Some Picture Fun

I'm on a roll posting lately! I decided to include some pictures on here of what we have been up to. Enjoy!

First, we start with Dapple. This is after I caught him and his brother tearing their bed apart. Can we say caught red-handed? Or atleast, caught string-mouthed!

And next, Pete and Dapple enjoying the warm laundry sheets on the bed. They slept on the sheet 3 hours before I finally kicked them off so I could finish making our bed!!

Trey and I enjoying some snow cream (snow ice cream) on our day of 6 inches of snow. Yay!

Here is proof that it did snow (sadly, Trey and I forgot to take a picture together in the snow. We were too busy throwing snow balls!). Here are Pete and Dapple traipsing through the snow first thing in the morning. They were hilarious!

Plumber Trey before we took our entire washing machine apart to find out why it wouldn't drain. And I am proud to say I helped him the entire 3 hours he worked on it! I am also proud to say that we saved ourselves at least $100, because we fixed the problem without having to call a repair guy or buy a new machine!

Our first piece of furniture for sweet Kate's room! My friend Jenny gave me this white bedside table. We're still working on the more important pieces of furniture...you know, like a crib, dresser, changing table, etc.

And lastly, I leave you with this video. This is Trey attempting to show my niece Marilee how to do a hand stand. Only...it didn't go as planned for him. The funniest part is Marilee's commentary in the background. And don't worry, no children or small animals were harmed in the filming of this video!

the bump

Ok, ok, I have heard the requests, and I will now post some pics of the baby bump! It's just so much working moving the pictures from my phone to the computer, then finding the time to pic the good ones and load them onto the blog...

Alas, I will post the pics from the bump began to noticeable with a shirt on (though it is tiny to you, it felt HUGE to me!).

16 weeks. We knew we were having a girl at this point!

17/18 weeks. I grew a lot during the Christmas break. Not sure exactly when this was taken.

20 weeks. Took this at work...lovely, eh?

21 weeks.

 

22 weeks. Here are a couple shots of this week:

I am aware that most of these pictures were taken by me. I will attempt to have cuter poses in the future, perhaps enlisting Trey Holmes as my photographer. I just don't ever think about it except in the morning when I'm first ready (and looking a little decent). Hope you enjoyed the pics. Little Kate is growing fast and furiously! According to What to Expect When You're Expecting, she will double in weight this month, from 1 pound to 2 pounds!

Week 21 Survey

Well, I'm clearly not very good at doing these surveys. We are well into our second trimester, and it has definitely been my favorite trimester, by far!!

How far along? 21 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 12 pounds

Maternity clothes? YES. I love maternity clothes. This week I will get my first pair of maternity jeans from the Gap (the only place I can get them long enough), and I can't wait!! I've been using the belly band with my normal jeans, and while it's great, I will be glad to not have to deal with an extra band holding my pants up.

Stretch marks? Nope. Mom didn't get them, so I'm hoping I don't, either.

Sleep: Not so great these days. I have to use the restroom multiple times at night, and then I have difficulty sleeping on my sides so it's hard to get back to sleep. But when I am asleep, it's still good sleep.

Best moment this week: Painting Kate's room the sweetest color pink with Trey

Worst moment this week: can't think of anything

Movement: So much. I love feeling that little girl flutter around in there. Sometimes she jabs, other times it's more of a flutter.

Food cravings: fruit, salad, beef. I actually crave lots and lots of beef. And I love to start my day off with some bacon!

Belly Button in or out? in, but it's not as deep as it used to be!

Wedding rings on or off? on

Weekly Wisdom: working on that little girl's room slowly but trying to get it all done before the final countdown. I don't want to feel rushed and stressed!

Milestones: painting Kate's room

To Marme, Pops, GrandMary, and Papa

This post is especially for the grandparents of Kate. Most of you might think the videos I'm about to post are pretty cool, but you don't want to spend the time watching them in their entirety. That is totally OK with me. These videos are especially for the grandparents. Since they live far away and don't have the opportunity to come with us to an appointment, we have filmed two of Kate's sonograms. The first one is when she was 16 weeks. We had this one only to see if we could determine the sex of the baby. The second two are clips from our appointment this past Friday when she was 20 weeks. It is so neat to see the changes in her growth in just four weeks! She is a cutie pie. She wiggles around so much during the sonograms. I love it! Enough said, here are the videos!

The next video is the first part of our sonogram at 20 weeks. About 30 seconds into this one you can see Kate move her arms around like she's dancing. In the next two videos, you will also see a clear shot of her four-chambered heart, the two hemispheres of her brain, and her little feet. Enjoy!

Catching Up

Well, I'm sitting in my living room in Canton after being gone for over two weeks. My trip home to Georgia was simply amazing. Family time was much needed and very special. Plus, we were all there together the whole time - dad, mom, Jason, Gretchen, and me. It was very neat to have the Jones 5 together for an extended amount of time. I can sum up our time together with just a few words of description: food, shopping, laughter, movies, rest, dogs. It was simply wonderful.

My trip started off Thursday Dec 17. I am thankful to Gretchen for graduating from college early so I had an excuse to go home extra early. I am so proud of her for all the hard work she put into her college career, and I believe the habits and discipline she's established in life will allow her to achieve great heights for the Kingdom.

Unfortunately, we did have a brief stint of sickness in the house. Dad was the first to come down with this dreaded stomach flu, and two nights later it hit mom and I full force. Thankfully no one else had it the rest of the time I was there, but it did hit Gretchen this past Saturday. It is a nasty booger of a virus that renders you utterly weak and exhausted. Still, it did not conquer our family time. We still had such special time together.

