Sweet BABY GIRL!!

On Tuesday of this week Andrew and I went in for the 20 week ultrasound and got to see adorable pictures of our BABY GIRL!! My mom was able to be there for it as well, and it was very special to have her here. I must admit that I had already made up my mind that it was a boy. Andrew had felt the same way too, and we had picked a few boys names that we really liked. So when the ultrasound tech announced that we were having a girl, I think we were in shock! But we are so excited to have this blessing in our life and now, I think we are getting used to the idea of a daughter.

While my mom was here, we did lots of shopping and running around and couldn't resist buying things for our baby girl. We even picked out bedding and some decor for her room. If you know me very well, you know that pink is not my favorite color. So we're going with an adorable green and brown theme and I just love it!! I really wasnt planning on getting all this done for the nursery, but it's coming together so well. I know that Andrew and I will both have a really busy fall so it's nice to have all this taken care of. Here are some pictures of our girl and her cute room!

Waving to the world!

She may be sucking her thumb or just putting her hand in front of her face. So cute!

My sweet mom who spent the week helping me get the room ready!

5 months!

One of my dearest friends Jensey stopped in Louisville with her husband Nate. We were able to grab a quick lunch together. I have known Jensey since kindergarten and she is still such a wonderful friend. She and her husband are currently living in Orlando and are awesome wedding photographers, but they will be moving to Nashville soon, so it will be great to have them so close!

Our little girl's brown and green room!
(The white circle on the wall is a reflection from the mirror.)

June Happenings

I can't believe it's JULY!!! Where is this summer going? Andrew and I didnt have too much time to recover after our trip to Africa and Italy! We had a friend's wedding the weekend we returned. It was a beautiful wedding and the bride was gorgeous! The next weekend, we made a super quick trip down to Memphis to see my family. We had a great time playing with my niece and nephews and telling my family about our trip. I had another appointment with the doctor and June 15 and got to hear that wonderful heartbeat again! I just love it. Here are some pictures from this past month's events!

Tricia & Lee's Wedding June 6. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding
and everything was wonderful!

Me holding Andy & Caitlin's baby Emerson. She's a doll!

Me and my nephew on our trip to Memphis. I just can't get enough of his cheeks! He's too cute!

I LOVE these kiddos!!

Andrew and Kale

Nothing better than having a baby fall asleep on you!

Andrew and I at our church's annual 4th of July party!

Andrew starting to put a crib together! Yes, I know it's a little early,
but once Andrew starts school in August, he has no time!

Here's a belly shot at about 18 weeks pregnant! It just keeps growing.
We have an appointment on July 20 and we get to find out what we're having (hopefully).

Adventures in Africa and Rome!

Andrew and I had the opportunity to travel to North Africa and Rome a few weeks ago. While we were in Africa, it was awesome to see how the Lord is at work there. I often find myself putting God in a box, and it's always amazing when he reveals to me that he's so much bigger than I can even imagine. It's hard to even put into words some of the things we experienced. On our way back from Africa, we stopped in Rome for about a day and half. Even though we just had a short time in Rome, we were able to see lots of sites! We visited the Vatican and saw the Sistine Chapel along with St. Peter's Basilica. We were able to visit the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Circus Maximus, St. Pauls Basilica, the Spanish Steps (in the pouring rain), Trevi Fountain and some others. Here are tons of pictures from our adventure! I have tons more but tried to narrow it down. :)

Andrew and our friend Kamal.

Andrew and I at Sidi Bou Said..a beautiful area on the Mediterranean. Everything was painted blue and white in the whole area. I loved these blue doors!

In the mountains on our way to a village.

Kamal's mom making us yummy bread.

In front of a castle on the Mediterranean.

Great rock formations.

A city we stopped at. I had to go to the bathroom..oh the joys of being pregnant..haha. :)

Some chicken, french fries and not too sure about the other stuff.

Cow head anyone?? Yummy!

He's just missing his camel!

A roadside bbq place we ate at!

Here are pics from Rome. This is inside the Vatican.

Andrew and some Roman heads.

Me with the silly-looking guards.

Behind us is St. Peter's Basilica.

Our favorite little gelato place. We ate there both nights!

The Colosseum

This is Paul's tomb. Constantine supposedly had his body moved from a swampy area to this place where they built a church on top of his tomb.

Andrew pretending to race his chariot at the Circus Maximus.

Trevi Fountain

Dinner our last night there.

The belly is growing! Of course the Italian gelato

and food might have contributed to that as well. :)

We are DUE for an update!

Well, like I've said before, I haven't been the best at keeping up with this blog. I always think I'll have more interesting things to say once we have kids. And it looks like it won't be that much longer. Andrew and I are going to have a BABY!!!!!!! We are due December 9. Wow, it's so weird to even type that. I'm soooo excited but it's still sooo surreal. I cannot wait to meet our little guy or gal!!

This whole past year and a few months has been a difficult time. We really were desiring to start a family and as soon as we wanted to start "trying," my body just stopped doing the normal functions it needs to do in order to get pregnant. I'll try to not to go into too many details. Month after month, I started to get frustrated. As people all around me were getting pregnant, I kept wondering why we couldnt and what was wrong with me. Why was I not "normal"? During these months and months, the Lord was really teaching me that it was Him who was in control....not me. I always just assumed that I would get pregnant right away because I thought it was completely up to us. Again the Lord showed me how I was wrong in this area. We just kept praying and praying and I know that so many faithful others were praying for us as well. I had picked up a prescription for a fertility drug and was waiting for my next cycle to begin so I could start this medicine. When my cycle didn't start, I really didnt think too much of it because that was pretty common for me. I had taken so many pregnancy tests the past year and they all had come back negative. But I figured I would take one any way just to make sure. So on April 1 (Fools Day...haha), I took a test and it came back positive. I must have stared at it for about 20 minutes. I just couldn't believe it. The Lord had answered our prayers!!!! I went up to the seminary and met Andrew for lunch so I could tell him the news. I just couldnt hold it in. He had the same reaction as me and just couldnt believe it. He said he couldnt focus at all during his next class.

The hard part over the next few weeks was keeping it quiet. We had so many people praying for us and they would occasionally ask how we were doing. My parents were coming in town the weekend of the 25th and I really wanted to wait to tell them in person. When we told my parents, they were sooo excited. My mom and I both cried. We told Andrew's family and then slowly began spreading the word. We had our first appointment on the 26th and got to see the baby on the ultrasound. We could see the little heart just beating away! That was amazing to see that. It was also very comforting for me since I had not felt very pregnant up until that point. We went again on May 18 and got to hear the heartbeat. Such a miraculous thing!!

Thank you to everyone who had been praying for us. We know that this pregnancy is truly a gift from the Lord. Here are the first pictures of Baby Nordine: