Gender mystery!

Well, we had the big ultrasound today to check anatomy and find out the gender....but apparently we have a stubborn and/or shy baby! It would not turn the right way for the tech to see the "special area" and when it got close to being in the right place, the cord or a hand was in the way! I almost felt like it was teasing us! This tech believed it was a girl (as did the doctor back in February), but she didn't felt confident enough to be sure.



We felt a bit disappointed, but once that wore off, I started to think it was funny! I came back to work to tell and we had alittle social, making a toast to "Baby Shim".



I took pictures of the pictures, so quality isn't that good.

This one is of the feet (at the top):







It has the mouth open in this one! (at the top, near the middle). Either it's yawning or saying: "I ain't telling!"

20 weeks

There's not too much change, but a lot more people are saying I've got more of a baby bump! I think I'm feeling more flutters and still getting hungier, so those should be good signs! This Friday is the big appointment, where they do the anatomy scan and we can find out if it's a boy or girl. I'm a bit nervous and excited!

It's been an interesting week, starting with on Monday evening, Jason finding a broken sewer pipe in our backyard. He was in the woods, looking for places to put his new trees and found it. (Yuck!) So, we ended up talking to our neighbor Miles, who said he had a similar problem a few years ago and it's most likely a tree root damaging the pipe. Since he works for the city, he called and it ended up we found out that when the city put in the new sewer pipe in the creek in our backyard, they forgot to hook our line in. Saturday morning, two workers and Jason replaced the pipe and it was FREE since it was the city's fault for not hooking us in! Such a great God thing!

Friday night, I got to hang out with some girlfriends and Jason went with our friend Richard to see his son's high school friends play at a local Christian coffee house. Saturday, we had family birthdays for myself and Lee in Statesville.

Jason was worn out today from working so hard yesterday, so we've just rested!

We're working on finding a daycare, which is a lot more stressful than I thought! I get a bit freaked out when there's a bunch of choices to make and worry a bit that there won't be anything available when we need it. But, I know God will work it out somehow, I'm just not sure yet. Pray for us as we search to find the right place!

Happy Birthday Melissa!

Today, I'm 31! We've had a good day! We went to Kobe's for lunch with Linda and Gary. Dad had a seminar in Greensboro, so we saw them alittle later this afternoon.

Here's another baby bump picture! 19 weeks now!

Yesterday, we went to my second cousin Elana's wedding in Charlotte. It was nice to see that side of the family and a very pretty day! I enjoyed the food, which was pasta with chicken, peppers, and mushrooms!

Friday we started our marriage book in life group! We read the book and the workbook during the week and then watch a video and discuss at group time. This week, it was about expectations in marriage and it being harder then we think. It was interesting to hear the stories of how things were different from dating to marriage with all of us.

This past week, Jason had lots of air conditioning problems so he was very worn out. It didn't help that our toliets starting not flushing during the week and Friday evening, we had to call Roto Rooter and spend $400 to get it fixed! But, God is good and since I got paid this week, we had the money in the account!

My co worker/roommate Rosemary has been on vacation this week, and it was pretty quiet with work. We had a birthday cake for me on Friday which was nice!

The prior weekend, I had to go buy a few more pants since the ones I have aren't fitting well! I am a Goodwill freak, so I found some there! So far, I think most of my skirts and shirts for work will be okay since they are long and stretchy. But, we'll see!

I still sometimes get a little sick feeling in the evenings, but it's not at the level as the last few months. I also have a snack in the morning and afternoons because I get SO HUNGRY! I'm being good though and eating fruit, even though a week ago, I did find some Vanilla Wafers and eat those for a few days! Guess one week doesn't hurt!

Happy Easter!

We've enjoyed the nice weather these last few days! Jason had to work all last week, including Good Friday, but I was spoiled and had half day Thursday off and Friday off! Friday, I went to an organ recital at Corinth, then got tired and took a nap in the afternoon!

We had a passover dinner with life group on Friday night and did communion, which was neat! The food was different, but it settled well!

