So, here is a progression of the bump. For the first 3 months of pregnancy I couldn't wait to have a bump, I literally would pray for a bump to start forming, and I would walk around with my belly inflated... I was almost worried because I wasn't showing and I felt like I was pretending when we told people we were having a baby. I haven't been sick, I haven't been irritable, I haven't had any weird cravings... I am not complaining! I am SO thankful for an easy and non eventful pregnancy. It took until the 21 week mark to see a little pooch beginning to show (see below).
14 weeks Pregnant 19 weeks Pregnant 21 weeks Pregnant
(P.S.: these faces I am making are not on purpose, I wasn't planning to share these images... But, sometimes you just have a "selfie" face and these are mine... so you are welcome!)
21 weeks Pregnant 23 weeks Pregnant 25 weeks Pregnant
It has been SO fun to be pregnant! Due to positioning of the baby and the placenta (aka: the life sack for Baby Rouse) I wasn't able to start feeling flutters and kicks until about week 22 and NOW Rouse Mouse is VERY active, especially after I over indulge in chips and salsa/guacamole/queso OR orange juice! We are still patiently waiting for the day that Clint can feel his son/daughter move and kick around in their little nest! With 14 weeks left (YIKES... yes 14 WEEKS left!) we know Clint will feel them soon!
Pregnancy is one of the most beautiful things I have ever gotten to be a part of. The Lord has reminded me of some of His sweet truths through all of this. That He takes things (aka our faith and Baby Rouse Mouse) that are the size of a mustard seed and grows them up to be used by the Lord in a unique way.
"Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?
It is like a mustard seed, which man took and planted in his garden.
It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches."
Luke 13:18-19
How remarkable is it that this baby we will hold in 14 short weeks began as the size of a mustard seed? And right now, it is the size of a head of lettuce! So, our prayer for you little Rouse Mouse is that you would grow STRONG in the Lord and that you would be used in a mighty way so that people may come to know Jesus through you. Grow little mustard seed grow! Grow mighty and strong!
Gosh, and how can a pregnant lady with raging hormones not weep when she reads this truth from Psalm 139 (from The Message):
"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day."
So...in all of these changes of my body and gaining of pounds and curves I have never had before, I choose to celebrate the work the Lord has chosen for me to do in being a part of this new creation and life inside of me. Would you pray for a selfless heart for me today?
Thankful for each of you!
