23 Weeks

I'm 23 weeks along today!

Size
large mango
more than 11 inches head to toe, just over 1 lb

Developments
can sense movement
blood vessels developing
ears are becoming ready for loud noises

Heartbeat
142 bpm (as of 4/7/11)

Cravings
Still no cravings! Thank goodness!

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 10 lbs (as of 4/7/11)

Side Effects
Hips are still doing better.

What I REALLY miss
Sleeping on my back!

Greatest part of the week: Emily has been moving around ALOT! My chiropractor began stretching out my round ligaments last week and it has REALLY helped. It's given Emily more room and now she's all over the place.

We're going to register this weekend because my first two showers are in less than a month. Crazy!

22 Weeks

I'm 22 weeks along today!

Size
spaghetti squash
11 inches head to toe, weighs almost 1 lb

Developments
lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are more distinct
toothbuds are forming
eyes have formed
pancreas is developing

Heartbeat
142 bpm (as of 4/7/11)

Cravings
Nothing, really.

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 10 lbs (as of 4/7/11)

Side Effects
My hips are better! I love my chiropractor and massage therapist!

Whew. Why is life always whirlwind crazy busy? The retreat went really well. It was such a wonderful experience and a great time. My band was an amazing group of guys that I am so blessed to play with on a regular basis and some beautiful women that I am blessed to call friends. The feedback I have gotten has been great. I love that the Lord can use little, tired, voice-cracking me to glorify himself. Of course there's always at least one hiccup (and there sure was this time, too,) but it wasn't anything the band or I did and hopefully the Lord even used that to touch someone. So all in all, it was excellent. That said, I'm SO glad it's over. Like anything, when you work really hard on something, it's always nice to be on the other side of it. As much as I enjoy leading worship and would do it forever if I could, it's nice to be able to rest for a bit. Full time job, 3/4 time grad school, side business, husband, pregnancy, AND worship leader is just a bit much. I think I rested for about 30 minutes and then we were on to the next thing. At least the next thing was a dinner and movie date with my husband! Even though we were on the move, it was at a relaxed pace. :)

This week Lucas has been gone on a business trip to Atlanta. I've been staying with mom and dad and I can't wait for him to come home tomorrow. I hate it when he leaves town and I'm sure going to hate it when he leaves town and leaves me home with a baby to take care of! Fortunately, I have wonderful family and friends here to take care of me and help me out.

I can't believe tomorrow will mark the end of 22 weeks for me and little miss Emily! She will be here before we know it. This week has been fun with some of my friends starting to plan my baby showers. So far, I have one set for my current school and one with my old school/librarians/tech specialists. And I know there are at least a couple more to come. Emily is going to be one blessed little girl!

21 Weeks

I'm 21 weeks along today!

Size
carrot
10 1/2 inches head to toe, weighs about 12 oz.

Developments
full-fledged kicks will soon begin
eyebrows and eyelids are there

Heartbeat
142 bpm (as of 4/7/11)

Cravings
Still very few cravings. Lucas is lucky!

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 10 lbs (as of 4/7/11)

Side Effects
wonky hips that hurt at night when I'm laying on my side

I was reading a blog entry tonight from about five years ago. Here's an excerpt of what it said.

"I've always known the Lord has huge plans for my life, but I've never really been able to figure out what they were. I thought it might be teaching, but I'm pretty sure that's not it. :) Children's ministry was my other option, but there hasn't been a door opened for me there, either. My one true passion and the thing I'd love to do more than anything else in the world is singing, but good voices are a dime a dozen. I pretty much shot that dream down before it ever began. So as you can imagine, when I was prayed over twice in the last couple weeks about using my voice and singing new songs to the Lord, I was pretty psyched. One even said that it was going to be 10,000 times greater than I could ever imagine. I wish I could remember exactly what my two praying friends said, but it's pretty blurry. I've heard it said that if something is confirmed three times, it's from the Lord. Crazy thing is that I think my third confirmation came Saturday night at the retreat from the worship leader/speaker's wife. This here is taking a big step, but I feel like the Lord's huge plans have to do with my voice. It's been becoming more and more clear lately. I don't know what exactly that means, but I know that I'm supposed to be singing."

I had no idea five years ago just how true that would be. Of course I believed, but it's amazing to see the Lord's fulfillment of that prophecy over my life. At that point, I only knew my purpose was singing, but it doesn't appear that I knew it was worship leading. Today, though, I am completely aware of that. Less than a month after I wrote the previous post, I met my husband, who has been the most amazing help-mate in so many ways, but especially in this area. If it weren't for the blessing of Lucas, I don't know where I would be on this journey. The Lord can work with anything, but I know that having Lucas beside has been a huge part of me becoming who I am as a worship leader.

This worship road has been a long journey full of ups and downs for the past several years, but I know more than ever that this is where I am supposed to be. It certainly hasn't been easy. Although I have it so much better than many of my sisters, the heartache of being a woman with a gift and not able to use it to it's full capacity is difficult to live with. I don't want to say never, but it is highly unlikely that I will ever truly be a (recognized) worship leader at the church we attend. (I say that not because I need "recognition," but I use that word in the sense of having a part or full-time worship leading capacity.) Satan also knows exactly where to attack me. He doesn't attack my voice in a physical way, but he uses the strange dynamic that can often take place between gifted women to make things competitive and dramatic, even if not in an obvious way. Thankfully, his grace covers all of these things.

This weekend, I have the amazing opportunity to lead worship at our church's women's retreat. Although I've done this once before, this year it is a much bigger undertaking. I've been able to have a big role in planning and there is just much more to it all- bigger set, more musicians, etc. I am so thankful for this and can't wait for it to actually be here. I'm also excited that Emily will get to experience such a special thing with me. Of course she's been worshiping with me for several months now, but this is extra special. I can certainly use your prayers this week and this weekend, as can the rest of my team and all of the women involved with the retreat. It's going to be great!

Twenty Weeks

I'm twenty weeks along today!
WE ARE HALFWAY THERE!

Size
banana (from head to toe)
6 1/2 inches long (head to rump,) weighs 11 oz.
Beginning next week, baby is measured from head to toe!

Developments
swallowing more
producing Meconium

Heartbeat
142 bpm (as of 4/7/11)

Cravings
Still very few cravings. Lucas is lucky!

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 10 lbs (as of 4/7/11)

Side Effects
wonky hips that hurt at night when I'm laying on my side
a bit more emotional this week


I've been so bad about taking pictures this time. I promise one will come soon!

Our appointment was great! Usually our doctor does the sonogram herself, but the way it was supposed to work today is that a sono tech would do all of the measurements and make sure there are no big problems and that everything is correctly developing and in place. Then, we would go meet with Dr. Staud just to go over any questions, etc. However, Miss Emily is stubborn (just like her parents) and didn't want to show her face during the big sono. The sonographer told us that everything was good and that she is growing perfectly. She just couldn't measure her facial bones, check her umbilical cord attachment, or confirm the gender. SO, we got a second sonogram with Dr. Staud! She was able to see the face, which looks like a precious little alien, as well as the umbilical cord. She also was able to see her girl parts, which do still appear to be girl parts. She weighs 11 oz and is somewhere around seven inches, rump to crown. Right now she's breach, but since we're only halfway along, she has plenty of room and time to turn. Let's hope she does!

What a wild and crazy few days it's been in the Takala household. Don't worry, though. Everything with Emily is going just perfectly as far as we know. I was supposed to have my 20 week appointment today, but it was rescheduled for tomorrow. So, in about 24 hours we'll get to see our sweet baby again and see how she's doing!

The craziness actually revolves around Bailey, our sweet and ornery weenie dog. On Saturday, she and her sister were in the backyard playing and I was out there doing homework. All of a sudden I heard a loud yelp and saw Bailey hopping around on three feet. I ran and picked her up and saw that she was bleeding really badly from one of her claws. I wrapped it up and we called the vet, but they couldn't get us in. Since it wasn't a life or death situation, we didn't take her to the emergency clinic. I just bandaged it really good and we carried her around alot. Knowing my sweet weenie, we made sure to take off the bandage when we left for dinner because we knew she would chew it off. What we didn't realize, however, was that she would also chew it off in the middle of the night, laying right next to me. So on Sunday morning when we woke up, the pretty substantial bandage I'd had on her paw was gone. Gone as in somewhere in her intestines. So, of course I worried about that and we debated taking her to the emergency room for that because it could be pretty dangerous if the tape got stuck in her intestines. After talking to my parents and Lucas, we realized that the tape was fabric/paper so it would probably break down in her system rather than getting stuck. But, we had to watch her for about 24 hours to make sure she was still digesting everything okay. Because of that, we had to stay home from church, which was not what we were hoping for.

On Monday we took her to the vet and they ended up having to do surgery to remove the claw. It took her a long time to come out of the anesthesia, but she's been fine ever since. She has a HUGE bandage on her paw, which looks like a club foot. Lucas took her to work yesterday to watch her and make sure she didn't eat her bandage, and I stayed home with her today for the same reason. We could've put the cone around her neck, but I didn't trust her not to strangle herself in an effort to get it off. I hated having to take a day off because I've been saving them for the baby, but in the end, I'm really glad I did. It was such a nice day and I got a ton of stuff done. Plus, I got to spend the day at home with my girls. It was perfect.

Hopefully this weekend will be much less eventful than last weekend!

Nineteen Weeks

I'm nineteen weeks along today!

Size
heirloom tomato
6 inches long, weighs about 8 1/2 oz.

Developments
sensory development is taking off: five senses developing
arms and legs are in right proportions to rest of body
kidneys are making urine
hair is growing
vernix caseosa is forming to prevent skin from pickling in amniotic fluid

Heartbeat
140 bpm (as of 3/10/11)

Cravings
No new cravings this week. I've been lucky with cravings!

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 6 lbs (as of 3/10/11)

Side Effects
Weird dreams!
achy hips from laying on my side at night