Merry Christmas from the Reece Family!!

We have a busy week ahead, but I wanted to make sure in all the hustle and bustle that I tell everyone Merry Christmas! I beleive that Christmas is a time to celebrate the gift of God's son Jesus to the world by sharing gifts with those you love! I hope that you have time to reflect on all of the great blessings in your life, and to enjoy your family and friends!

Here is a few pictures of us setting up our 

Christmas Tree with Thing 1 and 2!

Picking a hospital- Part 3

Last night was Sushi dinner and Tour St. Luke’s Night! Romantic Right lol ;)
We are still really glad that we did the hospital tours now for a few different reasons ranging from the obvious getting to compare pros and cons to free loot :) Mostly though it helped to see the hospitals in person, because both of them had a lot more to offer then their websites described, and we feel much more prepared to make the best decision for our family!
It was one of Mike's few requirements that we choose a hospital with a NICU, so that narrowed our search down to the 2 main hospitals. Boise does have a few other options that we decided not to visit.

St. Luke’s offers a lot of the same great things that we liked about St. AL’s. They definitely are very different though, and each has a kind of family that they are a better fit for.

Things Jacqui likes~
• The # 1 pro that St. Luke’s offers it familiarity! The doctor’s office I have gone to since I was 15 is at St. Luke's, so if we pick Luke’s we get to skip the finding an office part when we pick our new OBGYN
• It is also where Jennabelle was born, so I know my way around
• Double Beds, so dad can sleep in the same bed if wanted
• The Nursery will take baby if mom needs rest, but otherwise they allow/encourage you to keep your new love in the room with you
• They stress the security of the baby, and have multiple rules in place to keep your family safe
• They have a Jacuzzi in every birthing room
• They have a lactation specialist team that you can see to help with nursing even after you have gone home from the hospital.


Things Michael likes~

• Experience- Luke’s Boise has more babies born daily than anywhere else in the state
• St. Luke's Children's Hospital is home to Idaho's largest and most experienced Level III NICU!
Their NICU is close to Labor and Delivery and they do "Crib Notes" to keep parents informed & part of what is going on with baby
• Each mom has their own nurse during Labor and Delivery to give one on one care
• They are flexible about visitation time
• Parents get the final word on who is in the room, and how things go during the birth process.

We did decide what hospital, and thankfully it was clear to us which one was the best fit! Now we are on to the next step of picking an OBGYN/ Midwife! Again I loved hearing everyone who contacted me with input about the hospitals, so if you have any doctor suggestions please message me!!

TTC Tag #1

1. How long have you been trying to conceive?

Officially (this time) since 9/2013, so we are in month 4.

2. Who knows that you are TTC?

At this time there are only a handful of people who know. Our support system... the people we know we can trust to keep quiet until we are ready to tell people, while still being there to talk to about the ups and downs, and pray for us along the way. It is such an exciting time! But we don't want to have answer to people each month if it has happened yet, or if we decide to stop we don't want to have to answer to people why. Plus we want the fun of surprising people when we finally get to tell everyone we are pregnant!

3. How many kids do you have/want?
We have two 7 year olds currently.
We want them to have one more sibling!


4. How old are you and your husband?
I’m 24 years old (25 in February), and my Michael turned 28 this August.


5. How long have you been married/ been together?
We got married on May 29th 2010, so almost 4 years! We started dating February 19th 2009.


6. What are some crazy things you do while TTC?
Well I'm not too sure what this means, but if it means like what things do we do in order to conceive.....I am not really a kiss and tell girl lol. We have just stuck to having fun ;)


7. Does your husband know all about TTC?
Michael is pretty good about knowing what he needs to know, and allowing me to have the parts I need to myself. He knows to be the positive great support, and honestly that is the part I need him to know. He told me not to tell him details of how I know certain things (like how I am ovulating) which I am glad lol


8. What keeps you busy during the 2ww? (2 week wait)
I work 30 hours a week for the DHW, have 2 kids with sports and school, and I am a wife… so I live! Whenever I get restless we do something like pick names or decide what hospital we are going to use.


