20 Weeks

How Far Along: 20 Weeks (HALF WAY!)

Size of the Baby: Banana (10.5 ounces and 6.5 inches)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +8.5 Pounds

Maternity Clothes: I'm nearly exclusively in maternity bottoms (pants, jeans, etc), but I can still fit into most of my non-constricting tops.  Nothing is comfortable squeezing on my belly anymore!  A wonderful friend gave me two HUGE bags full of maternity clothes to wear this last week :) I'm so thrilled to be able to expand my lowly maternity wardrobe! (I'm sure Alan will appreciate the expanded wardrobe too! He may have had to look at me rocking one of his 'wife beaters' this week. I'm sure he thought I was hot! ha!)

Gender: BOY, Cale Michael Hancock

Movement: I'm finally starting to feel Cale move. I wish there was an exact instant I could point to and say "oh goodness, there he IS!" But, it was a gradual thing. Being a first time mom, I think I actually probably felt him sometime last week but I just didn't know what to be feeling for (make sense?)  In times of stillness, though, I can feel his little flutter movements in my belly and the occasional strong kick or punch. I'm enjoying this private Mommy and Cale time :)

Sleep:  My sleep is just okay right now. It's a hard week to judge, simply because I spent so much of it working (getting up at 4am). There are no days that I felt like I got a real good quality of sleep.

What I Miss: Absolutely nothing compared to being Cale's Mommy

Cravings: None, really.

Symptoms:  It's becoming more and more uncomfortable for me to fully bend over to pick things up. During the early days of pregnancy I used to be able to bend over and lay my head on my desk for power naps to help with the 1st trimester tiredness.......haha, that doesn't happen anymore. It hurts!  Also, I've noticed my belly button becoming more shallow as my belly continues to grow.

Best Moment this Week:  Realizing that I was feeling Cale's little movements AND the day that his Daddy brought home furniture for his room. It was such a proud moment for me to a) see the furniture in his room and b) to see the pride that his Daddy had in picking it out!  I've enjoyed just sitting in his room during the evenings and imaging what it will be like to have him there with us (outside of my body, of course!)

.......Also, since I originally typed this out several days ago, Alan got to feel Cale kick for the first time on Thursday night :)  We were at a banquet for work when Baby Cale started kicking nice and strong. I quickly grabbed his Daddy, and he got his hand in the right place at the right time!  So fun for both of us!

Bless the Goodyear Tires

I'm a huge Nascar fan. Laugh. Think it's awesome. I don't really care :)

It's one of the only sports left that still invites a minister to offer an invocation prior to each race, which I think is awesome in itself. Prayin' and racin'---among many other things.

This is a video of the prayer that occured before the Nationwide Race in Nashville on Saturday night. Probably the. best. prayer. I've. ever. heard. ever.

Lord, thank you for Roush-Fenway racing!



Eyes Forward

I don't have any huge weekend updates (mostly because I've been sitting in an office all weekend) or weekend pictures (mostly because I've been sitting in an office all weekend). Ha! Can you tell Im in the finest of moods this morning?!  It's been a tiring, grouchy weekend for me.....aaaaand, I'm ready to pull out of this funk. Two. More. Days. Two. More. Days.

There are several things that have brought me immense JOY through my bad mood this weekend, though! Let's talk about those happy things :)

1) I found this free printable. Blessings, by Laura Story, is one of my absolute favorite songs right now.  I find it so applicable to my testimony, not to mention so many other trials in life! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this song and message :) Speaking of Laura Story, she will be in town in a week and a half for a FREE outdoor concert! Yay!

 2) I received this picture via text message from Cale's Daddy :)  While I was sitting in my office on Saturday, he was busy being a very productive husband and daddy.  He found some new blinds at Lowe's for Cale's room, met his mom to pick up this furniture that they found for Cale's room, AND cleared out the room of our stuff to make room for Cale's new furniture! Wow :) I'm in love with this sweet furniture!  (Note: He and Bentley added the decorations to the dresser, hehe!) I'm planning on spending some time in this room on my days off, so I'll grab some better pictures.

