Furniture and Hot air balloons

Getting ready for a baby is hard work (and expensive)!  But we've had so much fun buying Vivi all the things that she will need.  It has been a challenge at times, because there are no Walmarts or Targets here in Egypt.  So there's no one-stop shopping.  Plus, baby clothes, baby furniture, and baby things in general are very expensive here.  So we've had to get kind of creative.  Thankfully, Vivienna has an awesome aunt, uncle, and cousin here in Egypt, and they are graciously letting us borrow a TON of their stuff!  Also, my parents are bringing us a suitcase of things that we couldn't find here, and for the big things, we had to search around a lot to find the right prices.

 Here's the rocking chair we found at a local shop down the street from our apartment.  Since it was made in Egypt, it was really reasonably priced, plus so stylish and comfortable!  And since the Courlisses are known for their love of rocking chairs, we figured Vivi couldn't be without one!

We love this crib!!  One of our Egyptian friends went with us to buy it so that she could bargain in Arabic for us. :)  Thanks to her, we got an amazing deal.  Some of the brand name cribs we saw were triple the price of this crib!  Plus it's handmade, along with the mattress.  We think she will love it.  

No, we did not buy this in Egypt... this is the quilt that my mom made for Vivi!  Our theme for the nursery is hot air balloons, so she made this, and it will be perfect!  

I wish I could put up a picture of the nursery, but since we're moving in June, we decided not to set up a nursery until we get to the new apartment.  Believe me, this makes me a little nuts, because I want to have her room all perfect and ready for her, but it's ok, I don't think she'll notice. :)  My vision for her room is that it will be very classy and stylish (like her!).  I have three vintage-looking art prints of hot air balloons for the wall, and I'm hoping to get a little crafty here soon and make a couple of decorative things too. :)  

I love getting ready for my little girl!!

35 weeks!

Our little Vivienna Belle is getting ready for her big day!  At our last appointment, we were really excited to see that her head was down, and just a few days ago, I noticed that she has dropped!  So, so far she's doing everything right.  We are such proud parents. :)  Now if she would just stay in there for 5 more weeks, that would be grand!

The third trimester has been filled with excitement for Tim and me!  Vivi's kicks and punches have gotten stronger, and she's gotten the hiccups several times.  I love to watch my stomach contort as she moves around in there!  Needless to say, she is endless entertainment!  I have read that it's normal for babies to slow down at this point because there's not as much room to move around, but she is still super active.  Of course, we think that means she will be some sort of amazing athlete with a really outgoing and bubbly personality.  Either that, or she will just be crazy hyper. :)  Another exciting thing is that I've started getting Braxton Hicks contractions (practice contractions)!  At first, I didn't realize what they were, but I was so excited when I figured it out!  It's all feeling so real!

The third trimester has had its share of struggles too (which are far overshadowed by the exciting things, thankfully).  I had a random short bout of morning sickness, which was strange, and I'm starting to feel more aches and pains lately.  Also, unrelated to pregnancy, I injured my ankle, so I've been limping around for awhile.  And that's not fun since I already have an extra belly of weight to carry around. :)  The stress has started to hit me too.  I have a lot of things to finish up at school before Vivi comes, and it kind of feels like a race against time.  Thankfully, my maternity leave sub is shadowing me now, so she is ready to take over at a moment's notice.  If I could just get everything on my to-do list done!  I'm almost there, though!

It's interesting that my stress has not centered too much around the fear of labor.  I always thought that when I was pregnant, I would be FREAKING OUT about the labor process.  To be sure, the fear of the unknown is definitely there, and there are times when I feel the burden of it all, but I feel prepared in a lot of ways too.  Tim and I read a book outlining the Bradley Method of labor and we've been working on the breathing and relaxation exercises that they suggest.  It has been really empowering to read the book and understand the stages that I will go through, and have practical things to do to get ready.  We also have made a Birth Affirmations book (thanks to my friend Allison's inspiration!) full of scripture and encouraging words that Tim will read to me during contractions.  I really hope that I can stay mentally tough through it all.  We're hoping and praying for a completely natural childbirth!  Of course we know plans sometimes have to change, but we think having a plan is so important.  