9. What day do you usually ovulate?
I pretend everyday…shhh don’t tell Michael ;) But honestly at this point I have no idea. I have only been what I like to call a “real girl” once, so we don’t know my cycle at this time.


10.What gender are you hoping for?
A Boy! Wait a Girl!! No Boy… or girl, or twins!! Yes let’s do both… I sort of change my mind based on whatever the cutest baby thing I saw last is!


11. How many pregnancy books do you have?
I have a few on my Kindle, but no actual books yet.


12. How many home pregnancy tests do you take in 1 cycle?
It differs I think. Sometimes I go crazy and take like 5, but other times I struggle to want to take 1 to avoid the disappointing negative.


13. What are some stress relievers when TTC?
My husband is amazing at noticing when I need a pick me up back rub or night out! God has been bringing positive reminders into my days like new friends who are in the same boat or songs to make me smile.
And every time I get a negative test I take a day to forget about TTC and have wine or something I can't have pregnant!

14. What themes or designs do you like for a nursery?
I am sure we will change our minds a hundred times before we start buying things, but so far it is between Dr. Seuss and Safari animals!


15. Do you plan to do pregnancy vlogs if you conceive?
Vlog… Me on video? Ha no! But I will continue to go old school with my Blog :)


16. What have you bought for your future baby?
Mike bought a BSU jumper and we got some booties to take announcement pictures with.


17. Do you have a birth plan?
I will, but not yet.

Pick me up song!

I am not going to lie, every time that I have had downtime this week I have ended up worrying that we may never conceive. So when Mike and I cuddled up to watch our show the other night I asked him to not let this go too far (to protect me from my struggle to let things go when I want something so badly). We decided that we want a baby, but we don't want this “want” to overshadow or take away from the kids that we already have. We decided that we don't want to take any extreme measures, and we are not currently interested in adoption. My dream for this was to get pregnant, and have a baby with the man that I love. However we adore the kids that we have and could be abundantly happy exactly the way our family is. So we made a deal that we are giving this 100% to God, because obviously “control freak” Jacqui isn’t having any luck ;) We prayed about it, and set a date that if we haven’t conceived we will take this as God’s sign that we are on the wrong road, and will put the baby’s savings account into something that will build our marriage or family.
Then, yesterday, I heard a song on the radio… It was one of those “this song is just for me” moments! I quickly pulled it up on my phone (Thank God for smart phones lol), and I have listened to it over and over since. Above all of my dreams of being the perfect wife and mother of 3 is my desire to be on the road my God wants me on… to live my life not for myself, but for him.
Do I believe that God gives me the desires of my heart? Yes! But I also believe that they are not always exactly the way the I thought they would be, and honestly I have ended up so thankfully surprised when God’s plan came to fruition instead of mine so many times.
So this is my new pick me up song! I hope you like it!

Month 4 begins... I think?!?!

So the week of Thanksgiving has come and gone, and none of the "real girl" symptoms that we expected to start are here at all!! However, sigh, there are no pregnancy symptoms either :(  I took a test on Wednesday, and it was negative... 
It looks like I am not as much of a "real girl" as I thought I was. Yes, this comes with some very obvious pros like I am not crampy, crying, or considering the death of anyone. But is has also brought to light our #1 concerns: I may never cycle like most women which will make it much harder then we hoped to get pregnant.
It is funny how something about me that was such an awesome side effect to my health problems before, now has me so terrified!

As my general consolation prize I had a glass of wine with my sisters on Thanksgiving, and spent the weekend thankful I didn't have to deal with any kind of womanly aliments. We had a great time catching up with family, going to the movies, decorating for Christmas, and getting in the Holiday Spirit!
Despite the background worry this really was one of the best Thanksgiving weeks I have ever had!  

I have a few more days before either side of the female coin is ruled out for sure. We have an appointment at the end of the month to see a specialist to decide if pin pointing an ovulation schedule is something that my body will allow. For now I am just focused on getting ready for Christmas, and spoiling the babies I already have! 

