New Due Date and Scan

Thank you for your prayers for us today, my scan went well! I know this sounds crazy, but over the last several weeks I've wondered if there was really anything in there! Not having had any blood tests to confirm the pregnancy or an early scan, I was kind of nervous! (After 3 home tests, I was pretty sure, but still the thought crossed my mind!) HA. Anyway, there is only one baby in there, thankfully, and everything looked fine. According to the midwife and the dates of my scan, I'm 13 weeks along and due Feb. 8th. So that's what I'm going with!

I wanted to take some pictures at the hospital but Marc would have acted like he was not my husband, so I spared him. There were several things I wanted y'all to see, but I'll have to do it next time and be more secretive about it I guess! Anyway, we walked up to the hospital, it is literally right behind us. This sign and the entrance is about 100 yards from our front door. My midwife said, "Charity, your 3rd will be so fast that you will have that baby on the pavement walking up here!" Uhhhh, no thanks.

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And here's the baby....

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AND...we didn't have to pay for the pictures! There was a small machine on the wall that said to insert £2 for a token, which you then turn in for a picture. I had to ask another pregnant lady sitting there how to work the machine and she told me she would wait because on her first scan they just gave the picture to her and she didn't have to pay. Well, how nice I thought. So, we waited and as we walked out of the room the technician handed us 4 photos! Yeah!

We went ahead and told the girls today, even though we were pretty sure they would be clueless and...they were! We told Cerys she was going to have another baby brother or sister and she very matter of factly said, "But I already have Bailey" and went to do something else. :) Bailey just laughed at the sono picture! They will get it one day I'm sure, but for now I made them hold this picture and smile! :)

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Random Thoughts

*I'm so glad I'm NOT in Texas today...106 degrees?!? Now that is summer my Welsh friends who made fun of me yesterday for wearing a light jacket at the outdoor party. :) I was not cold, but "cool" while sitting on your decking. (Had a lovely time at the party!!!)

*We attended a BBQ on this past Thursday night. It had rained most of the day and at the last minute I put the girls' wellies in the car just in case. Boy, am I glad I did. We were out on a small farm and as soon we got out of the car, a large Labrador retriever pounced on Bailey. She loved it and kept laughing and going back for more! It was hilarious. Cerys was the one screaming and running away. Regardless of the rain, both girls ran around the farm house all night in their wellies and had a blast. They smelled like wet dogs in the car that night, but it was sure fun! Another great British BBQ spent in the rain! (Forgot to take pictures!)

*I'm reading a great book right now called "Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People: The Life You've Always Wanted" by John Ortberg. A real eye-opener for me at this stage of my life.

*I have my first scan (sono) tomorrow- Monday at 2pm (8am Texas time). I would appreciate any prayers. We have someone to watch the girls so Marc can go with me, thank goodness! It's at the hospital (right behind our house) and I've been told we could wait a while and that we need to bring money if we want to purchase any sonogram pictures. I'll post soon after to update everyone. I know you are on the edge of your seats. Ha.

Have a lovely week!

I'm Blaming it on the Hormones!

Oh my goodness, what a day, and it's only 2:30pm.

I'm not one to blame things on hormones usually-but today it must be the hormones?!?! So we went to IKEA today (big shock) but this time we actually had a reason! :) A few days ago, we bought a dresser for our bedroom- yes at IKEA-we didn't have one next door (only our wardrobes) but I was really tired of shoving everything in my wardrobe and decided I needed more storage space. Anyway, after Marc put that together I realized that there needed to be a mirror above the dresser so I could fix my hair. There are no outlets in bathrooms here, so I have to do my hair in our bedroom. Anyway, so we were back at IKEA this morning looking for mirrors...and we found one that I love. I just hope it looks as good on the wall above the dresser. And this really has nothing to do with my hormones. I think.

