Pregnancy Announcement Video

We made this video to show the youth kids at church to tell them we are expecting. We wanted to show it yesterday but it wasn't a normal Sunday morning youth group, so we are waiting until next week. None of them read this blog so I can share it on here. Greg is such a good sport :)

Running on Empty

I had heard that during the first trimester you can feel extremely tired, and boy is that true! My normal non-pregnant self on an average day doesn't have a ton of energy anyway, so I figured I would probably be really wiped out when pregnant. I have always been able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat, and am not much of a night owl (unless I am playing games and then my competitive self comes out and says BRING IT ON - I DO NOT EVEN NEED SLEEP AND I AM PREPARED TO STAY UP ALL NIGHT IF NECESSARY TO BEAT YOU).

Needless to say, the 1^st trimester has used up a LOT of energy. I have been going to bed at 8:30pm! (I get up at 5:30am) Getting those extra hours of sleep at night has really helped a lot. It is hard to do sometimes though. We can’t even watch The Event because it comes on from 8:00-9:00. Whoa. Way too late. Of course I do make exceptions for Bible Study which lasts from about 7:30 to 9:15 or so. Also, at work, many days I have closed my office door during lunch and have taken a nap.

I used to be a fast walker. Greg can barely keep up when I “turn my legs on high (speed)” as I like to say. I have recently turned into a slow walker though. It is just interesting how everything works. But it makes sense. There have been so many major things happening as God forms the baby that it takes a toll on the body. But I am happy to give up the energy for the new life growing inside me. It is just so amazing!

Thankfully, I feel like things are starting to improve slightly. As I near the end of the first trimester, I feel like I have a bit more energy. Even though I pretty much slept / lazed around all of last weekend, I have been staying up past my 8:30 bedtime recently. I think one night was 9:30 – party animal! And I haven’t taken any lunch-time naps this week Today I even worked out. Well, worked out = slowly walked 1 mile. Progress!

Greg and Jana +1

Baby Mattern is due Dec 7^th and I am so excited!

That means currently I am about 12 weeks along. I went to the doctor today and it definitely feels real now after seeing the baby jumping all around on the ultrasound. It seems we have an active little one on our hands. Or maybe that was just the Skittles I ate earlier...

The first couple days after we saw the positive pregnancy test I think we were both sort of in shock for a while. It is a hard thing to grasp at first without any visible changes or symptoms. I would wake up every morning and the first thing I would think would be – oh my gosh, am I really pregnant??? Yippee!! The morning sickness hit soon enough and I think once that really came on it started to feel real. Even though it is no fun, it is definitely a good reminder that God is knitting together a little life inside me.

Time has gone by very slow so far. I am glad though, and thankful that it is going by slow. I know the baby will be here before we know it and I’m sure the latter part of the pregnancy will fly by when we are busy getting a nursery ready and working on a never ending to-do list. And of course once the baby is here I know time will be flying by even faster. So for now I am really appreciating the slow pace. I have also heard friends say that their 2^nd (3^rd etc) pregnancies go by super fast once you are busy chasing around another kid, so it is nice to have a chance to soak it in. However, it has been hard not to count down the days until the morning sickness goes away. But even in the sickness, I am praying for a good attitude and that I would be able to appreciate these days too. Pregnancy is such a miracle!

Greg and I are both so excited. I just cannot believe God’s goodness in answering our prayer for a baby and I feel so privileged to get to experience pregnancy and see first-hand God’s process of creating life. It is so fun to read about each week what is going on with the baby. Every source says something different, but I think it is around the size of a lime or plum. It is unbelievable to me that pretty much all of the main organs/systems are formed, and the baby has tiny fingers and toes, ears, eyelids, etc.

I am so curious to know if it is a boy or girl but we still have to wait a while for that. I really want both, so I will be excited for either. Greg and I both think it is a boy, but that is not really based on anything – purely a guess. For now only God knows the gender of our precious little gift. So exciting!

This was my memory verse at the time I found out I was pregnant.

“I am still confident in this. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14

God has shown us His goodness indeed!

Here is the ultrasound picture at 7 weeks. Baby is looking like a cute little dot.

Here is the ultrasound picture from today - which is one day away from 12 weeks. I could not stop staring at this picture. It looks like a baby. A REAL BABY.

