More Whining about Lack of Sleep

Here it is 2AM again and I can't sleep. This is either excellent preparation for when the baby comes, or I am just crazy.

Sunday was a great sleep day for me. I got up at 5:30 AM because Sammie was still here to help me finish the laundry and putting away the last of the boxes. We had already decided that church was not an option for me after looking at my feet Saturday night. Sam and I had a great game plan where I basically sat in the floor and she put away things. However, by 11:30AM my feet were painfully swollen and red. I crashed on the love seat (with my feet elevated) until 12:30 when the boys got home from church. Then I laid down for a nap and slept until 6:30PM. That is about 6 hours of naps once you subtract the pee breaks. However, there was no problem going to bed. We laid down around 1AM and I slept until 6AM this morning when I woke up with tummy problems again.

It took about 20 minutes to decide if these were contractions or just gastro-intestinal issues. Needless to say, it was GI. I laid back down and except for getting up to feed Shelby, I slept until 11:30AM. I took a short nap this afternoon and thought I would be ready for bed tonight. Boy, was I wrong! Physically I'm exhausted, but I can't shut my mind off. It whirls and whirls! I remember being in college and 2 AM was a whole lot more fun than this!

On the plus side, I made the floor-length skirt for Baby Boy's bassinet today. I had originally planned on a bassinet and everytime I discussed it with Hubby he mentally pictured a wooden cradle. When I got ready to purchase one, he wanted to know why the were all wicker. We eventually settled on the idea of a Moses Basket in a stand. So, last week during my confinement I selected a Moses Basket and ordered it from Wal-mart only to realize that neither of the 2 stands available on the market fit the Wal-mart Moses Basket ($34). They only fit the "custom bedding" Moses Baskets ($189 and up). Needless to say, we were back to square one. So, I asked my mom to go to Wal-mart Saturday morning and pick up a bassinet they had in stock. It is not heirloom quality, but it is functional. Also, it is in our budget. However, the bedding on it was really cheap looking, so one of our errands Saturday was to get new fabric for the bedding. Now, my bassinet has a floor length skirt and a pretty baby blue bow. Now, he has a pretty place to lay his little head when he comes home.

Overdone

Once again, indigestion has woken me up so I'll catch everyone up on my life.

Wednesday's doctor appt. was fabulous. I got upgraded from "bedrest" to "moderate activity / modified bedrest". I decided that it meant I could do what I wanted to do as long as I felt good.

I was wrong!

I was pretty good Thursday, mainly because I didn't sleep at all Wednesday night and slept on and off all day Thursday. But, then my Mom got here Friday morning and I took that as an excuse to do all of the things that I had been wanting to do. We worked at the house for several hours preparing the nursery. Then, we decided it was time to tackle Target and Wal-mart. By the end of the trip, I was sitting on a display stack of cases of Coke waiting on her to pick up a few items for us while all the Wal-Mart team members eased by hoping that I wasn't in labor and that my water wasn't about to break.

I think I've made my last big trip out until after Baby Boy is here.

We have to go as far as Toys R Us tomorrow to look at a swing set for the kids. Hubby is going to drive for us and we are not going to stay long. I hate to admit it, but maybe "modified bedrest" means that I am going to have to focus on the "bedrest" part and not the "modified" part.

My Mom is supposed to leave Saturday afternoon, but she looked at me Friday tonight and said that I looked really bad and that maybe she should stay another day. Normally, I would resent the "looked really bad" part, but I don't care right now. All I want is for her to stay and help me get everything caught up. She commented that I looked "markedly" worse than when she saw me two weeks ago. Again, I don't care how bad I look if it is causing her to have sympathy and want to stay and help.

One of the big downsides to this is that Hubby and I can't figure any way for me to go to church. I can't sit on a pew for an hour with my feet dangling down. The only other option is to sit UPSTAIRS in the "Cry Room". Usually it is just Moms and little babies up there so no one would be offended if I sat on the floor so that my feet didn't swell. But, if I do that I'm still going to be very uncomfortable and don't know how effectively I could worship. So, I don't know whether I should go so that people can see that their pastor's wife is really trying to be there, or whether I should just stay home. It seems pharisee-like to go so that others can know I'm trying, but it seems lazy not to go at all. I mean - what's a little discomfort in the face of what Christ did for me? I am, by the way accepting opinions on this one.

