Little Miss Sophie being funny :)

Sophie hasn't been a great napper these days. Up until this past weekend, she used to sleep about 6 to 8 hours a day and then sleep through the night (except for maybe waking up once to eat and then back to sleep). But she is just not having her naps these days. So, this was her late last night. At least she was silly and happy and not cranky and overtired. :) Man, I just love my little girl!! I'm so blessed!!!!!!!!!!!!

Busy!

I've been busy these past couple of weeks, but I feel like I have a lot to share. When things start to slow down, I will be sure to make a blog about it! :)

One thing I'd like to say though, and I'm not sure why, but it has been on my mind ever since I was trying to fall asleep last night:

It is NEVER too late. God gives us another chance, it's called repentance.

PLEASE HELP ME WITH SOMETHING

I realize I don't have a whole bunch of followers here on my blog. But, if I could get some of you to vote which name you like the best for our youth group, I'd appreciate it. Here are a few that I came up with, and I'm interested in knowing which one you like the best. Thanks so much!

RADIUS
1. A straight line extending from the center of a circle or sphere to the circumference or surface
2. A field or range of operation or influence.


NEXUS
1. A means of connection; tie; link.
2. A connected series or group.


HAVEN
1. Any place of shelter and safety


JUNCTION
1. The state of being joined; union.
2. Something that joins other things together


BOND
1. That which unites or binds


MOMENTUM
1. Force or speed of movement; push


FORCE
1. Any body of persons combined for joint action

An awesome night last night!

YOUTH GROUP WAS AWESOME LAST NIGHT!

We have a "rough crowd" for youth group. Most of these kids are brought in on a bus from the projects. They have a hard time understanding what respect is toward those in authority, and worship time is a free pass to talk, laugh and fool around no matter how many times we approach them about it. Usually they look at us, hear what we're saying and then continue on.

But, God is working, and I can see it! I'll just list a couple of things that are amazing to me:

• New worship team with leaders who connect with these kids in a different way than Paul and I can (musically speaking)
• Kids are actually singing along to the music!! I heard it with my own two ears last night!
• Lots of new-comers. A chance to start new relationships!
• A new girl has been coming who has a spirtual maturity and a desire mentor some of the girls in our youth group (who live in her neighborhood). She's actually spoken with them about how respect is necessary during worship, prayer and the message! She'll be leaving for VFCC next year, and I will be sad to see her go.
• Kids getting along!!
• Deeper connections!

We're on our way to some structure and a healthy youth group atmosphere. I just feel like God had to do some pruning, and now we're on our way to growing in a much healthier way. We're starting things over new and fresh, and I just thank God for that opportunity! I am just so excited and amazed to see what God is going to do with our youth group in the coming year. With prayer and discipleship, I really believe that these kids can grow in their walk with God and develop a spiritual maturity and know what it's like to be firmly planted in the Lord!

Just wanted to share my excitement! Praise God!!

Sophie's Middle of the Night Chat

Early this morning, Sophie woke up. It was 3:30AM. She didn't cry, she didn't fuss either! She simply just wanted to talk. She layed there for almost 30 minutes just baby talking. It was adorable! If I wasn't so tired, I would have snuck in there and chatted with her, but I couldn't get myself out of bed! (I would have if she was crying).

I just like to think she was talking to Jesus or an angel. That's such a comforting and beautiful thought. :)

A Prayer by Billy Graham

I received this in an email today, and WOW:

Billy Graham's prayer aired by Paul Harvey

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'One nation under God.'

Best place to be is in God's presence

I know I've said it before, but I really do work at an awesome company! There are several men here who realize the need for prayer and will take a half hour out of their busy schedules to join together and pray for unity as employees in our company, for the business and its prosperity, for each and every family represented here in the office, for the salvation of others here in our office, and for other prayer needs. I unfortunately don't have the opportunity to join them in the conference room, but I am on the other side of the door, and can agree with them. Besides, I can have my own little prayer time and know that God is listening. :) But, I just wanted to say how blessed I am to work at a place that allows this! I hope what went on in our conference room this morning is the start of something that will happen daily! :)

Not the best blogger

So, I'm not so great at blogging, and I think I want try to work at that. We'll see how it goes. So much has taken place in the past few months! I guess I'll just give an update!

