Baby Shower #1 - Family & Friends

(Since we don't know if it's a girl or a boy, "Duckies" was the theme.)

So last Saturday (September 10th), my mother-in-law and sister-in-law threw me the most amazing baby shower ever. Now, I'll admit that it's been years (and years and years) since I've been to a baby shower, but I truly could not imagine a more wonderful one. I was blessed to be able to have my Mom & Dad travel in from South Carolina for the event, and there were many other family and friends who also showed up to make our day special. Having so many share in our joy & excitement is just...beyond words. We were so thankful for each and every person who came or sent something, and their generosity to us knew no bounds. This is definitely going to be one blessed baby!

Here's all the grandparents (plus an aunt) with an amazing gift---the grandparents went in together to get us this incredible glider. I can already picture using it for all of our kids & having it as a family tradition. Love, love, love it!

3rd Trimester!

Even though this technically happened last week, we made it---we entered the 3rd and final trimester! I cannot even describe how crazy that sounds. It seems like I always hear people talking about how long pregnancy drags on, and while I have no doubt I will feel that way at the very end, so far it has been flying by.

I've found that other than the extended sickness that took place during the entire 1st trimester and first 1/2 of the 2nd, I have been blessed with an easy pregnancy. I probably turn a little whiney sometimes about my aching hips when I try to sleep, but other than that I really have no complaints.

Everything has gone swimmingly well, with Baby Ryals and I always receiving a good report at check-ups. Our one scare was when I failed the 1-hour glucose tolerance test. For this test they have you go in to the lab, drink a super-sugary orange drink, & then test your blood one hour to later to check how your body is handling sugars (apparently pregnancy can mess with your insulin and cause you some blood-sugar issues, known as gestational diabetes). At the one-hour check my body apparently wasn't handling it very well because I failed by 12 points. This meant having to go back to the lab to do a 3-hour version of the test. I was SO nervous about having gestational diabetes. I know that it can often be diet controlled, and if not by diet alone then by insulin, but I just hated the thought that something might increase our chances of problems; I just wanted everything to be ok. Thankfully it was, and even though my second 1-hour check was still too high, at the 2-hr and 3-hr points I was within the normal range. Now, things weren't perfect---I was at the high end of normal, so to be safe the doctor advised me to proceed as if I have mild glucose intolerance. That meant cutting out most sweets and limiting processed carbs. After finding this out I proceeded to research and started refining my diet. I made homemade waffles with wheat flour so that I could eat one with peanut butter for breakfast each morning (one, this provided more complex carbs than processed, and two, eating it with protein helps slow the absorption of the carbs), I also made whole wheat bread to eat for lunch as a sandwich sometimes, cut out the nightly sweets I'd been eating (oh my have a had a baking sweet tooth this pregnancy! brownies and cupcakes and cookies, oh my!), etc.

I've also finally added in some walks, which is something I've been wanting to do but haven't found the motivation for until now. So far things are going well and I'm feeling fine. I'm just praying it's enough to keep baby happy & healthy. Only 11 more weeks and we'll meet this little one. And this next month will be busy---I have a family and friends baby shower being thrown by my awesome mother-in-law and sister-in-law, we'll be taking some birthing classes at the hospital, working on finishing the nursery....*Gulp* So much to do!

Half Way There!

We are very happy to announce that we have made it 1/2 way through the pregnancy! I [Lindsey] cannot lie---these have definitely been some challenging weeks/months---but the morning sickness is finally passing and things are starting to seem more real (oh look, my tummy's growing, there really must be a baby in there!). While I'm just now starting to feel the baby move a little, Trey & I are both anxiously waiting for when our little one can be felt from the outside. I think that then it will REALLY seem more real. We had a treat this past week though in that it was time for the 20 week ultrasound. They call this an "anatomy scan" and it's when they look closely at all the baby's development (organs, bones, etc). We are thrilled to have a clean bill of health, though Baby Ryals was certainly uncooperative. He/she (we opted not to find out the gender) kept turning away, and when they tried to get a good face shot, the little thing just arches its back & threw its head back and away from the ultrasound wand (or whatever they call it). It was actually quite funny, though I would have loved some more pictures too. Ahhh well, such is life with a baby --- it's not all about MY wants anymore. ;-)

1) Look at that sweet little profile, complete with a cute little nose, lips, & chin!

