healthy baby girl!

I went back to the doctor today and things went well. Baby Girl Shanks #3 is doing great! (Sorry Krista-I know you keep asking about names, but we're not to the decision point yet!) I had an ultrasound to check on something the doctor wanted to keep an eye on, and he said everything looked great! He even said I won't need the 26 week u/s because today's showed that the potential problem from last time had corrected itself. As much as it would have been fun to have another u/s, I'm glad he's not worried about it. I think I will have another one at 32 weeks.

I'm a little afraid he's going to be out of town when I deliver. :-( I asked him when he would schedule my c-section. I was just curious. We looked at the calendar together, and he said probably just 1 week early, maybe 1 extra day before that. (June 26) He said something about "regulation" saying it shouldn't be earlier than 2 weeks early which I assured him was fine. I want my little girl to stay in as close to her due date as possible to get strong & healthy-as long as everything is going well for both of us. (I'm having a c-section because I've had 2 previous ones.) I said something about whether or not he would be in town and he mentioned that he might go out of town the week before that! aaaggghhh! Gracie & Katie both came on their own-no one's schedule but theirs & God's-so I'm nervous that this little one will try to kick her way out when he's out of town. Yikes! I really, really, really hope he'll be in town. My doctor with Katie was out of town and it made for an experience that was very less than ideal. I am going to be at a different hospital this time that I think will give me a much better experience overall and the whole practice in general is 90% better so far, so I'm hopeful that even if he is gone I will be well taken care of.
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I bought quilts for Gracie & Katie today! After looking around at stores and online, I decided to get these that I'd seen at Target. I'd kind of wanted stripes rather than patchwork, but I loved the colors in these. Now I can choose the paint color and start bugging Chris to get to work! LOL We'll probably go with a light pink.
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Two more 'scatterbrained' examples: Yesterday I put on some water to boil. After a few minutes, I sent Gracie in to see if it was boiling yet. It wasn't. I went to check on it a few minutes later and I hadn't turned the eye on! Thinking I was pretty dumb, I turned it on. I left the room and went back to check on it again a few minutes later, only to see the eye behind it bright red! Yes, I had now turned on the wrong eye! Goodness grief!

Today, I parked in my friend's steep driveway and put on the emergency brake. I took my foot off the brake and the car rolled backwards. I was wondering why that had happened, then I realized that I hadn't put the car in park!
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Tonight, we heard Katie banging on something in her room. Chris said she was "fixing" her kitchen. She loves her Handy Manny tools she got for Christmas.

Golly!

Tonight, Katie was exclaiming over something and used the word, "Golly!" I know that's not really a bad word, but it's still not a word I want my 3 year old using. I asked her about it and asked where she had heard that word and who says it.

She said, "One of my imaginary friends."

I laughed and said, "Okay, where did they hear it?"

She said, "at camp."

Okay....................

discouragement

This is another one of those posts that maybe shouldn't be made public, but here goes.

I won't lie to you. I'm discouraged. I guess Satan decided he didn't like my idea, so he decided to sabotage it. Almost since Gracie started Kindergarten, I've wanted to have a "Mom's Prayer Group" compiled of moms from her school. I have wanted to do this forever and have put it off because I was nervous or intimidated or scared or whatever you want to call it. Last week I decided to go out on a limb and just do it. I felt like God really wanted me to do this.

I sent out an email to 17 ladies I know from the school-some from Gracie's class, some from PTA, etc. I sent the email to 3 others later and also called 1 that I didn't have her email address. Out of those 21 people I contacted, I heard from 12 of them-but none of them came. That leaves 9 who I never heard from at all. I can't help but take this as a personal rejection. I know I shouldn't make it about me, but it's hard not to.

Now, to be fair, a lot of the ones I did hear from were very supportive. In my email, I basically invited them to my home for a short time of prayer for our children, their teachers, administrators, & the school in general. I said that I feel that the best way to help our children be successful & to help the school be a great place to send our children is to pray for the above mentioned things.

Quite a few of the ladies made comments about it being a good idea and thanks for inviting them but they couldn't come for one reason or another. Some of them are very legitimate reasons. MB was planning to come, but her son woke up with fever and needed to stay home from school. Some have to be at work during that time. There are probably at least 4 who I feel WILL come when it works out. One was planning to come but said she thinks she has strep, one is recovering from complications from surgery, and one had already made plans for the morning but will plan to come next week. With MB & myself, that would be a good group of 5 of us which would be great if it works out. I encouraged all of them to bring a friend with them as there are many who I just didn't have their email addresses. The school has around 600-700 kids so there are plenty-I just don't know all of them!

I went ahead & got dressed and had the house picked up this morning since I'd asked them to come right after they drop off their kids. When Chris left the house, he said, "Good luck with your thing." I told him that no one was coming but I was going to be ready just in case anyone showed up.

I'm so discouraged by those who didn't respond at all. I don't really know what to think about the overall lack of involvement. Most of these people have shown me that they have some kind of faith so it's not like I went out & invited a lot of people who were offended by the invitation. I guess I'm overanalyzing it by wondering if this is God trying to tell me something about it not being a good idea or if it's Satan just trying to sabotage it & discourage me from even trying to do this.

This is just something that I've thought about for sooooo long. This is so out of my comfort zone. Praying aloud even in front of my family is hard for me. However, I felt like if God wanted me to do this that He would help me.

I'm discouraged but will continue to pray that God will make this what HE wants it to be.

forgetful!

I know they say pregnant women are known for being forgetful, but this is getting ridiculous! LOL Some examples:

~The other day I was looking for my keys while I was at home. Guess where they were? In the front door-on the outside-of course. We'd been home for hours, and I think I'd taken a nap thinking that the girls & I were safely inside our home!

~Another time Katie & I were at playgroup, and I got up to get something. I'd been holding my cell phone & keys so the little babies wouldn't pick them up & carry them off. I sat back down and had my phone but not my keys. I stood there saying, "Where are my keys? I just had them!" Guess where they were? In my hands!

~When we got home from Life Group tonight, I got out of the car carrying a large duffle bag where I'd stashed things for our group, along with Gracie's Bible. I said, "Where is my purse? I guess I didn't bring it." I kept looking in the car and decided I had left it at home and would find it when we went inside. Chris said he thought he'd seen it in the car, so I was thinking one of us was going to have to drive back to our friends' house to get it. However, after a few minutes Chris pointed out where my purse was. Guess where it was? In my hands!

~Tonight, I was browing Gracie's book order and making my "wish list" of books to choose. I made my decision on which ones I would order for her and was adding it all up. I've never been a math genius, but I'm not ignorant. However, I had to double check with Chris on how much 9x3 is! Granted, I was correct in what I thought it was, but I felt I needed to check with him before I finished adding the book prices.

~Tuesday night is our "Family Enrichment Night" at school that I help coordinate for PTA. I've been busy confirming presenters for the evening, emailing with the teacher who coordinates a lot of the event, typing rosters, making posters, etc. I had typed the word, "location" on the posters. I double checked with Chris at least twice to make sure I had spelled the word correctly. When it comes to spelling, I do consider myself to be GOOD (unlike math!) but on at least one of the posters it just didn't look right. I would be MORTIFIED if I spelled something wrong on something "official" associated with this event. It is one of my BIGGEST PET PEEVES to see things misspelled. It was spelled correctly, but seriously, I was second guessing myself.

I just had to record these things because I really find them to be humorous and yet another reminder that I am pregnant! I am trying to enjoy every minute of this since I know it will most likely be my last time to enjoy a blessing of this type! I have another ultrasound this Thursday, so I am excited to see our little girl again! Remember, I'm still taking suggestions for names.......

awards day

Today was awards day at school for the 9 weeks. Because I'm a proud mother when it comes to things like this, I took pictures as Gracie received recognition for "All A's," "A in Conduct," and for making her A.R. goal for the 9 weeks. We are proud of our little girl!

and the list grows on.......

I've added some more people to my links list.

Leslie-an ACU alum. I didn't know her at ACU but ran across her blog awhile back. She's a few years younger than me. We did happen to be in the same social club (Go Siggies!) and she just had her 3rd little girl! That sealed the deal for me in deciding that she needed to be on my official links list as I'm sure I'll be reading her blog more often now to get tips on being the mother to 3 girls!

Britney-also an ACU alum but also a Greater Atlanta Christian alum. More than that, she is the "baby sister" of one of my best friends since 8th grade. Britney was one of those "cool" little sisters-you know the kind, she didn't bug us when Tracy & I would hang out. Always a sweet one! She is also only about 2 weeks ahead of me as she anticipates the birth of her 1st child!

Ashlee-an ACU alum that I stumbled across last week. We were actually in the same class and the same social club as well. I don't find too many blogger ACU alum from my actual class (Class of '95-I'm old!) so I was excited to find her!

I want to be a dog........

"I wish I could be a dog one day."

This is what Katie said today when I picked her up from MDO. She had made a dog craft which I guess is what made her think of this. I laughed & told her she couldn't be a dog one day but maybe she could dress up as a dog. She has already started asking for a dog costume. The other day she wanted a robot costume, so Chris cut up some boxes and made one for her. Of course, Gracie had to try it on, too. (Like her 'high water' pajamas?!?!)


