Love love love The Joneses and Texas

(For some reason I can't load any pictures on here, so I put them on my Facebook)We looked forward to it for a long time. Meeting the family, getting sealed in the San Antonio Temple... And before we new it we were on the plane. We arrived in Dallas with a delay so the wonderful people of Dallas Airport put us up in a really nice hotel. It was good, the delay, because I could rest from the long flight (being 26 weeks pregnant at the time) together with Carl. It also was our first night together in a hotel. It was a real treat for us. We call it our mini honeymoon. The bed was huge and so so comfy. Big enough for tall Carl, but I had to really climb into the bed. Oh, and the food was great. We got a voucher for dinner and breakfast so we could spend spend spend. And we did. We went for dinner in the hotel restaurant and had a really yummy 3 course meal. After a great night we woke up and had roomservice. Breakfast in Bed. Oh the deliciousness. We had the best breakfast of our lives. Sticky Bun French Toast with jam, blueberries and syrup. Mmmmmmm!!! The best ever.
The next day we took our flight to Killeen, to meet the family. It was so great to meet the whole family. It was so special to finally meet them after a year of being married to Carl. It was about time I met them. And I am so thankful we were given the opportunity to go to Copperas Cove. It was the hardest and best trip I ever took. The long flight of 9 1/2 hours was a nightmare for me. But I got through it without being sick too much. On Sunday I suffered from a jetlag breakdown. I don't know how, but the jetlag and the traveling really got to me that afternoon. After that the days got better and better. And the week flew by. Although I was really tired pretty much all of the time, I am really glad I was there and loved every minute of it. The whole Jones family is amazing. It was wonderful to get to know them. I wish we'd all live closer together so we could see each other regularly.
That week I also had my first Thanksgiving dinner. I normally can't eat much because somehow my stomach is tied in a constant knot. But I ate 2 full plates that day. It was delicious. Having the whole family together was great. And it was fun to see all the cousins together and play, they are such good kids. It was so good to be in Texas. The weather was great. A nice 25°C. Everything was just great that week.
The week just went by way too fast. But duty calls, Carl had to go back to work on Monday. We are looking forward to another week like this. But I don't know when we can go back again. It's so expensive to go (for our budget). We hope we can have a few of the family coming over here the next few years. We miss you all.

Temple Sealing

Carl Ray Jones

and

Heidi Jan Maria Geudens

invite you to share in the joy

of the beginning of their eternal life together

when they are sealed for time and all eternity

on Tuesday, the twenty-third of November

two thousand and ten

at 6:00 in the afternoon

San Antonio Temple

20080 Stone Oak Pkwy

San Antonio, Texas

Yes, we know!

I had the best birtday/-week. The first one as a wife. The first one while being pregnant. It's so special to be finally married to the man I have always wanted and waited for. And it was so worth it to wait for Carl for so long. I am so happy I never settled for less.

Carl & I had an appointment at the doctor's for the second ultrasound on my birthday. The baby is doing great. And we know now that we are having a girl. Yes, we are having a girl. That was the baby's present to me, to show us what sex the baby has. We are very happy, and my family are already buying lots of cute pink adorable outfits for our girl. Especially my mom is so excited. Our girl is gonna be showered with love and attention when she is finally here. A boy though, would have been just as welcome of course and loved just as much.

On Thursday Carl & I went on a date. Dinner and a movie. I fell a sleep in the second half of the movie. But it was really good and we had a great evening. I just am really tired with this pregnancy.

On Saturday family came over and we made belgian pancakes and a delicious cake and hot chocolat. Next Saturday we're going out to eat again for my birthday.

It's just great not to have a birthDAY but to have birthdayWEEKS. Life is just so good. Carl & I have our first wedding anniversary coming up next week. We're gonna celebrate that day in an amusementpark in our village (Bobbejaanland). There will be concerts in the park that day, and we are so looking forward to it. It's just going to be me & Carl together that day. Enjoying ourselves. Being out the house. Although I'm probably not going in too many rides. Being pregnant and all, adrenaline is not so good to have rush through your body. It's better to be safe then sorry. But we'll have plenty of other stuff to do at the park. Like relaxing, eating out, listening to the music, enjoying the Halloween theme in the park... It will be a very special day.

We have a very fullfilled life here in Belgium. Although our plan was to move to the States, or to be already there. We now know God had and has a different plan with us. So we started looking at the bright side of living here in Belgium instead of being disappointed we're not able to move to the States. Belgium is a great country to live in. We are safe and secure here. Have lots of family and friends that support us and are there for us whenever we need them. Health insurance is the best here. And there are so many benifits from the government for me being pregnant and for the baby when it's here. Carl found a great job here and has the chance to work in a field he loves. We have a very nice life here. It's all blessings to live here.

We just bought our first car. After a year of no car, it was time to do something about that. Well, with us having a baby next year we actually didn't have a choice. We need a car, really need one. We wouldn't be able to go to church anymore without a car. We were picked up by people every Sunday for that year, but there wouldn't be room for a baby in that car. Also, Carl needs to get home from work faster, Biking takes him an hour. I have a feeling that he'll need to get home fast, as soon as my labor starts next February.

Anyways, we bought a Dacia Logan MCV. It's a great car, lots of space for our growing family and the dogs. We love our car. After a year of having no car, it's so so good to finally have that freedom again.
So now we can actually go places and go on dates more. We've been cooked up in the house for long enough.

As for now I have to rest lots, doctor's orders. So I'm taking it easy and Carl is just great. He takes such good care of me.

our first new car!

New School Year!

I'm really happy it's September again. Summer vacation for school is 2 months here in Belgium, July and August. So I had time off from teaching and driving the kids to and from school. Actually that was a good thing. I was so sick those 2 months from the pregnancy. I feel heeps better now although I still get sick in the mornings. But now I actually function again during the day.

