A Newborn's Conversation with God

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?" God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you." The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy." God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy." Again the small child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?" God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak." "And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?" God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray." "Who will protect me?" God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life." "But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore." God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you." At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name." God said, You will simply call her, "Mom."

Sugar and spice...

Friday morning the painter showed up very punctually and early, at 7:30 and was ready to paint. We talked with him for a few minutes about his drive (he came from Ft. Worth!) and then he was in there working away. I kept checking on him while he was there to see if he needed anything but he kept saying he was okay. He said he'd brought a sandwich to eat, but unless he just jumped down off his ladder and ate right there on the carpet; I never saw or heard him eat or drink a thing. Maybe that would explain why I never heard him use the restroom either!! He was there for a total of about 8 1/2 hours and I never once heard him come out of that room! All I heard the whole time he was in there was him moving his ladder around.

Anyway, I couldn't be happier with the work that he did. The pictures just don't do it justice. I don't have her window covered in there yet so it was sort of hard to get a good picture because it was so bright in there. I ordered the valance that matches her bedding this past week and I'm going to get the window coverings done once that valance comes in.

It is a little strange seeing this room come together as a nursery! It makes it all seem so much more real. Barry and I have both been caught just standing in the doorway looking at what little is already done in there. I know this isn't his first child, but I think he is just as mesmerized as I am; in anticipation of his little girl's arrival!! And, speaking of...I have to mention what he did on Thursday evening. He got our video camera out, set it up on a tripod and started a video for his baby girl. He said it was the "before you" video and he wanted to make it for her to see someday. He introduced himself, me, Duke...walked all around the house explaining all the rooms and "showing" her what our house looked like before baby!! He had me take a few minutes of video of him putting her changing table and dresser together and everytime I started the camera up he would say "Hey baby girl"!! It was honestly one of the cutest things I have ever seen in my life! He is so smitten already! We are definitely amateur home video'ers so I'm sure we will get many a laugh out of it someday, but I hope she enjoys it & knows how excited we were/are to finally meet, hold & love her!

Can we get internet at home already??

So, we still don't have internet at home which makes for keeping up with this blog a little harder. I have to remember what it was I want(ed) to write and try to find time at work to post it. Anyway, I can make do, I guess...

So, this past Friday we went to our Dr's appt. with another sonogram scheduled. It was an early appointment but because of the sonogram and the fact that Preston got to go with us; I was pretty excited. P wasn't feeling well at all (we later discovered he was running a 102* fever) but he still seemed excited to see the baby on the screen again. Within the first few seconds it was obvious that Little Sister has put some meat on her bones :)!! She just looked so much bigger than before and it already looked (and feels most of the time) that she is running out of room in there! After the tech took her measurements & showed us what all it was she was checking, she tried to get us a peek at the baby's face...NO GO!! She wasn't having her picture taken at all! She was head down, face down and there was just no getting to see her that time. I was a little disappointed but I guess that anticipation will just build until I actually get to really see her little face.

We were told that that our due date would most likely be moved up about 2 weeks, which puts us at about Aug. 10th. Reason being, she already weighs between 3.6 and 3.9! I was actually a little shocked hearing that. Even being bumped up to Aug 10th, that still puts us at 7 weeks left to go; and he told us that she should be gaining 1/4 to 1/2 pound a week from here on out! I am so incredibly thankful that she is healthy (in fact Barry said it looked like she had little sausage legs!!) but when I do that math on the possible weight gain for the time we have left....OH GOSH!! We might have a big'en on our hands!!

Other than that, they said that I was right about the "no news is good news"... I am diabetes free and I'm not anemic so we were pleased to have heard that. Everything with her looked as good as it could/should have so we left there once again with huge smiles on our faces!!

Now, if we could just get her to show us hers!!