About Sophie:
Well, she's grown 5 inches since she was born. Our tall little sweetie is now 26 inches long, and she is only 3 months old. She's a lot of fun, and she's definitely got some personality! A bit of drama queen, and a whole bunch of sweetie-pie! She's just awesome! I miss her every minute I'm not with her! Now that I'm back to work (full-time), it's been a little hard on me emotionally, but I'm working through it. You'd think it would make sense to go to work because I'd be providing extra income, but when you have to pay a baby-sitter, 5 days a week, things get REALLY tight. Money is spent before it even gets in the bank. We haven't been steady financially since Sophie has been born, and it's tough trying to get back on track. Will we ever? I pray we do! God knows what we need. And even though we never have money in our checking account long enough to even see it, we know that God is providing all of our needs when we need them met. Thank You God! Here are some pics of Sophie:

The Youth Group:
Since Paul and I have taken over, we have had some challenges. We recently lost our only youth helpers and our worship leader - Micah and his fiance Sam. We love them dearly, and are still great friends and understand their need to move on. However, God again, as proven Himself faithful this need as well. The very week after they said their "good-byes," our Sunday morning worship leaders started doing worship for the youth group, and also stay in with us for some extra leadership. We've also gained another youth helper, and he's AWESOME and perfect for the job.

Paul and I don't have much as far as instrumental abilities. I can sing, and that's all, and Paul doesn't play an instrument or sing. So, we had no way to help our youth develop in this area. But since our worship leaders started helping us, we've had about 5 kids say they'd be interested in either learning bass, drums and guitar. Some have had a little bit of experience already, which is aweome. The cool thing is, Denny (worship leader) knows how to play all of these instruments, and has a heart to teach these youth and help them develop these talents. So, before we know it, it looks like we're going to have our very own youth band! God's so great!

So, I guess that's what has been happening on this end. I'm going to try to blog more often. Until then, may God's blessings pour into your life like the falls pour into the Niagra River. :)

Haley took some great pictures of Sophie!

"Aunty" Haley stayed with us a couple weekends ago, and took some great pictures! Enjoy! :)

My sweet little Sophie!

Here are pictures of Sophie in chronological order, so you can see how much she's already grown. She is now 7 weeks old! She is smiling, and even rolling over from her belly to her back! She's just about 12lbs, and has grown 2 inches, making her 23 inches long. This girl is gonna be tall! She's nothing like how I was as an infant! :)


Anyway, here we go!

Sophie just hours after she was born... already has a little smirk on her face :)

This was also taken a few hours after she was born, hehe!

Sophie sometimes goes cross-eyed....I love it!! HAHAHA

This is Sophie in her cool shades! We were at Target and she cried the whole time, but when we got outside and gave her something to eat she was better...and it was sunny, so we decided to try out her new shades! She's one cool chic!

This is Sophie with her grampy (my dad). She wasn't smiling for "real" yet, but this was just her showing us that she was content and relaxed. :)

Sophie just starting to show us her real smiles...she was about 5 weeks old here

This is Sophie at almost 7 weeks. She's got a really big smile here! :)

Sophie Grace Marklund

Well, I haven't had the chance to blog since Sophie has come to join our world, so let me tell you a little bit about the Marklund's new addition! Sophie was born on July 8th, 2008 at 6:58am. She was a hefty 8lbs, 3 oz., and a nice 21 inches long. She will be a month old on Friday, and is already 10lbs, 9 oz. as of Monday. So, we know she's a really good eater! :) Sophie is long...she has long arms, legs, hands and feet. I just have a feeling she will taller than me one day, which would be nice for her. :) She looks a lot like her daddy. When I get a chance, I will put some pictures up.

She's been a challenging baby. She is colicky, and makes her fussy. She's a real angel when she's sleeping though! :) She does have her good moments when she's awake too, but in the snap of a finger, everything can change, and it could turn into a screaming session for hours. Oh the joys! :) I ask God many times why she needs to be in so much discomfort, and I ask him to take it away, but I guess he needs to teach us something through it all. I know I've definitely learned patience through it all.

One thing I dont understand though, is why I have nights where I can't sleep. Sophie does a great job at sleeping at night, and usually only gets up 1 or 2 times to eat, and she goes right back to bed. But, why is it that I try to go to bed early - around 9pm....and I lay there in my bed, tossing and turning, wide awake for 5 hours or more sometimes? Sometimes I only get between 1 to 3 hours of sleep, because I just can't fall asleep. It's very hard on my body. And, because Sophie is fussy, she doesn't always nap very well, so to "nap when baby naps" is not an easy thing. So, that is my big question for God. Why won't You let me sleep God? I need rest more than anything!!