 My boys are the GREATEST!

3) And, last but not least, the lyrics to this song:

"Incomparable.
Unchangeable.

You see the depths
of my heart
and you love me
the same.

You are amazing God!"

Doesn't that deserve a big "AMEN" on this Monday morning?!

Monday, Monday

Why Monday, Monday, you ask? Well, because it's my Monday at work :( I'm working 12-hour shifts the next five days in a row.  My boss decided that our department needed to go to this schedule for some ridiculous irrational reason (at least, in my head). I've been at my company for five years, which is a veteran in my field, and I haven't worked weekends in quite some time. In fact, this whole company is based on seniority and trys to honor it whenever it can---now, with the exception of my department where everyone is equal. Granted, I get five days off in a row at this end of this whole ordeal....but, you can't convince this tired pregnant girl that 60 hours in the office in a 5 day period is a good idea.  Not to mention, I have to get up at 4am to be at work on my days! (Rant over, thanks for hearing me out!)

I don't think I've ever done a bullet point post.....until today. I had too much random on my mind to pick just one subject :)

• In reference to my weight gain on my last pregnancy post: I'd weighed myself in the evening prior to coming up with that number. Why? I don't know. I usually weigh myself in the mornings. So, after weighing myself the next morning my gain was only +6.5 pounds.  Let's stick with that, ok?! ;)

• Also, I realized I left another reason to love maternity jeans off that posting! I am a size smaller in maternity jeans than regular jeans. Holla!

• We have had nearly THIRTY consecutive days with temperatures greater than 100-degrees in Oklahoma, ranging from 100-106 (not including heat index). It. is. miserable. Like, you can't even breathe when you walk outside, home air conditioners can't keep up, and our poor farmers haven't had a drop of rain :( Last week our governor asked the entire state to pray for rain.  For our family, we haven't even been going to the lake. It's too hot (never thought I'd say that!).  I would swell up like a balloon and possibly bake the little baby inside me.  So, we've spent our days laying at home under several fans.

• Have you ever had to walk away from a friendship because of unwanted drama?! I don't want to share too many details of the situation, but I've found myself walking away from a friendship that had been draining me---over the most ridiculous subject matter. Seriously sad when I think about it.  Anyhow, I've been fighting this good angel/bad angel situation on my shoulders.  The good angel tells me things like: "when someone asks you to go one mile with them, go two miles....." "a friend loves at all times...." and "turn the other cheek."  The bad angel tells me that it's perfectly acceptable to draw the line in the sand and set boundaries with these type of situations, especially when it becomes a sore subject in your home (specifically with your spouse!).  Alan and I have talked about it in length, and I know exactly where he stands.  What have you done in these situations in your life?

• And lastly, we have really good friends dealing with a threatened miscarriage. They are in a week long waiting game to see if their baby experiences any more growth---however, their doctor didn't sound too optimistic regarding the situation.  When placed in a very similiar situation, we did not have a good outcome BUT I know that God is still in the miracle business :) Will you join me in saying a short prayer for them?  On the same subject, whenever they called to share this news with us I become a blubbery, crying mess.  After hanging up the phone with my friend Alan had to ask me, "Are YOU ok?!"  Whenever we got a positive pregnancy test with Cale, I had asked God to continue to make my heart very tender regarding the subject of infertility and pregnancy loss. It's not a calling or ministry that I'd ever have asked God to give me in this life, but I whole-heartedly believe that He allowed me to walk through those situations so that I could help others walking down that path (Help is a relative word.....it mostly comes in the form of listening, support, encouragement, and prayers!). This situation proved to me that I was still very tender to the subject and my prayers had been heard.

Thanks for hanging around this long to read my rambling thoughts :) Happy Weekend (to most of you!)

19 Weeks

How Far Along:  19 Weeks

Size of the Baby:  Heirloom Tomato (8 ounces, 6 inches)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +10 (YIKES! Where did that come from?!)

