Wow! It has been a very long time since I have posted on this blog. I am checking in to let you know that I am, in fact, still very much alive!

Life has been really crazy lately. That mixed with us not having reliable Internet currently at our apartment has definitely not been all that great for consistent blogging!

This post is hopefully the start to the end of inconsistency and hopefully the beginning of some more posts ;)

So what has been happening in the meantime?

Life is so full right now but first to catch you up on the family :)

Elijah is growing like a weed. He is walking/running and constantly on the go! He has such a sweet spirit...most of the time-he definitely has a stubborn streak at times (which I am pretty sure he inherited from both Jason and I lol)!





Jason is doing OK overall. We have been struggling with some health issues with him for almost a year now and it seems we are starting to find answers. We know he is gluten and dairy intolerant which makes cooking a whole new creative challenge! He has been so patient though in this process. He is such a good man!


This week he is doing what he loves most: balloon making and juggling at our local fair! He has so much fun with it!! :)

I am doing well :) I am 22 weeks pregnant and am getting more tired as time goes on (although I think a little bit of that has to do with chasing my 15 month old around)!

My sweet sister-in-law threw a gender reveal party for us and it was SO MUCH FUN! She was the only one that knew what the baby was. We had dropped off the envelope sealed at her house right after the ultrasound so that we were not tempted to peek!

We got a video so these really were our reactions :)

I was team girl and Jason was team boy:





There are so many things that I have to catch you all up on but I figured that this would be a good start ;) What has been happening in your life lately? I would love to hear about it!

Yes, you read that right folks! Tomorrow is the day! I am so very excited! I was planning a home birth but you know what sometimes our ways are not the Lord's ways.

This morning I was putting on make-up and noticed that I was starting to look like an oompa loompa I was swelling a little bit more in my face. I texted my midwife and she said to go get my blood pressure taken so we did. It was higher than normal so she told me to go and rest. Well, I started to get a head ache so we went and took it again less than two hours later and it had gotten significantly higher. So, off to the hospital we went realizing that it was likely I might have to be induced.

Once at the hospital my blood pressure went down (thank the Lord for that) but it was decided due to my swelling, irregular contractions and that I am overdue tomorrow would be the day. Tomorrow I will be induced. Tomorrow at this time I may be holding my son!

Wow!!!

I am excited! I am going to be with my christian midwife in the hospital and ALSO my doctor is a woman (which is just a neat God thing) AND she is a christian as well!

God is so good!

So tomorrow-we will leave the house 9ish am and the induction will begin around 10-10:30 am. Prayers are appreciated for sure :) Just that the baby and I will be safe and that the Lord will be honored and glorified in and through me as this baby comes into this world!

So here I am 40 weeks the last day of my pregnancy:


This is definitely the end of one chapter in life and the beginning of another...I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings :)

 Dear Baby Boy,

Today is your due date! April 12, 2012. I would love for you to come today baby!! I was saying last night how amazing it is that I have been pregnant for 40 straight weeks. That is a LONG time! But you know what baby boy? You are so worth it all.

Things have been getting more exciting the closer your arrival gets! Your Aunt Sarah, Aunt Abby, Aunt Jen and   Uncle Matthew are all here from NY and super excited about when you will make your grand entrance into this world!


I love my sisters! Abby especially (in the middle) is SO EXCITED for you to arrive. She already calls you HER little man and she is going to spoil you I have the feeling :)

See that picture above? I am smiling but in reality I was hot and sweaty and miserable!!! :) Just you wait till your wife is 40 weeks pregnant and you will know what I mean. It has been really HOT here in Florida these last few days and since you are such a big boy it makes me feel warmer than ever! But you know what baby boy? You are so worth it! :)

See the dress I am wearing in that picture? The early/middle stages of pregnancy were fine for having a variety of outfits to pick from. Now-I swap two dresses back and forth. Why? Well, little man nothing else will fit over my belly! My midwife told me a few months back that I would want to wear a TENT and I didn't really know what she meant until now...literally the looser the better! I am so excited to have you and to be able to pick some different outfits! :)

Daddy is already gone for work. He took Uncle Matt with him. You know what is funny? I just realized that I have an Uncle Matt and you have one as well but on your Daddy's side! That is neat! :)

People have been such a blessing these last few weeks baby boy! We have some amazing friends here in Florida!

The other day two of our friends made me a clothesline!! It is something I have wanted all my life! I always thought they looked so romantic (yes son, Mama is somewhat strange at times). :) I convinced your Daddy to take some pictures of the first load that got hung to dry:

Daddy carrying out the first load!!! :)

What a blessing that is! :) I love it! Truly, there are so many amazing little blessings the Lord gives us a long the way Elijah! It is so neat! I believe it is also so important to take note and be thankful for the little things in life!