So, we decided since it was 11:45am and the girls were "starving" that we would just go ahead and eat lunch there. I often tell Marc that eating out is my love language- only because I don't have to fix anything and we don't eat out often, so I was thrilled. I was hungry for some of their soup and a roll, so as I walked over to check out the soup selection I picked up the metal lid on the soup container and promptly dropped it- with a really loud bang! The soup sits down in one of those cafeteria style warmers- hot water underneath kind of thing- well there was no soup container in it, just the lid over the steam, which instantly burnt my finger. Marc looked at me as if I'd lost my mind ( he didn't' realize it was empty from where he was standing) and everyone stared at me and I could feel the tears coming. What in the world? I normally would have laughed, the burn was not that bad! The lady over the counter just looked at me and I felt like the biggest idiot ever! I was holding in the tears until Marc asked me what was wrong. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS WRONG! Why am I standing in the IKEA restaurant crying over this? We had seen someone we knew from church there and I was thinking great, now they are going to see me crying when I just said a rather cheerful "Hi" to them 5 seconds before! I couldn't think straight so Marc asked if I wanted to leave, I said yes and we headed to the lift (elevator). The tears flowed once behind the lift doors and I couldn't stop them! Cerys was very concerned about me then asked if we were going to get to eat lunch! Ha, bless her!

We made our way to the checkouts and paid for our mirror and ended up at the snack counter so the girls could get a hot dog. I apologized to my sweet husband for that episode and we just laughed. Then just now, a package arrived from my sister in law- all of my maternity clothes. We opted to pay nearly $90 to have it shipped to us because it's cheaper than replacing it all here. I was really hoping it would arrive this week as my jeans are feeling kind of snug...and let me just mention here..is that normal to show already on your 3rd child- 11 or 12 weeks along? (I'm still not sure how many weeks I am- will just go by what my midwife says next week!) So, as I opened the box and saw cards to the girls from their cousins and a picture of the 3 boys , I felt the tears coming again. Not to mention what I felt when I saw the size of some of the clothes!!! Did I really wear those last time with Bailey?!?! What is up?!?!

Like I said, I'm blaming the hormones because I don't know what else to blame it on.

Picture Day!

Marc, getting ready to go "down the pit" at Big Pit Coal Mine-

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Cerys, running around outside waiting on Daddy and the interns-

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We made this rock picture too-

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Had lunch in Abergavenny, one of my favorite little towns- and looked up from our table and saw this sign. I love when I see things like this and realize that most things here are older than America-

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Most of the interns- and the girls- at Raglan Castle-

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Confusion

Okay, I should be able to figure out my due date after two kids right?!? I'm really confused. Help me out here if you know which is right!

I calculated my due date as February 16th- so I would be 11 weeks right now. (Going off of May 12 at LMP) Baby Center says I'm due Feb 19th and 10 weeks along, Fit Pregnancy says I'm due Feb. 16th and 11 weeks along (which is what I was thinking). Of course I have not had my sonogram yet, it's still a week and a half away. I found one site that said you add 7 days to your LMP and then count back 3 months...and that would give me a due date of Feb. 19th.

Why is this so confusing to me this time around?!?! Any thoughts?

Go,Go,Go...Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, I have not had much time to post. Week two of our big group of students came and went-they left early Tuesday morning. The rest of Tuesday was spent with the 10 interns at St. Fagan's Welsh Museum (lost track how many times we've been there, but still enjoy it!) Tuesday night we had a farewell party for a family on our team that is moving back across the pond. Today, we left our house at 8am and picked up a rental van so we could more easily transport all of us - we started the day at Big Pit (probably our most favorite tourist thing to do), we then drove over the mountain to Abergavenny (small town) and ate lunch and walked around for a while. After lunch we headed to Raglan Castle (our favorite castle ruins!) and hung out there for a while. Then we drove to Caerleon to see the Roman Ruins and Amphitheatre. We drove home and ordered pizzas for all the interns and now they are sprawled out across our living room floor, exhausted!