When Trey arrived we had a blast watching my parents' and Jason's dogs (Buzz and Grey) play with our boys, Pete and Dapple. They were all four so hilarious, and they provided plenty of entertainment. Trey and I got to visit the Gazaways one evening, a family of 8 (6 kids) that I babysat beginning in middle school and through college. This family is family to me, so it was special time with them. Trey and I also had breakfast with my old pastor, Frank, and his wife Mary. We enjoyed converstaion with them for about two hours at a Cracker Barrel! Lots of fun.

And of course the most important event for us, telling my family about Kate. I'll upload the video later, as well as pictures. We had a blast celebrating and shopping for my little girl. I even bought some bedding that is incredibly cute and was incredibly cheap.  Two big milestones. First, I am showing now (there is no doubt). It was crazy, but it seems like in a week I went from kind of showing to definitely having a baby bump. I was extra hungry that week, so I guess little Kate was going through a growth spurt or something. Second, I have felt her move! I can feel those little bubbly feelings in my tummy almost daily now. It is so neat to feel her in moving around in there.

Another update soon. I'll even post baby bump pics once I can get copies of the great pics Gretchen took. She is a master photographer :). Love to all!

And the Gender is...

BABY GIRL! That's right, next June (or May if she decides to come a few days early) Trey and I will be welcoming sweet little Kathryn Elizabeth Holmes into the world. We will call her Kate.

At our Wednesday appt, we were supposed to only hear the baby's heartbeat and check my weight, blood pressure, etc. We decided to see if Dr. Haddock would let us take a sneak peak to try and find out the gender. I'm 16 weeks at this point, and most doctors like to wait until at least 18 weeks. But it is Christmastime, and we thought we could appeal to this if she needed convincing. Only, no convinving was needed. When Trey asked, Dr. Haddock said "Sure, I have no problem with that. Let me just make sure Jules (the sono tech) has some free time." Easy enough. And sure enough, Jules was busy but so willing to accomodate us. I just love my doctor and her staff.

It was so fun seeing our little one bounce around on the screen. She is one active little baby now. It was difficult getting an accurate heart rate reading because she moved so much. And she looks like a little baby now!! The first three sonograms we saw (weeks 7-9) she was just a little peanut on the screen. Now she has a head, arms, legs, and a belly filled with food from her mommy. It took Jules a little while of shaking my tummy to get our little girl to uncross her legs...she was just a little modest. We didn't mind waiting because it was so neat watching her. I don't know how people really understand those sonograms without help. Sometimes I couldn't tell what was what until Jules explained it, and sometimes I couldn't even tell after she explained it! When Jules said, "This is a little baby...GIRL!" we were both shocked. We are having a girl. Wow.

It all seems so much more real when you know the gender and have a sono picture of the profile of your baby. When we got home from our appointment, I went straight to Wal Mart and walked around the baby section, looking at all the sweet little girl clothes. I laid awake most of that night thinking over and over, "a little baby girl, a little baby girl." I can't believe it. I just knew we were having a boy, for no other reason than I just thought that's what we were having. I am so excited to have a little girl, though. Really, all I want is a healthy baby, and I'd be thrilled to have a boy or a girl. What a blessing that the Lord is giving us a sweet little girl!

Kate is named after her grandmother (Kathryn is my mom's middle name) and her aunt (Elizabeth is my sister's middle name), two godly women who have been instrumental in my life. Her name means "pure" and "consecrated to God." Exactly what we want our little girl to be! I look forward to watching Trey be the daddy to our sweet girl. He is going to be amazing. He is already madly and tenderly in love with her. It is so precious.

Thanks for your prayers and for sharing in our excitement. We love you all!

A Life Lesson from Wesley Adam Mills, Jr.

Last weekend (Saturday after Thanksgiving), Trey and I went to a funeral for our friends' baby who died in the womb. At their 2nd trimester ultrasound, Welsey Adam was diagnosed with a terminal illness called anencephaly. Wesley survived a 31 weeks in his mother's womb, at which time the Lord called him to Heaven.

As we prepared to drive to the funeral (we were in Odessa so had to leave at 5AM to make it on time to the Fort Worth funeral), I prepared myself mentally and spiritually for this service. There would be a tiny casket, and it would hold the body of a stillborn baby. With all the fears I've battled this pregnancy, I did not want this to be another way Satan gets hold in my life and robs me of the joy this pregnancy brings. Even as I prayed, I felt God comforting me.

The service was a beautiful one. While the loss was real and difficult to grasp, there was such a palatable reminder of hope throughout the service. Psalm 139 struck a chord in my spirit as they read and proclaimed its truth. Even before we are formed in the womb, God in all His wisdom and love has our days numbered. This brings me such comfort. What happened to little Wesley Adam wasn't some cosmic accident. His life wasn't a waste. Though brief, his 31 weeks in the womb proved powerful and glorifying to the Lord. People have heard of God's redemptive love because of the Mill's story. And God's grace has sustained them through this difficult time. That little baby boy, loved and cherished by the Lord, was not once alone or forgotten by God. There was no need to fear, ever, for God had everything in His control.

All the fears I've battled before and during this pregnancy do not take this Truth into account. Fears do not recognize God's power, knowledge, and involvement in our lives. Our little baby in my womb is completely in God's control and sustained only by His life-giving power. Nothing can harm our baby without God's foreknowledge. I can rest in that. And I can also rest in the fact that whatever comes our way in the future, whether it pertains to our children, our jobs, our family, whatever comes our way, at that time God's grace will sustain us. Just as He has graciously sustained the Mills family in this terribly difficult time in their journey. Today has enough worries of its own for me to be fretting over what may or may not come tomorrow. I have to trust, I have to faith in God that when those storms in life come, He will be there to sustain us with grace, hope, and peace. He is enough.