36 weeks pregnant and a Bridesmaid in Idaho!

As usual, I'm late... tomorrow marks week 38! But, better to post milestone pictures sometime than never. These were from the busy week 36 of pregnancy. During that week, we flew to Idaho, I was in a wedding, and we flew to Alabama! So grateful the Lord sustained us all during that week and gave us a wonderful time. Now the countdown is on to see if week 40 pictures will be taken with baby in the belly or in my arms! ;)

For some reason, it seems, my closest friends like to get married when I'm having a baby. So this was my second time being a bridesmaid in my 3rd trimester... But I loved it and was so glad my friend still wanted me to be in the wedding, and that God worked it out that we could go. Missing this wedding, when I had prayed so much for my friend and watched her story unfold from afar, would have been so hard. So while I wouldn't necessarily encourage people to take two plane rides at 36 weeks pregnant, I can say that it is possible and it was definitely worth it!

My friend also picked a wonderful wedding dress. An "infinity dress," the top could be wrapped any way you desired, and though the "one size fits all" had me a bit worried at first, I can safely attest that it even fits pregnant - very pregnant! - women! The color was beautiful and the fabric comfortable, and it was perfect for my friend's amazing fall + country wedding.

I had no problem being a bridesmaids and all the activity that comes with that, though I did sit down and put my feet up at the reception during the dancing when I wouldn't have normally done that! But with Ryan gone to put Hadassah to bed (he was amazing taking care of her most of the weekend so I could do things with friends!), and when I tried one dance only to have a friend say "you better not go into labor on us!" and then felt a strong Braxton Hicks contraction, I decided I'd better play it safe and not do anything to encourage labor!

Little Ellie continues to be active, and I love her movements though the pokes and jabs can be a bit painful at times! But it makes me smile, as I know she's getting cramped and pushing around for more space. I'd tell her to just hold on a week or two more at the 36 mark, but now I tell her she's welcome to come anytime if she needs a little more room. ;)

God has been so good to me. While many pregnant moms talk about not being able to sleep at this point, I have slept deeply and soundly - though maybe not enough all the time, with all the late nights to see friends and family! But I feel energetic, even more than I did at the start of the third trimester, and have very little issues to complain about. Braxton Hicks contractions often come at night, or if I'm doing a lot of walking, and my legs cramp/feel restless if I don't stretch them well. And I feel really big. And ready to be not so big. But who doesn't at this stage?

Just being with friends has been so encouraging. I feel like I've been given a little vacation before another baby comes and I'll be nursing and on call for that little one almost constantly! Hadassah has had good daddy-daughter time as well as time with grandparents, as I've been able to meet friends for lunch or thrift store shopping dates. All-in-all, these are really blessed final weeks of pregnancy.

Now for more pictures from the beautiful weekend in Idaho...

 Hadassah did amazing on the two flights we had from Louisville to Boise! She even slept, when I was pretty sure she wouldn't even nap due to flying that day. I guess getting up early helped. We saved money to do "infant in lap" for the last time before she turns to, but for a 2- and 3-hour flights, it wasn't too bad as we could switch off, and I had more room to fit her on my lap than I'd imagined! Though I was a bit stiff after holding her sleeping, I enjoyed that cuddle time and Ryan was great to stuff jackets to prop up my arm and back and help however he could!

Us "sisters of the heart" got to do a brunch together the day before the wedding. So happy to rejoice with our Gabrielle, the final one of us to walk down the aisle, as we had prayed so much for this time!

Lives change, and different seasons come at different times, but I am so glad we were able to all make it for this time to celebrate.

 The dads did great taking care of the littles while us girls had fun with wedding stuff! Hadassah loved having a cute 6-month-old companion around! When I told her we'd be seeing this little guy (who she loved watching videos of on Facebook) for the first time, she told me "I love baby Ethan. I'll give him a big hug and a big kiss!" And she did. :)

 The weather in Boise was absolutely gorgeous - not too cold or too hot, and the leaves were changing so beautifully amazing. So Hadassah got some fun fall playtime. :)

 The wedding day was absolutely perfect. Stunning blue sky. perfect weather, and Gabrielle was an absolutely beautiful bride in a dress so perfect for her.

