Another Arp Whirlwind!

I think every time I post I say we have been busy here at the Arp house. You would think I would just get used to it and eventually all our busy-ness would seem normal, but no such luck. The last month has been yet another whirlwind. It started with Andrew heading to South Africa, and the kids and I heading to Chattanooga for some much needed help while he was away. For 3 wks we were separated. Andrew went with another pastor from our church to help resource and teach a conference to the people in South Africa. He had the time of his life. He really fell in love with all the people, and he loved being able to see the world. Meantime, Jonas, Ainsley, and I braved the friendly skies to go visit all our family down in Chattanooga. We got to see everyone and we even got meet the newest member of our family baby Ella, and Ainsley and I attended Mitchell and Angela's wedding. It was an awesome time with family, but we couldn't wait to get our little family back together. Since being back we have celebrated our first Halloween with Ainsley (who dressed as a kitty cat, while Jonas chose his costume for the first time; a transformer) and we have gotten back into the swing of things. We are getting ready to celebrate Jonas' birthday with a trip to Splash Village (an indoor waterpark/hotel about 20min. north of us). Soon it will be thanksgiving and before we know it Christmas will be here. We can't wait to see all our family again. Thanks to everyone for all the help while Andrew was away...you really made the time fly! We will post pics soon of Halloween, Jonas' Birthday, and Thanksgiving soon. We love you all!

Can I borrow some time?

Time really flies. This week Jonas started pre-school...PRE-SCHOOL! I really can't believe it. It seems like we were just sitting in the adoption office nervously signing papers as quickly as we could so we could meet our new little man, and now he's off to school:( He totally loves it even if it does make me a little sad. He goes four days a week Monday thru Thursday fro 9:15 to 12:45. His teachers are awesome and he loves all his new friends. As you can tell from the picture he was really excited...and still is! It is going to be an awesome thing for him, and I love getting to observe the end of his class everyday when I pick him up. Today they were finishing up with a dance where they jumped, froze, danced fast, and danced slow. Jonas LOVED it! He was hilarious he was doing each move to the fullest and when they got to the slow part he danced so ridiculously slow that I had to laugh:) While he's at school Ainsley and I hang out, do errands, and get the house clean. This new routine is really fun...even if I feel like time is just flying by and if there was a way I could borrow any or just stop it all together, believe me I would.

I forgot to post the last preggo pic so here it is

The first 2 months...

It is hard to believe, but Ainsley is already 2 months old. We are in full swing as a family of four. Andrew is super busy at the church (as always) but still loving every minute of it, and the kids and I have settled in to daily life at home. Jonas loves his new baby sister and he is such a good big brother. He actually starts pre-school on Sept.21st which totally makes Andrew and I sad. It seems like just yesterday I was swaddling him up and now he's getting ready to head to school like a big boy. For that reason, we are trying to cherish every single moment we have with both of them. Time really does go too fast. I (Crystal) am holding off school for one more semester so we can all get a little more settled. Ainsley is growing like a weed. We just found out that she has reflux and we are trying to get that under control so she can feel better. She is awake more often and has even started to coo and smile. We all have so much fun with her. Every time she is awake Jonas says she is looking at him. It is so sweet. So all in all the Arps are great. Life is crazy and hectic, but we wouldn't change it for the world. As I type this Ainsley is crying in the background while Andrew tries to comfort her, I smell like spit up, and Jonas is yelling down from the bath tub, but I can truly say we are so blessed. I wouldn't trade this life for anything else in the world.

Oh there you are!

