The Growing Belly

This picture was taken a few days ago. All of what I am wearing here is my normal clothes, not a piece of maternity! I do have some maternity things, but more times than not I try to find something that I can still fit into to make me feel good! LOL

It's so hard to believe that I am already almost half way through this pregnancy. I just can't grasp it, and before I know it I will be holding our precious little Kloe in my arms!!!

Kloe has been very active these past few days - I have absolutely loved every second of it too!!!
Josh has been able to feel Kloe thumping around. She never did just flutter, she went straight to all out thumping - HARD! I love it though and so does her Daddy.

Name Questions

I've had a couple of my readers ask about how we came to choosing the name Kloe Nikole, if it was family related or what, well...here is the story!

I picked out the name for if we were to have a boy and Josh agreed to it, so I made the deal with him that if I got to choose the boy name that he could choose the girl name. Josh has always loved the name Kloe, and so he told me right off that he wanted to name our little girl Kloe spelled exactly that way....he said next that he wanted Nicole as the middle name, but that he didn't want to use the traditional way of spelling it. So, I started researching all the ways you could spell Nicole and Josh immediately fell in love with the spelling of N-i-k-o-l-e. So, to keep my end of things I said okay and so that is how we came to the name of Kloe Nikole!!! (I LOVE the name btw!!!)

IT'S A.....GIRL!

Kloe Nikole

I went to the Dr. today to see the specialist and they did the in-depth ultrasound and everything came back great and that we are going to have a precious little GIRL! We really wanted a boy, but we are thrilled to pieces to be expecting our little girl!! We've already been shopping for little girl clothes as have the grandparents...everyone is SO excited!!!

Absent Again!

There has been so much going on here lately and that is the reason for my absence. Our family has had both good times and bad times in this past month.

My sister had her little boy on March 19th, and he looks just like his Daddy!
My brother graduated from the police academy and is now a sworn in police man! In much sadder news, my sister-in-law Jessica found out that she was expecting twins only to miscarry them a week later. We are all torn to pieces by this, please pray for her and Ronnie!

I go to a high risk specialist this coming Friday to get an in-depth ultrasound to check the baby for down syndrome. Josh and I are just trying to prepare ourselves, but no matter the outcome- it will be our precious little baby and we will love it with all of our hearts! I have chosen not to get the amniocentesis due to the miscarriages it causes. Please keep us in your prayer!

The Pearl's and No Greater Joy - Introduction

I have found the information to be too much to put into one post, so I will be doing what I think will probably be a bi-weekly to monthly posts. I have found several resource both for and against. I have taken the Bible and compared with what I have found and have come to my conclusion. My information will come from personal opinion, websites and friends who have either had contact with the Pearl's or who have read their books.

My first topic will be on their book...

"Created To Be His Help Meet"

I have read this book from cover to cover and have discussed it in detail with my husband. We both find parts that we STRONGLY disagree with, along with some parts that we agree are good advice (that was few and far between).

• It's ALWAYS the woman's fault.

In one letter a woman is writing asking for help because her husband is having an emotional affair with his secretary. Debi Pearl writes her back and basically tells her that it's her fault that he is showing his secretary the attention. The advice she gives is this...

"God has provided for your husband's complete sanctification and deliverance from temptation through you, his wife." (pg 29)

In my personal opinion, a man is a man...he has a flesh that will get tempted...it's up to HIM what he does with it. Yes there are times when it is the wife's who almost pushes him into having an affair, but a man has a mind of his own and ultimately- the decision is his.

"If you want to keep your man and the father of your children, you are going to have to forget about your rights as a wife and forget his Christian obligation to his vows." (pg 30)

That husband made those vows to his wife, "for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer"...it's his responsibility to hold to those vows as it is for the wife as well.

There are TOO many examples of it always being the woman's fault to give all of them. Debi Pearl implies in this book that no matter what happens in a marriage - it's ALWAYS the woman's fault. As if the man has no responsibility for his own actions at all.

• ALWAYS give your husband sex whenever ever he wants it.

In her book, Debi tells wives that no matter if you are in the mood, if you are still recovering from your previous intimate evening, or whether you aren't feeling well (i.e. headache) that it it your responsibility that absolutely no matter what if your husband wants you, then he gets you. End of story. She calls reason listed above "excuses" for why they would "rather not" or why they "cannot respond" sexually. (pg 163)

She says - "Her husband knows in his spirit that her excuses are just that: excuses for not wanting him. (pg 163)

"When a woman just "allows, cooperates, and tolerates," it leaves a man feeling sick at heart." (pg 163)

"A woman is a fool to believe her own excuses or to think she can convince him that what she says is the truth." (pg 164)

"By not obeying God in this area of sex and love, a woman is putting a terrible curse on her husband. When a woman forces a man into that position, it is the equivalent of a man saying to his wife, "You are a stupid, ugly, lousy wife, but I will still be a good husband and kiss you today." (pg 164)

Debi says that to not give your husband sex is to blaspheme God. Now, don't get me wrong...God created sex and intended it to be something between a man and his wife. But I don't believe that God has a problem with a wife that doesn't feel good physically, or that just can't at that time. And I personally believe that if your husband demands it and takes it regardless, it's rape!