Hopefully, this current bout of indigestion is over. So now at 2:45 AM I am going back to bed.

Spotlight on III

Not much gets said about III on the blog because I don't spend as much time with him (because he's in public school this year) and because he and I are 180 degrees apart in personality. I almost never understand what he is doing. It is a humbling thing to love a child to whom you have little ability to relate.

He has had a newsworthy week this week. First, he was invited to a birthday party last Sunday afternoon and the invitation specified that the boys could bring "water guns or air soft guns". Hubby said that "air soft guns" meant Nerf guns. So, I thought we were prepared. Well, Saturday evening I mentioned to III that he needed to gather his things to take to the party. He told me he didn't have any guns to take and so he didn't need to pack them. After some discussion, it turns out that what he needed was a sort of plastic pellet shooting gun. Thankfully, even though III's piggy bank was empty, Hubby's stepdad had sent Christmas money to the kids that we had set aside for them. So, III and Hubby headed off to Wal-mart to invest in a new gun, pellets, and a nice face shield. We were very thankful that we did it because he had a blast. We try very hard to teach our children that "stuff" doesn't make you happy and that you don't have to buy stuff to fit in with your real friends. But, I was glad that on something small like having the "right" gun to play with at the party, we had planned ahead and put the money aside. I figure that unless there's a spiritual reason to do without something, it won't hurt my kids to have toys that other kids have.

Of course, being III, he didn't bother to tell us that he had made 2 Fs and 1 D on tests last week. He mentioned that he had some redos. Redos are papers that he has to do over because he scores less than 80%. Here's his logic. They just started a new A.R. period and his points were low, so he hurried through all of his work so that he could read. ARGGGHHH! Now, he is grounded for 2 weeks. Did I mention that his birthday is next week? This is the second year in a row that he has managed to be grounded on his birthday. We decided to lift the grounding for the day of his birthday and the day of his birthday party and just to add 2 days to the grounding. Maybe this ruins the effect of the grounding or maybe it shows grace and love.

Then, to turn it around again, he came in third place in a speech competition in his class today. We are really proud of his speech. He wrote it himself on "Tom and Jerry". He practiced and Hubby said that he used good eye contact and voice inflection in his presentation. (I was still on bed rest and could not attend.) One of the ways that III and I don't see eye to eye is in preparation of things. As his parents, we are constantly trying to find the right balance for him with his spiritual side, his academic side, his emotional side, his social side, and his physical side. My method of preparing for a speech competition would involve memorizing the whole thing. And, as a matter of fact, the 2 girls who beat him did memorize theirs. But, III is content to have spent less effort, to have had more free time, and to come in third place. This is very difficult for me to comprehend, but I am proud of his accomplishment. It showed good work and it met his needs. He feels like he did a good job and is validated.

So, if you're ever at a loss for how to pray for our family, you can always pray for our ability to sync up my expectations with goals that III feels are reasonable.

The pic at the top is from a fishing trip that III and Hubby took during Spring Break.

News from the Cervix

If you are one of those squeamish people (like I used to be) who don't want to know the details of what's happening with my cervix, then consider this a warning that there is TMI ahead. If, however, you have been pregnant and this sort of conversation is normal to you, then forge ahead for the nitty-gritty details.

Today we had an appt. with our OB. We are now starting the week to week appts. Baby Boy is head down but still has further (or farther) to drop. I am 1 cm dialated and about 50% effaced. I think I am having Braxton-Hicks pains, but until you've actually been in labor and had a contraction it is hard to diagnose whether this is Braxton-Hicks or an early contraction. Baby Boy's heart beat is still solid in the 150s.