Ryan, again, kept Hadassah well taken care of, getting her all ready for the wedding after her nap except for the pigtails, which he left for me to do. :) And he made sure she got plenty of exploring and running around time around the lovely outdoor venue before and between the wedding and reception.

 Miriam flew up from Alabama! So fun to have time with this dear friend since age 5. Sometimes way too much time passes between when we have time to talk or see each other, but we always pick up as though we've never been apart!

 My "twin" Jen flew in from Illinois, and it was so wonderful to meet her cute little guy in person and exchange mom stories. :) Such a blessing to have these sisters in Christ and have time to reconnect with them!

I love our little family. :)

 Had to get a picture of Hadassah with Aunt Gabby! I kept talking to Hadassah excitedly about the wedding that whenever we mentioned Gabrielle's wedding, even days afterwards, she would say "Aunt Gabby got married! Horray!" :)

 The felt creations served another great purpose other than for plane rides - getting a toddler to sit for a lot of the wedding and reception!

 The flowers and touches of fall decorations were perfect in every way. I always knew I'd be carrying Gerber daisies in Gabrielle's wedding, and they fit the occasion perfectly. :)

Hadassah was up an hour past her normal bed time, and close to melting down, asking to go... but when we heard the father-daughter dance was about to happen, we just had to stay for that special moment. Made me tear up watching Gabrielle dance with her dad, and then Ryan with Hadassah...

So with all the traveling, I wonder if Eliana is going to be super adventurous, after all I've put her through in pregnancy. But I am so grateful for God's grace and the gifts He's given us in allowing us to be built up by time with friends and sharing in special memories. He is so good!

Now, little Ellie, we're settled in Alabama. You can come anytime... :)

Fun in Indiana!

We arrived in Indiana to stay with Ryan's family late at night on October 1st. While it was an exhausting week trying to get over jet lag, it was a wonderful time to be with family. Hadassah only woke once each night, usually early morning, wanting to play for a few hours. The first few days we just had a really early morning wake-up, then eventually she would go back to sleep after a bit. The hardest part of the day was waking her from her afternoon nap... I'd give her 3 hours, but she was still SO out of it and usually very cranky, as her body still thought it was night time. But by day 5 she was mostly sleeping all and back to her normal mostly-happy-Hadassah self, and we started feeling a bit more human...

Ryan's sister and her family came for the weekend, so it was wonderful to see them too and see the cousins - just 3 months apart - able to play together more!

 Coming downstairs and seeing sights like this always warmed my heart :)

 Since Hadassah turns two the end of October and Evan turns two in February, we had an early family birthday party for them both.They really liked the chocolate cupcakes!

 Hadassah loved her presents - a baby doll from Grammy and Grandpa with accessories, and a doctor kit from her aunt & uncle!

 Almost every day Daddy and/or grandparents took her to a new park. The swings were always her favorite. For some reason, they don't have swing sets in the playgrounds (that we've seen!) in Shanghai.

 Swinging with Uncle Bobby and Evan made it even more fun!

 When cousins happen to match, it's just another excuse to get fun pictures!

So blessed to be all together for a little while! Wish we had more times like these, but grateful for what we had!

 Hadassah loved it when Grammy and Grandpa would play on the park with her!

 More swing fun and looking like sunshine with new thrift store shirts! So happy to be back in a land where I can understand and find deals on things! :)

 You don't see trees like this where we are in China. And the scene was just so iconic USA, we couldn't stop looking at it and had to take a picture...

One of her favorite things to do when skyping Grandpa was to have him play his harmonica and she run and get her toy whistle. Well, he taught her how to play her own harmonica in person, and she was absolutely thrilled!

 Leaving Hadassah with grandparents allowed us to go on some dates! We enjoyed Culver's and walking along the Ohio river one night, as well as shopping trips with lunch dates and going out to see the "War Room" movie while Hadassah napped and Grammy kept an ear out. It was so SO refreshing to be out so much with my love!

 Tuesday evening some extended family came by. It was great to catch up with everyone, though we only had a brief time. All in all, time in Indiana was too short to do all we wanted to do, but we were glad we at least got to be there for a week before heading to the wedding and then the place we needed to be to have baby!

