Big Mama at 19 weeks

I woke up one morning last week and looked down and said "Whoa!" My belly was already starting to pudge...but it had POPPED out! I am HUGE!! I am almost 5 months and I feel like I am 8. It's amazing how fast your body changes. I am feeling Baby moving all the time now and already feeling stretched, bloated, and plain out uncomfortable. I couldn't even button my pants today that I fit in last week. Praise God for the person who invented the Bella Band!!!! As much as it disturbs me to put this "Moose" Picture up here..it's all part of the beautiful process of giving life..so here I am in all my belly glory. Of course I am pregnant and barefoot!

My first Baby Purchase!!

I always thought that when I found out I was pregnant I would be susceptible to spending too much money picking up cute baby things here and there from the time the test read positive until the birth. However, I have not bought a single baby thing...at least until now. Hey 4 1/2 months without buying even a bib...pretty good.

I went to register at Babies R Us over the weekend and spotted one of those outfits that just shouted out "You must buy me." Now my husband has trained me quite well to be very careful with our finances (praise God for him), so I rarely buy things on a whim..but I just had to. There was a Saint Patrick's Day display with baby clothes and my 1st buy was beckoning me over. With the last name of McGinty it is obvious our baby is part Irish. Well I spotted this onsie and bib and thought it was meant for our child:


I figured a boy or girl could wear it and it does not have to be only for St. Patrick's Day because they will be Irish all year round. Plus it is like McGinty just McCutie. Now do you see why I had to buy it? Besides my Maw Maw bought the onsie..and I bought the bib, so it wasn't a lot.

Then we spotted the sale rack. It was divided into girls and boys...no good for me since we have no idea nor will we what this bambino is. But I decided to browse just for fun and ran across the overalls and shirt below. Then my mom found the matching bib. Granted, it is for a boy since it reads "Little Cowboy" but if Evan has a boy, he had to have this outfit. I couldn't pass up those adorable blue jean overalls. Since they were on sale, my mom was convinced she had to get them...just in case.


With that said, I have been feeling for the past week that we are having a boy...but who knows. People always say they just know, but really, you have a 50/50 shot at getting it right. I think things just start to influence your mind here and there. Maybe these boy clothes did it for me. When I run across a cute girl outfit that I can't live without...I might think it's a girl. Either way this baby will be loved and will hopefully be a McCutie!!!!!

Baby Buffalo (Van Jackson Collins)

I never got to post a picture of Van (Baby Buffalo). Here is one of him from last week and one with Soryn loving on him. She always says "Baby...Hold" and then proceeds to give him tight hugs and squish his face with her head..but it's sweet. She's been a great Big sister.

18 week Ultrasound

Here are some of the latest ultrasound pics. They are not that great because I do not have access to a scanner at school. I had to take a picture of a picture. It gets more and more fun every time we go. To see the baby moving so much and opening it's mouth and rubbing it's eyes....SO PRECIOUS!!!!

This is the scary skeleton/alien picture. It is showing the lens on the eye..but look how sweet the hands are positioned under the chin. My mom claimed she could see Evan in this one....I thought that was hysterical!

You can see the spine and a foot in the top right corner.

This one is my favorite..the baby is rubbing it's eye!! SO SWEET!

I think this one looks like it has a bear or little porpoise face

Apple Pie Aprons

Thanks to everyone who voted on the Apron Business name. Although Angie's Aprons won by the most votes....I still decided to go with Apple Pie Aprons. It has a nice ring to it and I like all the a's and p's. I'm weird! Anyway, I am working on getting some new funky aprons made. I went crazy at Hobby Lobby buying material and I am anxious to put the fabrics together in fun ways. My goal is to start selling them in the Farmer's Market in the Fall (POST BABY), and hopefully I will have enough aprons made to have a nice selection. Until then, I have started a new blog: Apple Pie Aprons. There is a link under Blogs and my favorite sites. I will be posting each apron that I make and the price I am asking for each. There are no aprons posted yet, because I have to find time to sit down with good ol' Mr. Singer and get busy. But, you can go and check out the delicious blog and let me know what you think. I will make sure to let you know when the first apron is posted.

Wilderness man comes home

EVAN IS COMING HOME TONIGHT!!!! He shortened his trip by 2 days because they hiked really hard and reached their mileage and were glad to get out before the REAL cold hits. Although when they woke up this morning it was -5 degrees. Talk about cold! Although today it is like 27 degrees and with 11 mile an hour winds here in Covington. So, he's coming home to cold, but a warm house and bed and a loving wife. I AM SO EXCITED to see him. It has felt like a year although it has been 9 days.

The Word is ALIVE

On Sunday my pastor preached on The Bible (The Word). He made an excellent point in stating that so many people consider the Bible to be the most important book and Holy, yet so many of us don't open it up and read it. How is it that this book that reveals God's plan for eternity is not indulged in more often? I know that I am guilty of not taking advantage of this amazing tool that God has given us to learn from. Like Asah said, I will usually go to it to find an answer or prove a point, but I struggle to make it a part of my daily routine to drink in this goodness that God has given us. Some times I am better at it than others, but if this is the LIVING word, meaning it has relevance today and God speaks to us TODAY through it, why is it only sometimes that I find myself opening it. How sad!