My Blood Pressure was back down today and I have been upgraded from "bedrest" to "limited activity". That means I can move around the house and run a few errands if someone goes with me. It doesn't seem like much, but it is a big deal to me. My mom (Gram Sam) is coming to help me finish the nursery this weekend and it will be a great help to be able to run errands with her help.

Update on the CORD BLOOD POST:

The kit arrived this morning, so that prayer has been answered. I was really afraid that I would go into labor before the kit could get here.

We did not qualify for the grant because there are no studies going on right now that will us a sibling's cord blood but we still very optimistic about what they will be able to do in the future.

I talked to Bio Mom and she agreed whole heartedly for us to use her medical license to get the discount. So, if I'm ever griping about her, you can try to help me remember that usually we both have our kids best interest at heart even if we go about it in different ways.

Cord Blood Banking

Yesterday I received one of those miracle phone calls that non-Christians refer to as "coincedences". As of today, I am 35 weeks along in my pregnancy and Hubby and I have not seriously discussed cord blood banking. I had relegated it to the back of my mind and I had decided that if something happened (like winning a sweepstakes) that I would ask him about it. Otherwise, I didn't really want to ask for $2500 to do what seems like a science experiment.

Late yesterday afternoon, a rep from the cord blood bank called on my cell phone and asked for Christine. Well, that's my middle name, but I have NEVER used that name and certainly not in conjunction with my cell phone. I almost let her go and then I decided to ask if she was trying to find me. And, she was. Apparently I had registered for some free info (to enter a contest) with both my real name and phone number and with my "fake" name and cell phone number. It's a good thing I did it that way because we have since moved and the old phone number is invalid.

I listened to her sales pitch and explained how we couldn't really afford to do it. She then explained to me about a grant that is available for banking cord blood if the baby has a first degree relative who has a disease that can be treated with the cord blood. Rosy has Type 1 diabetes and the University of Florida has treated at least 4 kids who have Type 1 Diabetes with their own cord blood and has either eliminated or reduced their need for insulin. This is the sort of information that is really overwhelming to the parents of a child with long-term life threatening disease.

Hubby and I talked about the situation and we decided that even if we can't get the grant, we are willing to accrue some debt to bank this cord blood. Because Baby Boy and Rosy are only half siblings the chances are not perfect that they will be a match. However, Baby Boy is her best shot. And, on the other good side, the rep told me today that our family can receive a discount because III and Rosy's Bio Mom is an RN. What a crazy blended family world this is, but my baby's cord blood banking is eligible for a discount because his 1/2 sister's Bio Mom is a medical professional!

We are asking for prayers concerning this whole situation. 1. That there will be lots of cord blood available. We need enough to use for Rosy, to set aside for Hubby (who also has Type 1 Diabetes), and to save for Baby Boy in case he needs it later. 2. That Baby Boy will be a genetic match for Rosy and for Hubby. 3. That we get approved for this grant. 4. That Bio Mom will work with us to get this discount if the grant is not approved.

This all sounds a little out there, but for our family it is the hope of a miracle that we were even afraid to dream was a possibility. For those of you who know Rosy, can you imagine just being able to give her a snack without thinking about it? And, then imagine what that would be like for us!

Congrats to Julia!

Julia has made it to the finals in her bid to become a Tennessee Titan Cheerleader for the third year in a row. Julia is an amazing friend and I want to take a minute to tell her how much I love her and how much we appreciate her. Good luck at the final tryouts! And, yes, she is that thin and I am that big!

Showers of Blessing

It has been so hectic lately that I haven't even gotten to post about my Baby Shower at our church. It was such a wild day that I was one of the last people to get to my shower. And, I am NOT that type of girl. I planned to be there about 15 minutes early to receive guests, but that is not the way it worked. The shower was at 3PM and Hubby was picking the kids up at 2PM from their biological mom. She was about 5 minutes late (which is normally something that we are very understanding with each other about), but on Baby Shower Day it was a killer. By the time Hubby got Rosy home, I had about 20 minutes to wipe her down, roll her hair and get her dressed. This would have been okay, but the temperature was expected to be dramatically lower than we had expected when she left home on Tuesday. That meant we had to find a new outfit. Well, I'm a freak and we all have to wear the same color to important occasions. So, her new outfit had to be brown because my mom and I were already dressed.

