Pregnancy

17 Weeks

Here are some pregnancy pics I have taken so far. I am 28 weeks along now, which means I am just starting my 3rd trimester. I have really been trying to savor this pregnancy since it will likely be my last one. :)

17 Weeks

I also want to really do better weight wise, since in the past I haven't been good in that area. If only I'd known how difficult it would be to lose the weight after wards!

17 Weeks

Healthy pregnancy weight is about 30 pounds they say. So far, at 28 weeks I've gained 18 pounds. Which leaves me 12 pounds to go and the 3rd trimester is when it can really pile on for me. I'm just taking it one day at a time.....

17 Weeks

I haven't had any real trouble, which is nice. I'm starting to get a bit uncomfortable at times, but nothing too bad. :)

17 Weeks

I am having soreness in my thighs, which I found out is due to my pelvic muscles spreading and preparing for delivery. Interesting... I never experienced this with my other pregnancies, but my midwife says it is normally after a few kids it becomes more noticeable. (I've noticed it also makes me feel like waddling or walking like an old woman! :P )

17 Weeks

Kind of like the after birth pains increase too, after multiple children. :S Oh well, I'm sure she will be worth it!!

24 Weeks

She has been moving more which is always cool! She doesn't move around as much as my other ones did, which I hope translates to a relaxed, calm, and peaceful baby/child. That would be much appreciated, seeing as she is number 5. :)

At times, I can even see her move around. My tummy does a little jump here or a wave there.

25 Weeks

The kids really like to talk to her or just say, "I love you, Baby!" to my tummy. So cute. They are beyond excited and full of questions, too. Especially Isaac, he is a really inquisitive one. Such as: "Does the baby eat the pizza you're eating?"

25 Weeks

I can always use prayers, so feel free to throw one out there for me from time to time. We'll probably be taking more pics soon. So, more to come......

Missouri April 2009

I am still here, but I find Facebook to fit in better with my time. I do still plan to post on here, but as you can tell, it's not very frequent. :)

The kids wanted to go to the creek so bad, so on our first day there, Daniel took them to the little creek down by Koinania.

He suggested they build a little dam.

They all worked together, collecting rocks and building it.

The 2 youngest helping each other. :)

We went to Missouri for about 5 days and got to spend time with some great people! My sister Emily was there for a little bit, and her husband Jason, but he was there for really just a short time! April 26th was Emily's 25th birthday so we celebrated with a hayride (well technically a wagon ride since there was no actual hay. :) and some strawberry cream cheese pie, So yummy!

Getting ready to go.

In the middle of some fun conversation!

Abigail getting a turn riding with the drivers.

"Hi Joanna!"

Hannah's turn.

Isaac didn't want to go until after he saw his sisters give it a try. He really enjoyed it!

We got to see a foal that was just one day old! So cool.

Momma and baby

Abigail petting the horses.

Waylon, Emily, and Hannah meeting some other horses there.

Beautiful!

Also, my cousins Gen & Waylon were there. Always love spending time with them, though it's not near often enough!! Her sis Sarah and her kids, Emma - 8 and Christian - 5. Our kids connected with hers so quick. It was great! They had such a blast together and were so disappointed when it was time to leave! Their mom Nancy and hubby Wayne came along, too. Lots of fun time together! Anyone who knows the Gibes, knows it's always a fun time when they're around!

Grandma's creek

A pic of the baby bump @ 24 weeks

There was a huge piece of a tree that was floating in the creek, so the girls had fun "riding" it.

Getting on

Isaac splashing around.

Climbing on the rocks and jumping to Daddy.

Gen was there, too.

Momma Amy at Grandma's Creek

The kids just love to be outside there. So much to do and explore! We had some great experiences. My parents have some pretty interesting neighbors. ;) So, they took us to visit one. They had recently gotten an alligator someone found in a nearby river.

Taking it out of the tank.

They taped it's mouth to protect everyone!

The kids trying to pet it.

Daniel held it so they all could have a chance to feel it's skin.

Isaac holding it. Obviously, he takes after daddy. :0

Back in the tank with some clean water.

The kids also got to feed their goats.

Trying to feed the goats after the dog scared them away.

We'll feed them in their pen.

