Looky here......

I can't tell you how exciting it was to actually see Baby Bob and to know thing are okay! We got to see the heartbeat which was awesome. Mike and I feel the technology was so much better as the picture was so clear and we could easily identify things but maybe it's also because this is baby #2 and we're a bit more familiar with what to look for. :) But anyway.... they said my due date is Aug 30th. Please continue to pray for my sickness. I had two non-vomiting days this weekend though I felt nauseous all day those two days but it returned today. I have a field trip tomorrow with 2 1hr bus rides so please think of me as I'm really nervous about those!


Izzy's calling my name so I gotta run just had to share with the Grandparents.

Prayer request

Well I've been wanting to share these two photos but I don't have the energy to write much today except to ask for your prayers. The vomiting (there's just no way to put it other than that... lol) has returned full force the past few days. It seems as though my balance issues are adding to the problem. After any mode of transportation, I have to run to the loo and today was the absolute worst when I got home from school. It just wouldn't stop. I've very discouraged and NOT looking forward to the next 6+ months as I'm afraid this isn't going to go away until I've had testing and physical therapy again. So if you wouldn't mind praying for me... I see the Dr next week and I'm hoping that maybe they can give me something more than what our family Dr did because that's not working.

Sorry to be such a downer.... hope you all have a great day!!!

More randomness

The roof top view.

Isabella is obsessed with Mulan these days so we were lying in bed watching it and she starts rubbing my belly. I ask her what she's doing and she says, 'I'm making baby Bob feel better.' She's just too cute.

So finally it warmed up a bit today so I decided to take Izzy out to go for a hike... she was so excited to wear Dee Dee and Laurel's hiking shoes but I don't think she knew what a hike was. I think she confused it with bike because she insisted on taking Snow White out for a ride. But that was okay. We rode over to our clubhouse and she wanted to go into the playroom because they have one of those big exercise balls and she likes to roll on it. That was her highlight for today. She can be so easy to please/entertain at times.

I had our Mom's group over yesterday for lunch and I attempted my 1st try at minestrone soup. I think I used to many noodles though as it was more just like pasta... not much broth but it was still really good. I had a nice dinner planned for Mike but I got sick after the moms left so I don't even think he ate dinner. He was awfully sweet and bought me roses, a magazine and a cake with real icing!

Tomorrow we are having our small group over for a BBQ and Sunday another family will join us for dinner. I can't tell you how much I've been praising God for this house. It's more of a blessing than I ever realized.

Well I had pictures of Izzy but blogger has stopped working so I'll have to try again later.

Have a great day!

A little this... a little that... mostly about izzy

Every night Izzy asks me to stay with her for two minutes when we're done singing and praying and now that she has a nice big bed, I don't mind staying 2 min if that makes her feel better. So I started asking her some questions about her day, one of them being 'What was her favorite thing she did that day?' Well her answers have been simply adorable the past two nights. She usually remembers something fun that she did like go to the playroom or playing with Angela but last night she said, 'eating' and tonight she said, 'using the potty.' I just love this girl and only can pray that the new baby will have just as much personality that she does.

I have been absolutely LOVING our new home. It is such a blessing from God in so many ways. The best thing so far is the amount of people we've been able to have over. I love having guests and trying new recipes, etc but our other flats have limited us in number and I've just never wanted to cook because the kitchen wasn't user friendly but this place... the kitchen is bigger than ours in MN was and last friday we have 20+ people over and it did not feel as though there were that many. Mike and I were joking with some friends on Sunday night about how we're afraid what's coming next because God has blessed us in so many ways over the past few weeks but I believe this house will expand our ministry. i feel it will give us opportunity to build new relationships, new ministry opportunities, etc. I see Thanksgiving/Christmas Dinners, Mom's group lunches, youthgroup sleepovers, BBQ's, swim parties, etc... I'm just so excited at the doors this house will open up to us that it makes me sad to have to go back to work next week.

