Excited and Nervous

It is now April and that means next month Eli will be here. I am really nervous, but ready for him to be here. I know Chris is ready too.

 A couple of weeks ago we went to Ultrasona again to see Eli again. Every time I see him, I want to cry. I still lift my shirt while I am watching TV and just watch him kick and move. It will never stop amazing me. Chris bought the ultrasound  for me for my birthday. He also bought me a prenatal massage. I think I have the best husband ever! 

I pray every day that Chris and I are good parents. I want Eli to have a childhood like I did. I am grateful for strict, but loving parents. Their prayers (along with others) have kept me out of trouble and I have made good decisions( some bad too) in my life. Eli is going to be one blessed and spoiled( but not a brat) boy. I can't wait to see the kind of man he grows up to be. 

I love his face!

Look at that smile!

Changes

Chris got an office job at work. He started his new position yesterday. He is still unsure about if he will like it, but he is going to give it a try. The good thing is, if he doesn't like it, he can go back to his old job.

A few weeks ago Chris showed me a large lump under his armpit. Me being the learner that I am, had to look up what it could be via Google. He kept telling me to stop because he is the same way and had already looked it up. There were articles about cysts and cancer. Me being   a worrier as well, immediately thought cancer. Chris is NOT a worrier, so he was just going to wait it out. NO. I made him schedule an appointment. Turns out it was a cyst. Thank God!

The pregnancy is going well. I am starting to really show now after nearly six months of being asked if I really am pregnant. I have a little over two months until Eli is born and so much is going to be happening. We have my birthday (31) and birthing class this week, my shower, maternity pictures, finishing the nursery,etc in the next few weeks. So much to do and it will be here before we know it! We are so excited to meet Eli. Chris is just as excited as me 😀

Third Trimester

I am going in to my third trimester this week and while I am excited, I am nervous as well. I pray that Chris and I will do a good job as parents. This journey has been great, exhausting and emotional. Every time I go to an appointment and see Eli or hear his heartbeat, I am reminded of God's love and promises for me. Just a few years ago, I was lonely and started to wonder if God had a plan for me. A few years later he showed me that if you wait on Him, He will deliver. I have an amazing husband, a great home, wonderful family and friends, a job, and am expecting the most beautiful baby. God is awesome.

Eli is going to have a wonderful life with parents and family who love him and will have so many great experiences. I hope that most of all he loves God and treats people as God wants him to. 

My baby boy at 26 weeks !!

Update

Baby Eli is continuing to grow and measure right on target with his due date. He is starting to kick like crazy. I think he will be a soccer player like his daddy. We are so excited to meet him and it is hard for us to stay patient, but we are preparing for his arrival. 

Marriage is great. I know we will have our hard times and it won't always be easy, but so far it has been amazing. I am so lucky to have a husband that makes sure I am happy and comfortable during my pregnancy. He does so much for me and I am so lucky to have him by my side during pregnancy and as Eli's father. He will be a great father.

Dolly is still our little fur baby. I love her! She knows to be gentle around me and it is so sweet. She will lay her little head on my shoulder and cuddle with me in the evenings. She is the perfect family dog. She is definitely the best Christmas gift ever. 

Life is great and I am so blessed to have my husband and family in my life. Eli is going to be one blessed (and spoiled) little boy.

Baby Eli

On December 6, Chris and I went with our parents to Columbus and found out what gender Baby Branson is. We are having a boy!! His name will be Elijah (Eli for short) Alan Branson. We have always wanted Elijah, but after seeing what it meant, it makes it that much more perfect. It means "My Lord is God." The prophet Elijah is also someone in the Bible who is often overlooked.  If you don't lnow much about him, read about him.

I am going into my 19th week and time seems to be standing still.  Everyone keeps saying to enjoy being pregnant. I have been sick, sore and just flat out exhausted. I want May to get here as soon as possible. I don't see how anyone who is pregnant can say time is flying by. I just guess I want him here. I have waited so long to get married and have a family, so I guess I just have to be patient.... I have been so far in my life.

Recently I have started feeling little kicks. It's the most emotional thing- just knowing that a human being is in there moving around. I cry sometimes when I feel it. 

