BIRTHDAY!!

How do you like to spend your birthday? Day at Disneyland? Dinner out with friends? A fun party at home? Not me.

I like to be woken up by a big kick from inside my belly, a minute after my actualy birth time (2:42 AM,) then stay up emailing people and writing myself reminders of things I need to take care of at work that day. Then maybe I'll fall asleep for a two hours around 6 AM, then get up, get ready and go to work at 9 AM. Then once I get to work on my birthday, I like to spend the entire day walking back and forth from our office, to the tech booth in the worship center, to the green room, back to the tech booth, out to the lobby, over to the classrooms, back to the office, the worship center again, and keep repeating that for about 15 hours. And add a baby kicking all day to that. Sounds like fun, right?

Oh wait, I forgot to mention, it was all for a great cause! I helped put on an awesome concert featuring Riverside's own, The Trade and grammy nominated band, Leeland! Ok, so even though I had to work my butt off all day, it was totally worth it because it made it one of the best birthdays I've ever had! The Trade got the crowd pumped and excited and just totally rocked! Then Leeland came on... They were awesome! Although I was a little sad when the singer, Lee, said, "We've got two songs left..." because according to my set list there were three, and I knew the one they were cutting out was my favorite song, "Sound of Melodies." It was a great night of worship, even if they didn't do my favorite song. They took a bow and headed off the stage. A few minutes later, Lee returns to the stage alone, sits behind the keyboard and sings "Brighter Days," it was absolutely beautiful! When he finished, the rest of the band came out and finished the night with a nice little present, my favorite song! Seriously, could it have gotten any better?! I didn't really think so, but it did. I went to the green room to ask Scott's mom something and I had my camera with me because I was going to go wait in line in the lobby to get a picture with the band. As I was about to walk out to get in line, the bass player, Jake says to the band "Hey guys, let's take a picture with her before we go out there." I did kind of ask them before the show if we could take a picture after, but I figured I'd just get in line like everyone else. That totally made my day that he remembered, plus I didn't have to stand in line! They are some of the nicest, friendliest, laid back guys I've ever met! I wish they were here all the time!

Seriously, two days later, my feet and calves are still killing me. Leila's finally settled down after dancing to the music all day in my belly. And it was one of the best birthdays I've ever had! I love my job!

Birthday!!!

Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday dear Christina!
Happy birthday to me!
Yay! I'm 23 today! And Leila kicked me at 2:43 this morning to say happy birthday. How'd she know I was born at 2:42!?

Oh, we've decided her name's going to be Leila, no matter what. I just feels right. :}

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24 years ago...

24 years ago today, my wonderful husband Scott was born! I can't tell you how thankful I am for him. He's so loving, caring, funny, talented, and well, nice to look at! ;] He's amazing! Happy birthday, my love!

WE'RE HAVING A.......

GIRL!!!
Since Scott wouldn't be able to be at the ultrasound on the 29th, we decided to just go to Fetal Focus (an ultrasound place in the mall) and find out what we're having. We're very excited! Our moms were both hoping for a girl, especially Scott's mom since she raised four boys.
We have names picked out, but it depends on what she looks like/when she's born. Our first choice is Leila Kate, Leila comes from the Hebrew for night (as Tyler told us last night) so it means either born at night or dark (haired) beauty. So if our baby is born during the day and has blonde hair like her daddy, that name doesn't fit very well. In that case, her name will be Lucy Elizabeth. Lucy because it means light, and we hope our little girl would go out and let her light shine before the world. But for right now, we're just calling her "L" (like Elle) since both names start with the letter L. Scott's so cleaver!
So that's it, we're having a little girl!

The head?!

I had my 20 week check up (Yes, 20 weeks! Halfway there!) The doctor was feeling my belly to see how the uterus is baby have grown.
Doc: There's your baby's head, it's nice and firm.
Me: The head?!
Doc: Yup, right here. (And he pushes down a little bit.)
Me: Wow, I didn't know I was at the point where you could identify body parts. Cool, baby has a head!
Doc laughs.

Wow...it's a little crazy to have someone push on your belly and tell you what part of the baby it is! I didn't realize he'd be able to tell, the baby's only about 6 inches long. We listened to the heart beat, it's still nice and strong. My results from the glucose tolerence test came back normal. He ordered an ultrasound so we'll get to see the baby again and (hopefully) find out what we're having. My last ultrasound was at 10 weeks, so it probably looks quite a bit different. The only bad thing is that Scott has to work the day of my ultrasound (July 29,) hopefully he can move things around or not be too busy and get part of the morning off. It'd be fun to be able to go together!