During the chaos of getting Rosy ready and finishing getting myself ready, Hubby announces that Bio Mom has forgotten III's backpack and he is going to have to go meet her again in a few minutes to pick it up. (In a blended family these things happen a lot and they happen on both sides of the fence, so you really have to roll with it. It just stinks when they happen on a day when one of us has a tight schedule.) My Jeep had a broken air conditioner and so Hubby and I were planning for me to take his truck. I am now rushing around with flat hair because of the humidity, a partaily dressed daughter, a tense mom, and no comfortable ride to the church. Hubby finally comes through the door at 2:50 and begins digging through some boxes that we haven't yet unpacked from the move last month. I go ballistic! "Can't you help me get Rosy ready to go?" "Why are you unpacking now?" "Is the truck cooling down?" Thankfully he is a gracious man and he calmly stops unpacking (where he was hunting something I had asked him to hunt for) and checks Rosy's blood sugars and packs her bag. We left a few minutes later and careened down the back roads to the church while I stripped the chipped hot pink polish off of my nails.

Here's the rest of the story...I didn't know this until much later, but Hubby had been back for a while before he came into the house. He was in the garage looking for things. I felt really bad because I thought that Bio Mom had held us up, but it was really Hubby forgetting that I was waiting on the truck. Well, that combined with the fact that I was just running about 10 minutes late. So, it isn't always the other people's fault. Sometimes you need to look closer to home.

Also, if you are 35 weeks pregnant, you should not "Satin Hands" your feet in the shower if you are in a hurry. It makes the shower floor too slippery and you have to sit on the bench for several minutes and let it dry out a little before you can stand up and rinse it. This would have been good to know before I tried it.

The shower at the church was gorgeous. It was decorated like bunnies playing in a garden. The pictures don't do it justice, but it's the best I've got.

Bed Rest

Well, last night we made our first run to the hospital for a possible baby delivery. Thankfully, Baby Boy was not on his way yet.

For the past few weeks, I have experienced extreme swelling in my feet. My doctor has monitored my blood pressure and because it was stable and normal, we have just been trying to reduce my activity and keep my feet elevated. Yesterday afternoon I had an intense bout of vomiting. I know that nausea is another of the major signs of toxemia, so we got a little worried. Hubby came home from work and checked my blood pressure. It was normal at the time and I was not running a fever, so we decided to keep an eye on things and check me again in a few hours. Hubby got a call around 8:30PM that one of our Senior Adult Ladies in our church had been rushed to the hospital. As he prepared to go to the hospital to check on her, he checked my B.P. again. This time it was high! He had to call the other lady back and let her know that he had to take me to the hospital.

We quickly threw all of our toiletries in a bag and headed for Sacred Heart. They monitored me and Baby Boy for about 2 hours and did some blood work. By 11:30PM my blood pressure was down and the blood work had come back with normal results. So, they let us go, but now I'm on bed rest.

Bed rest is the most boring thing in the world. It is possible that I have 5 more weeks of this to go. Thankfully, Hubby has hooked me up a TV and a laptop in the bedroom. That entertains me for about 1 hour each day. I have read through all my library books. And, here's the part where I really have the pity party....I have developed carpal tunnel problems in both hands which means that I can't hold a phone for more than about 5 minutes, can't hold a pen to write thank-yous, and can't play spider solitaire on the laptop because I can't "click and drag".

I think the only person who is suffering more than I am is my beloved Hubby. He is now in charge of EVERYTHING! So, remember us all in your prayers.

The Time of My Life

This Saturday was one of the best days of my life. My family and hubby's family had a Baby Shower for us. It was amazing. We got to go home to St. Stephens and celebrate the baby with almost everyone that we love. I never realized before just how blessed we are to call the same place "home".

Hubby's Aunt RoseAnn was working hard again. She also got roped into helping us in our move just a few weeks ago, so she may be getting tired of us!

