Crazy couple of weeks for the house and baby!!

Wow, has it been a crazy couple of weeks. Great, productive weeks for the house...but a nervous, unpredictable week for the little guy.

We'll start with the house:

Framing is complete with the plywood and house wrap on! Roof framing started and completed. The shingles are on. Some interior detail framing started. So, now the slow parts start...

Framing going up:

Roof Framing about half way complete:

House wrap on and roof framing complete:

Porch

Keeping room, looking out on to porch:

Keeping room looking toward the kitchen:

As for baby...

Monday, I went for my 20 week appointment and ultrasound. A couple of things have been bothering me lately...Mainly at work. My legs and feet have already started swelling (not to mention a lot of aches and pains) which I thought was too early at 19 weeks. I generally feel pretty terrible all the time. But I have been sucking it up...knowing that he will be worth it!!

When I went for my ultrasound, everything looked great with him...no problems. But they noticed that my cervix was thinner than last time...going from around 4 cm down to 2.8. This really bothered me at 20 weeks, but didn't seem to bother my doctor as long as I wasn't having any other issues. She just told me to call or come in if I felt any bit of tightness, heaviness, cramping, etc.

Soooo...I went to work on Wednesday and was pretty upset most of the day. I will admit I was nervous, but felt that something wasn't quite right. After my 12 o'clock rounds, I started having some pain in my lower abdomen that wouldn't go away when I sat down. I started thinking that I was being really paranoid. I even thought maybe it could just be in my head since I was so worried after Monday's appointment. But after about 30 minutes to an hour, it didn't go away...so I called my doctor. They called back and wanted me to come in.

When I went in my blood pressure was pretty high, and they did a repeat ultrasound...

The ultrasound showed about the same cervical length (yay), but that my cervix was starting to open up a little (what?!?!?). Ummmm....not good. So, the doctor reassured me that I did exactly what I should have done by calling and coming in...and... to plan on being out of work and in the bed as much as possible. I will admit....this is pretty scary to me. At 20 weeks, I don't want my cervix changing AT ALL.

All I can do now is rest, and pray that God will take care of us.

I have another ultrasound in a couple of weeks to see if anything has changed...

20 week pics :)

16-18 weeks prego!! Foundation complete and Framing underway!!

September 26th- the foundation started!! The block and masonry went up pretty quick, and with the exception of a couple of little things, they were finished the same week. Our lot slopes a bit, and the foundation is quite tall in the back. So, we were pleased that they completed the bricking in a week. :)

On to the pics:

Foundation complete!

Bricking almost complete!


Tuesday, October 4th, the floor framing started. That took a couple of days to complete. The remainder of the week, they laid out a lot of the walls and most of the exterior walls went up!! We can now see it coming together. For the longest time we talked and talked about it...then we looked at it on paper...and now it is becoming a reality...it is just crazy!!

Floor framing started

Floor framing complete :)

We have walls!!

Yay!!

The day the walls went up, Will and I were walking around the inside, and I asked him to pinch me. I sometimes feel like all of this is too good to be true. The beginning of this year was so incredibly difficult...filled with so much heartache, and doubt, and pain. Now, here we are, seven months later, with a perfect, healthy little boy kicking inside me, giving us so much hope for the future. And as if that wasn't enough, now we get to create a home for the three of us. It is unimaginable the blessings God has given us.


Speaking of baby.... :) :)

At about 17 weeks, Jaynah Ruth and Andrew came for a visit. This is probably the last time I'll see her before Baby James makes his arrival in a few weeks...So, a belly shot was a must. (but we won't talk about how my belly looks as big as the one giving birth next month... ha!)

18 weeks at my parent's house!!

The little guy seems to be doing great. At about 16 weeks, I started feeling him move everyday. It amazes me every time I feel him. His kicks are getting a lot stronger. Will got to feel him for the first time the other day. And now, I can see my belly jump when he kicks hard. I know, I'll probably be in pain from this later on...but for now...it never gets old and I love every second. ;)





To think that 13 weeks ago...they said I was going to lose you...





God is good...Praying everything continues to go well with our little miracle baby...

Demo is Done!!

Demo started on September 1st, Will's Birthday! I don't know if it was the greatest birthday present to come home and find your house torn apart.... But progress is progress. ;) It only took a couple of weeks to finish the demo. Here are some pics of the disaster in progress...

Before Demo...

Going....

Going....


Gone!!!





September 19th, grading started. The footings were poured....and then the rain came for days... So, some time was lost.


But, today, September 26, the foundation is going up!

As for us, things are going great. Baby is growing and growing...and I am growing and growing (a lot faster than I expected)....ha. I am 16 weeks today. We found out on our last ultrasound that it looks like a boy, and we are super excited!! This little guy is definitely a thrill seeker. I just hope that he doesn't like to go to the ER as many time outside of the womb as he does inside... He has always been ridiculously active on all of our ultrasounds, and I've felt his little flutters quite a bit.
The flutters are starting to feel a little different now...maybe since he is getting bigger. Right now, he is measuring a week ahead in his height and weight! Will and I picked out some furniture this weekend...but the nursery needs a LOT of work before it can go in there!

Here are a couple of pregnancy pics:

12, almost 13 weeks

15 weeks

Our Renovation has FINALLY started!!

When Will and I bought our house almost a year ago, we knew this was going to be our forever house. The house to start a family, raise a family...to grow old in. We knew that this was THE house. Little did we know that we would be faced with so many trials and challenges in the upcoming year with not only the house, but more importantly with starting a family
(among MANY other things). This has definitely been the most difficult year of our lives. After a lot of answered prayers, we finally feel like we are getting a fresh start! I decided to create a blog to capture this exciting time in our lives!

Soooo...our Vision...

We loooove almost everything about our house...except the back part. There is an original two story part of the house...and then the "additions". The "additions" are not exactly practical, aesthetically pleasing, or safe. They just don't do justice to the rest of the house. Sooo... our thoughts...take the additions off and completely start over. You can see on the plans that then we'll replace the tiny (and very ugly) kitchen with a new, updated and open one. A new master bath and additional half bath will replace the old bath that you can barely turn around in. And then some additional bonuses for our growing family...like a walk in pantry...a family/keeping room...and drum roll please...an indoor laundry room. Ha!

Our existing Floor Plan:


Our new Floor Plan:



Current views of the side of the house:

New Elevations:


Existing Views of the back and other side of the house:

New Elevations:

And some elevations inside the house:

I think you can click on all of the photos if you want a closer view! :)

I can't believe this is finally happening!! We have hoped for this for a long time. The house...well...is ultimately just a house.
To have a life growing inside me is what we have really hoped for... It is unimaginable sometimes. It seems like a dream come true, and I thank God for His blessings, and His Grace, and His mercy in our lives.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

We thank God for the abundant blessings, and ask that He guide us while
We Make Our House a Home. :)

A lot more updates to come soon!!!