Speaking of little blessings in life here are some from people that love you already so much baby boy:

• Miss Roanna (Pastor's wife) surprising me with a body pillow to help me sleep better
• Miss Alison coming and helping me clean the whole house and taking some of your clothes home to wash just so I did not have to. 
• Mr. Larry coming and fixing the hole in your room (which you will not be sleeping in till you are a little bit older). 
• Amazing encouragement from other mom's like my friend Julie and my friend Callie (from Through Clouded Glass) via facebook messages :)
• Your Daddy bringing me flowers
• Sisters and friends cooking a huge "thanksgiving dinner" last night (because Daddy and I did not make it to NY for thanksgiving this year).
• So many thoughts and prayers and encouragements from so many people
• Popcorn from Miss Pam
• Help from Miss Carolyn and lots of advice (she is a labor and delivery nurse which is awesome)
• Papa John and Grandma sending a ton of meat with the kids (fresh, natural and "home grown"
• An amazing birth calender from your Grandma Case :) 
• Boxes in the mail from your Auntie Gretel and Edessa (who blogs here at A Flower For Mom's) with all sorts of goodies for Mama and baby :)
• Gifts sent from our church families back home with the kids 
• The weather starting to cool down a little bit so Mama is more comfortable :)
• Watching a chick flick (well part of one) with my girls :)
• Having Katie be in Florida and able to visit :)
• Painting my nails

39 weeks. Wow. When did this happen? I mean honestly-on one hand I feel like I have been pregnant forever and then on the other-I can not believe that literally at any time I am going to meet, in person, my precious little boy.

When did this happen?

So yes, I am 39 weeks! On thursday is my official due date! After MONTHS of looking forward to this time I can hardly believe it is here! But it is.

My sisters Abby and Jen and my sister-in-law Sarah and brother-in-law Matt (moral support for Jason lol) are on their way from NY. In fact, they are driving RIGHT NOW and will get here, Lord willing, TOMORROW. We are SO excited!

This picture is all of us this past Christmas. Front L-R: Sarah, Abby, Yours Truly, Jen. Back L-R: Matt, Danny, My Prince. I am sad Danny is not coming but he is going to be working hard plus we are going to be able to spend lots of time together this summer Lord willing :)  We truly have an AMAZING family and since I married Jason it is just like the Case family added on three new siblings not just one :)

I have waited for them to get here for months and now-they are going to be here tomorrow!

When did this happen?

I have our room all set up for our little man. For the longest time his room had a hole in it caused by a leaking pipe. So in the meantime I decided that we may as well set up stuff in our room just in case! Well, the hole is now fixed thanks to some amazing friends who came and blessed us with the help! But we have decided that we are going to have him in our room anyway for the first few weeks :)



Our house is slowly getting more babyfied (is that even a world-not sure-but now it is)! And I could not be happier. But still-it blows my mind that soon I will be rocking that sweet baby boy in that chair, using that adorable boppy pillow that my amazing friend Gretel sent me in the mail, changing his diapers on that changing pad and watching him sleep in that bassinet. Wow!

When did this happen!?

Sweet baby boy. His chubby cheeks, little button nose...soon I will be able to kiss him and snuggle him and smell his sweet newborn scent.

When did this happen?

I used to dream of this! I never wanted to have a career. I just wanted to be a wife and Mama. And I am...wow! God is so amazing! He truly gave me the desire of my heart!

When did this happen!?

Soon, I will not be pregnant anymore. Soon Jason and I will have our son with us in person! Soon, we will be comparing who he looks like more. Soon, we will be figuring out his little personality. Soon, he will be here!

There are things I will miss about being pregnant. Feeling my little one move inside me is one of the most amazing things I have EVER experienced and I will miss that but oh...I am sure nothing will compare to having my son HERE. Wow!

When did this happen!!!????

I am so ready for this sweet little boy!

In the meantime, the Lord has been teaching me a lot. I have so much I want to share with you all. Lessons I am in the midst of learning.

Things like not being lazy and wasting so much of my days on the internet. Anyone else really struggle with that? How do you fight the temptation to be checking facebook, blogs etc constantly throughout the day?

Things like being a better wife. A wife who is the crown of my husband and is his help meet and support even in the "small things" like having a clean house...that is something I really struggle with. Granted-it is hard for me to be on my feet for super long amounts of time yet, that I found today that cleaning for 15 minutes then resting and repeating that really gets a lot done. Why have I not been doing that? Well, laziness to be quite frank. I have really be struggling with that!