Picking a hospital - Part 2

Mike and I went to the Perinatal Tour at Saint Alphonsus Family Maternity Center this last week, and I must say I highly recommend that any newly expecting parents out there do this at your local hospital! It was fun to hear about all the different classes out there are, and all the options for pregnancy care there is. We were with couples from all different stages of the baby making process, and  kind of felt like a snobs with pen and pad taking pros and cons notes... We are not stuck with a hospital! We have time to make the best choice for us still! Not everybody gets that, because they wait until their last trimester to go to the tour, and their doctor only delivers at one hospital. 

So anyways we really did like St. Als, but Mike says that we have to see what St. Lukes is like now before deciding...especially seeing I am comparing 2013 St Als to my memories of having Jenna at St. Lukes in 2006.

Things Jacqui likes~

• Lots of education for all stages of pregnancy to post birth
• One room for triage, labor, and recovery
• They stress that the parents are in control
• The bed can change into lots of different positions so mom is not just laying on her back the whole time
• Large recovery rooms with a pull out couch for dad
• Lactation specialist available at all times

Things Mike likes~

• Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) that is right above the maternity ward, and encourages families to be with baby (encourages nursing)
• That they do everything possible for the baby to never leave the room
• Celebration meal for the parents after birth
• That the whole maternity ward is locked going in and out with very few staff able to give the permission for people to come and go, so baby is safe
• Valet Parking! 

The Little Extras we think are cool~

• Mom gets a massage 
• They have 2 gardens to walk through just for the maternity ward for walking off labor and family to relax it
• They have a playground for siblings
• They play a lullaby through the whole center when a baby is born
• A professional photographer is available to come take cute picture of baby while you are still in the hospital 
• Really nice, inviting, and calm facility! 

Thank you

Last night I was standing at the back door sipping tea watching Jenna do every gymnastic trick she knows on our trampoline when Mike came up behind me and said, “I love our life so much babe"! Then he asked "don't you"?
At the moment I just took it in and smiled at him, but all day today I have been thinking about those words. As a busy American human I tend to forget to stop and think about what I have, especially when I have a goal in mind I forget about the blessings in front of me. But I am really am so happy that my husband is happy, that my daughter has parents who can afford to put her in 2- 2 hour classes a week just to learn to do flips on the trampoline, that Mike and I could take a 4 day weekend this weekend together just because we wanted quality time with our kids and each other. I am so thankful for this life, for my best friend, and our kids. I am thankful for our supportive parents and awesome siblings who all adore our kiddos. For having fun friends, a great church, and people who make us smile. We have nice things, a great home, life in a free country and Love from God who has blessed us so immensely!
Today I feel overwhelmed with gratitude, and want to thank everyone who reads this for your part in my life!




Yes, Michael I love our life too!

  

Picking a hospital - Part 1

My favorite part of this whole thing is that we get to do, and be excited for EVERY SINGLE STEP! With our older kids we didn't get that! Mike didn't have a say with Kade, and I was so young I just trusted my mom with a lot of the big decisions for Jenna, but this time it's all ours!

Once we decided to take this journey of becoming new parents I started the obvious take prenatal vitamins, replacing my morning coffee, and Mike and I put our Wine Tour on hold!

Now to start month 3 in a positive light we are looking into what hospital we want to have our baby at, and what kind of doctor we want to use.

I have had the same OB since I was 15 years old. However this last spring she became the main OBGYN on-call at St. Luke’s Boise, so she is no longer taking non-emergency clients. This means that I get to pick a new doctor... We decided to pick a hospital 1st, so that it narrows down who we pick.

That being said, we scheduled private appointments with all of the local hospitals and birthing clinics over the next weeks, so that we can decide where we want to spend our babies "Birthday"! I had Jenna at St. Luke’s, but haven't even seen what others have to offer, so I am ridiculously excited to weigh all our options!!

If anyone has any pros or cons I'd love to hear them, so comment or message me personally :)

I can't wait to tell this to my sweet baby one day!

