Thanksgiving and Preggi Pics

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving and what the baby looks like in me at 27 weeks.

23 1/2 weeks

At 23 1/2 weeks pregnant, I feel that I am looking pregnant and going to stay looking pregnant! The baby is about 1 pound in weight and about 8 inches in length. The baby is currently making by back hurt too! Here's what I am looking like these days.

Things to do in the fall

Last Friday, Joshua and I had planned on going to Huber's, which is a local farm, where you can pick your own apples, pumpkins, etc. Well it rained and rained all day so we went and registered for baby things instead. (No complaints from me...I was excited to do both!). Well we thought that we would go to Huber's this coming Saturday, but then were advised that there would be tons of people there...so we went this past Monday! And we were the only ones there going out in the fields picking apples and pumpkins. It was SOOooooooo cold! Picking the apples we were a little bit shielded by the trees, but out in the pumpkin patch, this is how Joshua felt!

We had the choice to pick Golden Delicious or Gold Rush apples. Since I don't really like the Golden Declicious we went with the Gold Rush. I haven't tried them yet, but Joshua has and he said they were really good.

We treked back to the main part of the farm, where they had a bake shop and got warm while we picked up some apple cider and some Jonathan apples. I had the inspiration from our friends Brian and Kami to make some applesauce. We got a half bushel of Jonathan apples and called up Kami to see if we could use thier food mill. I was quite surprised at how easy it was to make and it is very scrumptious.

First wash and quarter the apples. Dump into a pot with 1 cup of water per 9 apples. Bring that water to a boil then cover and simmer until the apples are mushy.
Mushy apples....wish you had a scratch and sniff screen...it smelled really good at this point!
Next you put the mushy apples and water into the food mill and turn and turn(thanks Joshua and lending a helping hand) until all the apple mush has turned into applesauce. So good-no sugar needed!
Ready to eat and freeze for later!

What else can you do with apples? APPLE PIE!!!!!!

I am so thankful that God made apples!

Here are a few more fall pictures for you viewing enjoyment. God is so creative!

22 Weeks

Today marks Baby Greever's 22nd week of life! We had an ultrasound last week and everything looks great...still don't know if was are having a boy or girl!! We'll just have to wait a few more weeks until Baby G is born to find out! Here's a pic of me at 22 weeks pregnant. Oh yeah, once I can try and find someone who has a scanner, we'll put pics up here of the ultrasound pictures!

Ike passed through

Recently, we have been taught to be thankful to God for electricity! This past Sunday as we were walking out of church, the wind started blowing fiercely. We knew it must be the winds of Ike moving through Kentucky. We went home and heated up some lunch-we were having friends over and I think got the lunch heated just in time! As we were eating I noticed that it was getting hotter and hotter in the apartment and the AC was not coming on. We realized that the power was out due to the wind. We didn't think much about it and kept on enjoying the time with our friends. It was really windy though. And there are tons of big trees in Louisville. In fact, this is the tree right outside our living room... Joshua and I figured that if it was blown over by the wind it should fall downhill, which would be away from us. We hoped!

Sunday afternoon people started emerging from their apartments since the wind had died down and there was no electricity. Joshua made an interesting point that electricity keeps us inside and we don't get out and spend time with people, especially our neighbors, as much when we have electricity, because we have so many reasons to be inside. Thankfully the storm brought with it cool air, so we were not roasting in our apartments.

The question now became, how long will be be without power. And what will we do to "make it" without power. The seminary was great and at 8pm Sunday night they threw together a quick dinner for anyone that needed it. (Joshua and I had eaten peanut butter and honey sandwiches but were thankful for some more food!) We took a walk and saw tons of branches and entire trees down.
Remember the tree right out side our apartment? This big branch snapped off quite easily. When we had been driving home from church that morning we saw a tree that had blocked an entire road and another that had fallen right across the train tracks. Little did we know Sunday morning, that the few trees and branches we saw would actually represnet what was to be a citywide problem. On Monday we took a bike ride and in one neighborhood there we at least 4 roads blocked and just as many, it not more power lines down.

On Monday we woke up to still no power and learned that the seminary was providing breakfast! Joshua and I enjoyed a nice walk before breakfast and then a yummy meal al fresco! There was enough hot water stored in the tank to take at least 1 hot shower! Thanks Joshua for letting me take it! We did a lot of reading together while it was light out, and Monday afternoon we found out that classes for Joshua were going to be canceled for the whole week. I know Joshua was disappointed about this, but it does give him a chance to work hard on homework!

I decided to get into the camping spirit and break out the gas camp stove! We had some leftovers in the fridge that I was determined we were not going to throw away. So here I am heating up our leftovers that we were getting tired of eating by the end of Monday! But we did not throw any away! Our friends Brian and Kami let us put some food in their fridge too, so we saved the dairy and meat that I had just gotten grocery shopping.

We ended up getting power back on Tuesday afternoon. Many of our friends though are still without power. I think it was estimated that 3000 power lines were damaged during this storm. And for some people that means that power will be restored maybe within 10 days! I started out this post by saying that we have been learning about being thankful to God for electricity. It is very easy to become accustomed to the convenience of having electricity and not think about what a blessing it it from God. But having it taken away for a brief time wakes you up to the fact that it is a mercy of God. We are thankful to have learned this lesson and are thankful that God has provided such a helpful things as electricity. We pray that our friends who are still waiting for power to come back on, would endure and persevere. Thank God today for all His blessings and His kindnesses, one of which is electricity!

The Past Few Weeks

In the baby news this week, I am 14 1/2 weeks into pregnancy. I have finished my first trimester! Yippy! All in all it has been a mostly uneventful first trimester. And that is something for which I am very thankful. Joshua and I went to the doctor's a few weeks ago and everything was dandy. We heard the baby's heart beat with the doppler. When the doctor was first trying to find the heart beat she found it for a second and then the baby "ran away" from her and she had to re find it! Joshua and I were joking that our baby is already being mischievous! Oh yes, the baby is the size of a peach now!

We just recently got to spend some time in Texas seeing my family. Some highlights included: Celebrating Joshua's birthday with my family.
Seeing my roommate from college, Trish. And learning from my dad how to make paper.
Meeting part of my mom's family from PA, that she just met about 2 years ago.
Going to my Grandma's assisted living center to sing good 'ol songs with the residents. Also, Joshua got to share a devotional with them!
Went maternity clothes shopping with my mom. They had a "pillow" that simulated what I will be like in three months so I could see how the clothes were going to fit!
My dog, Misty, went into hunter mode and jumped out of the bushes by the house with a fuzz ball in her mouth. It was a disgusting rat! My dad and Joshua had a get it away from Misty into the trash can before she started eating it. Gross!
We had a game time and played bingo!
I was super excited too find one of my all time favorite childhood movies, "Shipwrecked" at a used movie store.
My mom and I volunteered at a free dentist clinic that was part of her church's apartment ministry.
Joshua and I got to spend a few hours with our friends, Brandon and Cindy! We talked a lot about missions with them and it was great!
We also got to spend time with Matt, Allison, their son Joshua and Hudson, Molly and their daughter Ava.

It was a great time to spend with family and friends. We were glad to have a break from work and school too!

A Walk Down the Produce Aisle

Well this week, our baby graduates to a prune! According to "The Book" our baby is "growing by leaps and bounds". This week bones and cartilage are forming and there are indentations on the legs that are going to grow into knees and ankles. The baby's elbows are already working and tiny teeth buds are going to form in the baby's gums! The stomach is already producing digestive juices and this is the fact that you are all waiting for...the kidneys are producing urine! What a lovely thought that a large part of the amniotic fluid the baby is floating around in is urine! Ha! If we have a boy, this baby is going to start producing testosterone this week. Oh yeah, and now our baby has added a half inch to his/her length! Little baby is 1.5 inches long.

As for me the mommy, I have not had a whole lot a sickness (praise the Lord) and my main "symptom" is being tired. Naps are a wonderful addition to my day; when I can add them! It will be a while before there are any baby bump pictures posted. No baby bump yet, just a feeling of, "Hmmm, these shorts don't fit quite right anymore!"

So just for a fun little survey...who thinks we should find out the sex of our baby before he/she is born?

Our little olive

Joshua and I have been spreading the news, but I thought I would blog about it too. We are expecting to have a baby sometime around the date of February 25th 2009! As I have been reading in the pregnancy manual, What to Expect When You're Expecting I have been continually amazed at the work of creation God is doing inside the darkness of my womb. In this, my 9th week, our baby is about 1 inch long, which is about the size of a medium green olive! Apparently our baby is starting to look less like a creature out of a Men in Black movie and more like a human! Muscles are starting to form too! How amazing too, is that 3 weeks ago this little human's heart started beating-the first organ to begin functioning! My mind is boggled at the amazing knitting together that God is orchestrating.

This is a picture of our baby at 8 weeks. It's a little hard to see but the black part is fluid and the greyish part in the left hand side is the baby! It is kind of crazy to think that there are only 7 months left until we get to meet this little person outside of the womb! So in these 7 months Joshua and I are praying for this little one and for us that we would learn well how to raise this child to know and love God. We get to talk about our thoughts on disciplining this child. We get to talk about how we want to do family devotions with this child. We get to talk about my desires to be a stay at home mom. We get to figure out if Joshua should get a job, and toss around ideas of what job that should be! We get to discuss what we are going to do after he graduates next May. I get to think about and share with him the many options for childbirth, breastfeeding, cloth vs. disposable diapers. And other such questions about whether we want to find out before the baby is born if we are having a boy or a girl? What about names?! Fun and exciting things!

