Last day as a family of 3

Tonight I have to be at the hospital by 8pm. Tomorrow I'm 3rd in line to have Baby Bob. I've got so many mixed feelings right now... nervous about having the c-section, a little freaked out about our lives changing again, sad not to be taking Izzy to school, scared of being in a hospital surrounded by people I don't know and where they will only speak English when they're talking to me.... you get the idea. It will definitely be an experience but I will be anxious to get home.

I had high hopes of spending some quality time with Izzy before I head to the hospital today but she was just too exhausted after church and needed some rest. She'll wake up with just a little bit of time to spare before I leave. Her world is about to be turned upside down with a new sibling and school all at the same time... I'm sure this all affects me more than her but I can't help worry about her.

On a side note... a friend at church told me today that she just knows this baby is going to be a boy. Her reasoning.... "No girl would ever cause this must trouble." I had to laugh. We'll find out tomorrow!

Given Up

Today I tried exercising, cleaning, spicy foods and a trip to the mall with Izzy and.... nothing. But that's okay. I've given up trying.... Baby Bob will come when he's ready or on Monday... whatever comes 1st. :)

I decided last night not to be frustrated anymore so I made plans for today, tomorrow and friday. I'll just do my best to enjoy the next few days and keep my mind occupied with other things. Monday will be here before I know it and while it's not my idea of perfect timing.... God has never failed me before so He won't now. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to write such sweet and encouraging emails. They've really helped me to let go and just enjoy the last few days as a family of three.

Well... no basketball on right now so I'm off to bed.

Perfect Bruising

I have felt absolutely huge since like 2 months of being pregnant. :) Mike always yells at me saying, I'm pregnant, I'm supposed to gain weight, etc... But I never expected my body to be so sensitive to the weight gain or to be so heavy that sitting down causes bruises.

Several weeks ago, I took Isabella to the playground in town. The playground is one with a metal bottom with little holes all thru it. We were pretending to have a tea party and therefore sitting on the bottom. When I got home, we went for a swim and I noticed all these bruises on my legs. At first, I couldn't figure out what it was but then I remembered the playground. Well Monday at Disney we sat down (for a max of 10/15 min) on a metal bench, with little holes, just like the playground. I told Mike that I'd probably have those bruises again but I was just joking.... I didn't really expect to. Well I was wrong... I had perfect little circle bruises on my legs.

It scared me the first time... now I just think it's really funny and I just can't believe how sensitive my body is. I tried to upload a picture of the bruises but my bluetooth isn't working. Maybe another day. Just one more weird thing about this pregnancy. :)

What else to try?

So we headed out to Disney today. Partly because I wanted to take Izzy before Baby Bob arrives but also hoping the walking might help get labor started. But to no avail... still quite pregnant and uncomfortable but that's okay. At least I know there is an end in sight. It was unbelievably hot and crowded so we only stayed a few hours but I'm glad we went. We didn't even take many pictures but here are two I really liked. The 1st, Izzy is making a wish... she gets wishing coins for good behavior/doing what we ask/etc ... she loves making wishes. The last picture is how she has decided to sleep the past few weeks. Mike has been working late the past few weeks so we think this is her way of making sure she sees him each night but it just makes me laugh. If you can't tell... she is sleeping on the floor in her bedroom doorway. :)

Tomorrow Sarah arrives! We are anxious to see her... please pray for her safe arrival and that Baby Bob will make his appearance too!

Just in case...

You read this but don't get our email updates...

The Dr said that Baby Bob is just big... 4kgs to be exact (about 8.8lbs) and has an unusually large tummy. They are concerned about the tummy getting stuck so they highly recommended a c-section. I'm torn about this because I feel if I were to go into labor within the next few days it would be okay to try naturally (as I've just read about a few women delivering 9+ babies in the past few months) but they still want to do a c-section but obviously if the baby does not arrive before the 25th (when they want to do the c-section) then I would be too nervous to try on my own. But alas... I'm not having any more contractions so I doubt the baby will come on it's own which means... Baby Bob will arrive some time on August 25th.