 On October 8th, we were back at the airport. It was nice to have grandparents to help us check in at the airport - and it was probably one of the smoothest check-ins we've ever had! We love the service Southwest Airlines gives, and I think we're starting to get the hang of flying, like how much nicer it is when you keep carry-ons to a minimum! And after the long flight before, facing two flights of just a couple hours each hardly seemed like anything.

 Helping Grandpa with the suitcase. "Travel puppy" (her adventure buddy - helps so much to have a stuffed animal to hold when you have to wait in lines!) had a nice seat in the handle :)

 Someone gave her a little airplane to assemble, so she worked on it with Grandpa and Daddy since we intentionally gave ourselves extra time at check-in.

 We watched some planes take off, and then had to say goodbye. Thankfully it wasn't for the year... we'll see them again when they come down after baby Ellie is born!

Flying from China... at 35 weeks pregnant!

Well, considering we've been in America for 14 days now (it's really been that long??) it's about time we started blogging about it. But, the lack of blogging shows the joy of being with family and friends... I just haven't taken time to be online much at all. And then there was the fog of jet lag and the busyness of all we did between flying to Indiana, Idaho, and Alabama... 

But we made it! We're in the place we're supposed to be to have this baby and everything has gone well. God has been so good and gracious to us!

Now to look back at that first long flight across the ocean on October 1st...

 The last sticker was put on the chart and the little miss was ready to go see Grammy and Grandpa! SHE was the one to remember as soon as she woke up that morning that today was the day we were going to go!

 We got to the airport super early, as it was the first day of a national holiday week in China and we weren't sure if the roads or airport would be crowded. We needn't have worried... there was hardly anyone on the road and there was no one in line as we checked in at the Delta desk. But, it was nice to have time and not have to feel rushed at all!

And, either my "disguise" worked, trying to look less pregnant with draping clothes and a scarf, or staying behind the stroller and/or check-in counters as much as possible, or (most likely!) the fact that people were praying and God was in control meant we had NO issue whatsoever with me being pregnant. No one even said anything about me being pregnant. It was almost as if I was invisible. Being behind a cute toddler probably also helped turn attention away from myself. :)

 Getting all of our luggage loaded on a cart helped a lot as we entered in the wrong terminal and had to walk to the other to get checked in. But we had no rush on time and knew we'd be sitting for a while, so a long walk felt good!

We ate lunch and let Hadassah run around for a few hours - another great thing about getting to the airport early! Although she never did fall asleep in her stroller for her nap, she got a lot of energy out running around before the long flight! She also loved watching airplanes take off and hanging on the railings in front of the windows. She's definitely a little monkey!

We made it on the plane! Another huge relief, as we passed the final "checkpoint" without anyone saying a thing about me being pregnant. The relief Ryan had was incredible. Somehow I wasn't as worried but he'd been sure we were going to have an issue somewhere, so it was wonderful to see how relieved and excited he was!

 He told me to keep the scarf on until take-off though, just in case a flight attendant questioned us. I don't look pregnant right? ;)

 Okay, so maybe I do have a secret! I was definitely WARM wearing all the layers!

 Hadassah was sleepy, but enjoyed reading books...

 Some foam stickers I found the day before we left were a hit with her, as she could peel the backing off herself! And yes, the baby bump is much more pronounced with a cooler undershirt and no scarf!

Little Ellie moved a LOT during the flight... whether because I was awake during our night or maybe she felt the change of pressure. My legs cramped some and there were many  many times I just wanted the flight to be over. But I was able to get up and walk and stretch at least every hour, which helped a ton. It was far more comfortable flying at 35 weeks pregnant - even 13 hours - than I thought it would be. Aided largely by the fact that Hadassah...

 SLEPT! Like, for 8 hours straight! Missing her nap that day probably helped increase tiredness, and having her own seat gave her space to stretch out and not wake when I had to shift positions, but I know it was also due to everyone who prayed. She kept moving around, and did wake after the first hour of sleep, but she was immediately excited to discover she was sleeping on an airplane, and soon fell back asleep as I sang to her. Then she'd almost roll off of the seat as she changed positions about every hour (so we had to stay pretty alert and catch her in the nick of time many times) but she didn't wake up until she'd slept for 7-8 hours. When she did wake we only had around 3 hours of the flight left, which seemed do-able with all the activities we'd brought.

