This is me

I have to begin by saying that I am so proud of the place that I grew up. Its kept me grounded and humble. I dont take things for granted. I'm sure a lot of this has to do with the people that raised me (and I sure am proud of those people too) but I just feel like if I had grown up in a big city in another state I wouldn't appreciate the little things in life. I enjoy the fact that my life doesn't have to be fast paced if I dont want it to be. Its calm, quiet, and really peaceful. One day I pray that I'll be able to move into a nice country home surrrounded by fields of corn or wheat...and I am glad that my children will get to experience the same upbringing that I had as a child. I'm not saying that my life was perfect but all the happy memories I have of my childhood are being outside in the fresh crisp air of the country life.

So speaking of children, I have exciting news pertaining to the future of my little family. We have a beautiful baby growing inside my body and we are very overjoyed that we are expanding our family. Ish will have a little sibling to play and grow with. I am staying optimistic that he will be a wonderful, caring, loving big brother! I'm sure it will not be an easy transition but he has been such a wonderful child so far and I expect that to continue no matter how many times we bring another child into our home. I am in my 14th week of pregnancy and in a couple weeks we have another appointment to go see the doctor. I am hoping that its an ultrasound appt but I highly doubt it will be. Everything seems to be going smoothly, I have not had any morning sickness other than feeling slightly nauseated during the early weeks. I am taking good care of myself, exercising 5 times a week and doing my best to eat healthy foods. I want to make sure that I give my growing baby the best nutrients while also monitoring my weight gain. I really can't imagine gaining another 50 pounds for this pregnancy like I did with my first. Our due date is July 7, 2011 but because of the C-section my doctor says I will be able to schedule the birth for at least a week before that. So if everything goes well we will have a June baby in our house. My first concern is that he/she be a healthy-mentally & physically- newborn, but deep down I am hoping for a girl. I think Steve and I have also confirmed that (God-willing) this will NOT be our last child. We have completely fallen in love with watching Ish grow up and we want to experience that joy a least a couple more times. My doctor says that realistically its not medically smart to have more than 4 children born via C-section so we have to take that into account. I say as long as we feel like my body is healthy enough, we will continue to bear children.