Early Birthday Celebration

No, baby W has not joined us yet. My birthday is March 26th, but due to the uncertainty surrounding when he will join us, my hubby went ahead and surprised me with a birthday celebration on Saturday. He really didn't want it to get overshadowed by all the baby stuff. So Saturday was a fantastic day!!

* He walked Molly allowing me to sleep in some.
* He brought me breakfast in bed - Waffle House to go!
* He had balloons and decorations all over the house (as well as in the neighbor's trees as he later told me he had to go back to the party store to get more after he lost the first ones to the trees)
* He cleaned the house and did the dishes.
* He took me out to eat at one of my favorite lunch spots - Urban Cookhouse
* He took me to Ross Bridge for a pre-natal massage - y'all know how I LOVE massages - it was so nice and much needed after a lot of lower back pain lately.
* He then told me that 2 of my best friends (Christy and Liz) were coming over that night to hang out and celebrate. He cooked dinner for us and bought Dreamcakes cupcakes for our dessert. He also gave us party favors (like a bucket filled with stuff you would get at a 5 year old's birthday party - it was awesome). I had a great time catching up with my friends.

It was such a great birthday surprise from Hogan. I really don't think I deserve him but I suppose that's the way everyone should feel in their marriage. I'm so grateful for him. So now that my birthday is celebrated AND we just received word that our door hanger we were having made for the hospital is ready for us to pick up (ha ha), we are officially ready for baby W to enter our world. Can't wait to see when he does :)

"Live Like That"

I heard a song on the radio on my way to work this morning and the lyrics really touched my heart so I wanted to share. Obviously it's much better with the music so go download or find the song on the internet and take a few minutes to listen to. The song is "Live Like That" by Sidewalk Prophets and it definitely helps me to think twice about my actions and words on a daily basis. The parts that really hit me I highlighted in blue :)

Sometimes I think
What will people say of me
When I'm only just a memory
When I'm home where my soul belongs

Was I love
When no one else would show up
Was I Jesus to the least of those
Was my worship more than just a song
I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that

Am I proof
That You are who you say You are
That grace can really change a heart
Do I live like Your love is true
People pass
And even if they don't know my name
Is there evidence that I've been changed
When they see me, do they see You
I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to show the world the love You gave for me
I'm longing for the world to know the glory of the King

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

It's March!!!

It's March 1st. It's officially the month of my due date for baby Hartzog! Granted it's at the very end (March 29) but I was so giddy this morning thinking about how we could and hopefully will have our little boy in our arms sometime this month!!

It's such a great anticipation.
He could come tomorrow, in 2 weeks, on my birthday, a week late - we just don't know!

All we know is that we are both ready to welcome him into this world. I've heard the joy of holding him for the first time is unexplainable and I can't wait for that moment. When I think about it, I start smiling and even start tearing up. I can't wait to be a mommy to our little guy.

And we are so looking forward to introducing you to little W.G.H.

If you want a good laugh, check out my hubby's blog post today...

http://ho2theworld.blogspot.com/2012/03/things-i-dont-want-to-hear-this-month.html

:)

Hiccups

I really feel like I JUST blogged the other day and looking at it now, it's been over 2 weeks! I knew February was going to be a crazy month but still can't believe it's halfway over now.


Let's see, what's been going on...


Coaching soccer 2 times a week. I'm trying to limit myself to 2 days if possible. I'm pretty stubborn but I know I need the rest so it's working pretty well so far. We are actually getting great numbers at practice although some days it's a completely different group of guys then the day before :-/ But all things considered, it's going pretty well...we're having fun and the weather has been beautiful for the most part. There are 2 guys who don't speak a lick of English so that's been pretty humorous. I just get the other guys to translate for me. Yesterday I learned the Spanish word for pass..."passela" (sp?) What's hilarious is hearing me say it as I have the most American sounding spanish accent ever.


My work held a baby shower for me and my co-worker, Beth. I love my company, American Cancer Society, and am so blessed by my co-workers here. Here are a few pics from the shower...

My sweet co-workers who hosted the shower for us! 

Me (at 32 weeks) and Beth (at 29 weeks).

I love this picture because I was so excited about receiving our first thing of wipes and diapers. 

Hogan knows I work with a bunch of women and was such a trooper. The few guys I do work with just sent a present to the party so Hogan was the only man there :) 



We took a CPR class to learn infant CPR but so glad I now know adult CPR as well. Hoping to never have to use it of course, but very glad we know it now. Hogan actually asked me last night if I remembered what we learned...eek...gonna have to review the handouts every now and then to make sure I remember but it was a little foggy already last night!


We found a pediatrician. We are just going to use a practice that is actually located at St. Vincent's (where I'm delivering). This is a HUGE check-mark on the "to-do" list.


I had my 33rd week checkup last week and will start going weekly beginning next week!

I received my 2nd baby shower last weekend from some great friends in Madison (my home-town). That was such a blessing. I'll post those pictures in another blog post soon!

And last, but certainly not least, I felt hiccups from our baby boy the other night! It was so stinkin neat and honestly I didn't realize that is what they were until my co-workers suggested that's what it probably was since it was such a rhythmic beat in my tummy. Carrying this child is just so cool!

