The Common House

Today, well most days, I have realized what a blessing it has been to be a part of the Common house. For those of you who don't know what that is, Nate and I have been living in a common house for the past 5 months that is owned by a guy named Bruce. He has owned this house for about 16 years now and in that time has housed several people for all sorts of durations of time. Some people have lived here for a short stint of a few weeks and some people have called this place home for nearly 7 years. His purpose in having this home is to have an intentional community with the people who live in it during that time.
Right now Nate and I are the only people besides Bruce living in the main portion of the house. We had another housemate, Tyler, during the summer but he moved out to go back to school in the fall. In our basement there is a small apartment that 3 college girls occupy. They are mostly self sustained down there, so we may run into them in the joined laundry room or out in the driveway.
Probably my most favorite part of living here has been the instant community that it has provided for Nate and I. Bruce's friends come by every now and again and have become some of our friends too. Our friends do the same and Bruce is included in that. We play games at night and have our favorite house shows that we all watch together.
We all take turns in making the dinners and doing the house grocery shopping. I like that because it relieves each person of doing it all themselves. Also, in these past few months I have pretty much been a sickly person, so both Nate and Bruce have been taking care of the needs here.
We have a backyard and it's full of kids toys!!! ha ha! The reason for that is that the three adjoining houses around this house each have 2 kids of their own, All of them are under the age of 6 and they like to get together to play. Bruce likes to share his things, so he has created stone pathways from each of these homes to lead into his backyard. Most days I will look out our window and see the kids playing in the lawn! It's nice to see them enjoying it since they themselves don't have big backyards like we do.
I think that Nate and I will learn a lot from living in this house. So far it has been a great experience and we are excited to be here.

FISH!

We live in a house with 2 very large fish tanks. Both are filled with all sorts of african style fish! They are so much fun to watch. Lately there has been a fish war between two of the fish in the living room tank. I'm usually on the couch most of the day, so they have been the source of my entertainment these days. Apparently you can tell when one fish is dominating in the fight because their colors will become brighter and their fins will stand up higher. How cool!!
I've been hoping the red fish will win one of these days because he has some really cool colors!

Baby's first picture...

If only I were really computer savvy we would have a picture on here of our baby. However, we need to hook up our scanner to get that going. But imagine if you will a tiny little one with arms that move and wiggle and little feet that paddle back and forth! That's what we got to see!! The heart was beating at a beautiful 158 bpm and I even saw the little one spinning around a few times. Looks like it's an active one!
Our appointment wasn't all what we had expected. The radiologist took his time looking at the screen and the movement of our child. His reaction to it all surprised us a bit, but we are hopeful that the Lord knows what He is doing. The doctor said that the baby has fluid leaking out the back of it's neck and could lead to a variety of things, one of which means absolutely nothing. That is what we are hoping for and believing. The other is a variety of birth defects or even possible miscarriage. So now we have a new thing to be in prayer about. Our next ultrasound will be in about 4-5 more weeks. At that time we'll be able to see more detail.
As we were in the doctors office talking with the radiologist I asked him what solutions there were to this type of thing. He said that it was something that couldn't be solved by medication or any sort of diet or anything they could do. I just thought that was amazing! It made me realize how true it is that God IS the one knitting this little one together in my womb. And it cannot be touched by even the smartest of doctors! How great is that! I'm looking forward to seeing our next picture of the child. And I am hoping that it will astonish the doctors!
Please be in prayer with us as we wait to find out more.

This is a familiar verse,but one that has meant a lot to me these past few days:
Psalm 139:13-16
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of the came to be.

Oh what a glorious thing!

I never thought I would ever be so excited about wanting to eat and complete a whole sandwich! It's true, my diet is now moving from a liquid diet to more solids! My energy level seems to be maintaining more consistently during the day and my naps are becoming fewer and far between. Which means I can now leave the house.
Yesterday I was able to connect with a college friend for coffee (she had coffee..I had OJ). It was nice to get out of the house for an hour and visit with her. Newberg is a funny little town in the way that you can choose to have a class reunion at any time of the day. Just as long as you are conveniently at a local coffee shop you WILL see friends you went to school with. It's one of those alumni guarantees I think. =0) We did run into a few people we both knew and that was also enjoyable.

2 hours and counting...I'm anxiously awaiting our first ultrasound (sp?) appointment this afternoon. Our baby's first picture! I'm hoping they'll give us a digital image of it so we can post it here tonight.
Last night I got a call to remind me of the appointment. They also informed me that I need to drink 32 oz. of water just before the appointment... and hold my bladder!! Are you serious! I can barley hold a sip of water! Sorry if that's too much information, but I definitely have gained a greater appreciation for pregnant ladies in public restrooms. If I ever run into a long line in a public restroom and see a pregnant lady in the back I'm going to take a group vote on boosting here to next available stall!

So here we go...2 hours to go.

Hawaii and more news..

We're back from our trip to Hawaii. It was a nice break from daily routine. I wouldn't say it was the typical trip to Hawaii that you think of when you think of a tropical island. Nate and I did get to do a few outdoor activities such as snorkeling (we saw a lot of fun tropical fish and TURTLES!!) and hiking in the rain forrest. We walked past a water fall and saw a young boy swimming just under the falls in a pool! How fun! The smells were great! We loved the sites such as: ocean beaches, white sand, tropical flowers, lots of birds singing, fresh fruit every morning...it really was a very nice time.

Most of our time was spent helping me to feel better. I've been pretty sick lately, but all for good reasons. I am currently 9 weeks pregnant and definitely sencing a change in my body.
Fatigue seems to be a common feeling as well as nasea. Both of these remind me that the baby is healthy!
Nate has already taken on his duty of caring for me. Even though we were in his one of his favorite places (hawaii) he spent most of his time running to the store for me or just hanging out in the apartment to keep me company. I feel very blessed with him!

Our first appointment with the midwife was this past week. We got to see the little baby and the heart beat! The heart was just a tiny little flashing light that would rapidly blink on and off. It looked like a very strong heart beat. I think the idea of having a baby became more real for both of us when we got to see what was actually going on inside of me. How exciting!

So now we're back home here in Newberg. Nate just finished helping with the annual fundraiser banquet at work. His schedule seems to be slowing down more and soon he'll be in his routine again.
I am taking time to rest right now and keep food down. Those are my daily goals. I'm hoping to start working soon when I begin feeling better. It's been nice to get out of the house every now and again to go for walks around campus. September is one of my favorite months here in Oregon! It's perfect weather, not too hot and not too cold.