16 Weeks!

I apologize for not posting earlier but nothing extraordinary has happened in the past three weeks. I am finishing up some contract work before school officially begins. I am teaching two courses at Texas Tech and one online course at the University of Nebraska starting Monday, August 27. My dissertation proposal defense is scheduled for September 5th. This is a major step toward the completion of my doctorate. Please keep me in your prayers during this time. I will be a nervous wreck for the next few weeks.

Holly is doing well. She is still having some "evening sickness" but she is doing better. She is taking half the dosage of the medication she was taking for the sickness and doing well with the change. We are both praying for the sickness to end soon. We had her 16 week appointment today (even though she is really just 15 1/2 weeks). The heartbeat was strong and very loud at around 140 beats/minute. It is very exciting to hear the heartbeat! We set up the appointment for the sonograms to determine the sex for next month! That will be exciting! We will keep everyone posted.

By the way, we are asking everyone to keep Holly's maternal grandfather (we call him Papa) in your prayers. He has an enlarged heart and a congestive heart failure. He flew all his grandchildren in to New Orleans last weekend. Holly had her first "babyshower" with some of her aunts and cousins. Papa gave us also some wonderful gifts! It was a good trip under tough circumstances.

Here is a picture of Holly in her first maternity clothes at 16 weeks: