13 weeks..and lots of NEWS!

woohoo! We are in our last week of the first trimester.. I can't believe it! This is a huge milestone, as the percentage of miscarriage has basically diminished (around 3%). Sweetpea now has his/her own unique set of fingerprints, and is now beginning to go pee-pee in my womb. I think that is just too funny not to mention!

Our blood test results for a nuchal translucency combined screening came back this week as NORMAL, which means the chances of Sweetpea having any chromosomal diseases are unlikely. Such good news! I also found out that I have a Vitamin D deficiency, and if you saw me you would know why- I cannot tell you the last time I was out in the sun! I really believe that not being outside is the reason for my deficiency (most of the reason for not getting out has been because of sickness). Speaking of- my sickness ramped back up, but I am keeping my hopes up that it will be over this week..

OUR BIG NEWS:
We are moving to Florida in 8 DAYS! Daniel and I had already made the decision we wanted to start our family in Lakeland, and now that we are family of 3-to-be it has become a reality! The Lord provided our need for a job there, and now we are packing up to head to the Sunshine State! (maybe no more Vitamin D deficiency for me now) We are moving into a townhouse, but I prefer to call it a condo so that I can say I lived in a condo in Florida.. sounds way more fun haha! We are so excited, especially now that Sweetpea will have a nursery now :)

Ok.. time for baby bump pics:

I think I popped out this week... what do you think ?
Get ready for Bama/Tennessee pictures next week!

12 weeks.

I'm a day late, but we are now in week 12 of pregnancy! We went to our 12 week appointment on Friday and I could have watched Sweetpea all day if they would have let us. After a few minutes of our ultrasound tech explaining different things she was measuring and looking for, she started to take still shots of different parts of the body and Sweetpea woke up to say "hello"! I cannot explain the joy of seeing our child start kicking, punching, and squirming around! It was probably the coolest thing I have ever seen :) Everything they look for at 12 weeks looked great according to the doctor, and Sweetpea's heart rate was 161!
After the ultrasound, I had my finger pricked, got a flu shot, and had lab-work drawn at the endocrinologist's office. I would leave out those details but I was so proud of myself for doing all that in one day because of my weakness to needles.
On a side note, my sickness is almost completely gone.. just some queasiness at night and some mornings. I could not have gone through these past 8 weeks of all day sickness without my sweet husband, who took care of me and managed our home as a 2nd full-time job. Sweetpea has an amazing father!
Last but not least, pictures:

My "bump" is more noticeable than these pictures give justice to..

More updates for Team Wilson next week!

11 weeks!

29 weeks to go! Okay, so maybe it is a little too early to count down.. I'll just count up for now.

As I write this week's post, I must admit I have no idea what to say. It is really hard to believe that I am already 11 weeks into this pregnancy- almost through the first trimester! This time has flown by so fast!
Our baby has gone from being a ball of cells to becoming a fetus with most vital organs in place and starting to function. Our Sweetpea is kicking and stretching alot now but I can't feel it yet, and even has tiny details like fingernails, hair, and tooth buds coming in already! I am in love with every detail of our growing child, and I am so thankful for the medical advancements today that allow me to picture week by week how the Lord is knitting this sweet baby together in my womb.

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." -Psalm 139:13-16

Next Friday (October 8) is our 12 week appointment and I cannot wait! We will get to see our baby and hear that precious heartbeat again :) At our 8 week appointment Sweetpea's heartbeat was 138 bpm- the old wives tale says we will be having a girl...we shall see if that is true for us hopefully in 5-6 weeks!
I will post a "baby bump" picture next week...
Until then.. :)

No Secret Anymore...

10 weeks 2 days and counting.... we're PREGNANT!

I have been anxiously awaiting to tell the world our news, and so right after we found out I wrote our story and how I felt down so I could share later, so here goes!

"August 19, 2010

Oh my goodness! My thoughts are running in a million different places, but they all keep coming back to one: our God is so good! On August 9, I half-heartedly told Daniel I wanted to take a pregnancy test ( 4 days away from my period). I had felt nauseated a few days that week but nothing else- I know now that it was the Lord who put that idea on my mind, and we had no clue of what journey we were about to embark on. We had a test that turns into a plus sign if it is positive, and with eyes glued to the test, we both watched this faint line form a plus sign. I asked Daniel if he saw what I saw, and we both looked at each other bewildered! I can’t describe the flood of emotions that came over me, nor can I describe the thankfulness I had in my heart for the Lord to be so gracious to us and entrust us with one of His own. We hugged for an eternity, and I cried like I always imagined I would when that day came.