Have I mentioned that this is like the 3rd day that the girls have not had naps?!?! Have I mentioned how fun it's been though?!?! We never go like this, so it's nice in a way to have some fun-filled, though exhausting, days! I think every time we got back in the car today Bailey fell asleep, bless her! I gave the girls a bath tonight and it was really nice to know that they had such a fun day, running and playing to their hearts' content! Having the interns around is nice for us parents- who needs a stroller when there are 10 people ready and willing to carry you and do ANYTHING you want?!?! :)

We are really going to miss our interns. They are a great group of young people (did I just say that?) and have worked really hard. What is really going to be hard is once again explaining to Cerys why they are leaving to go back to America. The girls have become quite attached (and I think the interns have too!) I have seen them grow in just the short time they have been here and I'm not sure of the total count, but there were quite a few who put their trust in the Father during their time here-and for that we are so thankful!

I'll post pictures soon!

The Great Hair Debate

Well, it's not really a debate. I've always (and by that I mean since high school) had some sort of high-lights or blonder color on my hair until about 2.5 years ago. When we moved back to Texas and I was pregnant with Bailey I just got lazy I guess and didn't really keep it up. I then just wanted to go back to my original hair color, which turns out to be like "dirty dishwater." Nice huh? The lady in TX that always did my hair, she called it that we always laughed about it.

Anyway.

So, lately it's gotten a lot darker- gee, that's what happens when the sun does not shine often. I've been wanting to get my hair done and just could not for the life of me spend the £100 ($200) that the salon would charge. I love the cuts I've had at this salon, but it's pricey. SO...on Saturday we had a little gathering for past students- ones who have been on the gap year, sort of come back for one day and share what they've been up to, etc. I was speaking to a wife of one of the alumni students and she mentioned that she "does hair." Reeeeeeallly? :) I explained my hair dilemma to her and she agreed it could be lightened up a bit and cut a little shorter, so I asked what day I come over to her house! :) She use to be the top stylists at a salon in England and after moving to south Wales and having a baby, she just works out of her house now. And for less than half the price of the salon I've been going to! That is one reason she works from home, she was telling me about the ridiculous prices at salons these days- don't I know it!

So, today was the big day and I'm really pleased with my color! I think I like the cut, it's different and "trendy" she told me (she's a few years younger, so I just went with it!)....and I took Cerys along for her 3rd hair cut and its really cute too. I wanted hers to be short, for upcoming Nursery school.

Please excuse the photography. :)

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Nice flash and finger prints on the mirror!

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Tonight, with no makeup.

And Cerys' cute little do-

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She loves it, and has been checking her self out in the mirror all night!

February 16th....

is my due date.

Yes, you read that correctly. Surprise! Or at least we were. :)

I've debated about when to share our news. Now that the shock has settled in and I can talk about it without crying (just kidding) we decided we would let you know. For various reasons, we are going the NHS route- free medicine- so that means that I have not had any appointments yet. I have spoken to the midwife at my local doctor's surgery and she confirmed my due date with me and said that she would contact the hospital for me and they would send me my first appointment in the post. So, on August 4th I have my first appointment and sonogram- I'll be 13 weeks. Then I have my first appointment with my midwife at 16 weeks. It's been a long wait but I'm okay with it this time around. Part of the reason we paid privately with Cerys was that my first pregnancy was a miscarriage and I was extremely nervous with Cerys, so we paid to see a private doctor and got in at 6 weeks and had sonogram every month. As you can imagine, I'm not thrilled about having another baby here, but I am trusting God with it (not easy for me!) and praying for a quick, smooth delivery this time.

I'm currently 10 weeks and feeling very nauseous and all the rest of it. I hope that will subside soon! I was not sick with Cerys, only hungry all the time. I was slightly nauseated with Bailey, but didn't last this long or this frequently. I told Marc that I've heard many stories and read several blogs since I was last pregnant and that has added to the anxiety this time around and all the "what if's" but so far I've been okay with things and learning to trust God with all that I have and He has been faithful to replace His peace with any anxiety!

So, there you have it. I have not posted much and now you know why. In between feeling sick and the teams of students we've had - well it's just been one crazy summer so far!

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