15 weeks!!!

Today is 15 weeks!!! I still can't believe I'm pregnant! I'm just waiting for it to "hit" me. Maybe when I hold my lil "Nemo" in my hands, it will be real! HAHA! As for me, I'm just looking forward to Monday where I get to hear the heartbeat again!!!

Here's what's going on this week!

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces. She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl!

Nemo is the size of an apple!

I thought it would be fun to start a "survey" of how each week is going! So, here it is for week 15!

How Far Along? 15 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? I've maintained my weight thus far, but I KNOW that won't last long!

Maternity Clothes: My new best friend!!

Sleep: Besides having to go to the bathroom every hour, not that bad!

Best Moment of the Week: A co-worker saying, "Wow! You're getting a belly."

Movement: I think so! It felt like a "fish" swimming and it tickled!

Food Craving: CHOCOLATE MILK, Veggie subs from Publix, CHOCOLATE MILK, Fajita Chicken Quesadillas from LIME, CHOCOLATE MILK!!!

Food aversions: ranch dressing, the smell of un-cooked chicken

Gender: we find out on November 15th, less than 4 weeks away!!!

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button: In

What I miss: my WINE!!!!

What I'm looking forward to: Monday's appointment to hear the heartbeat!

Milestones: Making it to the 2nd trimester!

Welcome 2nd Trimester!!!

I'm 14 weeks today!!! Still nothing new to report other than my belly is GROWING! :-) Bring on the pounds and inches baby!!!

Here's what our "cupcake" or as Chris says "Nemo" is doing this week!

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Baby Love

I heard from the owner of a consignment shop on Saturday that a baby store called "Baby Love" was going out of business. Of course Chris and I had to take a little trip there. :-) Needless to say I'm so glad we did! We were able to buy our highchair (I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT) and our Travel System for 50% off!!! The highchair looks perfect with our dining room decor. The Travel System was something that I was against buying due to the "bulkiness" and how heavy they are, but this one only weighs 14.5 pounds for the WHOLE THING and is sooooooo easy to store! Here they are......OOOOOHHHH THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!!

13 weeks today!

Hi all!!! I've made it to 13 weeks!!!! I feel so incredibly blessed to have made it this far! I wish I had something to really "blog" about, but I've had a VERY uneventful pregnancy thus far! So, I'll just let you know what's going on inside my uterus! :-)

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce.

Our cupcake is as big as a medium shrimp? To me the lime seems bigger!

12 weeks and 5 days!

Yesterday, I decided to get the flu shot. OUCH AND YUCK! Unfortunately, it made me very ill!!! I had to leave work early today. :-( On another note, I'm 12 weeks and 5 days today! WOOHOO!!! According to my research, here is what is going on with our little "cupcake"

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long and weighs half an ounce.

Our cupcake is as big as a lime this week!

A miracle in the making

Hi all!!!

Sorry I've been MIA, but I've been keeping a secret for the past 3 months! Chris and I are expecting in April. Our Lord and Savior had other plans for us than adoption. We have a miracle in the making. I've been VERY lucky with this pregnancy. I haven't gotten sick, not that tired and I've lost 4 pounds my first trimester. Now, I know that the weight will pile on (I can't wait), but it was a good start!!! :-) I ask that you continue to pray for Chris and I.

Love this!!!

I came across this poem and I LOVE it!!!!

When I say "I am a Christian"

by Carol Wimmer

When I say..."I am a Christian"

I'm not shouting "I am saved"

I'm whispering "I get lost!"

"That is why I chose this way."

When I say..."I am a Christian"

don't speak of this with pride.

I'm confessing that I stumble

and need someone to be my guide.

When I say..."I am a Christian"

I'm not trying to be strong.

I'm professing that I'm weak

and pray for strength to carry on.

When I say..."I am a Christian"

I'm not bragging of success.

I'm admitting I have failed

and cannot ever pay the debt.

When I say..."I am a Christian"

I'm not claiming to be perfect,

my flaws are too visible

but God believes I'm worth it.

When I say..."I am a Christian"

I still feel the sting of pain

I have my share of heartaches

which is why I seek His name.

When I say..."I am a Christian"

I do not wish to judge.

