34 and 35 weeks belly shots

Today we are 36 weeks! Our bags are packed and we are ready to go! I have been having a few contractions every day. Not painful ones, everything just gets really tight across my belly and it gets very hard. I will go to the doctor on Tuesday and get an update as to where we are. We went on Friday for our tour of the hospital and had a very nice experience. Everyone was very friendly and we met some of the nursing staff in the maternity ward and nursery. Our sweet friend  Mutsuko (dear friend from church of 6 years) was with us because she will be with us for the delivery too (Lord willing.). One of her high school classmates is a nurse on the floor and she introduced us and asked her to take good care of us. It was so nice to make that connection. We felt relieved. Also after our tour we finally were able to purchase a rocking chair! I was beginning to think we wouldn't find one. They are very rare here in Japan so we were having a difficult time finding one. We found this one thanks to Mutsuko!! I decided to mention to her that we were looking for one and couldn't find one. 3 days later she called and said she found 2! One was new the other was used. She definitely has magical powers!!! She is an angel walking on earth. We went with the used one because it also has a fold out foot stool. We cannot even begin to count the blessings we have received in our preparations for our Sweet Pea. God has been so faithful in providing what we need and surrounding us with so much love.

34 weeks

35 weeks

the rocking chair

Sweet Pea in 3D

Sweet Pea in 3D

Video: Sweet Pea's Beginnings

Sweet Pea's Beginning

Handmade Treasures

I just wanted to share pictures of these lovely hand knit gifts that we have received for our little girl. These were made with such love and I can't wait to see Sweet Pea in them.

These beautiful sweater vests and little purse were made by our sweet お母さん（okaasan） Mrs. Yoshida.

This beautiful blanket was made by my dear friend Kiley's sweet Daddy.

32 and 33 weeks

We had a wonderful appointment yesterday at the doctor! Sweet Pea is back in the vertex position! Thank goodness! We are feeling good and getting very excited. Here are some belly shots of weeks 32 and 33.

32 weeks



33 weeks

The maternity ward of the hospital and Sweet Pea's feet

Last Tuesday we went to the hospital for our 32 week checkup. Sweet Pea has moved into a breech position...we are trying to change that though. Luckily we still have about 8 weeks give or take. So we are not stressing just trying to relax and pray that she will move in her own good time. I think she just wanted to get her mommy into a bunch of crazy positions for a good laugh. It must get boring in there sometimes :) Anyways, here is a short videos that Gabe took after the ultrasound while we were waiting to talk to the midwife about hospital procedures.

30 and 31 week belly shots

We are 32 weeks along now. I will post those pics later though. We always take our belly pics on Sunday nights. We are feeling really well these days and are getting very excited about the arrival of our precious miracle. Will post more pics soon! Love you all!

30 weeks (talking to the little one)

30 weeks

31 weeks

The Nursery

The nursery has been a work in progress. It is finally looking just about right. We have been searching for a set of drawers for the room for over a month. I can be so impatient sometimes.... :)
I was willing to settle for plastic drawers because I was so anxious. Then we found a couple that were too expensive...Gabe reminded me to be patient that we would eventually find what we needed. And low and behold we did. This weekend at the recycle shop (that we have been visiting every weekend for the past month) we found the perfect set. I am so blessed to have a patient husband! It was a great deal and the perfect size. So here are some new photos of the nursery. You can also click on this link to a facebook album with more pictures of it.

One of my favorite artists is Chihiro Iwasaki. These are some postcards I bought at an exhibit of her artwork a few years ago.

Baby, Momma & Daddy Photo Shoot by Sarah Ruddy

Click this here link for more of the pics that wonderful Sarah was so kind to take:
Baby, Momma & Daddy Photo Shoot by Sarah Ruddy


It was a rainy day but we asked our friend Sarah to take some pics for us and Sarah can make anything look great! Thanks Sarah!! BTW Sarah is a web developer and web page designer also, so if you need something in that line check her out here.

28 and 29 weeks belly shot

28 weeks



29 Weeks

Chorus Concert at Rias Hall

Gabe recently had the opportunity to sing with our friend Mark's Barbershop chorus again. He used to be a member when we lived in Sumita but when we moved to Ofunato he had to quit because of the drive at night to practice. He really enjoyed singing with the group again after such a long time. I thought they did a great job and I was so happy to hear him sing again! The group performed at the Kesen area Chorus festival. It was a concert featuring choruses from all over Kesen which is the county we live in. Each group performs a few songs and then one song all together. In my opinion the barbershop group stole the show! Here are some pics of the guys singing and also some pics that Gabe took of the new concert hall.

26 and 27 Weeks

Well we are now 28 weeks!! I can't believe that in about 12 weeks our precious daughter will be in our arms! I get all teary eyed just thinking about it. What a beautiful miracle God has given us. Today I went for my 28 week check up and baby and mommy both got a healthy report. Sweet Pea is weighing in at around 2.4 lbs. My tummy is getting very big and I can't believe we still have 12 more weeks to grow. The doctor said she was perfectly normal and that her head was turned down in the vertex position now. She may move again because she still has some room in there. But for now her little head is down. She is kicking with a lot of force these days and I have enjoyed watching my belly bounce and vibrate from side to side. Also we are getting close on deciding her name but still have not made a final decision. We have it narrowed down to 2 names now....

26 weeks


27 Weeks

Sweet Pea's Room

I have been really looking forward to setting up Sweet Pea's room. My nesting urges have been overwhelming.... Thankfully I have a very sweet, kind and patient husband. Last weekend we made some definite progress in her room. Now that we have her bed put together I can't stop looking at it. I look down into and imagine what she might look like laying there sleeping and one day looking up at me with a smile. I am so in love with my daughter already. It is like no love I have ever known. It is a beautiful and new love that I know will only grow stronger as the days continue to pass. What a blessing she is to us already.

