And she shall be called.....

Yes ladies and gentleman, we have decided on a name! Our baby girl will be called Arden Leigh VanZoeren. We are so excited to finally have a name to go with this precious baby! Many of you may be wondering how we decided on her name. After looking through what seemed like hundreds of baby name books and lists and not finding anything that we could agree on, we agreed to give her a family name. Many of you know that if we were having a boy he would be named Tucker Gerrit--Tucker is my maiden name and Gerrit is part of Geoff's middle name, Gerritsen. We thought it would be fitting to give our daughter a family name as well but we wanted the name to be unique. Arden is my mother-in-law's maiden name and Leigh is my middle name (spelled Lee). We are so thrilled to have found the perfect name for our little girl! Now, we can't wait to meet her and put a face with her name!

In other news, we are wrapping up week 21 today--I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going! My next appointment is next Tuesday and I can't wait to see how much Arden has grown in the last few weeks. We are getting ready to start working on her nursery as well as registering for all sorts of fun goodies and necessities! We have decided to use my aunt's Jenny Lind crib (Thanks Holly!) so that is a huge financial help for us! It is so adorable and definitely fits with our style of furniture. As soon as we start working on the nursery I will post some pictures. Speaking of pictures, I know I have promised to start posting belly pictures. I have actually taken a few pictures, but have not been able to post them! It really stinks not having the internet at home! I will do my best to work on posting those this weekend!

Have a great week!

IT'S A.................

For those of you who didn't catch on with the bright, pink layout--we are having a girl! Our appointment went so well yesterday--Praise God! Of course we were so excited to find out it's a girl, but more importantly we are so happy to know that she is growing and developing just as she should. All of her organs looked great, she weighs 9 oz, and she is extremely active! She was constantly moving around while the tech was doing the ultrasound! However, she must be camera-shy because we had a very tough time getting a good look at her face. So, we get to have another ultrasound at our next appointment (YAH!!!) so we can try and get a better look at her face as well as her heart. The tech couldn't get a good look at her heart either (because of her position) but we did get to hear the heartbeat again--her heartrate is 150. Again we are so thankful that everything continues to go so well. Now the fun begins! I can't wait to start getting the nursery ready and even buying a few cute outfits! Of course there is a 20% error rate when the ultrasound is done before 20 weeks (I will be 19 weeks tomorrow) so I guess we could find out some different news at our next appointment! However, the tech and my Dr. seemed very confident that she is a girl so we are going to go with that confindence!

I'm sure many of you are wondering if we have decided on a name for her. I wish I had some good news for you, but unfortunately we did not have a girl's name picked out before our appointment! Of course we had a boy's name, but it's not very useful now ;) As soon as we decide on a name, I will definitely let everyone know!

Pictures will follow soon, but it will probably be this weekend before I'm able to post those.

Only 5 days to go...

...until we find out the sex of Baby VanZoeren! We are definitely excited to find out if we are having a boy or girl but I am really looking forward to the appointment for another reason. I can't wait to see just how much our baby has grown since our last ultrasound (March 31) and to be reassured that our baby is healthy. I have spent a lot of time over the last few weeks thinking about how powerful Satan is and how he uses our weaknesses to try and bring us down. My weakness, especially right now, is worry. I am so afraid that something is going to go wrong with our precious baby, that I often forget that this baby is an answered prayer from our Father. I must remember that everything is out of my control (thank goodness!) and in HIS hands. My focus needs to be on Him and everything he has done for us and has promised to do for us. Thanks to all my friends who have been reminding me of this daily. Please keep us in your prayers over the next few days, and especially me that I will have the strength to let go and give everything to God.

As for my lack of posts...I do apologize! We don't have a computer or internet access at home right now so I have to find time at work or on the weekends to post. I promise that I will begin posting more often once we know the sex and I also promise to post some belly pictures! My belly still hasn't grown that much (I know, I know--I'm pretty lucky. Although as a first-time pregnant woman, I wish I was showing a little bit more!) but since I'm almost halfway through this pregancy I guess it's about time to start taking pictures!

14 Weeks!

First of all, my appointment went so well this week. I didn't have an ultrasound (sigh) but we did get to hear the baby's heartbeat again so that was great. (For those that care the heartrate was 154) I have gained another 4 pounds for a total of 8 pounds since my first appointment! I have finally decided to break down and buy some maternity clothes because my regular pants have become extremely uncomfortable. Maternity pants are still a bit big, but I have learned a trick to make them fit better. Plus, they are so much more COMFORTABLE! Sitting at work in pants that are about to bust off at any given moment is NOT fun! Some of you have asked that I post pictures of this growing belly, so I will try and do that soon but I'm not going to make any promises ;)

Wow, I can't believe my first trimester is over--what a relief! And with the end of it has come the end to most of my nausea--YAH!!! I am so excited to be in my second trimester and experience all the blessings that will come. One of the things I am most excited about is finding out the sex. That big day will be June 2--I am so thrilled! So many people have asked what I think I'm having but to be honest, I have no idea! Some people have gut feelings, crazy dreams, etc. but unfortunately I have had none of the above! If any of you have any guesses, send them my way!

Praise God for my wonderful pregnancy so far--I'm looking forward to the next 13 weeks!

Promised Pictures

The beautiful Bride, Jenni, and me at the reception

The new family--Vince, Jenni, and Ellie :)

Miss Molly Kate--Isn't she precious?

Congratulations!

My friend Jenell gave birth to her baby girl yesterday! Molly Kate weighs 6 lbs. and 6 oz. and is 18in. long. Mommy and baby are doing great--I'm headed to the hospital today to see everyone. Please keep Mommy, Daddy, and Molly Kate in your prayers as they begin this brand new time in their lives!

Also Congrats to my friends Jenni and Vince who are getting married today! I am so excited for the two of them--they definitely deserve the happiness they have found in each other! Please remember them in your prayers as well as they begin their new life together. I will try and post pictures of the new baby as well as wedding pictures later this weekend. I know, I know--I'm terrible about posting pictures, but I promise I'm trying to get better!

Also, my next Dr's appointment is Monday morning. I'm always anxious before each appointment so please pray that I will be filled with peace this weekend. I know that God is taking care of me and our little one--he has made this known to me many times already. Thanks again for all the prayers that each of you lift up on our behalf--we love you all!

10 Weeks!

Sorry it has taken me a couple of days to post about my appointment. We had our 10 week appointment on Monday and it went so well! We were able to see AND hear the baby's heartbeat this time which was very exciting. Our baby is definitely going to be active--it's already moving around like crazy! The baby measured 3.5cm long and the heartrate was 176 which is fantastic! We could also see it's little arms and hands--it's definitely all becoming more real to me now. As soon as I can, I will post the ultrasound pictures. As for me, I'm still doing pretty good. I'm still struggling to find food that actually sounds good to eat but hopefully this will pass soon. I have gained 4lbs. since my last appointment so obviously I'm finding something to eat! Thank you so much for all the prayers that are being lifted up for us--we know that everything is under God's control and we praise Him for that. On a side note, I've been trying to get Geoff to post a little something to give his perspective on all of this, but he's being a little reluctant :) So I encourage all of you out there who want to hear from him to give him a little shout out--maybe that will give him the push he needs!