I have no authority.

I only know I'm loved.

Ahhhhhh.......Summer Days!

Well, Chris and I are going on day 5 of being in Pensacola Beach, Florida. We're thoroughly enjoying being away from home and "relaxing". So far we've been to the beach, Margaritaville Hotel (BEAUTIFUL), ate at Hemingway's Island Grill (YUM), layed by the pool, walked a few miles in the fresh air and watched DVD after DVD in our "suite". I LOVE vacations like these, where you just relax 100%. I still can't believe I go back to work a week from Monday!!!! Where did the summer go???

"These are a few of my favorite things..."

I was laying in bed last night reading the "Five Love Languages" with Chris when we stopped and talked about some of our favorite things. :-) I thought I'd share a FEW of my favorite things with you! ENJOY!!!

GOD! GOD! GOD!


A glass of wine after a long day


BOOKS! BOOKS! AND MORE BOOKS!


Children


Family


Summer days by the water


Red Velvet Cupcakes


Doggies


Shopping!!!


Yoga


DUNKIN DONUTS coffee


Teaching


Game Night


Cruises


Friends! Where would we be without them? I LOVE this!!! This is for all of my friends out there! :-)


Backyard BBQ and S'MORES!


BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS!


WEDDINGS!


Pedicures


AND OF COURSE...CHRIS!!!

I'm back!!!

Hello all!!!
Sorry that I've been MIA for the past month, things have been CRAZY with a capital "C"!!! What's been going on for the past month in the Johnson household you ask? I finished out my first school year at PCS and couldn't be happier (Still the best decision I've ever made)!!! My AMAZING students blessed me with a scrapbook that includes ALL of the years events and a "flower money tree"!!! You better believe that I placed all of that money in the adoption fund! :-) In addition to closing out the school year, I attended an engagement party, started boot camp (HOLY MOLY), celebrated birthdays, worked on the house and yard, worked on a few boats (extra money this summer for the adoption), attended an amazing book club with the best girls (I HIGHLY recommend the book Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers), took a road trip to TN to spend time with Steph and have nursed a VERY hurt eye! AHHH!!! Yes, my eye is in pain again and we're in the middle of scheduling an appointment with Bascom Palmer to see about a THIRD surgery! Please keep me in your prayers as the pain can be unbearable.It sometimes requires me to stay in bed ALL day! BOO!!!

On a happier note, God is good and Chris and I have been able to raise about $300.00 so far for the adoption! YAY!!! We only need about $14,700 more! :-) We can't really act on the next step of the adoption process until we have the funds, so in the meantime we're just enjoying being married and all of the little things this life has to offer! Like...Have you ever thanked God for a beautiful rainbow after a storm? How about a rare bird outside your kitchen window? A hot summer day? A dog licking you CONSTANTLY because she loves you? Or even the stack of bills that need to be paid? Okay, okay....maybe not the last one, BUT...how about thanking God for having a job to "hopefully" pay the stack of bills? This process has truly made me appreciate EVERYTHING in life!!!

FYI-my future blogs (up until we start the adoption process)will be about ANYTHING! My feelings, my day, trips, activities in life, books I read, ANYTHING!!! A special thanks to ALL of you for continuing to support me on our journey to Adoption! :-)

THANKS DK FOR HELPING ME BLOG AGAIN! :-)

Best book ever!


Tennessee


BEST WORKOUT EVER!



Until next time,

Happy Mother's Day!

Today we honor all of the mothers in the world! Thanks to them, our would is FULL of love and is a better place! :-) I can't thank my mother enough for all that she's done for me for the past 29 (almost 30...YIKES) years! She is my best friend and means the world to me! Thank you mommy for making me who I am today!!!I LOVE YOU!
On another note, I'd like to say Happy Mother's Day to the amazing lady out there who is carrying my child. Your unselfishness to make the hardest decision, but yet the best decision, doesn't go unnoticed! I pray that God blesses you with peace on this Mother's Day! And to my precious child, mommy loves you and can't wait to celebrate this special holiday with you soon!


GOD BLESS,

God will lead the way!!!