Daddy hard at work


Wishing we could sleep in there too!


I can almost see her in there...


Her little laundry bag was hand stitched with love by Mrs. Yoshida. It has Goldilocks and the 3 Bears on it. I love it! And Daddy picked out the canopy.

22, 23, 24 week photo

Hey Friends and Family! Sorry for the delay in updates. We just got back from a wonderful trip to China to celebrate the wedding of my dear brother-in-law Jesse and his beautiful, sweet wife Maya! We had a wonderful time and will post some pics soon of our journeys. For now here are some belly pic updates! Week 23 and 24 were in China! :)
22 weeks

23 weeks

24 weeks on the Great Wall

24 weeks at the Summer Palace

Sweet Pea

23 weeks

Well we are now 23 weeks! We have been enjoying lots of tummy talking time. And yesterday Gabe felt Sweet Pea move for the very first time. She is definitely getting stronger because I feel her a lot more frequently now. It is amazing! I love the way it feels and I can't wait to be able to see her moving from outside my belly. Here is an image of 23 weeks from Babycenter.com

18, 19, 20, 21 week belly pics

The weeks are really flying by! These are pics from 18 and 19 weeks. I will upload 20 and 21 weeks later. Tomorrow we start our 22nd week!!! I can't believe it. Sweet Pea is moving around so much these days. Especially when she hears her Daddy's voice. It is really amazing when that happens. After work when Gabe picks me up from the train station and he starts talking to me, she starts moving around like crazy. It is so sweet. And I love to see how happy it makes Gabe. He is going to be a wonderful Daddy. He talks to her and sings to in my belly and I know she must love the sound of his voice. I know I do.
Well that's all for now. More pics to come later. Love you all!


18 weeks


19 weeks


20 weeks


21 weeks

20 Weeks

We've waited and wondered for 20 weeks
what precious package lies beneath....
And now you'll have to read this poem I wrote today
to find the answer that you seek!



We've been just two for 11 years
We've held each others hands
We've calmed each others fears.

The Lord joined our hearts into one
He blessed us so with friendship and love
And now He's granted that a new life shall come.

Our two has turned to three
Our hearts now shared
With our precious sweet pea

And now a name for this tiny pearl
For our darling one...........................

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Our Baby GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


This is a video of the doctor giving me the ultrasound when we found out. Enjoy!
It was so nice to see a doctor who spoke perfect English. He lived in New Mexico for 10 years. It was wonderful!

16 and 17 week belly pics

Today we are actually 19 weeks. The time is flying by so quickly and I am torn between feeling sad that this precious time is almost over and feeling such impatience wanting to hold this precious baby in my arms! I love being pregnant and I love knowing that this life is growing so perfectly according to God's plans inside me. It is more than magical. It is the greatest miracle I have ever experienced. On Thursday I felt the baby move for the first time! Well the first time that I knew it was baby and not something else going on inside there. It was so wonderful. First it felt like a bubble. Then I felt a little bump like someone was poking me with a finger from the inside of my tummy. Next it felt like little butterflies fluttering around in there. It actually tickled and I started laughing. Then, of course I started crying. I just can't believe how beautiful God has designed this process. It is more amazing than any words I can think of to describe it. I still can't believe that this is all happening to me. By God's grace alone there is life growing inside me.
I was so happy that Gabe was there to witness me feeling baby for the first time too. We were working in the office together that day. It was such a blessing. Ever since that day I have felt baby more and more often. In fact, as I write this I can feel my little tickler inside me! :) I love it!!
We also went to the doctor again that day and had a good appointment. The doctor said that the baby is in the normal range as far as weight, length and heart rate. So we felt very blessed. We asked again to know the gender of our little sweet pea but the equipment was not strong enough to see. But at my 20 week appointment I will be going to the hospital to see a new doctor and there they have a 3D ultrasound. So if the baby cooperates maybe we can find out then. Even if we can't I just can't wait to see a clear picture of our little angel.
We are slowly getting unpacked and settled into our new house. It is hard to unpack when I feel so tired at the end of a work day. But we got a lot accomplished yesterday in preparations for our friend Nathan coming to visit. So today we are relaxing in a clean house. There is a nice breeze and beautiful sunshine. As I write this my sweet husband is planting marigolds around the windows outside our house. Marigolds are supposed to be good mosquito repellents! Mosquitoes LOVE me for some reason and since we don't have air conditioning we will have all the windows open all the time this summer, sweet Gabe is trying to do all he can to prevent me from being boiling hot and itchy with bites! I'm so blessed! Well I guess that's it for now. I will post 2 belly pics. Hope you enjoy

16 weeks

17 weeks

"Bare Feet On the Pavement" a poem for my dear brothers

I remember we dancing all around
As rain the came falling to the ground
We left the front door open wide
We couldn't stop smiling even if we tried

Suddenly all our worries gone
Washed away as we sang that song
We used to sing when we were small
Before you'd grown to be so tall

We used to fight
So much back then
You always had to be right
And I always had to win

But right there in that moment
With the rain upon our heads
Our bare feet on the pavement
We forgot all the things we'd said

And we all live so far apart
We're all grown up some how
But I often think about that day
And I keep you all close to my heart.

June 2008
I wrote this poem on a rainy day last year thinking about my dear sweet brothers. My loving husband told me I should blog it.
I love you and miss you so. Love, Yaya