Jesse is 4 days old here. This was my first attempt at using our new video camera. Amazingly, Jesse smiled right as I was filming. The lighting is kind of bad so the picture is dark. I'll get the hang of videotaping and post more.
Proud Daddy holding his Little Present
Wide-eyed
Our Newborn baby Jesse December 22, 2007!
Cute Eden holding her new nephew.
Hello there. Josh and I went to the doctor again today. My blood pressure was still pretty high so they have decided to move the inducement date up. That's right. I am going in to the hospital tonight (Friday) and they will induce first thing in the morning. It's exciting. Jesse Tyler Udell will be here for Christmas 2007! We can't wait for everyone to meet him. Please pray that everything goes smoothly and there aren't complications.
I tried filming my tummy while Jesse was kicking inside. You can kind of see him moving across my stomach. Pretty neat! Well, at the last prenatal appointment they told us everything looked good - my blood pressure and swelling went down. We go back on Tuesday for another ultrasound and special testing on the baby's vital signs. After this, they said they will know if they want to induce right away or wait awhile longer. They expect he will be here by Christmas though!
Ice has hit Southwest Missouri again. This morning we woke up to several trees laying on their side like this one. Others are split in two and some are wobbling from the weight of the ice. The ground was still too warm to freeze the roads, but the tree branches collected a lot of ice and suffered. Our power went out at 7:30am, but thank the Lord came back on at 10:00am. The roads haven't yet frozen, but they are calling for more of the same for the next 4 days.
Follow-up on the minor pregnancy scare. I have been monitoring my blood pressure all weekend and it has been high. The only time it returns to normal is if I haven't gotten up at all and lay on my side. Just getting up to take a shower makes it shoot through the roof. I haven't had any other bad symptoms though, so I've been told there is no danger to the baby. I go to see my midwife again first thing in the morning on Monday. Pray that we can get there safely with the bad weather.
On Thursday morning at 8:30 am, I had a prenatal visit to check on the baby. They found that my blood pressure was pretty high. Then they saw how swollen I was and asked me if I had had any headaches. I had 2 big headaches this week. So my midwife sent me to Freeman Hospital so they could run labwork and monitor me for the day to see if something was wrong. I got scared cuz they said they might have to induce me last night if they found something. Josh came and sat with me the whole time. But all of the labs came back fine and my blood pressure went down to normal. I got to leave the hospital after about 4 or 5 hours. I started having contractions yesterday, but they were only consistant for 30 min (every 3 min), then they stopped. I was given bedrest until Monday when they can check me again. I guess we should get our hospital bag packed, since little Jesse might come sooner than we think. Please keep us in your prayers.
This year, I got festive early. Our Christmas tree has now been up for one month. That's right! Right after Halloween, I broke out the evergreen cheer. I got a bunch of new ornaments this year and was dying to put them up, plus I figured I wouldn't be as up to it at 8 months pregnant (currently). I went with a blue and silver theme to go with our little boy who will be bringing in the new year.
I also wanted to update on what the baby's crib looks like currently. We are still trying to get his room organized. We'll be moving the guest bed out to make more room. As you can see, we are doing a sports theme. If you take a peak inside you'll see from left to right - the adorable homemade bear my cousin, Stephanie, made for the baby, a cozy heartbeat bear, a puppy from his Aunt Eden, and the beautiful homemade quilt my mom made for the baby. The sports bedding is from Josh's mom, Trish, and the sports mobile is from Josh's Grandma T.
Well, just 5 more weeks until the due date - January 1, 2008. Josh and I would both like to see him come a little sooner, but we'll have to wait and see. I'm feeling large and swollen these days, but I really feel great! Pregnancy has been an awesome experience, so I have no doubt that motherhood will be the same. As you can see, the baby hasn't dropped yet. He's still way up high in my rib cage. The midwife says he is measuring right on target in size. 
We had a great Thanksgiving holiday this year. First, we had an amazing lunch at my parents' house cooked by my mommy. Josh and Nathan played a game of chess while waiting for the food to be ready. Josh won. It was great to spend time with everyone.
