Oh the drama!

Our smallest girl has arrived! She was born on August 26th at 5:08am. She was 7 pounds 13 ounces and 18.5 inches long.



The story of her birth actually begins on Friday, August 21st. Michael, the girls, & I had gone into town to pick up the last of N's school supplies and to go to Michael's drum lesson. As we wandered through a couple of stores, I noticed that the contractions that had started earlier in the evening were not going away. They were staying consistent at 10 minutes apart. Until we left for the lesson. As we drove toward the music school, I realized that the contractions were getting farther apart. Again.



On Monday, the 24th, I had a doctor's appointment. My doctor said that for some reason labor will stop and start for some women. That was not the news I really wanted to hear. Especially since Friday's contractions had actually caused some progress. I was dilated 4cm.



Tuesday morning, the contractions started again. Since Michael had to be at work about 45 minutes after they started, we made the decision for him to go but stay close to a phone. It was also N's first day of school. We made it through the day with contractions that came and went at random intervals.



Then Tuesday evening the contractions started becoming consistent again. Finally about 9:30pm, I had one contraction and the conviction that we needed to head for the hospital NOW. We took the older girls to a friend's house and started on the 30 minute drive.



We arrived at the hospital around 10:30pm. I was hooked up to the monitors for about an hour before the doctor came to see if these contractions were making any progress. The verdict... still 4cm. We were given 2 options. We could go home & come back later or we could walk around for about 2 hours and be checked again. Considering the length of the drive, we opted to walk.



Michael and I walked around the hospital and parking lot until about 2:30am. Nervous, but excited, we headed back to the Labor & Delivery unit. Fully anticipating that I would be admitted, it was a HUGE surprise to learn that I was still only 4cm dilated. The only option given to us at that point was to return home and come back when the contractions were about 2 minutes apart.



We arrived back at the house around 3:30 am. Since neither of us had slept, we both tried to lay down. I soon found the only comfortable position for a contraction was to kneel on the floor with my upper body leaning on the side of the bathtub. It worked out well as the only thing I could manage was to pray. LOUDLY.



Suddenly, about 4:45am, I had a contraction. I yelled to Michael that I had to push. His response was "DON'T PUSH!!!" He managed to get me into the truck and we headed for the hospital. As we drove, I told Michael that I wanted an epidural when we got there.



A couple of minutes later, I told Michael that he needed to pull over and call someone. Thank God that there was a parking lot right there! Michael parked and called 911. As the operator walked through things with Michael, I struggled not to push.



Finally, the ambulance arrived. One contraction later, I told them that if I was going in the ambulance, the time to move me over there was now. Once inside, one of the paramedics began to prep my hand for an IV as the other was hooking me up to the monitors. As they were working, I had another contraction. I tried to breathe through it but instead I yelled that she was coming!

Sure enough, in one push, our little one was born. In the back of an ambulance on the side of the road.

The paramedics had told Michael that they would be driving with lights and sirens but if they pulled off the road it was because he was going to be a dad. Michael had gotten back into our truck ready to follow us. Apparently he heard me scream and he ran over to the ambulance just in time to see her birth.

It was definitely an interesting experience that I hope NEVER to repeat. Yet, it was and is such a blessing the way God orchestrated everything.

I hope to post pictures here in a day or two. If you want you can go to my sister- in- law's blog and see some that Michael sent her in a text message. Just scroll to the bottom of her post.

Birthday fun!

I forgot to grab the camera until N was ready for her cake. So, these are the only 2 pictures I have from her actual birthday.

We had a very good time. With our little one due to make an appearance soon, we did not want to cancel a large party. So, we invited one of N's friends and her family to join us for cake & ice cream. And of course a few presents.

I love N's smile as she looked at the cake waiting to blow out the candles.

I have to admit that I almost caved and bought a cake instead of making one. But I had made a promise and I followed through. N wanted a sunflower cake so I did my best. The icing turned out a bit soft and I thought it would end up sliding off onto the cake tray. I had enough yellow to go around each of the petals and ran out just as I finished the last one. The brown was certainly a challenge. I used brown, copper, black and red to get the right shade. Even at that, when I put it on the cake at midnight, the brown icing resembled an army green color. But in the daylight, it was just right. I think God caused some changes to occur while I slept.

N's official party will be on Sept 5th, so I will make sure to remember the camera next time.

Happy birthday sweet girl! We love you and are so blessed to have you in our lives!

More sunflowers

This picture with the girls was taken just a few days after the one in my post here.

It has been amazing to see these plants bloom.

I used to be in labor...

I had my 39 week appointment today.

Turns out that all the contractions I had last Friday were the real deal. Unfortunately, for some women, labor will start and then stop.

I am now 4 cm & 75% effaced. My doctor does not anticipate that I will make my next appointment on Friday of this week.

I am so glad to know that I will soon be holding our little one, but at the same time I am sad that I may end up missing out on N's 1st day of school and my closest friend's birthday dinner.

That is the latest on me & baby. I have more posts to come including some pictures from N's very small birthday party.

38 weeks and counting

And of course, no changes from 2 weeks ago. Still 1cm & 50% or maybe a bit more effaced.

My doctor told me at my last appointment that I couldn't give birth this week because she is at Disney World with her kids until Friday.

The way my contractions have been going, birth won't be happening any time soon. I am so frustrated with my body. I start timing contractions because they are getting more intense & take longer to get through. Once I time a few, the contractions get further apart or stop altogether.

I am so ready to be holding our little one. I am scared that the longer I go, the more she will weigh. When I had the extra u/s done at 27 weeks, they guesstimated that she was already about 12-14 ounces more than what the average baby is about that point. I love Michael, but I really hope he is wrong about a 10lb baby!

Silent debate

Silent Battle With The Pope

Several centuries ago, the Pope decreed that all the Jews had to leave Italy. There was, of course, a huge outcry from the Jewish community, so the Pope offered a deal.

He would have a religious debate with a leader of the Jewish community. If the Jewish leader won the debate, the Jews would be permitted to stay in Italy. If the Pope won, the Jews would have to leave.

The Jewish community met and picked an aged Rabbi, Moishe, to represent them in the debate. Rabbi Moishe, however, could not speak Latin and the Pope could not speak Yiddish. So it was decided that this would be a "silent" debate.

On the day of the great debate, the Pope and Rabbi Moishe sat opposite each other for a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers.

Rabbi Moishe looked back and raised one finger.

Next, the Pope waved his finger around his head.

Rabbi Moishe pointed to the ground where he sat.