My sister-in-law, Cindy, pulled out all the stops with the decorations. I've never been to a shower that was prettier. She made the diaper cake that is in the photo on top of this post. She made a display for each window sill in the room that contained baby toys and animals shaped from baby washcloths and baby blankets. There were baby toiletries wrapped up in hooded towels. It reminded me of the kind of baby shower that the owner of a baby boutique might throw for their friend.

Almost all of my and John's living aunts were at the shower, and I did not have the sense to get a picture of them all together. So, thanks to Aunt Becky, Aunt Jeri, Aunt Lillian, Mrs. Margie, Aunt Darlene and Aunt RoseAnn!

I was also tickled to have Julia, Suzanne, and Madison come from Tennessee to spend the afternoon with me. Not every girl is lucky enough to have friends like these!

We got some really great presents, but the one I will treasure the most is the one from Rosy. She was with her mom's family right until Hubby picked her up to come to the shower. She (of her own free will) brought her favorite baby blanket from when she was little and asked to give it to her baby brother. Her granddad (Papa) brought her to Hubby and said that Rosy had picked it out and wanted to give it to the baby. Rosy was a little bummed because no one had helped her wrap it, so Julia helped her with it when we got to my parents' house. The tenderness of her heart amazes me and reminds me that the Bible often admonishes us to be more like little children. I hope that her heart is always so filled with love for this baby that God is giving to our family.

My hormones are crazy and typing that story has made me tear up, so that will be all for tonight.

Sunday Night and this is all we've got going on

I have moved several times in my life. I even moved twice in 2004, but I have never had a move like this one. I am still recovering from it. Hubby and I are both exhausted. He is actually asleep on the couch right now. Sundays are mentally and physically very draining for him. There is a TV show ("Corner Gas") that comes on at 10:30 and we want to watch it together. He was too tired to stay awake, so we agreed that he could take a nap while I worked on the computer for a few minutes.

By the way, if you grew up in a small town and haven't seen Corner Gas yet, you are really missing out. It is a Canadian show and it airs on WGN (the Chicago Station) at 11PM Sunday thru Thursday Central time. It actually airs at midnight Monday thru Friday Eastern time and that is very hard for us to translate to our time zone. I know that we don't get an episode Friday nights, the Saturday night episode is at 1:20 AM Sunday morning, and we get a bonus 10:30PM episode on Sunday nights. The show may not have widespread appeal, but we love it. We recommended it to some of our less rural friends (yes, Pigtails and Pacifiers, that means you) and they didn't enjoy it. I don't know if it is because they are 10 years younger or just grew up in a place where they could actually make unscheduled trips to Wal-mart.

My unpacking goal is 4 or 5 boxes or tasks each day. So far I am on track. Most of the kitchen is done, but the rest of the house is a wreck. III is managing pretty well. He unpacks toys and keeps them in a very neat pile. Apparently this is Rosy's natural habitat. She unpacks boxes halfway, turns them on their sides, covers the entire floor of her bedroom, stashes her dirty clothes in the debris and is perfectly happy. I don't think it upsets her at all to live in complete chaos. Twinkle is also loving it. She climbs from box to box to box. This house is much more open and she is able to monitor everybody all the time. She is doing her "Gladys Cravitz" (the nosy neighbor from Bewitched) impersonation as she checks out the neighbors.

Well, the show is on so it's date time. Wish us luck - at 7 months pregnant this is a pretty exciting date.

Too Tired to Type

We have almost completed our move. We are so physically and mentally drained right now that we can barely string together cohesive thoughts. This is bad for me, but much worse for Hubby because he has to step into the pulpit in the morning. He is taking a "scalding" hot shower (if the water heater at the new house gets that hot) to try and ease the muscle aches. Hopefully he will rest well and feel prepared to share the message tomorrow.

