Blessed

God is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine.

Ephesians 3:20

This has been one of my favorite verses for the last two years. And after patiently trying and waiting for God to grant us with a child, we are THRILLED to announce on our blog that we are 12 weeks pregnant!!!! Most family and friends and everyone else that has been in hearing range know this already, but I figured it was time to make it blog official. The upstairs computer and I have not spent much time together for the last 2 months due to exhaustion and going to bed at about 5 o'clock everyday- no lie.

I must admit that in a world and time when you are so used to instant self gratification, the process of conceiving has been a very learning, draining, and maturing experience. I truly don't know if we were ready two years ago when I first asked God to grant us a child. But looking back I feel that He used those two years to strengthen our marriage and help us grow as a couple so that we would be ready when that time came. And His timing could not have been more perfect- in every aspect!!!! Baby Haynes will be here sometime around May 21st, and that means that Trent and I can pretty much have the whole summer off with the baby. I have this feeling that he or she will make their debut before the actual due date (My birth weight was a little over 8 lbs and Trent's was almost 11 lbs)- so I'm praying that we can make it as close to the due date as possible.

Today I am officially 12 weeks pregnant, which means I am entering into my 2nd Trimester. We have had great Dr.'s visits so far, and at the last appt Baby Haynes had a heartrate of 178. We did find out that I am Rh-, which means that I have to get a shot at 28 weeks but no big! Evidently my body is not exactly immune to Rubella either-even though I had all my shots when I was younger. So I will have to get a booster shot in the hospital right after the baby comes.
I'm stealing something from Kelly at Kelly's Korner. I am probably not going to be as devoted about doing this as she is, but I think it is a neat way to keep up with the progression of the pregnancy.

I'm 12 Weeks!!! First Trimester Down! YAY!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 12 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby Haynes is the size of a Peach-which I was craving today!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Lost 6lbs so far due to food aversions

Maternity Clothes: Not really wearing maternity clothes yet. However, sometimes it is uncomfortable to button the top button on my pants due to bloating so I bought a maternity tank top to smooth things out. I can tell maternity jeans are going to be GREAT!!!

Gender: We CANNOT wait to find out. Looks like December 10th is going to be THE day! Everyone thinks it's going to be a boy.

Movement: Can't feel any movement yet and will probably be a while

Sleep: Usually great until about 2 or 3 in the morning and then I alternate between going to the bathroom and switching back and forth from R to L side. Sometimes the only way I can get comfortable is on my back, which is unusual bc I'm kind of a side/stomach sleeper. The Boppy full body pillow is coming in handy.

What I Miss: Sleeping on my stomach, sweet tea, and being able to make it through a meal

Cravings: Salads, soup, salty foods, and starbursts the past couple of days- trying to limit that intake

Symptoms: Tiredness, Extreme food aversions, bloating, headaches the past couple of days, metallic taste in mouth most days and then some I'm just not going to name

Best Moment This Week: Everyday is great because we are so THANKFUL to be pregnant!! I am also glad that we have made it to the 2nd trimester. YAY!! and Praise the LORD!

Better Late than Never!

I have been a BAD blogger lately! Life got crazy with working this summer, then summer vacation, then starting back my first job, and so on and so on! But speaking of summer vacation, I wanted to try and update our blog with a slideshow from our little trip this summer. We had a nice little get away. It was really not long enough!
Trent and I took off the last week of July and headed to Durham NC (while stopping at Knoxville and Ashville). He has always wanted to see Duke's basketball arena, so that was first on our trip. Then we headed down to Charleston for a weekend and met up with two of my besties from grad school, Jonee' and Whitney and their fellas. We had a great time catching up and sight seeing! Charleston is such a beautiful city.
After we left Charleston, we headed down to Hilton Head-which we loved! Trent is dying to go back and stay longer. Then after leaving HH, we headed to Savannah for a bit! We were busy, busy! I truly loved our vacation and am so thankful that we were able to get away together, but next time I think I am staying in one spot!
On the way home we stopped at the GA Aquarium in Atlanta and just across the way- The World of Coke. Um....let's just say Trent was in heaven. Drinking coke is not really a habit I support of his, and he truly has gotten better about it. But that boys loves him some coke!

Above is our slideshow. I still haven't figured out how to combine everything into one post, so if anyone knows, please share the wealth!