Last week, Chris and I sat down to "figure" out our finances and to see just how we were going to be able to afford this blessing. Unfortunately, we realized that we need to come up with another $15,000 to feel "secure" enough to proceed with the adoption. However, WE KNOW THAT GOD WILL PROVIDE (HE ALWAYS does)!!! We're not going to let finances stop us from fulfilling our dream of being parents! Sooooooo...we decided on FUNDRAISING to help us with our goal! :-) Below is our first one! CHECK IT OUT AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!!!

Visit Our Adoption Fundraiser Site Here!

In Christ,


A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO CAROLINE!!! :-)

An Everlasting Gift!

Monday afternoon we received another adoption agency packet in the mail. As with all of the other packets, we were VERY eager to see what they had to offer. However, we were already running late to our appointment with the adoption attorney, so I placed it on our kitchen counter for us to review when we got home. When we arrived home, Chris stepped outside to take a phone call as I sat down to begin reviewing the earlier packet we received. :-) As I was reading the "Why Choose Adoption" section of the packet, I began wondering why I had never read some of the information that this agency was offering that previous agencies were not. HMMMMM!!!! I decided to continue to read in hopes of finding something familiar that I had read about in prior packets. Fortunately, that information never came! It didn't come because as I read on, I found out that the agency had "accidentally" sent us their packet for BIRTHMOTHERS, rather than ADOPTIVE MOTHERS. I'm not going to lie, at first I was not a happy camper that the agency had made this mistake. However, I stopped to think for a moment and realized that this was NOT a mistake. In fact, it was a gift! A gift from the Lord who knew that my heart needed to be opened to the feelings of a birthmother. Up until Monday, I never really thought about how hard it was for the birthmother to hand over her baby, but rather during this whole process, I always thought about me! About us! About MY family and how WE were going to deal with it. I never thought about the birthmother. About her feelings. About how SHE was going to deal with it. For the first time, I put myself in the birthmother's shoes and was able to look at adoption through their eyes and man, what a sight to see! I read stories about them grieving a loss by giving up their child, about them going through life wondering if the baby hates them, and how some of them would need counseling for their guilt. As I came to the last page of my "gift", I came across a poem that touched my heart, one that I will frame and give to my child one day, one that no matter how many times I read it this week, made me cry, yet made me smile! :-) I can't thank God enough of this "mistake". I somehow feel closer to our birthmother even though we've never met. I pray for her constantly and can't thank her enough for her selfless decision to help us become "BLESSED BY ADOPTION!"

*Legacy of an Adopted Child*

Once there were two women
Who never knew eachother
One you do not remember
The other you call mother

Two different lives
Shaped to make yours one
One became your guiding star
The other became your sun

The first gave you life
And the other taught you to live in it
The first gave you the need for love
And the second was there to give it

One gave you a nationality
The other gave you a name
One gave you the seed of talent
The other gave you an aim

One gave you emotions
The other calmed you fears
One saw your first sweet smile
The other dried your tears

One gave you up
It was all she could do
The other prayed for a child
And God led her to you

And now you ask me through your tears
The age old question through the years
Heredity or environment
Which are you the product of

Neither my darling, neither
Just two different kinds of LOVE

http://www.everlastingreasons.com/ginajohnson

Some people just don't think!

I decided on my way home from being out, that I would stop by Barnes and Noble and pick up Jodi Picoult's new book House Rules since I would have the house to myself tonight. After picking up this lovely book, I went to the Family/Child reference section to check out the adoption books. After about five minutes of searching and finding NOTHING, I went to the kiosk and typed in "adoption." Just then about 7 pages came up on books about adoption that were located in the Family/Child reference section. I thought to myself, "HHMMM....I was just there and didn't see anything" so I went back over to try again. AGAIN....I still couldn't find any. Confused as heck, I walked back to the kiosk and completed the search again. This time I wrote the author's name down. After searching the family/child reference section for the THIRD time and still not finding a book on adoption, I began wondering if they "misplaced" them and I checked the next bookshelf. BINGO! I found 3 books on adoption. YES! You read that right, there were only 3!!! In addition to being shocked that there were only 3 reference books on adoption, I noticed that the books were actually located in the "Children with disabilities" section. Now, I am well aware that raising an adopted child comes with challenges, but is it right to mark adoption as a "disability?" It's bad enough that we (the parents) already feel "disabled" that we can't concieve on our own.