Maternity Clothes:  As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, NONE of my jeans or work pants were fitting comfortably anymore. Not having any experience in shopping for maternity clothes, I took myself to a nearby consignment store with a claimed maternity section in search of a good deal.  I LOVE MATERNITY (elastic band) JEANS! :) Seriously, every girl should own some---pregnant or not.  They are like a little gift from God.  I spent $50 and got (2) pairs of Motherhood Maternity jeans, (1) Motherhood Maternity dress, and (3) cute shirts. Steal! ;)

Gender: Handsome BOY! Cale Michael Hancock

Movement:  I'm not entirely 100% convinced that I've felt Cale move. There has been 3-4 times when I'm laying in bed at night and I *think* I've felt him move.  I'm ready--bring on the baby kicks!

Sleep:  I've been sleeping great, minus my insanely bad dreams. I will have nights that I will have 2-3 very detailed dreams that will wake me up from my sleep.  Mainly I dream about my sweet little husband cheating, or nearly cheating, or being really mean to me. From the research that I've done, having these dreams about your spouse during pregnancy is completely normal. It shows that your concerned with the changing relationship with your spouse that a child brings.  Well, normal or not normal, I HATE these dreams. I woke up last Sunday morning in tears about one of those stupid dreams, it put me in a funk for the entire morning.

What I Miss:  Nothing compared to carrying this little life inside me :)

Cravings:  None really. I'm still on the "meat is yucky" kick, though.

Symptoms:  Growing belly! .....and very achy hips and lower back. I went shopping with my Mom and Grandma last weekend, and I was on my feet for four hours walking around. I was absolutely pathetic the rest of the day.  Seriously, if I wasn't still 100-degrees in the late evenings, this little body could greatly benefit from some walking.

Best Moment This Week:  Nothing pivoting with Cale this week, but it did warm my heart to see his Daddy reading his "Pregnancy for Dad's-to-Be" book. I have not known this man to EVER read a book for pleasure outside of school or firefighter books. Makes my heart smile!

We had this conversation over the phone this week:

Lindsi: Hello?!

Alan: Hey, are you about done with work for the day?

Lindsi: Actually I'm wrapping things up now. I might be another 15 minutes or so.

Alan: Cool. Do you want to go register?

Lindsi: Really?!

Alan: Yeah. Why not? I'll meet you at Buy Buy Baby.

Two hours later, we walked out of the store with 109 items scanned to our registry (note: I scanned ONE of those items.)  It made me so proud, blessed, and happy to watch Cale's Daddy inspect every single car seat and stroller to make sure whatever he was getting for his son was the best and safest option! I have loved watching Alan fall into this Daddy role so lovingly and naturally. I am truly a blessed girl :)

 

Blonde Ambition

This is sort of a little tattle on myself.

About a month ago, the sweet hubs and I decided that it was time to upgrade our phones.  We carried around the less-than-ideal Palm Pre's for two years too long (another story in itself). Since we are Sprint customers, we decided to go with the HTC EVO's, which opened up a whole new world of technology and app's to us--ie: Words with Friends, HeyTell, Shazam, Out of Milk, Myxer, etc. You catch my drift.  We were technology losers before.

Immersed in this whole new world of cell phone greatness, we have become fascinated with our games. As in, we laid in bed one evening until 11pm not speaking to each other, but rather, playing Words with Friends against each other.  Since Alan was more of a veteran than I (he had a whole 48 hours more experience than I did), I turned to him for game advice and 'how-to's.' 

Me: "How do you put a letter back down at the bottom if you decide you don't want to use it?"

Alan: "You should have a button at the bottom that says 'recall.' "

Me: "Ummmmm, I don't see that on my screen. But, I have one that says 're-sign.' "

Alan: (Obvious look of complete confusion) "Cover your letters and let me see your phone."

Me: (Obliged)

Alan: (Laughing hysterically, nearly crying) "Wife, that says 'resign,' like you want to quit the game."

Me: "Ohhhh, that makes more sense. I thought it was 're-sign,' like you want to 're-sign' that letter to another spot or location."

