It's been too long...

Time has flown since my last post. I missed a week of belly shots, I know, but I'm back with a new installment! I'm officially 19 weeks today and like I say everytime I put up a picture, I'm feeling big. I never thought that I would grow so rapidly, but I am and I'm still trying to come to grips with it. It is hard not to just feel fat all the time, it's a sad realization that I'm coming to. I thought that I'd feel beautiful and glow, but no... But maybe that is just Grenada. I mean, I do sweat ALL the time here, so my so called glow, could not be true. Here it really is sweat, there's no mistaking it. Maybe when I'm home for the second half of my pregnancy I'll feel more like myself. The cooler weather would help a lot, but I guess I just have to wait and see.
Speaking of, it is exactly three weeks today that we leave this Island. We'll be somewhere over the US right now...crazy thought. I can't believe that our time here is almost up, and I'm now starting to realize that I might start to miss this lifestyle/place/etc. a lot sooner then I had originally thought...maybe in about five to ten years instead of fifteen to twenty. I think that the haze will wear off sooner, get back to me in a year once I've left this place and I'll let you know how I feel then. The thoughts of being able to stay in North America for longer then a month or two is beyond what I can grasp at the moment. To say that I (and Zach) can't wait to get home right now is the understatement of the century! We are so ready for home, for Christmas, for cool weather...dare I even say freaking cold weather!! We just want to be there...period. And thinking about all that is to come in the next months after Christmas, it's overwhelming...not to mention the move to the US once the baby is born and Zach has written one of the biggest tests of his life. If we think about everything too much...well let's just say that one step at a time is the best method to go about things here!
My parents have come and gone and I think that the trip went well. They seemed to have enjoyed themselves despite the rainy days that happened while they were here. Still got in most of the beach days that they wanted, my dad even went in the ocean...for those of you who know him, that's just not like him. I'll post a few pictures of the trip the next time I post. I have to quit writing now, I'm about to fall asleep! More later...





Self taken shot...no head again!

17 weeks

I'm sitting here listening to the rain and feelin' pretty good! Did I mention that I love the rain?! Well I do. Anyway, this last week has been pretty crazy. We found out that my parents are coming to visit, on monday. So needless to say, the menno in me is trying to get a bunch of things done and cleaned before they arrive:) Can't help it, it's who I am. They're coming for a week to see the island before we leave it for good, and I'm assuming that my mom is dying to see me pregnant. I also think that I felt the baby kick for the first time this week. It was kinda a tap-tap feeling in the inside of my stomach and a few days later, more of a definite kicking sensation. Both were things that couldn't really be mistaken for gas, so that made me feel a little more confident in my "investigations", as the doctor here at the school clinic calls them. She's from India and is one of the funniest(not that she's trying to be) people that I have met here. She is quite quotable, and if you know me, that makes me pretty happy! Well on to the good stuff, the oh so loved belly shot! I feel like this week I actually felt my stomach growing. It's so weird to wake up and feel like you are visibly bigger than the day before. I feel like I'm bigger then most at this stage, but I guess that's how it goes sometimes.

Okay, so maybe it was me...

So I lied. Well, not really, I think that blogger and I were fighting for a little bit:) I got it working so here are the pictures. Here is my belly/gut/stomach...whatever you want to call it, at four months(16 weeks). The reason I say both is cuz when I read blogs in which the person is pregnant, I always wonder what their version of weeks to months is or vise versa. I'm going by what my baby book says, the Mayo Clinic Guide to Pregnancy. So if you think that I'm crazy or I said it wrong, take it up with one of the highest ranked hospitals in the US! Now that I got that off my chest... I'm feeling great, not nauseous at all and this morning I had my first cup of coffee!! Albeit a cup of instant(still can't handle the french press coffee that Zach drinks), but it is coffee, and I'm back with my old friend again! Starbucks here I come(in six weeks!!)! Oddly enough I've been able to drink cappuccinos, I think it's all the milk in them. Who knows, the pregnant body is a mystery! I'm starting to grow out of pants and I'm starting to do the elastic band thing to keep them working. I didn't bring any maternity clothes with me to Grenada(found out the morning before I left that I was pregnant) so I have to make do with strechy skirts and the elastic band:)
Anyway, enough about that. Zach is now coming into the last strech of school and his exams are coming fast and furious. He had one yesterday, which he said felt good, and he's got one on monday(one of the reasons that I really had to fight for some computer time!). Then he has exams every two weeks until we go home in december. He hasn't forgot about the St.Vincent blog he was supposed to write, but he just only now collected all his pictures and he's going to post something after his test on monday. So you can all just wait with baited breath for that one!
Yesterday, I went with Lisa and her two boys to the beach. We hadn't been in weeks and we decided that it was time. We didn't have swimsuits along, but we went for a walk and started to take a bunch of pictures. Her son Noah, found two starfish that kept washing up on shore so we decided to get a few shots of them. They turned out awesome so I figured that I'd post them seeing as to how I haven't posted pictures of Grenada in a while. It was a gorgeously cloudy day and as we were walking back to our car we just got hit by the rain, it was fabulous! Man have I ever changed when it comes to weather! Well, I hope you enjoy!



Is it just me, or does everyone feel lame when they take these pictures?! Oh and aren't the curtains in the back hilarious?? Got to love that Grenadian style:)

I was going to...

I was going to post a picture of my belly at four months, week 16, but Blogger-something-or-other is not letting me post any pictures for some reason. So I'll try again later today, that is if I can wrestle the computer away from Zach again:)

A new favorite...