Well, somewhere in my challenges, there's a lesson to be learned. And although things are challenging, I still love being a mom to Sophie, and I am completely blessed. I am also blessed to have a great husband who is a wonderful father.

Well, I am going to feed Sophie one more time before I head off to bed! I will post pictures soon! :)

No internet

Hey everyone....I won't have internet now that I'm beginning maternity leave. Whenever I am in a location to check on my online blogs and such, I will. I will do my best to keep everyone updated as to me having a baby and all that. :) Thanks!

THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!

Thanks to everyone for praying! I'd say I'm about 80% better. Maybe more? The crazy itching has really begun to go away. Even my rash is starting to disappear! And the doctor told me this won't go away until AFTER I have the baby! Well, it's starting to clear up, and I just want to thank God, and let everyone know!!

I also have been taking Dandelion Root and Flaxseed Oil for about a week now (something that many women with PUPPP says helps a lot). I was taking a bath 3 times a day and have been using a special soap, and I'm sure all of this has helped. But, I do know that #1, all my praise goes to GOD!

Now, next on the list to pray for - that Sophie will go back down to the right position and then drop! She's still very high!

Anyway...thank you everyone for praying! :)

Trying anything!

I found a little bit of relief last night after Paul put the air conditioner in our bedroom. The tops of my feet were so itchy and the rash was getting worse...and on top of that they were swollen because of the heat. But once the A/C got going in my room, I felt relief on my feet almost immediately.

There is a website dedicate to women who have had PUPPs. Women can go on and tell their stories, and explain what they did to find relief. I read that taking dandelion root and flaxseed oil capsules seemed to cure most women of the rash in a matter of weeks, rather than needing to wait until delivery of the baby. So, since I'm desperate, I went out and bought the stuff, as well as Pinetar Soap. So, we'll see how this works out for me. I'll keep you posted.

If you ever know of anyone who says she's developing a miserable itchy rash during her pregnancy...I'd recommend directing her to http://members.optushome.com.au/westhoff/puppp/2003postings2.html . Even if these natural remedies don't work like it did for some women...it just makes me feel like I'm not alone to find that other women have experienced the same problem, and feel the same way I am feeling. To the point of insantity!!! I am trying my best to stay positive and look at the bright side, but it's very hard. So, please continue to pray...thank you so much!!

Could really use your prayers!

For the last week, I have been doing nothing but itching! It started out with my stomach. I all of a sudden had a very violent attack of itchiness on our way to Greencastle, and we had to stop and get some cream just to keep me sane. Well, as I kept itching...my stomach started to get very irritated and red, and the stretch marks got very swollen. Paul said it just didn't look normal.

So, as the week went by, I kept itching and itching. Now it's not only my stomach...it's my legs, feet, arms, wrists and neck! I now have little tiny red bumps like hives in those itchy places. The itchiness wakes me up at night....it's so unbearable!

I have done everything! I have used creams, oils, calamine lotion, oatmeal baths, corn starch, taking cold baths, putting frozen vegetable bags on the itchiness. These things help for a little bit, but the itching comes back. I only wear loose comfortable dresses, because pants just make it worse.

So, I told my doctor about it today at my regular check up, and she said I definitely have what they call PUPPP. There's not much that can be done except to take Benadryl (I did, and haven't found relief yet), and then the other thing is to just wait until the baby is born. Thankfully this is harmless to the baby...but it's giving me the blues.

I want to rub my belly as any pregnant woman does to connect with their baby inside of them...but I can't, because it makes the itching start up again. I have had a great pregnancy so far...and now I feel like I can't enjoy this last stretch of my pregnancy. It's miserable, and makes me want to cry.

I don't know if it's because of my constant itching of my lower abdomen, but it seems my baby has moved from being head down to being head up again. I just pray she goes back to the right position soon!

I know this seems like a lot of complaining, but I just need to get this out there and just ask you to pray for me. I need a miracle, because I'm not sure how much longer I can mentally handle this itching. Thanks guys!

Hot, tired, swollen, heartburn, itchy belly...

These are the not fun things about pregnancy...especially when the heartburn and itchy belly are extreme (oh and the ever increasing stretch marks on my lower abdomen). But, still, I need to remind myself that this is only for a few more weeks or so...and also that this has been a healthy and great pregnancy over all. I thank God for allowing me to enjoy a good pregnancy. It's really been an amazing experience so far. :)

Anyway...I had Friday off, and went out to gather a few more items for Sophie's room. Half of her room is finally done (the other half is where the guests will sleep, so I'm not putting as much effort into that half, lol). So, here's a picture of what I've done so far...