A little confession

Let me start of by saying that I am very excited to be having a baby and I can't wait to meet him/her and to be a mommy. I can't wait to see Scott hold our baby for the first time. But some mornings I wake up and just want to not be pregnant yet. It's not the morning sickness, I haven't had any in months. It's not my aching muscles, I can tough it out. It's the stupid thoughts... Today was one of those mornings where the thoughts of "there's so much I wanted to do before I had kids" and "I don't know anything about kids! What have we gotten ourselves into?" flood my mind and it's a little overwhelming. Eventually, I cry and move on, but it just stinks. I'm not on my own "afraid of motherhood" island am I? This happens to other people right?

We made a what?

Totally how I feel about being pregnant sometimes... The baby isn't even here yet, and won't be for almost 6 months, but it's still a little strange to think that God thinks we're ready for a kid. Well, I guess God knows we're ready...maybe ready isn't the right word...

Baby Update...

I'm 16 weeks along, had a check up on Monday. I turned down the AFP testing. I've lost 3 pounds since my appointment 4 weeks ago, 5 pounds since I found out I was pregnant. But the doctor's not worried about it since he thinks the baby's growing just fine (he can tell just by pushing on my tummy I guess.) I have to go to the lab in 2 weeks and have a sugar test and something else...normal prenatal stuff. When I go back for my next check up he'll review those test results and order an ultrasound and hopefully we'll get to see if we're having a boy or girl! Any predictions?

Plans for tonight?

Come down, check 'em out! Hope to see you there!

Dad Update

A few weeks ago, I asked for prayers for my dad and just wanted to update folks on the situation.

This past Tuesday he was supposed to have a carotid angio done to look at the blockage in his neck before they do the surgery to remove it. That procedure was postponed until next Thursday because he missed the radiology consult last Friday. There was a miscommunication because neither of my parents knew he had a consult, which is not like them to forget something like that.

Today, he had a cardiac cath done to look for any blockages he may have in his heart that may cause problems after the carotid is fixed. They found that he has four vessels that are VERY blocked, so he needs a quadruple bypass surgery The doctor is keeping him at the hospital overnight and bumped up the carotid angio to tomorrow instead of next Thursday.

My mom (an ICU nurse at the hospital where my dad is) wasn't comfortable with the cardiothoracic surgeon the cardiologist had consulted with, so she asked if a different surgeon. We're so blessed because the doctor she wanted was there today, saw my dad and will be doing the surgery next week. So the plan, for now at least, is carotid angio tomorrow, he'll go home for a few days, then they'll do a carotid endarterectomy surgery to clear the blockage from the most occluded side, perform the CABG surgery immediately following. The surgery will probably be done Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, hasn't been scheduled yet.

My dad says he feels fine, which makes it even more difficult for him to just sit still. I know he's nervous, but doesn't want to show it. He's still his normal goofy, happy self, which is nice to see. I know my mom is worried, but she won't show it. I just hope she's ok and doesn't bottle it up. I'm trying to be strong, but it's hard to not worry, I'm not quite as good about not showing it. I know that God's in control of the situation, but it's still scary.

Any prayers for my mom and dad and his doctors would be greatly appreciated! I'll be sure to update later next week. Thank you!

Pre-natal appointment #2

I went in for another check-up with my doctor this morning. He said that I'm actually not as far along as we had originally calculated. According to the ultrasound I'm only 11 weeks pregnant as of today (we thought I'd be 13 weeks tomorrow.) So instead of being due November 17, I'm due December 1! How fun! Other than that, everything looks good and healthy, which is what's really important! I heard the heartbeat today, it sounded like a train! :]

Weird Emotions

I just read Alyssa's post about how since she's been pregnant she's had weird emotional reactions to things. I have a story, I wasn't planning on sharing, but since she's sharing, I can too. The night before we left for Redding for Tyler's graduation I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep. Scott and I were trying to get some last minute laundry and dishes done, so both machines were going. I was tossing and turning, unable to sleep and I started crying and getting all sniffley. Scott looks over from the computer and says, "Are you crying?" (Half concerned, half wanting to laugh at me.) I cry out, "Yes! The dishwasher's just SO loud! I keeps draining like it's done and it gets my hopes up, but then it just keeps going making all that noise!" Then I start laughing because I know how ridiculous I sound, Scott laughs and just gives me a hug. Then he says, "What if I close the door? Would that help, baby?" I shyly reply, "Ya, maybe." And I fall asleep 5 minutes later. So ridiculous!