ELEPHANT ROCK STATE PARK

On our last day there, we all went to Elephant Rock State Park. The kids had fun climbing around with Waylon! Then it was such a sad good-bye. :(

Hiking up to a lake. Here are some views of it. So picturesque!

Now to the rocks....

Waylon, Hannah, Abigail, and Christian

Posing for a pic

Isaac and Joanna

In a tree trunk

Climbing, climbing, climbing......

Hannah maneuvering her way through.

Isaac found this caterpillar and carried it with him, (except when he asked me to hold it) the whole way.

Hannah and Abby holding up the rock. ;)

One huge rock!

Waylon, Isaac, and Joanna climbing around.

Cute Isaac!

Joanna

The moms chilling & talking while the kids and husbands explored.

Attempt at a family pic.

A turtle we saw in a different lake.

Joanna so wanted to ride on Waylon's shoulders, but was being shy.

Notice her hands clasped together, not touching Waylon at all!

Still clasped, but she enjoyed it so much that when she got down, she wanted right back up!

More climbing

Hannah, Abigail, Isaac, and Joanna

All the kids l-r: Christian, Hannah, Joanna, Abigail, Isaac, and Emma

"See our dirty behinds from the damp rocks?" :)

From there we drove halfway home and stayed the night in a hotel with a pool. The kids loved that! We didn't take any pictures though. :( It was such a fun trip and we look forward to spending time with all of them again!

Abigail

Abigail and Isaac's combined birthday cake. Princess for Abby and dinosaur for Isaac.

Well, February 8th was Abigail's 7th birthday. We celebrated a little early while my parents were visiting over Super Bowl weekend. Then we all got sick with colds and such which just took forever to go away. So, here is a very belated birthday post about the birthday girl.

decorating cookies

Our Abigail is now 7. Wow! Time really does fly. She is a great helper to Mommy, and so looking forward to baby coming. She can do laundry, take out the trash and recycling, vacuum, put away clean clothes, and clean up her room. Usually without complaint. :)

Mommy and Abigail at a wedding.

She has some amazing abilities. Such as: tripping over nothing, getting food on her in hard to reach places, messing up her hair in 3 seconds flat, not being able to see things right under her nose, and making hilarious faces. Just to name a few. Some of those she inherited from her Auntie Becca. ;)



She does very well in Math and Science. Things will just click for her and she's got it. Even if she wiggles in her seat during the whole lesson! :) Her memorization is quite good, too. She memorizes her verses for church pretty quick.


She is such a lovable, fun loving little girl with a feisty spirit! We are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for her this year.

9 Years Ago Today

Nine years ago today Daniel and I made a commitment to each other for as long as we both should live, and we plan to keep it. This was/is a serious decision for us that we didn't enter in lightly. We knew once we had committed we meant forever. We completely surrounded this decision with prayer knowing that we could only do this, if God was a real part of our marriage.


We have never regretted our decision. In fact we are often reminded of God's amazing blessings to us. He knew so much better than me, who would be best as my husband. I am forever grateful!


I just love to be with Daniel. Whether it's on some great adventure or just watching a movie together. He's my first choice. :)


So, a big thanks goes out to God for making the past 9 years so tremendous. We've had our highs and lows, we're far from perfect, but that makes us love each other even more. We're real, honest, broken people doing the best we can together.


Also, I've not posted yet about my second born's 7th birthday on the eighth of Feb. We were all pretty sick at that time, but it is still coming. Stay posted.......

Isaac

Well, today my little boy turns 5! Five is a bit of a milestone in our family because that is when you are allowed to have GUM. Let me tell you, this boy has been waiting for 5! :)



I remember being so surprised when he was born. We decided not to find out what we were having. I already had 2 girls, I was raised with 2 sisters, and my sis-in-law had 4 girls at the time, so I was convinced that I would only have girls. So, when he was born and Daniel leaned over and said to me, "Isaac's here." I could hardly believe it! I was so shocked. A boy? Thank You Lord! He knows the desires of our heart.



Isaac has been such a blessing. He is an amazing boy. I love to see the natural boy things come out. He loves bugs/animals just like his Daddy. Any type of ball, car, truck, dinosaur, gun, or tool and he is thrilled! He also has a real sweet, kind personality. He has a natural caring for others, which just touches our hearts. He was born with manners. We didn't have to teach him to say "please" or "thank you" he just did it on his own.


