Fun October Weekends

The weather is getting warmer in Australia -- Spring is here! And with the coming of Spring, I've entered into my second trimester. I am feeling so much better lately. The nausea has pretty much been gone for the last few weeks (although I still have trouble brushing my teeth and taking my pre-natal vitamins. For some reason, they both invoke my gag reflex -- yuck!) I weighed myself the other day and learned I had lost around 4 kilos (around 9 pounds) my first trimester. But, I am now happy to report that I am eating full meals again! It is so wonderful!!! I never knew eating a full meal could feel so wonderful. :) And, all in all, my energy has come back.

My belly is continuing to grow (I'll post some more belly pics soon), so I finally broke down and bought some maternity pants. I will definitely admit -- the big elastic waistband feels terrific! Next week we go in for our second ultrasound/dr's appt. I'm excited to see how Joey has grown. According to a website, Joey is about the size of a lemon now! We're both getting bigger.

And, I'm so glad I'm feeling better because we have gotten to do some really fun things this October. A few weeks ago, we went into Melbourne to watch Jimmy run a half-marathon. I was so proud of him!! He had a great time of 1:37. We celebrated with dinner at TGI Friday's -- one of the only American restraunts we have in Mel. It was a real treat. Here is Jimmy with two guys on our team (Drew and Dave) at the end of the race.

The next weekend, we were able to go to camping with our friends from church -- Emily and Grady Lewis and their 4 kids! We stayed in a camp that had wild koalas just hanging around in all the trees, (friendly) possoms running around and eating our marshmallows, and lots of other wildlife. It was a fun time to get away. Plus -- this is where I had my first meal in about 7 weeks. We cooked steak, baked potatoes, and broccoli salad that night. It was absolutely delicious and I ate every bite. I think I was in some major need of protein, so the next night I talked Jimmy into us making and eating the exact same meal. :) Who knew a full meal could be so satisfying?!! Here are some pics from the weekend. The first two are of our team hiking Triplet Falls, the third one is of a "neighbor" we had while camping!

Since the school year is ending here soon (I know, it's strange for all you northern-hemisphere folk who just got into your school year) this past weekend we were able to have our End of the Year Party for our uni campuses. It was a wonderful time to appreciate them, appreciate our stinters who will be going home in a few weeks, and celebrate all God has done this past school year. Here are some pics from the evening.

And finally, to cap off October -- we went with our team down to Apollo Bay, a beach town a few hours from here. We had 4 days of evaluating our year, spending time with God, resting, and having fun together. Here are some pics:

More to Come . . .

Sorry I haven't added a post lately. We've been pretty busy as this was the last week on campus! And, we've gotten to do some fun things for the past couple of weekends. We will be gone at a team retreat for the next few days, but I promise to add a post soon.

Quickly though, we are doing well. I am entering week 13 -- second trimester, YAY! I am feeling much more energized and have begun eating whole meals again. Really, that is quite exciting for me. :) My little baby bump is continuing to grow. This weekend I had to go out and purchase my first pair of maternity jeans since my old ones just couldn't cut it any more.

Stay tuned for more updates and pics!

Back on Campus

Thank you all so much for praying for our family last week.

It was a bit of a rough week. Thursday we went in for a routine doctor's appointment to get our Australian Visa renewed. Unfortunately, they came back with some abnormal results on a urine test I took. They said it could be a urinary tract infection or a possible sign of miscarriage. Naturally, I was shocked and quite concerned. But thankfully, we were immediately able to go into Dr. McCully (my baby doctor), look at another ultrasound -- and the baby was GREAT! Baby was moving around, good heartbeat, and had grown since last week, etc. He reassured me that it wasn't a miscarriage. It was such a relief!

Then they took some more blood and urine tests. We just assumed it was a UTI. So then the tests FINALLY came back this Tuesday . . . and it was completely normal. We have no idea what happened and what was caused the other test to look abnormal. But all things now are showing I am fine. :) Whew, what a week!

SO this week I am 11 weeks pregnant. I am happy to say, I am feeling much better! :) It seems like the morning sickness is beginning to subside and I have a bit more energy. I have even been able to go back on campus fully this week!!! It has been so wonderful to be back with our students. Also, we finally told them I was pregnant, so that has been really fun to see their reactions.

Thanks again for your love and support--
Meagan

A Bit Discouraged . . .

This week I am into my 10th week of pregnancy! While I'm really excited about that, I must say I have been a bit discouraged this week. Monday I came down with a head cold that has persisted all week, Tuesday I either got a stomach bug or I ate something bad, and then throughout the week I have continued to struggle through "morning" sickness and exhaustion. I feel like my body is just wrecked this week . . . and yeah, it has left me a bit discouraged.