Alan: "Uhhh, yeah. That would make total sense if the actual word were 'reassign.' "

Me: "Whaterrrrr."

I never claimed to be a genious. That's just a typical day when you're married to me :)

Squatch Fever

Sunday Breakdown:

11am-12pm Church

12pm-1pm Subway Lunch

1pm-3pm World Cup, Nascar, and Napping 

3pm-4pm British Open

4pm-7pm FINDING BIGFOOT

Yes.  Yes, you read that correctly. I sat on my couch yesterday and watched Finding Bigfoot for THREE CONSECUTIVE hours.

This is some good quality television, my friends. It ranks right up there with Swamp People (minus the subtitles). To say the least, I have caught the Squatch Fever.

THERES A SQUATCH IN THESE WOODS!

I would highly suggest adding this to your weekly DVR list :)

Cut me some slack?! It's been a 'mild' 105-degrees in Oklahoma (without the heat index) for days upon days--like so hot you can't even breathe outside. I'm enjoying basking in the glory of this pregnancy and enjoying my time around the house without having a little one to chase around. Lord knows I won't get off the hook this easy the second time around. Lovin' me these lazy days of summer!

What a Difference a Year Makes

One year ago, yesterday (July 16th), I was getting prepped for an exploratory laproscopic surgery to possibly look for some endometriosis and remove a suspected growth in my uterus. Coming out of surgery we learned that my entire pelvic cavity (uterus and bowels) were covered with endometriosis, and my doctor stated he removed a sizeable septum from my uterus.  Over the next 6-7 months I endured Lupron (a medically induced menopause) to help my body heal from the endo---all of this while in constant prayer that these medical treatments were part of God's plan to finally give us the family that we longed for.

Fast forward one year......

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.

Heir of salvation, purchase of God.

Born of His spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song;

Praising my Savior all the day long!

This is my story, this is my song;

Praising my SAVIOR all the day long!

My Hero

My husband is the HERO of our home--always there to save the day and put a smile on my face no matter what the crisis might be. He saves me in so many ways.

Many of you know, but some of you might not, that he also serves as a HERO outside of our home. He has served with the Tulsa Fire Department for nearly six years. I LOVE him in this role--it is the perfect job for him and I couldn't be more proud to be this man's wife :) Whether it's at work or at home, he is constantly serving others.  Not always are his duties life-or-death, pulling people out of house fires, and putting himself in danger. Whatever the need might be, he rises to the occasion to meet the needs of our public. He got some news coverage this morning for a call they ran last night, and I thought it was a neat little story all by itself. Just wanted to make sure he got some blog love attention :)

Here is a copy of a news article that appeared on one of the local channels this morning:

(You can find the original article here)

Check out the HOT one on the left :)





TULSA, Oklahoma -- A couple headed home from Tulsa International Airport early Wednesday morning had their SUV catch fire thanks to debris on the highway.

Tulsa Police say the couple had just returned from a missionary trip to Russia and was southbound on U.S. Highway 169 at 71st Street when another southbound vehicle struck a mattress lying on the highway.

That impact pushed the mattress into the couple's driving lane and their SUV ran over it.

Police say the mattress became stuck under their vehicle.

After stopping, the couple tried to pull the mattress free, but then they noticed smoke.

"We called some people tried to help us, but the car burned, there it is. It burned. And the whole time I was asking God. I said God my whole life is in there, my passports were in there," Phillip Renner said.

After Tulsa Fire arrived and put out the fire, Renner found his passports unburned.

Renner's wife and an aunt who had picked up the couple at the airport are okay.

The owner of the mattress has not been found.

Tulsa Fire says the SUV is considered a total loss.

Take Me Out to the Ballpark

Brooke, our oldest niece, just wrapped up her summer season softball league---thank goodness, my belly couldn't take any more 108-degree heat in the evenings.  I tried to feature some of Paige's soccer games, so I wanted to do the same for Brooke. When Morgan and Tyce start playing sports they'll get the star athlete treatment on my blog :) They make appearances now just cause they are so darn cute!