 Ryan was incredible. He kept drinking coffee every time the flight attendant offered drinks so that he'd be awake and able to help me with whatever, and he STOOD for a large amount of the time Hadassah slept. He'd sit while I got up to walk/stretch when my legs got too restless, but then stand half-way in the aisle so I could stretch out a little. Putting my feet up helped a ton. And I even slightly nodded off a time or two - always alert enough that if Hadassah moved I was there to prevent her from rolling, but restful enough that it didn't feel I'd been awake ALL night! My husband is amazing. :)

 Flying over frozen tundra as the sun rose... amazing.

She was still tired when she awoke - only 8 hours of "night" sleep especially after missing a nap isn't enough for a toddler - but she was in a good mood. Special snacks and activities helped. We were just very impressed too... at not even 2 years of age, she is a great traveler! The excitement of going to see grandparents she loves SO much helped too. It's fun that at this age she's understanding things so much more...

 After a pretty easy layover in Detroit (though all the lines you have to go through coming from overseas seem to stretch on forever!), we were on our way to Louisville... A one hour flight seemed like nothing after the 13 hour one we'd been on, and we still had plenty of new things to play with!

 And when we arrived, there was no hesitation. As soon as Hadassah saw her grandparents, she RAN to see them and gave them big hugs and kisses. I had talked to her ahead of time a lot, saying "are you going to run to them and give them a hug?" and evidently she decided YES!

Seeing the joy on our daughter's face made us so overjoyed too. Being away from grandparents for so long (it had been 10 months since we'd seen them in person) is definitely the biggest and hardest sacrifice for us in living in China.

 Expressions like these made the long flight and the craziness of jet lag to come so so worth it...

While we tried to get the car seat correctly installed, Hadassah went for a walk in the parking garage... No hesitation about leaving mom and dad when she was with the grandparents she had waited SO long to see! She had wanted to wear my scarf as we got off the last plane, and the fact that Grammy was wearing one too made her primp and feel so grown-up, wanting them to see and admire hers. I loved watching her with them.

Ryan was running on zero sleep in about 30 hours, I had just a bit of rest, and Hadassah had less than normal for sure, but we were all so thankful and relieved to be in the great USA!

Flying and Felt Projects

It's time to fly.

But leaving home for 2 months? It's pretty crazy. Especially when you consider that we're going to have a baby while we're gone. Not being in my own home while giving birth to a baby was never on my list of things to do - I'm pretty sure it would have been high on my "never do!" list. But being at a dear friend's wedding and being with family and having a home birth in the comfort of familiarity... It makes you change your mind.

But it still seems crazy. And I'm realizing that this place really does feel like home. I'll miss it. I'll miss the friends God has blessed us with here. We actually really have friends here now.

And yet, I look forward to reconnecting with so many friends in the states. Two months hardly seems like enough time to spend with all of those we know and love so well.

I'm up late again. It's the night before we leave. Finally, the bags are almost all the way packed and weighed, I've made endless lists of things to buy in the states and more, and the washing machine is humming. I couldn't bear to leave towels wet for two months. And yet no dryer means I have to hang them up and ask a friend to come up in a few days to take them down and close the windows. But, I have friends to ask to do that so it is a blessing!

The days and evenings have been full this week. So much to do to prepare to go for so long! And to leave for so long... We've stayed up late and worked together, but every night after Hadassah goes to bed, we've enjoyed a slice of pumpkin pie. I finally got an oven that really seems to work and celebrated by making this fall-time favorite. No matter how busy, relaxing with my husband and this and a glass of milk for 10 minutes on the couch was always rejuvenating!

We're traveling as light as we can. But planning to bring quite a bit more back! Mostly clothes and shoes... It's still hard to figure out sizing and quality differences here, and I don't feel too bad when a mom who has lived her for 12 years says she still buys most of her 5 children's clothes when she is in America. But I've tried hard to keep carry ons especially light. We've learned our lesson trying to cart too many heavy bags on our backs around airports. And besides, having a young one means very little time for ourselves to read or do anything - the most important things are activities and snacks for her!

