Still no pics, sorry.

Greetings! And Happy Spring? I am looking out the window seeing just three daffodils up and it pouring down rain....it's cold cold COLD outside, too. Spring, eh? Apparently this spring (and last years') have been the coldest in Abbotsford to date. Brr.

Another afternoon spent inside with two very active toddlers. :)

Life has been busy here at the Stewart house.

Daddy works long hours (usually from 6:30am-7:15 pm) with perhaps a day or two per week getting home by 5:30 or 6 pm if we're lucky.

Meanwhile, our days are filled with visits to the naturopath, the chiropractor, the play therapist or something else that we have to be at....this week, I had my first ultrasound with baby #3. We're 9 weeks today with an expected due date of Halloween. I have to be honest, I was a little disappointed....I was hoping we were closer to the end of the first trimester just so morning sickness would have an end sooner....but I am THRILLED to be having ONE baby that seems in perfect condition. Praise the Lord.

It was a weird experience.....not allowed to have children in the waiting room and no one is allowed to accompany you during the exam! Tim showed up showing his support and they told him just to wait for me. Now this may not seem that odd to you, but to us, it was very awkward! We had our ultrasounds in the Philippines where your WHOLE family could be gathered in the crowded ultrasound exam room and then you were able to ask questions and take a few pics of your baby home for like p100. ($2.50 USD). Not only could no one accompany me and I wasn't allowed to ask any questions, but if I wanted pictures, I had to pay $12 for 4 pics. Good thing my health insurance pays for the ultrasound! I don't want to see THAT bill! What a culture shock.

I tried to chit-chat with the sonographer, and though she was friendly enough, it all felt very cold and not at all exciting....the only "endearing" part of the visit was when she said, "Enjoy your pregnancy" at the end. Well, with bladder full, I came out and found Tim waiting outside a little befuddled. We exchange a few words and a hug and he headed back to work. Weird. Weird.

So glad we're having a healthy little one....nothing visibly wrong......still early, but we are grateful. What a gift.

Promise and Toby have been great fun, though a lot of work these days. So very cute and growing like weeds. Toby refers to anything with wheels as "guts" (trucks) and has found every avenue to bother and terrorize his sister. Promise is beautiful and becoming quite the creative cat....always creating something from nothing and drawing the most lovely pictures as gifts for everyone.

Today we had a chiropractor appointment for my hips (which have been helping) and Toby and Promise eagerly went with me into the examination room to sit and play with toys. Upon exiting, a little boy about Toby's age made a BEELINE up to Toby and gave him a MONSTER HUG! At first it seemed cute....a little tight around the neck, but "ahh, isn't that cute"...then he hugged Toby TIGHTER and Toby was very uncomfortable.....the little boy's mother came over to pry her son off Toby, but the little boy first needed to do something HORRIBLE.....He took a BIG BITE of Toby's cheek and latched on! We had to pry him and his JAWS off Toby! He drew blood and Toby let out a GIANT WAIL! While the mom was VERY apologetic, I was mortified as two sets of teeth marks formed a ring around Toby swelling cheek with little pockets of blood forming....a little antibacterial wash and a sticker later, we darted out of the office. Wow.

That's a first....and hopefully a first for that mother, too! One word...MUZZLE. The child should be wearing a "do not touch" shirt or something....that was just too scary.

So that's been our week in a nutshell.

Be blessed.

WAHOOO...PUKE!

Greetings! Toby has the flu....so along with Daddy's flu bug last weekend, Promise's cough/cold, and Mommy's morning sickness, Toby decided to join in the fun and gift us with a busy Friday dawn.....donning us with high fever and puke.

It's amazing how diarrhea and puke make morning sickness twice as intense! "Thank you, Jesus, for every sign and symptom of pregnancy!" I say this hourly. :)

Poor Toby. Dark circles around the eyes, moaning and whimpering laps around the kitchen table, high fever, and lethargy.....it's enough to make an overly hormonal mommy cry in anguish for her baby boy.

On a very positive note, Tim, Promise, Toby and I got to meet with our midwives this week! We are so thankful for the handpicked midwives God gave us....all Christians and beautiful people.

It's amazing the change in care here in Canada versus the Philippines. In the Phils, if you need a dating ultrasound, you just go and sit for an hour in a waiting room in one of the 10,000 ultrasound shacks (literally shacks) or hospitals in the city and VIOLA! You got an ultrasound in a day.....and you DON'T have to have a full bladder in order to get one done. :)

Enter Canada: next available appointment in any of the 6 we called....two months. Too late. OH! Found an appointment at the end of March....almost too late.....but it'll work....oh, and drink at least 4 glasses of water before arriving, but arrive 15 minutes early as any late-comers will be rescheduled....

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING! WE PREGGO LADIES ARE PEEING EVERY 30 MINUTES WITHOUT FILLING OUR BLADDER! They want 4 GLASSES BEFORE COMING and then WAITING well over an HOUR with a FULL BLADDER and then they are going to PUSH ON THAT FULL BLADDER with their MAGIC WAND!??? I am asking for an adult diaper. I wonder if any ladies have peed the bed....? Toby kinda ruined my abilities to hold large quantities of liquid with his large head.....Mmmm. ADVENTURE!

Okay, I know that those of you who are reading this are going, "Well, Bethany, I did it....it's not THAT big a deal." This is true....however, having two children in the Phils without even a blood test in my pregnancies and then coming to the West where birth and pregnancy seem to involve many long hours planning, waiting and then waiting some more for labs, appointments, and the like...this is all VERY new to me....and I am a certified midwife! Ha ha ha! What irony.

Perhaps having children in the Phils IS easier....maybe that's why the Filipino population is doubling at an incredible rate! I got an idea!.....The Philippines should adopt Canadian medical policies and they will decrease the population! Just kidding.....but perhaps that is one of the reasons Canadians aren't having babies? I dunno. Pregnancy makes me ramble.

Seems a vast majority of the women in my church (of childbearing capability) are pregnant. Don't drink Northview water. :)

It's encouraging to be pregnant along with so many women, though. It's not as lonely....even though I worked among the pregnant in the Philippines, it was very lonely....and I was looked at as a bit of a freak...being a massive white chick with a massive white belly and a 9 pound baby. It's nice to "appear" normal....even if I DO have to get a whole bunch of lab tests to find out if this truly is the case. Ha ha ha ha....what an adventure! I am loving it.

Sorry for the rambles.....I had to stay home from church this morning while Tim went with the Lady Bird cuz Toby is still pretty sicko.....writing a blog seemed somewhat therapeutic for us both.

Be blessed.

Convicted.

Isn't it funny how the word "convicted" has the word "convict" in it? Yes, I am a convict....perhaps an ex-con if you consider what Jesus did for me. Anyway....that's not exactly what I wanted to share today....

I was sent a very sweet e-mail from a dear friend of mine this week that totally convicted me regarding something I wrote in last post.

I stated that, "The coming months may prove to be a challenge as my pregnancies have not been easy" and my dear friend reminded me that we serve a very MIGHTY HEAVENLY FATHER that has the ability to make this pregnancy smoother and more pleasant than any other....that I should be looking with positive expectation for great things.....

She is right. This pregnancy is and will continue to be different than the other two and it will be a JOY!

God is faithful. Be blessed.