Wedding Bells

This past weekend my little sister Erica got married. Boy do I feel old! We had such a fun time getting to be a part of it and seeing a lot of family. Erica was great... probably the most laid back, stress free bride I have ever seen. The biggest drama of the weekend was if my bridemaid's dress was going to fit, and thankfully it did. The wedding was so sweet and really beautiful. It was Erica completely, really snazzy but classy. This week Mike flew back to work and I stayed at my parent's house to rest and get some reading done for classes in January. I think I mostly rested though! It was the longest we have ever been apart since we've gotten married, and we are thinking we may never do it again. We are leaving for Colorado for a week of vacation with my family. There will be 17 people staying in one house in Leadville, CO close to Copper Mountain. Mike will be learning to ski... so we are praying he doesn't break any bones!
Baby Frantz is doing great and growing like crazy! We went to the doctor before heading to Mississippi for the wedding and heard a strong heartbeat again. He/she is the size of an avacado now (don't know why they always use fruit!) Over the next three weeks Baby Frantz will double in his/her weight and length almost! These past two weeks I have definitely gained the baby bump. It's been exciting, and for some reason permits everyone to rub my belly. The thing we are most looking forward to in the next couple of weeks is finding out if this little one is a boy or a girl. We go back to the doctor on the 28th and if Baby Frantz cooperates we should be able to know then!!!!!!
We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas celebrating the incarnation of Christ!

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas!

Call us crazy, but Michael and I love Christmas! About a week ago we got out the Christmas music and started listening to it. We decided not to decorate our home this year for Christmas because we are leaving Louisville December 5 for Erica's wedding and won't be back until after Christmas. And this being our first Christmas in our first home, I was a little sad. But my husband, being the sweet and thoughtful husband that he is, woke me up Saturday morning and told me to get dressed because he had a surprise! After a good breakfast at Cracker Barrel... yes, my appetite is definitely coming back... we went and got a Christmas tree. We spent Saturday afternoon decorating, wrapping the few presents we have gotten, while of course listening to some Frank Sinatra Christmas! That night I cooked dinner and we curled up on the couch with our Christmas mugs, cookies, and watched The Polar Express. It was the perfect start of the holiday season!
The latest update on Baby Frantz is that he or she has grown another half an inch this week, and is now about the size of a large shrimp. By now his or her finger prints are fully developed! It has amazed us to know how intricately God is weaving our baby together. We are so grateful for how he has worked in this pregnancy so far, and how much he is teaching and growing us through it. This is the last week of my first trimester, so hopefully most of the sickness and tiredness will end with it. I'm glad that all this traveling we are doing will be during the second trimester, which I hear from everyone is the easiest. The pregnancy is really flying by. By the time we get back from Christmas we will be able to find out if our little one is a boy or girl. We have our next doctor's appointment a week from Tuesday. Thanks for all your prayers for us and for Baby Frantz. The Lord is graciously answering them, and we beg you to keep them up!

Week 12 (and counting!)

This last week our baby grew over 1/2 an inch, weighs 1/2 an ounce and is now about the size of a lime! Reflexes are forming this week, and although I can't feel it yet, the baby is very active moving all around. As for Michael and I, we are doing great. I think I am at the tail end of the morning sickness, and am not feeling as nauseous as much. We are finishing up Fall semester classes this week and then will take our finals the week after Thanksgiving. We would appreciate any prayers during these last couple of weeks of the semester, which always tend to get a little stressful. We are also taking any suggestions for names at this time (we accept money as bribes)! The consensus from family and friends so far is that we are having a girl... though I am not so sure. Can't wait to see many of you in December!

First Heartbeat

Doodute Doodute Doodute !!!!!!!! This was the amazing sound Mariah and I heard coming from her belly as we listened to our babies heartbeat for the first time. The Dr. allowed us to record the precious noise with our cell phones so we could share it with family and friends. Already three family members have told us that b/c of the fast heartbeat we are having a girl. Boy or girl we are just happy with the heartbeat! Mariah is doing fine but still battling the morning sickness blues. She continues to amaze me daily as she handles school, work, our marriage, and pregnancy with such a great attitude and perseverance. The Lord has truly given me a great wife and help mate. We hope you all continue to view this blog and we will make our best effort to post a blog weekly. For those back home in MS we miss you and hope that this will make dealing with Mariah's pregnancy away from home a little easier.