I've researched tons of "quiet" activities, and thought I'd share a few in pictures. A friend from church gave me colored felt scraps a while ago (after an online ordering fiasco left me with just gray and blue!) and I've been wanting to make some things I'd seen for quite a while. And when my hot glue gun malfunctioned after I'd cut almost everything out on Friday, with no where to buy one locally that I knew of, a friend from church came to the rescue bringing hers on Sunday for me to borrow...

Flying for 14 hours gives the perfect excuse to make something new, not to mention how handy these will be for other things for a toddler  to sit through, like church and a wedding!

None of the ideas are mine. A friend's pinterest board and blogs gave me most of them, though I made some design changes. :)

Butterfly foam board to lace, a color wheel to learn to clip and unclip little clothes pins (matching colors on the handle) and a tube with letters written in sharpie to stick the matching letter sticker to!

This idea looked like too much fun: a traveling, roll up doll "house"! I added making little food, as Hadassah loves "feeding" anything these days!

The doll house rolls up and ties so nicely with a ribbon, and I had fun making the "Popsicle pack" on the right!

This summer Hadassah discovered the wonderful joys of a cold Popsicle, and also loved helping me make them with the homemade holders I got. She also is fascinated with putting things in and out, so sliding these sticks in and out of the popsicles (and back into the packet) kept her fascinated for at least 10 minutes when I tried it out on her during church. :)

With felt boards like these keeping Hadassah quiet and happy during long church services for the past 6 months at least, it was time to make more, especially as she's able to do more. :)

Some are pretty simple, some more elaborate and requiring my help, but we'll be sitting right there with her on the plane, so no problem if we need to help a little bit! ;) And I am amazed at how quickly she catches on to things these days...

I was a paper doll addict when I was little, so this felt "paper" doll was so so much fun for me to make!

It's amazing how much joy I got out of designing the little clothes and accessories, and a very very crude version of this has kept Hadassah very happy for the past weeks at church, so I'm excited to show her a prettier version. :)

So, we're ready to fly.

Please pray. The 14 hour flight from China to the US is exhausting no matter what, but being 35 weeks pregnant adds a new set of challenges! Pray that there is little to no turbulence so that I can get up and walk and stretch a lot. Pray that Hadassah manages to sleep some so we can get some rest too! She has her own seat this time, which should help.

And pray that we get through the airport smoothly. We're leaving extra early tomorrow - 9 AM our time, although our flight doesn't leave until 4:20 PM our time (that's 3:20 AM CST so if you happen to be up in the night, pray! ;) ). Part of it is the fact that it's the first day of a week long national China holiday, so the 1 hour taxi ride to the airport may take longer. Part of it is the fact that we may have issues in the airport...

Although our airline has no restrictions on pregnant passengers flying even at 35 weeks (we called them twice to be sure!), we have been told that most Chinese airlines don't allow you to fly past 30 weeks, and so anticipate that airport staff may have questions. Ryan helped me find the best outfit to make me look more on the plump side and less so pregnant, but it's really hard to conceal a baby bump so conspicuous! So I'll be hanging in the background and playing with Hadassah, and hoping no one really cares to question. If they do, we've got some things printed (Delta's policy for pregnant flyers, a report from my doctor on Tuesday that states I have no signs of early labor), but still... Just being able to go through without issue would be the best.

Pray for health. Some friends have been sick and Hadassah showed signs of potential getting it just before bed, and Ryan's been battling some himself. Pray they are completely healthy tomorrow, and that I stay healthy. Thankfully my back/hip has been doing better - pray that it continues especially with all the walking then sitting!

And of course, pray for no early labor. ;) I'm pretty confident baby will stay put, but pray always helps! Prayers are appreciated over the rest of the weeks ahead too, as we recover from jet lag, enjoy a week's stop at Ryan's parents, spend a weekend at a friend's wedding, and then reach our final destination with my parents on October 11th.

Hadassah couldn't be more excited. We've been counting down the days on a sticker chart, and talking a lot about flying on an airplane to see Grandma and Grandpa and she is beyond ecstatic. We said goodbye to friends tonight, and when we got back to our apartment, she was upset that we weren't actually going on the plane yet! We told her we needed to make sure we got good rest before we flew, that it would be AFTER she slept... Which reminds me. Sleep. It's late and I need to get what I can. I'll likely be awake for at least 30 hours once I wake up tomorrow morning...