Welcome Alexi Joy!

This morning I'm still in total aw of the miracle God did in me! Sit up in a hospital bed holding our baby girl is a feeling I can't really believe. She's ours! Chad and mine! God has entrusted a little helpless being to our care!

Have some eye candy!

BT

The Day I Kept Myself Busy Part II

After lunch I dropped Chad off at work so that I would have the car, and I started a load of laundry at his parents' house (because we don't have laundry facilities of our own).

I took the car so I would have the flexibility to do things like go grocery shopping.

There is some overlapping here, but I did get those two loads done, folded, and put away.

Cut my nails (which has to be done about every 2 or 3 days during this pregnancy) while waiting for Chad at work.

And ended the night in a very satisfying exhaustion.

I'm not sure it was the smartest to do all of that in one day (sounds silly to say that, but compared to what my schedule has looked like this last month you'd see a distinct difference), but I feel accomplished and who knows, it may have helped along this baby.

Now if only the baby would get the hint ;)

To bring it all to a close, I did two more loads of laundry today (the last two for the week) and I cleaned my stove. And that's that, I'll be sleeping over here the rest of the week ;)

BT

The Day I Kept Myself Busy

After I had a rough night of nerves I decided I had to keep myself busy and get things accomplished. So yesterday, I snapped a quick pic of things that I did when I finished them. Here is a look into my day.

The day started with breakfast and the first 4 chapters of the Gospel of Mark.

And this, is nothing short of amazing. Before 8 o'clock I was dressed, make-uped, and ready for the day in appearance. Made myself proud!

Took out our first trash bag for the week. (Not my favorite job, but better than a stinky kitchen)

Made our bed. This is one of those tasks that make me much more proud than it should. I think it's because it was always a task I hated to do, but mom made me do. So to do it on my own makes me feel like my mother is proud of me, every time.

About that time I decided to call my friend Cherry. She lives real close by, but we don't see each other often nor do we even talk all that often. It was wonderful to catch up (she's in school for nursing) and quite a refreshing treat.

Speak of treats, right after I got off the phone my mom pulled in the driveway bringing doughnuts (something I definitely don't need, but STRONGLY desire).

The next task of the day was another Spiritual well-being task. I started reading The Power of the Praying Wife when I was engaged and meeting with my mentor. I didn't get passed chapter 3 then. It was hard to relate since we weren't married yet and I had no clue how that would be. Now that I have been married 11 months I appreciate and love this book! I find myself clueless how to pray for my husband and for our marriage beyond the "favorite 3-word prayers" that Stormie talks about. And this has become one of my favorite times of the day. Yesterday I enjoyed a mug of decaf Green tea and bouncing on the ball while doing so.

This picture doesn't look so pretty, and I don't yet have an after picture. the dishes you see, they were completely done before lunch. But I didn't want to take my after picture until I had the stove done, the popcorn maker actually washed, and the counters tidied. Those tasks have been put off until today, so just know, it no longer looks this awful and it was one of the big things that I accomplished yesterday.

I gathered two loads of laundry to do at Mr.'s parents house (that's the white basket) during the afternoon when I would also be doing some running around town. (The blue basket and the sheets on the bed are something I hope to accomplish today.)

And I finally put away this stack of towels that have been staring at me for a couple weeks.

That brings us to lunch time. YAY!!!! As this has become quite a long post, I think I will save the afternoon (which does have significantly less photos) for later today.

I'm taking today quite a bit slower and resting my tender knee. Hope you all have as great of a day as I'm planning to have!

BT

For Your Evening

Here's a pretty little song to put a smile on your face :)

Hope you have pleasant evening!

BT

Birth Nerves Strike

I waited for this day and thought maybe it wouldn't happen. Alas, it's here. I am nervous. And not just about birth. In fact, I believe something altogether different brought on the nerves.

A couple nights ago I was struggling to sleep. I ended up doing dishes until my feet became more swollen than I liked. The fix for the swollen feet is to be in a position where they are above my heart. The easiest position is therefore on one's back with feet propped up, not an easy or comfortable position at 9 months pregnant. In attempts to have them propped longer I swiveled onto my side. (So, think laying on the couch on your side feet both propped up on the arm of the couch.) I ended up dozing like that for about an hour. What I've discovered since then is that I have injured one of my knees. It seems to me that in aforementioned spot on the couch I put a nasty stress on my left knee bending it outward with sleeping weight leg on it. What injury that causes exactly I don't know, but I do know that whenever I try to kneel or be on my hands and knees I have a sharp pain on the left side of my left knee.

This causes me concern and anxiety. I hate injuries; I hate going to the doctors; I hate not knowing what's wrong.

While trying to fall asleep after thinking about that, I started thinking about childbirth, and that I want to try to go drug free. I remembered how NOT flexible I am, how out of shape I am, and now with a hurt knee how one of the most comfortable labor positions (hands and knees) will be painful. All of that thinking lead to awful nervousness.