I got the new Casting Crowns CD and heard a song that just reiterated what Asah had preached about on Sunday and it really struck home with me. Music always seems to get me. I wanted you to be able to hear it and think about how often you actually spend time in the WORD. Is it just something you do when you can squeeze it into your busy day? Or is it PRIORITY and what gets you through your busy day? I am challenging myself to be in the WORD daily. Now, I have taken this challenge many times, but praise God, He is full of grace, and although I have failed time and time again, His Word never does and it is still there.

Below is a link to the Casting Crowns song "The Word is Alive." I really wanted to share this song, especially if music speaks to you also. The only way that I could get it on here for free was to embed this video (which is kinda cheesy), but don't focus on the video, just the words.

A Great day!

Yesterday was a great day! Although it seemed to last forever and I wanted to crash by 6 pm (still waiting on that awesome boost of energy to hit). I got a phone call around lunch telling me that Shannon (my cousin) was being taken into the hospital and having her baby (1 week early). I was so ecstatic and managed to work out a way to get there by 2:15 before they took her in to do the Cesarean at 2:30. Once again, my family took over the waiting room as we all waited for the first boy in 3 generations on our side of the family to be born. Finally Brian brought him in the cart down the hall and we all crowded around to ooh and ahh over his sweet little face. Sylvan (Van) Jackson Collins was 8 pounds 3 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. He looks very much like Soryn did when she was born. I got to hold him for a few minutes and I loved it..I wanted to kiss him all over! I didn't get any pictures because Evan has the camera.

The second part of my good day was that I got to talk to Evan!!!! He happened to be staying at a hostile on the trail and so I was able to call him. He is having a wonderful time and seeing so many beautiful things, but I was glad to hear that he missed me as much as I miss him. Ok...maybe I miss him more. He said he has been feeling great everyday but the 2nd day his shoulders were killing him from his pack. They have hiked through snow some days. He sounds like he is loving it. I was just excited to hear that he is alive and ok. That will help me get through the rest of the week! He might even come home 1 day early because they are ahead of schedule. Now my hopes are up!

Into the Wild

So my hubby is gone fore the next 9 days:( He set off yesterday morning to make the 9 hour drive to North Carolina and then an 8 day 100 mile hike through the cold Appalachian mountains. He was so pumped about going on this trip. It made me excited for him to see how the thought of this adventure got him going. Yet, I am sad that he is gone, and yes only for 10 days, but I am not used to that and I am a little attached to him.

Mostly it's that I worry. I run every possible bad scenario through my head. Satan has been attacking me with worry and anxiety about him going on this trip, but I know the Lord will protect him and I have to constantly remind myself of that. Last I heard from him yesterday they were driving through Tennessee. The bad news is that I do not get to talk with him because there is no reception. So, for the next 8 days I will have to trust that he is safe and enjoying God's beauty out there in the wild. Please keep him in your prayers for safety and an amazing time and for me to be patient and calm until he gets home. I am looking forward to him coming back though...I will be waiting with a razor in hand to cut off that big ol beard he's been growing and his nappy hair! (Hopefuly it really will keep him warmer out there)

Baby Dream

Last night I had a baby dream. Now I have always been one to have dreams and several of them a night. But last night I had a dream that the baby was a boy with thick curly sandy blonde hair, which was adorable but he also had this thick curly blonde hair on his chest...which in my dream was not weird or gross, bu thinking about it now...YUCK. I told Evan about it and he boasted in the fact that he had produced a "man." Anyway, in my dream I felt this amazing love connection with this baby. It was more love than I had ever felt!

Switch to next dream segment: I am changing the baby's diaper (although I don't see it's face..so who knows if it is the same baby) and what do you know...it's a girl! I thought maybe I was getting a sneak peek as to what the baby is in my dream...but so much for that.

Next segment: I am breastfeeding and it is the most amazing connection with my baby. I never understood that when other women breastfed, but last night I was so there. I was also prodced so much milk I could have filled gallons. It was insane!

Overall, it was a great dream and it made me want my baby here in my arms right away...I just hope my baby doesn't have curly chest hair and I am producing more milk than a cow!

I felt it!!!!!!!!!

About a week ago, I felt the baby for the 1st time. It was so neat!!!! I have felt it about 4 times since then. I always thought I would not recognize it since I was having constant rumbling of gas in my belly all day every day, but it was different and I just knew what it was. I get so giddy every time I feel it, which is not all that often yet, but it's like a little surprise that sneaks up on me and puts a smile on my face. This week I am definitely feeling like a moose. I am def popping out and thickening everywhere...although that could be due to my latest cravings of bagels with creme cheese and block cheese with Triscuits. I could eat them all day!!! I decided to slightly back off with the bagels..I switched to whole grain. I can't believe that today is the start of week 16...I know my counter is a few days off up top. That means in 1 week I will be 4 months with only 6 more to go. WOW!!! I am finally feeling good for the most part, although I still have not gotten that 2nd trimester boost of energy yet....I'm exhausted! I was also excited to learn on whattoexpect.com that my baby may be able to start hearing us this week, which makes Evan excited because he's been talking to it since I found out. I am now getting to the "Wow.....this pregnancy thing is cool" stage! I am amazed by God's creativity and intricate detail of the human body and how life comes into this world more and more every day as I learn how our baby is growing.

Baby Bump

Here is the 1st belly pic at 15 weeks.