For our anniversary, we decided to drive up to Breckenridge on Saturday to hang out and also to see the snow sculptures. It was a nice afternoon, so we had a good time walking around the downtown area. Sorry Shad, we didn’t make it to Greta’s, but that was mainly because I don’t think I can eat ice cream now that I have this darn gestational diabetes. (We’ll find out for sure on Wednesday what my new diet will look like, but until then, we are being careful with the sweets.) We did stop in Dillon at a Pizza, Pub, and Brewery place for dinner though. I don’t remember the name of it, but the food was really good.

Our drive home was awful though. It had started to snow, and there were times where we were pretty much at a complete stop on I-70 for up to 45 minutes. So a drive that would normally only take an 1 1/2 hours took 5 hours. We were pretty frustrated and then tired once we got home. I guess that is what we get for calling Shad and Lynette (on our way up to Breckenridge) to brag about the awesomeness of living in Colorado.

You probably have noticed that we have a new design for our blog. I had been using the generic template provided by WordPress, but last night Greg was kind enough to create a new design for me using CSS. I am pretty excited about it, since CSS allows for easy design changes without changing the actual content of the site. For instance, for holidays (if I feel ambitious), I can easily change the colors of my site to represent the holiday. Changing the one CSS file will change the layout/color scheme of the entire site rather than having to change each page individually. It’s nice having a web designer/developer as a husband.

I have been debating over putting this picture online or not, but what the heck. Just be warned, I am HUGE with child!

Today is the FIVE year wedding anniversary for Greg and I. Wow. It hardly seems like it could have been that long, yet at the same time it seems like we’ve always been together. I mean this all in a good way of course. I am the luckiest woman alive, because I am married to not only my best friend, but also my lover and sweetheart. Greg is so loving and supportive. And now that we are having a child together, our relationship just seems even more special. Okay, I’d better stop now before I make everyone gag and be overcome with the sappiness.

It turns out that I do have gestational diabetes. ARGH. So I have to go in to the doctor again and also go to some diabetes education classes starting next Wednesday. I will probably have to monitor my blood sugar levels starting next week. Thankfully I only have 12 weeks of pregnancy left as I am really going to miss sweets!

The results of my lab work from last week came back and it turns out that my glucose/sugar level was too high. This means that I had to go back to the lab yesterday for more testing. This time though, I had to be there for a little over 3 hours rather than just 1 hour. I also had to fast overnight. They had to draw my blood four separate times. Once when I first got there, and then once every hour for 3 hours after drinking twice as much of that glucose liquid (which really made the baby active). One of the ladies was having problems drawing my blood, so I ended up getting poked 5 times instead of just 4. Two of those times were especially painful as she had to move the needle around trying to get my vein to cooperate. I should get the results either today or Monday – I hope they are better, as I would really hate it if I had that gestational diabetes! I just ordered a bunch of ice cream sweets from the Schwan’s man and I definitely want to be able to partake of them.

The results of my lab work from last week also showed that my levels of iron barely squeezed by as “normal”, which explains why I am tired so much. So I am also now taking iron supplements by order of my doctor – I hope this helps!

For our Childbirth Prep class yesterday evening we had to watch 2 birthing videos – one with a lady who did “Natural Childbirth” and one with a lady who chose an epidural. After watching both (and they showed everything btw), I have begun to wonder what I have gotten myself into. Greg says I cannot blame him for this predicament I am in though, since it was ME who went to WebMD.com and tried their “Tips for getting pregnant” which worked the very first month.

On a scary note, we started this class just last week with 6 other couples. 2 of those couples were not present last night due to them having already gone into labor or given birth. Both of those couples weren’t due until March – March 8th and March 22nd to be exact. So they were quite a bit early! Just a little nerve-wracking…

Greg has a couple guys over tonight for a guys night/guitar jam session. Looks like I will be relegated to the upstairs for the evening. Actually, I don’t mind at all. I have my dogs and my iTunes to keep me company. Plus, tomorrow I will be deserting him to hang out with some girl friends at a scrapbooking party, so I guess turn-about is fair play.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I don’t have the results of my lab work yet. I will probably get those at my next doctor appointment, which is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

This morning I went in to have some lab work done. Specifically, I needed to drink this high-sugar concoction (which tasted like strong orange soda without the carbonation-not too bad really) and then wait around the office for an hour. After the hour was up, I had to get my blood drawn. All this is to check for gestational diabetes. Since I had to fast before the appointment, I was pretty faint by the time I was done. The drink put the baby on a sugar high – she was kicking like crazy by the time I left.

Anyways, that is not the real thing I wanted to blog about today. While I was sitting around for an hour, many people came and went, so I had plenty of opportunities to just sit back and observe. People watching can be pretty interesting. One incident stuck with me though.

There was a TV on, and it was playing some inane and utterly ridiculous daytime show. (If you have ever stayed home from work and watched daytime TV, you know what I am talking about.) An older gentleman (probably in his 60′s or 70′s) asked if he could change the channel to the Inauguration. The lady at the desk refused, saying it might offend some people. As if the current daytime show wasn’t offensive, but whatever. The gentleman responded by saying some comment about how there “weren’t any Americans here?”. I have to say that I agreed with him as I thought more about his comment. Sure, some Democrats could probably think of a million other things they would rather watch than watching a President they scorn be celebrated. But it seemed like the lady wasn’t refusing on the basis of political party. Even former President Clinton was at the Inauguration. This isn’t just about Republicans – it is about being Americans. I applaud this older gentleman for remembering this. Eventually, another older lady who wasn’t privy to the conversation regarding the TV just got up and changed it to the Inauguration (without asking). No one seemed to mind. In fact, most of us sitting in the waiting room put down our magazines to watch.

Greg and I had our first Christian Childbirth Preparation Class yesterday evening after work. It was pretty interesting. We discussed things our bodies are going through now (and why) with diagrams which I think was helpful for the husbands to see. We also began discussing how to distinguish between false labor and the real thing. Lastly, we discussed and practiced (with our husbands) calming techniques for when the contractions first start. It really was calming. I could have fallen asleep. I was leaning up against Greg while soft music played in the background and the lights were dimmed. And Greg was rubbing my head, which I just love. A head massage is always such a calming thing for me after even the most stressful of days. I am sure I won’t be nearly as calm though when the real thing starts. But it was good practice anyways. And the best part is that the husbands have homework for this week – to learn to give their wives certain massages and to practice 3-4 times this week for about 30 minutes each time. That is GREAT. I think I am lucky though, because Greg has always been good about giving me massages anyways when I need or ask for one.

Another nice thing about the class is that the other 6 couples are all about our age, and this is their first child as well. It was reassuring to hear that some of the other women had the same fears about the whole labor thing as I do. I really appreciated and am excited that I was able to find a Christian Childbirth class. It teaches all the same things as the regular one, but we opened and closed with prayer and also had a quick devotional at the end. We went over Psalm 139:13-16.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

I have began praying for our daughter and for us as parents. It is so cool to think that this is all part of God’s plan, and that he knows and loves her already.

We spent this past weekend up with my family in Wyoming and had so much fun! My sisters and I got some scrapbooking done in our albums, and we also spent many hours playing Texas Hold-em (Greg and Cindy taught us how to play). We weren’t playing with real money, we just all split up some chips to start out the game. It was still a lot of fun, although I am not good at bluffing at all.

Karen and Cindy also gave us our belated Christmas present. They got us a Willow Tree figurine – those figurines are just my favorite. They display emotion so well! They got me the one called New Life.

Last night our doorbell rang sometime after midnight. At first, we weren’t sure if it was really the doorbell. Then it rang again and the dogs sprang into barking action so we knew our ears weren’t playing tricks on us. We went downstairs to see what was going on, but no one was there. But we saw a cop car parked in front of our house. So Greg was brave and went outside and saw three cop cars there. One was a K-9 unit, and a dog barked at him – the dog sounded as if he meant business. It made our dogs (still upstairs in their kennel) go nuts. The cops were at our neighbor’s house next door talking to somone on the porch and saw Greg and apologized for ringing our doorbell. They had the wrong house I guess. We’re not sure what was going on. Kinda scary though when I think about it later. What if there would have been a report of a guy with a weapon and the cops were on edge and mistook Greg for someone else? You never know.

Our baby has gotten so active with her kicks that I can now see visible movement sometimes when I look at my belly. It is so amazing! Last night, Greg and I were watching Alias, which is one of our favorite shows that usually has me glued to the tv screen due to the unexpected plot twists. But I just couldn’t take my eyes off of my belly, just waiting for the next kick. I would have to say that feeling her move (and now seeing it too!) is my favorite part of being pregnant. Just the thought of there being a life inside of me is too much for my simple mind to fully comprehend. Not only is there new life, but this new little being is going to be a part of myself and a part of Greg. Who is she going to resemble? What personality traits will she have? I am in awe of this little one, and cannot wait to meet her.

Well, this posting is just a little late, but better late than never!

Our Christmas was a lot of fun. We spent it in Kansas with Greg’s family. We were excited that Jeff and Jess could make the trek from faraway Canada to be there too. Not only was the family time good; the food was awesome too! I think I gained about 5 pounds! Of course, perhaps some of that can be blamed on the baby. At least that is how I am choosing to look at it.

For Christmas gifting, we all draw names, which is really helpful on the budget. For my gift, I got a book and the 3rd Harry Potter DVD. Both gifts were used before the New Year began. The book, Thorn in my Heart by Liz Curtis Higgs, was so heartwrenching that I had to go right out and buy the sequel the minute I was finished. While I thought the first book was heartwrenching, the 2nd book, Fair is the Rose, was even more so! I finished it a couple days ago, and I still cannot get the story out of my mind. The story in these books parallels the account of Jacob, Esau, Rachel, and Leah in the Old Testament in many ways, but is set in the late 1700′s in Scotland. I cannot wait until the 3rd book comes out later this year!

Over Christmas break, Greg also made his banjo-playing debut in front of a crowd. He played “Do Lord”, “I’ll Fly Away”, and “Amazing Grace” bluegrass style for the prelude for Grace Community Church, accompanied on guitar by Jeff. They sounded so good!

Okay, here is something that I do not understand. Why do people feel the need to flash their headlights at the car in front of them in order to get them to speed up? This irritates me to no end, especially since I am going the posted speed limit. Do people actually respond to the flashing of headlights in their rear-view mirror by the rude person behind them? Is there anyone out there that thinks, “Wow, this person is flashing their lights at me. They must be more important than I am and thus above the law. I had better speed up so they can hurry and continue on their merry way.” ARGH. I just think that is so rude.

Well, to all you headlight flashers, take note: I will NOT respond. If anything, it riles me up and makes me take my sweet time to pass the car in the other lane. Or, if you catch me in the right mood, I may flash lights back at you – my brake lights.

P.S. This would apply to all tailgaters as well.