Getting close...

We are getting so close to the day we will meet our baby girl! We are currently 8 weeks and 2 days away! I can't believe I am this far along. I often look down at my belly in disbelief!

A lot has happened since the last post...at 22 weeks I was put on 2 weeks bed rest to prevent labor. And a week after being taken off bed rest I came down with the stomach bug and a severe bladder infection and ended up in the hospital for a day! And I have been constantly sick and stopped up the whole pregnancy; however we are so thankful for all of it & trust God in & through it all. Also, we found out my sister is also going to be having a baby in September which we are thrilled about! Our kids will grow up together! She finds out this week what she is having!

We had our first baby shower in Springdale, hosted by some very sweet dear friends! And it was so great to see so many familiar faces we had not seen in a very long time! Jeff actually stayed for the shower to visit. Since he stayed my friend Blaire took a few photos of us that really turned out great! Here are a few of my favorites! And some from the shower.

We are blessed to have such great friends all over Arkansas!

Our next shower is in Paragould this weekend! Really excited about it all! I will post photos of nursery soon - still working on the finishing touches.

Until next time! Which I hope to be sooner than later!

Baby Gender Reveal

So I know I am so far behind with this blog and I have a lot to catch you all up on...

First off, on Feb. 11th Jeff & I had an ultrasound to find out the sex of our sweet baby. We went but we did not find out that day! We waited until the next day to find out with family and friends! It was so much fun - so here is how we did it!

I took an envelope to the ultrasound technician and asked her not to tell us the sex of the baby but to put the evidence (pictures) in the envelope for us. So, she did just that! Prior to that Thursday I had my friends and co-workers at school agree fill cupcakes with pink or blue icing then ice the top of them for me. I made the cupcakes Thursday night and placed a hole large enough for that oh so sweet pink or blue icing!

I decorated everything pink & blue and had a ton of fun doing it! I began to get a little anxious as I was decorating but mostly excited!

I had invited our families and a few friends over for the big baby gender reveal!

I asked those attending the get together to wear pink or blue so we know what their guess was! It worked out perfectly! Here are the groups of pink and blue.

Then once all arrived Friday evening Jeff & I stood in front of everyone and bit into our cupcakes to find out our baby's gender! My heart was pounding... here is us just before then moments after...

Jeff was super fast and found out first. I wanted to make sure I bit into the cupcake far enough to find out...I think I nearly bit too far into it! I had a mouthful & Jeff's reaction was priceless! We both were convinced it was a boy until we looked at the cupcakes and saw that it's a ...GIRL!!

It was such a fun way to find out with everyone what this little bundle of joy is! Our families really enjoyed it & our friends did too. No one could believe that we had enough willpower to not look inside that envelope! I sealed the envelope and wrote over the seal "Baby Conaway" so that I would know if Jeff tampered with it! But we were very busy moving on Thursday after the appointment & that kept us busy until the party on Friday! It was a busy few days that's for sure!

Until next time - which I hope to be sooner than later! I have a little more time on my hands now! I will explain that in another post!

Love,

Melissa

What's been goin on!

Alright! So a lot have happened since the last post, so I must catch you guys up on everything without making this post way too long!

• First off - Jeff & his team won in the first round of playoffs! This was a big deal - it has never been done in the school's history of GCT football! Our first game was in Magnolia which was forever away but we came away with such an exciting victory and had an amazing fan base that traveled with us!
  
• The second round of playoffs unfortunately did not have the same outcome! And ended up being a crazy night because as my family & I drove down to Monticello in Jeff's truck, so we could all ride together, we managed to hit a deer on the way home. But then Jeff got to stay the weekend with me at my parent's house so that was a good thing. This loss was very hard to take though. At least Monticello went on to win the state championship!
  
• On December 19th 2009 I graduated with a Master's degree in Communication Disorders. This was a very big deal to me and I am so thankful God gave me the opportunity and ability to go back to school and get my masters! God has been faithful! My close friends & family planned a surprise bash for me which made me feel so special - thanks to everyone who helped!


• And on December 21, 2009 I was officially hired at the Brookland School district as a Speech-language Pathologist! God is faithful!

And the biggest deal that has gone on since the last post is that we found out we will be welcoming a little baby into the world in late June! We found out in October and kept it quiet from public for a while to get to our first doctor appointment. In the mean time we told our families! And they have been beyond excited! Again, God is faithful!

