My Sweet Husband

This 2nd pregnancy has been a bit more difficult than it was with Grayson. I am not sure if the 2nd is just harder or if it's because she's a girl and she's already being a little stinker. Through this tough time though I have realized one thing even more than I ever have and that is how wonderful Joey is. He truly makes me feel treasured by him. He's honest and always puts our family at the top (under God, of course) of his priorities.
I felt compelled to blog about him today because I have just been thinking about how caring and sweet he is to me. He is loving, a strong leader for our family not only as a husband and father but as a spiritual leader, as well. He is always affectionate and makes me feel special. We have our times when we're stressed and not the usual lovebirds but we have seen those times become more and more rare as our marriage and family move even closer to the Lord. I feel like as my relationship with God has grown and my eyes have been opened to so much more.....I appreciate my husband and love him even more.
I used to think it needed to be 50/50 and I do feel that in a sense still. I think things should be discussed together and a decision should be made together but when it comes to effort....it shouldn't be 50/50...it should be 100% from both ends. My friend Amanda put it into that term while I was talking to her the other day....that's exactly how I feel and I am so thankful that God has given me a husband as wonderful as Joey. It's not our anniversary or anything like that but I have just observed him over the past few weeks and I've seen how he takes care of Grayson and me and he does it lovingly and not forced. Here are some verses I found on marriage:

Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.

—Colossians 3:18-19

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one gflesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

—Ephesians 5:22-33

I know Joey and I have not been married for 20 years, its barely 4, but I think the time you're married doesn't make it valuable, its the substance of a marriage. And our substance is Christ and his word.

So, I guess my point of this blog wasn't just to profess my love for Joey (well maybe part of it was...:) but it is to share how important making God the center of a marriage is. No marriage is perfect and there will be some rough patches but having Him as the stronghold makes it all have more meaning, it makes the hard times easier to get through and really follwoing God's word on marriage adds so much more meaning and joy to a husband's and wife's relationship.

So...thank you Lord, first of all for guiding us and...thank you, Joey, for being the sweetest husband! I never would have imagined that when we got engaged 6 years ago that we would be so blessed.....

Bedrest and Boredom!

It has been awhile since I have been on and I apologize! I know I have people that keep telling me to update because this is how they see what we're up to....so here I am!! I hope to be on much more often since I have some time on my hands.

Where should I start? Two Wednesday night's ago, I was having horrible chest pains. I had a rapid heart rate and it had been a busy day at work (I was getting TAKS ready!) When I got home, the pains were getting worse. It was to the point I could not even fall asleep although I was exhausted. I was worried about the baby since I was having a hard time breathing so I called my OB and they said for me to head to the emergency room immediately. So we called Joey's mom and had her come stay with Grayson as we headed to Baylor. We were thinking I would be seen and they would give me something and send us home within 2 or 3 hours. Boy, was I wrong!! They did an EKG immediately and then sent me back to a room within 10 minutes of getting there. I felt kinda bad because there were people who had been waiting a long time that had probably been there awhile before us. They did tests, gave me oxygen, morphine, cat-scans, x-rays, and had someone come from labor and delivery to monitor the baby! It was a bit scary at first because I was so worried about Ella and they had first thought I may have a blood clot which is super serious especially for a pregnant woman.

After the cat-scan, they said I had swollen/enlarged pulmonary vessels and that they wanted to monitor me since my heart rate was over 130-resting. After spending 5 hours there, they wanted to move me towards labor and delivery so that they could monitor my heart rate as well as Ella's. So we were there for around 9 hours. Then I had to go see a cardiologist before they would release me.

It was an adventure....scary and prayerful! Thank the Lord that Ella's heart rate was perfect the whole time! So from that, I am now on bed rest which I am hoping is temporary. I have a heart monitor to record when I have fast heart rate and dizzy spells and they will monitor that for 30 days. I go to my OB next Thursday and will find out if I will be on bed rest for the nezt 9-10 weeks or if I can go back to work.

It has been stressful because I am being docked everyday I am out but I know we'll be fine and that God will make everything work out how it's supposed to....I guess that's why its good to have savings!

So that's just a little update on that! I did keep Grayson home with me all week last week and it was really nice. Although, he really missed school so we sent him back this week.

So now you all know why I have so much spare time on my hands! I will definitely try to blog a couple times a week!

Here are some pictures from Easter of Grayson and other random, cute things!

He was wondering what Mimi was doing in the last pic! So funny!