Here are some more pictures of "the boy" from the last year or so.

Day 5 & 6 - Kealakekua Bay, Marriott Waikoloa Beach, Kona Airport

Day 5:

So, we have already gone to the green sand beach, a white sand beach, and we wanted to be sure to go to a black sand beach. We looked in our travel book and there was one just off the road a bit on the way to our next snorkel spot. So, we detoured there. It ended up being a bit further "off the road" than we realized, but no worries. :)

On the way there.

The lava is quite interesting.

Our feet in the sand

white coral on black sand - nice contrast

You can see the texture of the sand - not real comfortable actually.

We took our pictures then went on to Kealakekua Bay right next to The Place of Refuge for some snorkeling. "The concept of the place of refuge is interesting. In ancient Hawaiian culture, certain areas were designated as places of refuge and no blood could be shed in its confines. If you had broken a law or were escaping from a war enemy and you could get (swim) to the place of refuge, you were protected and given a second chance."

Place of refuge - from a distance

Kealakekua Bay Beach

A Fisherman

Snorkeling time

Here are a bunch of fish and turtle pictures. This isn't all of them, though it may seem that way. :) It's just so hard to pick! You will see that depending on where we were snorkeling, our visibility varied.

We also saw an eel, which was actually kind of creepy. It reminded me of a snake. eeww

Then we saw the Place of Refuge a little closer.

Then we noticed, right there was a little beach with jet black sand. We didn't need to stop on our way here after all, because we were snorkeling right by some of the blackest sand we had ever seen!

Check out how black it is.

Some kids playing in a shallow area.

We were resting after snorkeling and waiting for Brian and Brenda and Daniel liked me looking all bedraggled, so he told me to pose. You know husbands, they think you look great just rolled out of bed and feeling sick! (Well, at least mine does. ;)

Just after snorkeling (I actually like the picture better than I thought I would. :)

Beautiful plumeria - they smell so delicious!

On our way back to the hotel.

I figure I'm in Hawaii, so I should have a flower in my hair, right?

We had heard that Kona Joe's was a great place to go, so decided to stop on our way back. We ended up getting there like 10 minutes after it closed. :(

Some beautiful flowers at Kona Joe's.

close up

coffee rows

coffee close up

We pulled off the road to see another wonderful Hawaiian sunset.

The end of another amazing day in Hawaii.

Day 6:

We were leaving in the afternoon to fly to Oahu for a couple more days. So, since we hadn't actually snorkeled at the beach right at our hotel, we decided to snorkel in the morning, then pack up and head to the airport.

Marriott beach

Can you see the fish? Daniel actually pointed it out to me, but our underwater communication can use some improvement, and I missed it. :( At least he got a picture of it.

I believe it's a flounder.

some cool coral

We saw a couple turtles, which was really cool. Well, this one was pretty friendly. I just stood still and waited to see what direction it was going. No lie, it came straight towards me, so I reached out and just lightly touched it's shell. Well, actually just the algae on his shell. He needed a bath. :)

Ok, sea cucumbers are kind of gross looking as it is, but I actually saw this one move. ick!

We had fun snorkeling and now we are on the way to the airport.

There are such beautiful, colorful flowers along the roads there.

I would say a statue in the airport, but the airport is mostly outdoors. :)

Getting ready to fly to Oahu. We got asked if we were on our honeymoon. Well, if almost 9 years of marriage and 4 kids count, then YEAH! :)

Time

Oh, so much to upload and post, but so little time! Most of you know that we are expecting our 5th child, (yes 5th, it sounds crazy!) this coming August. Well, this pregnancy I am feeling a lot more tired than I remember with the others. I've had some nausea, but nothing serious, thankfully. My blog has taken a back seat for a bit. I hope to continue posting, but it will likely be less frequent. So many things have happened that I think, "I need to put that on my blog!", yet the time just isn't there. So, bear with me please.

Just a little tidbit. I overheard Isaac and Joanna playing today. Isaac's "person" was telling Joanna's "person", "You are being so rude! Do you want me to tell God?" I guess he'll just take it straight to the top Authority! :)