Still catching up

So, we finally got our crib bedding for Little Miss!! (notice all the nicknames so far??) I am so excited about this bedding! I had been looking for a while and did what I would like to consider some pretty extensive research online for bedding sets from stores that I could register at, like BabiesRUs and a place here in Frisco called Lone Star Baby & Kids. But, I didn't find anything that I thought I could make myself fall in love with, and since we already have so many other things, like nursery furniture, that we need to buy I was really trying to stay on a budget with the bedding. This set, I found on e-bay, and immediately fell in love with it, but my heart sank when I saw the price because it was double what some of the sets from the other stores would've cost. I couldn't stop looking at it and was determined to find a way to convince myself and my husband that this (more expensive, but...) absolutely adorable bedding was what our little princess needed to have in her crib!! BUT, I didn't have to. I showed it to my Aunt's Patti and Kristy, and they offered to split the cost of it for me, as a shower gift!! The listing on e-bay even said that the set included a pillow that you could have your baby's name embroidered on, and since we have decided to keep the baby's name a secret until she arrives, they just paid for it and let me order it and have it shipped directly to me! How blessed am I? I know you both read this, so thank you (again & again) for buying that for us. It may seem to be a simple purchase, but I cannot explain how thrilled I am to have that bedding! I absolutely cannot wait to get her crib in and put together so I can finally get it all set up! Thank you and I love you both with all my heart!!

The painter is coming Friday the 26th to paint the nursery and I am elated!! He's going to use the pink color from the bedding and do a border around the top of her room. The wording will be "Sugar and spice and everything nice... That's what little girls are made of" and he said he thinks he can get it down 4 times to make it all the way around the room!! Can't wait to see it!! I will post a picture of that after he finishes!

I thought since I was posting pics of bedding and whatnot that I'd put a couple that I'd taken of my work in Preston's room. It's safe to call this a work in progress, but I think he is happy with the look so far. I've just tried to get as much done in there as I can so that when he's home with us he can enjoy his space, and also before all our efforts are directed toward the nursery.

When we moved into the new house we got a new set of furniture so we put our old set in his room. I know it's not typical 10 year old boy bedroom furniture, but the whole 5 years we were in the apartment, he never had a headboard or nightstand or dressers. So he is enjoying that too. He got the comforter set for Christmas last year and he LOVES it.

These are the curtains I put up in there that I got on sale from IKEA. I didn't realize they weren't "ready to hang" when I got them. They had to be hemmed, and I did that myself. Barry isn't thrilled about the way they turned out, but I don't think they look all that bad. Our main reason for needing to put them up was because of the light coming in that huge window. Since we are on so much land, and don't really have to worry about neighbors being able to see in or things like that; we are still debating what kind of window treatments we want to do. We love the natural light and just aren't sure if we want every window covered with blinds or shades. But, the light was always so bright, Preston could never sleep in and most importantly, to him, the glare from the sun kept him from watching his TV!! :)

Two good things about these curtains are: They're not permanent, and I got them on sale...they were a cheap "try"!!


Two more things I need to tackle in here are his initials above his bed. He wants them painted either orange or blue....SURPRISE!! And the "fathead" things we can't get to keep sticking so we're going to have to figure out something with those. The texture on the walls is too rough and they just won't stick.

It's overly obvious that the boy is a Gator fan. Not a whole lot makes it in his door if it isn't royal blue or orange!!

It's been a while...

I have been slacking... It's been way too long since I have posted anything and so now that I am I feel like there is so much I should write about. I intended for this to be a "diary" of sorts, not only about our lives, but to have and look back upon to remember everything about this pregnancy and I feel guilty that I haven't written in over two months.


Anyway, hmmm..... where to start?? This may ramble a bit as things come to my mind, but I'm going to try and catch up.

This past Monday, June 15th, we hit the 30 week mark!! I cannot believe that in just a few short months we will finally be able to see, hold & love on our little girl. It seems like just yesterday that I was looking at the sonogram of the "blob"!! At first it seemed like the days and weeks were going by so slowly so now that we're over 30 weeks, I'm wondering where did the time go? I've been told that's how time will fly, too, when the baby finally gets here and quite frankly, I really don't want that to happen. I have really enjoyed this pregnancy and part of me already doesn't want it to end. She has become very active and I just love getting to feel her kick and dance around inside me. I don't think anyone can truly understand or fully describe that feeling. I am so thankful for this pregnancy and that I am lucky enough to get to be living out a childhood dream. I can remember when I was younger, always wanting to be a Mommy and the Lord has blessed me with fulfilling that dream.