3 More Months!!!

This pregnancy has gone by so fast! I know with Grayson it seemed like it lasted forever but I guess it's because we had nothing to occupy our time. This time around, we are still amazed at what all Grayson is doing so I am sure that is a big part of it.
Grayson is doing great! He is still loving school and he loves anything that has to do with learning (I guess having parents, an aunt, a Nana, and my grandma all with backgrounds in education sure helps!) . His teacher today said he knows almost all of his ABC's in sign language and he knows them by sight and their sounds. I always said I would NEVER brag about my kid but it's just so exciting so I had to let that out! He just truly enjoys phonetic activities and I think he could start Kindergarten next year but that's just a proud mom talking. One thing we definitely need to tackle, thoough, is potty training. Hopefully, since we will be at home on Spring Break, I will be able to focus on that. I think he is definitely ready (he's 2 and a half this month) but we have not been as consistent as we should be. Joey and I are so excited about Spring Break next week. We won't be able to go anywhere this year. We usually take a trip or take Grayson on a variety of activities but I have been swelling so much, we will have to take it kind of easy and do stuff that does not involve a lot of walking. I will probably work on Ella's room some more and just play with Grayson in the backyard. It will be nice for the 3....I mean 4 (one in the tummy) to just relax.
I go to the doctor for my 6 month appointment and glucose screening this week so wish me luck! I have really been trying to watch what I eat and only give in to cravings sometime. Unfortuantely, the weight has come on a bit faster than it did with Grayson. But I know, no matter what, that when Ella is born I will be really focused on getting into even better shape than before. I know people say that all the time but I want to be as healthy as possible for my kids. I want to be able to set a good example for them and keep myself in the best shape I can be in to be a better mom for them. We will be turning our office into a workout/hangout room so it will be nice when we buy a new treadmill soon so I won't have to worry about taking 2 kiddos to the gym with me!
Here are some pictures of our sweet, growing boy and some of Ella's room. Her room looks a bit bland right now but hopefully when I get the long pink panels to go under the valance and the rest of her funriture, it will brighten things up a bit. We really just wanted to keep it neutral and classy.

Our Growing Boy!

I can't believe how fast our Grayson is growing! He is getting so tall and his features are more little boy-like than baby-like now a days! It makes me sad because he is not a little baby anymore but at the same time it is so exciting to see how he is changing and how much he is learning. What has really made me realize this is not just the way he acts and all of the things he is learning but I think it is moving him to a big boy room and going through all of his old stuff. I was getting rid of a lot of stuff we obviously won't be able to use for Ella and I put aside onesies and little socks that I remember him wearing. He will be 2 and a half this month and although I am sad about him growing up, it's also so exciting to see the little person he is becoming. We are so thankful to God that we have him and are blessed to have Ella on the way, too.

Here are some pictures of his new big boy room. We are still looking for a headboard! I ended up canceling the one I ordered because I did not want a foot board on it. I also hope to find more stuff for the walls.....but he is already making it his new room, settling in with some good books!

 

Also, I have finally put some pics of our next one to come, Ella Grace!

A Big Boy Room and a Little Girl's Bedding!

We finally finished Grayson's big boy room. He moved to the guest room which is bigger and has room for all of his toys. I will have to post picture soon! He loves it and has actually been staying in his room ALL NIGHT!! I am excited because I finally found bedding for Ella. Joey and I had a hard time agreeing and finding something that would go with tan walls because he didn't want to have to paint again. So let me know what you think! But we won't be using the decorations in the picture or the rug...

What do we do with a GIRL?

Last week, I was having some pains so I called my doctor and she said to come get a sonogram ASAP! So I left my office and ran (well drove) up there! Everything looked perfect and they found a cyst which I had before that was the cause of the pain plus as most pregnant women have.....it was also round ligament pain! So while she finished up I asked so do you know what it is? She said...oh yeah, it's definitely a GIRL!!!

We are so excited and I guess Grayson was right all along. Everytime I ask what's in momma's tummy? He always says a sister...so we look forward to meeting Ella Grace Acker in June and we know Grayson will be a wonderful big brother!!!

A New Year!

I can't believe the holidays are already over and a new year has begun! This past year has been filled with so many exciting blessings and our family is looking forward to everything this new year has to bring.

With all the changes going on, we decided to make some at home. Since we are expecting a new addition to our family in June we decided to move Grayson into the guest room which is much bigger than his room now, the office/music room in the front is just too far from everything. It has been nerve racking trying to find bedding that we like and today I finally bought a big boy bed online for him but it is on back order until March. We are going to go ahead and paint his room (well at least Joey...and Nana may help too!) and decorate everything and buy bedding! We will just put his mattress on the floor until his bed arrives. I just want him to be able to transition early enough to get used to his new room so he doesn't feel kicked out by the new baby. Of course, being a 2nd time mom is heart-wrenching and exciting because you want everything to be fair and equal! I finally found bedding I like for his room but Pottery Barn Kids only has the quilt and not the shams so I am not sure what we'll do!

I am feeling much better now that I am in my 2nd trimester! We tried to go during our 1st trimester screening to find out what the baby is and.....it was wiggling around so much, we couldn't tell. It really does not matter which we have but I am just SO eager to find out....Grayson keeps calling it a sister and Joey's mom and my mom always refer to it as "she" so we will see. However, my sister and close friends think it will be a boy.......we have about 4 weeks until we go back for my 20 week appointment so I will definitely post what we're having! I just want to be able to get things ready and to be able to start buying stuff. With me coordinating TAKS in the Spring and hoping this placenta previa changes.....I just want everything to be done before it gets busy!

We also have picked out names so we are so excited about that! Well, I am going to finish online shopping and make lunch for my guys! Hope you all have a great weekend!