Kathryn Jean Kees

Well you know it's been a while since you blogged when you forget your login and password to Wordpress! It's been a whirlwind couple of months, and I always stand amazed at the Lord's provision. Here's a quick Kees family update since the last post (before we get to the good stuff...the birth of Kathryn Jean Kees!).

Jason and I moved to our new apartment just down the street in mid-March (and let me tell you ladies, the best time to move is when you're pregnant...nobody lets you lift anything!). We absolutely love it, and it's such a treat to be able to open the refrigerator door without bumping into Jason as he's washing dishes and us BOTH being able to stand in front of the mirror in the bathroom at the same time. It's the little things! :)

In May, the Lord graciously provided Jason with a wonderful job as the Campus Pastor and Bible teacher at a private Christian school about 20 minutes away. He started last week and absolutely loves it! God's provision enabled me to quit my job at SWBTS (though I loved it :)), and start preparing for my dream job: being a mom!

Who better to help me prepare than the world's best mother...my own! Mom came down 4 days before my due date as we all anxiously awaited baby Kate's arrival! Every time my stomach tightened in the least bit, I would start the timer to see how far apart my contractions were! (And yes, I was one of those who went to the hospital and got sent home...wahh!) As my due date came and went, we scheduled an induction for August 12th, ten days past my due date. Nobody was more ready to have this baby than I! (okay, maybe Jason so he could stop hearing the "but I'm pregnant!" line. Hahaa!) Love that man!

The good thing about inducing is that the fam got to be here for the birth without middle of the night phone calls and racing from LA to TX (On second thought, with dad driving, they were probably still racing :)).

They're finally here to join the party!

Countdown to baby: 2 days!

We all piled into our apartment and created so many sweet, sweet memories. Here's Grammie cooking dinner with Baby Grant!

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

On August 5th, 2011, a fresh college graduate trekked her way from the pine trees of central Louisiana to a farrr, far away land... Fort Worth, Texas! :)

I moved to SWBTS and to my first 'big girl' apartment, a 458 sq ft one-bedroom right across from campus. After Jason and I were married, I said a tearful goodbye to half my closet space :) and he moved in, along with his 485,794,875 books!

But praise God from whom all blessings flow, we are moving! We are moving just down the street to a two-bedroom (with a dishwasher and a beautiful kitchen!) so we can begin preparing for Baby Kate's arrival. Before we go, I wanted to document our little apartment so we would never forget all the memories we've made here... all the papers we wrote for class, the time when Jason got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, the many suppers I cooked for us in my tiny kitchen, the rolls of quarters and trips down the stairs (that Jason made) to do the laundry, the perfect cup of coffee that he would bring me every morning, the train that ran right behind our apartment that blew its horn all hours of the night, and even the tiny porch where I learned to cut Jason's hair (he made me do it!)

Below are just a couple photos of my and Jason's very first apartment together :)

[caption id="attachment_152" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Living Room
Jason let me keep my cheetah rug![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_148" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Can you tell I married a Seminary student or what??
(He graciously let me have the four bottom, teeny, tiny little shelves for my cookbooks :))[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_147" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Jason calls this my "way too modern" art. Hah!
(I forwent the picture he wanted from Cracker Barrel:))[/caption]

"Time to Buy a Shotgun!"

[caption id="attachment_131" align="alignleft" width="265"] Kathryn Jean Kees[/caption]

Since November 17th, the day we found out we were expecting, we have been waiting for March 4th...the day we found out the sex of our little bundle! We went to the doctor at 12:45PM for our 1:00PM appointment, and after an agonizing 36-minute-wait ;), we were finally called back! Talk about my heart pounding!

The sonographer revealed several different views of the baby. He identified the four healthy chambers of the heart, 143 beats per second, two arms, two legs, healthy blood flow through the cord, great fluid around the baby, etc, etc. Jason and I could do nothing but sit back and revel in God's intricate creation, how He is perfectly knitting together this little miracle.

Then, the sonographer finally announced, "Well, say hello to your......(insert longest pause ever)......BABY GIRL!!!"

Aghhh!!!! We were ecstatic! I covered my mouth and said, "O my goodnesssssss!" I looked over to Jason, and he had the biggest and cutest grin I've ever seen. :)

When we walked out of the room, we went back to the waiting room for our actual doctor's appointment. We sat across from each other, gazing at the ultrasound photos we just recieved of our baby girl. I said, "Jason! What are you going to do with a little girrrrll??? (in my high-pitched, Brinker-acquired voice).

He said, in his matter-of-fact tone, "Well, I need to go buy some shotguns so I can keep all the boys away."

Hah! O, how I love my Jase. :)

18 Weeks and Counting!

[caption id="attachment_5" align="alignleft" width="217"] 17 weeks![/caption]

I am now at 18 weeks, but here's a quick view of baby Kees at 17 weeks! We find out the gender next week on May 4th at 1:00PM, and we are just counting down the minutes! My guess is a girl, but we shall see! I can't wait to start planning, picking out colors, designing the nursery, etc....I've definitely got the baby fever!

We saw the baby about a month ago via ultrasound, and the doctor said we've got "a little wiggle worm in there!" The Lord has truly blessed us beyond measure. Though a surprise, this baby could not have been more perfectly planned by the Father.