halfway there!!! (week 20)

Here is a retrospective collage of weeks 10 through 20. Noah is growing like crazy now, and it is the most exciting thought that in just a few short months, we will get to see his beautiful little face and kiss his toes! I started to feel him move about three weeks ago, and now, his movements are much more pronounced!!! I love every second of carrying him. I talk to him every time he moves and tell him about the millions of people who are anticipating his arrival. He is going to be one loved boy! To say the least. Our next appointment in on April 3rd, and then our second doctoral ultrasound is on April 7th. We get to see him again in a short 2 weeks. Blessings to all.

noah’s gift for his daddy’s birthday

Here is what Noah got his daddy for his birthday.

brazos de dios ranch

I took Nathan to this absolutely gorgeous ranch that is about an hour and a half away from Lubbock for his birthday. Brazos de Dios means “In the arms of God”, and we did feel God’s serenity in this place! One of my best friends, Heather, has an amazing mom, Katherine, who was so gracious to let us enjoy the ranch in trade for some design work! She manages this gorgeous place, and we got it all to ourselves Saturday and Sunday. It was a great time of relaxation, movies and fun cooking! God is so good . . . it is amazing to experience his beauty in new places.

more noah clothes

These were purchased with gift cards from mom and aunt sheryl!!

Belly Photos 18 weeks

All of a sudden, my belly has just gotten huge! I know there’s lots more growing to do also!! Noah is now 7 inches long and weighs a light 8oz. Just the fact that he is already 7 inches long freaked me out!! No wonder my belly is getting out there! I can actually feel him now, and it is the most amazing feeling I have ever felt . . . Seeing him in motion on the ultrasound DVD has really made everything so beyond real! And, now that we know he is a boy, it is so unbelievably real . . . we can actually call him by name, and his ears are developed enough to hear us now too. We are going to start reading him children's Bible stories tonight and every night until he gets here, and then of course, we have many joyful years of reading to him as we hold him in our arms. I am so honored that God chose Nathan and me to be Noah’s parents — it is the most amazing gift I have ever received other than the gift of salvation through Jesus, of course. The love I have for this precious boy is indescribable. We are so graciously thankful for the amazing love and support of our family and friends with the anticipation of this baby! He is going to be one loved and spoiled little boy!

I also included his growing wardrobe . . . we couldn't resist! I bought the little blue and brown beanie about 3 months ago, right when we found out that I was pregnant, because I knew it was going to be a boy! And, you will recognize one of his outfits from the first batch of clothes I bought at the Old Navy Baby Sale. Then Nathan and I went to BabyGap on Saturday right after we found out that he is a boy and bought him the cute little outfit with the gray shorts. Much love and many blessings to all!

drumroll please . . .!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The majority of you who voted in our poll were WRONG!!! We ventured to Stork Vision this morning, and we are having a precious BOY!!!!!!!!!! Oh, Nathan and I were correct!!!!! I knew I had that feeling for a reason. So, we will be welcoming baby Noah Thomas Hasse into this world around August 12th, 2008. The ultrasound session we had was AMAZING. The woman, Sheryl, who did the session was so precious, and she said he looked perfect in every way, from heart to everything! And, I must tell you, Noah was very very proud to show us he is a boy!! Spread eagle position!! (Don't you worry mom, we will figure this whole boy thing out!!!) I had tears of joy streaming down my face and Nathan couldn't wipe the smile off of his! Noah is sure to be daddy's best buddy and a mama's boy! See, I come from a family of all girls, mostly my entire extended family also, but I am so excited to embrace the joys of raising a boy! Although, I must say, it will take getting used to because I am all girl . . . thank goodness I drag raced cars for years, I guess that gives me some points in the male arena, thanks Dad! At least I can say that I can build a racing engine (of course with the help of dad). So, Noah, you have a very well-rounded mommy. I can hairspray my hair with the best of them, and do a burnout in my race car with the best of em!!!!! And your daddy can play baseball with the best of em and then watch chick flicks with the best also!!! We are honored to be the parents of such a precious baby boy. Thank you to our amazing God for this healthy baby boy.

So, I am posting photos first, and I am on hold with Apple Support to figure out how to get the DVD of the whole live session in a format where I can post it. So, stay tuned for the video. Much love to all!

we find out tomorrow!!!!!!

Nathan and I had our appointment yesterday, and it went great! They just checked the baby's heartbeat and my vitals etc. The baby's heart is beating a strong 147 beats per minute. And, I have actually gained weight now — 5 pounds! So, we were told we would be scheduling our next ultrasound at this appointment for a few days following the appointment, but the nurse came into our room and said, "Ok, great, your ultrasound is scheduled for April 7th, and this is when you will find out the baby's gender and also they will thoroughly check the baby's heart and other vital parts." I said to her, "You're kidding right . . . April 7th??!! We can't wait that long to find out if this baby is a boy or girl!! Is there anyway to bump that up much closer to now?" Well, to make a long story short, they couldn't move the appointment. SO . . . Nathan and I got in the car and immediately called this place called, Stork Vision, a retail ultrasound location where we can pay to get a gender determination ultrasound! For a mere $125, we get to know on Saturday if it's a boy or girl, and it comes with 8 photos, a DVD, and a CD of all the images! That is well worth our money to save us the anxiety over the gender of this baby!!! We are thrilled.

I really think it's a boy, but we will find out for sure tomorrow!!! I have dreamt we had a boy 3 times since I was pregnant, and also about 2 years ago, I had a very vivid dream about having a baby boy and I actually saw his sweet little face! He had Nathan's eyes.

My really good friend Magen and her husband Keith prayed for their son when she was pregnant that he would have his blue eyes with brown hair, and that he would be the most happy baby . . . and many other things that God granted them!!! We are praying that this baby will have Nathan's eyes, but with my perfect vision! We pray that God would bless us with the most healthy baby, with a heart that desires God fervently, that they will be so intelligent with God's wisdom and peace, that they would be a happy baby and more importantly, a happy person, and also that they would be so radiantly beautiful or handsome.

God has shown me these scriptures to pray Colossians 1:3-14 over this baby:

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— 5the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. 7You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our[c] behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[d] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption,[e] the forgiveness of sins.

Oh God is SOOOOOO amazing. These are our specific prayers over this baby.

the belly overview

Ok, so here it is . . . baby belly from 9 weeks through 17 weeks. We have our appointment on Thursday and there we will schedule our ultrasound appointment to find out if we are having a boy or girl next week!! Woo Hoo! We are so anxious to know! Just click on the photo collage to see it larger. Love and blessings.