12 Weeks

The 12 Week Mark.

Not only the desired pinnacle in any pregnancy seeing as that means the most probable "danger zone" is finally coughing in your pregnancy-mobile's dust, but for THIS pregnancy it means SO much more...

An end to ALL DAY SICKNESS! HaZAA!!! This extreme sickness is the answer to the question some may have been asking: Where have they been?!

Steve's first 2 weeks home were fully devoted to tending to mommy j's every need. He cooked every meal, even though j couldn't eat half the time. He ran out to which ever store for which every item that may have sounded slightly less revolting than everything else. He cleaned the house, did the dishes, the laundry, walked the dog twice a day, and let j sleep on the couch in front of Northern Exposure episodes for 2 weeks straight! J knows. She totally hit the jack pot!

Towards Week 9, j was able to eat a little better and take the occasional walk. Week 10 was a complete turn around! J even cleaned the house and made her own meals! With Steve returning to work at his old job until the end of the year to bring in much needed moo-lah, it was a huge blessing that j turned around for the better! So now here we are, rounding the corner to Week 12 (December 26), and with a light breaking in the ever cloudy Michigan sky, we thought we'd write.

So, in Steveland, things have been crazy. Taking care of a pregnant wife and going back to a job he thought he left behind has been hard work for this dedicated trooper. Yet, he won't be a Foremost employee anymore since their policy changed from 40 hr work week to 40 plus mandatory overtime. Not ideal for a new daddy or someone like Steve who wants to get more involved in community efforts. So, December 31st will be his last day as a computer programmer for Foremost Insurance. He is now working with a contracting firm that places computer programmers in different businesses for different amounts of time throughout the area. His first job will be with... That's right! Foremost! HA HA!

But here's the bonus with contracting, he only works 4 days a week. Steve is also now the new intern for the West Michigan Environmental Action Council. His main project is teaching seminars to high school students around the area about sustainable food systems! It's a no pay gig, but it puts Steve on the right track and in with the right people.

Plus, both j and Steve are the new volunteers for the brand, butt-spanking new West Michigan Online Farmers Co-op. We will be helping with the website for people to buy farm produce as well as helping to package up the goodies and pass them out. Also an exciting meeting will be held end January as well to educate the public on how to eat local through our cold winters. All GREAT stuff! If we're here, we might as well make the best of a most interesting situation.

Oh, and the basement leak is back with Steve's return... what would our buddy Carl Jung say about that? Plus Steve has got our compost pile up and running again. Not too hard since we're having sunny 40 degree days here! Ahhh, global warming!

J has continued baking and only missed 3 or so days during the extreme sick period. The baked goods actually smelled really good! J has been trying to return to the hospital with no such luck yet. Probably for the best seeing as the 1st trimester has been so rough. Her next goal is to enroll in the medical transcription training program online so she can bring cash in from home when the little Voller is born. Plus, that training can be taken anywhere, anytime, so she feels more versatile with a career!

Lastly, we've chosen our midwife!! Her name is Shannon Pawson and we are extremely pleased to have her attend our birth and be our expert! Oh, so we suppose you've guessed... we are having a home birth. We have insurance for a possible Voller Baby Whoopsie, but are very confident in not only j's intuitive ancient knowledge passed down from the ancestors of old to birth when the time comes, but in Shannon's expertise as well. If you're worried about us, let us know. We'll send you to all the websites we've found that explain the reason we've chosen a home birth.

Please visit her website! www.yourhomebirth.com

Well, that's it for now! Check back next month when we start posting J's belly :) Santa gonna be jealous of this sucka! Christmas in July in full swing!