Sergeant of Arms...

Mike is an active member of the Platte City Chapter of Rotary International and Thursday night we attended the annual dinner at the United Methodist Church.

Mike was sworn in as Sergeant of Arms for the chapter and as Stan Palmer talked about his duties as Sergeant of Arms, he joked that it was a fitting job for Mike because of his stature. Mike's job will be to maintain order and reduce rowdiness at the meetings!

Week 12

Since my brother is in Nashville and he keeps asking if I am showing yet I thought that it would be fun to track this pregnancy and the growth of the baby and my belly by posting belly pics throughout!

Although I would like to say that I haven't grown very much in these first 12 weeks, I have to say that I can no longer fit into most of my pre-pregnancy pants. It's like my belly just expanded overnight... literally. Dress pants that I could fit into two weeks ago wouldn't button last week. Thank goodness for the Bella Band!

I shopped for new pants this past weekend, but didn't have much luck. I decided that instead of focusing on pants, I would just focus on buying dresses, so I bought four! That is what my wardrode is going to consist of for as long as I can get by. They are much more comfortable anyway!

8 week appt. to 12 week appt. = 2 pounds weight gain

(although the way my body is changing it feels like more than that)

And baby makes three!

After 8 weeks of keeping the news quiet, well for the most part, Mike and I are happy to announce that we are pregnant once again. We are looking forward to welcoming our little miracle to the world on December 22, 2008, just in time for Christmas.

Sunday April 13th was the day that we found out we were pregnant again! I took a pregnancy test that morning and was surprised when it quickly turned positive. I took another that afternoon and on Monday called the doctor to make an appointment for bloodwork to be done. They immediately got me in and ran blood tests to check my hormone and progesterone levels. Since I miscarried in December, they wanted to monitor me a bit closer this time. They checked my levels a couple of times that week and each time the numbers doubled as they should.

The first several weeks Mike and I experienced joy, excitement, apprehension, nervousness and anxiousness all at the same time. We decided then that we would wait to share the news until we made it through the first 12 weeks. After experiencing extreme joy and then extreme heartache with our first pregnancy, I think we were both scared to give in 100% to all of the joyous feelings that we wanted to experience.

At 6 weeks we went for our first ultrasound. We were extremely anxious and nervous. But, all of that soon vanished when we saw the heart beating in that little peanut! Mike and I were so emotional that day that we even made the sonographer cry... it was an amazing day! That day, based on measurements, she calculated the due date as December 19th, 2008. One year to the day that we had our sonogram and found out that our baby didn't have a heartbeat. GOD WORKS IN AMAZING WAYS!

our tiny little peanut

Three weeks later we had another ultrasound and once again were relieved when immediately the heartbeat was detected and we saw that little baby waving to us! I watched Mike that time because I couldn't bring myself to watch the screen... to see my husband mouth the words "Thank God" and see him sigh for relief as he shed tears of joy said everything. We left that appointment once again feeling blessed.

the best sound in the world - the heartbeat!

Last Thursday we had another ultrasound and it was amazing to see the differences in the baby. The sonographer said that the baby had big feet... like daddy. She even pointed out a little "nub" that could be an indication of a little boy. She couldn't be 100% sure since it's still a bit early, but Mike and I feel deep down that I have a little boy in my belly... so now we refer to the baby as "him" - it sounds so much better than "it" anyway. We'll find out for sure on July 30th.

baby arms and baby legs

the nub that might be a baby boy!

big feet just like daddy

Thank God for the precious gift of life... we are so blessed! God does answer prayers!

Will and Lily's Preschool Graduation

Thursday Will and Lily graduated from Preschool... donned with caps, gowns and diplomas! It was so cute to see all of the preschoolers walk across the stage.

Before they actually graduated each class summarized what they had learned throughout the year... they both did a great job and Will made us laugh especially hard when he finished his speech with a dance... it closely resembled something Ummie Mike would do.

80's Party at the Rye's

Last Saturday our neighbors John and Dana had an 80s party - and they went all out complete with Rubics Cube key chains and Pop Rocks aplenty! Everyone was encourged to dress in 80s attire to take home one of the sacred 80s prizes for the winning outfit!

I dried my hair with a diffuser and ratted it up so high it took me three washes to get all of the tangles and hairspray out! Mike said I looked like a girl out of a Whitesnake video... if only I had a hood of a Camero to crawl on...

Jeff and Michelle went to the party with us and Jeff took home the winning prize for the men - a bottle of Drakar! He went all out for the party... even grew a foo-man-choo!

Sheri Holder took home the prize for the women - a bottle of Luvs Baby Soft - remember that scent? That brought back some memories!

Mike Holder DJd with Totally 80s tunes... anyone for some NKOTB?

Happy Mother's Day

I must admit I am a little, okay a lot, behind on posting these pictures to our blog. I have been so busy I have been neglecting to keep this site updated!

On Mother's Day we celebrated by going to Granite City for brunch so none of the moms would have to cook that day. We waited for over an hour to be seated for brunch, so we were all STARVING by the time we finally got to eat. I will say however, the wait was well worth it. I ate at least 2 1/2 cinnamon rolls in addition to my brunch! Yummy!

If only Kent and Nedra and Jason could have been with us we would have been complete!

Baby Searcey is Here!

Chad and Jonalee welcomed Slayton into the world on Thursday, May 8th (just in time for Mother's Day)! He weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20 inches long. Mike and I went to visit them at the hospital on Friday and although we weren't able to hold him yet (he's in the NICU being monitored for a heart murmur) we have to say that he is a beautiful baby! Everything about him is just perfect!

Chad and Jonalee radiate happiness and excitement and are elated to finally welcome him into the world! Just thinking about what a miracle life is brings tears to my eyes... listening to Jonalee describe the experience and not being able to do so without shedding tears of joy and amazement is a feeling that I cannot wait to experience one day when it is our turn!