We have reached the mark where our appointments are now 2 weeks apart and that really caused a tad bit of anxiety to set in, even though I am excited for that. I could never get tired of going in and hearing her heartbeat or getting to see her on a sonogram!! Speaking of which, we go back this Friday for another sonogram and I am so excited! We haven't had one since we determined the gender, so it seems to have been a very long time. And, since Preston is out of school, we're picking him up this Thursday evening so that he can go and see his little sister on the screen with us again. I don't know who's more excited, me or him!!

At the appt. 2 weeks ago I had to do the test for gestational diabetes, and even though I heard all kinds of horror stories about how bad the "stuff" is that they make you drink; I didn't think it was bad at all. Granted it was very, very sweet, but I was STARVING so I think anything they would've given me at that point would have been fantastic. I hadn't eaten since a fairly early dinner the night before and I don't do well skipping breakfast. I'm not really good for much in the mornings until I have something on my belly. While I'm in the waiting room, my darling husband went to "go get some coffee", which I was okay with because I knew I couldn't have any anyway... (I have cut out caffiene...) but came back with a diet coke and a pretty good sized bag of jalapeno cheddar ChexMix. I could have smacked him! For any of you that know me, know that pre-pregnancy... a cold, caffienated beverage was a staple in my breakfast regime!! Not to mention, the ChexMix smelled delicious!! It was all I could do not to go tattle to the lady at the front desk that there was some inconsiderate man in their waiting room eating and drinking even though there was a very noticable sign in there that said: "Please no eating or drinking in waiting room." I totally should have, but I didn't. I let him sit right there beside me the entire hour crunching and smacking away on that crap!!

Aside from all that, I haven't heard back from them regarding the results of the test so I'm hoping that no news is good news. I guess we shall find out on Friday...

Since we're playing catch up; I guess I should mention that a couple of weeks ago (May 26th) I ended up having to go into the hospital to be checked out. To make a long story short, I had started having back pain late one Friday night. It continued, with some mild abdominal cramping, through Saturday and Sunday but had seemed to have gotten (just a little) better by Monday. With much encouragement from my friends and family, I finally called my Dr. and described the pain to him and he suggested I come into L&D and let them just check to make sure I wasn't having contractions. Luckily, I wasn't having any and after only a few short hours they unhooked me and let us go home. We were both so thankful. Preston was born at 26 weeks and spent a few months in NICU, so Barry was hoping he wasn't about to have a deja vu, because I was only 27 weeks, 1 day!! I was thrilled there was nothing going on, too. I want, very badly, to see her little face but I will make myself wait! And, I sure do hope the bed in the delivery room is more comfortable than the one in the triage room, because that one was seriously like a brick! But, I did thoroughly enjoy getting to hear the princess's heart beating for a couple of hours straight! I could never get tired of that!


I think I'm going to have to add the rest of my thoughts to another posting... Ta Ta for now.

Already wrapped

So, lastnight and this morning, my husband started talking to his little girl. We laid down to go to sleep lastnight and he put his hand on my belly, leaned toward it and told her good night. This morning, he was still lying in bed and I was getting ready to leave for work... I walked over to kiss, hug him & tell him bye, and he lifted up the bottom of my top, kissed my belly and told the baby bye and that he loved her!! I know that he has a reputation for being a tough guy, and I know there are many, many people that would never believe any of this without seeing it, but it's true. I know how much Barry loves his son, and their special bond is undeniable. I just cannot wait to see, first hand, my tough guy with his precious little princess. She's not even here yet, and she has already begun to wrap him around her little finger.

(The picture attached above is one of the very few belly pics I have so far. It is from the MPD awards banquet.)

IT'S A GIRL!!

So, I have asked myself before, can my life get any better than it already is... Well I think as of last Friday, the 27th of March, it did!