4 years and going strong!

Four years ago today....Trent and I were getting ready to dance our first dance as husband and wife. We danced to the song we had our first dance to, on our first date (about 6 months before). And every time we hear Al Green's "Let's Stay Together"...it brings back so many great memories. Here's to many more great years and the fun that lies ahead!

July 21, 2006

This and That...

Oh my! Where has this summer gone? I can't believe it's only a month until school starts back! I guess we better make it a good one!
These pics are actually in reverse from when they were taken. Trent and I went to Dallas over the Fourth of July for a long weekend. It was a very relaxing but quick trip. We were able to spend some time with Trent's best friend from high school, Tab, and his family. I didn't get any pics from our time together, but we always enjoy visiting with them. And...I played shuffle board for the first time. I don't know if it was the rush of learning a new game or...the fact that I beat Trent our first round :)- but I have to say that I am a fan now. I was a little intimidated, though, because I was playing on a team with Mr. Gary, Tab's dad. This guy is way more athletic than I'll ever be, considering he's officiated two Super Bowls.

Now, jump ahead....The next two pics are from when Trent and I babysat my best friend Sarah's little boy, JP. He is such a little ham, and I love all his little curls that he is getting. He turns the big 1 next week. I can't believe that a year has already gone by! JP loves Trent and cracks up whenever he's around. Although, I don't think he's too sure about having his picture taken.

He's thinking.."What's so interesting about me and my veggie puffs?"

Now go back to Dallas....Thank you Rebekah for this recommendation below.....

I think we'll plan all future trips around cities that have a Sprinkles from now on!

We ate lunch at a great little place in the Highland Park area.

And this was the sunset right before fireworks lit up the night sky.

*On the brighter side- Trent had more of the area removed from his shoulder, and UAMS was RIGHT...he in fact did not have melanoma. The cells were abnormal, but they did not meet all the criteria for melanoma. Praise the Lord! I know that many people have melanoma removed every day and go on to live long healthy lives. But...it's still a scary word to hear regardless, and I pray that we do not ever have to encounter it again.

Thanks for the prayers (Shea) and anyone else that might have sent some up for us. They are always appreciated :).

Family Time

We've had a busy time with family visits during the month of June. My brother, his wife, and two little ones came in the second week. And we stayed busy with a huge family fish fry, a trip to build a bear and the Children's Museum, swimming, and the list goes on. I think the hit of the trip for my nephew Avery was watching his dad and me play old school Nintendo. (I'm talking 1st generation!) Mine is still in perfect condition.
We do not get to see them enough because we live so far away from each other, but I'm already looking forward to our next get together-hopefully sooner rather than later.

We were able to get some family pics before they left for the airport...minus Prissy and Elvis!

And here is all four of the Hankins men. I think Avery got some jelly beans for staying still long enough to get some family pics.

Here in one pic from our trip to CMOM. The boys both loved it!

And then it was time to say our goodbyes. Trent is so good with kids....probably because he knows how to act like one himself.

Our neices and nephew from CO also came for a visit in June. I caught this cute pic of Garrett and Trent swinging in his parents backyard. Lawson and Kennedy were too busy running around, but I think Garrett was about to play out. We are lucky to be the aunt and uncle of some great kids!

*Other June news.....Trent took a new job, we put our house back on the market, and Trent is going in for a surgey on Tuesday at UAMS to have an area of skin removed from his back. The initial biopsy indicated that it was Melanoma. Now there are a few questions. If you read this, please send up a few prayers for us this week...that it is in fact NOT Melanoma and wisdom for these doctors, so they will quit giving us the run around.

Updates

Wow! It's been a long time since I put anything on here! What a fast year so far.... I know I can't possibly go back and remember everything that's happened since January, so I'm just going to hit a few of the high points.

Our nieces and nephew from CO came in sometime in the Spring, and we had a nice little visit with them...even squeezing in a picnic and trip to the zoo.

Before that, Elvis celebrated his third birthday in February. He loves his extra special treats from Three Dog Bakery. He even got a bison bone, that I think is still around somewhere. For anyone that know Elvis, that is pretty rare. He can destroy a stuffed animal in under 5 minutes.

And we had a special celebration with the birth of Lawson Thomas in January. One of our closest family friend's little boy. He has grown so much since this picture and is such a cute baby!