Italy Trip

Hello! Sorry the blog hasn't been updated...I'm just so tired at night. We are taking lots of pictures that we will have to share sometime when we get back. It's a little bit hard for me on the iPad. :) There will be lots of things to post later. Ciao!!

Great Weekend

This weekend was really nice and relaxing.

It kind-of started on Thursday when David and I received an invitation we couldn't pass up. Our Pastor at LBC invited us to tag along and use some extra tickets he had been given to the Joseph show in Branson by Dick Bott (another member of LBC and the owner of Bott Radio). Of course we said yes so I took a whole day off of work so we could go with Pastor Steve and Mary and Mr. and Mrs. Bott. We quickly discovered that we were going to be able to get to Branson a lot quicker than we originally thought because we were flying on Mr. Bott's plane!! We met at a little private airport in Olathe at 9:00 and were in Branson a mere 40 minutes after take-off.

On the plane we all put on these headphones with voice activated microphones...so we could literally talk like there was no plane noise. It was a amzing. We felt very much like regular jet-setters. :)

When we got to Branson we drove around the campus of The University of the Ozarks before eating lunch at the Keeter Center, which was delicious. We had been there for brunch last year when we went to Branson with the Rainwaters. Lunch was followed by dessert at the Hard Luck Diner and then we were off to the show. The show was FANTASTIC. I would recommend it to anyone. The props were amazing, singing was great, and their were even real animals on stage (which was of course my favorite part). After the show we hopped back onto the plane and were back in Kansas City before we knew it.

It was SUCH a special day and definitely one we will never forget. We can't thank Pastor Steve and Mary enough for inviting us and Mr. and Mrs. Bott for providing the transportation and tickets. I doubt we'll ever be able to do something that cool again.

Our weekend continued on Friday when we had our gospel group over to hang out and make home-made pizza. Saturday was relaxing. We did some shopping, I participated in the HCA graduation in cap and gown, and we grilled burgers Saturday night. Sunday was a great day at church, followed by lunch with some friends and an afternoon spent with our good friends Katherine and Jay and their dog Dash. We took the doggies to an elementary school and let them play while we hung out.

This week is just weird for me. Everything I do at school in my last this and that. I'm emotional about it, but very excited as well. I'm so thankful that God has put us in a place where I am able to stay home with our baby this fall. God's timing is perfect when we wait on him (which is often the hardest part for me), but He has truly put us in a position to enjoy every minute of the pregnancy. I do wonder how it will feel not to teach this Fall though. I think I will miss my co-teachers the most. They have been such a huge part of my life while in Kansas City and I love them dearly for how much we all care about what is going on in each other's lives.

The pregnancy is going great. I got sick, which was a real bummer, but now I feel great again. Being in the second trimester really does increase your energy level. I'm trying to eat good and my love of spaghettios has decreased only slightly. :) Our baby is about to be very well-traveled at a young age as he or she travels abroad and I'm planning on taking lots of "American" snacks to carry around and literally chugging water all day. Hopefully I'll blog more as the week progresses and get a new belly picture in...I'm a definitely growing and I love every minute of it. :)

My First Mother's Day Celebration

Sunday was a pretty cool day. Of course, we believe that life begins at the moment of conception, so David decided to celebrate Mother's Day for me on Sunday. I woke up to my first "Happy Mother's Day!" announcement and a sweet card and gift. Sunday School and church were special as well because all Mommies and Mommies-to-be were honored. After church David took me to a nice lunch at Carrabas and then we relaxed the whole afternoon. He even washed my car for me. I will never forget how special David made my first Mother's Day.

My Mom had also sent me a Mother's Day card earlier in the week. In it she wrote that there is no greater calling than being a mother. She's right, and has set such a wonderful example for me to follow. If I can be half the mother she has been throughout my life and continues to be, I'll be doing pretty darn good. Love you Mama!

Goodbye to the first trimester

It's hard to believe but we are through the first trimester! It feels great and I can't believe how fast time passed. I I diddn't wake up this morning with a burst of energy (in fact I woke up with a head cold), but Im hoping that energy burst shows up soon and just in time for Italy.

The kids in class are so sweet and regularly ask, "How is the baby?", and say things like, "Hello little baby!", "Can you tell if the baby is crying?", "Do you feel sick?". One little boy said (while pointing directly at my stomach, "Is that where the baby lives?" I said yes. Then he said, "Well I thought so, because every day it looks a little bit bigger!" One girl also told me today, "A girl would be good for you." Not sure what that means. :)

Speaking of which, apparently I am beginning to look pregnant in my work clothes because I've had multiple parents comment on the "bump." I still think it's pretty small but it seems to be noticeable in certain shirts. My pregnancy email says Baby Rainwater is now the size of a lime.

And I'm still loving' me some spaghettios . :) Happy Tuesday and happy 2nd trimester to us!

Dr. David Mitchell Rainwater

It's a official, I'm married to a doctor! This weekend was a really special time with family as we celebrated this great accomplishment. We started the weekend on Friday afternoon when everyone began to come into town. David had basically gotten the whole house ready for guests because I was at work and always exhausted when I came home. He did an excellent job. He cleaned the house, took care of the yard, and even got all the weekend food from the grocery store.

Warning, this will be a LONG post, but at least it'll have a lot of pictures. :)

On Friday we had almost all our family get into town. Mom, Dad, Mike, Kathy, Tripp, Kara (Tripp's girlfriend) and Ben all came in just in time to hang out in the yard while we cooked out and grilled some chicken. We were in and out of the house as we played and prepared the food at the same time.