So if you have been keeping up with us you probably know that the last few weeks have been quite eventful in the Arp house. Ainsley was finally born on July 9th, 2010. She was really comfy in there so on Thursday July 8th we went in to be induced. Everything was pretty uneventful for the first 12 hours of labor. We got there at 7pm and they gave me a little medicine to start induction. At about 2am things really seemed to be picking up. I was having contractions about every 1 to 2 minutes and they were lasting almost a minute. However, when the doctor came in to check and see how much progress we were making at 7am he took one look at me and knew something just wasn't right because Ainsley was still really high. When he checked I was still only 2cm dilated and her head wasn't even engaged. So in the midst of hard contractions he sent me for an ultrasound and they found out that her head was way too big! 39.5cm to be exact which apparently is very large by baby standards. So after that they started talking about a c-section. I was pretty bummed because I had "planned" (as much as anyone can actually plan anything) to go completely natural (i.e. no drugs). But once the doctor explained how not only I could be compromised, but because of how large her head was Ainsley could be compromised too (b/c of possible brain swelling) the c-section was the obvious choice. So at 10:30 we headed into the O.R, and at 11:07am Ainsley opened her eyes to the world for the first time. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life. The first time she cried Andrew turned to me and said "she's here! we did it!" Years, literally years have lead up to this moment. The most amazing thing however, was that when I first saw Ainsley and heard her cry I felt like "who is this stranger?" it was the same feeling, the same exact feeling I had when I walked into the room to get Jonas. The feeling that this new little stranger was just the person I had been looking for. It was beyond words. Since then our lives have changed dramatically. Having 2 kids is double the blessing, and double the work. We are still learning how this family of four is going to work. Jonas LOVES Ainsley. I mean loves her, almost too much:) He always wants to give her her paci and throw her diapers away. He has been such a helper and such a protector. Andrew and I have been really busy with visits from family and friends. Andrew even had to leave us all last week to speak at camp. So if you were thinking that now we would have to slow down...wrong, its just not the Arp way. My recovery has gone great. I am 3wks out now and feeling pretty good, just a little tired still. Ainsley is a great baby. We have figured out that if we wake her up at 9pm and keep her up until 11 or 12 she will sleep 5-6hrs in one stretch! She is really happy too...she only cries if she needs something and she LOVES to be cuddled. So while our world has changed a lot in the last 3wks we wouldn't have it any other way! We have loved all the meals that all our church family has brought us and we have really loved all the visitors from Noni, Pop, Auntie Alecia, Luke, Gran-Gran, Pop-Pop, MeMe, Pa, Auntie Alyssa, Heather, Lilly, and Cindy! This has been an amazing time of miracles in our life and we love being able to share it with everyone. Oh and if you are wondering what is going on with the adoption? yes we are still planning to adopt...we have to update our homestudy since we have another little person living in our house, and then we will be "waiting" again. We ask that as you pray for our growing family you continue to pray for our child that's out there somewhere! We love you all and cant wait until each and everyone of you can hold our second little miracle in your hands....wow 2 miracles...we are so blessed!

39 Weeks...Ainsley, where are you?

So I figure since Crystal is consumed with the squatter inside her, it falls to me to update the blog. We are at 39 weeks and holding (I guess that is what it is like when people turn 39 and hold). We are not exactly sure when Ainsley will arrive, but we are so excited.Her nursery is completed and we have enough clothes to last her to her fifth birthday. Jonas appears to be excited, but we are not sure that he really knows what is in store. Nursery pics as well as belly bump night pics are below. My mom has been up here helping with Jonas and some of the house work and has been quite the life saver. So now, we are simply waiting. We have walked, ate spicy food, and even contemplated jumping on a trampoline. But I am sure that when she does arrive, she will be perfect. Thanks for your prayers and your love across the miles.

Grace and Peace

22 wks!

Well I am 22 wks this week and you would think that I would be getting used to the idea that I am actually pregnant, but it still surprises me at times. I just said this morning "isn't it so weird that this is actually happening." It just feels like an awesome dream. I love every second of being pregnant...yes even the sick ones because I would rather be sick and get to experience this awesome miracle than to never be able to. So the last month has held many things in the life of baby Arp. We had our big 20 wk appointment and we found out we are having a GIRL!!! We are beyond excited! Its weird though because for some reason we always felt she was a girl. I guess there is something to intuition after all. From all signs she is mostly healthy. They did find a small spot on her left kidney that they think is external renal pelvis. Two things we have learned from this: one- this condition is something that will probably not affect her at all. In fact, many people live with it and don't know they have it. However, it does make her unique...which with parents like us it was bound to happen sometime:) and two-apparently everyone's kidney has a pelvis...who knew? So all in all if something had to be not quite right its a good one to pick. This also means we get to have more ultrasounds which is exciting. So we will probably have more pictures of her before she gets here then we have of Jonas this whole last year:) (we are really bad about taking pictures) Let's see also in the last four weeks she has gone from the size of bell pepper to a butter nut squash and she now weighs as much as a bag of chips...I'm getting hungry. I can also feel her every MOVE! I have waited my whole life to fell this and it is so worth it. I am actually sad that I won't be able to feel it once she is born. But its almost like I can already see her personality through her movements. For instance, if there is a loud noise or if I eat something she likes/hates she moves like crazy and lets me know! We have also picked a name for her Ainsley Drew Arp...we love it and it is so cute to hear Jonas say it.

