BUMP

It's been a long time hasn't it? Where to start? Well, our vacation to Kauai was splendid. We got back in time to celebrate birthdays: mine, and that of my niece and nephew. Mom, a couple of dear friends and the family all came over to our place for my one of my mom's specialties: chicken posole. Then came the time to stop working at the most wonderful place to work for: Grace to You. God provided the perfect person at just the right time who took my stead there and has been loving it.

What else? The other major news is that we found out that we are going to be having a little girl. Alan is so excited. Every one is really. I'm nervous about the looming labor that I'm to go through. My encouragement is that God tells me that He will be with me. Not only that but my husband is and has been amazingly supportive. I can't believe how fast time has gone by...our little girl will be born in March (Lord willing)!

So I've been home praying for creativity and ideas to decorate our place, and organizing and sorting through baby items that friends have been so gracious to hand down. I'm looking for random fun paintings or pictures to put up on our walls. The bigger the better. So we'll see what the yard/estate sales featured in the Penny Saver have to offer. So far, with regards to baby items, I've been able to score a Peg Perego P3 stroller for $21.00. That was a special find at a local Salvation Army (retail price fr one of those is $199.99 on Amazon). Little by little.

The baby has been moving a whole lot. In fact, this week was the first time that Alan and I got to see my entire abdomen move as she situated herself! She's very active. She usually bumps around in the morning to wake me up to get some breakfast and then continues to after I've eaten. We can't wait to meet her. Neither can our families and our friends. Thanks for stopping by to catch up!

October is Here!

Hey friends! Can you believe it's already October? It has been so hot these past few days and I'm really hoping for it to cool down and RAIN soon. I love October. There will be many special events, and major changes taking place too. Firstly, my niece will be turning 5, her brother will be turning 4, my husband and me will be going on a babymoon for my 32nd birthday and to celebrate 6 months of marriage, and finally it will be my eighth and last year working for Grace to You.

A couple of days ago I was logging off my computer here at work thinking, "wow...I'm not going to be doing this for a long time. I'm going to be a mom!" I shared my thoughts with a friend and co-worker before leaving for home that day and she said, "you're going to love staying home! Enjoy it, and when you have your little one make the first ten years the best ever. Motherhood is for life."

I am 17 weeks now and just today I had a regular check up. "The baby is alive and kicking," the doctor said. Lord-willing we will find out the gender next month. Doctor said he'd be taking some detailed images of the baby to see if we detect anything that may be of concern, as well as figure out if it's a boy or a girl.

I'm feeling better these days and I'm able to go for less brisk walks. My husband has been such a help. God has been helping us get through adjustments and providing for all our needs. I think that besides my husband, my sister is the most excited about the coming child. Everytime she sees me she pats my tummy and before I leave she blows my tummy a kiss. She says she can't wait to babysit.

My brother Joey has been transferred to a placement school in FL, and we are continuing to pray for him, mom, dad and my youngest sister. For them to really know God and true hope in this life. I've been writing him and he gets to call us from time to time.

One funny thing I've noticed more during my second trimester is that my frontal lobe has begun malfunctioning. The other day I killed two silverfish in our downstairs bathroom and went upstairs to let my husband know he needs to spray again. I got up the stairs and said to him, "Honey, I killed two ostriches in the bathroom downstairs." You can just imagine the look on his face...yeah, stuff like that.

So I'll be home. Resting, decorating, and getting things that had to wait for the weekend to get done, done during the week. Yay! How life will change. We have no idea what it will be like, but we find ourselves praying more and more for wisdom these days. We want our home to be a sweet aroma of Christ to our child, and not only our child but to all. Thanks for your prayers!

We Saw It!

Okay, sorry no pic. I keep forgetting to bring it in to scan it and stuff. Nevertheless...

August 4th was our first official appointment with our wonderful obstetrician Dr. Frields. I'm thankful I talked to a couple of dear friends who both encouraged and reassured me that he'd be worth the wait. We arrived there in time for our appointment ready to wait, and we did, but it wasn't long. While we waited we saw many familiar faces including a co-worker Alan and his wife who were there for their weekly appointment (I think his wife delivered the very next week after we saw her)! So we went in and his assistant prepared me and then proceeded to ask me a whole list of questions. Then my husband and I patiently waited for Dr. Frields to come in. He came in not long afterwards and greeted us and quickly got underway with my ultrasound.

