Blessed

     The Jeep is still out of commission, but luckily, a family at church has offered to let us borrow their minivan until we get it fixed, so we no longer have to pay for a rental car. So grateful.  It has already helped out a lot. My nausea hasn't been as bad, this pregnancy, but it is still definitely annoying. I was able to go to a BBQ at our friends house, go to church, out with another friend the next day, and then to my OB class, without any real problem. I felt bad for all the other pregnant ladies looking sick as dogs. There is no happy medium with morning sickness... Either you are miserably sick, or you're worried out of your mind because you aren't sick ENOUGH. I've been falling into the 2nd category but am praying that I'm just lucky for the time being. I was invited to go to a museum in Cambridge today, but decided to try and take it easy at home. We'll be at a friend's house tomorrow for dinner (I'm making a chocolate trifle), and then Kyle's football tournament on Saturday, so I thought a day of rest would be good idea. 
    Our ultrasound is just 3 days away! I am extremely nervous and excited. It is in radiology, so I have a feeling that the tech won't say much... but I am really hoping that they will at least turn the screen my way, so I can see. Kyle will be there, as well, so hopefully he will be able to watch the whole time and help me beg the tech for a picture or two. If it is a healthy ultrasound and we see a strong heartbeat (or two), we will announce shortly afterward to the rest of our friends and family. Praying that it will be a good visit!
     The days are starting to get noticeably shorter here, which is making me anxious for Christmas! We won't be home for Thanksgiving, which pains me to think about, but Kyle's shop splits up Christmas time off so that we will either be home for Christmas or New Years. I will most-likely fly over early to spend time in Arkansas, meet up with Kyle, and then head to Georgia, before flying out of Atlanta. It is a tentative plan, but I thought I'd put it out there in case other people were planning. If September and October could go ahead and get themselves over with, that would be great.. for my sake, and my little bean! 
   Oh! Also, Kyle tests for Honor Guard this next week, so prayers would be hugely appreciated for that! He gets graded on his uniform, flag folding, facing movements, drill movements with a rifle, and reciting the honor guard creed. I'll let you all know how it goes! I love you!!!

Things that happened yesterday

    I am now, apparently, the new secretary of the Lakenheath Players theatre group.... without having met a single member. I started getting messages from someone about my theatre experience, asking how many shows I had been in, etc. I told them I wasn't sure but that it was over 45, and they immediately sent me an official document asking me to be secretary. (Evidently she made herself President, and her husband Vice President) I told her I needed to think it over and talk to my husband about it before giving an answer. (Not to mention the fact that once I'm over being too morning sick to go to rehearsal, I'll be too huge to be in shows.) I woke up to an announcement on Lakenheath's FB page saying "Congratulations to Lolli Mitchell on becoming the new Theatre group secretary!"  I'm not really sure how I keep getting myself into these situations. I think I'll try to go to the next meeting and make my decision after that. If I can find a serious theatre group, it would be great. My problem is that I keep being "recruited" by groups who either want me to do entire shows by myself and out of my own pocket, or think that karaoke is somehow the same as theatre. No thanks.
    I haven't announced the arrival of the jelly bean on Facebook yet, and probably won't until I've had at LEAST a healthy ultrasound, but I did allude to my awesome morning sickness in my status today, because of what happened afterwards! I woke up at 3 AM feeling all sorts of awful, and went downstairs, with Tesla close behind, to get some ginger ale. We went outside to the patio and ended up sitting out there for a good 45 minutes, watching a meteor shower. It was a great distraction from how I was feeling! Tesla didn't think it was that interesting. She went back to sleep in the grass. If every bout of morning sickness could be followed by some sort of celestial display, it would make this pregnancy thing a lot easier.

The Jelly Bean

    Now that everyone has FINALLY been notified, I can talk about the only thing this Mitchell household has been thinking about for the past month: a new member of our family will be showing up sometime around April 6th! My first ultrasound is on the 26th so lots and lots of prayers would be hugely appreciated and I'll try to keep everyone updated on what is going on. So far my only problem is that the absolutely WORST part of being pregnant in England= the food. All the food I want to eat is in the states! I'm tempted to take a military flight to Little Rock just so I can go to cracker barrel. It's going to be a rough 7 1/2 months...
    Kyle is working hard and starting to put together his packet for an OCS board coming up. We are friends with a Captain in NAV on base who is helping Kyle through the process. He only has a couple of months to get ready, so any prayers regarding getting approved by the board would also be hugely sought after! The process is largely dependent on timing, so we are praying that this will work out.
    I've been trying to take it easy as much as I can, but we did go to Audley End on Saturday. We toured through the house, walked through the grounds, saw the horses and fed the ducks. Elizabeth McGovern, who plays Lady Grantham on Downton Abbey was also there, for a concert. After Audley End, we stopped at a Welcome Break and ate at the KFC there. Two interesting things about English KFCs: 1. They serve french fries, and 2. They don't have mashed potatoes, but DO offer a tub of gravy as a side. Weird.