20 weeks!!

I can't believe that I am actually 20 weeks pregnant!  Matt keeps asking when I'm going to start showing, but I do have a little bump.  It's so sweet of him to say b/c I know that I'm not the same size I was when we left Louisiana.  :)  I'll post a pic later this week because that's when we'll find out if it's a BOY or a GIRL!

They say that the second trimester is usually the easiest and that has rang true for me so far!  I've felt really good, have been walking several times each week and I'm trying not to eat everything I see.  People have asked me if I've craved weird things like many pregnant women do.  I can't say that I've craved anything weird, but I can definitely tell when my body is asking for protein or calcium or something like that.  I really love hamburgers these days but I"m not as crazy about shrimp as I used to be.  Hopefully I'll get back on the shrimp kick once the baby's here.

I really want to go running while I'm out walking but my bladder is being sat on by this melon-sized baby that I have to pee like every 10-15 minutes while I'm walking as it is!  So, all those runners out there who are able to run when they're pregnant, KUDOS to you!  I really don't know how you do it especially when the dr already wants you to drink like 10 glasses of water a day.  I do have a couple of restroom stops on my route just so I can continue the walk.  So frustrating!

Matt and I have been discussing names for both genders.  We're not sure yet what we want for a boy, but the girl name we're pretty sure about.  And we really do not have a preference of either one-- there are actually reasons for both as to why we'd rather have either one.  So, I think we'll be really excited either way!

Pray for us because it's going to be a long week and then once we find out I've got 2 other events that afternoon/night so I don't know how I'll be able to tell everyone until later.  I wanted to have a gender reveal party but all of our family/friends are so scattered afar that it would just be me and Matt biting into a cupcake and that would defeat the whole purpose.  So, now I've got to get creative in how I want to tell everyone.... :)

Book Review: Your 100 Day Prayer

If one is looking for an in-depth devotional that will take him well into theological concepts of prayer, this is not the book to read.  It is a light read, about 5 minutes each day.  But the prayer time put in can add to a more substantial quiet time if that is the goal to be achieved. 

Your 100 Day Prayer by John I. Snyder begins on the first page with a place for one to write down a central prayer request one would like for God to lead him through.  The person then journal’s his own thoughts.  Then, there is a general prayer to help one begin their 100 day prayer journey. 

Each devotion has a verse or two to read, a page to a page and a half of reading, a stated prayer for one to say, then space for one to write “Today’s Progress” in their own words.  The book progresses along with the reader through the 100 days of his prayer time, encouraging the reader to continue with his quest and helps him to seek answers for his prayer(s).  At the end of the book (which equals the end of 100 days of prayer) there is a place for one to write how God has answered the prayer(s).  It is kind of a culmination of all that has been read, thought and prayed to God over the past 100 days. 

I thought this was an easy read for a devotional book.  The real test was to make it substantial enough to use as a quiet time guide.  To do that, I had to add my own journaling (outside the lines of the book) thoughts that expanded to include more of my prayers and not just the initial one I wrote at the beginning of the book.