Then we traveled across town and had a wonderful dinner with the Udells. Grandma T was in town from Nebraska and it was great to spend time with her. We all missed Grandma Udell who has been under the weather and couldn't make it down. We all played Risk and then the game Pit.
On Saturday night, we spent an awesome evening with the Judahs at my cousin, Shelley's, house. We ordered Little Caesars, a family favorite, and played games all evening.
I feel so thankful that I have family who all live close enough that this is possible, to hang out with all of them in a weekend. Looking back on last year, our family has come really far. We have a baby coming this year. Josh has been feeling so much better over the last year. I have a new counseling job this year. Thanks for prayers, love, and support. I am thankful!
Josh has been working hard to get ready for the little guy. He was working on the crib here. It took quite awhile to put together. Then we were watching the news and saw a crib exactly like ours that was being recalled. It turns out it wasn't ours. But Josh freaked after all the work he put into building this one.
Well, do we look parental? We spent Saturday in a Lamaze class. It was more for information than practicing the breathing. We only have 6 weeks to go and then our little bundle of joy will be here. We can hardly wait. I'll try to keep the blog updated, especially with pictures for friends and family who live far away.
The Judah clan was together again for Grandma Judah's 80th birthday. We gathered at a local tribesman's (Matthew) house. Aunt Wanda, while performing much of the traditional Judah fest last minute arrangements, had a "fashionably late" arrival time. Oh, 5:30pm = 7:15pm - We forgot how time translates in Judahnese. Fun times!
We were all able to get caught up with what everyone else is currently doing. Lisa and Dave were the only ones that were not able to make it. The pink frosting on this cake was radiatingly bright. 
Matt and Kirsten
Aunt Wanda & Jay
Shelley & Phil
My parents have also had a meaningful experience through this ice storm. They have been without power AND water for 6 days now. I begged my mom to come stay with us, but because they have so many coondogs to look after, they wouldn't leave them. I think that she really is enjoying the simple life a bit too. My mom said that she has been cooking with her cast iron skillet over their fireplace. She said that she is learning to appreciate what she normally takes for granted and is getting more quiet time with God this week. Two angels from their church brought gallons of water and some extra firewood out to the house on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm not sure that my parents could have made it staying out there without these supplies. I really pray that they all get their electricity back before the snow that is coming this weekend. 
Chiseling ice off of a car is never easy. Glad I have a husband for that kind of hard labor. He was great! He even went out to buy me flowers to remind me of warmer days. I thank God that we still have electricity. 
Southwest Missouri has been pummeled by ice and winter weather since Friday afternoon. Schools and businesses started shutting down. There was no church anywhere on Sunday. All schools were cancelled Monday. Not to mention that there are 300,000 Missourians without power right now, including my parents, Matthew and Kirsten, and Nathan in Springfield has been without since Friday. Slumber party at our apartment since we're the only ones with heat! Knock on wood.
Josh was acting out a little "Triple Dog Dare" from the 80's movie, A Christmas Story. One boy dared another boy (who said your tongue won't stick to a pole) to stick his tongue to a pole when it was freezing outside. Of course, he got stuck! 
Bronwyn's so cute! She would make an excellent sister-in-law for anyone. 
The sistas are giving approving looks for the day's events.
Joplin Daily.com did an article about Nathan's art show. You can read the article by copying and pasting this address to your browser http://www.joplindaily.com/articles/2007/01/10/education/a01judah.txt
My brother Nathan has an art exhibit up this month at the public library show room. Click on the link below to see some of his latest work that is on display.
http://www.postlibrary.org/monthly%20artist%20exhibits.htm
Josh and his dad drove to Dallas, TX to go to the Cotton Bowl. Jack surprised Josh with tickets for Christmas. They had a great time even though Nebraska lost and they got stuck in traffic on their way in.
Nebraska vs. Auburn 
Josh was excited for his grandparents to open our gifts to them. Jack and Genevieve showed us a wonderful time. Burwell is a fun little town. 
Beautiful Eden knows she is a Gift!
Opening presents at Grandma and Grandpa Udell's house