The last few months here in Grenada have technically been the rainy season, but the lack of rain was making us think that we'd never get one. Well, these past few days have been extremely overcast and rainy, and at times, a little bit chilly...by chilly I mean that were not in a constant state of sweating! It hasn't exactly been sweater weather, but the chill just put me in the best mood:) All my life I've been a huge fan of summer and thought that I'd live somewhere like California so I chould have that all year round. But after living here for almost two years I realized that this is not an ideal weather situation! I love summer in summer, not in spring, fall or winter...gets old. So as I sit and listen to the rain outside I can't help but feel glee! I love these days, can't get enough of them. I wish it would rain here for the next month...and I used to HATE the rain. My how different life experiences can change your whole take on life. Grenada has been that for me, it's made me realize what I love and what I know I cannot live without, seasons!

Just add us to the growing list...

Well, I'm sure that most of you already know, but I figured that I'd make an official announcement on the blog. Zach and I are expecting our first baby in April! On the 18th of April to be exact(well, for the time being anyway...I hear that the date can change at anytime and it already has for us once:)). That makes me 3 1/2 months along, just over fourteen weeks. We are incredibly excited and, yes, it was planned. We are having it in Abbotsford and with the help of my sister in law, Linda(Ed's), we were able to get in with the midwives there. This is something that I know a lot of people have been having a tough time with and we are so thankful for! Anyway, I figured I'd finally share our news with the blog world and get it out there. I'm starting to get a bit of a belly and thought that I'd share a classic shot of it. No blog would be complete without:) Enjoy...




Sorry, it's a self taken shot, so my head didn't make it in!

England...

Well, I'm back in Grenada now and I'm sure that you can all tell that my time in England was a blast from the lack of posting! No time to post when you're having fun:) Like I said, the trip was amazing and we did and saw so much. But within all the sight seeing, we relaxed a lot and that was great too. I loved being able to just...be! The weather was so beautiful, sunny and crisp most days and the rainy ones didn't bother me at all, I welcomed the cooler weather. Aside from being an Asher-hog and playing with Jacob, which were the highlights for me:), my time was filled with some great things. We went to a little lake nearby for a walk called Taklin Tarn, we went to Newcastle for an afternoon of shopping(!!!)...where we had Starbucks as well(!!!!), we went for a walk with Jo's parents in the Lake District(which is one of the most picturesque areas in the world), had coffee, went shopping, hit up the local McDonald's(that was for me:)) too often to count, and went on local walks along the river behind Jo and Astrid's house. There was much more stuff that we did, but it would take too much time to write it all down!
It was just great to be around family and Astrid and Jo were so hospitable(even when I got sick and in turn go Jo sick and his respiratory issues came back...again). I loved playing with the kids and just spending time with Astrid, which we don't get to do often. We both live away from home, so if we happen to both be in Canada at the same time, we don't end up spending that much time together because of other commitments. So times when it can be us, and just us, don't come often. Needless to say we got a lot of that this trip(hopefully not too much on Astrid's end:)) and it was awesome.
So now I'm back in Grenada and I'm so happy to be able to see Zach again! Two weeks is a long time not to see each other, but we've kind of gotten used to it since we have had to be apart for longer than that a few times since we've been married.
Zach's trip to St.Vincent went amazing. He was so happy being able to spend time in the hospital, putting into practice a bit of what they've been learning so far. The Doctors there were really great in that they let the students have more hands on work then usual and Zach got to watch a few surgeries, and even got to suture a machete wound on a man's arm! Needless to say, he was on cloud nine! He hasn't got his pictures from the trip downloaded yet, but when he does, I'll post them. He was also able to visit this Pathology museum...not quite sure what it was all about, but he could not stop talking about it for days afterwards...guess you have to be in the medical field to really appreciate that one:) I think it had something to do with this one Doctor that went to school in the UK and practiced all his life in St.Vincent and he kept meticulous notes on all his work and had this museum of, for examle, a jar full of something like 26 worms that he pulled out of some guys stomach...mmmmm! Stuff like that, oh and I'm pretty sure there were body parts there as well. That kinda fun thing...right up Zach's alley! Anyway, I'll get on with the pictures and I'll go more in detail about Zach's trip when there are pictures to post! Enjoy!!





Asher, he started making tons of weird noises while I was there...loved the ooooo sound!


Jo's parents and Astrid and Jo after our walk in the Lake District. We're at a cafe called Chesters...such a cute place!


The local pub, the Stag, in Jo and Astrid's village.


Me and Jacob


Jacob watching TV...can't tear his eyes away!


Jacob's pre-school...he loved it there. He's holding the door open for me, he does this often and it is so cute. He does it for complete strangers too!


Langley Castle, it's half way between Carlisle and Newcastle.


Me in front of Langley Castle


Just thought that this was a pretty shot!


In a town called Grasmere, in the Lake District. There was a little cottage where they made gingerbread and fudge...the ladies cracked me up!


At the Lakes where we stopped for a picnic that Jo's mom packed! There are sheep everywhere in that country...not helping the stereotype at all!


Jacob in the morning before he headed off for school...I love his glasses!!


A walk along the river behind Astrid's place.


More of the walk along the river


Talkin Tarn, the little lake near Jo and Astrid's.


Me and my beloved...back together again!


Asher and myself


Astrid at the coffee shop Costa, where we had coffee few times. They had some huge drinks, "I believe I ordered the LARGE cappuchino?!?"


Astrid, Jacob, Asher and Myself on a walk around Jo's parents place.


The Jansen's back porch...so beautiful. I love the red vines on the wall, they grow everywhere in England.


Asher in one of the cutest pictures ever!!