I will update y'all with posts later this week recapping the move. Upcoming topics will include "Lights Out in Cantonment", "My Mental Breakdown", "World's Best Brother (and Sister-in-Law and Nieces)", "Twinkle Fakes an Illness" and "Why We Aren't Going to Close on Our House This Month". We are thankful that there will not be posts related to "Local Pastor is Now Homeless", "Homicide in Cantonment", or "Lost Cat: Wife Says Reward if Found, Husband Says Reward if Not Found".

Hard Day's NIght

I've never really listened to what the Beatles are singing about in the song "A Hard Day's Night", but I assume they are talking about the kind of night you would want to have after you had a hard day. My vision of a perfect Hard Day's Night right now includes some dessert, a long soak in the tub, and being in bed by 10PM.

My mom got here early this morning and we have packed stuff all day. At one point, we considered just cutting our losses and walking out and leaving all of it. I have really learned a lesson about purchasing things. Most of us are really concerned with having the newest thing and we don't think about what we will do with the old thing that we are replacing or why we want the new thing or even what the upkeep will be on the new thing. Hopefully, I am learning the lessons from this move that God would have me learn.

The good news is that we were able to pack about 20 boxes today. The bad news is that we have about 80 more to go. We will work again tomorrow afternoon, and then Monday morning, we will start moving to the new house.

Please pray for us as we transition! Also, please pray for our health. Hubby and I were both very sick with sinus infections for the previous two weeks and we are finally getting back to normal. III and Rosy's little brother on their mom's side and their stepsister on their mom's side both have influenza. We think that they were kept apart enough that III and Rosy should be okay.

Cat Scratch Fever

I wish that I was a better photographer so that you could get a really clear idea of what has happened in these photos.

Our cat, Twinkle, is a carpet scratcher. Hubby would have her declawed, but I subscribe to the theory that it is not good for the cat to have that procedure done. So, we have been arguing for 4 years now about cat discipline techniques and about poor training in her formative years and lots of other nonsense. However, now that we are renting a house, we had to stop the clawing. I would not agree to declawing or whopping with magazines, so we decided that I needed to find an alternative. I researched online and found "Soft Paws".

These are little rubber sleeves for her claws. Essentially you Super Glue little sheaths over her claws. She is still able to extend and retract her claws, but they are now covered and she is not able to hurt anything with them.

Of course the real treat is in applying these little tiny sheaths to your cat. The directions suggest that you clip each claw and clean it with alcohol before applying the sheaths. Apparently these people are working on sedated cats. We changed into work clothes and I held Twinkle while Hubby clipped the claws. After that ordeal, we decided that they were clean enough and it was time to proceed. At this point I already had one big scratch on my chest and one on my belly (Don't forget that I am 7 months pregnant!). You have to then take each sheath and fill it 1/3 full of Soft Paw Glue and slip it onto the claw. After you have done this to all 10 front claws, you have to hold the cat for 5 minutes. It is never easy to hold Twinkle for 5 minutes, much less when she is cussing and growling with every breath.

When we were done, we gave her some tuna as a reward and let her go. She spent the next 2 hours licking her new "nails" and then trying to pull them off. Finally she has given up and gone to sulk on the bed.

So, mark it as another sign that we've gone crazy - Twinkle has fake nails!

Free Willy (or make your own "Whale" joke)

Several of you who don't live near me have asked for pics of me with Baby Boy. Well, here they are! Now you see why complete strangers stop me in Wal-Mart and ask when "they" are due. Am I sure there's only one? Do I think that I could be a month or two earlier than what the doctor predicted?

I've learned alot about my physiology with this pregnancy. Here's the bottom line - if you are short between the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hip bone, there's no where for a baby to go but straight out. I was bigger than I should have been when I got pregnant, but I've only gained 13 pounds so far and I'm carrying all of it right there on the front side. I read somewhere the other day that my uterus is the size of a basketball now. I believe it - it looks like I've swallowed at least 1 basketball.