The Pope then brought out a communion wafer and chalice of wine.Rabbi Moishe pulled out an apple.

With that, the Pope stood up and said, "I concede the debate. This man has bested me. The Jews can stay."

Later, the Cardinals gathered around the Pope, asking him what had happened.

The Pope said, "First I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there was still one God common to both our religions. Then I waved my finger around me to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground to show that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and the wafer to show that God absolves us of our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of original sin. He had an answer for everything. What could I do?"

Meanwhile, the Jewish community crowded around Rabbi Moishe, asking what happened.

"Well," said Moishe, "first he said to me, 'You Jews have three days to get out of here.' So I said to him, 'Up yours'. Then he tells me the whole city would be cleared of Jews. So I said to him, 'Listen here Mr. Pope, the Jews ... we stay right here!"

"And then?" asked a woman.

"Who knows?" said Rabbi Moishe. "We broke for lunch."

38 week appointment

Oh... the time is getting closer for our little one to make her appearance.

I have had fairly regular contractions recently but every time I try to see how far apart they are they stop.

My 38 week appointment is this afternoon so I will be updating after that. Especially if there is any significant news to share.

Sunflower

From this:

To this: (and please forgive the weird expressions the girls are making)

And soon, the smaller of the two plants will be blooming. We can see the flower, but it has not opened quite yet. I do believe that this is quite possibly my first success with NOT killing the plant in the first few weeks of its life! All the credit must go to God because, believe me, we have gone days without watering it. And God has provided us with LOTS of rain!

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Hope today is a wonderful day for you!

I love you!

lots of posts

I finally had the opportunity to publish several posts that I had been working on. Keep scrolling down to read them all!

Baby and girls

Today is my first due date. I still have 4 weeks to go. Baby is looking good though she does like to lay sideways instead of being head down. I like this as well because the contractions I have experienced since March are greatly reduced. I wonder if this is any sort of record for the longest labor ever... My next appointment is for August 5th.

I told Michael on Sunday that with all of the contractions I had experienced, I wasn't really looking forward to going through labor because it meant more contractions. His response was that my body should be well prepared for giving birth. I think I threw a pillow at him.

N is doing well. She planted some sunflower seeds just before Andrew & Shery came to visit. One plant is now as tall as she is and the other is about as tall as A. We have had several rainy days so I have not been able to get out with the camera to compare heights between the girls and the plants but today looks promising.

A was accepted into the preschool program run by the school system. I am both glad and not so glad about this. I think it was easier for me to send N to school because N had been in daycare for several years before I was able to stay home with her. A, on the other hand, has been home with me since she was born. I am not sure I am ready to let A grow up like that quite yet.

With the new one coming soon, I know there will be all sorts of adjustments and routine changes for everybody. I am just hoping that the little one comes sooner so we can get a few of those adjustments out of the way before school starts.

Wednesday Night Dinner

My good friend Cari is now in charge of providing a family dinner on Wednesday nights at Salem. I help her with what I can.

The response has been incredible! We were initially anticipating 30-40 people the first few weeks. Instead, each week the number has gone up. Last week we served about 75 people. And the amazing thing is that God has allowed us to feed that many people on a budget of $100 a week.

Not to say that everything has run smoothly.

One of the men in the church who was in on the initial discussion about the dinners decided on a suggested donation for each person and a maximum donation per family. His pricing did not quite line up with Cari's.

The kitchen closest to where we serve the dinner is in need of a serious remodel. So we fix the dinner in the building across the parking lot and bring it over to the other kitchen.

On another occasion, Cari did not receive the money to purchase the food until Wednesday afternoon.

And there has been some conflict about the fact that Cari has a set menu for the rest of the year.

Still, with all of that, the dinners have been a huge blessing. For me, I don't have to worry about rushing to feed my family before praise team practice or eating at 8:30 when we got home. For others, there are some children that used to come to church only with their grandparents. Now, their parents are coming to the dinner and I have seen them in the service the past couple of Sundays as well. More and more people are showing up for the dinner. I do not know how many are actually staying for the service, but it seems as though our attendance at the service on Wednesday has grown.

Helping with the dinner is hard & exhausting work. But I am so glad that our church is reaching out to bring families together.

Over $1,400

And mostly pennies at that!

That is how much money the kids gave the week of VBS. The boys won the contest by bringing in 162 pounds of change. The girls were close with 142 pounds of change.

We sorted, rolled, and counted change for at least 3 hours each day. I worked with a wonderful lady whose name is also Julie. Her son Tyler helped much of the time as well. The duties ended up being fairly evenly split. I sorted as Julie & Tyler lifted the bags of money. Then they started rolling pennies as I finished the sorting. Once the sorting was done, I tackled the dimes. Julie mentioned the first day we worked together that she despised rolling dimes. I would much rather roll dimes than pennies, so it worked well for everyone.

I never realized though that 3 hours of handling money would be so exhausting!

Then Friday night, the kids put on a play for the parents. There were 5 main actors and in between each scene, the classes would come up and sing one of the songs they learned during the week. N & A did very well. Michael had to leave early for his drum lesson, but he was able to stay through most of the show.

The only problem is that in the rush to get out the door, I completely forgot to bring my camera. Please don't shoot me???

One day down, 4 to go

VBS is here! We got up bright and early to be to the church by 8:30. We were actually 15 minutes late because breakfast was served at 8:15.

Then the craziness began. I was helping with the office side of things. There was only one problem. I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing and the person who could tell me was no where to be found!

Finally we got down to business. Attendance. One word to describe it would be nightmare. Another word would be chaos. My sweet daughter A was enrolled in the wrong age group. Another child had 2 registration forms filled out. Several had used one form for more than one child. In all, we counted 150 registration forms and some how ended up with 147 being listed in the computer.

The absolutely worst part of all of this for me was that nothing was in any form of order. I will probably be sneaking in tonight to alphabetize the forms because I can't stand how they were just shoved into the folders.

So, one day down, four to go!

Heard

I was listening to the radio yesterday. This is not an exact quote, but will be as close as I can remember.

The DJ was speaking about another person. The person stated that today (July 4th) he would be celebrating Independence Day. And then on Sunday, he would be celebrating Dependence Day. Dependence on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Is today a day of dependence? Will tomorrow be one of dependence as well?

My prayer is that every day we will learn to be dependent on the author & creator of life.

I can't count

Well... I am 30 weeks not the 31 weeks I thought I was... Which means I have to add a whole week back in to how long I have left.