We had our Dr. appt. where we knew they were going to do the sonogram and attempt to discover and tell us what the gender of our baby was. We were so anxious and excited for this day. We went and got Preston out of school early too, so that he could go with us. He'd not been able to go with us to any appts. yet and was very excited to get to go and hear the heartbeat. I'd babysat my niece the night before my last appt. and she ended up having to go to my appt. with me the next morning and she got to hear the heartbeat. Preston was a little upset that she got to go and hear it before he did, so needless to say, he didn't mind missing the 2nd half of his day of school!

So when we got there, I checked in and they called us back right away. I was anxious, as were my boys...especially Preston, not knowing exactly what to expect. We went back to the sono room and got ready. By the time she turned the lights off my heart was pounding. I can't explain the feeling. I wasn't nervous. I wasn't worried about any bad news. I really just can't explain it. I knew that what we were about to hear, as a family, would change us forever. I was so excited to see the baby on the screen again and just kept looking at Preston's face to see what his expressions were as she pointed out to him what everything was. She pointed out things that she'd already pointed out to Barry and I, just for Preston...so that he would have an idea of what he was looking at. It was the longest time I'd ever spent in that room, because the baby was so active and moving around that it was hard to get a good look sometimes. The baby must've known that her Big Brother was there to see for the first time! As she's explaining what everything is, she looks at her chart and says, "I see y'all would like to know the gender of the baby?" and Barry and I both said yes. So as she is moving around trying to get "the picture" she explains to us that she does not give anyone the sex of the baby if she is not (her words) "100%, take it to the bank, go ahead and start shopping certain". So just a few seconds after that, she snaps one shot and holds it to the side of the screen, moved around a little more and snaps a second picture, takes the thing off my belly, turns so that Barry, Preston and I can all see her face and she says "Well, y'all are definitely going to welcome a little GIRL to the family." I don't remember much that was said after that... I immediately started crying. I haven't cried at any of my appts so far, but this was uncontrollable. I was elated and I cannot explain the extent...

Many of my family members have said that if we did end up having a girl it would totally ruin Barry's reputation. Because of that, and so that I do not spark the beginning of a disintegration of his manly, tough guy reputation I can neither confirm nor deny that I was the only one crying in the room upon the announcement that Baby Eaves is a Baby GIRL!! We both, of course, just wanted to hear that our baby was healthy. The next best thing to hearing that was hearing that our "it" is actually a little girl!!

After leaving the hospital, we all three (or four) went and celebrated the news with an ice cream date! It was truly a blessed day! Having not only my husband, but 'THE BIG BROTHER' there too, will always be a memory I will cherish and I hope they do too. I know I will never forget it.

And I'm not sure exactly when I'll come down off this cloud...



(I attached a picture of my very first purchase...the cutest thing I have ever spent $6 on!!)

So confused

Today is a pretty nasty day outside, and I honestly have to say my mood is comparable.

I am baffled today as to why some people refuse to see that the world does not fully revolve around them. Literally, totally, completely and utterly confused... How some people just can't function unless there is trouble or drama. The ones that can't let go of rediculously old grudges and let them ruin relationships. Actually dissolve realtionships! No regard for the ones around them, no regard for the people that their actions or inactions affect... I wasn't raised to be that way and I just can't fathom why some of the very people that taught me that think they don't have to abide by those same values.

I am truly at a loss for words and that's uncommon for me...

Tired

I've been slacking a little on this, I know. We're getting so close to moving, and I'm not even through packing. But, we've been so busy and I have been so TIRED!!

tired 
–adjective
1. exhausted, as by exertion; fatigued or sleepy: a tired runner.
2. weary or bored (usually fol. by of): tired of the same food every day.
3. hackneyed; stale, as a joke, phrase, or sermon.
4. Informal. impatient or disgusted: You make me tired.

I'm so flipping tired... the #1 version of tired!! As I'm sitting here typing this I am barely able to hold my eyes open or my hands up to the keyboard. When is it that some of this fatigue is supposed to subside?? I'm thinking it's never going to come. At this point, I honestly feel like I could sleep for a month straight and I'm still not sure that I would feel rested!