So, after having fun working on her room on Friday, I had Saturday to enjoy the beautiful weather, and then Paul and I were off in the early morning on Sunday to see his sister graduate from Master's Commission in Gap, PA. While driving to the Lancaster County area, I saw that there is a CHRISTMAS TREE SHOP coming to the Exton, PA area. How very exciting!!

So, anyway...after graduation, we went off to spend the night in Chambersburg, PA to visit my in-laws, and my baby nephew Jeremiah. It was a very quick visit, but we had a nice time. We didn't get to see the Marshall's, but that's ok. :)

So....that was my long weekend. I hope everyone else had a great weekend with warm beautiful weather too! :) Now for tonight...I have a birthday to celebrate. My wonderful husband is now only 2 years closer to 30. :)

Prayer!

There's a young man that I work with (Dan) who's mother just found out she has ovarian cancer. Dan sent out an email this morning asking those who believe in the power of prayer here in my office to pray for her and his family. She is having surgery right now as I write this.

My office is downstairs on the main floor. I am sitting in the receptionist office. Right next door to me is a large conference room, which has a door attached to my office. Just a little bit ago, I saw some of the men coming down the stairs and go into the conference room. They shut the door behind them. And what I just realized is that there is a group of about 10 men next door praying for Dan's mother. I can hear them praying! Its giving me goosebumps!

I just think it's awesome that right here in an office of business that these business men will take what's going on a half hour out of thier busy day to come together and pray. That to me...is awesome!

The last of the baby showers :)

My church threw me and my friend Kim a combined baby shower yesterday, and it was really just such a nice time. I am so blessed! My mom and dad came down for the occasion (well, my dad stayed back with Paul and they put the crib together). I also had a special appearance from JeanAnne DiBenedetto! It was really great to see her again! Molly also joined in on the fun yesterday. SO, I was surrounded by loved ones and friends. We all had a really nice time. :)

Since this was my last baby shower, and I had Molly sticking around with me for the rest of the night after the baby shower was done...we went to Target and used up my gift cards to buy the baby room decor/bedding. So, I FINALLY have an idea of what Sophie's room will look like. :) And here's a picture of the bedding I decided on. :) I can't wait to complete the room! :)

My mom

This is my mom over 100lbs lighter

than just 9 months ago! :)

(I stole this picture from Christine's facebook...

uh, thanks Christine! :) lol)

SO excited and SO proud!

I just have to say...for those of you who haven't seen my mom in a while....she looks AMAZING! I wish I had pictures. She'll be coming for a visit next weekend, so I'll try to remember to get some pictures of her.

My mom has lost over 100 lbs. At my pregnancy weight right now, there is only about a 30 lb difference between my mother and I. :) She just looks incredible!

And, also in honor of Mother's Day. I'd just like to say how thankful I am for the mother that God gave me. We can't pick and choose our families, but I wouldn't want any other family. I have been blessed, blessed, blessed with a family that pours out their love so much on me and Paul. My mom is a very special woman, and I just want to thank her for her unconditional love, support and encouragement. Aside from Paul, she is the first person I go to to talk about ...well, everything I guess! So, anyway...I just love my mom. I thank God for her every day! :)

Getting into the deeper things

Last night we finished the movie "The Visitation" by Frank Peretti in youth group. It's very intense! But, I think it opened up a great opportunity to talk about deeper things with the youth group than what they would allow us to do before. Usually we're interrupted so many times by talking and many kids just not taking things too serious. But the movie really caught their attention last night. It led to a great discussion about the spiritual battle that is very real in everyone of our lives. I feel like we reached them on a very different level, and I am just praying that God will use that as a stepping stone to maybe get into some more deeper issues. Especially after finding out that some of these kids have been around oujie boards and their parents are into psychic readings and have brought them in to these situations.

Please pray for our youth group and also that God gives us the wisdom for any future discussions. These matters are very serious. We want to see these kids grow in Christ and have very personal relationships with Him. We're very proud of the changes (even the small ones that can easily get overlooked) that we see in our youth group. I'm thankful for the opportunity we have to be with them every week, because they have really helped my eyes to see some things in a very different light. Especially coming from the youth group I grew up in, where I had such great friends who lived for God, and helped keep each other in check. Every youth group is different, but I hope to one day see more unity in our youth group here in NJ! God knows our desires, and I pray and believe we will see that happen. :)

Smart baby

I'm just about 31 weeks! Although my baby girl can move any way she wants right now...she's growing and will soon not have much room to move a whole lot. My doctor said she is already head down and butt up! Doc said she's a smart little girl! :) I'm so proud of my little Sophie for being so cooperative!

