I'm Growing a BABY!

As of today I am 12 weeks 5 days pregnant. Second trimester begins on Friday! Wow, we only have 6 months to prepare for having a little person to take care of for the next 18+ years. Here is a photo of Baby Huntley from this morning.

This morning we got our first trimester ultrasound and Baby Huntley was wriggling and squirming like crazy! We got some great "pictures" of the baby and he/she had a very strong heartbeat at 152 bpm (beats per minute). In 7 weeks or so, we go back for our second trimester/half-way mark, ultrasound. At that time, we can find out the gender of the baby. We are still undecided whether or not we will find out, but we are starting to lean more towards being told. Nate is dying to find out whether we will have a son or daughter and, quite honestly, I'm pretty curious too!

My morning sickness is completely gone and the fatigue is already easing up--thanks for all the prayers, although I plan on trying to nap semi-consistently through the pregnancy. I want to get sleep while I can! ;) We have begun some house-hunting as well. We hope to buy a house later this year and move in around when baby is born. It's been fun looking and dreaming of where we might live and what our home will look like.

Well, I'm gonna finish up work and try to get a nap! What's happening in YOUR life?

2013

This year is going to be one full of changes--that much I know for sure. We will get to meet our little baby inside of 6-7 months. That is an overwhelming thought! We also hope to buy our first house (and move for the 3rd time in 2 years). Those are the two major things that we expect this year. I am certain that God has many more changes in store for us and He will carry us through the good and the bad.

I hope to keep y'all updated on pregnancy progress with the blog--along with life in general. My pregnancy has gone really well so far. I had 3 weeks of pretty bad nausea/morning sickness in December, but that has gone away and I'm feeling really well. I had the first trimester fatigue, but that even is getting lighter. I do, however, still need a nap most days of the week to make it through a full day. Other than that, I have not gained any weight yet and I'm still working out about 3-4 days/week.

A week from tomorrow we have an ultrasound and doctors appointment for a checkup. We will find out then an Estimated Due Date and I'll know--more accurately--how far along I am. I'm somewhere between 10-12 weeks, I think. We hope to also hear Baby Huntley's heartbeat at that time!

I get asked, quite often, "Are you going to find out the gender?" Nate and I decided, before we even got pregnant, that we wanted to be surprised and find out in the delivery room. That decision has waffled for both of us the last couple weeks. We are both SO curious whether we will have a son or a daughter, but I am pretty confident that we will stand strong in our decision to wait. We figure that this is the best time to be surprised. We need everything and we can find enough gender-neutral clothing to outfit Baby Huntley for the first few weeks or so. That being said, we will know shortly before everyone else knows whether Baby Huntley is a girl or boy. (We DO already have our favorite boy and girl names picked out, so we do know what Baby Huntley will be named. I'll share those names a little further down the road...)

I hope your 2013 has gotten off to a great start. I start this year with anticipation and excitement! My mom, picks a word for her year--instead of a resolution, it's a single word that is her theme for the year. I have been trying to pick one for my year, but am still undecided. I'll let y'all know what my word for 2013 is, once I pick it! Let me know what your word/resolution/goal for your year is!

Picture above is of Baby Huntley on 12/12/12

Fun and Exciting Changes

Wow! It's been quite a while since I've blogged and a LOT has changed.

A week and a half ago, on Saturday November 24th, we adopted a puppy from Second Chance Animal Rescue. She is such a beautiful puppy! She is an Australian Cattle Dog mix who is 5 and 1/2 months old and we named her Tirzah (teer-zah). Her name means benevolent, complaisant and pleasing, it fits her to a "T." She has settled into our life quite well. She had a couple accidents her first couple days with us, but is now housebroken and knows to ring the bells on the door to go out. She has learned the commands: sit, kennel up, load up, follow and potty. She comes to work with us and LOVES all the people! When we were looking to adopt a puppy, Nate and I joked that once we got one, we would probably find out shortly thereafter that I was pregnant.

