The apple will fall from the tree when it's ripe...

Or at least those are the words of wisdom from my Aunt and mother regarding when this baby will decide to make her appearance in this world. According to my "due date" I am overdue which means the following, according to Mirriam-Webster:
Main Entry:
over·due 1 a: unpaid when due b: delayed beyond an appointed time 2: too great : 3: more than ready. I would like to go with number 3, please and say that I am more than ready to have this baby! Although it is only 3 days past my due date it seems like forever. I have been looking forward to this day for 9 months and now it has come and gone. It seems to make the suspense of when it is going to happen even more intense and the fear of if I'm going to be able to handle the pain even more great. According to ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) and my doctor a due date really is a silly thing. They should give women a due range, approximately a two week window of when you might have the baby. So they're saying that this could go on for another week, Lord give me strength! I have another apt. with the doctor on Friday to make sure that Baby girl Bechtel is not in any distress. I'm doubting she is, she has been quite active everyday and I assume she is liking hanging out in the captivity of my belly for a couple more days. She will come when she's ready and God has the master plan and I know that, but it still doesn't make it any easier to wait. Afterall we are really excited to meet her!!!!

Since she didn't decide to make her appearance on my "due date," Saturday, and Wes had the day off we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and do some fun things. The day started off with french pressed coffee, sausage, egg and cheese biscuits and fruit salad. Yummy. Then we decided to do some shopping and buy a few more things for the baby's room. We then headed down to the beach and had an early dinner at Fish House Grill. As we were sitting on the dock eating I realized that only 5 short years ago we had just moved to Wilmington, we had no money, no jobs, and not a care in the world. Wes picked Wilmington off the map and here we were. My first job was at Fish House Grill waiting tables. So crazy to look back and then to be sitting there married and pregnant with our first child. Time flies. After Fish House we headed back to our house to relax a bit. We then headed back down to Wrightsville to get Ritas Italian Ice and walk on the beach. When we got down to the beach there was a band playing on Oceanic's Pier. Free music, wahoo. The band just so happened to be playing Jimmy Buffett. What a great end to a fabulous day with my husband. As we got home that night and I crawled into bed with the windows open and warm breeze blowing in I must say that MYONEWORD for the year came to mind. Satisfied. That I definitely was.

How grateful I am!

This morning I woke up before my alarm went off and got out of bed because Wes did not have to work today and I did not want to wake him up. I must say from the time I got out of bed I was in a good mood. The birds were chirping, the morning dew was glistening on my flowers, the sun was shining and my house was already warm. I went to Ken's Bagels as I do most Friday mornings to pick up bagels for our office and then drove down Airlie Rd. as I normally do. Just as I turned onto Airlie Rd. and was about to pray for the impending arrival of our little girl one of my most favorite songs came on the radio, Mighty to Save, by Hillsong. I then began to thank God for everything in my life. Everything that is so amazingly good. First for my wonderful, loving husband, second for this little girl I am carrying, this little girl that He had entrusted us with, then for our families, for our wonderful friends, for the sunshine, for my job, our house, for everything that he has provided for us! I am just overwhelmed with all the things in my life I have to be thankful for. As I continued to belt out the lyrics to Mighty to Save (in a very off tune voice of course) and drive down Airlie Rd. I breathed in a deep breath of salt air and thought to myself life could not be any better. I have been blessed and I am so grateful for all that I have.

Single Digit Countdown

So thanks to my lovely desk calendar, today I am reminded that there are 10 days until my due date. Tomorrow we start the single digit countdown. 9 days! I am left wondering, how the heck did this happen?! How is this day here already. It seems like just yesterday that Wes was referring to this little girl as a "blastocyst" because after all at the very beginning that's what she was. Then she got the nickname, "feets" shortened name for fetus. And then he started calling her by her actual name, which shall remain unstated. :) Anyway, now we have 9 days until my due date. People keep asking me if I think I'll go late or early, if I'm ready, do I feel different, etc. Honestly, I don't know! I feel crazy some days. I think I feel contractions, but what do I know, I've never done this before! I definitely don't feel 9 months pregnant. Aside from the occasional back ache and pressure on my pelvis (TMI guys) I feel normal. We got a tour of the hospital last night and it is quite nice as far as hospitals go, but that didn't make me anymore less scared about labor, delivery, and the oh so daunting breastfeeding. It actually freaked me out a bit and I had a mini breakdown in the car on the way home, telling Wes I don't know if I can do all this. Lucky for me Wes was very good at comforting me as were the Cheetos and Key Lime Pie that followed. Ha! I really should not be worried about the omnious arrival of our little girl. Everything is ready for her and her room is quite perfect if I do say so in it's lovely shades of pink and green. As I got into bed last night I glanced over at the pack n play that is now in our bedroom all ready for her and I thought to myself, God is good. Not because he provided all the material things we wanted for her, because he definitely did. I remember at the beginning thinking we'll never get everything I want to have, want is the key word, not need, because all she really needs is love, food, and diaper changes! But we ended up getting almost everything on our registry and more. I have been blown away by the genorisity of our friends and family. But that is not why I was thankful to God, I was thankful because I know he is always there. I know he gave Wes the right words to say in the car last night and I know he blessed us with this little girl because he thinks we're ready to be the best parents we can be. I can't wait to see the little girl that our love created and see her Daddy look at her for the first time. Wow. What an amazing thing to think about.

