Meals Schmeals....

I'm having trouble planning meals for this upcoming week....

If you have a recipe you would be willing to share I'm all ears! (or eyes I guess since I'll be reading it!)

Thanks! :)

All My Bags are Packed....

I'm ready to go....kind of!

I would love to know your hospital "must-haves" that you took or didn't take and wish you had when you were at the hospital to have your baby!

My bag is packed for the most part, but I would love to know what you took that you couldn't have done without!

My due date is 2 weeks from tomorrow! I am getting so incredibly excited to meet our baby boy! The doctor did tell me at my last appointment that she predicts I am going to go over my due date which made me a little sad. I know that God is in control and He already knows Tatum's birthday. So, if we wait, we wait. If you have time, let me know what I need in that hospital bag!

It's Been A While...

Somewhere between finding out we were having a boy and now, at 8 months pregnant, I have dropped blogging. I can't really even think of a good reason why. As I sit here now typing this, Michael is in Haiti. He has been gone since Thursday and will get home on Saturday. I miss him like crazy, but am so excited about what God is going in and through him over there. There is a team of 8 from our church building shelters for the Haitian people. I can't wait to hear all of his stories!

I think it is still surreal to me, even though I am clearly 36 weeks pregnant in so many ways, that we are having a baby! I am just still in awe of this miracle baby!

Here are some things that I want to remember about this pregnancy and things that I am so thankful for (some in a weird way!)...

1. I have had an intense sweet tooth during pregnancy, which is soooo not me! I would always pass up dessert before and now....well....I can't resist the sweets!

2. I have put on an excessive amount of weight...including an 8 pound weight gain between 2 week doctor appointments!

3. Maternity clothes that looked like they would never fit in the beginning are put away because I have now outgrown them!

4. Tatum is super active! We love to just watch my belly move. Sometimes I wonder if there really is only 1 baby in there because I can't figure out his acrobatics!

5. I haven't been able to wear my wedding rings in a really long time and can't wait to wear them again!

6. We have had so much fun getting Tatum's room ready and putting together his swing, bouncy, pack and play, and stroller!

7. Baby items require a lot of batteries!

8. Baby items take up a lot of space. I feel like we are outgrowing our house quickly!

9. I am measuring a cm big. The doctor says this could be a big baby!

10. I am a little scared and anxious about the "unknown" that is labor and delivery.

11. Walking 30 minutes a day is hard...really hard!

12. My hands and feet/ankles like to swell a lot!

13. I love the smell of Dreft and have had a lot of fun washing all of Tatum's clothes.

14. Tatum has a ton of clothes! Maybe more than his mommy and daddy! :)

15. God is preparing me for less sleep as sleep is hard these days because of discomfort.

We are so thankful, overwhelmed, humbled, blessed....I could go on and on. I can't wait to post pictures of our sweet little man! That will be a surreal day for me because I honestly wasn't sure when or if I would get to blog posting pictures of my own baby! God is so good!

We're having a.....

baby BOY!!!!!!

We could not be more excited. After our appointment we went straight to Babies R Us to purchase the first baby outfit! :) It was so much fun! His name is going to be Tatum James McCracken! I want to call him Tate!

I can't wait to tell this sweet baby boy how many people prayed for his little life. I cannot wait to tell him about God's faithfulness and grace upon us to bless us with him. What a precious gift.

Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for all of your encouragement these past few years. We feel so blessed and can't wait to meet our miracle baby boy! :)

Baby Poll!

Ok, a week from today we find out if our sweet baby is a boy or a girl! And to answer the questions of many...no, I have no feeling one way or the other! I have no idea! :) I want to see what you all think! Leave me a comment to say if you think baby McCracken is a boy or a girl! I'll make sure to let you know as soon as we find out next Tuesday! We can hardly wait!

Also, if you have "must haves" that we need to register for, let me know that too! Thanks!

Hello Again Blog World

Wow, it has been so long since I've posted! I tend to do that and then my posts end up being waaayyyy to0 long...so I'll try to just include some highlights about pregnancy and baby! I still can't believe that I get to blog about having a baby! It's so amazing!

• Pregnancy is so much fun, even when I'm puking!
• Oatmeal is not my friend anymore!
• My gag reflex is really bad!
• I gained 5 pounds between Dr. appointments. (too much chick-fil-a)
• I loved chick-fil-a before, but now, I LOVE chick-fil-a! This is not good considering I should be eating healthy. At least the fries still have the skin on them! :)
• We find out if we are having a boy or girl on March 23rd...if baby is cooperating!
• I have a baby bump. (I'll put pics up soon)
• Michael's mom is going to keep the baby next year....such a blessing!
• I still find myself tearing up when I look at baby stuff or put on maternity jeans...just in awe of this miracle!
• I am up for suggestions on baby items that you have used and found helpful! (it's overwhelming with all of the stuff that's out there now)
• Michael is already a great dad! He loves to rub the belly and talk to his little one. He even got a birthday card for me from our little peanut! (He's just a little excited!)

Thank you Jesus for this baby inside of me!

A Christmas to Remember

Where do I ever begin with this post?

On December 2nd Michael and I went to our first appointment with a fertility specialist. We absolutely loved this Dr. and the entire office staff. They were so incredibly kind and supportive. We left the appointment that day with so much peace and with a plan. The plan was to come in on my 3rd day of my next cycle to get some more blood work done. Then, in January we would do our first cycle of Clomid and IUI. I was not on Clomid this cycle. We were excited, but nervous too about the upcoming decisions and procedures. During the appointment, the Dr. did an ultrasound to check my uterus and ovaries. I jokingly said, "there's not a baby in there is there?" She confirmed that in fact there was not a baby in my uterus. Even though we heard that I was not pregnant once again at that appointment, we still had an overwhelming amount of peace. It wasn't the typically reaction upon finding out that yet again, this was not the month. Just peace, that's the only way I can describe it.

So, we would wait...wait for my cycle to start so I could go in for my blood work and start our "plan" of action! So we waited....and waited....and waited....and nothing....a day late....a few days late....

When you suffer from infertility, this is a tough place to be because there have been months where I've had no period at all so this was nothing too abnormal. I had a strange feeling about this time though. I didn't test until I was about a week late because the hope that I may be pregnant is more fun than testing to find out that I'm not...

Friday after work I went to the store and bought a test...the digital kind that says the words, "not pregnant" or "pregnant" on them. I couldn't even wait until Michael was home from school. I tested when I got home from the store. At first I just couldn't look at it. Finally I looked and could not believe when I saw the word "PREGNANT." I immediately began trembling and crying and praising the Lord. I kept going back to look at the test to make sure the word "not" didn't show up later! I couldn't even wait until Michael walked in the door, I had to call him. Luckily he was on his way home! A few hours after he got home I tested again and had another positive test. We cried lots of tears of joy and just began praising the faithful God who we serve who hears our prayers. He is a God of miracles! We are so thankful for all of the people who have gone to battle for us in this long journey. We pray now for a healthy baby who will grow up to love Jesus! We pray that He will use our story to give hope and comfort to others and that He can use us to minister to those who go through infertility.

Our miracle baby McCracken will make his/her debut in August! We are so blessed! For this child we have prayed! Nothing is impossible with Him! Praise Jesus!