Well, last Thursday, November 29th, we had a positive home pregnancy test!!!! We told our family over the weekend and then made the announcement public on Facebook on Sunday. It has been so fun seeing everyone's reactions and realizing that we will get to welcome a new member of the family next Summer. We have an appointment with an OB on Friday and can't wait to have the pregnancy confirmed by an "expert." Shortly after finding out, a friend of ours let us know about a training going on at Focus on the Family next week. They are training ultrasound technicians/nurses at Focus and need "models" to train with. I might get to be one of those people and get a free ultrasound! We are praying that it works out so we can hear Baby Huntley's heartbeat sooner than we had expected!

This week, started out with another change of plans on top of the puppy and baby news. We were planning on moving in with my parents at the end of December for about 10 months--in order to save up money for a down payment on a house next year. Yesterday we decided we need to move in ASAP. So, instead of waiting until after we come back from our Christmas vacation, we are moving the next couple weeks and will be out of our apartment by Monday, December 17th. Nate won't let me do any lifting or packing of heavy items, so he is ending up doing the brunt of the work.

If you think of us in the next couple weeks, join our prayers that the move will go quickly and smoothly. Also pray for peace for myself and Nate about the pregnancy. Satan is trying to stir up anxiety and fear already. We know that is not from God, but with so many tragic stories out there, it's hard not to worry. Pray that we will be able to just enjoy the pregnancy and this time that God has given us to prepare to welcome Baby Huntley into our lives!

Here is a picture of our sweet Tirzah girl!

Answered Prayers

We have a lot to celebrate this week in the Huntley household!

As y'all know, I interviewed last week for the Elementary Director position at our church, Pulpit Rock Church. This past Tuesday, I found out that I got the job! I start on Monday, Oct. 29th! Thankfully, the ladies who will be leaving the team will be on staff for 2 weeks to train me, so I'll be learning under them until Sunday Nov. 11th. I am so excited to get started!

Our other reason to celebrate has been in the works for only the last week. Nate is transferring to CCU (Colorado Christian University) to continue his studies. He met with an admissions adviser on Monday and found out yesterday that he is accepted and gets to start classes on December 9th! I am so extremely proud of him. He is switching his major to Biblical Studies/Theology and will get to cut his time left in school by half. Then he plans on getting his teaching certification after graduating. Thankfully, CCU has a branch here in the springs so he won't have to commute up to Denver for classes. Also, they have a block schedule where he will take one class at a time, but still get 3 classes done in a semester.

We are beyond excited. This week we have enjoyed seeing how God showed off for us above and beyond our expectations. And now to top it off, we have snow predicted for the next couple days! 
How has God showed off for you lately?

Busy Week

Hi y'all!
I hope this week has been a good one for each and every one of you. It has been for me! I really am enjoying my time between jobs. I was afraid I was going to get bored, lazy and feel like I was a useless bump on a log, but thankfully that has not happened. I have been able to continue getting my daily walks (granted I miss one here and there), I have finally felt like I'm keeping my apartment clean consistently and I have energy when Nate gets home from work. I feel like a whole new me!

Yesterday I had an interview for the position I have been hoping to get since I quit at my dad's office. I got a little nervous, but thankfully was able to maintain my composure during the interview and answered the questions without too many "umms" and "uhs." (Thanks Mom for teaching me how to speak well and present myself well to others!) It did help that I interviewed with several people I know personally, but regardless it was a great interview. I'll find out next week whether or not I get the job.

Last weekend, I was a part of a garage sale with some friends. I was reminded of how much I love getting to sell my "junk" and make money for it! It was an added blessing that I also got to spend two days with some good friends. On Friday we got rained out for about 40 minutes, but we pulled stuff into the carport and suprisingly people still stopped by during the rain. Overall the garage sale was a success. I got rid of a bunch of my stuff and made some extra money. Yesterday I took the remaining stuff that I can't sell on Craigslist and dropped it at the Arc. Afterwards, I came home and posted some of the remaining bigger items on Craigslist.

