Hello everyone, I wanted to share that my BE-U-T-Ful wife and I have been temporarily seperated for the weekend. We had a trip planned to visit my family in Pennsylvania this weekend; however, Jennifer is having some problems with her back so she couldn't make the trip with Jacob and I. I'm very much looking forward to the time when we will be together, but in the meantime I've decided to add a post that my parents had on their refrigerator celebrating the fact that they are expecting two new babies into the family. For those of you unaware, my little sis Mary is also pregnant and expecting a baby a short time after our bundle of joy will be here. Alright, everyone other than my wife, you need to stop reading now cuz this is going to get mushy and I don't want you all to know how whipped I am.

I love you baby and miss you. I hope that you're feeling alright and I can't wait to see you on Monday. I know that you've been feeling a little down lately so I wanted to remind you how much I loved you and that I find you more beautiful today than I did yesterday and that I'll find you even more beautiful tomorrow than I did today. I sure can't wait to see your cute "little" ankles when I come home. 8-)

Must Read!

Head on over to Shannon's blog @ Rocks in My Dryer. This is my must read for today!

What's Going On?

Maybe you're wondering..."What have those Sloan people been up to recently??" I'll take a few minutes to fill you in.

• Jacob's baseball team is in the single-elimination playoffs right now at Garner Baseball. They played last night and won! So, they play tonight against the number one team! Jacob has really improved this season and is consistently hitting the ball, getting on base, and scoring with the help of his teammates. He's been playing in the infield much more, too! The most improvement has been shown in his ability to play catcher! He does a great job in that position!


• We learned yesterday that my brand-new vehicle (that I've only made one payment on) was counted as a total loss due to the accident I was in two weeks ago. So, off we go to buy another new car! I'm looking for the exact same vehicle-a Hyundai Tucson. It did such a great job holding up and keeping me safe in that accident.
• Baby Sloan is pulling his shenanigans again. He has decided that he is most comfortable laying on my sciatic nerve. So, I'm experiencing some pain from this newest position he's chosen. I'm comfortable once I sit down and get still. Walking, turning, bending, and any unexpected moves may cause that sharp pain in my lower back, I never know. Oh, well!


• Just for kicks...Baby Sloan is kicking!!! I LOVE IT!!! I first felt him about two weeks ago. At the time, I wasn't sure what it was (as most of you know, this is my first pregnancy). It felt like someone was blowing bubbles in my belly and they were popping. Now, I'm sure it's Baby Sloan. What a wonderful feeling!! I can't wait to see those little feet in February!


• We're leaving Friday morning for a long weekend with Matt's family in Pennsylvania. It's always so nice to spend time with them and catch up. Jacob and his cousins really enjoy seeing each other and getting a chance to play together. Unfortunately, we don't see Matt's family as often as we'd like, so the time we do have together is such a blessing. This picture is just one example of the fun to be had when Pappy's around :)

So, that about sums up what's going on right now. Check back later for more exciting updates from the Sloan family!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This post is dedicated to my mother who is a breast cancer survivor thanks to early detection (breast self-exams monthly, ladies--or hubbys tee hee), a team of great doctors, and an awesome God who still heals today! Her strength, courage, and unwavering faith in God, even through the toughest times, is a ministry in and of itself. I thank God everyday for healing and giving me more time with a mother who loves and trusts Him and taught me to do the same!

Belly Bumps!?!

So who's carrying this child of ours???

Nesting is for the Birds

Hello everyone, I wanted to share that my BEAUTIFUL bride has moved into the "Nesting" stage of her pregnancy with a vengeance. For those of you unfamiliar with the "nesting" stage, I'm including a excerpt from a webpage dedicated to the education of the ignorant.

Pregnancy Weekly says...

