Busy Week - Have we lost our minds

This has been a very busy week in the Faunce household! First off, the baby and I had our 12 week appointment on Monday. Jason was supposed to be working, so my mom came into town to go to the appointment with me. Oddly enough, Jason ended up working until midnight Friday night so they ended up giving him the day off on Monday! But, my mom was already coming to visit, and since the doctor said this wouldn't be too exciting of an appointment, I left Jason at home to get ready to host Bible study at our house on Monday night, and my mom still came with me. As it turned out, it was actually an exciting appointment! Some background information: Jason and I had originally signed up to have genetic screening done at the 12 week appointment. The only reason we really did it was because we wanted an extra ultrasound! But, fortunately, my mother-in-law (and Jason's aunt) lovingly brought up the fact that getting these tests may just give me something else to worry about (I'm a worrier - I know, can you believe it?!? No way!). So, after much prayer and talking with Jason, we decided to have a little faith and forego the extra ultrasound in order to minimize the worrying during the remaining 7 months. I was really bummed not to get the extra ultrasound, but I felt like I was stepping out in faith and trusting the Lord. When we got the appointment yesterday, Doctor Maddox had a hard time locating the heartbeat using the Doppler (She said that I'm so skinny that she was mainly picking up my heartbeat - I love the way OBGYNs know exactly what to say to a pregnant woman!!) She was able to hear the heartbeat faintly, but decided to go ahead and get me an ultrasound just be certain. I feel like it was such a blessing because it is what my heart really needed, and the Lord provided! It was great to get to see the baby again - it has changed sooo much in the past 4 weeks! It actually looks like a baby, now, instead of a little blob! Baby Faunce was measuring exactly 12 weeks, 2 days on Monday, which means my due date is September 3. And I have gained a total of 2 lbs - I'll take it since I've been too sick and exhausted to work out! Here is a pic of our little angel (how cute is the frame?? My mom gave it to me for Valentine's Day - I love it!)

This is not really our first picture of the baby, but it is a better one than the 8 week sonogram picture. Baby Faunce is face down - you can see that it has it's hand next to its face. According to one of my pregnancy books, the baby start sucking during 12 weeks. I'm convinced the baby is sucking its thumb! Oh how I hope to not have a thumb-sucker! I hear its much harder to break than pacifiers!

I haven't gotten a pic this week yet, but this was taken at almost 12 weeks (I think 11 weeks, 5 days). The belly is slowly but surely getting bigger! But, I'm fitting into clothes that I couldn't wear before I got pregnant (unbuttoned with the Bella Band, of course!).

When my mom came to visit, she also taught be how to make country fried steak (we've always called it cubed steak, but its the same thing) and homemade milk gravy! It's one of my husband's favorites, so I should definitely know how to make it!

In addition to my mom coming on Sunday, Jason and I spent the weekend looking at houses! We had absolutely no intention of moving anytime soon. As a result, we got the house exactly how we want it - new floors, new paint, new roof, new windows....the whole nine yards. But, my husband is always perusing realtor.com for a deal. Last week, we saw a house on there that seemed to be perfect for us - 10 acres, 4 bedrooms, plenty of space to grow. We set up a time last week to look at the house, but didn't feel good about it. But, that one house was all it took to get us looking! We had our realtor find some others that met our criteria (Jason's - 5 acres or more; mine - plenty of house for our planned 4 kids!). So, Saturday, we spent the entire day looking at homes. We fell in love with the first house we saw that day! We have always loved Deerwood Estates, a neighborhood in Columbia County that has large lots and older, traditional homes. Here is a pic of the house:

So, we put an offer in today! We will see how it goes! We have seen God open and close so many different doors since we have been here in Augusta, and we know that this will be no different. We aren't anxious about it at all - we know that everything will fall into place if it is meant to be. We will keep you posted!