I think I've cooked more here in the past week and a half than I ever did at our other flats. I've even tried new recipes again! It feels wonderful.

Today Izzy and I explored a new area. They have these English bookfairs on occasion outside of the park n shop that we used to shop at and I got an email saying they were having a warehouse sale this week so we ventured out to see what they had. I was nervous about how many people would be there (I once went to a Toys r Us warehouse sale and I could barely move with all the people) but it turned out to be just Izzy and I which was awesome. I could look around and Izzy could read and play without harm. She was so excited to go and as soon as we walked in the door she spotted a Dora book, ran and picked it up an then proceeded to sit down and read. It was too cute... just like yesterday when we lied down to nap... we took 15 minutes to read quietly first and she sat down with her two books and just looked through them. I've never seen her sit so quietly.

She has said/done some very cute things lately but of course I cannot remember them all though tonight when I put her to bed, we kneeled down to pray and when we were done she said, 'Mommy we need to read our devotions.' We read the children's version of 'my utmost for His highest' and that's what she was asking for. Also today she picked up the phone and when I asked who it was she said, 'Mamma it's MY friends. They're coming over.'

Okay... I'm just rambling because I'm trying to remember all the things that have gone on and not making a whole lot of sense to the outside world but anyway...

I hope to find my camera tom so I can finally take some new pics of our home.

Health Update

On Sunday, I was blessed to have a lady in the church ask to watch Izzy!!! What an answer to prayer as I had my hearing test and final ENT appointment today. She and her children eagerly took Izzy to their place to play pretty much all day which gave me a little time to myself. I enjoyed a nice hot lunch at Ikea and then picked up a few items for the new place. It was great to be able to look around a bit in areas outside the children section. :)

I was also pleasantly surprised by my waiting times for both my hearing test and ENT appointment. I was out of the clinic by 3:15 (test was at 2 and appt at 2:30) and then the waiting for my prescription took place. I waited longer for that than anything but anyway... it was nothing compared to Mike's wait when I first went to the ENT.

The test showed that my hearing was totally normal which I was actually quite surprised by as I still have some cloudiness. I feel that I'm probably at the lower end of normal hearing as I know I've got some hearing loss but at least it's still in the range of normal. I praise God for that as I was starting to be convinced that I was going to have to deal with the lack of hearing I was experiencing. When I met with the ENT, she said everything looked great and there was absolutely no need to come back. Yeah! What wonderful news to hear! And she was convinced that the cloudiness I still have is due to a cold/stuffy nose so she gave me some meds for that.

But I did take a minute to ask about my balance issues. Those of you that don't know... about 5yrs ago I went through a variety of testing to find out why I was experiencing motion sickness so badly. Within about 5 minutes of being in a car, I would be puking. But anyway.... turns out I have about a 20% loss of ability to balance on my own. I went through physical therapy and life was great. Then we moved to Hong Kong... where modes of transportation are ferry rides, crazy mini-buses, double decker buses around stop and go traffic (makes me nauseous to even think about it) and curvy roads. And after the 1st year, things started to go downhill again. Though it's not nearly as bad as it used to be... I still have to be careful where I sit on public transportation and other little things. She quickly said that she would just get me into the same type of PT but then stopped and said she couldn't do that because I don't have my old test results and they would want to know exactly where the problem lies. And she said she didn't want me to be tested until Baby Bob arrives because it's a lot of pushing, bouncing, etc... not good for the baby.

So all that to say.... my hearing is normal and there's not much more they can do for that. I will always be extra sensitive to ear infections so I will always have to watch the amount of water that gets in my ears, etc... And come next Nov/Dec I will be able to get my balance issues worked out yet again!!!! It was a good day and I'm thankful that God has healed and provided the things to be taken care of. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I've found hope... now if this baby sickness would go away on the 1st day of week 12... that'd be AWESOME! LOL

Thanks so much for all your prayers!!!