Funny things at the appointment:

~ Found out that I can't count.
~ Found out that the lady at the front desk had printed out the sheet for my 36 week appt leading to some minor confusion among the staff.
~ While listening to the baby's heartbeat, she gave a kick. When N asked about it, the doctor said she'd let N hear the baby kick again. Baby didn't move. (stubborn girl!!)
~Totally forgot to ask half the questions I had because of laughing about the fact that I can't count. (And because A was walking out of the room) So, I need to call and ask the rest of my questions.

It went well considering that I felt as though I'd been punched in the face. I'd been to the dentist in the morning and had 2 fillings done. Fortunately, I had a sitter for the dental appointment!

And if anyone missed it... we found out that we are having girl #3. So... any girl name suggestions will be welcomed for consideration!

Anyway, that's what is going on here!

Visitors from the West...

Andrew & Shery came to visit us this weekend. We have had a great time hanging out and seeing some new places in our area.

They arrived Saturday evening. Sunday morning, we all managed to drag ourselves out of bed in enough time to make it to church. The rest of the day was fairly lazy. I went grocery shopping. N entertained Shery as she rested in N's room. A took a very long nap. Michael and Andrew watched several shows on Netflix. I did go to the church again in the evening for Celebrate Recovery, but once again, no one showed up.

Monday, we got up bright and early to go visit the USS North Carolina. Actually... we got up around 9am, decided where we were going to go by around 10am and actually got on the road around 11am.

We had a great time wandering the ship. I do have to confess between the camera bag and the belly, there were a few places that were difficult to get through. A did well this time and went up and down the stairs with out a fuss.

N's favorite part about seeing the ship again was the lower deck tour. A's favorite part about the ship was having fun going down the steps without getting scared. My favorite part was when A said that she needed the bathroom. I took her off the ship and sat in the area with the vending machines after the bathroom stop. By the time the rest of the crew finished the tour, I had almost stopped sweating. Even with all the fans and air vents below the decks, it was still extremely hot. I can not imagine being assigned to a ship like that in the heat of summer!

Tuesday, we browsed a book and the computer for some good activities since the original plan to visit Ft Macon was being rained out. We finally settled on the Wilmington Rail Road Museum. It was a small museum, but it was lots of fun. I think a few boys in particular would enjoy seeing it. Afterward, we went over to the Cotton Exchange. I am not sure what the original buildings were used for, but there were 8 buildings that had been restored and turned into shops and restaurants. It was fun to wander around, but unfortunately, we left the Rail Road Museum about 4:30 and the Cotton Exchange closed at 5:30. So, definitely a trip we will have to make again.

We had a great time with Andrew & Shery. I know all of us wish they could have stayed a few days longer though.

Pictures to come later...

Overheard

A: (while hugging me and patting my belly) "I love you baby." (looking up at me) "Not you. The baby in your belly."

A: "I don't want to look cute in shorts! I want to look cute in a dress!!"


(In the truck) Me: "We are going to go to a museum and then we are going to go see some shops."
A: "I don't like shots!"
Me: "We're going to go shopping. Not to get shots."
Laughter all around...

Seen

Driver carries no cash.
He's married.

Sounds like a conversation that A & I had a while back about me having all of Daddy's money...

Time for an update....

First off, happy birthday to my wonderful husband, Michael.


Then on a sad note, N's best friend & her family move today. They are leaving us for a much colder part of the US. Think summertime highs in the 60s.... Please pray for the Pike family as they travel.

N is looking forward to getting out of school soon. Just a few more days! She continues to grow and is just learning so much. I took her out early so that she could say good bye to her friend. If you have ever seen the movie "Ever After" with Drew Barrymore, let's just say that N was crying like the Spanish princess. It was sad but hilarious at the same time.


A is getting bigger all the time. We have somewhat moved her out of her toddler bed into a twin bed. I say somewhat because she slept in the twin for one night before we had a guest. N shared the room with A while our guest slept in N's room. The night our guest headed home, N went into her room to close the blinds and they promptly broke. So, N & A are currently sharing a room until we measure her window and buy another set of blinds. The girls are doing fairly well with sharing. We have not had too many fights over the twin bed.


Our smallest one is trying to keep the doctors on their toes. At my OB appointment on May 11th, the doctor measured the fundal height. I measured a week behind. At my appointment this past Wednesday, I measured 4 weeks ahead. So, I get another ultrasound next Wednesday, June 3rd, to try to find out what is going on. But the baby's heart rate looks really good.


On Wednesday night I ended up making a quick trip to Labor & Delivery. I was leaking some sort of fluid and with the few contractions I was having, I figured it would be best to check things out. It turned out to be a false alarm. The doctor who checked me also looked at the baby's heart rate. He said he would have expected a much more mature baby just from the heart rate and the variations in the rate. His guess was 32 weeks. Right now I am only 26 weeks. So his thought about the baby being more mature also lines up with my thoughts for where I should be.

Michael is doing well. He is back to work and as of Wednesday was given a clean bill of health to return to full duty. We are still in the process of looking for another motorcycle to replace the other one. Please pray for us as we decide what to do.

And Sarah... This is my 100th post as well.

the gang's all here!

A with N's friend S. A had to come with me to this photo shoot, so I included A in some of the pictures because she loves S as well.

N & S. S is a year older than N and as you can see, N is a little bit taller. In fact, at S's birthday party, there were 4 girls there. N was the youngest and the tallest and the rest of the girls were shorter and older. The shortest was also the oldest.

The whole gang! This was the 1st picture I took and the girls were a bit nervous about sitting on ropes. But I thought they did well and instead of the standard "Cheese!" to get everyone to smile I told them to say "AAAAHHHHH!!!!!" I think they did well since they started laughing after everyone yelled. It made for some cute expressions.

And I couldn't leave you without another picture of N & A together. N had just gotten home from school and A had just woken up from her nap. A was so excited to see N that she jumped up on the chair and gave N a huge hug!

Overheard

Me: We're going to get something to eat and then we will finish up. I'm starting to get shaky.

A: Well, I'm getting shaky for ice cream!

Easter - a little late

The girls loved their dresses from Grammy! Aren't they beautiful??

Pictures from the weekend

Sunday morning in the hospital. He doesn't look too bad, does he?

The front fork broke completely. The spring you see should not be hanging out like that! In fact on an intact motorcycle, you shouldn't see that particular spring at all!

Front view of the motorcycle. Amazing that what you see in this picture is really the worst of the visible damage.

