Sewa Ashram

I've been really bad about updating lately. And I'm going to go ahead and blame that on my mom. That's right, Mommy in America gets the blame. It's all because she's been praying that we'd be super busy and encouraged in our last few months here in India. Boy, has the Lord answered that prayer! We've been beyond busy, maybe even a little too busy but that's okay.  We are definitely thankful.

So while Joe's cousins were here we went to Sewa Ashram for the day. It was an incredible experience. We got to meet some really sweet people and love on some kiddos.

While we were playing with the kids I got a little background story on one of the little boys in a wheelchair. He was a perfectly healthy baby and toddler. And then one day everything changed... His mother died and his father stopped caring about him eventually remarrying.
Due to years of neglect, this boy is now permanently in a wheelchair with visible handicaps. But even though he can't communicate at all, his brain is still functioning normally. He understands everything that is going on around him.

He is living at the ashram right now while the workers there encourage his grandmother to take responsibility for him. Although he can't run and play like the others, he sits in his chair either with a huge smile on his face or singing his heart out.
My heart breaks for this boy. But my heart is also thankful for the ashram, for the love and care he's receiving on a daily basis now, and for the huge grin on his face while I was talking to him that day.

These men have learned to make beautiful jewelry. We were able to watch them while they worked. And shop a little :)

My Hubby-the Celebrity

If you remember back to last year, Joe and I made our television debut with a Russian commercial. It was an experience for sure. Speaking of that commercial, we've still never seen the finished product. Who knows, we could be famous in Russia and not even know it!

Anyway, Joe just recently was contacted by his "agent" with yet another commercial opportunity. This one is actually going to air in America so maybe we'll actually see this one when it's finished. The commercial is for iyogi.

It's amazing how much patience is required for that line of work. Joe's part of the commercial is less than 20 seconds and it took almost 5 hours to shoot.
The make-up had to be just right (even though I thought it was a little too pale).
The hair had to be perfectly messy.
The lines had to memorized and read 1,000 different ways (Joe had to be creative since he only had two lines total.)
The lighting had to be perfect.
The set had to look a certain way on camera. etc.

 Glad I just had to sit off to the side and watch :)

We just never know what kind of experiences we are getting ourselves into.

One of my favorite parts was when we'd have to stop the shoot because this man could hear barking dogs or honking horns in the taping. Surprise Surprise... it's India! What do you expect?!

Hiccup

20 weeks. Woohoo! It was wonderful to get to the halfway point in the pregnancy last week. Joe and I celebrated with a few pictures. Okay, maybe we do this every week, but we have a lot of celebrating to do! 

Last Thursday, 20 weeks and 2 days preggo, we had our first "hiccup" in the pregnancy. I  woke up feeling a little weird, but put it off as gas rolling around in my belly. As the day progressed though my belly felt more and more heavy,a lot of pressure right under my belly button. We didn't let it slow us down though (oops, maybe a mistake) and checked ourselves into the Hilton with Joe's cousins. A treat from Joe's Uncle Brian! We were so excited about swimming, hot showers, comfy beds, movies, shopping, and celebrating Diwali with my friend. 

After checking in, we started shopping around the mall that connects to the hotel. The more we walked the more uncomfortable I felt. I ended up calling a friend and then the Doctor. 

The more I explained to my Doctor the more nervous she got. She kept saying, "Oh Goodness, it sounds like contractions! You must come to the hospital immediately." 

Note: I hadn't even thought about panicking till I called my doctor. I was thinking, this is a definite cultural difference. I don't go to the Dr. often, but I don't think they are usually the ones that make you panic.

So Joe and I followed the Docs orders and headed to the hospital...where we stayed for two days. I like to say, "we traded the Hilton for the Hospital and Diwali for Da-bed." What were we thinking?!

I was thankful for the amazing care! (It was my first time ever to spend the night in a hospital as a patient!) Thanks to a shot of hormones, an IV, and some antibiotics my Doctor was able to stop the contractions and they haven't returned.

Which brings us to 21 weeks!

Mommy-to-be and baby are doing well. I know this baby is growing stronger ever day, because the movements are getting more defined. I'm just hoping that Joe will soon be able to feel this little one wiggle.

We are so thankful for the prayers of our family and friends. Many have been praying for our protection. Between the pregnancy hiccup AND firework fires, the Lord definitely protected us this week!