So this week I started working again with the new school year. I'm not driving the kids anymore because I'm not immune for the CMV virus. I had to get tested for that and legally you can't work with children under the age of 6 when your pregnant and not immune for CMV. I miss the kids but it is what it is.

I am still teaching and started with 2 new groups this time. They're all adults, so no problem there. I love this job so much. It's so great to work with the students and get to know them. I hope I can finish this schoolyear which will end in June. The lessons are 1h 1/2 long, so when the baby is here next year I hope to just take him or her to class and have a quiet baby for that time. If that doesn't work out then I'll stop teaching. The job doesn't pay enough to put the baby in daycare.

I would actually love to work more hours and do some photography work again. I miss it. Nobody will hire a pregnant lady though, I would cost them too much and after baby is born I will be a stay at home mom anyways. But I still miss a fulltime job. Maybe I'm longing for it so much because the thought of being a full time mommy is overwhelming. It's the biggest job ever and you can never run from it and you better do your bestest best or you'll mess up the kid. Goodness, so much responsebility. A job seems so easy compared.

Carl & I are so on the same page when it comes to our views on parenting. He is so smart and knows excactly what kind of dad he wants to be, he's amazing. We talk a lot on the subject and we are always agreeing on almost everything. I so married the right man. He brings up a lot of things that he wants to do with the kids and I do the same. And through it all we always realize that we really married the best person out of the whole wide world. That's a great feeling. I always new waiting for the right man was gonna be worth it. Marriage is beyond amazing with him.

little kickboxer!

On the 18th we had our appointment for the first ultrasound. We were so nervous. We were also a bit worried. But as soon as the doctor started the ultrasound and we saw our baby, we felt nothing but joy. The baby was moving so so much. It was truly wonderful to see the baby so active. It's just the best feeling in the world to see your baby all healthy and strong. Our next appointment is in October, hopefully we'll find out if it's a boy or girl then.

July 4th

We had a wonderful BBQ at my parents place on July 4th with the Butikofer's and my mom's twin sister Georgette and her man Michel.

This is a funny picture when you know the story behind it. Right at the second that I took this picture I told them we were pregnant. Carl is sitting right next to me. So Georgette and my dad both look at Carl with the question: What? Really?... My mom already new so she had the biggest smile on her face. And Michel, I don't know what he was thinking. Everyone was really happy ofcourse.

This third pregnancy is going great. At least, it's going great for the baby. I have intens pregnancy symptoms. I have been sick the whole of July. For the past few weeks it's gotten worse in the mornings and evenings. Carl is the best husband ever. He does pretty much everything around the house: shopping, cooking, dishes, garden, the dogs, the cats, and he's right there in the mornings and evenings when I get sick. Not to mention, he does all of that on top of a fulltime job. He loves his job so much. My mom comes and help with the cleaning, dishes, laundry and the dogs. So Carl has a break from time to time. All I am is tired, weak, drained and sick. It's worth it though, we love this baby. And we are so looking forward to his or her arrival. We have some names ready already. They're special.





We all love these kids so much. My parents are definitely ready to become grandparents. They loved hanging out with Meredith, Blake and Maxwell.

Yammie Vegies

So since december '09 we live out in the country. One of the nice things about living here is that we have lots of land. We have 2 ok size yards and a vegie garden big enough for our needs. We're growing lots of onions, potatoes, tomatoes and rhubarb. Carl has been taking really good care of it. It's totally his garden. And it's very rewarding. We've eaten some onions and the first tomatoes were ready last week. They were delicious. Heidi made tomato soup and it was the best ever, it smelled and tasted so good. The tomato plants are growing really well with lots of tomatoes on them. Delicious!!!



This rhubarb is gonna make some really yammie jelly.


Our potato field. Hopefully we'll get a few good potatoes from this field.

what a week

It has been such a hard week for me. I don't have morning sickness at all. I have 24h sickness. I am nauseous 24 hours a day. Apart from that I am extremely tired.
The midwife said I have to always make sure there is something in my stomach. So I got myself lots of crackers. I feel especially bad in the mornings because I go the whole night without food. I force myself to eat a cracker before I get up (I'm so sick of crackers already) but overcoming the night without food takes a lot of hours. By lunchtime I start feeling a little better.

Right now I just want to get these 40 weeks over with. But then again, things won't get easier will they? I can't imagine to ever feel better again. It feels like this is lasting forever. I feel I have to sacrifice so much for this baby. My life is put on hold with this 24h sickness. I so hope the second trimester will be completely different. Can't wait to feel good again.

Heidi

February 27th 2011

The last few weeks have been busy. We finally cleaned out our junkroom and the garage. Carl did most of the heavy lifting. Because.... we found out Heidi's pregnant again. We already had a miscarriage at 8 weeks on February 22nd 2010. So this time around Heidi has to rest a lot more. We're 6 weeks along on July 4th. So it's still a bit of a scary time. We hope this baby is healthy and stays with us. And we'll be relieved once the 12 first weeks are gonna be over with.

We called our first baby girl: Amalia Maria Christianne Jones. Even though she is not with us physically, we feel she's very closeby and she's very much a real part of our lives.

Right now we have the Butikofer's over. They arrived at 1am today. It's great to have family over. Hope the coming week will be fun.

We finally decided to go 'Blog'. That way you can follow up on what happens to the Jones family in Kasterlee, Belgium. We love to read other people's blog, so we just had to make one too. Especially with all the miles between us, sometimes a blog (the internet) is all we have to keep up with what happens in each others lives. So here goes, the Carl & Heidi Blogspot.