Here we go Woodlawn

So it's been a bit of a rollarcoaster ride these last several months dealing with Woodlawn soccer. While I don't think of myself as an over the top planner and actually love to live day to day trusting in the Lord's plan, there is still a bit of planning that needs to take place in life....and it was not happening with soccer this year.

This will be my 3rd year coaching the Woodlawn soccer team and we've made great progress over the past two years so I thought we'd continue building on that progress this year. As it got deeper into the fall, I was far behind my planning that I had done in the previous year due to circumstances beyond my control...

A new principal at Woodlawn.
My teacher contact retired.
No one from the school was responding to my messages.

I think I let it go for a while seeing that I really couldn't do anything else about the situation. But then it got to January and if season was going to happen this year, it needed to start happening! I finally was in contact with the Athletic Director at the school and things seemed to be looking up. Alex and I were scheduling games with other schools and patiently waiting until we had the go ahead from Woodlawn to start the season. The principal though still had not hired an official coach for the team yet and that was a vital part to the season. This was still the case as of only a week ago and honestly I gave up. I just was tired. Tired of praying about it. Tired of worrying about it. I really didn't think "ministry" was supposed to be this hard. I didn't know if the doors were being shut by God or the enemy. I was sad, not that I would not be involved, but that the guys wouldn't have a season.

My wonderful husband told me to just be still in the Lord. To let Him handle things. So I waited a week. I waited but like I said, I also had given up so it's probably not that hard to wait when you've given up. I sent a message to the AD this past Friday because I needed confirmation that the season would not be happening so I could cancel the games we had scheduled. And to my surprise...they had hired a coach and we could start practicing! I'm so thankful that the Lord works even when we've given up.

So we had our first practice yesterday! It was so good to be out there, to see some of the guys from last year. It rejuvenated me. I always forget how much I love it until I get back out there. I have no idea what the season will look like. I have no idea how long I'll be able to be out there for. I'm praying that we won't hit any obstacles we can't overcome. I'm preparing myself for a different kind of season. My main goal is not to get caught up in logistics and perfect practices and winning, but to produce real fruit - love, joy, peace, patience, etc...and to have some fun!

My Growing Belly

I've been horrible at blogging lately. Life has been so busy and this week, I feel like I've finally been able to catch my breath.

I'm at 31 weeks in my pregnancy which I can and can't believe. In one way, it feels like I've been pregnant forever (since we found out way back in July) but then in another way, I can't believe I'm only 9 weeks away (possibly sooner, hopefully not much later) from holding our little baby in my arms. I'm being completely honest when I say I am SO excited to give birth to him. Through all the negative stories I hear about labor and delivery, God has given me grace to ignore them all and simply look forward with excitement to the day when it happens - I have no fear whatsoever thanks to Him.

At the beginning of my pregnancy, we thought it'd be fun to take pictures in the same outfit as the weeks went by to really be able to see the change in my belly and body. I'm sure this is just a "first time mom" thing but pregnancy is such a miracle and I just want to try to document everything I can related to it this first time I'm experiencing it. That said, I've slacked a little bit on the pictures but here are some from the last few months...

21 weeks pregnant

25 weeks pregnant

31 weeks pregnant

So I probably don't have to say it, but I definitely feel pregnant now!! 

A few more weeks to go :) 

A Wii Little Blessing

Hogan and I have a lot on our plate right now. A lot to do. A lot to get ready for. We are trying to find a car and sell mine to make room for baby. I'm trying to help plan a season for Woodlawn soccer that I'm not even sure is going to happen right now. And if it does, I'm going to help coach as much as I can. We have to find a physician before the baby comes. We are praying that we get into a daycare in time for me to not have to take too much time off work. We have labor classes coming up to go to. We have to change my phone plan and thus, buy a new phone so that I can get better service at our townhome. In the back of our minds, with all this other financial stuff, is saving enough money to hopefully put a down payment on a home this next year. And on top of all of this, my work is definitely not slowing down.

From reading all that, you might assume I'm overwhelmed. I don't think I am. I know all of this has to happen but I also know who is in control. Honestly though, it's still pretty easy to feel some anxiousness. I know anxiousness and I pray it off constantly and turn my eyes and heart to the Lord but it's a continual thing lately.

But He assured me of something today...Hogan called me and told me that his boss gave him his son's Wii and a ton of games. His boss bought his son a new video system and it turns out they didn't want to keep more than one system in the house and so he offered it to Hogan. The beauty of this blessing is that over the past few weeks, we've been talking about purchasing a Wii. We thought it'd be something fun for us to do together and a good video game system for our child as well when he's old enough - basically something fun and interactive we can all do together inside. We know that the Wii isn't much money these days but it's still another expense so we hadn't purchased it yet. Hogan's boss had no idea we wanted one and were thinking about getting one. But I have a good feeling that God did. And through this blessing, he assured me that He has it taken care of. He is in control. He cares about the little things. And if He cares about the little things, he most definitely is going to take care of us in the big things.

Luke 12:27-31

“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."