Oh wait....it gets better!!! So I grab my 3 books and make my to the checkout counter, where a lady (let's just say her name is Susie) is standing behind me in line. Little did I know that Susie was reading the title of one of my books (20 Things Adoptive Parents Need to Succeed) as I was waiting to pay. Susie thought it would be a good idea to strike up a conversation with me. Here's how it went:



Susie: Oh, you're adopting


Me: (With a huge smile) YES!



Susie: Why? Having a child of your own is the best thing that could ever happen to you.


Cashier: "NEXT PLEASE"


Me: (After picking my jaw up off the floor) Well...if I could have one on my own lady, I would. GOD BLESS YOU!


REALLY???? Who does that???I walk up to the cashier (the VERY happy cashier) and FIRMLY place my books down to pay, Now, here's our conversation:



Cashier: Hi sweetie! How are you today?


Me: OH JUST FABULOUS!!! I couldn't be better (sense my sarcasm?).


Cashier: (as SHE'S now looking at my purchases) Are you looking to adopt?


Me: (already disgusted and wanting to leave)Ya!


Cashier (in her cheery voice): Oh, what a wonderful thing! Do you want an infant? A child? A teenager? What?


Me: A newborn


Cashier: Oh you're so brave to be choosing a newborn and taking on the challenge when they're so young.


Me: Ya! Well....if you really want to know, I can't have children. My husband and I have tried and we can't. We then tried IVF and it failed!


Cashier: Oh, I'm so sorry...(I then pay for my books) Good luck with your kids!!!


As I walked out the door of what use to be my place of "serenity", I began wondering.... if I would've walked up to that counter with a book titled 20 Things Drug Abusers Need to Succeed, would "Susie" or the Cashier have asked if I am looking to become a druggie? NO! Or what about if I would've had 20 Things Women Need to Conceive? Would they have asked me if I'm having a hard time conceiving??? Man, some people just don't think.


Don't get me wrong, I have no problems talking openly about adoption. In fact, I LOVE LOVE LOVE talking about it. However, I do have a problem when a complete STRANGER asks me why I don't have children on my own.



LESSON LEARNED: Please pray for ignorant people. :-) Just Kidding! The real lesson I learned is to not let other people's comments "get to me" and that it takes a strong person to adopt! Boy, am I becoming stronger and stronger everyday! Who knows maybe by the end of this road, I'll be able to run a marathon! LOL! Again, we can't wait to be "BLESSED BY ADOPTION!"



Gina

Choices! Choices! Choices!

Well....we contacted our first adoption agency and we weren't impressed. :-( So we moved on to option #2 and much to our surprise, we weren't impressed with them either. AARRRRGGGHH!

As I sat there on the couch (Thursday night 4/15 around 8:30pm) thinking about our future, it dawned on me the two agencies we didn't care for were the ones I had chosen. Of course, I began to sob uncontrollably. I then started asking myself a million questions. How could this be, when all I did for the past week was research? Did I not do ENOUGH research on them? Did I not follow my heart? Did the agencies "sell" a good game? Would we ever become parents? As I was crying like a little baby (no pun intended), Chris came out from the bedroom, sat down next to me and gave me a huge hug and just let me cry! I'm so glad he just held me while cried and didn't try to "fix" things (as he often does). After the tears had stopped (man, did it feel good to cry), I took a shower, gathered the two agencies information packets and placed them in a file tucked away in a drawer! :-) We "regrouped" and went back to researching other agencies/attorneys. After lots of prayers that night, God led us to an adoption attorney that a friend of ours used three years ago. We called and made an appointment to meet with him to discuss our options. We currently have an appointment with him on Monday (4/19) @ 4:00pm. In addition, we contacted another agency and another attorney to further interview. Please pray that we find the right fit for us!!

LESSON LEARNED: To always remember that "God is in control" and knows what He's doing. That this is going to be a long road but one WORTH THE WAIT!!! Our time will come when we're "BLESSED BY ADOPTION"!!!

Gina