Pep Talk From The Hubbs

Mike and I were cuddled up on the couch watching our most recent Netflix show. One of the main couples is trying to conceive (TTC), and another main couple gets pregnant at the worst time when they did not want another child at all... Me completely sympathizing with the 1st couple started to get mad that some people can just have babies on a whim while other couples are suffering with the pain of not conceiving.

Michael in all his wisdom looked me in the eyes, and told me "stop it"! He reminded me the best things in life come with work, and more importantly THIS IS WHAT WE WANTED! We have kids who we adore, us wanting this baby is not about us not having children. It is that we wanted a child that we planned, worked for, and enjoyed the journey together. This is the work part! Then he said, "Babe we wanted the journey together...that is what we are experiencing right now, and it is fun... have fun"!

How did I get so blessed that I get to have the fun having a baby with such a smart man?!?! So I think I will stop worrying so much about if it will happen, and just enjoy this journey :)

The week I became a real girl...

So based on the timelines (in my head) this weekend was supposed to be the weekend I found out I was pregnant...My brother and his wife are coming into town, and I had all these big ideas of how we could tell my family.
Last Monday I woke up sick to my stomach to the point Mike had to take Jenna to school for me. Then Tuesday this girl who gets teased for my inability to cry felt like crying about everything. Wednesday was the day... I was just making fun of my friend at work one minute, then went to the bathroom, and came back crying. Poor guy didn't know what to do with me.
Why was I crying? That's a good question, because I am still not sure what I thought it would accomplish.... But for the 1st time in my life I was a real girl! You see I got pregnant with my 1st child before ever having this problem, and then got an IUD 6 weeks after she was born.
My husband was great about it, and went shopping for all the things I would need... it's not like I could tell him what to get, because I had no idea! He took me to lunch to try to cheer me up, and helped me out the best he could to stay positive.

Well it definitely took a few days to come to terms with the fact that I am again not pregnant, but now I know that this will help so much with getting there in the future! I have a friend who tried for 8 months before getting pregnant with her perfect little boy, so she is my go to person when I have these days. She suggested that every time it's a "no" I do the things I couldn't do pregnant for a day as a consolation prize.
So Saturday when my hybrid 3 days as a real girl were over I had a pot of coffee (yep the whole pot), then Mike and I went shopping, had Sushi, and then to a Masquerade Party with some great friends.

I woke up Sunday extremely excited for the future! I downloaded an app (Kindara) that my friend from work and his wife use to keep track of when you are a real girl, and when it’s Go Time on the baby making front ;)
Here we go month 3!!

Future Boise State Fan!

Look what came in the mail for Baby Reece! My baby daddy/sweet husband Michael wanted to make sure that our child's 1st outfit was not a tutu or a suit with bow tie, but a blue and orange BSU baby jumper! He was super excited that it came in, so that he could surprise me! I was more than ecstatic to see that he is just as excited as I am about our baby! Something about him going out of his way to buy a gift for a baby that we are not sure even exists yet brings me so much joy!
GO BRONCOS!

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made!

I am currently doing a Beth Moore Ladies Bible Study at church, and of all her studies that I have done this may be my very favorite!
First, ladies if you have never done one of her studies you most definitely should! She is incredibly funny and so real! I just love her :)

We are on week 3 of Sacred Secrets, and this week we were learning the times that the Bible references "good secrets".
The 1st and my favorite is Psalms 139. David is writing about how God knows us. Not only knows who we are and our what is on our hearts now, but also knew us when we were being formed in our mother's womb. Beth talks about


 vs~15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.

This brought me so much joy! Having the confidence that God will know my baby even before a pregnancy test can detect it's existence is absolutely exciting. As a mom I find myself concerned about Jenna and Kade's futures already, so I know that while I am pregnant I will worry about Baby Reece's future. But I don't have to worry, because everything about my baby from the day I get pregnant, to his/her name, to the day we get to meet, to how many fingers and toe we count that day are all in God's strong hands.

