12 weeks left! (or less!!!)

it's so hard to believe that Rhema has been gone from our arms for 27 weeks...well, 26 1/2 actually. she would be turning 9 months old on Aug. 3...in just 3 days. my heart hurts at times more than usual just thinking about her, wishing she were here with us. wishing that we could have watched her get her first tooth, take her first step, start her first day of school. sometimes i miss her so much, i just want to go to sleep and dream about her- i know...a bit silly. even with all the excitement and anticipation there is with our newest little addition (who i wouldn't trade for anything either!), i will always know that one is missing from the table, from the family photos, and from the house.

but now we have this amazing little jem to add to our family...so hard to believe that only 12 short weeks she will be in our arms. i anticipate such a different experience delivering baby #2...cutting the cord, holding her as soon as she's cleaned off, and having her sleep in the room with me in the hospital. joel and i look forward to a totally different experience. we look the most forward to celebrating the new birth, and sharing with our friends and family just how wonderful our God really is!

i wonder what she will look like? maybe her big sister just a bit :-)

m-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i

so...my friend and i have agreed that the next time we decide to cross the mississippi it will be by airplane....and not with 2 vans full of middle schoolers! ha ha!! but this pic is joel and i and baby girl sewell(of course) overlooking the mississippi. within minutes of this picture, it down poured, so we're glad we got just the slightest memory :-)

do i hear an echo-echo-echo-echo....

today was our last apt. in charleston to see the specialist for baby girl sewell. we had an echo done on her heart just to make sure that there are no defects- which there are not! and they also looked over her organs, and everything appears to be great! the doctor said they were "beautiful ultrasound pictures" which sounds good to me :-)

right now, baby girl is about 3 days ahead of schedule, weighing in at a whopping 1 lb, 1 oz! isn't that just so cute!? we tried to get a good shot of her face, or even profile for that matter, but she had other plans in mind! she kept both arms over her face, and remained in an indian style position with her head to her knees. i mean, she acts like she has no room in there! lol we may not have gotten her face, but we know she has cute ears!!!

5 1/2 months along, and only 3 1/2 to go! and believe you me; i AM counting.

Family Vacation!!!

what a great 4th of July! the entire sewell family spent the week relaxing at Kill Devil Hills in a 3 story beach house! we had a pool, hot tub, theater room, and not to mention the amazing view from our deck!!! it was baby girl sewell's first vacation....and we plan to have many, many more with her! i wonder what we'll do NEXT year?!