After the initial excitement and shock, I decided I wanted to go buy another test. (At this point I had no clue that pregnancy tests really are 96-99% accurate and that a false positive was extremely rare.) So the next test was 2 lines = pregnant 1 line = not pregnant.. and within 20 seconds we could see that 2 lines were showing up! Now we were for real PREGNANT!

What happened after that is already a blur to me- all I remember was laying in bed with my sweet husband, both of us still in shock and talking about our baby. I didn’t sleep much that night..or the next. I Googled everything I could think of- what to eat, what was going on inside me, vitamins to take, nursery colors, cribs, baby names, when I could hear a heartbeat, and any verse I could get my hands on about the blessing of children.

Fast forward to Thursday: We were headed to Lakeland for the weekend and told my mom on the way there. We told Daniel’s immediate family late that night. And now I am just bursting at the seams wanting to tell the whole world, or maybe just our close friends J We have been calling our child “Sweetpea” and I can honestly say that everything I do revolves around this sweet baby forming inside me. Sweetpea already has daddy’s full attention, and we love being a family of 3. I already feel this baby’s presence- frequent bathroom trips, nausea, vomiting, cravings, and lower back pains and every single bit of it makes me smile because it confirms that our Sweetpea is there and growing! "


Now.. I'm not so sure that I smile much during the nausea/vomiting anymore since dealing with it for 6 more weeks. :) But I wouldn't trade it for anything!

I hope to update weekly so stay tuned...

Willow House

Sorry for the delay in posting- it has been a busy month for me. Good news though!! I am now officially self-employed as a Willow House consultant! I received my consultant kit last week, and I am looking forward to booking some parties and getting the word out...

So, what is Willow House? Well, most of you may know it as Southern Living at Home, but they changed their company to Willow House as of August 1. For those who may not be familiar, the products are home decor & entertaining items. With all of the big changes going on, one thing remains the same: the products! Willow House has the same product line with the same design team, so the quality is GREAT.

If you would like me to send a catalog to you, just let me know! In the meantime you can check out a little more about the company and view our products at the website :

http://www.willowhouse.com/

(If you see something you like just contact me and I'll place an order for you)

before & after:: buffet table

Since our dining room in our apartment is too small for a buffet table, I tried to envision a future home for a piece of furniture I found at the GoodWill in Atlanta. I decided to paint it with a neutral gray-taupe color because of the unkown color palette of our future dining room. My goal once we have moved is to add some decorative molding to the smooth lines to take away from the modern feel, and to paint all these new details to match so that they look like they were always part of the table.

Total cost of project: $30 for the buffet and paint supplies

before::

after::

*the color is Behr- Cheyenne Rock

-Jessica

Recipe:: Shrimp and Grits

I looove Shrimp and Grits, so I went in search of a good recipe that Daniel and I would enjoy. Let me tell you- this was not so easy! Most recipes had a mile-long ingredient list which scared me away quickly, and the rest seemed like we would be eating all of our calories for the week in one meal. So, I created my own recipe by making major improvisions to the recipes I had found and they turned out great!




...And the Shrimp and Grits were "husband tested and approved" :)


Wanted to share the love for anyone who is a fan of Shrimp and Grits- enjoy my recipe below:



Easy Cheesy Shrimp & Grits


ingredients for grits:

-1 cup quick cooking grits
-2 cups water
-1 cup milk (I used 2%)
-1 tbsp butter (I used light, salted)
-1 cup shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar, other recipes used parmeasan)
-3 pieces bacon (well done- save bacon grease)
-1/2 tsp. salt
-pepper to taste


ingredients for shrimp:
-1 lb. peeled, deveined shrimp (Publix has them on sale frequently)
-1 clove garlic (I used 1 tsp. minced garlic)
-1/2 tsp. paprika
-1 tsp. italian seasoning
-hot sauce or cajun seasoning to taste


Cook bacon first. Crumble bacon, set aside, and keep grease in skillet. Cook grits according to package- make sure to use 1 cup milk and 2 cups water instead of 3 cups water. Add butter, salt, cheese, pepper, and crumbled bacon.
In bacon-grease skillet, add minced garlic and cook on med-high heat for 1 minute. Add shrimp with paprika, italian seasoning, and hotsauce/cajun seasoning. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through, but be sure not to over cook them.

Serve shrimp immediately over the grits.


Yields 4 servings.


-Jessica