What. A. Week.

This week has been full of ups and downs-- too many to even recount here.

David and I filed a claim against his previous employer because he has yet to pay us the two paychecks that are now 3 and 5 weeks late. Hopefully with the government's help we will see that money eventually. And we'd love to see him pay some penalties for his bad behavior, but that'd just be icing on the cake.

It is stressful to have the holidays upon us when we are not in a position to give to others-- at least monetarily. We are giving what we can. It feels good to give, even if it isn't much.

I've been mildly ill this week, no thanks to allergies. They are just getting worse, so I will probably have to see the doctor on Monday before we head out of town. Hopefully the doctor will give me some antibiotics or something that will help get rid of whatever I've got.

Merry Christmas to you all :)

24 weeks, already?

I can hardly believe this last week has gone by so quickly! Camille and Heidi came home nearly a week ago, and Adam came on Sunday, so I have been spending most of my time with family! It's been so nice to catch up with everyone!

David and I were rear-ended on Saturday, and I had whiplash symptoms on Sunday, and though they aren't as bad anymore, they're still there. David's back and neck seems to be fine. I had previous back issues from a sledding accident in 2006, plus I'm pregnant, so I guess I'm more sensitive. I've been getting headaches, and tylenol doesn't help. I am seeing my baby doctor today for an ultrasound to make sure the baby is okay, and that the placenta is still intact, and they'll likely send me to a physical therapist as well. The baby has been acting normal, so I'm not too worried. The accident was at low speeds, and I don't think there was any trauma to my abdomen, but you always have to check to be sure.

The holidays are going to be tough, only because the chances of David being contacted about a job decrease greatly until after the new year. It will be a long two weeks to get through-- God is testing our patience, I guess :-P

I can't express how grateful we are for the support from our family and friends. We wouldn't be surviving without it. I definitely have a lot more empathy for my mother and other families who have endured times of unemployment. It is really quite stressful.

On another note, I have had several people actually notice and comment on my belly! It's exciting to finally be showing enough for people to notice. I think it's funny when people in my ward act so surprised. I would think people would have gossiped the news all around long ago. Either they're really good at acting surprised, or they really didn't know!

23 Weeks!

Week 22 sure brought some new symptoms, namely insane round ligament pain and headaches. Thursday morning I woke up and could not stand up straight because of round ligament pain. For those of you who are not well-versed in pregnancy jargon, there are ligaments on either side of the belly which support a woman's uterus, and as the uterus grows and begins to weigh more, the ligament gets stretched and becomes thinner, which for some women like myself, can be very painful.



When I was finally able to stand up straight, it hurt to walk, and it even hurt when I was sitting or laying down, and any sort of movement at all was painful. The pain didn't go away enough to function relatively normal until Monday, which is when the headaches kicked in. Today I am feeling much better though, luckily!





Tonight I can SEE the baby moving in my belly! When he kicks, you can see it! I have had fun watching him punch/kick me from the inside. I can't wait to meet the little guy... I'm glad the kicks, punches, and nudges are not painful. Though being kicked in the bladder is not much fun.

Today was my last final, so I am officially done with my first semester of grad school! I know I got A's in two of my three classes, which is great! I am still waiting on grades from my 3rd class, which I highly doubt that I got an A in. I'd be thrilled with a B! We'll see what he thinks of my paper and exam...

As far as the job search, today was eventful, but not in a good way. David had completed a design test for a company, and heard back today that they did not select him. They did, however, bother to communicate with him, and even offered a critique of his design test, which will prove very helpful for design tests in the future, which we appreciate.

So, I haven't put many details in here about why he is looking for another job... but I think it's okay to share now. His former employer ran out of funds, and was a month late on paychecks, so David said SOYONARA! He has been at home for two weeks now, and we still have yet to be paid for his last month of work. We applied for unemployment benefits, but did not qualify because of dumb rules about "base pay." You have to earn a certain amount (base pay) with a company, but they do not count any wages from the current quarter (sept-dec) or the quarter before that (june-aug). So, only wages from Feb-June were counted, and he did not earn enough in that time period to qualify. Very frustrating, to say the least.

Please pray that we will be able to find David another job, an even better job. (any job would be better, honestly) I won't smack-talk the company he was working for, but I will say that there were a lot of things going on that we were not crazy about, completely aside from the whole no-paycheck situation.

I am glad that David and I have each other and the Lord to lean on. We also have a lot of family that has been really helpful and supportive during these trying times. There are a lot of things about our current situation that are FAR from ideal, but we are handling it the best we can...

Second Ultrasound!

We had another ultrasound today to check up on baby's spine, since baby did not cooperate last time! The spine looks great, and we got to have another peek at our little cutie!

It was so fun to see our little guy again. The resolution of the sonogram machine was actually pretty high quality, so when she zoomed in on our baby's face, you could actually see him! He's so cute!!! I can't wait to meet him and hold him. :)

I had her verify that he is in fact a boy, because sometimes their first look is not accurate. This is what we found! Our baby is DEFINITELY a boy. Loud and proud.

22 Weeks!

Baby is as active as ever, and I love feeling him! He seems to be most active in the mid-afternoon, and around 11pm. At least that's when I notice him the most. Apparently the baby is developing a sleep cycle already. Cool, huh? We have another sonogram tomorrow afternoon, and we're really excited to be able to see the baby again! Hopefully we will get more pictures too. :)

David has applied for 12+ positions in various parts of the country, and we heard back from the first company on Monday! They sent him a design test, which he has been working on since then, and plans to complete tonight before he goes to sleep. It will be a late night, but they asked him to get it done ASAP so they can make a hiring decision. We're crossing our fingers!

Osiris Legends is now available in the app store, which is really exciting! There are plenty of things that need to be done to promote and update the game, but until things improve at the company, it is in the air whether or not those updates will happen. We'll see!

Osiris Legends

Barking Lizards has finally released Osiris Legends to the iPhone app store! After months and months of being on the verge of finished, the game is finally on the market!

David and I are very excited because this is his first published title in the video game industry, which opens a lot of doors for him as far as further employment in the industry. It is good timing since he has been applying for positions all over the country!

To check out what the gameplay is like, you can check out this youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhcccy7-mJo

21 Weeks! Papers and Photos

As Thanksgiving break ends and I go back to school, and David goes back to work, David and I have been reminiscing on all that we have to be grateful for. Though our circumstances are far from perfect, we feel extremely blessed for all that we have.

David has submitted 3 job applications as of this morning (yay!) and will be getting the rest submitted as soon as possible. That is all I will say for now, I am not sure how much he is comfortable with me sharing, even though only a selective audience can read this anyways :-P

My semester is winding down, but hitting its climax at the same time. I will be glad to be done!

On top of school work, I have some paid photography gigs that remain incomplete until I get the edited photos to my clients, which really should be done this week. It is taking me a while because I am still learning how to use the editing software. David is a whiz at photoshop, but I feel so lost! I am trying to learn how to use Lightroom, but I feel just as lost there! So many buttons!

Thanksgiving!

David and I enjoyed eating Thanksgiving dinner with my parents and Stephanie at their house. Dinner was so delicious! Thanksgiving is definitely totally awesome when you're pregnant (at least in the second trimester). I ate two whole plates of awesomeness! And then dessert! That is WAY more than I usually eat.

Then, David took a nap, and I nearly completed an entire puzzle by myself before he woke up. And we skipped out for the evening so that David could finish working on his website back at home.

By the way, you should go check out his website, it looks so awesome! www.davidpaulknox.net

David has been looking for a new job lately. His current job has some... less than desirable things going on. We've got his website and resume done, now it just comes down to cover letters and submitting applications, which we're planning to have all submitted by the time we go to bed tonight. Cover letters take a while though, since they're so important. They're the first thing recruiters look at, and you have to tailor it to the company and the position you're applying for. We've got 8 jobs that we plan to apply for, so it is going to take a while! We're really excited and feel very peaceful about the idea of finding another job though. Feeling peace in such a turbulent time is very reassuring that God is with us. Logically, we should be scared, but we are not. We feel confident that God will take care of our needs and that He will guide us to where he wants us.

On another note, I have only 2 more weeks of school left! 2-15 page papers, a presentation, and a test, and then I'll be done with my first semester of grad school! I have a lot to do before I can begin the celebrations. I am looking forward to seeing family for Christmas and New Years, and being able to focus my energies on preparing for baby's arrival. It has been tough to try to keep myself focused on school when all I want to do is nest. Now I just need to bunker down and get these last two weeks out of the way! :)

20 Weeks!

19 Weeks! (and David's birthday!)

This last week has been pretty eventful! We found out that we're having a boy, and we celebrated David's birthday! (Now I'm wishing we'd taken more pictures for his birthday. Oh well!)

I've been craving salad. Lots and lots of salad. And just about anything I can get my hands on, really. I've never been so insanely hungry in my entire life! I eat and stuff myself, and then I'm starving again 2 hours later. That little boy must be growing fast these days to be wanting so much food!

We've also been looking into moving into a 2 bedroom apartment so I can indulge in some nesting. I've been itching to get a place ready for our little baby, but there simply isn't room enough in our tiny one bedroom apartment, not even for a crib. Our lease ends mid-march, which is simply too close to my due date for comfort. We're hoping to move sometime in January, far enough away from the possible time that our baby could be joining the outside world.

We plan to put in the deposit this next Saturday to reserve a nice 2 bedroom, first floor apartment. This depends, however, on David's job. Things have been rocky, to say the least. David is unsure about the financial health of the company, which means that our financial health is in jeopardy as well, unless we can find another job quickly. We're just biding our time until at least one of their games gets published. Having even one published title can make all the difference for David when he starts applying for another job. We've been getting things ready to begin applying. We had to buy a new domain for his webpage, and we'll be polishing up his website and resume.

It is stressful to know that we've got a baby on the way, and that his job is unstable. However, we both feel at peace with the idea of being unemployed in the near future, despite what is to come. We've got a lot of family and friends that love us and will help us through the hard times. We'll see what the next week or two brings...

It's a boy!!

We had our mid-pregnancy sonogram last night! We found out that we are having a BOY!! DEFINITELY a boy!

It was so fun to see our baby! He was curled up in a ball really tightly, but we got to see his heart, his hands, his feet, his tiny little ribs, legs and arm bones, and his head. We didn't get to see the spine, so we get to/have to do another sonogram in 4 weeks to make sure the baby doesn't have spina bifida. He's in the 55th percentile, and right on target for dates! Other than not being able to see the spine, everything looks good! He's got enough amniotic fluid to swim around in, and the placenta is in a good place. It's sitting right on top, which limits the kicks that I'll be feeling early on. Because it's right in the middle on the top, I only feel his little nudges on either side. He's breach right now, which doesn't mean much since it's so early.

I loved being able to see my baby and feel it at the same time! He was punching his arms up over his head. I've always wondered what he was using to poke me with... I got to see it that time! It was so cool!

I love our baby boy <3

18 Weeks!

This week has been full of pokes, nudges, and swirly motions in my belly. The baby has grown SO much in the last week! Every morning I would wake up and feel that my uterus had shifted up an inch closer to my belly button. Now it is only about an inch below my belly button! It is really neat to feel the baby move. It is interesting to see when the baby is most active. It seems that the baby likes to move around a lot while I am eating. Almost as if it is celebrating the fact that mom is nourishing the two of us! I have been SOOO hungry all the time! The baby also likes music. It hasn't happened enough yet to know if the baby has a favorite song or genre, but I'll be keeping tabs on those kinds of things because it's fun!

We find out on Thursday if the baby is a boy or a girl! We are super excited to know so that we can begin to plan for it!

17 Weeks!

This week I've had more energy, but baby brain still pervades! Luckily nothing awful has happened due to said baby brain, but it sure makes focusing on homework more difficult than normal! Heartburn and restless nights of sleep don't help either.

The baby is a size of an onion, and I'm so excited that the baby is growing so quickly! Every morning I feel my baby bump and it gets bigger by the day! I've been feeling distinct "taps" from inside me, usually in sets of 3. Baby likes to tap me while I'm driving. Baby must take after me-- as a kid, I couldn't sleep in the car! I look forward to feeling stronger and stronger kicks as the baby gets bigger and stronger. Not because I want to be kicked, because I hear some women get quite sore ribs and pelvis from their baby's kicks, but because it means that the baby is growing and is getting bigger and stronger :)

My love for our baby grows immensely by the day. It really is quite incredible the bond that I have with our little onion. Early on I had a hard time understanding how women could feel so attached to something so little and something almost as abstract as a mere thought. But as the baby is making itself known to me, I feel how excited this little being is to come to our family. We are just as excited to welcome it!

16 Weeks!

So I'm pretty sure I've been feeling baby squirming around, but I can't say for sure. I'm sure it will become more obvious as the baby gets bigger and stronger! I love watching David talk to my belly, he's so cute about it. He talks in a special high pitched voice and tells the baby to be nice to mommy or else... And sometimes he gives the baby a voice and tells me to be nice to it or it'll go breech. Haha, so cute. He always says good morning and goodnight to me and baby. :) I'm so lucky to have a man that's so excited to be a father. He'll be a great one!

Baby Brain Moment...

I blame baby brain for last night's incident.

I had just taken dinner out of the oven, and less than 5 minutes later, I went to pick up the dish, with my bare hands!! I guess I forgot that it would still be hot!

I spent the next 10 hours nursing 5 fingertips with ice to avoid blisters...

15 Weeks

State Fair of Texas!

14 Weeks

I've been craving slurpees and sour candy this week. And I've had lots of round ligament pain/discomfort. And of course, lots of fatigue!

Buckethead Concert!

A month early, but this was one of David's birthday presents! I wanted to surprise him with something that I knew he would really enjoy, but that he would never treat himself to! Buckethead is one of his favorite musicians, and when I found out that they were coming to town, I had to get tickets! The whole night he just told me how awesome I was for thinking of doing this for him. I am really glad that he had such a good time! Happy early birthday, David!

13 weeks! Welcome, 2nd trimester!

12 Weeks

11 Weeks!

Today I am 11 weeks, and I am tired! This last week I have had a few new pregnancy symptoms, in addition to the fatigue, headaches and nausea. I fainted! Since I fainted, I have felt even more tired, and even dizzy and faint-- almost all the time. And, I can't seem to catch my breath after doing silly things like walking downstairs to get something from my car.

Belly Photos

10 Weeks

9 Weeks

(Baby is the size of a grape!)

8 Weeks, 2 Days

7 Weeks, 2 Days

7 Weeks, 2 Days

5 Weeks, 5 Days

(I look so tired!)

4 Weeks, 4 Days

(That bump isn't baby yet, I'm just bloated)

The day we found out!

3 Weeks 6 Days