I remember thinking, "I know I'm pregnant because I've been feeling so awful lately, but I won't believe it until I see..." Before I could even think of "it," there was the figure of our little baby on the screen. Wow! Amazing. A tear instantly streamed down the side of my face as my husband stood in awe. There it was, and Dr. Frields began to point out the little features and let us hear the heartbeat. We even saw it beating within the baby's chest. The doctor said, "well congratulations, you are pregnant and it looks like there's just one. Everything looks good here at 8 weeks and 4 days." Then he concluded by saying "this is the reason you've been feeling so awful, but it's a very good reason."

Dr. Frields printed off some images of our little one and off we were for blood tests all of which, praise God, came back normal. My husband and I headed off to lunch and made a few phone calls to family. I am eleven weeks along now and my next appointment is coming up around the corner. I've had a few good days sprinkled in with the toughies and am recovering what used to be a normal appetite. No longer do I crave Mediterranean food, hummus, avocados, cucumbers with lemon, or pickles give me a nice big juicy burger from Tops in Pasadena and I'm a happy camper!

I must confess that I've actually craved and had things at Taco Bell, Burger King, and McDonald's too. I never go there! But the good thing is it only happened once. Tops is a different story. Go there and you'll see for yourself. The small order of fries is huge and their burgers are great!

So Alan is convinced it's a girl, and keeps calling her by the name he and I have picked. We won't know for sure until I'm about 4 months along. Time flies. Especially when you have a "Mini Baby Countdown Clock" sitting on your curio reminding you of the looming date. It's nerve racking, but we're praying hard for wisdom a true trust and rest in the Lord no matter what. Thanks for stopping by!

when I'm tempted to doubt God's goodness I think on this...

'We know that all things work together for good to them that love God'

Romans 8:28

Upon some points a believer is absolutely sure. He knows, for instance, that God sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel when it rocks most. He believes that an invisible hand is always on the world's tiller, and that wherever providence may drift, Jehovah steers it. That reassuring knowledge prepares him for everything. He looks over the raging waters and sees the spirit of Jesus treading the billows and he hears a voice saying, 'It is I, be not afraid'. He knows too that God is always wise, and, knowing this, he is confident that there can be no accidents, no mistakes; that nothing can occur which ought not to arise. He can say, 'If I should lose all I have, it is better that I should lose than have, if God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall to me if God ordains it.' 'We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.' The Christian does not merely hold this as a theory, but he knows it as a matter of fact. Everything has worked for good as yet; the poisonous drugs mixed in fit proportions have worked the cure; the sharp cuts of the lancet have cleansed out the proud flesh and facilitated healing. Every event as yet has worked out the most divinely blessed results; and so, believing that God rules all, that He governs wisely, that He brings good out of evil, the believer's heart is assured, and he is enables calmly to meet each trial as it comes. The believer can in the spirit of true resignation pray, 'Send me what thou wilt, my God, so long as it comes from Thee; never came there an ill portion from Thy table to any of Thy children'.

'Say not my soul, "from whence can God relieve my care?"

Remember that Omnipotence has servants everywhere.

His method is sublime, His heart profoundly kind,

God never is before His time, and never is behind.'

A Teaser...

We received some big news on the 9th of this month which is going to change our lives forever. Preliminary signs included major exhaustion, sensitivity to the smell of bacon and more. Can anybody guess what the news is?

Wedding Photographs

http://picasaweb.google.com/mendezm3/AlanChelaSWedding

Have you ever had the realization that...

• you're an adult now
• wow, you're in college and showing up and doing your h.w. really do matter now
• you're an adult, done with college and you're not a kid anymore
• life just does not stop
• Jesus is God
• you're still a big fat sinner
• life is painful sometimes
• sometimes it's better not to know all the details
• WOW YOU'RE MARRIED!
• you are so utterly dependent on God's grace for every breath of life
• YOU HAVE SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR
• you have a roof over your head, a bed to sleep on and more that one change of clothes
• YOU ARE RICH