Praise God for this exhaust! According to a man who witnessed the accident, Michael's motorcycle originally started to go down toward the right side of the bike. He said that something hit the ground and pushed the motorcycle back into an upright position, preventing Michael from sliding or tumbling with the bike.

Another view of the front.

Once again, we just praise God for the miracle He has given our family. We can not thank Him enough for allowing Michael to continue to live with us on this earth for a while longer.

The more we learn about the accident and the more we think of what could have happened, we just praise God even more for the blessing of what He did allow to happen.

wear a full face helmet

The excitement just never seems to stop around here!


Saturday morning, N went to a birthday party for one of her close friends. After that, all the girls packed up and went to the skating rink for another birthday party. We were invited to stay at the skating rink for yet another birthday party, but we declined.


Michael got a call from a friend and they took off on their motorcycles for an afternoon ride. Bill had been in Virginia for a few months and was glad to finally be back home with his family (and his motorcycle).


The girls and I arrived home from the 2ND party around 4:30 in the afternoon. After 5 and a half hours of partying, I was wiped out and did not want to go anywhere.


Instead I received a phone call from Michael as we walked in the door. He had been in an accident and was waiting for an ambulance. But, he also told me he was okay and not to worry. I asked if he was joking. He told me that he was serious.


But I still was not sure. You see, shortly after we got our truck, I hit a bird. The poor bird died and we were okay. But, I told Michael we'd had a small accident. There was a scratch or two in the paint on the bumper, but nothing serious. So, I wondered if this was his was of getting me back. He had just bought a new motorcycle a month ago.


Turns out that Michael really was hurt. I waited for an hour for Michael to call to tell me which hospital he had been taken to. There are 2 very close by and then 2 a little further away that handle more serious injuries. I finally called and found out he was at the closest hospital to the accident and that several of the Coast Guard guys had already shown up. I dropped the girls off with Bill's wife and headed for the hospital, 30 minutes away.


The Coasties who had been in the ER with Michael were all waiting in the lobby when I arrived because the ER staff were doing chest x-rays. I stood out in the lobby with them and was reassured that I would not find a mangled Michael laying in a hospital bed. At that point, the general thought was that Michael's injuries were a sore shoulder and a few scratches on his arm.


After a little while, I went into the room with Michael. The nurses were joking and laughing with Michael as they cleaned up his arm. My first thought was that it appeared he'd met a cat who didn't like being held.


Around 7 pm, Michael was taken to Radiology for CT scans of his neck and chest. They did the scan on his neck, but did not do the scan of his chest. When they found out that Michael has had a mild allergic reaction to shrimp and an allergic reaction to Benedryl, they brought him back to the ER room to wait for his doctor's opinion. For the CT scan for his chest, Michael needed to be given a contrast dye which contains iodine. An iodine allergy is common in people who are allergic to shrimp. The standard treatment for a reaction to the contrast is a dose of Benedryl.


Finally, the decision was made to inject 2 small doses of Benedryl into Michael's IV and see if he had a reaction. When no reaction occurred, Michael was taken back to Radiology and then back to the ER room. The thought has crossed my mind that perhaps there was no reaction because a different antihistamine was administered shortly before the decision was made on the Benedryl.


Several hours passed and we were finally told the extent of Michael's injuries. The ER doctor said that Michael had cracked ribs 2-6 and had a 1st degree separation of his collar bone from his shoulder. The surgeon came in a few minutes later and told us that Michael had cracked ribs 2-5, had a 1st degree separation and had a small pneumothorax, a pocket of air in the chest cavity caused by a puncture of the lung. The concern was that the pneumothorax would grow resulting in a collapsed lung and an extended hospital stay. So, Michael was admitted to the hospital shortly before midnight.


Around 1:15 am, we left the ER for a room upstairs. The nurses were wonderful and brought both of us dinner shortly before 2 in the morning. After making sure we were settled and Michael's vital signs were good, they left us for the rest of the night. Of course, if they checked on us later, I was sleeping and unaware. I woke just after 5am and dozed until about 6:30.


I left to get some clean clothes, check on the girls and tell our church family what was going on. When I returned to the hospital, Michael had already been taken for another round of x-rays to determine if there was more air in his chest than there had been the night before.


While we waited for those results, we had several phone calls and after church was over, we had several visitors. In between visitors, the surgeon stopped by to let us know that it appeared the puncture had sealed as there was no additional air in Michael's chest.


Michael was released from the hospital shortly after 2 pm and we made it home with no incidents. Just after I got Michael settled in a chair, the doorbell rang. Allyson, Bill's wife, had brought the girls over for some clean clothes and was taking them to a Bible Quizzing rewards party. We spoke for a while and after they left, I left to fill the prescription for Michael's pain meds.


While I was at the pharmacy, I saw our associate pastor. He told me to let Michael know that there are better ways to get attention! I agreed.


Sunday ended after attending the evening service, where A fell asleep in my arms. I got the girls home, fed and put to bed. I went to bed about 10 minutes later. Michael was using the computer in the living room and tried later to sleep in our bed. Eventually, he gave up and returned to the living room chair.


Today, he has been in quite a bit more pain than yesterday. I am not sure if it is all related to the accident or if some is related to sleeping in a chair that is not designed for sleeping.


At any rate, we can not praise God enough or thank Him enough for sparing Michael's life and allowing him to walk out of the hospital Sunday afternoon. We have cried and prayed almost non-stop for 2 days, just marveling at the miracle that God has granted our family.


Michael claims that he has learned a few lessons from this. #1- ALWAYS wear a full face helmet when riding a motorcycle, no matter how stupid it looks. Michael credits first God and then his helmet for saving his face from serious injury. #2- The nurses offered to add a little ink to the scratches on Michael arm as they were joking around on Saturday night. Michael has decided that he will not be getting a tattoo like he had been considering. Besides, the tattoo shop that he had a gift certificate to recently closed down. And finally, #3- don't assume that you know what other drivers on the road are going to do. Always plan for the worst possible thing they can do and be pleasantly surprised when they don't do it.


I thank you for the prayers, phone calls and offers of help that we have received over the weekend and today.

Any ideas on what these pictures have in common??

A very well behaved little girl who was exhausted by the end of a very busy day! These are a few pictures from the BBQ benefit last week. A decided that she wanted to snuggle with me instead of taking a nap in her room. I took a 2 hour nap and took this picture about 2 hours after I got up.

100% Positive.......

that we are having.......









.......











........













....... a.........























BABY!