Granted, it probably doesn't help that almost every single day for about the past 2 weeks we have gone out to the house to clean, pick up trash, sweep etc. All the fun stuff you have to have done before you can move into a new home. Should I say, all the stuff WE have to do before we can move. Right now, I'm thinking the money we were saving by doing our own clean up is sooo not worth it!! Joking, of course. It really is, but I'm feeling it...literally feeling it. I mean, we go and clean and go back the next day and it's like a bomb has gone off inside that house again!?!? It's like what we're doing is pointless; and my dear husband just keeps saying, "Well, we have to stay on top of it." What?!? How are we staying on top of anything? We're wearing ourselves out and going back the next day and doing the EXACT same things again? I call that redundant, repititious... I'll post the definitions to those if I need to. I don't think that's 'staying on top of it'. Maybe I'm just delirious. Who knows?! I just got word that carpet will be installed on Tuesday, and that's one of the last 'big' things to be done, so we're almost there!! I can't wait. I am so ready to be in that house!! And I want my bed moved first... so I can go hop on it and snooze away!!

On a brighter note, we go back to the Dr. on the 6th and I'm wondering if they'll try to see what sex it is?? I'm not getting my hopes up though, because I'll just barely be 16 weeks. But, it would sure be exciting if they did! I am so ready to shop!! I'm ready to register so that everyone else will know what to shop for! I guess we'll see on the 6th...

I'm off for now. I think I'm going to go hit up the empty office next door where the Judge keeps a recliner... and study the back of my eyelids for a few minutes!!

How did I get so lucky?

I have always known that I am a lucky girl to be married to my wonderful husband. From the very beginning I knew I really liked & was attracted to him, and not too long after that I knew I'd fallen in love with him. It was a while, though, before I figured out that the feeling was mutual. Either way, it seems like no matter what comes our way, good or bad, he continues to prove to me that I'm not a fool for letting myself fall completely, helplessly, hopelessly further in love with him.

I've had some great men in my life; to name a few: my Papaw, my Daddy and a slew of wonderful uncles. I have absolutely no complaints about any of their influences in my life. How could I? Up until Barry, these men have been there for me, and given me any and all the things I've ever needed from any of them. No one has ever loved me more or taken better care of me than these men, EXCEPT Barry. He is everything to me... My constant. He is the kind of man my Mom and Dad always promised me I could find. The kind of man my Papaw is to my Memaw and my Dad is to my Mom. He is an answer to a prayer, literally!

I have always called him my Angel, and I truly believe he is. I don't know what I did to deserve him and sometimes I wonder how I manage to keep him. But, I know he is my best friend, and I honestly don't know what I would do without him.

Sugar, if you ever read this, I love you....and you can probably hear me say this: How did I get so lucky??

Finally

Ok, so I finally got some pictures taken of the house this weekend. There is still work to be done, but our builder has said those priceless words that I've been dying to hear..."Start packing". Not that I'm the slightest bit excited about packing, but I am thrilled to be getting out of that apartment and into our beautiful home. I've planned to use the "I'm pregnant" card to get me out of some of the moving, but unfortunately I dont think it'll work for the packing part...Darn!!

Oh well, April will be 5 years, yes I said 5, that we will have been in this apartment and I can't wait to get out! I figure if Barry and I haven't killed each other being confined to an 1,100 sq.ft. apartment, surely we can manage in the new house!!



Enjoy the pics...

Just one thing I want...

I've already been thinking of a million and one things that I want for my child, just like every other parent, or soon-to-be parent does. All kinds of things have already run through my mind...health, religion, characteristics, faith, hopes, dreams, abilities, friends, happiness, the sentimental things and I can't deny, even some material things. Many of these things I have already prayed for my child to be blessed with. But there's one thing I especially want for my child: I want him/her to know their Memaw and Papaw...MY Memaw and Papaw, Billie & Lequeta Ingram. Of course I want my child to also know their Nana & Poppi, Grandmother & Granddaddy, all it's aunts, uncles and cousins. I don't mean to imply that anyone in my family is more important to me or will be to my child than any of the others, but I hope that they know these two amazing people, especially so.