"Around the fifth month of pregnancy, the "nesting" instinct can set in. This is an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world."...blah, blah, blah,,,

For me, here's the most disturbing part of it all.

blah, blah, blah,,, "Nesting brings about some unique and seemingly irrational behaviors in pregnant women and all of them experience it differently. Women have reported throwing away perfectly good sheets and towels because they felt the strong need to have "brand new, clean" sheets and towels in their home. They have also reported doing things like taking apart the knobs on kitchen cupboards, just so they could disinfect the screws attached to the knobs. "

Now some of you may be thinking that I'm concerned with the portion that says "perfectly good sheets and towels" finding the garbage can. Let me assure you that I'm much more concerned with the "seemingly irrational behaviors" part. SEEMINGLY??? Who the heck wrote that? Yesterday, she was laughing AND crying at the same time, and I was seriously concerned that I was the reason for the crying part. My dilemma is that I've got approximately 45 seconds worth of short term memory when I'm in a room with a working boob-tube (My mother used to call it that.) and I just happened to be in the room with the boob-tube on. I can only assume that I'm the boob. Alright, here's the deal with 45 seconds. I'm good for staying on topic for the past 45 seconds while a TV's on, anything beyond that and I'm lost in the sauce (boob).

My wife's super-power is growing a baby in her belly. My "super-power" is the ability to respond to her question, "Are you paying attention to me?" with the recitation of her last statement/question within 2 or 3 words. IF, and only IF, the, "Are you paying attention to me?", question is presented within 45 seconds of the time her statement or question was first presented.

Alright, back to the task at hand.

I'm not sure the exact day it all started, but currently we have this funny little (I'm being nice) list on our refrigerator that's beckoning her name. I haven't yet succumbed to the pressure of including things on the list. Somehow I know that THAT would fall into the same category as telling on myself because of guilt and fortunately I've matured past that stage. PHHHT!

Here are some of the other things I know:
1. I know that scratching a chore off the list won't make it go away.
2. I know my handwriting is messy, so I couldn't erase and then re-write the list without her knowing.
3. I know that I'd try to be cute and add something like "#5 Have Wild, Passionate, _ _ _ with my loving husband. (ha,ha,ha)

And Here's a testament to our undying list...


If you look closely, you'll see
that the list has grown. At the rate we're moving, look below, you'll see that we're gonna have the cleanest, newest (i.e. Kitchen floor is short for *NEW* Kitchen floor), most straightened up house,
this side of the neighborhood. I
think I saw a lady down the
street that "may" have been
pregnant so I'll just claim this
side of the neighborhood.
















Folks, I'm really having fun with this blog and I hope that I'm allowed to "blog" again. 8-)

In closing I'll say that I have really been enjoying my time with my beautiful wife while we go through this miracle called pregnancy. She is a beautiful wonderful person and we have been blessed to have been brought together.

P.S. I sure am thankful that my responsibilities exclude the physical act of giving birth.

Travelling Mercies

God is good!

Yesterday morning on my commute to the OB's office (which is about 30 miles), I was waiting nicely in a queued up line of traffic on an exit lane. I was minding my business waiting in that queued up line for the light to change and dreaming of hearing Baby Boy's heartbeat again, when CRASH!!!! I was hit by the car behind me. I looked up, gained my bearings, and realized I was just in a five car pile-up on a busy 5 lane highway. After getting my wits about me and making sure everything felt ok, I dug around in the emptied pocketbook mess on the floorboard, found my phone, and called 911. I got off the phone with the VERY, VERY nice lady at the communications center and just cried. I was so grateful to our awesome God who held me in the palm of His hand during that crash. I am so thankful for His protection!! I was transported via ambulance to my OB's office (which is not typical ambulance policy, but a supervisor approved the trip)! Baby Boy's heartbeat was great! My blood pressure was elevated, but the doctor said that was expected due to the traumatic situation I was in! So, by the grace of God, we're fine!

Psalm 121:7-8 "The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Thanks to God for His promises!

Change of Scenery

My mom rearranges furniture...I rearrange my blog. It's a hereditary disorder, I'm sure!

Pregnancy plights!

I've always enjoyed roller coasters, but I did NOT buy a ticket for the emotional one I'm on. Laughter and sobbing within the same 5 second span. No need to elaborate..for more information, ask Matt (and pray for him)!