In other news, I started school and will be done in another week or so. (they were only 5 wk classes thank goodness)

We are also going on vacation in about another week. We are going to stay with our friends Nanner and Vern in Lakeland, FL. While we are there we are going to take Jonas to Disney. I think we are just as excited as Jonas to see him take it all in. We did the whole give a day get a day volunteer program with Disney to get free tickets for Andrew and I, so all we have to pay for is Jonas...isn't that awesome? We even scheduled ourselves to start off the day by having breakfast with Goofy...Jonas is going to freak!

He also gets to ride an airplane, which he hasn't stopped talking about since we told him. While we are there my mom will be in Tampa so we get to hang out with her and we get to see our friends Paul and Jennifer too! I really cannot wait!

Jonas is growing like a weed. His new favorite thing to do is say that things are "cool." Its really cute. He has also started to love playing dress up...I even caught him in my heels one day:) In the car, he loves listening to Billy Holiday and doing "jazz hands"...its a little disturbing, but still cute. He just says the funniest things all the time..like today I wore a skirt and he said are you going dancing mom? Where does he come up with these things...and yes he does call us mom and dad like he's 17 or something.

Andrew is great...a little under the weather right now, but good. He is constantly trying to feel Ainsley move, but everytime he tries she stops moving. We think he is a calming influence on her. She already has him wrapped around her finger...he is really in for it!

so overall the Arps are great...we are in the midst of a miracle and a really sunny period in our lives. We intend on cherishing all these moments we are being blessed with....God is just incredible and we are daily humbled by his love!

18 wks and counting...

17wks 5days...

Well as most of you know by now I was released from bedrest at 16wks...yay! So that explains why I havent updated the blog in a little over a week and a half. Freedom has been great and I feel amazing. I think I am finally starting to hit what they call the "honeymoon" stage of pregnancy. This is truly an amazing experience and I am so thankful for every single day. Its so strange because I am really showing now but I still tell Andrew I dont feel like I look that pregnant. He just looks at me like I'm crazy, but I guess when its your body the growth is so slow that it sneaks up on you. I promise to take another picture at 18 wks so everyone can see what I'm talking about:) Ok now some updates on the baby...we went to the Dr. last week and the heartrate was 160 which apparently is normal even though it sounds really high. We recently read on babycenter.com that the baby will double in size from week 16 to 20. This week it is the size and weight of a turnip but by 20 weeks it will be as long as a banana! That is so insane! We go for our big ultrasound on March 1st. Thats when they check all the sizes and shapes of everything from its head, to its heart, to its toes. That is also when they will tell us what we are having!!! We have an educated guess, but we will have to wait to see if we are right or not. We are still just so amazed at this miracle it is so crazy. And for me being pregnant has really made me feel closer not just to Andrew but to Jonas as well. Its like I can imagine what it must have been like to carry him. I think if anything pregnancy has made me more appreciative of adoption. Since we are in the middle of our second adoption its crazy how often I think about both babies. I think about what the biological one is doing in there and I wonder what our future adopted one is doing also. It sounds cheesy but I really do feel as if I am carrying twins of sorts. It really is hard to explain how the experiences feel so similar. I often wonder if our waiting child is conceived yet or is already born, and I often think when I am at the doctor I wonder if our new birthmother is going through the same things. I wonder if while she is at the doctor she thinks about us as much as I think about her when we are there. For anyone who has adopted I am sure that you can relate, and for those of you who havent adopted I hope I have explained it as well as possible. This is truly the most amazing experience of my life. I know that some people think that adopting and being pregnant at the same time sounds crazy but I would never have it another way...its just so magical in so many ways. God is so good and I am really humbled at the blessings he has given our family.

15 wks and growing!

Well today marks the 15wk mark! We are still so amazed at how God works. According to babycenter.com the baby is the size of an apple this week. An apple, isn't that crazy! I know he/she will be getting a lot bigger in the coming months, but right now an apple seems really big to me. Plus, I feel really big. I feel like in the last two weeks I have gone from a slight bump to a full out prego belly. I know I know its only just begun, but it is really hard to imagine my body morphing so much. There are numerous times a day/week depending when I say to andrew " I dont really look pregnant today do I?" He then usually tells me to turn sideways and ask him again. Its just so weird because I have moments where I feel huge but most of the time I feel normal until I catch a glimpse of myself and I'm like "That is so crazy I really am pregnant." Its so weird. Also this week, they say if I shine a flashlight at my belly the baby will see it and move away from it. This seems pointless though since shining a flashlight in someones face is both rude and intrusive, and because I can't feel it move anyways. I am so happy that we are going strong though. In fact, in five weeks or so we should be able to find out what it is...again how exciting. Jonas is still telling us he wants a sister and even has a name he's fond of, but we aren't spilling the beans until we know what it is and have agreed on a name for sure. I am still on bedrest for another weeks and a half or so and will hopefull be off it by 16.5 wks. So please keep praying and keep hoping! We have still not heard anything from the adoption front. It is beginning to look more and more like these babies want to come at the same time. We are just so excited and so blessed...we are just more and more amazed by God with every passing day!