I want my child to know the sweet, but stern man that let me and my sisters drive his brand new truck around the back roads of Westminster lonnng before we were legal. I want my child to know the wonderful woman that I'm named after & what it feels like to be held in her arms. I want my child to know what a Sunday is like at Memaw & Papaws house after a belly full of Memaws chicken spaghetti. I want my child to know even just one Christmas at their house...crowded, hot, chaotic. I want my child to know the man of very few words, that wasn't afraid to confront any of his kids or grand kids when he thought they needed his intervention or help. I want them to know the woman that works to this day, to still be able to provide her family a good home-cooked meal every Sunday after church. I want my child to know what it's like to sit on their Papaw's lap out on his back porch on a sunny day & to maybe fall asleep with him in his recliner with golf playing on the TV. I want my child to know what it's like to be able to play with ANY of Memaw's nick-knacks and never get in trouble or stay with Memaw in the evenings and get any and everything you want to eat & then get to plop down on "her" couch for a good movie. I want my child to take a trip with Papaw to his favorite place...the golf course and then go meet Memaw at their favorite restaurant, Red Lobster. I want my child to get the birthday card every year from Memaw that she still makes Papaw sign himself. I want my child to know what their voices sound like, their hugs feel like and what it feels like to just be in their presence. I want my child to know these two wonderful people that are known for their inability to say the word 'No' to any of their grandchildren.

I want my child to know the amazing, true love these two have for each other and every member of our family, and I want my child to know what it's like to feel that love.

I want my child to see the friends that these two are to each other and the friends they have become to their kids and grand kids. I want my child to know Memaw & Papaw as their friend.

There's no member of my family that I don't want my child to know, spend time with or feel loved by...

I know my baby will never know them like I have gotten to know them, but if my baby is blessed with time with their Memaw and Papaw, and get to know even some of the things I know, my heart will be happy.

So, I guess it's true...

So, I think they're finally here... I've been doing a lot of reading and I've had lots of people telling me about their experiences with them. But, I think I finally experienced them myself yesterday and this morning. Pregnancy hormones that is. Interesting ride if I might say so myself.

Yesterday, at work, I actually could've wrapped my little hands around one of the guys necks and just squeezed...hard! I don't even remember one particular thing setting me off, and I remember thinking that this isn't me; this isn't my usual self. But I couldn't control it. I joked about stabbing one of the idiot guys with my letter opener!! I know, I have been known to be very opinionated and usually never have a problem voicing my opinion to anyone. And, I know most of the people that work with me have at some point or another thought about what a witch I can be... Obviously, I would never actually inflict any physical pain on anyone, but yesterday it really sounded like a fantastic idea. So what did I do? I took myself to the bathroom, knelt down (yes in the bathroom) and said a prayer. I was a little taken aback by my new "attitude" and I thought that asking for patience was the only thing that could ensure that my letter opener stayed in my drawer!!

Help didn't come quickly enough... I ended up leaving to have lunch, which isn't something that I usually do. I had to get out. Unfortunately, I had to come back... I had to come back yesterday and I had to get up again this morning and do it again. Guess what? The hormones were still with me. Pretty bad, when my husband is laughing at me over not being able to find this certain pair of socks I needed this morning and warning my dog not to get in my way!! And, luckily for him I thought he was funny too... I mean, I would never hurt my dog!! HA!

I don't know how often these lovely hormones will attack, but I guess what I've read and been told is true. For right now, I feel okay. I asked for patience and a lot of other things this morning...

But, my letter opener is just an arms reach away!!

Whew!

Whoever it was that told us that it would be a good idea to build a custom home; I'd like to slap right now. We got up early(for my day off I consider it early) and started our hunt for tile. We needed to find tiles we liked for the kitchen, utility and bathrooms. FUN!