My two dear friends in Tennessee have been clamoring for pictures and I decided that Saturday would be a good afternoon to take a snapshot or two. I was actually feeling pretty. My toenails were polished, my clothes were clean, my hair was fixed, my make-up was on, and I thought that the way this shirt fit disguished the giantness of my belly. This is my only maternity outfit that has any "fashion" according to Rosy. Hubby and I decided to take the kids to Happy Hour at Sonic (1/2 price slushies from 2PM to 4PM) so everyone was in a good mood. I am hoping that these pics just don't show the pregnancy "glow" that you hear so much about, because they didn't turn out as good as I felt. I have learned from this that you should always find some way to compliment a pregnant woman because her self-esteem may be faltering. Likening her to a celebrity might work, as long as it's not Shamu or Willy!

I'm NOT ready for my close-up

I've had a great time the last few days. My mom came to see me and to help me get organized and ready to move. I am finally old enough that it is a great pleasure when my parents come to visit. I'm glad that I can enjoy them and I hope they enjoy me and my little family.

Yesterday was Rosy's 7th birthday and for the first time ever she wanted to go to a big-girl lunch rather than visit an ice cream shop after her brother got out of school. We made a big deal out of it and told her to choose whatever restaurant she wanted. She didn't hesitate a second before she announced "Fire Mountain". For those of you who don't know, "Fire Mountain" is one of those buffet places where there are tons of items, but none of them are particularly good and probably not particularly clean since people serve themselves. Also, our local "Fire Mountain" changed to a "Ryans" a few months ago. That wouldn't be such a big deal, but Rosy is a good reader now and likes to read signs. We explained the situation and she decided that Ryan's would be fine. We had a good time and they even brought her a strawberry shortcake and sang "Happy Birthday". It was a perfect "big girl" birthday for a 7 year old.

The new baby was not as well behaved yesterday. We have an Ultrasound school here in the Florida panhandle and I had scheduled an Ultrasound for yesterday morning so that my mom could see Baby Boy. The students are the ones running the Ultrasound equipment, so it is much rougher than when you get an Ultrasound at your OB office. Sometimes they have trouble finding the baby, and there will be several students discussing where certain body parts are. For instance, "Well, if that blinky part is his heart, shouldn't his legs be below that?" Then an instructor might have to mention that the baby is probably not standing upright and that perhaps they should identify the head and the heart and they would be able to tell which way the baby was positioned. Well, apparently my baby is not tolerant of foolishness. He participated for about 20 minutes and then he rolled over and put his back to them and tucked his chin down and refused to give up any good pics. He also shook his fist at them. He has done that move at the last 3 ultrasounds, so I'm beginning to think that he may have somewhat of a temper. Either way, he has apparently inherited my father and my brother's dislike for having his picture made.

Home Sweet Home

The last few days have been crazy while we searched for the right house. Yesterday afternoon we thought we had narrowed it down and were making the correct (Godly) decision. We decided to really cut back to the basics for a year to save money. When we got to the leasing office to turn in our applicaton and application fee ($45 non-refundable!), we were upset to find out that 2 other people had already put in applications ahead of us. I was crushed! We had decided to forgo some conveniences in order to be better stewards and it felt like God was closing the door faster than we could get it opened. We decided to go ahead and put in the application because the receptionist told us that if one of the first people worked out, she wouldn't process our application and she would be able to return our fee. I am amazed to tell you that we got a call around lunch today to let us know that there were problems with both of the other applicants and we got the house! We signed our lease this afternoon and we will start moving next Friday!

This was an amazing act of God and it reminded me that human barriers do not block His will. We thought we knew which house God would have us choose, but as soon as an obstacle came up, I gave up. I'm sorry for that and thankful for a God who doesn't give up!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Size Does Matter

Well, we went out house looking again this afternoon. We looked at 4 houses today. One was really easy to eliminate. It is out of our price range and I hated it on sight. My husband liked it. I thought it was really overgrown. There was a fishless fish pond in the front flower bed. I think that is Realtor code for "abandoned hobby from previous owner". It had the kind of landscaping where they purposely planted things that you would have to swat out of your way to walk up the sidewalk. Hubby thought it looked nice. I thought it looked like the Everglades. Also, there were two ceramic frogs beside the "fish" pond and a dead squished frog in the driveway. I HATE FROGS! Seeing those things gave me the willies - it was like Amityville Horror.