Eliezer Manuel Perez

Some of you know Casey and Eliezer, so I thought I'd share a picture of their new baby boy. He's so precious! Enjoy!

ANNOUNCING!!

Baby Eliezer Manuel Perez!!!! He was born at 6:22 this morning! He weighs 7 lbs 10 oz and measured at 20 in long!! Everyone is doing fine! What a wonderful blessing! :)

Update about Casey and Eliezer

Casey has had continuous contractions all day. She started to get worried when she hadn't felt any baby movement for over an hour. Casey knows that you should feel 10 movements in 1 hour. So, she and Eliezer went to the hospital to make sure the baby is ok. Please keep them in prayer. I'm hoping it's just the fact that baby Manny is asleep. But let's just pray that he is fine, and healthy...and that Casey will keep calm and have peace!

Baby Eliezer Manuel Perez might be here sooner than we thought!

For those of you who know Casey and Eliezer, they might get to meet their little son sooner than their expected due date - May 7th! Aside from the fact that Casey's belly is measuring much larger than it should at 37 weeks...I just kind of always had a feeling she'd deliver early.



Anyway...I just received an email from Casey, telling me not to get too excited, but just informing me that she has been having some contractions. It's not time to go to the hospital yet, but Manny could be here today or tomorrow...or very, very soon! We'll just have to wait and see! Right now Casey is just trying to keep distracted and relaxed. Please keep this soon-to-be mommy in prayer! I will update you when more exciting news happens!!

A few more pictures... :)

Jenn and Jess working so hard to make my life easier. :) They organized so beautifully!

The amazing organization skills of Jenn and Jess!!

Nylis enjoying some of the toys and presents. :)

You can't see him....but Nylis had already begun the unwrapping of the box next to me. He was a great help, because it was a big box to unwrap! :)

Sheavoynne did a great job at keeping me fed! :)

Baby Shower Picture Time!

Thanks to Haley, I have some great pictures to post of my baby shower. SO, here they are....

My dad's cousin Teri had this little stool specially made for our little girl Sophie! I LOVE it! :)

LAOG girls from my childhood and teen years! What a blessing to have everyone there, plus Nylis (and baby Sophie). They made me wear all my ribbons and bows.

The cute cake my mom's co-worker made.

This cabbage patch doll has a very special story behind it. It was given to me by Jenn DeSanto. This will be a tradition hopefully carried on by myself and my our girls. :)

Random chickens and maybe roosters too? I'm not a farm girl, so I can't tell which is which. But they were a nice touch, lol.

Preggo picture!

This is me all pregnant at my baby shower. I'll put more up later. :) My belly has actually grown much more since then. Yesterday, I went to the little general store near my house and the ladies behind the counter were talking about how I looked like a "tick ready to pop." They then asked me if I was due next month or so...and when I said no, and my due date was July 11th, they found it hard to believe. SO...I guess I'm pretty big now. All I know is I'm SO itchy! :)

A little story about last night :)

Last night, Paul tricked me into going to Home Depot to look at paint samples for his new little office last night and then go to a place called Angelo's for dinner because he was "craving thier cheesy garlic bread." So, I agreed without hesitation. When I arrived at Home Depot, he already picked out a paint sample, and I wondered why he needed ME if he already picked it out. But, that was the extent of my wondering. Then, we were on our way to Angelo's. We walked in, and Paul walked back to a room and I said "Hey Paul! We need to wait to be seated!" And when I went to get him, I looked in and saw a room full of the women I work with. My first thought was "Aww, they're ALL here, and they didn't invite me!" LOL. Then, I quickly realized that it was a surprise baby shower for me. :)

I have never been surprised before, so I didn't realize this was all a trick on me that Paul was playing. He did a really good job. Apparently, when Paul had called in to talk to me one day, one of the girls who answered the phone asked for his email address to plan this surprise and have him get me there. It worked really well! :) And I had a great time! :) We were blessed with wonderful gifts just the feeling of knowing people care about me. :)

Why the Bible says to be anxious for nothing :)

I had a feeling I was worrying about nothing, and tried not to. What's the point of worrying? It doesn't do any good. :)

Anyway, I'm still glad I had my pain checked out. My doctor said that even though I might not see any physical signs of skin irritation...the sunburn feeling I have is because my skin is stretching and is sensitive in that area. Also, I do have muscles and ligaments in that area, so all these pains are because of my growing belly. :) Thank God!