Although I've had some minor complaints throughout this pregnancy, I have to say that it's gone really smoothly overall!  So far I've had no trouble sleeping and I really hope it stays this way.  I'd like to get as much sleep as I can before Vivi comes!  I haven't really had any specific food cravings, just ICE CRAVINGS!  I am so in love and addicted to ice right now.  I have two ice trays that I am constantly eating out of, filling up, and freezing again.  I read that this might mean I have an iron deficiency, but it could just be that I'm pregnant! :)  It's gotten to the point that Tim knows he can totally make my day by bringing me my ice or filling up an empty ice tray for me.  My dentist is not going to be happy with me!  I've also been a little crazy about nesting/organizing lately.  The truth is I'm always a little crazy about these things, but pregnancy has made it worse!  I just feel like I want Vivi to come into a world where everything is in its place.  So some OCD and addictive tendencies have come out, and Tim has tried to keep things in perspective for me.  He's pretty great like that.

Speaking of Tim, what would I do without him?!  Throughout this whole pregnancy, he has been amazing!  He has listened to my daily complaints, talked me through stressful situations when I have felt overwhelmed, practiced for labor with me, and helped me with so many little things every day.  I couldn't do this without him.  And I know he's going to be an amazing birth coach on the big day too.  He's so excited to be a dad, and I'm so excited to see him as a dad!  I feel giddy with excitement just thinking about what our family of 3 will be like!

I'm really hoping that I have another 5 weeks of this pregnancy, but we'll see what Vivi decides!  I can't wait to kiss her sweet little face!!

Reflections and Resolutions

A lot happened in 2011!  Tim and I moved from Korea to Egypt at the time of the Egyptian Revolution, started new jobs in the middle of a school year, spent time in nine different countries (Korea, Turkey, the UAE, Egypt, Italy, Jordan, the States, Austria, and Slovakia), lived in five different apartments, and, most exciting of all, found out that we're having a baby!  Whew!  I can't even begin to describe how blessed we feel.  It was a year of adventures (good and bad), but God was in all of it, providing for us and leading the way.  As much as we sometimes complain about this crazy country of Egypt, we are so thankful for our jobs, and to be here with amazing family and friends.

Let's see... what can we expect from 2012?  Again, lots of changes, but good changes. :)  The biggest change of course, is that we will become parents!  Although we can't believe we're old enough for that, we're definitely ready to love on Baby Vivi!  I know that this year will be full of so much joy because of our little girl.  Also this year, God willing, we will be moving to a new apartment (next door to Norris and Angie), I will be starting a teacher certification program, we will be going back to Indiana and Michigan for the summer, and in the fall, we will be making decisions about whether we are staying in Egypt or relocating for the next school year.  We're excited to see how God leads in 2012!

I love the start of a fresh new year, so I can't help but make some goals and resolutions.  Here are a few of them...

1.  Read through the Bible.  Tim and I are doing this together using www.youversion.com (Thanks, Dad!), and it's been great so far!  We're reading through the Old Testament and New Testament at the same time.  We have started these types of reading plans before, but they have fizzled out during the year, so we are praying that we stay disciplined and stick with this one!

2.  Learn Arabic.  We figure we're living in Egypt, so we need to make a commitment to learn the language, at least the basics. No more just sliding by.  We started taking lessons in December, and just the little bit that we now know has given us extra confidence.

3.  Recycle.  We visited Garbage Village over Christmas break, and it was very eye-opening to see how the people in that area of Cairo live.  They sort through all of the trash from Cairo, find the things that can be recycled, and then sell them to recycling companies.  It's a sad way of life, and it made us want to sort our trash ourselves, to possibly make their load a tad bit lighter.  Every little bit helps, right?

4.  Volunteer.  We're living in a place where there is so much need all around us, and I have really been feeling like I want to get involved.  I want to find a group or organization that I feel passionate about and just dive in.  I'm not sure how this will work with having a new baby, but I'm praying that God shows us something soon.

5.  Pay off student loans!  We're so close!  Living abroad has been a blessing in so many ways, one of them being that we've been able to save and get rid of student loans quickly.  Tim finished his last year, and I just have one more to go.  We're looking forward to financial freedom!!

6.  Get my teaching certification.  I mentioned this earlier, but I will be a student again very soon!  I will be taking a series of classes online that will certify me as a teacher.  And the best part is... I can use my experience in my own classroom for my student teaching AND I should be done by November!  Having this certification could open up so many possibilities for us in our future job endeavors.  I'm just hoping that being a new mom, working, and taking classes won't be too overwhelming!

Most of all, in 2012, I want be the best mom that I can be to Vivienna!  I am praying for strength and wisdom as I take on this new role.  I am insanely excited about it!  I know it will be a challenge, but I'm so ready to take it on!  2012- the year of Vivi!  I think it has the potential to be the best year EVER.