I do ask for prayer though that I would go into labor on my own sometime this week as Isabella's 1st day of school is the 25th. I really wanted Mike or I to take her (an adult goes with her for an hr that 1st week to help with adjustments) and if the baby doesn't come on his own... neither of us will be able to go with her.

So that's the update. To be honest, I'm quite frustrated and discouraged and not really interested in talking about this much right now.

Ultrasound tomorrow

You never know what to expect with public appointments. I expected to wait at least 2hrs today and was in and out of there but oh well. I think they were somewhat prepared for me and knew exactly what they needed to do but alas.... they agreed that I was 'quite large' and want to determine if it's because:

1. my fat (that's exactly what they said...lol)
2. the baby's just big
3. there's too much fluid

So tomorrow at 8am, I'll have an ultrasound to determine the cause of my large stomach. Then we'll go from there. If the fluid is something to be concerned about, I'll be admitted and will have the baby though I'm not sure if that means being induced or c-section (forgot to ask that). If it's just a big baby, they'll send me back home to wait. The baby is engaged and ready to go so they don't seem to be too worried. This Dr was incredibly nice and was quite sympathetic towards me having to carry this baby around too much longer.

I just pray that:

1. the baby is healthy and there's nothing to worry about and
2. that they will make this baby come out tomorrow!!!! can you tell I'm ready??

Bless Joan though... I called her immediately and sent her out to buy baby detergent and asked her to wash all that I would need for the hospital. The Dr told me to have all my bags ready just in case and well.... I actually planned to do that tomorrow. But Joan was very gracious and I'm off to pack my bags now.

Hope Mike can post tomorrow about the birth of Baby '**********' And YES we finally have at least a girls name all set! We have a few boys names but nothing set in stone.

Making an Appointment in Public Hospitals

One of the negatives to using public hospitals is that you cannot call and make an appointment... you must go to the hospital itself to make the appointment. Well today, I had Mike drop me off so I could get there as early as possible, arriving around 9:15ish (it opened at 9). I was number 9 and was excited about a rather calm, relaxing day. (I had to meet Mike at 1 so I had decided to make my appointment and then just enjoy some time to myself.) However, after one hour of waiting, I got a bit frustrated and nervous that maybe I'd missed them calling me. So I go to the registration desk and they say, 'Oh I'm sorry. We're waiting on your Dr's referral letter.' After wondering why in the world they needed this, I sat back down figuring it wouldn't be too much longer. Over another hour later, I was still sitting and waiting... unbelievably frustrated and uncomfortable. I finally got up and asked what the problem was.... told them I'd been waiting over 2hrs just to make an appointment. They asked me my number... which was 9 (the ninth person arriving from the start of the day) and they were like 'oh' and handed me my appointment slip. My appointment... next Wed. Ugh!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm a bit annoyed, frustrated... ugh. I cannot wait to have this baby and be done with these clinics. Never have I felt so stressed about attending Dr.'s appointments. I will be very happy to travel a distance to have the sweetness, genuine care, etc of Dr. Kelly.

I made it in time to meet Mike for a quick lunch and then off to look at our pictures that we had taken on Monday. When we took Isabella to see the musical Mulan, a photography studio was selling sessions for about an 1/8th of their normal cost with a free 8X10 photo. It's VERY difficult to find reasonably priced photographers here and so we opted to buy a session knowing that we most likely would not be able to afford any more pics aside from the freebie. But of course, they're never clear on how much the photos are until after the session. YIKES!!! The cheapest picture was almost $1000 dollars. Granted it was big and framed and all that but geesh... We went for the viewing today... trying, hoping that maybe we could make something work so we could at least get a couple of the shots (they were SO cute and so different) but in the end we just took our free photo and left. It was disappointing on top of what I experienced this morning but that's okay. We knew that we would love the pictures but probably couldn't get any.