2) Not sure if baby is sucking its thumb or getting ready to rock-out (that's what my sister-in-law thinks), but I like it!

Our Biggest Project EVER...

Ok, I know that it's been FOREVER since I've written anything on here, but I think you'll forgive me when you find out what our newest project is. It is by far the BIGGEST project we have ever taken on, as individuals or as husband & wife: IT'S A BABY!!!! That's right, we will be adding a new member to our family come this November (an estimated date of Nov 13, 2011 to be exact). We really cannot come up with words to express our excitement, terror, happiness, fear....so many emotions run through you in the days, weeks, & months after first finding out the big news. For us it was an especially big shock as we had been trying for awhile and were actually facing the possibility of having to go through medical tests. God has his timing though and even when I thought it was yet another month down with no baby, He was waiting to surprise me. I couldn't even believe my eyes with the positive test (I'd actually taken it to prove to myself I WASN'T pregnant)---I had to hurry up & put my contacts in so that I could look at it again. Talk about a great surprise! We've been having fun since that time thinking & dreaming of our little one. So far the only verification of the little life has been 1) me being constantly sick from 6 weeks pregnant to just this week (15 weeks; that's a total of 9 weeks of being sick pretty much every waking moment; thankfully the anti-sickness meds finally seem to be enough to overcome the hormones that make you feel sick), and 2) the ultrasound/Doppler that let us hear our little one & see his/her preciousness. Don't believe me? Look below:

See? Cutest little thing ever!!! Nothing could ever describe the first view, or watching your little one's arms & legs spazzing out when he/she gets upset by the pressure of the ultrasound wand...Incredible. God is just incredible, this gift is incredible, and the journey we're on is incredible. Stay tuned, I'm sure we'll have many adventures to share over the coming months (and not just about the baby!).

Where Does the Time Go?

I don't know about anybody else's January, but ours seems to be FLYING by! It's been a pretty good start to 2011: We've both got jobs (ones that we actually enjoy), we're editing our diets again and losing some more weight, Jacquimo and the girls are happy and healthy...It's been good. But man it's been fast. I truly hope the rest of the year doesn't go this quickly. We have hopes and dreams for the year, which of course we look forward to realizing, but I don't want to go through everything at a break-neck speed. The older I get the faster time seems to go and the more precious it seems to be. Ironic, huh? Hope all of you are having a wonderful start to year, and here's to more good months!

Happy New Year!!!

We can't believe it but another year has come and gone. Where did 2010 go? It has been quite a year. This year has had its shares of ups and downs, that's for sure. There was a cold but wonderful trip to Destin, Florida, chickens, birthdays galore, a great summer vacation where we visited multiple friends and family, redecorating, a visit to the ER, the world's worst teaching job for me, traveling to see family for Thanksgiving, the Ryals Family Christmas (Trey walked away from the "Mean Santa" game with instant Starbucks coffee; I got a knife and flashlight...), a new and wonderful job for me, and Christmas itself. *Whew* We are so thankful though for God's provision this year and for our health, marriage, friends and family. We cannot wait to see what 2011 holds in store for us, and pray for God's continued guidance and work in our lives. We have a lot of dreams for this coming year, and as quickly as 2010 flew by, they could come true at any moment! We hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas season as well, and Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving Memories

Yay--Thanksgiving, one of my favorite times of the year! God was good and even though it didn't look like we were going to get the chance, we got to go see my family up near Chicago. Because they're so far away we only get to see them a couple times year, so it really meant a lot. The time home was just amazing. It was nice and relaxing, but beyond that it was great to spend time with everyone. We played games, checked out the Apple Orchard, went to Lake Geneva, went to the lighting of the square in Woodstock (the pic above was taken then--it was SO COLD--like, 17-degrees cold or something crazy), watched Elf, ate the BEST Thanksgiving meal ever...It was awesome. Nothing can take the place of family and the time spent with them. Thankfully we'll actually get to see them again in just a couple weeks when my lil' sis graduates from college (boy is that a crazy thing to think about!). That definitely made leaving easier this time. The in-laws will be back just before that too and it will be excellent to see them again as well. It'll be a week of "family reunions" and I can't wait! Now if I could just find a job...