We had our "big" ultrasound today. This was our one and only opportunity to see if our little one would cooperate and show off the gender. Instead, we had a very uncooperative baby on our hands. Baby would not even move into a better position for the measurements that the tech needed to get. After about an hour of trying to get the baby to move, two ultrasound techs agreed.... we are having a baby!

Conversations

Me: A, you need to take your thumb out of your mouth please.

A: But Mommy, my thumb needs to be in my mouth.

Me: Why?

A: Because my thumb is tired.

What a day week!

Wow! Another week that has gone past amazingly fast! This week's project was supposed to be working on clearing some of the clutter out of the house. Instead, I ended up working on another benefit for the lady I mentioned earlier who needs the lung transplant.

Today was the climax for the week. The benefit was a BBQ dinner and we took orders from all over our town and the larger town nearby. In all, we had over 600 plates ordered that needed to be delivered. Not to mention all the plates we had to prepare in order to sell to people who happened to drive by and want a plate of Carolina BBQ. I believe we prepared well over 1,000 plates of food and when I left to take A home for a nap this afternoon, there were about 120-150 plates of food left to try to sell. Plus the jar that we had out for donations was almost completely full! God has just worked amazingly today!

The weather was supposed to be very bad today. You know how it is. Plan an outdoor event and just expect a 75% chance of thunderstorms... But instead, we were blessed with cool enough weather to be outside most of the day and still be comfortable. And we were blessed with sunshine!

The girls though... The girls were wonderful! I was able to leave A inside the building to play while I worked outside. There was only one small incident involving our youth pastor, but otherwise, A did beautifully! (our youth pastor accidentally knocked her underneath a table!) And last night for the final meeting, both N & A were content to play outside with each other while I worked on other things.

So, another long week, but an amazing time.

Letter to the bank

Dear Sirs,



In view of what seems to be happening internationally with banks at the moment, I was wondering if you could advise me correctly...If one of my checks is returned marked "insufficient funds", how do I know whether that refers to me, or to you?







~seen on another site I frequently visit.

Nonstop

We have had a very busy 3 weeks!

The first week Michael was gone and we had the saga of the refrigerator and the motorcycle, along with the busy Saturday before Rachel and her boys arrived!

The second week started with Rachel's arrival and ended on another busy Saturday. We usually volunteer with Angel Food Ministries the 3rd Saturday, but I decided that I needed a break.

The next day, Sunday, was amazing. Amazingly busy. Amazingly incredible. Our church had been invited to the church down the road for a Sunday afternoon service. To show you exactly how incredible this was, let me give you a little history.

Jenkins Chapel Missionary Baptist Church is tiny. I am a little wider through the shoulders than many women, but not by much. The front door to the church was too narrow for me to walk through without turning sideways. They appeared to be the original front doors. Once inside, there are about 10-12 rows of pews with a center aisle. Our pastor was the 2ND white man in the history of the church to preach. The first white man to preach from their pulpit spoke there in January of 2009.

The service was incredible. We were squeezed as tightly into the pews as we could possibly squeeze. The acoustics were amazing. Our choir did not need mics and the sound just resonated throughout the room! We had a totally different choir too. I have no idea where our usual choir went, but this choir was energized and full of life. Same people, different sound! Afterward, they fed us a wonderful meal. Let me tell you... those ladies can COOK! And the fellowship. Beautiful!

Of course, this was after our normal Sunday morning services and before our usual Sunday night activities and service. So, it made for a very long day, but I would not have missed it. The best part... The folks from Jenkins Chapel are coming in April to do a service at our church!!!

After that Sunday was over, I was looking forward to relaxing a bit. Nope! Instead I got busy on cleaning the house and taking care of some other things. Then Thursday, I babysat for a friend of mine.

Friday rolled around. Time for another busy weekend. But this time, I was gonna have some fun! We left around 8:45 am to head to Greenville, SC for the Extraordinary Women Conference. Just me and 10 other ladies! No husbands, no children. After a long drive, we got into the hotel and had dinner with just enough time to make it to the place where the conference was being held.

Chonda Pierce is hilarious! And Newsong is amazingly talented!!! If you ever have the opportunity to see either in person, I would highly recommend it!

On Saturday, I headed home with a friend of mine. I didn't want to take another full day away from home and she wanted to be at church Sunday when her husband preached. (our pastor was out of town)

Sunday was pretty quiet, but today (Monday) has been hectic again. A different friend is moving this week and so I helped load the U-Haul this morning. The house she is moving into is still being worked on - floors, painting, etc. This afternoon, I showed up to see what I could do to help clean the place as the people working on the house did the finishing touches. Tomorrow will be more of the same.

And somewhere in all of this, I really need to vacuum my living room... before Thursday and Friday when we will be having another benefit for the woman who needs the lung transplant.

Stellan

I want to share with you a little boy named Stellan. He is just a few months old, but he has been through some amazing things in his short life.

Stellan was not yet born when an ultrasound showed something wrong with his heart. Doctors predicted that he would die within a couple of weeks of that ultrasound. Later, the doctors revised that prediction to say he would not live until he was old enough to be born at full term. Then the prediction came that he would not survive the labor and delivery process and if he did, he would not live long after birth.

God was working though. When Stellan was born, there was no sign of the heart condition that caused doctors to predict his imminent death.

Right now though, Stellan is in the hospital with the very same heart condition. Basically his heart rate is too high and his heart is enlarged.

If you would like to visit his mom's blog, just go to www.mycharmingkids.net.

Please pray for Stellan and his family.

Invaded!!!

Today this van pulled up in my driveway...

I said, "I think we have company!"

N responded, with a little jump and a clap, "COMPANY!"

Aunt Rachel and her boys are here to stay. At least for a few days.

We are excited to see them and wish Spring Break lasted a couple more weeks instead of just one.

a trip, the refrigerator, the motorcycle, and a busy Saturday

Let's start at the beginning. . . And I will warn you... this is a long post!

The Trip

Michael spent last week in Connecticut for a Leadership Training Course. He left Sunday afternoon and arrived back home very late Friday night. He had arranged his flight home so that he would be home on Saturday for a benefit motorcycle ride that would be taking place Saturday morning.

The Refrigerator

Monday morning, I had an appointment for a repair man to come to our house to look at our ice maker. The ice maker had quit working about 2 weeks earlier. I had resorted to making ice the old fashioned way. You know. . .fill an ice tray, wait for it to freeze, dump it into a container, and then repeat. Over and over and over.

So, bright and early, and actually on time(!), the repair men show up. After taking about a 5 minute look, they determine that my freezer is not as cold as it should be. The temperature is about 14 degrees when it should be about 8-10 degrees at the warmest. Their assessment was it would cost about $400 to fix. Their recommendation was that a new refrigerator be purchased instead.

