"Is she fat or is she pregnant?"

I swear people are thinking that when I walk by...Hummm, "Is she fat? Wait, maybe she's pregnant..." UUgghh, not my favorite stage but this too shall pass.

As per the request of more and one friend, here are some belly pics.

The first is from 6 weeks 4 days-the day we saw our little skittle's heart beating on the u/s and the second is from tonight: 18 weeks (I think it just looks like I've eaten too much cheesecake!!!).

Israel and More

I wrote an Israel overview in a note on Facebook but I wanted to say a bit more about our trip-and more about my pregnancy in the last couple weeks.

Physically, Israel was a tough trip. My body had a pretty hard time adjusting to the time and diet changes. I was used to eating whenever I needed and resting whenever I needed. We were on such a strict pace that I just didn't feel well about half the time. I barfed on the plane, I barfed on the bus, and I barfed in the hotel room. We ate only three huge meals (and I was used to eating 6 small meals) a day and even with snacking on the treats I brought, it was hard. I also am not in as good of shape as I thought I was. In the beginning when we hiked on Nimrod's fortress and climbed around Megiddo I thought I was going to pass out with all the steps (which by the way, I'm not talking about little steps, no, these suckers were HUGE roman style rocks a foot and a half between each one.).

Don't get me wrong, it was the most amazing trip I've ever been on, and probably ever will go on. I learned so much more than I thought I would even when Ronny, our tour guide, would shove so much information down our throats that I just didn't think I could absorb any more. I've already been asked what my favorite part of the trip was. That's so hard to answer! I was most overwhelmed when we were boating on the Sea of Galilee knowing that Jesus had been on the same lake. Sitting in the Garden of Gethsemani listening to our pastor teach was also something beautiful. Just to be able to read the gospels now and picture the places where Jesus walked is priceless.

Something pretty cool is that when we were there, BOTH Dh and I got to feel the baby move!! The sensation is kind of creepy to me but I know without a doubt it was the baby. I feel it randomly every day now.

I'm attaching a few photos from our trip. I plan on uploading many more to FB sometime soon.

On the Sea of Galilee:

Me getting baptized in the Jordan River:

Nimrod's fortress built either in the 12th or 13th Century: