Alien Belly & Some Sad News -

Feeling movement is absolutely among the neatest things I've been able to experience so far in this pregnancy. It's up there with seeing the baby on the ultrasounds, and hearing the heartbeat. :) Anyway, Saturday morning had another fun thing in store! I woke up, and rubbed my belly as usual, noticing that it felt... odd. I threw back the covers, and it was the funniest thing ever! The entire left side of my belly was practically flat, (as flat as it can be these days) and the baby was all cuddled up on the top right side! While slightly freakish looking, it was really cute to know exactly where the baby was. :)

It happened again yesterday morning, which led me to believe that it must be a pretty comfy spot. This morning, however, the baby was taking up the very middle of my belly, and was really high up. It's hilarious! It's also leading me to think now that the baby is a girl, since my belly has moved up. Or it's a boy who happens to think that the tippy top of my uterus is the place to be.

While my weekly newsletter no longer refers to the baby's size in terms of fruit, it did mention that my uterus is now the size of a cantaloupe. Have you looked at a cantaloupe lately?! No wonder I'm starting to get a belly. :)

It was a relatively good weekend for us, all in all. My brother-in-law, Jamin, came in early Saturday afternoon, and spent the rest of the weekend with us. He and Ryan mainly watched the basketball games all weekend, but it was really good to see him.

I was napping on Saturday afternoon when Ryan came in the room, and started to tell me something. From the look on his face, and the tone of his voice, I asked, "Did someone die?" Sure enough, he had gotten a call from my Mom, but it wasn't the call we were expecting. See, my cousin Carole has been fighting a battle with cancer for roughly 4 years now, and lately has really taken a turn for the worse. Well, the call wasn't about Carole, it was about her sister, Beth.

I was absolutely stunned. NO ONE in our family was expecting anything like this to happen to her. She hasn't been the healthiest person alive, (she has had Crohn's disease for years) but she certainly didn't appear to be close to death, either. She had just been released from the hospital a few days prior, due to complications from a surgery she had, but was obviously doing fine in order to get released. She was at home, getting ready to go to the hospital with her parents to see her sister, Carole, when she collapsed in her bathroom. So, if you would, please be praying for my family, specifically my Uncle Tom and Aunt Betty as they deal with the death of their daughter, while tending to their other daughter who really isn't expected to live much longer. It's just a huge shock to all of us.

My Mom had just recently visited Beth while she was in the hospital, and Beth had asked that my Mom keep her posted on whether our baby is a boy or girl. She wanted to know so that she could get started on a blanket for the baby in either pink or blue. Heartbreaking. :(

Well, that's the news on my end. Hope you all had a great weekend, though, and have a good start to the new week ahead. :)

¶ 10:03 AM