Another of the houses was great...if we had roommates to split the rent with us! It is on a couple of acres, has a beautiful custom pool, giant Florida room, and is about 3 minutes from Hubby's office. Too bad that we haven't won the Publisher's Clearinghouse yet!

The other two houses are our leading contenders right now. One is very small, but very cheap! It is also only 3 years old, so it is very clean and the fixtures are stylish. The kids would have a backyard, but not a good place to ride bikes and stuff. The other one is much larger, has a good area to ride bikes, and still a decent backyard. It is, however, $400 more each month. That's a pretty big chunk of change for us! We are hoping to negotiate with the owner of the more expensive home. We would be glad to sign a longer lease agreement for a lower monthly rent. We are hoping to hear back from the owner early tomorrow.

So, continue to pray for us as we try to make the decision God would have us make. He has a plan, a purpose, and a place for us. We are finding that it is hard for a pregnant woman when she feels homeless!

On the Road Again

Renting a house is probaby one of the most stressful things I've ever done. Our primary goal is to cut expenses for a few years, but it is so easy to find ways to validate spending extra money to get additional features in a rental home.

The house we looked at Sunday afternoon is not really a possibility. It has an extremely odd floorplan. We looked at two houses Monday and they each have pluses and minuses. It's really difficult to make the right decision. Please pray for us over the next 2 or 3 days as we try to find the right place!

Dora the Explorer

Hopefully this is the only post that you will ever see from me at 9AM on a Sunday. I should be at church now, but I have been battling a sinus infection for a week now. I feel much better, but the noises that periodically erupt from my nose and throat are disturbing and disgusting. I can't imagine that they would be conducive to a worshipful experience for those around me. So, Rosy and I are at home this morning. She is still in bed. I guess she is relishing this one chance in her life to be lazy on a Sunday morning.

Yesterday when we were out looking at rental houses that are listed on the MLS, we found one potentially great property that is "For Rent By Owner". We called on it last night and we are hopefully going to see it this afternoon. There are several really neat things about it.

1. They are installing all new carpet this week. That means that the baby (when he is born and when I let him touch the floor) would not be touching other people's floor dirt!

2. It sits on .45 acre and has a vacant lot beside it and a huge green area behind it. This would really give III some room outside to play. I would love for both of the kids to spend more time outside.

3. It's only about 10-15 minutes from the church and only about 5 minutes from CVS and Wendy's.

I like the looks of this house, but I'm going to hold out until the end of the week before I agree to anything. I'm still holding out for that perfect 4 bedroom house that has a pool and a neighborhood park. Oh, and cheap rent!

It's like everything else in life...God has a plan. Somewhere he has the right house with the right neighbors. I just wish that I could be like Dora the Explorer. I want to reach into "Backpack" and ask my talking "Map" where I'm supposed to go. It just hit me as I was typing this...maybe a Christian's equivilent to "Backpack" and "Map" are Bible study and prayer! So I guess that it is time to stop typing and go spend some time with my "Backpack" and "Map".

If you build it, they will come!

After two years of having our house on the market, we signed a contract on it this past Sunday. This is extremely exciting and extremely stressful! We have no idea where we are moving and we have to be out of the house by March 15th.

I had begun to think that the place would never sell, and then a good friend of mine gave me some great advice. She told me to go ahead and decorate my nursery (I'm due in late May) and as soon as I got the majority of it done, then my house would sell. She was right! In the last two weeks of January I bought the crib and the rocking chair and moved in the armoire and changing table. I bought all of the fabric for the bedding, window treatments, and pillows. On Thursday afternoon, I sat down to start sewing the bedding and I got the call from our Realtor. The family came to see the house on Friday and again on Saturday and we signed the contract on Sunday.

Ironically, the family that is buying our house is expecting a baby in late February! So maybe it's not "If you build it, they will come.", maybe it's "If you decorate it, they will buy it!" It may not always be true, but it's a good Southern girl motto. It also explains a lot of what passes for souveniers in Gulf Shores!