I figure my prince is working 10+ hours days in the HOT Florida sun brick paving for our little family. He is an amazing provider and that is on top of his ministry to the youth...why on earth do I find it such a huge burden to clean the house (which takes less than 2 hours of those 10+ hours), have dinner ready (less than an hour of those 10+ hours) and have myself fresh and prettied up (less than 15 minutes of that 10+ hours) to greet my hard working man with a smile and a kiss at the end of a long work day? Ever felt convicted? Just writing this is convicting me all over again.

I want to put Jesus first then my husband. I am so blessed and yet so often I take the man of God I have been blessed with for granted. God forgive me! Today I read a really good post: I Work Outside My Home Now by Traci over at Ordinary Inspirations. It really made me re-think my role as a stay-at-home wife and Mama. Check it out and let me know what you think.

So that is something that is what I am working through with the Lord's help. He is so faithful and merciful to His children! I am truly thankful that His mercies are new every morning!

So what has the Lord been challenging you with lately? I would love to hear about it!

And I thought I had a baby bump...HAH! Excuse the messy hair please! :)

(taken by my amazing friend Darla)

(taken by my amazing friend Darla)

Dear Little Man,

Yesterday Mama went to see Karen (your midwife). I drove about two hours. You may be thinking that is pretty far but Karen is a christian and your Daddy and I absolutely love her! She loves you already :)

Before I went to see Karen I had to stop at a Denny's and eat a specific breakfast so that once I got to the office I would be able have my blood tested for gestational diabetes. Because I had to go by myself this time (your Daddy has been working at a job so hard the past few days he is such a good provider) I decided to go on a much needed date with Jesus. Why you ask? Well, Mama has been struggling lately in her walk with Jesus and two  nights I had some repenting to do and after that today was like a fresh start. It was wonderful! I want so badly to be a godly example to you baby boy. I pray that when you look at me you will see Jesus shining through me and you will become a mighty man of God Elijah boy!

So, got to the office and while I was waiting this super nice lady came with her 14 month old daughter. She is a pastor's wife and so her baby is around people all the time. All the sudden her little one came right over to me and lifted her arms wanting up. I picked her up and sat her in my lap and just got so excited thinking that soon SO VERY SOON I will have my own little baby boy to cuddle and love on. I can hardly wait Elijah! I am so excited to meet you!

Speaking of meeting you. Last night I dreamed that I got to see you! Then when Karen gave me a quick peek at you yesterday I GOT TO SEE YOUR FACE! You are so adorable! You have the cutest little button nose that slightly turns up and your cheeks are already starting to get pudgy! You were opening and closing your little mouth and even sucking on your umbilical cord. The last two times I have seen you had your little arm up next to your face. That is exactly how your Daddy sleeps so pretty sure you got that from him :)

Speaking of your Daddy:

So you know those Toll House cookie icecream sandwich things? When I was little one of my favorite memories with Dad was going on our "date". He would let me pick a treat and then we would talk and it was amazing father/daughter time. One of those treats I remember sharing with him (he always got one too) was a chocolate chip cookie icecream sandwich.

In the years since while, I enjoy these cookiewich concoctions, I have never really had a burning desire to have one. Until tonight.

It started when we were talking with our group of friends where we wanted to go to get food. "A gas station so I can get one of those ice cream sandwich things" was all my heart desired.  So we decided to go to Wegmans eventually but that ice cream sandwhich just would not leave my head.

(Source)

Tonight we went over to a friends house and watched this movie:


And all the sudden-I was in the Christmas spirit.  I sat there and pondered what my Savior went through to come to this world as a little one. What his parents went through as they followed God and chose to trust Him.

It was made even more special as my own little man kicked me the entire time we were watching the movie! What a miracle life is and even more so a life in Christ!

So tonight-I am pondering-my Savior. And I am thankful, so very thankful, that He CHOSE to come to this would to save a wretch like me!

Christmas.

A time to ponder our Savior :)

Blessings!

Ps: I do not have time to do my weekly update but I did do the picture. I have been compared to Pooh bear, a teletubby and Santa Claus. Lol :) I am so thankful my son is growing! I can hardly wait to meet my little man!!! :)

I got this idea from Anna at Hope Road and Anna (different one) at Young and Married :) I am on my last day of my 22nd week so here we go:

My baby is the size of a spaghetti squash this week! It is about 11 inches long. I love how Baby Center has weekly updates it is so much fun to see how much a week makes a difference in the baby! :)

(Source)

I have probably gained about 15ish pounds at this point. EEP! It is definitely all baby though at this point still (thankfully lol). Honestly, I have really started looking pregnant without a shadow of a doubt and it seems to have happened overnight!!! Today my sweet husband looked at me and said: "I love you...even if you do look like Pooh Bear." LOL :) I love him so much! Can hardly wait to see what my family has to say when they see this belly when we are back in NY in TEN DAYS!