And so it was. Before the men had pulled out of the driveway, they were on the phone and asking to come back in to measure the space available. By 3 o'clock that afternoon, I had a new refrigerator in my kitchen.

The only problem was that the ice maker was not hooked up. It needed a part. . . I didn't find that out until later.

The part finally arrived on Thursday and was installed later that morning. However, Tuesday and Wednesday, my kitchen was in shambles waiting for the fridge to be pulled out and put back again.

Thursday was a great day because I finally got my kitchen cleaned! YAY!!

The Motorcycle

Michael was so excited to order a new (and comfortable) seat for his motorcycle. He placed the order in February and waited (im)patiently for it to arrive. He estimated that it would arrive sometime near the 14th of March.

It actually came on the 10th. I opened the box to see if I could understand the instructions well enough to put the seat on his motorcycle to surprise him when he returned from Connecticut.

The instructions were simple. Take off the old seat. No problems there. Install the bracket. Easy enough. Put the new seat on the bike and screw the 2 screws into the bracket. Sounds simple, right?

Nope! The instructions said that the screws on the bracket were 6mm hex head cap screws. So, I got out the 6mm hex key. (a.k.a. Allen Wrench) It was too big. I tried the 5mm hex key. Still too big. My next option was a 4 mm hex key. I thought surely this would be the one to work. Once again, I had the wrong size. Except this time it was too small.

So, Tuesday and Wednesday, the box and the seat sat out in my living room. The box was not small.

I went by a friend's house on Thursday morning with the seat and borrowed the correct size hex key. 4.5 mm. I didn't even know they made 4.5 mm hex keys.

Once I got back to the house, I was able to take the bracket off of the seat and install it on the motorcycle. Then came the seat. I aligned the front correctly and pushed it forward and down as the instructions had said.

The holes did not line up. They were about a half inch off. I called my friend to ask that her husband stop by to help me. He couldn't make it move quite far enough forward.

I worked on it off and on throughout the day, but I put a call into another member of our church who was organizing the benefit ride. I thought that since he knew more about motorcycles than I did, so maybe he could figure out where I was going wrong.

Ken stopped by Friday morning and managed to get the seat to within a quarter inch of where it needed to be. But still not quite close enough.

Friday night, after Michael came back home, he worked on it for a while longer. I am glad that we spent the 2 days prior trying to get the seat into position. Otherwise, Michael may not have have had the new seat for the ride.

Saturday morning, we got up bright and early. Ok, maybe not so early... About 9:30, we went to an auto parts store to buy some heavy duty zip ties. One of the screws had been stripped in all the efforts to force the seat into place.

So, Michael rode on Saturday with his seat held on only by body weight and 4 zip ties.

Did I happen to mention that the seat was designed specifically for the motorcycle that Michael has??

A Busy Saturday

As I mentioned under the motorcycle post, Saturday started fairly early. I got up around 8am to pick N up from her friend's house. She had spent the night there because she had not seen her friend in "forever!" (N's words, not mine)

After that, came the trip to the auto parts store. On the way there, we stopped by the church to allow Michael to register for the motorcycle ride. A woman in our community needs a lung transplant and has been required to have at least $15,000 before her name can be placed on the transplant list. The motorcycle ride was a fundraising effort for her.

With the weather, only 8 men showed up to ride. It was cold and supposed to rain, but N decided that she wanted to ride too. However, we still raised over $500 to help this woman. $160 of that was from the 8 men who registered to ride since there was a $20 registration donation.

After the motorcycle ride came nap time for A. N had gone home with a friend and I headed over to N's friend's house as well. I wanted to help my friend Cari prepare for her daughter's birthday party that afternoon. We did some last minute cleaning - washing dishes, sweeping and wiping down the tables. Then we got to decorating! Once people began to show up for the party, I left to get Michael & A. I ended up collapsing on our bed and taking an hour long nap. It was wonderful! We headed back to Cari's house to drop off clothes for N and found that the food had just come off of the grill. We were invited to stay and eat, so we had a great dinner, though not what we had originally planned. The party was also a sleepover for the girls, so after we ate, we left the clothes and headed out.

It was a LONG, but productive week. And now, I get to focus on next week! Rachel & her boys are coming!!!

Home again

YAY!!! Michael is home & I have computer access again!

Be prepared for a few posts to get caught up with all of the fun & exciting things from this past week!

Overheard

N: (at dinner last night) "Look! I have a naked hot dog!" (she was eating a corn dog)

A: "I can't wear this dress! It doesn't come to my knees!!" (barely understandable through the tears)

A: (a few minutes later) I don't want to wear a dress. I want to wear clothes. (wearing a tank top & shorts)

Ode to a Blender

Ode to a Blender

Oh blender, my blender
How do I love thee?

I use thee each morning
(and noon and night too).

I make new concoctions
Juice and fruit smoothies.

Dear Husband always uses
oranges and milk,

And something to give
a bit of tartness.

I love my new blender.
I enjoy how it mixes,

And crushes,
and stirs.

The food processor's waiting
Impatiently maybe,

But until I am ready,
I'll keep enjoying my slushies!





(can you tell I like my new blender?!?)

After almost 12 years of marriage...

Michael (and the girls) got me the 2nd best birthday gift EVER!! Last year took the #1 spot with Michael giving me the "go ahead" to buy my digital camera.


So, may I introduce my new toys?

Not only is it a blender, it also has the food processor attachment as well. I have been requesting a blender & food processor for about 10 years now...





And after dinner, Michael made dessert. It was very yummy, but I couldn't finish, so I made popsicles with the leftover smoothies!

We went to Olive Garden for lunch after church. The timing really worked well. We live about half an hour from Olive Garden and we left the church at 11am. We arrived just in time. There were about 3-4 families and couples waiting ahead of us. About 5 minutes after we were seated, the wait time jumped from 10 minutes to about half an hour and it just kept growing. After a very filling lunch, we headed over to Best Buy to look for a macro lens for my camera. They did not have the one I was looking for, but I do know of a more specialized camera shop in the next town over that would carry it.

Anyway, we came home after the stop at Best Buy and I was able to take a nice long nap and then fix a yummy steak dinner. (If you have never tried the Angel Food ministries, let me know & I will tell you all about it!) After that came the smoothies Michael made. Then, hugs & kisses and bedtime for 2 very well behaved girls.