Chad was falling asleep through these thoughts, but before he was gone, I said something out loud about my nerves. He asked what he could do for me, and I asked him to pray.

The Lord is good! The peace that comes when the man you love prays for peace for you from the God who is blessing your marriage is incredible. I'm still somewhat nervous, but I have promises from my God and support from my husband, so I know I will be alright!

BT

And DUE DATE!!

Due date is a moot term, really it's at best a guess date. Between people who have their "due date" changed mid-pregnancy because they have found the baby to be farther along, to women like my mom whose normal pregnancies ran 42 weeks there really isn't any way to know once you hit 37 weeks if it could be "any day now" or "still a month to go".

We expected me to go all of the way to 42 weeks when we first got pregnant, but throughout this time anyone who has talked to us knows we wished and hoped that I'd go into labor before 40 weeks. Now we are just hoping before we have the extra cost of another ultrasound next week.

So, the "plan" is to naturally tell baby it's time for him/her to come before Friday the 20th or I have to have a nonstress test and an ultrasound to make sure baby and fluid is all still good.

Either way, it's either how I expect it or how I hope it to be.

That's where we are sitting...wanting to be out of this, but knowing that it's fine if we aren't.

Until something happens, that's the Bump Report of the week. Week 40. Due Date Week.

BT

Photography and Me

Lately I have felt very discouraged about photographing life. People have been expressing strong opinions about photography and what it should be, and though it's not directed specifically at me, what is being said accuses me. I have had long conversations with myself since then about this topic, namely for the reason that I don't want to enter my child's life afraid to take photos of him/her for fear of them not being perfect or non-cliche or being edited using cheap (read free) iPhone apps. Here are my thoughts on the matter. Purely opinion, but if that's what it takes for me to banish caring what people say, then I'll express it.

What is photography? According to the Websters app I have it is "the art or process of producing images by the action of radiant energy and especially light on a sensitive surface (as film or a CCD chip)". And a photographer is simply one who practices photography. So I ask you, who gets to judge photography and whether or not one is a photographer? There used to be a standard that seemed to have to be met in order for someone to earn the title of photographer. But according to the above definition no such standard exists. So who has the right to tell someone that they are not a photographer? I charge that you can't. Now I don't mean to say that everyone has to have the same idea of what art is, but art is mainly an opinion. And much of photography is art. So whether a picture is rightly a "photograph" in the sense of worthy of making a person a photographer is not truly something that can be judged.

Personally, I do not try to claim professional photographer status, but I would, according to the previously stated definition call myself an aspiring photographer. I most likely will never try to make a business out of it, nor am I likely to put my artistic pieces in a position where they would be judged. I am a photographer all the same, no matter if I use my point and shoot camera, the camera on my iPhone, or I invest in a DSLR (which I would love to do). It doesn't matter if I make my pictures into something I like using free iPhone apps like instagram, I am a photographer. It doesn't matter if I photograph cliche items in a cliche way, I am a photographer.

As a photographer, my goal is to capture life. To help myself remember the events of this life. To find enjoyment in the expression of creativity.

That is what I hope gets portrayed in the photos on this blog. I hope you will understand me as a photographer, no matter how unprofessional I may be. And I hope to bring more photos of the Troyer family life to this blog as I have found enjoyment in sharing with others in the happenings of their lives.

No Picture Update

I have been asked to write another post. And I know she's not the only one who would like an update. It's just frustrating at the moment to try to write a post when there isn't much new to write about.

We are 4 days from our due date, and no real signs that labor is or isn't coming soon. We have all the same baby items we had before. Car seat is in the car. Hospital bag is mostly packed.

Yesterday our midwife left for a weeks vacation. If baby waits until at least Monday or Tuesday of next week we will have chance that Bonnie will be able to come in. Otherwise we will have which ever doctor is on call if we go into labor yet this week.

Mr. Troyer (and me) are both ready to get out of this limbo land we feel like we are living in right now. Until we have this baby there aren't many plans that can be made for the next months or years of our lives. So there is some frustration there. Oh, and baby in my belly has finally gotten to the Mr. enough that he wants to be able to give me a "real" hug. I can't say that I wouldn't mind that either.

Pregnancy hormones had me crying the other night that I don't have a waist anymore and I can't just walk into a store and start trying on clothes, because most of them wouldn't fit AT ALL!!! I believe we are ready for a change, to step up to the parenting plate, and for me to have my control over my body again. I do know that since I want to breastfeed that my body won't be completely mine still, but at least I wouldn't weigh what I do right now :(

We love this little child, we just wish that we could love it out here. Cover little Squirt in kisses and tickles. Chad's comment to me the other night was "I wish you could share baby." And boy, do I wish I could share our child with my husband right now. We have 18 days until I'm 42 weeks along, and we know at that point it'll be likely an induction that we will be facing.

Whatever it takes to deliver this little gift from God into our arms...

BT