We are alive!

Yes, we are alive and well! I think I have started to post a couple of times, but it wasn't on my computer and I was having trouble loading pictures and I just got frustrated with it and stopped before I wasted anymore time on it! OK, so some highlights!
A few weeks ago I traveled to St. Louis to spend time with the Greever side of my family. Joshua was at this time in Central Asia on a trip with the school. I spent about 5 days with family and got to see Jeremiah graduate from high school! Joshua's mom, Irma, has home schooled all her children! This graduation was a momentous occasion for them, since Jeremiah is the last of the 5 boys to be home schooled. Joshua's youngest brother has down syndrome and is not home schooled in the sense that he will not graduate from high school and go off to college. So this past year has been the last year of homeschooling--I think she has been homeschooling for 22 years!! I know her boys are all very grateful for the work she has done in educating them! And this is not to forget their dad too, who obviously was very important in the homeschooling endeavour!

Joshua got back to the States on June 2nd. He was just in time to be back for our third anniversary of marriage! This picture was taken the Friday before our wedding. The crown I am wearing is from my bridesmaids, which I was made to wear the for part of the time we were hanging out that Friday before the wedding! Joshua and I were talking about how glad we are that we are on this side of the wedding and have been married for 3 years! Three years is not long, but we are so very grateful to the Lord for His blessing us this far!

Pretty much all we have been doing since he got back is hanging out, me working, he took a class last week, and we will now prepare for the Greever family vacation which will take place in about 2 weeks! We will be camping with most of the Greever family for about 3 weeks! We will be seeing parts of Canada, New England, NYC, and part of Pennsylvania! I am greatly looking forward to this trip and will have much posting to do after the trip!

Let's Run!

What do you get when you add 12,000 people with 26 miles? You get the marathon that happened yesterday in Louisville. You could also divide the 26 miles by 2 and get the mini marathon which many of those 12,000 people ran. I did not do any running, but Joshua completed his first marathon!! We got up at about 5:30am and drove with 2 friends from church to the starting line. Twelve thousand people is a whole lot of people! I stood with them in the midst of the runners until the mass of people started to swell forward. I waved them off and went to pick my spot on the route where I could see Joshua when he reached the 6 mile mark.

About 35-40 minutes after the start of the race the "super" runners hit the 6 mile mark. They were running SO fast!! Joshua was not part of this pack of the runners! I cheered on many runners as I waited to see him coming! He was doing great at 6 miles and I bid him farewell and left to meet him at the 10 mile mark.


In between 6 and 10 miles the race path went through Churchill Downs...Joshua ran through the infield, which is the inside part of the racetrack. In the racetrack horses were practicing! While I was waiting for Joshua to get to the 10 mile mark I grabbed a hot chocolate since it was pretty chilly. I also go to enjoy some swing music being played by a live band on the side of the raceway! So fun!

My next stop was at mile 16. I had to park about a mile away so I got to enjoy a beautiful walk in one of the neighborhoods. There were so many dogwood trees blooming. Joshua said at mile 16 that he was doing pretty well. His legs were the only thing starting to get tired. Friends from church were going to see him at mile 18 and I was going to see him next at mile 22!!

He was pretty bushed at 22 miles and was wondering why in the world he was doing this! I told him he couldn't quit now since he only had 4 miles left. He wouldn't have quit anyway but I was doing my best to encourage him on! As Joshua proceeded to run across the river to Indiana, I made my way to the finish line about 4 blocks away. It was exciting to see all the people that had finished and to anticipate seeing Joshua cross the finish line. Joshua had used the training time and the running of the race to reflect on the spiritual race the Christian is on. We press on to attain the prize! At the finish line there were people lined up cheering the runners on. There were young people and old people. There were some who glided across the finish line and there were those who limped across. There was an announcer who would say over the loudspeaker the names of the runners as they crossed the finish line.
This made me think of how there are Christians of all ages who die and enter heaven and how amazing it is to think of the names of each one of those who has been kept by God til the end. Some have battled life's hardest battles and are limping to the gates while others have seen different trials but are not limping to the goal. The race has given both Joshua and I a greater sense of anticipation for the day that we leave this earthly tent and are finally united with Christ!! Well back to the marathon! Joshua finished in 5 hours and 20 minutes. And he was really sore. I made him take some Advil when we got home and he has recovered nicely-just over night he's felt much better!