So I am sure you are curious as to how we told our families. Here's the story...

I guess I should start with Jeff... I took a test on a Thursday morning and was in disbelief, so I waited and said absolutely nothing to him and hid the test. Then I took another one Friday morning. Just in case the test was positive I went ahead Thursday afternoon and bought a picture frame that said daddy on it with scripture and a baby pillow that has a cross on it that says "bless this child." Friday morning I took the test and it was of course positive. I decided since he had a big game that night against a really tough team I needed to go ahead and share the news with him. So I called him into the kitchen and told him I had a "good luck" gift for the big game for him! (Side note - earlier this same week we found out our friends Josh & Kate were expecting their 3rd child) So he opened his gift and said "why did you give me a gift for Josh?" I said, no it's for you... he said "for real" He was excited and told me "congratulations" I just laughed because he was pretty much speechless and was unsure of what to say! He was thrilled and still is! He will be one amazing dad!

The day after we found out we were pregnant Jeff wanted to immediately tell his family; therefore I had no time to plan! Jeff's sister, who just had a baby last June, was over and so was little Harleigh. We put Harleigh in Jeff's lap and I took a picture. Then his mom said "Jeff now don't you need one of those!" and so we ran with that line and I said "Yeah, I think it's June when he will have one!" Allison was just walking out the door to go run and heard me say that but thought if it's what she thought Jeff's mom would run out and get her before she left. Vicki(Jeff's mom) sat in disbelief, like - did I hear her right!?! And so all she could say was "really?" "are you kidding?" Then Allison finished her run and I told her I wanted to show her what I gave Jeff on Friday as his "good luck" present before the big game he had...she immediately said "dad, you're gonna be a dad! I knew that what you were trying to say when I walked out but was sure if that's what it was someone would have come to get me! This makes my day" They were all so excited, and there was still another sister of Jeff's to tell. Becky was at home and we all loaded up and went to her house! She thought something bad had happened; and we told her she was going to be an aunt again! She didn't know if it were me or Allison! It was great! She teared up and we all screamed and laughed!

After that - it was going to be a couple of weeks before we saw my family again, so we decided to wait to tell them in person! They met us in Batesville for our football game and I was just praying we won - and we did. It was a big win that put us in the playoffs. So after the game Jeff got in the vehicle with me, Beth, Mom & Dad. I handed them all bags that were the same size just different color and told them we bought them a gift for making playoffs! They totally bought it. I counted to three and they opened up the bags! Inside dad's bag was a picture frame that says best grandpa ever with a picture of a sonogram I printed off the Internet & inserted, inside mom's bag was a picture frame that says look who loves grandma and inside Beth's bag was a little tile that said Aunt's are the coolest. They opened up the bags and screamed then jumped out of the car and gave hugs! It was priceless!

Below are a few pictures from the baby reveal!
The above photo is the photo I took of Jeff & Harleigh the day we told his family!

The last four photos are the photos from the night of the reveal to my family! Can't you tell they were so excited!?!

Coming up next... the Gender Reveal!!!! We will find out Feb. 11th!

God is faithful even when I am not! Thank you God for all the blessings you have trusted me with! I am thankful!

Eagles

Our GCT Eagles are currently sitting at 8-2 and have made it to the playoffs for the first time in 18 years! I am so proud of my husband and his coaching staff for all they have done to change this program and change people's hearts about football in Paragould.

Since the last post we won 2 of the last 3 games. The last game was the big game with our crosstown rivals the Paragould Rams. There is a Bell trophy that is won at this game and is passed back and forth between the two schools...the game has been named Battle for the Bell. We won the BELL and I have one happy husband!

This week we are traveling a great distance to play Magnolia in our first round of playoffs! I am excited about traveling because I get to go home and see my family and my Grandpa is really excited to get to come too! He is very supportive of Jeff and loves the fact I married a Football Coach! I love it too Grandpa!!!

Just a quick recap on what the coaching staff has done in the past couple of years...

2 years ago GCT football held a record of 0-10 (future was not looking so bright for the program, this was the season prior to Jeff being hired)

Last year GCT Football finished the season with a 4-6 record.

This season thus far we are at 8-2 and pray and are believing in more victories!