Maternity clothes:
I was so so blessed my a friend named Katie who owns Katie's Merchantile. She unexpectedly sent me a BOX FULL or baby clothes AND of maternity skirts (which I wanted desperately) as well as other maternity outfits. It was such a blessing! Then yesterday another friend gave me a pair of JEANS that, while they are not maternity, fit me PERFECTLY and were something I had been needing since NY is a frigid state and we will be going there for two weeks and I have no winter clothes anymore. Why you ask? Well, I live in Fl. Enough said. Lol :)
Movement:
Elijah is kicking up a storm! A few nights ago Jason put his hand on my belly and out of the blue Elijah kicked him and hard! It was the first one Jason had really felt. So special :) Last night I was talking to him and he was moving all over! I am so excited to see what happens in the next few weeks! He sure is active like his Daddy! :)

Sleep:
Still sleeping really well so far! I am thankful for that :)

What I miss:
I miss...what do I miss? Honestly, I really have gotten to the point where my pregnancy is becoming the norm! I do miss not having acid reflux (any tips for that ladies) and also being able to bend over without feeling like there is a rubber tire around my stomach! Lol :) Other than that I am loving being pregnant!

Cravings:
I am not really like craving sugar if anything I am more salty stuff (ok so, tortilla chips with melted cheese oh wow amazing!).

Symptoms:
Other then acid reflux...things are going great!!!

What I am looking forward to:
When Elijah kicks and I will be able to SEE my belly move! I can hardly wait for that!!!! :)

Milestone(s):
Honestly I am feeling great! Which is awesome! And we set up Elijah's crib as well as figured out how we are going to set up the house :) That is always fun! :)

Best moment this week:
Probably last night when I was talking to Elijah and it really did seem like he was kicking in response :) And when I put on that pair of jeans and they FIT! What an answer to prayer that was! :)

Ok, so that is my latest update! Just a few tidbits :)

I am going to be hosting a give away soon! Stay tuned for details!! :)

My brother has started a blog:
Changing One Week At A Time
please take some time to visit him and give him some encouragement :)

Today is my last day of being 20 weeks! :) Things have been insanely busy lately but that is ok because I still got some pictures! :)

It has been exciting lately! We found out for absolute sure that Elijah is indeed a boy! I am so happy about that :) I love finding out just because now it just seems so much more personal to me :) And yes-I look crazy sometimes just walking around talking to my belly! ;)



And then of course my amazing husband Jason who was so patient while I played around with the self timer on our camera! I am so excited for him to be a Daddy. He is going to be the best! :)


Speaking of the best-guess what my husband did for me today? Well, here is a hint in pictures:







So my husband is the sweetest man in the entire world! I came home and this is what I found: GORGEOUS roses, the sweetest card and then because we are trying to stay away from sugary stuff raspberries (instead of chocolate) and TORTILLA CHIPS COMPLETE WITH FIXINGS FOR NACHOS! Yes, I did a happy dance when he told me about the nachos ;) I love him so much :)<3 What an amazing six month anniversary!

Wait a second! Did I say six months? Why yes I did! Six months ago on this day we got married and began our journey as man and wife and while that is not long for some people for us it has felt like six years just all the stuff we have packed into these last six months! What an amazing journey it has been so far! I am truly blessed among women! It is so worth waiting for the man that GOD has for us! He is my rock, my lover, my best friend. He is my husband.

We are so excited! I knew from the beginning that is was and was so excited when I found out I was actually right! Lol :)

He is so active and looks perfectly healthy! We are half way! :) April 2012 I will be holding my son! What a thrill that sends through me!

Elijah means "Lord is my God" which is what my deepest desire is for my son. That he love the Lord Jesus Christ with all his heart, mind, soul and strength.

Samuel is Jason's middle name as well as my Mom's Dad's name. It means "Asked of God" and how true that is! :)

I feel amazed as I am transitioning into this new season of my life. Wife and now Mama. This blog is going to be a chronicle of that journey. I am excited to see what the Lord Jesus has in store and my prayer is that God will use this blog to touch many with His love.

This will definitely be a place where I share my recipes and mishaps in the kitchen, baby news, things the Lord has been teaching me, tons of pictures as well as what I shared on my old blog :)

So excited for this journey to begin! Blessings :)