Merry Christmas!...With Pictures

So, the baby is still a surprise to us! Well, Matt is convinced the baby is a boy, but we don't know for sure. We have the boy/girl ultrasound picture in an envelope. Believe it or not, during the ultrasound, the tech said, "Ok, I'm going to the gender now, do you want to look away?" Matt said, "Let's find out!"

"What??? .... Maybe we should put it in the envelope since I don't think you really want to know right now." He agreed, but peeked anyway! He said he couldn't see anything. He was just peeking real quick and nothing had been shown yet. So, we had her put the picture in the envelope, with some intentions of opening it this Christmas morning. It is still by the tree unopened, and as of right now, we are thinking of trying to hold off till the big day! Call us crazy or patient...but we may just lose patience and tear it open one day. I am quite content having the video for now that I have already watched at least a dozen times trying to see what I can or can't see. :)

Guess what else? Two nights ago, I think I felt movement for the first time. It felt like if you stick your finger in your cheek and pushed on it quickly. Then yesterday morning, I was really hungry, ate breakfast and started drinking all that cold water for the ultrasound. Baby was on the move! At least, I think it was the baby. I was sooo excited! Yes, I drank what I was told (actually, a little less) and the tech had me empty my bladder because it was too full. Umm, the reason for this whole charade again is....?? Oh, and I'm back to my original due date now, May 22nd. So, I'm 19 weeks. I wonder if it'll change again.

They are kind of blurry, but oh well.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

Tomorrow's the day! It's Christmas Eve and the day of our ultrasound! I can't wait to have more pictures to post, and a VHS tape to watch of our baby. Now, let me get this straight. We can see my baby in my womb in great detail, tell whether it's a boy or girl, but they have not become technologically advanced enough to upgrade to DVD? I even have to go to a different place other than my doctor's office where I had my other ultrasounds because... I don't know, they have better technicians and a VCR? Oh well. Any thoughts to make that switch over so it will last? We sent in tapes from our wedding to Walmart, but I think it was like $40 to put them on DVD.

I think the baby will be a surprise, unless the baby wants to flip at the right moment and give us a surprise of his or her own, or if the tech slips up. I'm still super curious, but I know I'll be happy in the end waiting. I tested this theory out a bit. I gave Matt one of his Christmas presents early, on our anniversary. It was a tool I was very excited to give him, one he hadn't even known about! (He loves working on cars and fixing things.) He loved it, but I was disappointed after I gave it to him because I ruined the surprise. I should've waited. I am such a goof. I may spoil the surprise tomorrow anyway...you know, spur of the moment yell out,"Oh, just tell me!" We have also considered having the tech write it on a slip of paper and seal it in an envelope to open on Christmas morning. If we do that, we will definitely open it, unless it's destroyed! We'll know tomorrow!!

Just to Reminisce

Because it was our anniversary, I have to file through some wedding pictures right? So the pregnant woman is a little sappy these days. At least this post should mostly be pictures and not a book like I usually write.


I will never forget the way my groom looked at me.













And, do you know what else? We had another anniversary too. We were married 2 years on the 16th, but Matt had been home for 3 years on the 14th from the Marines the first time, officially beginning our relationship. So, two last pictures to represent that time...and yes, Matt is in that awful suit that almost determined the end of our relationship. Notice the way I'm standing...haha, oh dear, I was thinking, what have I gotten myself into and how do I get out?? Well, young Becky, the biggest blessing of your life, your partner, was led to you by your Creator at this time. Now, hang on!

Our 2nd Anniversary

Today we celebrate 2 years of married life! In some ways, it's been wonderful, and in other ways, it's been quite ordinary. As I type this, Matt is working away trying to fix our broken bathroom faucet...apparently getting sprayed by some water still in the pipes. Just typical every day life things, right?

Matt worked today, but our get-away took place this past weekend. We went to Kansas City, MO. It was a blessing and ...not full of blessings at the same time. It was all expenses paid because the military sent us out. However, it was supposed to be a time to clear up pay issues Matt and the other recalls had during the past year. Well, to make a long story short, the guys are pretty much even more upset about the situation than before the little trip. Personally, I never expected to see the huge amount of money but was appreciative of a little get-away just in time for our anniversary. I won't go into the details right now...maybe another time. I hesitate to write about such topics for fear of being viewed as unpatriotic or unsupportive of the military, which is not the case. In fact, because of my patriotism and support for our troops I have some very strong opinions. Anyway, maybe more later on that...for now, it's our anniversary.

Wow, it is amazing to see where we have been and come to in just one year. Last year, we celebrated by taking a little stroll through Balboa Park after church in San Diego.


We exchanged our Christmas presents on our anniversary because I didn't want to be an emotional basket case during a "happy time." You see, the day after Christmas, I was scheduled to fly home, saying good-bye to my Matt for 7 long months. If most people say the first year of marriage is the most difficult, I'd have to say our first 2 years were the most difficult...haha, and yet, the most wonderful. Reasons for difficulty: really, we've only spent about 5 months of this year #2 together. We only spent about 10 months of year #1 together. I am so thankful we are both home and better spend 12 months of this year #3 together! Needless to say, I'm not letting him out of my sight. Yes, indeed, this weekend Matt received another letter from the Marine Corps asking for additional service. I am thankful my husband has made the personal decision to step out of that role and serve on the civilian side. Being with my Matt is seriously the highlight of any day for me. It doesn't matter what we're doing as long as I'm with him. So, having Matt gone for most of 10 months seemed, at times, unbearable. Though he was so far away, the little communication we had at times, and the blessing of webcam devotionals during longer times, were more than important. Just to hear his voice calmed me in an incredible way. Now, he is home, and he has fixed our faucet!

So, what did we do? We went out to dinner at TGIFriday's. We had a gift card! Horray! We did a little mall walking, mostly to look at baby stuff. Then we treated ourselves to a delicious cup of hot chocolate and a giant cookie to share. Check out the picture! The cookie is delicately placed over my baby bump to show just how big the cookie is. Yes, I'm sure the baby was hopping tonight.




Well, I better spend more time with my husband of 2 years!

On my Way to the Doctor's...

I reached the four month mark and am on my way to my doctor. I can't help but think of this clip as I give up trying to squeeze into pre-pregnancy clothes and go to get weighed again! I know I have a long way to go, but this just makes me roll thinking of my own expansion and weight gain, and afterall, it is the Christmas season. I hope you don't find this inappropriate. Sometimes, I have a weird sense of humor. Laugh with me, won't you?



Even though it is taking some adjustment (ahem, already...sometimes I forget, right Megan?), I am overjoyed by the life growing inside me who is almost 5 inches now!(...and overjoyed that my beard isn't growing as fast as Tim's.) I am just in awe knowing the Lord is shaping, molding, and creating our little baby moment by moment. We're praying our boy or girl grows up to be an older boy and man, or an older girl and woman who seeks after the Lord's heart and becomes the person He made him/her to be. This is going to be a very special Christmas for sure.

I'm just dying of curiousity as to whether this baby is a little boy or girl, but so far, Matt is we are sticking to keeping it a surprise until the big day. (Well, we have 2 more weeks till we really need to make that decision. My ultrasound is scheduled for Christmas Eve!) To help my antsy-ness, I've been taking some polls to see what other people's guesses are. So, from now until we know for sure, please share with me your hunch, boy or girl?