I'm starting to get quite emotional.... I'm still not feeling well and just so ready to get back to normal life that everything is just getting to me. I'm praying very hard this baby will come very soon... would love it if it came before even having to go to my appointment next week. :) I had a mini-holiday planned (at home) with Izzy and camping in the backyard/Disney/the beach but the T8 has temporarily killed that... maybe next week will work.

But we have an exciting Saturday planned... two of our youth group girls want to be baptized!!!!! I'm super excited for them and looking forward to watching that!

T8 Again

We woke up to some strong winds this morning. When I looked outside, I didn't think too much of it but it turned out to be another T8... our second one this year! That means everything closes down. I was slightly disappointed because it meant I couldn't go to the hospital to make my appointment but it was nice to have Mike home with us today. We played in Izzy's room for quite a bit and then I decided to check out the damage to our backyard. In the course of the morning, we lost two trees, our grill, and a potted tree. We praise the Lord we've not had much leaking and that nothing happened to the cars that are parked at our place and that we were warned on Monday with a T1 so we already overturned our table and we didn't have any more broken glass. It seems to have settled now but we'll still just chilling inside watching movies. 

 

Mike and Joan assessing the damage

Baby coming soon?

I had my appointment today. The 1st of weekly visits until the baby is born. These appointments I actually get to see the Dr but that stressed me out because this Dr is the one who's made the biggest deal about my weight but alas.... I thought I was going to be checked for progress but it was the same type of an appointment... only done by the Dr, herself. Anyway, she asked me if I was sure about my due date and then said she was referring me back to the hospital for my visits. I asked why and she said I was measuring big. I get to keep my records so when I got on the bus, I was reading the notes and it turns out I'm measuring 39 weeks! I'm praying very hard this means the baby will come early but we'll see. So tomorrow I have to go to the hospital to make an appointment to see the Dr there. I'm also praying that maybe they can squeeze me in while I'm there so I don't have to make another trip another day.

But anyway... this made me very excited and anxious. I guess I really should get my hospital bags together.

Meal Time funnies

I am so far behind in my posts but I just had to write what happened at dinner tonight. Izzy was happy eating her veggie/fruit face but wanted nothing to do with the meat. I told her she needed to eat a few bites and I would get her some more eyes (grapes) and so she agreed. She ate 2 bites and then I put a third on her plate to eat while I got her some more grapes. When I came back the meat was gone so I gave her the grapes. A few minutes later, I went to use my napkin and low and behold... there was the meat. :) I looked at her and asked, 'Did you hide your meat in my napkin?' And she replied with the biggest grin, 'Yes!'
I guess I should have been upset but it just made me laugh. She's been a real ham lately...

Last night she pulled out the raft for the pool, climbed to the top of the steps and slid down. All I kept thinking about was Home Alone when the boy sleds down the stairs. She was having a blast.

Sweet Izzy Story #7808

As Izzy is looking at a Barney's Easter Stories book...
"Once upon a time, Jesus came into this book and saw a big goldfish... a big, big fish."

Izzy Stories part deux

Once upon a time, Jesus was in Hong Kong
And Dora was in Hong Kong
They said, 'Eseybody, come, come, come!'
Jesus said, 'Come too Dora'


I LOVE listening to Isabella tell stories! She's so creative. She loves to look at her books and tell us what's going on and I'm always impressed with how much she remembers about the different books. She can pretty much quote her Dora books and she loves to tell us stories about Jesus.

So after a great day yesterday, today was quite frustrating at school. So I treated myself to a Vanilla Coke and some ice cream when I got home and then took Izzy out for a swim. I swear if Baby Bob doesn't turn into a water lover than no baby will. :) While I'm not particularly enjoying the heat and pregnancy... I'm loving how much better swimming makes me feel. I may not look very pretty but it's so comfortable! LOL And we had a great time in the pool... we practiced all our numbers in every language and our colors in Cantonese. She was really excited about repeating what I said so it was fun to try new things.