This baby is grounded...

Andrew and I have already discussed it and we have decided that when this baby gets here it is going to be grounded for at least the first year of its life. Just when we think everything is about to return back to normal...normal seems to elude us. This week it all started last thursday. My bleeding had finally stopped and the doctors gave me the green light to go on our Mid-Winter Retreat with our 7th and 8th graders. I got really excited and other than needing frequent naps, the weekend was wonderful. We had a great time with the kids, Jonas had a great time with his friend Hope and her family, and we spent the entire day Monday resting up. Jonas was acting a little under the weather but nothing major. Monday night we had a friend bring us dinner (thanks again Christine) and everything seemed headed toward normal. That was until about nine o'clock. I went to the bathroom and passed a pretty big clot, which mildly alarmed me. Soon though I started feeling a little sick at my stomach but after a couple of hours it passed. When Tuesday morning came I called the doctors and told them about the clot so they could put it in my chart. However, they seemed more than mildly alarmed and told me to come in immediately for an ultrasound. An hour (and another 5 yrs off my life; again this baby is grounded) later we found out everything is perfectly normal and apparently the clot was the last hoorah because they think the tear has even healed...yay! So we went home elated and sporting pictures of our "lemon-sized baby." I was told to go back on bed rest until 16wks but everything was great! A few hours after we got home Andrew started feeling sick and as it turns out got the worst case of the stomach flu in our house. He was up all night and is still recovering. He's actually not even going to church tonight so he must feel pretty horrible. Hopefully soon we will be able to find whatever normal we can. As for Jonas he is at a friends because neither of his parents can care for him, but he doesn't seem to mind:) He's getting all kinds of attention and special outings. He should be home soon and it will be family nap time. I will leave you with some absolutely priceless pics of our new baby:)

14wks...let the second trimester begin...

Well we have officially made it to the second trimester. You may be like me and naively think that the second trimester begins at 12 weeks but no in fact they don't consider you second trimester until 14 wks. Who knew? This is just one of the detailed facts I have learned since becoming pregnant, but who cares we finally made it!!! I feel so much more confident and am starting to really accept the fact that there really is a baby in there. In fact I experienced my first belly touch today. I still think I just look like one of those high school girls that wears their pants to tight and ends up with a slightly prego belly on top, but Andrew assures me that no it is too round to be considered a muffin top. (He's so sweet) Anyways back to the belly touch...it happened at the dentist's office today I followed the tech to the room and she got me just before I sat down. She put her hand firmly on my stomach and said "What's this?"(I'm pretty confident she had inside info from my chart) I never really understood how unnerving it is to have a stranger touch your stomach (especially when its poking out a bit). I know this is only going to get worse, and for those of you who know I'm not too fond of touching this should be a challenge. It's kind of funny though how people who normally would never just reach out and touch a strangers stomach will feel compelled to once they know you are pregnant:) I think it will maybe be better once I can feel the baby move, but right now it just feels like they are touching my pooching belly...not cool.

Anyways in other news the tear seems to be healing (my symptoms have gone away) maybe they will do an ultrasound to confirm that for sure, until then I have another 2 wks of the modified bed rest. However they did clear me to go on our Junior high retreat this weekend as long as I promise to rest and take care of myself which of course is my number one priority. It will be nice to get out of the house though...I can hardly wait. Everyone else is doing great. I could not ask for a more understanding and patient husband. Andrew has just been incredible! Jonas is doing good also. He had his first dentist appointment today and he did really great. I had to sit in the chair with him but he let them clean and even floss his teeth. I was so proud. He is so excited about a sibling. He always says he wants a sister so we will see.

There is no news on the adoption front, but we did tell our social worker about the pregnancy and she was really excited. Hopefully the adoption will go through soon. I am feeling myself growing impatient as the weeks go on, but all in Gods time which is always perfect. This is just such an exciting journey I am trying to remind myself to enjoy the steps along the way and not to look too far ahead. I think thats easier said than done but its another lesson I am happy to learn.