Sleeping is becoming a chore-did I really just say that? There are pillows supporting my head, my belly, and my legs--which makes my six(teen) trips to the bathroom each night much more difficult. Did I mention that it's now right side or left side only? Baby boy has decided that he doesn't want me on my tummy anymore. I figure this is the first, but not last time, he dictates what I do! I'll never take sleeping on my back for granted again, I promise!

Is anybody else hot, or is it just me? Where's fall? Isn't it October? 90 degrees, really? God, is this a joke? I'm sweating in places that I didn't know made sweat!

Cankles! I've moved into Crocs (which I swore I would never do, as I don't like to follow the trend and/or jump on the wagon) because they allow room for the daily swelling of my feet and ankles, which is oh, so attractive!

Boy, my body is changing. But, I've decided the only thing getting smaller is my bladder!

Speaking of my body...let me tread gently on this one! Let's just say that my body is producing unwanted hair, fluids and gasses. Can someone assure me that things go back to normal after delivery?

Who knew that to a pregnant woman sitting in an office all day was a equivalent to running a marathon--both exhausting and not my idea of a great time! I can't wait for the clock to hit 4:30, which is quitting time (no offense to any employers/co-workers reading). My next favorite time of the day is 10:00pm. Which is officially my bedtime. But as Matt will tell you, I'm lucky to stay awake until then! Nothing worse than making it through 50 minutes of House only to doze off at 9:50 and miss the amazing diagnosis and cure!

So many pregnancy plights, but all in all it's SO worth it for this little miracle growing in my belly. I can't wait to meet him!

Halfway there!

We have reached week 20 in our pregnancy. It's the halfway point!! Only 20 more weeks to go (my gracious, that sounds like forever). Little boy Sloan is now covered with a greasy white substance called vernix caseosa. It coats his little body to protect his skin while he hangs out and soaks in the amniotic fluid. Hair and nail growth continues. Meanwhile, I've developed a little belly and moved into the most comfortable clothes ever imagined--maternity pants! Who would have thought that an ugly band of stretchy material placed at the top of a pair of jeans would make me soooooo happy? We're in the difficult process of making decisions about what to name this little guy. Jacob is leaning toward Luke (as in Skywalker)--go figure! Matt really likes Phineas and I think Elijah is great. The list goes on and on...Asher, Caden, Ezekiel, Gideon, Jude, Mitchell...so many choices and we only get to choose two. Any thoughts?? As I sit here and write this post, I asked Matt if he had anything to add. His response, with a mouthful of their peach flavor, "Pelican's has great ice cream!" So, for your ice cream and snoball needs, we recommend Pelican's on highway 401 in Garner! Take care and love!

Live like you believe!

Many of you were with me as we prayed for the Leino family as they dealt with a very sick infant and eventually Isaac's going home to be with the Lord. I have another friend whose baby, PJ, is in the NICU fighting daily. Through another blog I also recently learned about a family who just lost their baby girl, Copeland. Through it all each of these families has one thing in common--their reliance and complete dependence on Jesus Christ. I was reading a blog that I enjoy today and I read this...
"But, in a way I am jealous that they have truly experienced such a deep and intimate relationship with Christ where He was their ALL! He was the ONE THING that never failed them. I have experienced that in my life, no doubt, but on that level, no way. I crave that deep reliance on Christ where my every move beckons His guidance. I believe God wants us to have that sort of reliance on Him. It's not because we aren't intelligent and can't make decisions on our own. It's because He is our creator and He knows what we need before we even realize that we need it. What an amazing concept. I am so glad I don't have to have all the answers."
Prayerfully, I will never have to experience the situations which these incredible people have experienced, but I would love to experience that deep, intimate relationship--complete dependence, complete trust, complete surrender--with God. In the words of the Farleys who just kissed their little good-bye, “Thank You, Jesus, for reminding us that heaven is real… You are real…and it’s time we learned to live like we believe it.” And thanks to Amy for ability to put my thoughts in words!