God fixes things

So the other day I was having a conversation with Wes's cousin about faith. We were discussing how comforting it is to know you have faith in a time of hardship, like with the recent passing of her grandmother. We were also discussing how we feel bad for people who don't have faith. We got on the subject of Wes and she asked me, "How is Wes's faith?" To which I proudly responded, "Great!" We got into a short discussion about this and she said to me, "So you straightened him out, got him all fixed up?" I said ,"Yes!", but then I quickly corrected and said, "No, I didn't fix him, God did." It was then that I realized that God can do amazing things, if you just let him in. If you open up your heart, let yourself be vulnerable, develop a relationship with Him and pray, anything is possible. Sometimes it's hard to see through the turmoil and struggles of everyday life to realize that God is answering prayers everyday. Although His answers may not be what you want to hear, often times He is still answering and guiding you to what is right, afterall he knows best. Although I don't have all the answers, nor does Wes, we're still very new to this relationship with God thing, we have come a long way together since our relationship began. I see the progress that we have made together and it makes me feel so full inside. So today I am relishing in the fact that God fixed Wes, so to speak and that answer to prayer in itself is awesome.

Preggo Pics!

Just a little preview, my friend Tiffany did these shots for us this passed weekend. These are just a few previews! More to come! Check out more of Tiffany's stuff

at http://tcophotography.blogspot.com/2009/03/kristen-wes-and-baby.html

Realizations I had while on my walk around the loop

1. College boys don't check me out anymore (from the front that is) from the back I still get the occasional hoots and hollers and then when they get past me and see the baby bump and they become immediately bashful that they were just attempting to flirt with an old pregnant lady. This is funny, yet sad at the same time.
2. Spring has sprung in North Carolina; the trees have green spurts of growth, the birds are chirping and the ocean air has a lot less of a chill.
3. My marriage is stronger now than it has ever been. I believe a part of this is due to the fact that we have created the miracle growing inside of me together and out of love.
4. Some people will always find something to complain about no matter how good life is.
5. I long for the day when I can have more than one sip of beer without feeling guilty.
6. I am obsessed with having everything in it's place in my house before going to bed. (oh how i know this will change in a month)
7. My husband's positivity and outlook on life make me smile everyday.
8. Sunday naps are awesome.
9. I wish I had the perserverence and stamina of my friend Amanda W.
10. I wish I didn't like to eat so much!
11. I am proud of how healthy and active I have been throughout my pregnancy.
12. I am scared to death of labor and more scared of having a new baby to care for.
13. I wish that the flower fairy would come to my house and pull all the weeds!
14. People smile at you a lot more when you are pregnant.
15. I can no longer fit into my Nike running shorts no matter how hard I try.
16. My small group have become some of the most treasured people in my life.
17. I respect and value my mother and mother in law more as my pregnancy progresses. What a big responsibility motherhood is.
18. My productivity level sky rockets if I forget to tell the barista to make it a decaf latte!
19. I think that not recycling is just plain lazy and selfish.
20. I made Orange Julius' last night and they were just as yummy as I remembered them in my childhood.
22. Baseball season has begun and that makes me crave nachos and hotdogs!
23. I wish that everday was Sunday so I could spend all my days with Wes.
24. Tower 7 makes the best shrimp tacos everrrrrrr.
25. I can't wait to meet our little girl and hold her and love her and rock her and share her with Wes.

Dependent

I'm not so sure when or how I became so dependent on my husband, but it has happened and I'm not sure I like it. I used to be a really independent girl, making decisions and flying by the seat of my pants. I must say since marrying Wes I have totally changed into an indecisive, dependent girl! What the heck? On Friday I am leaving to fly to Pennsylvania for my first baby shower. Although I am totally excited for the first shower and to see most of my family I am also very hesitant to fly there on my own and leave Wes for three days. Just the other night while Wes's family was in town he stayed up late to watch baseball with his Dad and I went to bed. I could not fall asleep because he was not in bed with me. I just kept laying there waiting for him to come in. Our routine was out of whack and I did not like it. I try to tell myself that I am spontaneous, but that's a lie, I am a very routine type of girl! I don't know how I'm going to sleep this weekend by myself. Oh my, what a shame that I've become so accustomed to everything that just this small step outside of the box has me all up in arms.

On another note, the pregnancy is progressing fabulously. I had another doctor's apt. on Monday and all is well, although the baby might be breech! Yikes. She still has 8 weeks to turn herself the right way so I'm not really worried, especially since lately she is never still a minute. I relish in this miracle inside me everyday. I am still in awe that it is possible for me to be carrying our child inside of me. What a blessing. Thank you God. We have finished painting the nursery and baby gifts are beginning to arrive on our doorstep. We have also officially settled on her name and I really like it. It is southern and unique, yet not completely out there so to speak.

Things I am excited about for this weekend in Pennsylvania:
getting to spend some one on one time with my Mom;
seeing my family from California, Indiana, Ohio, and Georgia;
going to Philadelphia Chocolates, my favorite chocolate store ever!!!;
going to Quaker Steak and Lube, best restaurant in the town!
having our first baby shower!!! Yay!