time flies when you're getting fatter...

has it really been almost 2 weeks since i posted anything? gosh, i didn't think my days were THAT busy, but i guess they are. last week, brian was in st. louis for work, so i was kinda in a funk all week anyway. i don't do well when he's gone. i don't sleep well (pregnant or not), and my mom comes over to stay every night after work to help out with ethan. he really is ready for new entertainment by 5pm! :) (thank you mom!!) we are so blessed to have so much family here to help out with ethan. i am sure God would get me through it if we lived away from family, but i appreciate His grace in planting us close to home.

i have a lot of pictures to post, but i don't know how much i'll get done tonite. it's been a busy weekend for our family. we all went to see brian's grandparents and aunts & uncle yesterday... jeff & kristie introduced karina to the crazy family, and ethan got to show off his walking. :) i will hopefully post those soon.

my dr's appt this past week went well... i'm measuring just as i should be, though i expect to get the "you're measuring big" comments beginning next month. :) caroline is definitely growing... i am still feeling good, but sleeping and bending down are getting harder to accomplish. i'm including my latest pregnancy picture--28 weeks--though it's not too great. the reason i don't like it is because i look bigger than i did in my last one (DUH!!)... i said that to brian, and he just looked at me with that "whatever i say is going to get me into trouble, so i'm not going to say anything" look.... all of that to say, i'm growing, caroline's growing, all is well. just counting down till november 14th. i can't believe that's only about 11 weeks away!

as most of you know, i had a c-section with ethan due to the fact that he did not drop and my labor was not progressing after 33 hours of natural labor.... well, my doctor has been very encouraging (since my 2-week post-delivery appointment) about the possibility of being able to deliver my future babies by vbac (vaginal birth after caesarean). i didn't know that would even be an option, but the more i read about it, the more i see that the success rate is rather high for it. there are "risks", and some have the opinion that it is more dangerous to attempt a vbac than to have a repeat c-section... i don't really agree with that, but that's another post for another time. i am hopeful that caroline's birth will be less eventful than ethan's. this has been a very different feeling pregnancy to me (she's sitting so much lower, kicking so much more....) that i'm hoping it will be a very different labor. i'm just mentioning this because i would appreciate your prayers in several ways:

1. prayer for peace over the next 11 weeks- i can analyze and research this to death, but it doesn't make the possibility of a successful vbac for ME any higher. this is yet another way that God is reminding me that HE is in control and that HE will ordain how caroline will come into this world. i seem to always need a lesson in the whole control thing...

2. prayer that i will look to His Word for guidance in this issue-instead of googling "vbac" at night, i need to be searching Scripture for verses to remind me of God's faithfulness and His sovereignty in my life.

3. prayer for discernment and wisdom if/when we need to "decide" c-section vs. vbac- my dr. has said that we'll "play things by ear" and see how things look as we get closer to my due date.

4. prayer for a safe delivery-when the day comes for caroline to enter this world, of course we will just want her healthy- no matter how she gets here.

thanks for your prayers about our baby girl! we can't wait to share her with all of you.