Saturday, June 7, 2014

National Trail day!

Hiking is one of our FAVORITE activities. Last summer we did quite a bit of hiking, and decided we liked it so much, that we wanted to give backpacking a try. Let just say we were instantly hooked!

All winter long I researched gear, and read books on the Appalachian Trail (AT) like it was my job! Some would say I became mildly obsessed with hiking the AT. I honestly think Jake got tired of hearing me talk about it endlessly for weeks on end. I tend to be one of those people who will start researching something, and end up diving in head first, and reading for hours on the same topic. OOPS! 
I read people's trail journals (trailjournals.com), joined White Blaze (whiteblaze.net) which is a network where you can discuss gear, section hikes, and just about anything concerning the AT, and even kept up with the daily weather report on top of my favorite mountain in GSMNP Mt Leconte. (http://www.highonleconte.com/daily-posts).

After some convincing, Jake and I decided that we would spend our summer vacation hiking the 80 miles of the AT that runs through the Smokies. We had just finished obtaining the majority of our gear when I found out I was pregnant. We knew we would have to postpone our big trip, because hiking 80 miles with 30 pounds of gear while your 6 months pregnant just wasn't an option. And unfortunately, complications early in my pregnancy has resulted in me sitting out from any hiking until after our sweet Nolan is born. But honestly, I can't think of a better reason to be sitting out a season! haha.

Anyway, the point to this lengthy post is simply to say,

GET OUT AND HIKE!

There is some absolutely amazing sites to be seen in the woods, or deep in the backcountry! It's healthy, stress relieving, and energizing!  You can hike in any state, or all over the world! It's such a fun hobby! I'll leave you with some pictures of us hiking!

HAPPY NATIONAL TRAILS DAY! 
 




















Thursday, June 5, 2014

Long overdue pregnancy update!

Yes, I've been dragging my feet about writing this post. I write in my journal almost daily, but keeping up with this blog is a different story. Blah. As of today I'm 26 weeks, and 3 days pregnant. And man alive, I can feel it! My belly is growing by the day, and my poor belly button looks so strange. (Although, it hasn't "popped" yet...thankfully!)

Let me start where I left off last time...I followed up with the hem/onc doctor at UK, and he was exceptional! We ended up getting stuck in traffic on I-75 for two hours, and the doctor still saw us without a problem. We were so thankful! It was 3 weeks in between the colposcopy, and the follow-up appointment. I spent most of my time at home taking it easy, and working on projects like knitting during those weeks. And when the hem/onc doctor did the exam, he was astonished to report that the vein appeared to be healing, and looked like a discolored area on my cervix! Talk about a answered prayer! I went from having a vein the size of a quarter, to healed cervix. Let me just pause to say that  
WE SERVE AN AWESOME GOD!
I went from having an unexplained medical abnormality that could possibly be cancer...to completely healed in 3 weeks!  The doc repeated the pap test, and all came back negative. No cancer, no pre-cancer...normal! NORMAL!

After we jumped that hurtle, we excitedly awaited our gender ultrasound. Jake went with me to the ultrasound, and I can't explain how incredibly cool it was to see this tiny baby moving around! We decided to not find out the gender until a few days later, so we had to close our eyes a few times, because we didn't want to ruin the surprise, but other than those few minutes Jake and I were both glued to the monitor! Everything with the baby looked perfect! We even got to see all 4 chambers of the heart in action! We were both so thankful that the baby was healthy, and that I wasn't bleeding anymore! 

It was right after the ultrasound that it really started to sink in that we were having a baby. Up until this point I had so many complications, that I think subconsciously I didn't want to get "too excited," in fear that something dreadful could happen. But, driving away from the office that day, I felt a huge weight lift, and a growing excitement take it's place!

A few days after the ultrasound, we had a gender reveal party with our families. It was a low key cookout, and we were thankful to be surrounded by so many people that love us! I even had some family travel all the way from Chester, WV for the big reveal. (Thanks again Uncle Mitch, and Aunt Amy!)
I have several more pictures also, but I need to get them from my Mom and Gram's camera. I ran around in an flurry of excitement, and didn't take any pictures! But, without further ado...here's the video of us cutting the cake to find out if the baby was a boy or girl!
  
I was so surprised! I thought for sure the baby was a girl, but God had another thing in mind. We had already decided on a boy's name, so we announced at the party that we would be naming him David Nolan Mosley. We will call him Nolan, but when it came to deciding a name, we came up with it just days after finding out we were pregnant!
Since the party, everything has been smooth sailing. I've had two routine checkups, and Nolan is measuring exactly where he should be. Yesterday, I had to take the dreaded glucose test. It wasn't as bad as I thought, the drink they give you tasted like flat orange soda. I was thankful that I passed, and didn't have to take the longer 3 hour test. The comical thing, is that after only a few sips, Nolan went crazy! He was flipping, and dancing all over the place. While we were listening to his heart beat with the doppler, he was kicking it with force! It definitely made me laugh. He's been so active lately, and I absolutely love it! It's such a neat feeling to feel him moving. At first it felt like butterflies, but now it's full on karate.

Despite not having any more problems with the vein, I'm still not allowed to go back to work. My doctor fears that putting the same pressure on the cervix that caused the initial bleeding, would make the bleeding start again, and could potentially send me into pre-term labor. Something we definitely don't want! But, the summer will pass by so quickly, and I'm thankful for the quiet time to prepare for one of the biggest life changes we'll face! Jake and I are so ready to snuggle him!

In the next few days, I'll post about our progress on the baby's room, and the fun preparations we've been making. I never thought I would get so excited about things like a stroller! haha.