Top Ten Reasons I LOVE Being Pregnant

1. I have a constant reminder that the Lord is using my body to create a miracle. Yes, I know that there are a million other ways that He remind us, but I will just be honest and own the fact that I am human and allow myself to get way to busy to notice His miracles.
2. Having Ryan talk to our unborn child. IT IS PRECIOUS!!! He is going to be such an amazing daddy and I can't wait to see him in "action".
3. Seeing Ryan give Snoop "Pep Talks" to prepare him for this child.
4. Walking through my parent's front door and hearing my dad say "How is Clyde?" Don't worry, we aren't actually going to torture this child and name he/she Clyde. My dad, however, thinks that it is a brilliant name and can't get off of it. So, we have decided that it doesn't matter what he wants to be called, he will be Clyde!!! He makes me laugh.
5. Listening to all of my children's comments and questions about having a child. We actually had a 45 minute discussion one day at school after I showed them the ultrasound video. One kid explained to the class that "When you get pregnant, you get this thing called hormone (yes it was singular) and that we need to watch it and not make Mrs. Shelton mad or she might go crazy". He continued to tell us that "my momma said when you are pregnant or a teenager, your hormone is raging". Poor guy has a 14 year old brother and a 16 year old sister. It did make for great entertainment.
6. Not finding out the gender of this child. For those of you who know me very well, pick your jaw up off of the floor. This is totally out of character for me to not want to know the sex of my child. I am a whee bit of a type a personality. As soon as I let Ryan know that we were pregnant, his immediate reaction was, "we can't find out what it is"! I fought with arguing it, but decided to go along with his request. Boy am I glad. It is such a neat feeling to be reminded that there is something that is completely and totally out of my control and that only the Lord knows. Don't worry, Ryan asked the ultrasound tech and she supposedly doesn't even know! This also brings up very interesting conversations about how to tell if it is a boy or girl. That brings me to number 7.
7. Hilarious ways that people try to figure out the gender of your unborn child. Yes, I have to admit that we did the voodoo pencil test. It said it was a girl, so we will see. Being a teacher, I have about 60 women's opinions to spring off of at work. They will come up to me and "size me up" trying to determine what the gender is. It is actually pretty hilarious. Ryan is sure it is a girl. I have not a clue!
8. Looking at those cute little clothes. I was with my grandmother this past weekend in an adorable store back in my hometown. It was a relief to know that we didn't know the gender, or I would have walked out of there bankrupt. I wonder if that was Ryan's true reason for not finding out?
9. Talking to the ones who I know will be the closest to this child and thinking of how awesome it will be for them to have these role models in their life. I can't wait for Baby S to meet it's grandparents, great-grandmothers, Cousin Noah, Jacie (That's Jamie's name for Baby S to call her), Aunt Anna, Uncle Jason and all of the other aunts, uncles and friends that they will share life with. I feel blessed to have such a support group in my life.
10. Knowing that I am not taking classes at all in the Spring.

I am sure that some people's pregnancies are horrible. I know that Ryan and I have been very blessed so far. I haven't gotten sick and besides being tired, I have felt great. I am just going by one of my friend's motto's that told me to "love every inch and every pound that the Lord lets you experience". What a great way to look at this. Now, don't get me wrong, Ryan has had to listen to the complaining and frustration of not being able to fit in my favorite jeans anymore and all of the other petty things that those "raging" hormones have taken over. Overall though, I just feel blessed! Thank you Lord for this miracle!