Hey from North Carolina,

We are now officially in our second trimester and despite claims that I would be feeling better by this point, I am definitely not. Truthfully, to be going through this for our baby makes it a bit more tolerable, but not any easier. I have added to my list of symptoms the onset of migraines. Migraines are a pretty common occurance during pregnancy and assuming you were not afflicted by them prior to pregnancy it's likely they will go away after the baby is here. To go with migraines I have horrible back pain and shortness of breath. This reached a peak last Friday when I collapsed and was out for quite some time. I landed on my tummy and after an hour or so I began to feel some severe cramps and abdominal pain. Our doctor wanted us to go immediately to the hospital where, upon our arrival, I was rushed into a hospital room and poked and prodded for hours. The collapse was unexplained. The baby was fine, which was really all I cared about and after a while, I was feeling fine as well. I was on bed rest for a few days and for the next couple days the time I can spend on my feet has been limited to just a few hours.

Our doctors assure that everything wrong with me is normal because I am pregnant. I don't want to seem ungrateful for the pregnancy. It has been an incredible blessing however unexpected it may have been. But I don't pretend that this is a magical, beautiful time. It's hard and it's gross and utterly exhausting. All that matters to me is getting this baby here safe and healthy. Through all of this we are blessed that the baby is healthy and doing very well. We should be finding out the sex of the baby on Friday assuming we can get a good view but the fact of the matter is we really could care less what we have. The baby is due at the end of January and we just can't wait to meet him or her.

In the mean time Christian has been such a wonderful help to me. He keeps the refrigerator stocked with ginger ale and the pantry full of crackers. He is working overtime taking care of me and takeing care of his business. He is back in school and between classes and coaching volleyball he has been a very busy man. The most exciting thing coming up this year (besides the baby, of course) is going to be Chris starting law school in the spring. He will going in the evenings three times a week. I am a little nervous simply because between teaching and law school there is a pretty good chance I will be ready to have the baby and he will be no where in sight. Although I know he's going to be super busy, I have to say, I am really proud of him and how hard he works for our family. He wants the best for me and the baby and I am so blessed to have a husband like that.

Boy or girl? What do you think? When we find out, we will let you know.