Well... I've got lots of papers to mark so I better stop procrastinating.

Hap Mun Beach

Burying Auntie Joan

Only in HK will someone swim with an umbrella and yes he was with us

Izzy at work

What a fun, fabulous day we had today! It was another public holiday so we had intentions of going cliff jumping/to the beach and while we did all that... we separated as a family. Cliff jumping is a bit of a hike and in 36 degrees I was a bit hesitant to go. I know how tired one can get after a full day in the sun and swimming without being pregnant and I didn't know how Izzy would actually do at the beach so I opted out of that fun adventure. Mike on the other hand took about 18 people with him and had a blast jumping, swimming and hanging out.

Joan invited Izzy and I to go with Aff (alliance filipino fellowship) to a different beach and since it was just a ferry ride... I figured if Izzy ended up hating the beach it would be a lot easier to head home. Plus Izzy loves these ladies and I thought it would be a fun opportunity to get to know them better.

(Just some background info... Izzy has been afraid of the sand since well since birth pretty much... she is just now getting used to sand, dirt and grass... ah the joys of HK. But alas... she did awesome!)

It took her about 20/30 minutes to convince her to go into the water with her tube but once she tried it, I couldn't get her out for hours. After about 2hrs I forced her to get out and sit in the shade for a bit but after about 20 minutes she was begging to go back in. It was a gorgeous day and it was just so much fun.

It's very difficult for me to get to know many people at church because we only see each other on Sunday's and often I'm running after Isabella or doing something for Children's Church but this group (aff) is awesome and I love these ladies. They are so supportive, encouraging, helpful, willing, etc... Their lives always amaze me (things they've dealt with, sacrifices they've made, etc) but their hearts for the Lord and passion for serving Him are incredible. I was talking with one lady and I was commenting on how the only day they get off is often filled with church activities and how I often wonder if that bothers them or is disappointing that they can't explore life in HK more and she said she wouldn't trade it. She loves being involved and she loves being at church. She's even told her employer that she cannot take away her Sunday's. It was the day promised to her and she needs to be at church. How many of us would willingly spend our entire day off at church.. and not just fellowshipping with friends but having responsibilities?

It was just another slight reminder from God of blessed I am. I feel so honored to be living and serving Him in such a diverse cultural setting. While I miss my family... it's hard to want to give something like this up.



On a very funny side note... this is a picture of what we've begun growing in our bedroom. Mike said he wanted to start an herb garden but I guess we'll settle for this! LOL No actually, please pray that we can get this problem of dampness and mold out of our house as we have two very sensitive people to mold and a baby on the way.

Oh the Places You'll Go

Angela, Nancy and Brett (3 of our grads... Brett is Izzy's buddy)

Today we said good-bye to our grads but thankfully, we'll have some of them sticking around for the summer. However, Isabella's best bud leaves this Wednesday. We usually do a junk boat trip but we decided to do something different this year and it was a good thing as it stormed all day. We just had everyone over for a BBQ. It was great and we had a pretty good turn out... about 30 people total. So today seemed crazy as we had a final fellowship party in Children's Church and it was also Pastor Ed and Sharon's last Sunday and I didn't even get to say good-bye... plus our party in which we left right after the service for. But it was a good day and several students are still hanging out which I love.

Last night we had a friend and his son over for dinner and a game of monopoly. It was fun but the best part was seeing Tim and Mike on the couch sharing a blanket! :) The sayings about women always being hot while pregnant have run true for me and I guess I froze them out. It was too funny though.

It's a long weekend for me thanks to Hong Kong SAr day so I'm looking forward to Mon and Tues off. We're hoping to go cliff diving on Tuesday and I think tomorrow's just going to be a relaxing day. Only 7 more days of school for me! Wohoo!!!!