After dinner we cranked up both ice-cream makers and made some home-made vanilla and berry ice-creams. While we waited for the ice-cream to be done it was time for David to open his presents! I got David a Mont Blanc pen with "D.Rainwater D.D.S." engraved on it. His parents gave him a much anticipated iPad, and my parents gave him a Filson overnight bag.

On Saturday we all went out to breakfast/brunch at Room 39 at Mission Farms and it was delicious. Afterward we came back to the house to wait for John and Sarah and Shepherd to get into town. After they arrived we relaxed, and just hung out. Mike and Kathy found us an antique high chair recently and brought it up to Kansas City this trip. Shepherd broke it in for us for his afternoon meal.

It was time to get ready for graduation sooner than we expected and we got plenty of pictures of David in all his gear.

We grabbed an early dinner at PF Chang's before heading over to the main UMKC campus for the ceremony, which started at 7:00. The ceremony was great and pretty surreal for me. I just couldn't believe that I was sitting there watching my husband become a dentist after a whole four years of his hard work! Here are some pictures from the ceremony.

Good Kansas City friends who we will miss dearly...

Although we are very tired, it was such a fantastic weekend and it was everything we ever imagined it would be. Looking back, four years flew by, although it seemed mighty long in the moment to moment of our daily lives. Now, we're on the other side and so thankful, but we wouldn't trade a moment of our time in dental school. What a time of growth in many ways it was for both of us. Now, we're moving on to the next phase! David will be working and we're going to have a baby!

To our families...there is no way we could have done this without you. You have helped us spiritually, financially, emotionally, and prayed for us constantly. Y'all are a blessing to us every single day.

To our friends...thank you for your continued support. Your encouraging words and understanding have been vital in these four years.

We feel so blessed in this time.

Hearing the Heartbeat

Yesterday David and I had another appointment to see how our little baby is doing. After some preliminary questions about how I've been feeling etc. she asked if we were ready to hear the baby. Of course, I was SO READY. She advised me to give her time to search for him/her and not to worry if we couldn't hear it because it all depended on where the baby was sitting and how he/she was turned. She barely had to search at all! It was cool to hear my heartbeat immediately followed by the baby's. It was incredibly special and something we will never forget. Hearing that little heart beating separate from mine so strongly was unbelievable. She said everything was looking and sounding great for us and that we were right on schedule!

Then she sent us over for another sonogram, which I was really hoping for. Here is what we saw...a REAL baby in there! :)

She said he/she was laying facing us with his/her tiny little legs pulled up in front (which you can't really see that well). The day we were there we were actually 11 weeks 1 day, but were measuring 10 weeks 6 days, but they won't change my due date unless it's over a week different from what they said originally.

What a blessing this stage in life is. Nothing has changed, but everything has changed. David graduates in 2 days, starts working this summer, and we're having a baby in the Fall. Blessing upon blessing...how obvious it is that all good things come from the Lord. We are humbled by the Lord's provision, plan, and guiding hand in our lives.

Estate Saling

A recent pastime of David and I has been going to estate sales on Saturday mornings. David looks up where they are on Fridays or Thursdays and then we hit the road with snacks and coffee. We have realized that you have to kiss quite a few frogs at estate sales before you even see a prince. We are looking for cool, old, or unique pieces of furniture...possibly for a nursery or really for anywhere. I have been wanting to find an old beat up dresser that we can refinish and use as a dresser/changing table for the nursery. We DID find a dresser that we like, but we got it off Craigslist. Hopefully it'll get a post of it's own when it's refinished.

So far we have made a total of three purchases at our many estate sales:

(1) A new driver for David-$5
(2) An indoor firewood holder-$2.25
(3) Sooie's new food bowl holder-$0.95

Yes, a grand total under $10. We did do some haggling as well...they wanted $3 for this amazing cat bowl holder, but luckily I talked them down to $0.95. I'm a hardliner. :) Isn't it a beauty?...

You're probably thinking, that's not even worth the $0.95 I paid. But let me explain...after going to as many estate sales as we have been to, I HAD to buy SOMETHING...ANYTHING. With this I saw potential. The potential that I saw turned into this creation for little Sooie cat...

As you can see, Sooie was super pumped about it.

On Saturday night of this past weekend we had a small cook-out with some dental school friends. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures from the night, but I did take a picture of our spring/summer deck. We love being outside this time of year.

It's been so fun at work to be pregnant (minus the extreme exhaustion). It's fun to talk to everyone about and all the teachers have lots of advice. I also have MANY people monitoring my food intake and how I'm feeling now. I'm so thankful for it. Yesterday on my desk I found this...

What sweet co-workers I have. This is from Lynda Cox, she considers herself my Kansas City aunt and she's also my teaching mentor.

Here's what's going on with the pregnancy lately...everyone tells me it's important to record things because I will forget them as time passes and will enjoy looking back on them, so here's what's going on...

(1) I have no pants that button. I'm not being dramatic...not one pair. Thank goodness for the invention of the belly band.
(2) Exhaustion--poor David, his wife goes to bed a good 2 hours before him recently.
(3) Cravings--I will be honest, I wasn't too sure about "cravings." I have to eat my humble pie about it now, or rather, my humble spaghettios. That's right...I LOVE spaghettios right now. Like love them as in eat them every day love them.
(4) I'm getting better at drinking large amounts of water--I'm now putting lemons and limes in it to help it go down smoother. :)