I grew up playing softball---in fact, I'm pretty sure I played a game or two pregnant (early on!). No harm done ;)  That makes me a veteran of 23 years, phew! Watching Brooke play brings out the highly competitive spirit in me, and makes me excited for Cale's sister to arrive (obviously that will be NO time soon, ha!) 

Here's some shots from our last night at the ballpark until the weather cools down:

17 Weeks

We haven't done a full-fledged baby belly update since for the last SIX weeks, oops! So, here are a few little fun facts on my growing belly and growing baby.

How far along: 17 Weeks

Size of the Baby: Turnip (About 5 ounces and 5 inches from Crown-to-Rump)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +5

Maternity Clothes: None, although NONE of my jeans fit comfortably around my expanding waist line. I'm glad for summertime so I don't have to worry too much about it right now.  I'm perfectly content in my shorts, summer dresses, and comfy pants!

Gender: BOY! Cale Michael Hancock :)

Movement: None yet. I'm anxiously awaiting the day! It's been obvious on every ultrasound that he is one active little guy. We just need him to get a bit bigger before we feel those tiny little movements. Only a few more weeks, I'd imagine.

Sleep: (knock on wood) My sleep has been fantastic! Mom got me a Boppy Maternity Pillow--not that I'm big enough in the belly to make it a necessity yet, but it's been a wonderful cuddle buddy during the nights. I sleep very solid and have very vivid (sometimes weird) dreams.

What I Miss: Nothing compared to being pregnant!

Cravings: I haven't been having any life-or-death cravings recently. I'll eat just about anything. Except MEAT-gag! I hope that passes once Cale arrives. It's hard to find a main dish without some sort of meat, but everything about it makes me gag right now.

Symptoms: None right now with the exception of a growing belly! :) In the evenings my belly feels tight and exhausted. Even though I don't feel him moving around yet, I think he's doing his growing at those times.  I'm still getting pretty tired quickly (but I'm attributing that to our 105-degree weather). So, I haven't reached that wonderful second trimester energy spurt that everyone talks about.

Best Moment this Week: Finding out that our sweet little bundle of joy is a BOY!   It was obvious during the ultrasound that he is **VERY** proud of that. Ha!  I'm adjusting wonderfully to the thought of being the mom to another little (less furry) boy! I think I'm going to like my house full of stinky, rotten boys :)  God gave them all very tender hearts, and I know I will always be a very loved and well-taken-care-of girl!

Belly Shots

.....Cell phone style.

I've been horrible about taking good pictures of my growing bump. Seems like whenever I'm actually home, showered, and make-uped there is no one else here to take my picture. I promise I'll try to be better about snapping some good pictures with my face in them!



Frogs, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails.....

that's what LITTLE BOYS are made of!

With great joy, we'd like to introduce you to our SON

Cale Michael Hancock

Our hearts are nearly exploding with joy and praise for this plump, healthy little baby boy!  We went to the doctor yesterday (Tuesday) for another ultrasound and gender reveal.  Once again, the nurse commented that 'everything looked awesome!' Music to our ears!

During the ultrasound, before we had discovered the gender.....we got to witness this sweet little baby licking (yes, licking) his chest (note: mother's proudest moment, haha!). Alan said he immediately knew it must be a little boy!  He was not shy when it came to "revealing" himself. As a matter of fact, this sweet little child of mine carefully readjusted himself during the ultrasound. There's no denying he is Alan's son ;) Must be a boy thing.

After our appointment we met most of our family and a few friends for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. As badly as I wanted to throw a big "gender reveal" bash at the house, I couldn't bring myself to be 100% committed to entertaining, cleaning, and throwing a party--especially after the big holiday weekend.  This worked out perfect for us! As the waitress brought out the main dishes to each guest, Cale's gender (and name) was revealed.  I'm so glad we were able to share it with all of our family at once! It was a very special time for us parents-to-be.

We are so in love! I'm so proud to be the mother of this little guy :)

Thanks for all your continued thoughts and prayers during our journey--they must be working!! :)  God is good, all the time!