Mulan Musical

It's no lie that Isabella loves all things Disney... well at least most things so when I saw an ad for a children's musical production of Mulan, I decided that I HAD to take her. :) I thought it would be a really fun 'Mommy and Daughter' date... with dressing up, having dinner, and seeing the musical. And then Mike had to cancel cliff diving due to the rain and I thought it would be even better if could join us! So after Mom Time we headed out to Wanchai for dinner at the flying pan (an American breakfast place that Mike loves) and then off to the play. Izzy really enjoyed it and I was quite surprised at how well she sat and watched. Now all she talks about is going back to the 'me-ater' to see Mulan. It was a very fun evening and it was so nice to try something different with her.

And to top off a great night... a photography company was there giving out discounts so we signed up for a 1hr photo session! I was so excited because all photographers here are outrageously priced and with the discount we're getting an almost 400 dollar session for 50! Wohoo! The only negative being that while we will get one free 10X8, I know I'll love and want more and I'm sure that will be a bit out of our price range... but that's okay. We'll enjoy it. I was hoping we could extend the discount 1 more month so we could use it as a family photo with the new baby but it expires on the 26th of August and the guy felt it would be more special to have the photo while I was still pregnant. :)

It was just a really special day all around... hope yours was too!

T8

Well I'm experiencing my first T8 warning (typhoon) and I must say I'm a little disappointed. I expected more rain and stronger winds but that's probably a good thing considering the leakage problems in our place at the moment. Though I did wake up this morning to our overturned table, shattered glass from the table top, a broken table umbrella and a few of Izzy's toys thrown about... so maybe it was worse in the middle of the night. I won't complain though as this means I get an extra day off to spend with my cutie. Once I find my camera, I'll post a pic.




So we've enjoyed our day at home. We've had tea parties, read books, talked to Grammy, watched some cartoons, took a long nap, ate some brownies, and made some crafts. It was a fun day and now the weather has calmed down and we've settled back into a T3 which is not that serious.

Summer fun pics

This is the mini-sermon yesterday. Izzy looks like she's really into it. :)

relaxing in the pool

Well my interview went really well and since they still want to find a full-time teacher who can start in August, they offered me a substitute position. So that was cool and I hope they will call on me since I live so close by. :) I was really impressed with the school and wished they offered Cantonese because I would so send Izzy there but alas... However, I came home, found three more positions on-line that sounded like good potentials and have already heard back from them! How great is that! So I guess I shouldn't worry too much about finding something but I hope one of these will work out. One is teaching Music, one is Tutoring and one is teaching phonics in a Kindergarten. All very part-time but fairly close by. So I'm excited at the possibilities.

I had my Dr's appointment today and to be honest, I was stressed all day. The last thing I wanted to hear was how fat I was especially when I've been so careful over the last two weeks. Well I still gained but they didn't say anything. In fact, the only real thing that was said to me was that the baby is in good position with it's head down. Though the one nurse actually showed some compassion when she asked if I was still dealing with vomiting and I said yes. That was a nice treat. So despite what the clinic says about my weight, I had three people say something to me within the last week that I took as very nice compliments and made me smile. One of my MN girls told me I was the cutest pregnant ladies, a lady a church said she had no idea I was pregnant until I turned around, and a teacher at school told me that I walk pretty fast for a pregnant lady. They're little comments but they sure make a lady feel good. :)

Well I'm procrastinating... I have lots of writing papers to mark so I should get busy.

Izzy Conversations

Izzy: I'm scared Daddy.

Mike: You don't have to be scared, God is with you.

Izzy: Where Daddy, I don't see him?