We have picked out a theme for the nursery-sports, of course. It is not going to be babyish though. I am going to decorate with some things that can transition into his toddler years and older. I am thinking of red, black and creams/tans for the colors. I got something for the nursery already,  but Chris hasn't seen it yet. I want to surprise him for Christmas.  He is going to love it.

I am so excited to be on this journey even though I have been sore, sick and tired. I am even more excited to be sharing it with the most amazing husband. I can't imagine not having him there for all of this.  God has truly blessed me with a great family, husband,  a home (with room for three if we want), a job, and soon a child.

Baby Eli

He has his first Reds shirt and glove already. Thanks Gram and Gramps (my mom and dad)

Sucking his thumb and showing us he is a boy... look between the umbilical cord and his legs :-)

My family- my parents, husband and in-laws. Eli is going to be spoiled rotten!!!

Baby Branson Coming Soon

I have not posted an entry in a long time, but  A LOT has happened. On September 14, I took a pregnancy test after taking a negative one the previous week. It was positive.  Chris and I were both shocked and overwhelmed with joy. A couple weeks later we told our family at our Anniversary/ Chris's birthday party.

We have had our first and second appointment already and got to hear the heart beat. I bawled like a baby. It became real when we heard the heartbeat. We go again the first week of December for another appointment and then we have an appointment to find out the gender on December 6. We want a boy, but will be excited either way.

I can't believe how blessed I am. God has been there for me during lonliness,  hard times and when I felt like I was never going to find anyone to love. He answered my prayers first with Chris and now with a baby.I can't wait to share this journey with my best friend.  He is the love of my life and I can't wait for him to be a daddy. I am so excited, scared, and nervous to be a mother,  but I had a great example and I hope I can follow in her footsteps.

Same Ol' Same Ol'

As the number of days and months get longer that Chris and I have been married, it is easy to forget about this blog, but the whole reason why I started this blog is to keep track of the memories, even the mundane every day life.

I shouldn't call every day life mundane, but people in the blog world usually don't care to read about the every day things. People usually want to read about big events or take a life lesson with them. I sadly do not have either of those to offer at this point.

What I will say is this (for those of you who care)- Chris and I are doing great! I won't lie and say that marriage has been exactly like it was before we got married, but it is going well. The reason why it is a lot different, is because Chris and I didn't live together before marriage. I know.... it is a bit old fashioned, but old-fashioned never hurt anyone, plus, statistics show that people who don't live together before marriage are most likely to last. I know it sounds like a "statistic," or "old school"  but my parents didn't live together and they will be married 37 years. Anyway...  Chris was over at my condo quite a bit, but living together 7 days a week 24 hours a day is a big adjustment. I also grew up an only child, so I was alone a lot. Having someone there all the time is definitely different. I wouldn't trade it for anything though.

Another thing that is happening is that we are talking about when is the right time to start our family. We had started talking casually about it after we got engaged, but once we got married, we started talking about when we would start planning to start a family. Around November/December is when we really started talking more about it. By January it seemed like more and more babies were being conceived, announcements were popping up and 2014 seemed to be the year of the baby. The more we talked about it, the more we thought we should wait for awhile longer. There are still some things that need to be done and we are waiting on the perfect time- God's time. I have really been praying about it and just seeking God about when He wants us to start our family. I am putting God as the top priority in my marriage and I definitely want Him at the top when I decide to move in to parenthood.  Everyone is asking us when we are going to start having kids, so that is my answer for now. Everyone will definitely know when we do get pregnant and if anyone wants to babysit, sign up now! HAHA! There is already a waiting list.

In other, more current news, I am going on the Emmaus Walk in a few weeks. I have been trying to go for years and I guess Chris had to go before me so that I could get someone to sponsor me! Just kidding, but I am excited to finally go. I have not really had a time to really connect with God  in this kind of setting since my time at Lee. I am also looking forward to going because my friend, Des is going. I am hoping she is as excited about it as me.

Speaking of friends.... sometimes I feel so out of the loop. Everyone is married, starting to have families, busy, or just forgets about hanging out with friends. I don't know if people think Chris and I are still newlyweds and don't want to bother us, but we really do want to hang out with friends more. I love Chris dearly, but there are times when I just want a girlfriend to go do things with. I guess that's just another thing to get used to while being married...

Well, not much is going on in the Branson family. When something does happen, I will be sure to post here as well as Facebook.

Aimee