While we were at the hospital, the rest of India was celebrating its largest holiday, Diwali. I like to describe it as a little bit of Christmas and a little bit 4th of July all rolled into one. The "festival of lights" is all about... the lights :) Everyone decorates their houses with Diwali lights and gets out in the streets on the night of Diwali to shoot off firecrackers. 

While we were away, in Da-bed, one of our neighbor's fireworks ended up on our back porch. Apparently, it burned one of our cleaning cloths waiting to be laundered. Sorry about that. Miraculously, neither our a/c unit or washing machine were touched by the fire! 

We are so thankful for the Lord's provision and protection. So even with the hiccup, we have to say "God is good, all the time!"

Carking

It all began last year with a misspelled text message we received "Hey you guys want to come carke pumpkins with us?"
And from that message the birth of the tradition "Halloween Carking" began.

Even though some of our friends weren't here this year to help us celebrate we had a great time carking our pumpkins.

We ate the traditional (does two years in a row make a tradition?) rice stir fry and spiced it up with some momo's. We also decorate some Oreos for the occasion.

I even made caramel sauce from scratch. What can I say, when pregnancy cravings hit you'll do just about anything!

We had a blast with family and friends!!!

Happy Halloween. 

Baby at the Beach- 19 weeks

I can't wait to blog about my experiences in Goa this last week, but I'll save those for another post.
Today I wanted to get up our 19 week pics. (since we are almost 20 weeks)

My friend Andrea took some pictures for me since I was away from Hubby on Tuesday.

Here's a picture of me and my friend Lindsey. She's a dear friend who has gone through this whole overseas process with us. She and her hubby are expecting little Wyatt Taylor the day we are flying back to the states. I'm praying like crazy that he'll make his debut early.

 Lil Futt's first visit to the beach! 

After getting home on Wednesday night, we had our "level 2 scans" done Thursday Morning.
It was overwhelming to see our baby's brain, 4 chambered heart, kidneys, bladder, spine, etc. It's just amazing!!! The Doctor says the baby is doing great and everything is measuring perfectly.
Look at these sweet toes!!!

The picture right beside the toes would be the one to tell us the sex of the baby. We've watched the video of the ultrasound multiple times and think we have a guess.... But does anybody else want to take a guess?
Our Doctor says she knows, but wouldn't tell us. Oh well, it was worth a shot to see if she'd let it slip.

18 is My Favorite Number

Is it weird to have a favorite number? I picked 18 as my favorite back in the day of my short lived basketball and softball careers. (bless it) Honestly, I think the only reason I picked it was because of my big sis. You see, 18 was her favorite number, so naturally we know why it became mine!

Speaking of 18, we've made it to week 18 in the pregnancy! Our lil Futt is the size of a sweet potato this week, which means my belly is showing more and more every day.

It's always fun to wake up in the mornings and : A. remember that I'm pregnant  B. check out the size of the growing belly. In fact, one day this last week Joe wrote on my belly "My baby" and drew an arrow to directly under my belly button. Guess that's just in case I woke up and forgot point A! Thanks Hubby :)

I had my Hubby join me in the belly pics this week.

He's going to be such an amazing Daddy!

17 and counting

This week has been really fun! About 4 days ago I started feeling Lil' Futt move consistently. I had felt a few little wiggles before, but now I definitely know what it is and it makes me laugh every time! I also feel like my belly has popped out there a little this week.

Our Lil' Futt is the size of an onion or turnip - not very cute comparisons, but I guess it's just for the size so I'll deal with it - and little bones are starting to form this week!

We went to our Doctor on Monday for a regular check up. We didn't do an ultrasound this time, but we got to hear the sweet little heartbeat! It was a short visit, and everything seemed normal - PTL!!!  In the mean time, we are anxiously awaiting the 28th when we'll get to go back for our "level 2 scans" and get to see our baby again.
I've been a little sad that we won't get to find out the sex of the baby at our next (19 week) appointment. But I keep telling myself that will give us something to look forward to in January! As if there isn't enough excitement planned for that month already...

oh and just because I think it's funny...
1. I'm still craving fried chicken all the time. Let's just say that I'm keeping KFC in business over here :)
2. I woke up from a nap the other day dreaming of and craving crunchy beef tacos from Taco Bell. (which is funny because I'm a hard core Taco John's fan!)
3. My mom was asked by a friend the other day if I'd continue my healthy eating habits in the States (because we are much more healthy over here for the most part). My response, filled with laughter, "nope! I've got too many cravings to fill! "