To keep this post from being too long, I will sum it up with a quote from a friend of mine, Mrs. W that read it and this is what she had to say about it -

"Honestly, I read Created To Be His Help Meet twice, once before I got saved, and once right after. I thought I might be more receptive to it after I was saved. I tried living exactly as the book described, and it was the worst thing ever for our marriage. My husband hated it and said that he didn't want a woman who did this. He married me because I was a somewhat sassy, passionate woman with a brain of my own. Don't get me wrong, I believe in submission, I just think that Debi has the wrong idea."

All in all, if you think you can read this book and get some good advice without adhering to the bad, go for it...but be VERY careful!!! I personally would never recommend this book for any young lady that is not married due to the sexual content that is in the book.

There will be more info to follow on "Created To Be His Help Meet" at a later time. I thought this was plenty for right now.

A Future Post...Hopefully!

I don't have the time to do so right now, but I hope to one day soon do a post on Michael and Debi Pearl. I have had several ask me if I agree with them and their child training methods and so on. I have never studies up or read any of their child training books, but I have read one book written by Debi Pearl - Created To Be His Help Meet. While the book did have some good advice, I had to eat the meat and spit out the bones so to speak. There were several things that I either disagreed with or it hit me wrong. So, hopefully within the next couple of weeks I will have the time to answer some of your questions!

Valentine Banquet and a 12 week picture that shows my face!

Yes, I know that I am almost 14 weeks, but I have had so many of my family and friends ask that I post a picture that actually shows my face...so, here it is! Pardon the glare on my glasses but I had to take this with the tripod and I tried every angle I could and nothing worked.

We had a blast at our church's valentine banquet, which was a while ago...but I am JUST getting pictures uploaded onto the computer. If I had someway to crop this picture in closer, I would. Sorry about the distance of it.

Things I loved before I got pregnant that I now HATE!

Hand Sanitizer - I used to LOVE the smell of it, it was one of those refreshing smells...and now, wow...I can't stand to be anywhere near it. What makes it really bad is that my hubby is addicted to hand sanitizer! So I have to smell it all the time! LOL

Scrambled Eggs - I could tolerate the smell of eggs and their taste...tolerate, but I made breakfast for supper about a week ago and I almost got sick when I took the lid off the pan of eggs. Ewww!

I never knew that my tastes and smells would change so much. There is even one of my husband's colognes that I can't stand to smell anymore. And not only have I found things that I once loved and now hate, but once hated and now love...like water. I used to never be able to drink water without getting really sick to my stomach and now I crave water, bottle after bottle of it. Which is a good thing. I just never expected SO many changes!! LOL

What are some things that you ladies out there loved but then hated once you got pregnant?

Almost to the 2nd Trimester!

13 weeks pregnant today!!! Almost in my 2nd trimester! YES!!!

A Must Needed Update!

It's been what seems like an eternity since I've even looked at the computer screen! It's not that I've been sick and couldn't...I just haven't. The morning sickness is pretty much all gone. I did find the source of my problem to be my prenatal vitamins, so I have stopped taking them and replaced it with a multivitamin which was okayed by my doctor. Ever since then the sickness has been pretty much at a minimum.

As my little counter shows, I am now 11 weeks and 1 day pregnant. It's so hard to believe that I am already almost out of my first trimester, I didn't realize how quickly it would come. The doctor says the baby and I are healthy...they do have one concern that I might be coming down with a UTI, but the reason they gave was protein in my urine. After talking to my Aunt who works at a kidney specialist office and she talked to one of the doctors there and he said that I am too early in my pregnancy to be showing that much protein. He said that either they saw bacteria in the urine and that is why they suspect a UTI, or my kidneys aren't filtering out the protein like they should and I need to go see a kidney specialist. I've called my doctor 3 days ago and am STILL waiting to hear back from them so they can answer some of my questions. I will be making yet another phone call today and if I still get no response, we might be taking a drive to see my doctor!

Thanks yet again to everyone who gave me advice on the morning sickness! I really appreciate it!

ALL DAY Sickness Advice

I just wanted to get on here and thank everyone who gave me some advice for the morning sickness or rather my ALL DAY sickness! I have invested in loads of Ginger-Ale and saltine crackers. They have helped a lot! I also have someone that is going to give me some sea bands they had from a previous pregnancy. I'm really hoping those will work out for me as well.

The crackers and ginger-ale take the edge off the sickness in the morning and then as long as I keep a little something on my stomach throughout the day I tend to do okay. I do know that as long as I am feeling this sick that means everything is going good...so I try to remember that each and every day and thank God for it! Sounds odd, yes...but as long as I have the sickie feeling that means God has blessed me with a healthy pregnancy thus far.

I've had some ask what Josh thinks about all this. He is completely THRILLED! I've never seen a man so excited and thrilled about having a baby. He has been wonderful through my "all day" sickness. He is more than willing to get me what I need, do the dishes and laundry, and even tries to cook for me! I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful husband!!!

It's the Baby!

Baby C - Due September 22nd, 2010!
(Just for the record...that's my birthday!)

I went to the doctor this morning and had my ultrasound done and I was just amazed when I was able to see our precious little baby on the screen and could watch it's little heart beating! It was an experience that I will NEVER forget! There is nothing like it in the world. Everything with the baby is good, the heart rate was good and strong. We are soooooo excited!!!