I hope there are more people in Paragould and all over Arkansas that believe in GCT Football again!

Needless to say but things are really exciting in our house right now!!!

Until next time...

Updated 10.22.09, sorry so late

Lots has happened since the last post and yes I still don't have photos up yet and it is just due to my pure laziness....but hey, I deserve to be lazy every now and then. Everyone does!

Alright, I am praising God for so many things that He has continued to bless me with.
First of all - I passed COMPS & the SLP Praxis tests! And will get to graduate in December!!! Since joining our church in Paragould, I have been praying for God to bring us a Worship Pastor who would not put his will before the will of God and lead us in Spirit filled worship! Last Sunday night our church welcomed Rob & Tunrade Schumann into our church family for this role. Jeff & I are beyond excited about this answered prayer! And our Greene County Tech Eagles are currently sitting at 6-1 with a big game tomorrow against West Helena! I am trusting in God for a BIG win for our program! It has been since 1990 since the Eagles have been 6-1! I am thrilled that God is showing Jeff the fruits of his labor! He is working so hard to take this team and program to a new height; however, He & I both know it is impossible without God!

I am staying very busy myself, with clinic being everyday I often come home exhausted and do not want to do anything. I am praying for God's guidance in finding a job close to where we live and praying that it will be a perfect fit. I want to love what I do and where I work! Most of all I want it to be a ministry! I have a heart for children and want to invest in their lives!

God is most definitely at work in our lives right now and I feel His presence more than ever! Praise Him! I am just so thankful to finally know my school is almost over with and I won't have that burden any longer. God is Good - and Faithful Always!

I have thought about not blogging anymore because I am clearly terrible at it and only do it every once in a while. So, let me know if there are actually any readers out there. If so I will be better and updating more often!

The time has come

Well, it's here...this is what I have been waiting for...the biggest test of my life and there are so many emotions running through me tonight that I could not help but to blog about them! I have one test down and one really long and big test to go (Monday & Tuesday).

I am feeling a lot of tightness in my chest with an overwhelming urge that tears are quickly on their way...tears of fear, anxiety and relief that it is almost over! Then I feel confident that I have studied and studied and have been responsible about time and effort put in; then I think will I remember it all and then the overwhelming urge to vomit comes over me! I am so ready for Tuesday to be over with! However, I am more nervous for next week when the results sit in my mailbox at school with my name on them...all I will have to do is open that envelope and I am praying it will say "congratulations, you have passed"!!! However, I will praise God regardless! He knows what is best for me and has it all planned out! Praise the Lord! I trust fully in Him; then my flesh and worldly ways make me worry about the unknown! For those of you who know me... you know I like to be in control of EVERYTHING! So, not having control kills me! However, I am trusting in God!

I am slowly feeling my blood pressure go down but my heart is still pounding out of my chest!

Lord be with me and my classmates tomorrow; please give us the ability to retain all that we have learned and studied and may we honor you and give you ALL the Honor & Glory!

ALRIGHT - BACK TO STUDYING!!!

And by the way the Eagles are 2-0!! Go GCT Eagles! Proud of you guys!

Normal Life

What's that? A normal life is what I cannot wait to have after all these tests are over!

I am praying for perseverance through this next week! I truly cannot make it through these tests without Christ's hand guiding me and helping me to retain all the information I have been putting in my brain! It is no doubt a stressful time but I feel God's presence and His calming spirit with me.

On a GREAT note, GCT won their first game last Friday against our biggest rivalry (Paragould High). I was a nervous wreck but we pulled it off and it has made for a great weekend and a happy husband! Praise the Lord!

I am currently taking a study break and daydreaming what life will be like after these two tests are over with! Things I can't wait to do...to get back in the gym and hit it hardcore, work on my resume and begin job interviews, watch lots and lots of football with my husband on the weekends without a test or paper looming over my head, Sleep good again (this includes Sunday afternoon naps), be a better blogger and go on a vacation at some point! These are just a few things I am looking forward to and thought I would share them!

Well long enough study break! I will post football photos from the first two games soon. I say from the first two games because I will most likely not be back on here until after my tests are finished! If you by chance think of me randomly next Saturday the 12th or the following Monday or Tuesday the 14th & 15th, would you please say a small prayer for me! Thanks in advance!