Saturday, Jason went fishing with Lee and Dean, so I stayed at home. I got a bellyache in the afternoon, but thankfully felt better in the evening when we went down to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner. The hamburgers were really good! We had to leave a bit early so that Jason could make his poundcake for Sunday lunch. We watched a bit of the end of "The Ten Commandments" while it baked.

Sunday, we had a bunch of kids in nursery but it was nice so we stayed outside. Sunday lunch at Deda's was nice, and after a quick nap, we headed to Statesville again to have dinner with Linda, Gary, Lee, Mandy, Will, and Aida. It was a great evening!

Both of us are feeling the tree pollen this week, so we're taking it a bit easy!

I'm not much bigger this week so I didn't do a pic, but my spring pants aren't fitting well.

I also took a great video of Lilac. In my quest to prove that she is indeed crazy, every night she rubs on the dogs collar when we put in on the bar area. She doesn't like the dogs at all, but for some reason, loves the collar!

Is there a baby bump?

Since most of you reading do not see me every week, I'm doing the infamous "belly shot" that Lesley did during her pregnancy. Mine will be called the "baby bump pic", just to give it my own flare!

Here is a picture taken today! We thought a dress showed it a bit better.

The last two days, I've been feeling much better! I think most of the nausea days may be through! I can tell I'm getting hungrier quicker, so I'll be a frequent snacker for sure!

We haven't written much about our pets in awhile and in the last few months, Lilac (aka the crazy cat!) has become very affectionate. She loves to sit on Jason's legs and purposely, bypasses me so she can get to him. Sometimes, Jason says they'll nap together when he gets home from work. Apparently, I've got some competition now! Here's her chilling over the weekend.

She also whines a lot more and interupts Jason and I when we're talking.

Here's a picture of me and the other babies! We're having problems with Molly chewing on Chips collar that has the shock collar on it. They always seem to find some way to give us a new problem to solve! Guess it's good preparation for the kid!

Jason went to the Checkers hockey game last Thursday with Wes and Ryan. I would have loved to have gone, but my stomach told me that I needed to stay home. Friday, we did the last chapter of A Love Worth Giving book. This week, we're having a passover dinner on Good Friday and then will start a book about marriage called Love and War. We're excited!

Saturday, we rested, but did go to Chick-fil-a and Barnes and Noble to get the Love and War book. We also got a pregnancy book that's been helpful to read!

Well, I'm off to have a snack!

Hanging in there!

Brief rewind of happenings since the last post:

Saturday, the 6th, we went to a winery near Elkin with our friends Ryan and Nichole. Don't worry, I didn't participate in the wine tastings, but it was a beautiful day to just sit outside. Ryan and Nichole got married there in September. Then, we were only a few minutes from Gary and Linda, so we ate dinner with them at Cody Creek and then watched "The Proposal".

Sunday, the 7th, we had lunch at Atlanta Bread with some of the TNT friends, then saw "Alice in Wonderland." I wasn't sure if the 3-D would fly with me, but I sat near the back, so it was okay. Jason sat at the front with our friend Taylor.

The next week was alright for both of us at work and it was nice to get all the sweet emails congradulating us on the pregnancy.

Friday, the 12th, I had lunch with my friend Abigail and her baby Lincoln at Atlanta Bread since I really liked the veggie sandwich there! The closest thing to a craving that I've had so far!

I had the rest of the afternoon off so I cleaned since we had life group here later that night. It was on Noah struggling during the time on the boat during the flood and having. We chilled on Saturday and watched the Hurricanes hockey game that night.

This weekend, I went to a women's conference where Anne Graham Lotz spoke (Billy Graham's daughter). I was a bit worried about feeling bad and Friday night was a bit rough, but thankfully Saturday, I felt pretty good! Our lunch was at this cute place in Greenville, SC that had excellent desserts. I got home about 9:00 on Saturday night.

Jason stayed with Lee Friday night and they went fishing Saturday afternoon. We had all thought that Dean's birthday party was next Saturday, the 28th, but there was a miscommunication. Lee got a call while they were fishing and after having dinner with Linda and Gary, they headed to Karen's house for dessert. I hate I missed it, but I wouldn't have been able to go anyways since I was heading back from Greenville.