Prayers for my daddy

I just want to ask you all to pray for my dad. He's kind of going through a rough patch with his health right now. He’s been going to the doctor a lot lately to figure out what to do about the buildup in his carotid artery (the main artery that supplies blood to your brain.) He went to a specialist earlier this week; they have plans to do an carotid angiogram, as soon as it’s approved by his insurance. The angiogram will give the doctor a better idea of where the blockage is and how to clear it. After the angiogram, my dad will have to undergo a carotid endarterectomy to clear the blockage in his neck. He’s really nervous, but has faith it’ll be ok. In addition to this, he needs to quit smoking (he’s been a smoker for over 30 years) and cut back on his coffee drinking (he currently drinks about 8-12 cups a day.) Both of my parents work in the medical field (mom’s an intensive care nurse and dad’s a respiratory therapist), so they understand what’s going on and how serious this can be. I know they’re both very nervous, as am I. My dad’s an amazing friend, advisor, and parent. I just want him to be around as long as possible. Your prayers are greatly, greatly appreciated!

12 weeks

I'm at the last week of my first trimester! We're one-third of the way to D-Day! I had my first ultrasound on Monday. I'd post the photos but they're kind of hard to make out since the baby's still so small. It has two arms, two legs, a large head (according to the technician,) and most importantly a heartbeat! IT'S AMAZING! The head is about the same size as ther est of the baby's body, but it will balance out later on. The baby was also moving around a lot, so much that the technician had a little trouble getting the measurements she needed, but she got them. It was so neat to actually see that there's someone in there! We still have about two month before we can find out if it's a boy or a girl, but I wanted to get everyone's guess on what we're having. I'll give you a few bits of info and you can leave a comment with your guess.
-Scott, my husband, is one of four boys in his family. His dad's family had two boys and one girl. (I'll only mention his side since the XY/XX chromosome is carried by the father.)
-According to the "Ancient Chinese Birth Chart" we're having a boy.
-Old wives tale #1: The way you carry your baby: If you carry low, you are having a boy. If you carry high, you are having a girl. I guess I'm carrying low, but that's becaause it's still really small and hasn't moved farther up yet.
-Old wives tale #2: If you're craving salt, you're having a boy. If you're craving sweets, it's a girl. I've been craving Ruffles potato chips, those are pretty salty.
-Old wives tale #3: If you're suffering from acne breakouts, that girl in your belly is stealing your beauty. I've had a few more pimples to deal with than normal.
-Old wives tale #4: If your baby is particularly energetic, it's most likely to be a boy whereas a more chilled fetus indicates a girl. According to the sonographer the baby was moving a lot during the ultrasound.

So what do you think?? Is baby Ellis a boy or a girl?

Road Trip!

We're leaving for Redding this morning. Scott's brother, Tyler, is graduating from Simpson this weekend! YAY! Go Tyler! IF you're in Riverside, go see my youngest brother-in-law, Mackenzie's monologue in the services at the Grove! He's going to do a great job! I'm bummed that I can't be there. We'll be back Sunday. Have a great weekend all!

B-RY

This is my friend Bryan, or at least I think he's my friend. He may think I'm just some weird girl at church...who knows. He's really funny and has good taste in literature, plus he can sing which automatically makes you cool in my eyes. He's a good friend to the guys in QBS and sat through their whole show Saturday night, even when they started repeating songs for the third and even fourth time (only "I've Just Seen A Face.") I don't really have any good photos of the band to share, but I liked this one of Bryan watching the guys on stage like a 6th grade girl drooling over BSB. Thanks for hanging with us Saturday night!

Angels vs. Indians

This is just after Torii Hunter hit a homerun.

Us sitting in our seats, waiting for the game to start.

The enemy...

Scott and I went to our first baseball game of the 2008 season last night. The Angels played the Cleveland Indians and were awesome! Even though I'm not the huge baseball fan that my husband is, I still love going to the games with him. Especially now that they have Ruby's inside Angels Stadium! I can't wait to go to more games this season!

Del Mar Car Show

On Friday I spent the day with my Dad, Aunt Marilyn & Uncle Chet at the Del Mar Car Show. I've never been to big car show like this before, it was really neat! I dont' know very much about cars, but there were a lot of classic Chevys, Fords and others too. (I could only upload about 1/3 of my pictures from the day to my flickr because you can only upload a certain amount a month to a free account. So you'll have to wait til May 1st to see more...sorry.) Go HERE to see more photos from the day.
As cool as the cars were, it was great just to spend a day with my family, especially my dad. Him and I used to go do stuff like this together all the time, my favorite would be the time he took me to the museums at Balboa Park in San Diego. I can attribute my love for museums to that weekend! Thanks Dad!

Fun...

I got this from Micah.

1. Click here
The first article title is the name of your band.

2. Click here
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. Click here
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.


My band name is Skellefteå.
The title of the album is "A Perfectly Defensible Position."

Here is the album cover...