I love my Michael & my girls!!! They really made it a very special day for me.

imagination and a story

A friend of mine shared a video with me of her son telling her about the crocodile outside. It turned out that he saw a cloud which looked remarkably like a crocodile. Because of the video, I was reminded of my seahorse. N & I were outside one morning as N was heading over to her bus stop. I saw this cloud formation and ran for my camera. I was amazed at the detail in the cloud. It was simply amazing.

And now for a story. Michael and I heard this on the radio last night and it is too good not to share with all of you.

A man decided one day that he was going to quit shaving every morning. He told his wife that he would be going to the barber shop each day for a shave before he went to work. So the next day he stopped by his usual barber shop. The owner was also a pastor and had been called away that morning. The owner's wife, Grace, said she would be happy to give the man a shave. When she was finished, she told the man that it would be $20. The man thought that was a bit high for just a shave, but then again, she had done a good job. He paid her and went to work.

The next morning, the man got up and noticed that his face was still smooth. He was pleased and headed off to work. A few days passed and the man's face was still smooth. After a few weeks went by and he still did not need a shave, he decided to stop by the barber shop again to compliment the owner's wife on the shave that she had given him.

When he stopped in, the owner was out and once again, the owner's wife, Grace, was there. The man asked her how she was able to give him such a great shave. Grace's response?

"You were shaved by Grace and once shaved, always shaved."

In sickness and in health...

Our family has been sick lately. The saga really begins with a friend of mine.

My good friend, Cari, and I were talking on Tuesday the 10th. Her son was home sick and was not even interested in looking at the boat kayak ramp that was being built on the property they are renting. Wednesday, he was better and I saw them at church. Thursday, Cari invited A & me to come hang out at their house while she prepped for our Bunco night that was coming up on the 21st.

Thursday afternoon~ Cari got a few text messages from her husband. A friend of ours had a "minor" surgery on Wednesday and was still in the hospital with severe pain. Another friend, MJ, had spent the day Wednesday and much of the day Thursday at the hospital with our friend. She needed relief. And sleep! I volunteered to go relieve her. I sat at the hospital with our friend from about 3:30pm until about 10:30pm.

Friday morning~ I spoke with MJ and we decided that I would come back to the hospital before 9pm and spend the night with our friend. I got to the hospital around 8pm and found out that our friend was back in surgery because of some complications from the original surgery. A few people dropped by to see if she was out of surgery and after talking for about an hour or so, they left to head home. By this time it was around 11pm. I still had not gotten word that our friend was in a room where she could receive visitors. I finally found the number to the OR desk and found that she had been transferred to the Surgical Trauma ICU, where she would spend the night. I hiked across the hospital, looking for bathrooms along the way because I was beginning to feel a bit sick to my stomach. I was able to speak with the ICU nurse and my friend before I really began to feel like I needed to go. I was sick once before I left the hospital and made it the hour+ drive home without being sick again.

Saturday~ Valentine's Day. I stayed in bed almost all day. That evening while A & N were playing, I heard A go into the bathroom. She made a strange noise and I realized that she was throwing up. Michael took care of her and she kept telling him, "I frow up!" A couple of hours later, the same scene repeated.

Sunday~ I was still very weak so I stayed home from church with A.

Monday~ I was on the road to recovery, but not quite feeling the best. I had an appointment in the morning and Michael had the day off, so we spent the morning and early afternoon in town. By the time we got home, I was ready to collapse. So, I did.

Tuesday~ I was much better. I was even able to get the grocery shopping done!

Wednesday~ I decided that since no one had gotten sick in the past 2 days and I was feeling good, I would go see my friend who was still in the hospital. On my way out of town, I decided to check my phone. I realized that it was off and when I turned it back on, I had 2 voice mails. N had gotten sick at school and I needed to pick her up. Sudden changes in my plans are not always easy to adjust to. I still had several things left on my to do list while I was out. But N, poor girl, was sick! I took her to the grocery store to pick up a couple of things and the moment we walked in the door, she asked to go to the girl's room. She collapsed on her bed when we got home and slept for several hours, waking only to race to the bathroom.

Thursday~ I woke up to, "Mommy! Can I go outside to play? Please?!?" I was a mean mommy & made her stay inside until after school got out. But I also knew it would be warmer in the afternoon.

Thursday night~ Michael came home from work and just didn't look as though he felt great. Sure enough, later that night, every time I was almost asleep, I was jerked back to consciousness because of Michael getting sick. Neither of us got much sleep.

Friday morning~ Michael still had to go into work, but he was able to go to sick call at the medical clinic where he works. They sent him home!! I was very glad about that. I was also watching our next door neighbor's girls on Friday morning, so once Michael got home, we left to try to finish up my to do list from Wednesday.

Friday evening and Saturday morning~ N went to a lock-in at the church and worked with a missions project on Saturday morning. Michael was feeling quite a bit better after having slept much of the day on Friday. I asked Michael if he would come with me to pick out some ant killer. He told me he wanted to stay home. I said, "So, it's okay for you to take me out when I'm sick, but when you are sick it is a different story?" His response?? "I saw how you did on Monday and I think I'd rather stay home." We got a good laugh about the double standard there!

Saturday night~ BUNCO!!! We got together with 9 other couples and played Bunco. We always have a great time. Good food, good friends and definitely lots of fun! When we got home, I told Michael that I was starting to not feel so good again.

Fast forward to Monday (yesterday)~ I went to the doctor because of some pain and I am now being treated for a kidney infection.

So, that is what has been happening in our home lately.

I believe I've had enough of this sickness stuff for a little while. Can I get some health around here?? :)

I'm getting old

Or as N likes to remind me, I'm turning 31 this year because SARAH"S BIRTHDAY IS TODAY AND SHE IS GONNA BE 21!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, our dear, sweet brother used to tease her that we could not celebrate her birthday until the time of her birth. And because she was born at 11:59 pm, we couldn't celebrate later than the time of her birth because it would be the next day and therefore, no longer her birthday.

So, Sarah, I will wish you a happy birthday now, instead of waiting as Andrew has suggested many times over the years!

I love ya! And I really enjoyed talking with you the other day.

Tagged, again

Here's how it works.
1. Go to the 4th picture folder on your computer.
2.Post the 4th picture in that folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 more bloggers.

Well, I had to cheat a little bit. The 4th folder only contained 3 pictures. So, I went into my photo software and picked the 4th folder. That particular folder contained 50 pictures, so I figured I'd be safe there.

