Week 14--Happy New Year!

Matthew 2:1
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory— this was during Herod's kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, "Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We're on pilgrimage to worship him."

Happy New Year!

Well, 2007 didn't start out with a bang--more like a gentle pop (sparkling cider as opposed to champagne!)! I'll take you back to Friday where we had an excellent visit with Dr. Micus. As soon as she placed the doppler on my belly we were able to hear the quick wooshing of the baby's heart beat. We heard a louder whoosh as the baby moved and then Doc quickly located the heart beat once again. She said everything looked and sounded normal and she would see us back again in 1 month.
I had a bit of a bug this weekend which delayed some plans with friends (and the continuous cleaning of our guest room!) but made for a fairly relaxing 3 day weekend. We had fun at New Year's Eve party last night and had dinner with our friends the Cochrans following a movie with a small group of friends. We made some progress on 'Cam's Room' as we prepare for our new roomie who will be moving in next week.
The verse above caught my eye because of the last sentence. I've read about the wise men each year, but I never thought about how much our pilgrimage mirrors theirs. We seek to worship him with our time and talents as well. This weekend I was reminded again through a sermon on TV that one form of worship is the giving of our tithe, so that God can bless us not only financially but give us wholeness in all aspects of life. This can be a little challenging on a limited buget, when preparing for the expense of a baby, but if I can't trust Him with something like our money, then how can I trust Him when it comes to our precious baby? I'm thankful to be learning these lessons (sometimes repeatedly!) as expectant parents.

blessings,
kelly, josh, & baby t

Our sweet baby's world:
Welcome to your second trimester! This is a big milestone in your pregnancy because it marks the end of a critical development period for your baby. All the basic structures of your baby's body — internally and externally — are formed now. Of course, they're still very tiny. Head to bottom, your baby is just 3 1/2 inches long — about the length of a lemon — and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces.
Your baby's body is growing faster than her head, which now sits upon a more well-defined neck. By the end of this week, her arms will have lengthened and will be in proportion to the rest of her body. (Her legs still have some growing to do, though.) She's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair all over her body called lanugo. Her liver starts secreting bile this week, a sign that it's already functioning properly, and her spleen starts contributing to the production of red blood cells.
Your baby's also producing and discharging urine into the amniotic fluid, a normal process that she'll keep up until birth. You still can't feel your baby's movements, but her hands and feet (now half an inch long) are more flexible and active. Thanks to brain impulses, her little facial muscles are getting a workout as she squints, frowns, and grimaces. She can grasp now, too, and she may be able to suck her thumb.