A quick, funny Izzy story: Today was our Sunday School graduation and so Mike had all the children up front for a mini-sermon... Izzy included. I was actually surprised she stayed up there without me (she refused to do so at Christmas time but alas). I guess when she saw her friends she was fine. But anyway.... she was being a little bit noisy so I looked at her and did the whole finger to mouth, shhhhing thing. So she immediately stopped and began to sit quietly until the girls around her started talking. And then she became the teacher... shhhing anyone that said anything. :) It made me chuckle but I think it's something I'm going to have to keep my eye on... she has done this before and I don't want to raise a bossy little girl.

It's been a long day... a long few days actually so I'm looking forward to not having a lot on my plate for tomorrow. It's supposed to be incredibly hot as well so I'm looking forward to a swim. :) Anyway... we had our farewell lunch for the Manghams this afternoon. It was a nice time to listen to stories of how they touched lives here in HK. They were headed out for a cruise to Vietnam late afternoon before finishing out their last week in HK. They head back to the states July 1st... hard to believe the time is here already.

Nick came over for dinner and shared that the house they intended to buy in Canada fell through at the last minute. Secretly, I keep hoping they will stay in HK so I was happy but I'm sure this is a huge disappointment and frustration for them. I just keep praying that they will seek what the Lord has for them and that maybe it would be for them to stay another year or two. LOL

I'm down to 3 weeks of school left and I'm really looking forward to not making that commute anymore. I will miss the job and the students/co-workers but I will not miss dedicating 3hrs of my life each day to a bus or train. I actually have an interview in the morning for a potential position at a Kindergarten just up the street from us. They've already told me that they most likely will not have a position to offer me at this moment because of the baby and my due date but they asked me to still come for a possible substituting or part-time position in the near future. I have to be there for a hands on interview (so for the whole 3hr kindy session) and I'm not crazy about that but it's hard to pass up on something that is so close by. So I'm praying that they might have something part-time to offer me.

Well... I'm a bit tired so I'm headed to bed.

Morning sickness

Well it seems as though the morning sickness has returned in full force even with the medicine I have been taking. I'm trying to think of what else it could be but the ride to church today was not good nor was my day yesterday. The one thing I have noticed is that I get hot even quicker than before. Poor Mike and Izzy... I've been freezing them out because the instant I get a bit too hot... is the instant I feel the need to throw up. Our poor electric bill but I just can't take the heat. So if you wouldn't mind praying for me, I would greatly appreciate it.

At my last appointment, the Dr so kindly told me that while morning sickness ends for most women at the 2nd trimester... for some it will last all pregnancy. Well I guess I'm one of those lucky few. But while I don't feel the greatest... I'm trying really hard to be joyful. We are doing an overview of the New Testament in Sunday School and today we talked about Philippians. I was convicted on how joy-less I've been in regards to this pregnancy and life since Jan. I feel really guilty that I haven't taken in everything as much as I did with Isabella and for being so frustrated when I know there are many women out there who would do anything to be in my shoes... so as we talked about in our group... I'm choosing to be joyful in the midst of frustration and not feeling well. Sickness is no excuse... I have a lot to be grateful for.

I'll have more to write tomorrow but I wanted to ask for prayer. Thanks!

Happy Ministry Anniversary Dad!!!!

Today (or maybe it was yesterday, I'm a little confused on my dates today) my father-in-law celebrates 25 years in ministry!!!! What an exciting day to celebrate and look back upon how God has worked in your life as well as how He has used you in ministry. I haven't always been around (hehe... that just sounds funny to me) but I've been around since their life in Dover began and it's been so cool to see how they've become such a part of the church and how much the church has grown under his leadership.

His testimony as to how he ended up in ministry is impressive to me as he went back to school when Mike just a wee one after being successful as an accountant. I'm always super impressed with those who follow God's calling when it seems so much easier to continue to live the way you are. I think it takes a lot of faith, trust and willingness to sacrifice.

I've learned a lot from him over the past 8 yrs and it's been a blessing to be his daughter-in-law. So I wish you the happiest of anniversaries!

You can check out the Dover Alliance Church web-site here.... where you can also read his blog and listen to his sermons.