Also, like Amy experienced in her pregnancy...my heart burn is just heart burn. But man does it hurt!! :)

Thank you for praying! I really appreciate it! :)

Trying not to worry...

1 Peter 5:7 - Cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you.

I really need to let that verse sink into my mind. Today I decided to google around about a pain I've had for the last 2 weeks. Right now, I'm hoping I'm making myself think what I'm experiencing is worse than it really is, but if you could please just keep me in prayer, I'd really appreciate it. Here's what's been going on with me:

For the past two weeks, I have had a weird pain in the upper right side of my abdomen, and it feels like an internal rug burn that is just ALWAYS there. The pain gets really bad if I move suddenly to the right, and surges deep down...when that happens, it is so painful that it wakes me up if i'm sleeping. Anyway...on top of that pain, I've been having heart burn, but when I have heart burn, I get pain in my back (its obvious the pain in my back is a result from the heartburn). So, I was reading these symptoms online, and sometimes pre-eclampsia can be associated with these symptoms. I don't want to make myself paranoid, but I still want to get checked out. So, I have an appt. tomorrow morning.

Please keep me in prayer so I can not worry about this, and actually sleep tonight and not stress out. I won't have access to email at all tomorrow, but I will let you know how everything goes on Wed. Thanks for your friendship and thanks for your prayers! :)

Baby Shower!

I had an incredible time at my baby shower. Things couldn't have gone any smoother with out the help of my mom, cousin, Jess D, Jenn F, Haley, Sheavoynne, Sarah Graham and the caterers at the Apple Farm (if there was anyone else I forgot or maybe didn't see behind me, please forgive me...I want to give you credit too!) Jess and Jenn did an amazing job at organizing everything and laying it all out on the table. I really didn't need to do a thing! Because of their organization, I was able to fit everything but the big boxes in my car. I should be able to fit everything else in my car on my next trip home!

Haley took pictures, and I am patiently waiting to see how they came out (and post some on here). Sarah took down the notes of who gave me what, and Sheavoynne took the trash and fed me my cake! And Nylis was just an amazing little boy who didn't fuss at all. He was so content to just watch everything happening. :)

I was completely blessed! I got so many things that I will need and so many cute outfits! With my relatives and church friends there, I really felt like the entire room was filled with family. Thanks to everyone who helped! I am totally blessed to have you in my life! :)

I'm not sure when I'll get pictures, but I'll definitely post some on here when I can!

Massachusetts!

I took the day off work (I must say I am very blessed to have a job that gives me 4 weeks paid vacation) and started on my way to MA by 9am this morning. I have a hard time doing night trips lately...because my body is usually ready for bed by 9:30...sometimes earlier. :) I'm just so excited to be seeing a lot of friends tomorrow! It's good to be "home"!

Anyway...last night was the 3rd night in a row that I have woken up around 3am. I was hot, sweaty and uncomfortable. I've heard about other pregnant women going through this in their 3rd trimester, but I wasn't expecting this for another few weeks. I really hope I will get a full night's sleep tonight. But, if not...I guess this is just God's way of preparing my body for night time feedings. :) SO, I guess I'll count it all joy, lol.

I guess I didn't have much to write about tonight, but I'm sure I will tomorrow after the baby shower! :)

My First Blog!

I decided to give in and try this blogging thing out. I used to blog a lot in college, but soon gave it up when I moved out on my own and didn't have the internet. But I see so many wonderful people who are keeping me updated on their lives, and I love being informed. I thought I'd join in, since I have a little girl on the way, and I'm sure many people will want updates and pics when that happens.

So, what's going on for the Marklund's right now? Since October, Paul and I have become part-time youth leaders at our church. Its going really well. Paul and I have always seen the potential in of what we call "the bus kids," and now we're starting to see some really positive change taking place. Segregation between the regular Sunday church attendees and the "bus kids" seems to be almost non-existant. We see more interaction and more questions being asked. Also, more consistancy with who is there each week, which makes it a whole lot easier to get to know them more on a personal level when their attendance is consistant.

I also have a baby shower this weekend! This is something that makes it more of a reality that I'm going to have a baby in just under 3 months!! We've asked Jenn Farnsworth to capture some moments on film, so hopefully I'll have some baby shower pictures to share with you after the weekend (thanks again Jenn!).

I guess I'll leave it at that for now. I'll see all my LAOG peeps this weekend! Yay!! :)