"Why no posts?" You ask.

There is an answer.  Well more of an excuse, really.  I haven't posted in over a month mostly because I have been sick for that long...well a little longer than that, in fact!  Yes, you guessed it!  I am expecting our THIRD baby!!  This baby is due to arrive about mid-october, and NO, we don't know the gender just yet!  I will let you know when we find out on MAY 9th! We are very excited to know our fate! :)  At 14 1/2 weeks along I already look probably closer to 20 weeks pregnant, but I suppose that's what happens when you've already had two.  Otherwise the course has been about par, with no hiccups, praise God!

It seems a common question is, "Does this pregnancy feel different than the others?"  I'm thinking this question is usually an attempt to try to determine without ultrasound whether or not I'm having a boy or a girl, and for those wondering, every pregnancy has been a little different given different circumstances.  So I can not say with certainty whether this one is drastically different.  I am in Taiwan and THAT is VERY different! ;) 

Another question:  "Will this baby be born in Taiwan?"  YES!  We will go "home" to America this summer (which will mostly be the second trimester for me, though entering into the early parts of the third) and then return for school end of July and have this baby mid-october! :)  So yes, the world will have one more product made in Taiwan!  :)

And yet another: "Do the girls know, and are they excited?"  YES and YES!  In fact, daily I seem to say things like, "I love my two kids!"  Or "I'm so happy I have two girls!"  Or something of the like and Ellie reminds me, "THREE, mom!"  Oh yes, now I have three kids, I guess.  And in addition to praying for a healthy baby, Ellie has been praying for a baby boy since before I ever got pregnant, and she is convinced that God answered her prayer.  Siri usually just points to my belly and says, "You have a baby in your belly."  Yes, she is now speaking in full sentences AND is potty trained, by the way (SHE insisted, not I! And when she started taking her own diaper off, getting her kid-stool and putting herself on the potty, we decided it was probably time! Haha!  Needless to say, this has been an easy transition as she was more than ready!).

And so that is our big news, and the reason...well...excuse...for the silence.

Speaking of the girls, here are some recent pics!  :)

how much longer....really!?

Ok folks, there are 12 more days to go before our lives will be changed dramatically, once again! Now to all of you, I'm sure, 12 days does not seem very long. However to the pregnant women still attempting to carry her 25 lb, 21 mth old, 12 days is VERY long! So now that I am officially 38 wks the prayers have become stronger that I will go into labor a teeny bit earlier than Sept 22nd (though that is still a full week of pregnancy less than I had with Ellie).  

It's getting tough over here.  All of my ligaments are stretching and loosening (as I suppose they should) causing sever discomfort mostly in the lower back/hip area.  Lifting Ellie in and out of her carseat is actually painful (like sharp, stabbing pains....painful)! UGH!  Thankfully, I only have 2 more shifts of work left!  Those 12 hour days are hard to do these days and usually end in me limping to the car, literally limping! 

Ellie has been fairly kind to me I must say.  She understands that I have "owies on my back" and therefore can not hold her, however she seems to take advantage of the fact that I can't run over and physically stop her from doing things she's not supposed to do.  Needless to say, she is learning how to respond to and obey verbal commands.  This makes nap time and bed time extremely important as any amount of awake time over the tolerated amount results in defiance which equals LOTS of frustration for mom.

I do believe this discomfort is necessary however.  Who in their right mind would happily welcome labor and child birth into their lives otherwise?  Or in my case, who would gladly say, "yes, please cut me open while I am awake and rip through my abdominal muscles and pull this baby out!" but a horribly uncomfortable pregnant women?  So now you know where I'm at, ready and willing to be ripped open even knowing the recovery I face.....bring it on!