Craigslist has become my new best friend. I have sold and found many things on there and I have gotten some GREAT deals! On Monday I bought some crafting supplies and storage items (easily over $200 worth of stuff) for $60. There were several things that I didn't want that were in one of the lots of craft items and I was able to sell those and make back $20! Anyways, I hope to make some more money on items I still have posted, but until then, I'm going to focus on getting this apartment back into order! Have a great Thursday!

A New Chapter

Yesterday marked the end of my 6 year long chapter at The Family Practice. I truly loved my time there as an employee, but, as y'all know, God made it very clear to me that He has something else planned. It was a slightly tearful morning at the office yesterday, but I've decided to focus on all the fun memories instead of the fact that I won't see my former coworkers every day. It was great to get to work with my father as his employee, but I have to admit that I'm glad I get to go back to just being his daughter.

I've gotten a lot of people asking me, "What's next?" Well, I applied for a job last week as the Elementary Director at our church. I'm really hopeful that I will get this position. It will only be for 20 hours a week, but I would get to work at the same place as Nate. Also, when I decided I needed to quit at The Family Practice, I knew I wanted to work with kids and serve. This position does that and is still part-time. I want to thank those of you who have been so supportive and encouraging to me during these last few months. My husband and family have been especially wonderful!

As I look ahead to this new chapter, there is still lots of uncertainty and change. I won't know about whether or not I'll get the job at Pulpit Rock Church until mid October. During the next couple weeks I'm planning on getting some rest, catching up with some friends, helping my mom out and getting into a better habit of working out. I am also hoping that I'll be more consistent about blogging (although once a month is much better than I did over the last six months!). I will keep y'all updated more as I find out answers as to where God will place me job-wise.

Peace in the Midst of Uncertainty

This last week has been a little hectic and stressful. I'm in the process of phasing out of both of my jobs and, while I know I'm following God's leading, I have had a few panic sessions. God made it very clear to me, earlier this Summer, that I was to leave my long-time job as a Medical Assistant at my father's family practice office. Right about the time I made the decision public knowledge, He provided a part-time job at our church in the finance department. (I'm filling in for a lady on materninty leave) With only 3 weeks left, my job at The Family Practice is winding down and my job at our church is coming to a close as well. I will "technically" be part time at both jobs through the end of the month, but the regular finance specialist at our church comes back Monday and I'm noticing I'm needed less and less at TFP. As my hours continue to decrease, my panic level increases. I have had dozens of conversations with my husband, Nate, and he always assures me that we will be OK financially. He also continues to ask me not to stress about the decrease in my income. The math shows that we will be OK financially as long as my income is at least half of what I was making before (which it still is and likely will continue to be). However my faith challenges me to accept that we will be OK financially no matter what!

Each time I feel the panic approaching, I try to remind myself of why I'm doing this in the first place. God has been trying to get me to release control in this area for a long time and I finally heard Him--thankfully He opened my eyes and ears when a friend had the insight to sit me down and help me take a deep look at some things. I am so thankful for that friend and for her taking the time to sit, listen, ask the right questions and hug me while I cried.  [Reality is that I'm more of a control freak than I ever thought and security of a job/consistent income is more important to me than I realized.] I have had so much more peace since deciding to follow His prompts and take the giant leap of faith by quitting my job and looking for a part-time replacement.

As I pursue what "the next step" looks like for my job, I am praying that I don't miss anything. I tend to be the kind of individual who "hears" what God wants me to do and just full-on barrels on in that direction. Whether or not He tries to take me through a detour or a different path to get there, I think I know where He wants me and tune Him out from then on. Usually this ends with me running into a dead end pretty hard and only then realizing that I'm not where He wants me. Please pray with me that I'll take this one step at a time and be willing to change and flex along with God's plan for my life.