And to explain the picture... I took both girls to the church and propped them up in a tree that had a great couple of branches. One branch is almost parallel to the ground while the one above it forms a great arc that leaves plenty of head room. So, this is a pic of N in a tree.

And as for tagging, well, I guess that would be Rachel, Sarah and Shery since they are probably the only other ones who read my blog on a somewhat consistent basis. However, if I have anyone lurking who has a blog, consider yourself tagged too.

Birthdays

I was talking with N tonight about different things and one of her questions was if we finally had one due date for the baby or if it was going to continue to change. Then we talked about the possibility of the baby being born on her birthday. I shared several birthday stories, including the one from College Station where the server didn't really think we were celebrating 10 (or was it 12) birthdays. She laughed and laughed!

One of my most favorite things about our birthdays was each of us had our own celebration. Even with a whole string of birthdays lasting from Dec 31st to Mar 1st. (5 total in that time, not to mention the extended family) So, even though I think it would be neat to have the same birthday as a child or sibling, I am praying that our little one does not make their entrance on N's birthday. I want her to have her special day just like each of us had as we grew up. Just like I want our little one to have his (I hope) or her special day as well.

So, Mom, thank you for making our day special. I love you!

Baby update and a photo

A quick note about the picture: baby's head is toward the bottom of the picture and the line on it is showing the crown to rump measurement.


My appointment went well once I was seen. I waited with Michael for an HOUR before a room opened up for us. I really liked my doctor. She is not an OB, but she is a family practice doctor who also delivers babies.

She started out with the ultrasound. There was a brief moment of panic (on my part) because she was not able to see my uterus on the abdominal u/s. We switched to the trans-vaginal and sure enough there was baby. According to the crown to rump measurement, I am 10w 6d with a due date of August 29th. Baby had a heartbeat of 166. Baby even did a complete flip while we were watching. I admit that I was nervous when I first saw the baby because I couldn't see the heartbeat & baby wasn't moving. So, the flip & heartbeat were VERY reassuring.

When we got to the internal part of the exam, we found out the reason for all of my back pain & cramping as well as why we couldn't see anything on the abdominal u/s. A normal woman's uterus will grow forward as the pregnancy progresses. Right now, mine is severely tilted toward my spine.

As far as monitoring me considering my previous losses, she says I am still in the "normal" range and that there would not be anything special that would be done because I have not had 3 losses. She explained so many things and the best part. . . . . She's PRO-LIFE!!!!!! We were talking about the screening tests and how many women decide to abort after a positive for Down's. She was very clear that she didn't agree with it and Michael said that abortion was not an option for us anyway.

So, it was a very good appointment and we are very happy with the choice of doctor. Even though I do anticipate long wait times. My appointment was supposed to be 40 minutes long and we were in there for an hour and 10 minutes.

Prayer request and a little note

Please pray for Athena & baby. She went into pre-term labor yesterday. The doctors were able to stop it and Athena is now on moderate bed rest. After she was discharged from one hospital and on the way home, she started having contractions again. She went to the Naval Hospital and was monitored for several hours.

Her family lives in a different country and her mom will be arriving sometime next week.

Please pray that baby stays put for a few more weeks. Please pray that Athena does well with the bed rest.

Just as a reminder I posted the pictures I took of Cuong & Athena here.

On another note, I should have more baby information for all of you tomorrow afternoon. I have my first official appointment tomorrow morning and I should hopefully find out a more accurate due date.

Groundhog Day

Why anyone thought it would make a good holiday is beyond my comprehension...

However, 2 special events in my family occured on the 2nd of February.

Way back in 1976, my big brother made his entrance into the world.

Then, because my brother has this thing for numbers (he's an engineer), he married a wonderful (and beautiful) girl named Shery. They married on 02/02 at 2pm. I am sure Andrew would have preferred the ceremony to take place at 0200 (also known as 2 in the morning), but this is one person who would have really struggled to stay awake at that hour.

So... Happy birthday to Andrew and happy anniversary to Andrew & Shery. Hoping this year brings more joy than pain, more laughter than tears, and more of God than anything!

Love ya!

Snow!!

My next door neighbor's wheelbarrow. Sara has had this leaning up against her house for several months. I had thought it would make a good subject, but it never really caught my eye until the snow.

Our puddle froze completely over. I refer you to the pictures of when it rains. The girls broke the ice once things started to thaw.

Throwing snowballs! Though I am not sure what A is upset about...

Our snow gauge. This was taken during the heaviest of the snow.

Introducing...

.....Cuong & Athena. They were very nice and allowed me to take some pictures of them together before their baby is due. These are some of my favorites. I really enjoyed the practice and getting to hang out with Cuong & Athena was fun too!

Light of the World

And by the way... keep scrolling for the other posts I did today!

Laura~ Is this what you were thinking??

Telling Mom

here is my version of mom's reaction in stream-of-consciousness:

I already saw what it is...wait a minute this doesn't make sense...oh it's a...ooo...ooo...ooo...I thought she was going to say something when I talked to her last...I just kind of knew...oh this is so exciting!

***contributed by my lovely sister Sarah***

And now for Sarah's pictures...

I spoke with my mom later in the evening the day her gift arrived. (it was her birthday) She told me that she would have to send the clothes back because they were a little small for her.

Mom~ I love you and it was so very difficult not to tell you right away. I am glad the gift arrived on your birthday!

Sarah~ Thanks for your play-by-play on Mom's reaction and the wonderful pictures to go with it. You rock!

Guess what?

This is how we told Michael's parents that we were expecting a new baby this coming September. Since our little one will be the 12th grandchild for them, I thought a dozen eggs would be the perfect way to share. Especially because I know that Michael's mom always makes a breakfast casserole that uses a dozen or so eggs for Christmas morning.

The best part about this was Michael was helping out, but he'd been asked to crack the eggs. With some swift thinking on his part, he ended up stirring the cheese sauce. Michael's mom started cracking... without even noticing at first that something was written on the eggs. She also had the carton facing away from her. The names were written so that when you opened the carton normally, you'd see the names. Michael asked if something was written on the eggs. He had to help her out a little bit. Michael's parents examined the remaining eggs and wondered why anyone would write their grandchildren's names on the eggs.

Fortunately, I had thought ahead and written the names on the 2 full dozen eggs in the fridge. I skipped the partial container... I pulled the other carton out and opened it up so they could see the full picture.

Michael's mom laughed and laughed once she realized what was going on. It was great to see her face. And then she had to show everyone the egg carton...





***UP NEXT: My mom's reaction... now that I have all the details, and pictures, from my sister.