If you could please be praying for all three of us, we would really appreciate it. For Jimmy, that God would continue to give him the energy to take on the extra weight of our ministry and duties around the house. He continues to sacrifice so much of himself so that I can rest. And I pray that God would be his strength and draw Jimmy closer to Himself during this time.

For Joey, if you cold pray that our little one would be getting the nutrition he/she needs from my body. I don't have much to offer our baby right now, but I pray that it will continue to be healthy! Yesterday, I was reading the passage where Jesus feeds the 5000 on the loaves and fish. I am praying just like Jesus miraculously multiplied the food to nourish those people He loved, that He would do the same in my body for Joey!

And for me, would you pray that God would heal my body and give me the endurance to walk through each day. Also, that I would find my hope and joy in the Lord, and not in my present circumstances.

Thanks!!
~Meagan

Hi Baby!

First Baby Pics!

We are thrilled . . . we just had our first doctor’s appointment and ultrasound today . . . and everything looks GREAT!!!

During the ultrasound, we got to see the baby waving at us and kicking its little feet. It was surreal to watch it moving around. We also got to hear the heartbeat – really strong at 173 beats-per-minute (he said “normal” was around the 160’s, so this was good!). Also, he measured the baby and it showed to be the exact length for my 9 weeks/4 days with an estimated due date of May 4th. So basically, the baby is RIGHT on schedule . . . again, such a good sign!

Here is one of the ultrasound pics. If you look closely, you will see the head on the left, a little arm waving to you in the middle, and its kicking feet on the right.


Overall, the doctor said the baby looks great . . . healthy. . . oh yeah, and he reassured us it was only one baby (whew!). I was wondering if I would cry when we saw the picture, but all I could do was laugh with joy! That made it a bit difficult to continue the ultrasound since laughing made my belly jump . . . but I just couldn’t help it.

We love our doctor and think the Lord brought us specifically to him. I am really thankful for him – I think his calm and reassuring nature will be just what I need during the pregnancy, and not to mention the labor/delivery!

Anyway, we just wanted to update you guys on how our day went. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PRAYING FOR US AND FOR OUR LITTLE ONE! I am just thrilled that God has chosen to bless us with this child.

9 Weeks Prego

We are so happy to be expecting our little "Joey". We've decided to temporarily name the baby Joey -- since that can go for a boy or a girl (and we don't want to find out the gender till the baby is born), and since that is what a baby kangaroo is called when it is kept in it's mother's pouch. Since we're here in Australia, it just seemed to fit. :)

Today I am 9 weeks, 3 days pregnant . . . and I thought I would give a little up date as to how I've been feeling the past few weeks.

The "morning" sickness -- not sure why they call it morning sickness when it tends to last all day? -- began around week 5. The first suggestion of it was when my stomach turned one morning when I opened the jar of peanut butter. Strange because I usually have pb almost every morning. But anyway, I felt a bit lousy that week and it culminated that Friday night at my birthday party when we sat down to Indian food. I couldn't eat a bite and quickly left to go home.

Through week 6 and 7, I couldn't eat much. Although I was hungry nothing sounded very good. The foods I could get down were: pretzels, blue powerade, apples, oranges, bananas, corn flakes, pickels, and chicken broth. A real well-rounded diet, I know! And due to my lack of diet and to Joey taking a toll on me, I was left pretty exhausted.

Then week 8 was pretty "cruisy" for me (I love the Aussie slang) -- I felt much better, was able to eat a bit more, etc. I thought I had gotten over my block of morning sickness. Meanwhile, I noticed my tummy growing a bit. Here is a pic Jimmy got as I was going out to exercise -- a day when I definitely felt pregnant!



Well unfortunately, the past two days have seen me back in bed and feeling pretty rotten. The worst is that I generally feel hungry, but I just can't stomach anything.

However, though it all I have been so thankful!!! Being sick means that my body is working properly -- producing the hormones that Joey needs. It is totally worth it for this wonderful baby! And, praise God I have such a flexible job . . . I was able to (even encouraged to) take some much needed time off during the work week.

And finally, I must have the most patient, loving, kind, and gentle husband around. I am so thankful that Jimmy has loved me through this process, encouraged me to rest, taken on extra duties around the house (like cooking!), and continued to humbly serve me without complaint. I couldn't do this without you, my Love. :)

Okay, that was a long post, but I wanted to get you all caught up on how we're doing. Thanks for stopping by our new blog!

~Meagan