Grosse Family Maycation

This year's Grosse Family vacation was to Dauphin Island, Alabama. We spent last week relaxing, laying on the beach, and enjoying family game nights. It was so much fun! Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of all of us. Our camera was having issues during the group photo shoot, but my parent's got a good one so hopefully I can get a hold of that one soon.

Obviously we had to take some jumping pictures, cause that is just who we are.

Lauren looking graceful like a ballerina.

All of my jumping pictures were hideous so I am not posting them. But let's not forget who the photog was in these pictures - so I do get credit for doing at least something.

This one was pure luck. This was just supposed to be a shot of Greg. I didn't even realize little sis was in the background making this a masterpiece.

So then we thought, how cool would it be if everyone was in a line jumping at the same time? We tried to recreate it but failed miserably. Did we say anything about lifting your arms Cody? No, no we certainly did not.

Now it is time for sandcastle building. We take this very seriously.

Gigi and Paw-Dad with Kyler. Dad's grandpa name was initially Grandpa. Or was it Grandad? He could never remember and was caught numerous times introducing himself with different names to Kyler. "Kyler, hi, it's Grandpa!" or "Hey there Kyler, it's Grandad!" Due to the confusion my sister decided to make his name Grandpa-Dad. Well, after a while she decided that was too long and changed it to Paw-Dad. Kinda like Craw-dad. Perfect.

Speaking of Kyler, look how adorable he is with his suntan lotion mohawk. He is so cute. Our niece Hollyn and nephew Kyler are so ridiculously adorable. Greg and I frequently discuss our concerns that we will never be able to have a kid that out-cutes those two. The bar is set too high. But then I just tell myself, even if my kid is not very cute, at least I'll think they are cute. Cause all parents think their kid is the cutest one in the world, right? Problem solved.

Here is a Kimmel family photo. Windy outdoor pictures are not the best, sorry.

Here is our attempt at a picture with Kyler. Again, not the best.

We did a bit of fishing on the trip. Dad caught a fish right on the beach.

Greg and I took the kayaks out a couple of mornings. It was nice and peaceful. We didn't catch many fish, but it was still fun. Here is Greg with his catch.

My mom planned Minute to Win It games for us each night. It was so fun. There were fun prizes involved for each game. Here is the cup challenge.

Can you feel the intensity?

For each challenge the guys went against each other, and then the girls. This one involves balancing dice.

In addition to these games, we also played lots of other card and board games. We also ended each night with a poker tournament (not for money, just for bragging rights). Good thing money wasn't involved because I didn't win at all! It was still fun though.

Thanks Mom and Dad for such a wonderful vacation!!

Dallas Moms Blog

For all my Dallas Mommy friends, and for anyone else who just likes to read mommy blogs, my sister started up a new blog with a friend called Dallas Moms Blog. I thought I would spread the word. She is a much more consistent and entertaining blogger than me :), and you will probably get to see some pictures of my adorable nephew Kyler. Also they are having a giveaway right now for $50 to a cute baby boutique. Check it out! DallasMomsBlog.org

I will try to blog again soon since I have been so bad lately. I really wish I had more time to update this so I can look back years from now and enjoy remembering all that we were up to. For a super quick update of what has been going on, here are a few things.

Spider problem still a problem, but Greg did help in a huge way. I can now park in the garage! This is a first for us. He hung up the kayaks on the wall of the garage in this really awesome contraption and now a car can fit in there! Now don't think that I haven't still had spiders, cause um, I HAVE. But I am hoping they start decreasing. Just yesterday I had what I thought was a spider on my car, but after calling Greg from the driveway to come out and get it I was informed it was a preying mantis. Oh, cause that makes it better.

I bought 2 new pairs of shoes last week - in the same day! Who am I? And they were not Target brand either. Kinda pricey. But I realize (with the help of Greg pointing this out) that I have a big problem - I wear shoes to DEATH. I wear heals pretty much every day to work, and I wear then until they are falling apart and the metal comes through the heel making the loudest sound when I walk. And then what do I do? I just keep wearing them. Sad. So I finally threw away some LONG overdue shoes and got some new ones. Now I can wear those to death :)

This past weekend we had such a fun family weekend. Greg's family came in town because Greg's brother and fiance had a couples shower in Houston. Greg's family stayed at my parents house and so did we. We are so blessed to both have such great families that get along. It was so fun to have everyone together this weekend.

This coming weekend we will get some more family time as I get to see Lauren and Cody and Kyler. Ohhh I just love that boy. Can't get enough.

Ok, that is all for now.