

Chad and I are getting really excited to meet this little girl, all I can think about is what she will look like and who's personality she will have. What she will like and dislike, and how it will change Chad and I's relationship. I am so excited to see Chad with her; I love watching him with our friends' kiddos and can only imagine how he will be with our daughter.
So everyone keeps asking us... Are you ready?! How do you even answer such a loaded question!!!?? Her room is ready! The pack'n'play is set up in our room, we have diapers and a car seat, and she sure has clothes to wear. Am I ready for labor? Who knows... When the time comes, I know it will be ok and that I will have the strength and encouragement from my husband and know that my faith will bring me comfort and strength. I have a pretty large group of prayer warriors (you know who you are!!!) that will help me get through the difficult times. SO I guess I could say we are ready... We have a "how to have a baby class" this coming Saturday, so it might be convenient if she waited until after that but regardless I think we will figure it out, that's why there are Labor and Delivery Nurses!!! So we appreciate your prayers these last few weeks, especially with all this beautiful weather we've been having in MN (baby girl don't pick the coldest day of the year or a blizzard to show your face please!!).
Here are a few nursery pics!

Weekly/Monthly/Whenever I get around to it UPDATE!

How far along? 36 weeks (tomorrow)

Total weight gain: 27ish

Maternity clothes? Still wearing some non-maternity tops, but pants (besides cozzies) are all maternity

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: A bit of a struggle, got a fancy U shaped body pillow that has been amazing!

Best moment of the week: Baby girl dancing in church

Miss anything? Being able to take a deep breath or roll over without being winded :)

Movement: Lots of kicks, somersaults and flips!!

Food cravings: Anything sweet... Made Chad stop at DQ to get ice cream when the temp was -15 this weekend....

Anything making you queasy or sick: Weird smells... otherwise just running out of room so I feel sick if I eat too much.

Symptoms: Occasional contractions, puffy feet and hands

Belly button in or out? In-ish... don't think its every gonna pop!

Wedding rings on or off? On kinda... I only wear them when I leave the house and only my band when I go to work... Off while I sleep and when I'm just lounging around the house.

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy, excited, emotional...

Looking forward to: Meeting baby girl!!!!