This, that, and everything else

I should apologize for being such a bad blogger. 

There’s really no excuse, especially since it’s summer and I’m just sitting at home.  Well, let me back up.  I haven't exactly been sitting at home; I’ve been busy…but more on that later.   

Anyway, the real reason for the lack of posts is because it’s gotten a bit awkward to type on my laptop.  I usually sit on the couch with my laptop on my legs and type away, but as my belly gets bigger it becomes more of a balancing act to get both hands on the keyboard while still keeping the laptop secured on my legs. 

Tricky. 

Anyway, here's my attempt at a quick catch up:

My biggest piece of news is a huge answer to prayer: I got a job!  Tuesday morning I applied  for a position with the educational foundation associated with the district where I preciously taught, Tuesday afternoon I got a call for an interview, Thursday I had a phone interview, and then today I met the woman hiring and she offered me the position on the spot!  God is so good.  

I will be working as an after-school instructor in the district for the foundation’s at-risk youth program.  It’s four days a week, 3 hours a day with an optional fourth hour (not sure if we’ll go for that or not) working in the schools with groups of 6-12 students.  As a teacher, I was a salaried employee, but this position pays close to what my per diem rate would have been in my salaried position.  It’s an absolute answer to prayer.  We knew that I wasn't looking for a 20-hour-a-week part time job, simply because we are embracing the opportunity God has gifted us with for me to be at home with our baby.  This, however, works out to just about 12 hours a week and is in the late afternoon when Blake can be taken care of by his daddy, my mom, or my dad (in fact, his grandparents are in negotiations over who gets to adjust their work schedule in order to be the lucky caregiver for their grandbaby).   And for me, I only have to be away from my baby for 3 hours.  AND…the position doesn’t start until October.  Perfect. 

We are just so in awe of how God has, once again, provided.  We’ll still be pretty tight monetarily, but this extra income gives us just enough to make us feel more comfortable, and it uses my skill set and keeps my resume current.  We are so thankful. 

Now, onto the fun stuff!

First of all, I have some shower photos to share. 

The first was a few weeks ago, thrown by my mom for some of my girlfriends.  She went all out.  It was absolutely amazing.  Check out this food spread:

Are those not the cutest things?!  She made these from scratch.  My mom is amazing!  The shower had a jungle theme, and all of the food had an appropriately-themed name.  Can anyone tell my mom's a teacher???  So creative :)

Next was my fourth and last shower, which was two weekends ago.  Blake was spoiled once again! 

"Pee Pee Tee Pees" from my Aunt...hilarious

My Grandma embroidered the edges of these receiving blankets!  So precious!!

The BEAUTIFUL, handmade quilt my mom sewed for Blake.  What a precious gift!!!

My Grandma and I!

Adam and I feel so fortunate to have the amazing friends and family that we do.  Prepping for a baby is expensive, and overwhelming, and it is only by the grace of God that we have found ourselves surrounded by such generous people who are willing and wanting to support us and Blake through this season.  We have felt SO loved, and just hope that these precious people know how much we love them, too!! 

Lastly, I wanted to share some more maternity photos.  As I blogged before, we had some professional photos taken by KC Photography, and we got our prints back last week!  We LOVE them!  I love how they capture this special time in our lives.  This set of maternity pictures was taken around 30 weeks:

We were ALSO blessed to have some additional maternity photos taken by a dear friend of my mom’s, who is an extremely talented photographer and offered to take the photos for free.  Have I mentioned how abundantly blessed we are?!  Shelly was so easy to work with, and the pictures turned out absolutely breathtaking.  We are so grateful for these pictures to look back on to remember our miracle baby and pregnancy.  This set of pictures was taken around 34 weeks. 

Today, I'm 36.5 weeks along and anxiously awaiting our 37 week (FULL TERM) appointment on Tuesday!  Blake is literally days away from being able to come anytime he pleases.  Bags will be packed by Tuesday and carseats will be installed!  It's officially time for baby watch!!

35 week update

We just got back from the doctor for our 35 week checkup.  Here's the news:

1. Most important of all, Blake is doing great :)  His heart rate is strong and right-on track for 35 weeks, and he's moving and active and doing all the things he should be doing inside my belly. We are so grateful that God has protected our little boy.  He'll be in our arms before we know it!!
2. Blake is a big boy.  Adam asked our doctor what she estimated his weight would be at delivery, and she looked at us and said: "Well, you're definitely growing a big one in there.  I'd say he'll be 9 pounds or more at delivery."  While we know these estimates are often wrong, we also know that big babies run on both sides of the family.  I was over 8 pounds, my brother was 10, and Adam was over 9.  So, we'll see :)
3. He's still breech.  At 35 weeks, we were really hoping he would have turned.  Our doctor is out of town next week, so we won't see her again until August 2nd.  She said that if he hasn't turned by that appointment, then we'll talk about our options.  If he's still breech, we'll talk about the possibility of turning him in utero with an ECV (external cephalic version) which is done in a hospital and can cause stress to the baby and/or complications that would result in an emergency c-section.  Not to mention it's supposedly painful to the momma.  Although I don't care one tiny bit about any discomfort to me, Adam and I feel very uncomfortable with anything that would cause any risk to him in utero.   Please pray with us that he'll turn on his own before then!  If we do end up needing a c-section, I thought I would mention that would likely be scheduled between weeks 38 and 39...so, that's like 3-4 weeks away.  Wow.  Honestly, we'll do whatever is best for Blake.  We've done so much and God has brought us so far to even get to this point, and we know that his plan for Blake's birth is perfect!  Thank you for praying with us :) 

I'll be back later this week with shower pictures and updates on the nursery and house!

Just another night with the Breitensteins...

A couple of nights ago, I told Adam that we were going to have a photo shoot.  I had an idea for some wall art that involved taking some film strip-esque photos.  So, I grabbed our Canon Rebel, set up the tripod, and put it on continuous shooting in the hallway.

At first, Adam moaned and groaned about it.  Clearly, he wasn't feeling the photo session. 

But then, the camera starting flashing.

And this is what I got:

Then things started getting a little goofy:

And then all heck broke loose.  Check out these facial expressions: 

....and then he grabbed the dogs.  Poor Emma and Toby were desperately trying to escape. 

My husband is such a nut.  And these weren't even the outtakes.  I am so blessed to be married to a man who can be silly with me.  Can't wait until he gets to show this silly side to his baby boy!!!