Up until this point, we have been able to go to the store, pick out what we like, call our builder and tell him. He calls the contractor doing the job and they get what it was we picked out and they go do the work. Easy. Not today! We were told the tile guy would like to start on Monday...possibly. So our mission was not only to pick out what we liked, but to actually purchase it. We had measurements, square feet to figure out, colors to match, blah, blah, blah... I personally like the other way we've been doing things. Much more fun. But, to make a long, and unfinished story short, we found what we liked, bought samples, carried them out to the house and checked them out. Pat us on the back...they worked!

So, tomorrow we have to get up early again (also usually a great day to sleep in) go to Wylie for Preston's basketball game, and immediately after we have to return to Lowe's to make our purchase. I'm hoping this goes well, but this is where those measurements and square footage requirements come in. For anyone that knows me very well, knows that math or anything related to it definitely isn't my area of expertise. I'm counting on my Love for this part...

I'll probably be yawning & holding up the buggy!!

Hope to have some pictures of our beautiful house posted soon.

Right now, in the words of my Papaw... I'm off to hit the hay!

The sweetest thing (so far) I've ever seen!!

Well, our appt. today was AMAZING..to say the least! We did another sonogram, and this time we could actually make out a baby. Not just a gray dot like we saw last time. It was incredible!! She pointed the little jawlines out to us, and we could actually see the arms & legs. The little thing must've known we were watching too, cause it was moving all over the place & bouncing around like crazy! It was absolutely the most precious thing my eyes have seen so far...no kidding! Then, the look and little smile my adorable husband had on his face just iced the cake...Seriously, what more could I ask for? Does it get better than this? I know it does, but right now I am truly wondering how. ??? I have a wonderful man that loves me and has made every dream I've had, so far, come true...I have a precious step-son that loves me, a handsome, sweet puppy, a large loving family, and some of the absolute BEST friends that any girl could ever make in a lifetime...and to top all that off, the Lord has seen fit to bless us with an Angel of our own. I have never been so humbled in my life...

I saw this quote once, and now that I'm expecting I just can't quit thinking about the truth in it and the power in it:

Pregnancy: A rare, precious opportunity for me to assist God in a miracle.

Wow! That's all I can say....Wow!

Dr. appt.

Well, we have another Dr. appt. today at 3 pm so I am only having to work half a day. I have to admit, this will be the longest half day I have ever worked. I am so excited about going today. We are going to do another sonogram, and I just cannot wait. When we had our first one they'd thought that we were about 2 1/2 weeks ahead of what we really were. When they did the sonogram, the tech said, "Honey, there is no way you are almost 11 weeks." She put us at 7w 4d and even though it was exciting to see the little "bean" and get a heartbeat confirmed, I am even more thrilled today to get to see more of a baby in there!! I have prayed my little heart out that everything with this pregnancy goes well. I have felt good for the most part and I just keep hoping and praying that I stay healthy and this baby grows like it should and that it's healthy too. The time in between these appointments has just seemed like forever... I have to keep reminding myself that there's a life forming inside me right now and there isn't a thing I want rushed. I just get so anxious to get updates from the doctor.

Part of my excitement and anxiousness I think, comes from seeing my usually very calm, composed husband in his excitement. He has even really surprised me. Normally, he has to be reminded of things, birthdays, events, stuff that we have to do or places we have to go, but I haven't had to remind him of one appt. Today he went down to start my car for me, followed me down, a few minutes later and said, "See you here in a little bit." I was a little shocked. I hadn't said anything to him, and he remembered!! I think the best part is, he normally would not want anyone to really know that he's excited, but he is and I just think he can't hide or disguise it now. Just makes my heart happy. I already know he is a wonderful father, and I cannot begin to explain how excited I am to see him with our baby. Another thing, I just can't wait for....

Wasn't I just talking myself into having patience? Yeah, gonna have to work on that one!!

It's been a few days...

