The Home Stretch.

Here we go...listening to how Sara is feeling, we are now in the home stretch. Just to let y'all know, you should be on standby to hear that Gabriella is coming this way. On Monday, December 1st we had a very anticipated and somewhat surprising doctor's visit. Sara had an ultrasound and we got to see just how cramped little Gabriella is and also that she weighs a whopping 7lbs 8oz! Praise Jesus, Gabriella is very healthy and Sara is very healthy as well. Although both Sara and baby are healthy, doesn't mean that all is peaches and cream in Sara's field. As you all know, she is built small and the task of carrying around a seven a half pound baby in her belly is really taking a toll on her. I know she can't wait to feel like her sprightly old self again and not like a marsupial with a sore back that can't find a comfortable position to sleep in.

I don't mean to make it seem as if Sara is miserable all of the time, I just feel bad that I cannot help comfort her and take away some of the anxiety that is naturally coming her way. Anyway, we are very excited and look forward very much to being able to alert everyone that Gabriella is coming. We were also excited this past Wednesday when we were able to visit the Biltmore Estate. The Christmas decorations were beautiful and we had a great time but it was nice to come back home and rest next our own Christmas decor.

This should catch everyone up on everything...except one last thing.

On Friday, December 12th, Sara will be graduating from the University of Tennessee with her Master's Degree in Nursing. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew;)

Stephen

24 weeks...

I was taking pictures of Sara in our garden and I came away with this beauty...nice huh? Or I could've snapped one while she rested during a recent trip to the Biltmore Estate.

So we have reached our mark of 24 weeks and according to Sara, this is a big milestone for both her and the baby. Gabriella is weighing in at roughly two pounds! She's growing like a weed and kicking the whiz out of her mommy. We've actually enjoyed being able to sit and watch Sara's belly dance as Gabi gives her a sharp jab with a knee, elbow, heel or even the occasional head butt.

At our last ultrasound, a couple of weeks ago, we learned that she is looking to be a week ahead of schedule. So instead of sitting on pins and needles around New Year's, Sara might be sending me out on Christmas Eve to pick up "Baby's 1st Christmas" ornaments and stocking. We'll just have to wait and see! She's gonna be a sweet baby, but you don't have to take our word for it...

Here is a profile shot of Gabriella. Her face on the right is looking up so it gives you an idea

I know this is a hard one to tell, but if you look real close and hard you can see her foot. By my count, she has 5 perfect little toes...I can't wait to gobble 'em up.

I don't if you can see it, but she's waving at us in this one. And I think she was telling us it's only 5 more months until she gets to see us (this was an ultrasound from July). The biggest part is her belly, face is looking up on the right with her hand directly above it.

Stay tuned...we are going for a 3D/4D ultrasound on September 24th and are sure to get some great detailed shots.

Stephen

Time to catch you up

Ok, so it's only been about 5 months since we wrote last, so there may be a little to catch you up on, such as; Sara's boards, Sara's school, Stephen's job, and general family news. Oh and the random pictures here are from the two trips we took to the Biltmore Estate in March and April.



Sara's boards were actually delayed until the first week of February because the school was being very lazy with sending in the students' registration information for the exams. After it was all said and done, Sara aced 'em! That's right, there were a minimum of 75 questions and everytime you answered one correctly the questions got more difficult and say if you missed one, you would have to take 76 questions, and well...Sara only had to answer 75 questions! She's so smart it hurts my head.

Meanwhile, she's been kicking butt in her classes and she's been dominating her clinicals at a family practice in Oak Ridge much like Shaq dominated in the late '90s. She'll continue her clinicals through the summer too.

Since the last few weeks of December, I have been working exclusively at my old company Sport Seasons. In January they came to me and asked me to help them manage the store at Knoxville Center mall. The commute stinks, but I enjoy the work and it's been great while I search for a new job in the financial world.

On Saturday April 19th, Sara and I went to the Dollar General in Farragut and purchased two tests. At first they seemed to each produce a negative result, but when a few minutes passed, the faintest pink line showed up. We were elated but still nervous because the tests say the results are invalid after 5 mins, and it had been around 6 or 7. Sunday we took two more tests and one was negative and the other (digital test) read "error." Having no idea what this meant for us, we went to the dr.'s office on Monday for routine bloodwork for Sara and asked them if they could run a pregnancy test as well. The nurse appeared out of the back and told us the test was negative. I was crushed, speechless and worried about Sara all at the same time. Deep down, I was embarrassed for the nurse because I knew she was wrong, I just knew it. After she saw the disappointment on our faces she kindly said she would run another test using a different method. When she appeared the second time there was the faintest pink line, but just faint enough to cause doubt and hope at the same time.



At about 12pm the next day, the lab called Sara to tell her where her hormone levels were at, and also by the way to tell her, we are in fact:

PREGNANT!!!!!!!

I'm going to be a daddy!

Sara's going to be a mommy!

And we're going to parents!

That's right, all moms and dads, you're going to be grandparents, all brothers and sisters, you're going to be uncles and aunts.

Stay tuned for more news...