22 weeks. And a toddler.

We are 22 weeks tomorrow. According to my pregnancy book, this is the last week of my 5th month. And I think I'm finally out of the woods with the nausea and vomiting. I still have a pretty sensitive stomach, especially at night, so my appetite is pretty sparse. I eat a lot of cereal and Eggos. And, I've become a vegetarian during this pregnancy.

I feel Sienna move every day -- usually when I'm lying down or after I've eaten. Although I still don't "love" the movements, I'm soooo very grateful for them. They are a reminder that she is here. And for that, I greatly appreciate them.

I'm slowly starting to turn Brae's nursery into Sienna's nursery. What was yellow and blue decor will now be yellow and pink decor. I've started buying some girly clothes -- and -- um -- I LOVE that!

Brae is starting to say Sienna's name, and say "sister", although I'm confident he still has no idea what is going on, or what is about to rock his world in about 4.5 months.

Can I just say that I love God's timing? I am SO looking forward to having a summertime maternity leave! Brae will still be in school, and I just cannot wait for warm, balmy nights sitting out on our patio, going on vacations, and, well, just SUN! With Brae being born on Halloween, I was cooped up for most of my maternity leave, often snowed in. So I am relishing the beauty of God's timing with this one.

Brae has learned his primary colors, and is speaking in short sentences. Very short. Like, "It's dark outside." and "Mommy, it's nigh-night time." and "Daddy, sit down."

He remains obsessed with basketball. He went to his first "live" basketball game the other night, and was completely mesmerized. He's also very mechanical. Loves puzzles and blocks and Legos. He's also gotten very good at the harmonica -- playing it naked, with his diaper on, and his boots on the wrong feet.

And, he loves to push my buttons. At the moment, he's supposed to have quiet time in his room before I turn off his night light. And, yet, I can hear him taking every. single. book. off. his. shelf. and throwing them on the floor. There must be over a hundred.

But, he remains the happiest boy you will ever meet. He is extremely outgoing and friendly and never ceases to put a smile on people's faces.

If it's true that they say 90% of who we are today is a product of our environment, then I'm grateful for the opportunity God has given us to be his parents. And I cannot wait for Sienna to meet him.

Sienna (100th post!)

Some of you know the story of Sienna. Some of you may not.

A year ago, we were on vacation in San Diego. I went on a hike by myself. I got to the top of a tall mountain (well, a large hill actually). I pulled off my headphones. I leaned my head back to the sky. It was a cloudy day. I closed my eyes. I asked, out loud, "God, will we EVER get pregnant and carry a child to term and get to experience labor and delivery?"

Then, the clouds parted and the sun came out. A soft breeze just brushed across my face and I heard, almost audibly, "YES."

I smiled.

At that moment, I didn't believe God was saying we'd get pregnant on our own, or we should do any more fertility treatments. Instead, I felt God leading us to pursue embryo adoption. We had done some initial research, and this was my confirmation to keep pursuing it.

I got back to our room and told my husband. That was December 2009.

The following spring, there was a few day period when I was bombarded with the name "Sienna". It kind of came out of nowhere. And I just felt a strong impression that we were going to have a girl one day, and I was to call her "Sienna".

One night, I told the women in my Bible study group that. One of the girls asked if I knew the meaning of the name. I said I didn't. She suggested I look it up. I agreed.

The following week, the same girl asked me if I had looked up the name. I said I had forgotten. She said she had looked it up. It means, "promise of God."

I got chills.

Yesterday was our 20-week ultrasound. We asked the technician to find out the gender, write it on a card, and seal it in an envelope.

Later that night, with all of our family either present or on Skype or on cell phones, I opened that envelope.

We are having a girl. And we shall call her Sienna.