Well, I had the best of intentions to post something over the weekend in my attempt to get this thing going; but it didn't happen. This was our weekend with Preston, and even though I had an extra day this weekend because of the MLK holiday, I didn't succeed in getting much "extra" done. Although, when we have P, it seems as if our lives are on fast forward. He's playing basketball right now, and he has games every Saturday...not to mention all the other things we try to come up with to keep him happy, fed and entertained while he's with us. We really do always try so hard to utilize and prioritize our time that we get to spend with him.
And, so to go back just a tad...speaking of his basketball... We had an "incident" during his game this saturday that turned into a BIG deal! First, let me say: Preston is a very big boy, especially for his age and so at most of the games it appears that he's arrived & is playing on the wrong team! It totally doesn't look like he's playing in the right age group. But, he is a gentle soul, he plays by the rules and doesn't play ugly, ever. Anyway, the team they played this weekend was super aggressive, and the boy that Preston was guarding was a great player, but he was a dirty player, and Preston very quickly got frustrated with him. In the first quarter, he'd gotten a little winded (he has asthma) and that paired with his frustration made him a little upset and he left the game in tears. Barry accompanied him to the bathroom, washed his face, let him puff on his inhaler and got him set to go back in. But, the second quarter didn't go any better. The other team, including the kid P was on seemed to have turned it up. They had led the whole game, and were still winning, but they weren't leaving any room for P's team to make a come back. Preston's frustration and anger just grew with this kid, and by this point I think the other kid was a tad peeved at P too. So, here's the "incident"... but remember the gentle soul part about Preston... As the last seconds of the 4th quarter ticked away, and each player made their way back to their bench, Preston and this kid brushed past each other and the kid called Preston a "fagot". Now, I know there are way worse words that could've been spouted off, and even though P admitted to us he didn't know what the word meant, just that he knew is wasn't good, he was still horribly upset. I'm talking red, splotchy, face in the hands, blowing snot, bawling! It was heartbreaking. He didn't even know what the word meant, but he was inconsolably crying. Come to find out, the ref heard the kid say it to Preston so after the teams shook hands, the ref pulled the kid aside and got onto him so he also left the gym crying, but still. We got P into the car, explained to him what the word meant and got him calmed down. We tried to tell him how some kids repeat things they've heard and that the other kid might not've known what he was saying, just as Preston hadn't known what it meant. He admitted that he thought a large part of his emotion came from the frustration of how the whole game played out, not necessarily the name calling. In this league, each team gets a shot at the "playoffs" so hopefully if they meet this team again; Preston will be a little better equipped to handle what's thrown at, said to or done to him.

On a happier note, my nephews first birthday party was this weekend. I still can't believe he is already a year old. When he was just a few weeks old, he got RSV and had to be in the hospital for about a week. Since my brother-in-law was in Iraq and my sister also had a 3 year old at the time, I tried as much as I could to help out at the hospital. I went every evening when I got off work to check on them, take my sister food, and get in any little squeezing & loving that I could. When my sister needed to leave to shower, get a change of clothes or check up on Julie; I would stay with Jr., just hold him and whisper to him. I never put him down. He was all hooked up to these machines with cords everywhere. He was coughing like a smoker that'd had 3 packs a day for the last 50 years...it was so sad and I just couldn't put him down. I remember my sister telling me a month of so after that, that she learned one way when he did get upset or wasn't feeling good...She would whisper to him like I did and he would calm down. So, I still to this day, pick him up and whisper in his ear...almost every time I see him. Anyway, he's a perfectly healthy, sweet little 1 year old now. Definitely one of the sweetest little boys I have ever laid my eyes on...if not the sweetest. He's a great baby. I always tell him if my baby is just half as sweet as he is; I will be tickled pink! Happy Birthday to MY Junior Baby!! (whispering this...) Aunt T loves you with all her heart!!

Ugh...

Ok, so although I am certain I will eventually get the hang of this, be able to add things & decorate a little to give it some personality; I am now struggling to do so! I must get some 'real' work done so I'm taking a break from this. My frustration is about to get the best of me...

Here goes...

So, after reading several friend and family members blogs, I have finally decided to start one of my own. Everyone, including my husband, is always telling me I should "blog" so now hopefully they'll read & enjoy my thoughts, ideas and well-known rants. Maybe their suggestions stem from their knowledge of me and knowing that I usually always have a comment to make or something to say about most things! I hope I can keep up with this like I've always wanted to. Anywho...Here's the the first of many, Enjoy!