This mommy found such peace being once again reminded God will take care of all 3 of my babies who were Fearfully and Wonderfully made by him!!

Big Weekend to Start Month 2!

Month 1 came to a close-
Last week I found out that I am not pregnant. I know in my head that we just started, it can take months to conceive, and we are in no hurry. My heart was more disappointed than I expected.
To cheer us up Mike got Sushi and wine! Some of our favorites that we can't have when I am pregnant. We also bought a pair of gender neutral booties, so the we could take pictures for our announcements when the time finally comes! If you know me you know that I love pictures, so taking them is always a fall back pick me up when I am sad! Shopping for baby stuff was fun...picture me holding up every cute fancy outfit at the same time Mike is holding up every sports  baby item forgetting that it was booties that we came for! Now add super excited for real baby shopping to my list of moments I can't wait for!!!

Well it took some prayer, but I snapped out of it and I am ready to continue our adventure!

Month 2 started strong-
Friday night we went out on the town with our good friends who The Air Force is taking away from us, Saturday was our daughter's 7th birthday, Sunday we had family over all afternoon for Halloween cookie making, and Monday was Columbus Day (which Mike and I have a yearly kid free day date planned). We definitely had a fun filled busy weekend, and seeing it was already packed my body thought..."let's ovulate"! I never knew how exciting something so natural can be! I will keep everyone updated as things progress... Until then please keep us in your prayers!

Happy Anniversary!

It was our 3 Year part 2 anniversary this week, and I am happier then ever to be married to my Michael! We took a few days off to just enjoy each other kid free, went out with friends one night, and spent most of the time doing things to remember why we are best friends. On our official anniversary we stayed in bed late, watched movies, ate junk food, and then went dream shopping for all the plans we have for our future! 
About 3 weeks before our anniversary Michael gave my anniversary gift! 
The keys to a 2014 Toyota Camry Hybrid LE!! He made sure it will fit all 3 of our kids =] while saving us ton a month on gas (from our van that got 17 miles to now getting 44...a TON) Plus it gets free oil changes, maintenance, and car washes for 3 years! 

So the gift is actually that I get to put all that savings from our monthly car fund to our NEW BABY FUND!!
He gets his anniversary gift soon I hope! ;)

Wishing, hoping, planning, and praying!

I realize that we haven't been trying long at all, but I have never wanted something like this before! Both of our kids are from previous relationships, and to say they were not planned is a huge understatement. So far in life when I want something, I want it now, and it happens!
I wanted to marry Mike, so I did the next month. I am known at work for the speed I do things, if you want something done fast I am your girl. But this isn't something I get control over the speed at which I get it, and that has turned me a bit crazy!!!
Thankfully, I have a fantastic husband who knows how to handle me when I start to freak out, and can make me smile when I forget how happy I am that we are getting to experience the planning part of having a baby together!


Today I am just thankful that no matter what happens in our future baby's life he/she will have my passion, and a strong, patient, incredible daddy who will love us both so much!!
Until then he says we can pick names and go doctor shopping...YAY!! 

Let the baby making begin!

Like most couples Mike and I went into marriage with big dreams of our future together, and those definitely included having a child together. We both came into our marriage with a child, both loved being parents, and wanted to experience the joy of having a baby in a strong Christian Marriage! 

Well over the next years Mike and I took turns wanting, and not wanting a child at the time. Then one day I realized that the dream of being a mom was one given to me by God, and it was not going anywhere. I decided to tell Mike that I for sure wanted a baby thinking he would get mad I changed my mind, which is crazy cause Mike never really gets mad... Especially not at me! But I went ahead and put the ball in his court to decide what was best for our family. He prayed, we talked about everything that it would change, and we prayed.

A few days later Mike and I were officially on the exact same page!!

(We have a note board in our Kitchen that we write different love notes to each other, 

and give each other good news)

While making Jenna breakfast I looked up and read...

I melted… I cried…and I never cry! I called my husband to thank him for loving me & our future so much, and then called my doctor's office! 

So started the adventure of our baby!