13 wks! (first belly pic)

13wks down only 27 to go...

So I thought I would write a little about how this pregnancy has been so far. Like I said in my last blog we found out we were pregnant in November and as soon as we got the news to the doctor they put me on a strict regimen of baby aspirin, 3x's the amount of folic acid, a prenatal vitamin, and supplemental progesterone daily. The first 11.5 wks flew by and were really uneventful. At 11 wks 4days however things took a little bit of a turn. I had some bleeding and had to go to the E.R. We feared the worse but were semi-reassured when we found out that the baby was fine (in fact it was moving around like crazy) and its heartbeat was 176 ("good and strong"). It turns out I have a small tear in my placenta. This sounds scary but is one of the few conditions that doesn't affect the baby. So YAY! I am just on modified bedrest which means no heavy lifting (no more than a gallon of milk-sorry Jonas), not a lot of walking (which seems pretty vague if you ask me), and as much rest as possible (laying or sitting in the bed). This was supposed to only last 3wks but today it got extended another 3wks. So I will be pretty much in the bed until 16wks. It will all be so worth it though so I just have to keep my eyes on the goal. Most people's reaction when I tell them about this "modified bed rest" is a sarcastic "Oh poor you, you have to get Andrew to do everything that must be so bad." Well trust me the first three days were pretty good I was given full permission to be lazy, but after that I have quickly learned that resting is a full-time job. It is hard to rely on people for everything, but it is definitely a lesson in humility and sacrifice. So while I rely on everyone else I have to remember that I have one little tiny being that is relying on me for everything and that is my number one job right now. So other than that things are moving right along. The baby is the size of a small peach and next week will be the size of a lemon (that is just CRAZY). It is fully formed now and just needs to fine tune all its organs for the next 27wks. I am so blessed to have this experience and haven't once taken it for granted. It is crazy that God gives us women the amazing gift of actually carrying a human being inside us while He fully forms all its parts. That is a concept that I don't think I will ever get over.

In other news...

We told our adoption agency that we are pregnant and they were so excited. They said it will not affect our adoption at all and in fact they have had several birth families come in recently. Maybe one of those families will be ours...We cannot wait to meet both of our new children. God is just incredible!

oh p.s. I promise I will have belly pics soon...right now there's not too much to show...

Proof that God has a sense of humor:)

Well as you all know we have been in the adoption process since May. It is going much slower than Jonas' but we know that our child is out there so we are keeping the faith. What most of you don't know is that in November we found out that God has quite the sense of humor. I (crystal) have always loved the saying that "if you want to make God laugh tell him your plans." Never did I ever think that that would be so true for us. See when we first got married we had a plan...get married and have kids, but God has something else in mind. So after three years of infertility we felt God calling us to something bigger...adoption. Soon Jonas came into our lives and there has never been a happier moment. So we thought "ok God new plan...we will adopt all of our children," but 2 yrs ago our plans changed again when we unexpectedly got pregnant. Immediately we thought "oh we get it so we will adopt and have biological children, thats cool," but those plans soon changed too when we suffered 2 miscarriages in the last 2 years. So we were back to our original plan of adopting all our children. Then in November God showed us that he was in control again when we found out that WE ARE PREGNANT!! We have entered this new journey with much trepidation. We never know what is next and for a constant worrier like me that is a hard pill to swallow, so we have kept very quiet until now. I am currently 13 wks pregnant and by all accounts in the clear. The new peanut is healthy and it looks like this whole pregnancy thing is really going to happen. It is so surreal to think that I will actually carry a child. I am still trying to wrap my mind around it. So about now most of you are probably asking yourselves "so what about the adoption?" Well that is a go as well. Adoption is something that we really feel called to and we feel like God is leading us to our child now. I know it sounds crazy, but God always seems to call people to crazy things. We are so blessed beyond belief to be given the gift of life and adoption all at the same time! We can't wait to meet both of our children and Jonas is so ready for a brother or sister or both! He can't decide which he wants more, but he is constantly talking about it. We aren't sure he really understands everything, but we do know he will be excited. We are truly humbled by how God has formed our family...we cant wait to see his completed work! We ask that you pray for us and all of our children, please pray for our adopted child's biological family as well. We also ask that you journey with us, get excited, and keep checking out our blog for upcoming belly pics, adoption info, and everything else God has in store for us....2010 looks like a GREAT year for the Arp family!!!