I still have been feeling a bit up and down with nausea during the day. Wednesday, I didn't even do nursery because I felt so bad, but I think lots of it has to do with allergies. My right ear started hurting this week, which is typical during allergy season. I feel I'm starting to eat a bit better, so hopefully, I'll continue to feeling less sick.

Tonight, we made my grandmother's spagetti! It didn't turn out as good as she made, but it was close! My aunt Anne has been working on a family recipe book since Grandmother died in 2005 and it got finished! Anne dropped it off at our house on Tuesday night, so I read through the whole thing!

Anne wrote family history and included stories of when they were kids. I loved seeing the pictures of my grandmother as a baby and little girl, plus some good pictures of my dad and his sisters in their childhood too.

It honestly made me want to cry a bit seeing pictures of those that are gone: my grandmother's sister Adaleide and husband Van, my grandmother's sister in law Phyllis (aka "Shupie"), and my aunt Jane (dad's older sister).

There's also a picture from 1990 of me, Chris, and our cousin Jake with Grandmother in her kitchen getting ready to bring out "Jesus' birthday cake" to everyone at the dining room table. This cake had pink icing with coconut shavings on it! Classic!

We went over to mom and dad's last night, and she made grandmother's spagetti too! Jason and I had thought it would be funny if she did because mom and I had talked about wanting to make the spagetti recipe! It will be a popular meal at our house from now on!

Announcing a new Holcomb-Starnes

No, we're not going to use both last names for the kid, but it is fully Holcomb and fully Starnes, so it felt appropriate to put both names here!


We're about 13 weeks today! I now can back up and write about what's been going on the last few months! Below is a picture from the February 24th ultrasound.







Just like the last pregnancy, it happened the first go around! Very shocking and totally a God thing! Apparently, my 30 year old pipes are working well! I had the same symptoms of sleepiness and nausea, just like in the fall. I had two positive pregnancy tests again, and wasn't sure if I was ready to face the real challenge: an ultrasound.


I intentionally waited to call the doctor since we were seeing Isaiah for the first time the last week of January. I didn't want to have a disappointing ultrasound before that visit and then feel like my time with him was somewhat tainted.



Mom had pretty much figured out I was pregnancy, especially since one week in January, I was so sick that I couldn't come over for dinner. Just Jason did. He said dad thought I had a stomach virius and mom just smiled.



So, the first ultrasound was on February 2nd. The women at the doctor's office all remembered me, which I found flattering! The ultrasound tech (Wendy) was SO excited when she saw the little thing, she even gave me a hug and said she was so happy for me! They were all so compassionate when I had my miscarriage, so I thanked her for being so kind the last time too.



It was nice to call Jason and give him good news! Later that night, he called his mom and dad to tell them. We decided to just tell parents for now.



We waited to tell my parents until the next Monday (February 8th) which was my dad's birthday. The doctor had given us about 8 ultrasound pictures, so we taped one in his birthday card! He opened it, and smirked/chuckled a bit. I told him, "do you see my stomach virius?" He chuckled some more, than gave the card to mom. She stared at it and then screamed with excitement, saying, "I knew you were pregnant!"



I had another ultrasound on February 24th down in Charlotte to check for abnormalities since they have a high tech one. Mom and Jason went with me that rainy day. I was a bit nervous, hoping everything was still okay!



They had a monitor that we could look at and it immediately came up and I saw the heartbeat! It appeared to just be chillin' on its back on the placenta and the tech had to try to make it move. Eventually, it came up a bit so they could check the spinal fluid. It is a bit below the normal level they like it at, so that's good! (Yeah for folic acid!) The doctor there came in and said everything looked good to him too.

We told the Holcomb side on Saturday at Grandpa's 80th birthday party!

After hearing the heartbeat on Tuesday at my regular doctor's visit, I went around work that afternoon to tell everyone personally and show them ultrasound pictures! I figured since I have been a hormonal monster and snappier than normal, most would think that something was up. Many of them did suspect I was pregnant! Later that evening, I called the Helms to tell them!



Tonight we told our life group and I just sent an email out to our friends! Now, I'm heading to bed, as it's 11:15!