A Juicy Mango!!! (Week 18)

Well week 18 has proven to be one crazy week!  It's officially summer and I am absolutely LOVING being off so far!  I completely love my job...but it is just so nice to be able to run errands, do chores, spend time with the dogs, and enjoy summer nights without having to worry about getting enough sleep for the next day.  I am actually still working a couple days a week.  I did the same thing last summer.  Before I got my teaching job, I worked at an adorable boutique gift shop in Abilene called Surprises.  And I have been blessed that the owner wanted me to come back and work a couple days a week this summer just like I did last summer!  It is a really fun place to work and you get to see and talk to so many amazing people all throughout the day.  She also carries some adorable baby stuff...I have a feeling that Seiden's closet will definitely be filled with some of the amazing things she carries!  Not only is it nice to get out of the house, get ready for the day, and be around great people all day.  But, the extra money that I'll be making will be going to help decorate and furnish Seiden's nursery!  I couldn't think of a better way to use the extra money...and it helps us get a couple of things that we might not otherwise have gotten.

So...not only is it the first week of summer and I've been running around like crazy and working a couple days a week.  But, Cody is officially working out of town.  The last week of school, Amarillo got hit with a hail storm and it was big enough that the sister company that is located there needed him to come up and help sell roofs.  It's a complete bummer that he's not home...especially at nights...but it's perfect timing before Seiden comes.  This hail storm is a complete blessing from God and we are so thankful that He has provided for us...even though it's out of town.  Four years ago, Cody was working in Midland when they got hit with a big hail storm.  So, we've been through this before.  This time is a bit different though.  Amarillo is further away, so he's not getting to come home every single weekend like he did when he was in Midland.  But...I'll be able to go down there a few times...so I'm super thankful for that!  It's also amazing to look back on that Midland hail storm and see how much stronger we are.  Our marriage is better than it's ever been, we have never been closer, and our relationship with God...both together and individually...is so much stronger.  He is absolutely the center of our marriage and we rely on Him for everything we do.  Before, we made decisions and did things without putting  Him first...that's not so anymore.  There are still times when we fall short...but His grace and mercy provides us with more than we could ever need.  We are missing each other like crazy, and we count down the seconds when we get to see each other next, but we know this is temporary and we just keep thinking God for always providing for us and for giving us each other and a wonderful marriage.  I really do fall more and more in love with Cody each and everyday and my heart is just so full when I think about all the blessings in our life!

Miss Seiden Grace has also been making some big changes.  She has grown another half inch long and weighs two and a half more ounces this week than she did last week.  This precious little girl is definitely making her appearance known!  And it is just the sweetest little presence that I could ever imagine!  I have been feeling her wiggling around...and this time I am 100% absolutely positive!  It feels like little popping right around the middle of my tummy...kinda around my belly button.  It's almost like someone is thumping me from the inside!  Every time I feel it, I put my hand on my tummy and wait for the next time...but it's still too faint to feel it from the outside.  She is getting so much love from everyone too!  My family and friends and lots of other sweet people have been rubbing on my belly and talking to her...she's one loved little girl!  I know that she missed her daddy this week...but he will be giving her constant love when he gets to come home next week!  Every time we talk, he asks me to tell her he loves her and give her some sweet love from him.  We are SO in love and just absolutely loving every second that we get to spend with this precious gift from God.  She is an absolute miracle and such a blessing and we can't imagine how much our lives are going to change when this precious baby girl makes her debut in the fall.  It is going to be absolutely amazing (challenging and hard at times...but so worth it) and we are loving looking forward to her arrival!  We love you SO much Seiden Grace...you have already blessed us more than you will ever know!

Seiden Grace at 18 Weeks:

• You are 6 inches long and weigh 8 ounces!
• You are the size of a large mango!!!
• Your sweet little arms and legs are in proportion with the rest of your adorable little body.
• The neurons in your brain are now connected to your muscles...which is probably why I can feel your sweet little self moving all around in my belly!
• The cartilage in your body is now turning into bone.
• The blood vessels in your precious body are now visible through your skin...and I bet we'll be able to see them at our next sonogram appointment!
• You are getting stronger and stronger and becoming quite the little acrobat!
• You are our precious little cupcake and we think you are just as sweet as you can be!

Only 22 More Weeks To Go!!!