Mrs. Z was gone from school today because her grandmother died. She had told me last week that she'd had a stroke and hadn't been given much time, so we knew it was probably going to happen soon. She was having to go all the way to Pennsylvania. Gracie told me today that her grandmother had died and we were talking about that was a sad thing. She said something like, "That's a very hard thing to have to go through." I thought that was a rather deep thing for a 7 year old to say. I'm wondering if maybe the substitute had said it.


My grandfather, Bigdaddy, is very sick right now. I hate that we're not closer to him (he's in Huntsville, AL). I'd like to take a trip to see him; it's just a matter of finding the right time. It's tough when grandparents are sick.


I did a little '17 week nesting' today. Seems a little early, but I dusted & vacuumed & mopped & straightened, etc. I went to the grocery & came home to put everything up and put something in the crockpot for dinner. All of that (the grocery & crockpot part) was all done before I took Katie to MDO at 8:45. What's up with that? Totally not like me! I'm ready to get painting on Gracie's room which will soon be Gracie & Katie's room. I'm thinking pink with maybe 1 wall pink & white stripes. Chris & I are pretty horrible at painting, but one of our friends has offered to help and his wife (Mary Beth-see links) has said that he's really picky about things like that. Come to think of it, I think she volunteered him. I might need to check with him myself before I get too set on having stripes! Of course, Gracie's room is currently RED, so KILZ will have to be used which will probably mean that I'll need to be nowhere around.


I've been looking for bedding for the girls. I found a quilt at The Company Store that I LOVE, but it costs a lot more than I want to spend, especially since I have to buy 2. I really don't want to spend a lot because I change my mind a lot and I don't want to freak out everytime something gets spilled. I also want to get them matching dressers. I also want...........well, I'll just stop there because the list could go on & on! I do have a girly nursery to put together, too!

Gracie started back to violin lessons last week. She was practicing "Hot Cross Buns" for her homework this week. The dentist referred us to an orthodontist for her yesterday! :-( The dentist is going to probably end up pulling some teeth as she is 'crowded.' Chris talked to the orthodontist & the secretary at the dentist today. I guess the orthodontist will just consult (at no charge!) then the dentist will do the pulling. We don't have coverage for orthodontic services on our dental insurance :-( but Chris said to add it is quite a bit more per month and the coverage isn't even that good, so it may be better to just save more money in our FLEX account for something like braces rather than get the extra coverage. I don't know. *sigh* I hope Katie & this new baby won't have dental problems too. I've always thought Katie has really pretty teeth so there's hope!

I finished "Home to Holly Springs" by Jan Karon. I enjoyed it a lot. I'm currently reading, "When the Heart Cries" by Cindy Woodsmall. It is about an Amish girl who is struggling with wanting to marry a Mennonite boy which isn't going to be something her parents will approve of. To make things worse, she was r-a-p-e-d by a stranger-an "Englischer". Her parents don't want to call the police because they believe God should take vengeance, not man. She is just beginning to heal emotionally from the attack, although the community has noticed that she's been more withdrawn, when she finds out she is pregnant! Poor thing. Her fiance (the Mennonite boy) comes to see her because he's heard horrible rumors about her and discovers she is pregnant. He runs off, sure she has betrayed him. That's where I am. I'm anxious to see if he forgives her and if her parents allow her to marry him without shunning her. I guess she can't officially be shunned since she hasn't been baptized into the Amish church yet, but it will still be seen as dishonorable to her family to choose someone outside of her Amish faith. There are 2 more books in the series, although one hasn't been released yet. I've always enjoyed reading Amish fiction. I'd love to visit an Amish community.

doctor's visit in review

This morning, I'm staying home from church with Gracie as she's not feeling well. She has a headache again. :-( She started saying last night that her head hurt and she wasn't feeling well. You could tell. She just had that lethargic kind of attitude and went to bed before 8:00 with no protest. I expected her to be be all better this morning since she usually bounces back as quickly as she goes down, but she was still not feeling great. We went back & forth on whether or not we should have her go-she doesn't have any fever or anything-but decided to keep her home to rest. Hopefully, she will feel better by this evening and can go to Life Group tonight. It will be our first meeting of the year, and I'm anxious to see what the dynamic of the group is.

Since I'm staying home with Gracie, that leaves Chris to do some fancy footwork this morning. (Being deacon over education, he seems to assume that role at least once a week-just not usually for his wife!) He teaches 1 of the adult classes, and I teach the 1st & 2nd grade class, so he will have to find someone to cover my class. I hadn't even made my copies yet for this morning! *gulp* I told him what lesson I was on and gave him 2 suggestions of people to ask to cover the class. Hopefully, it will all work out. I hate to be asked to cover a class at the last minute, so I hate for someone else to have to be asked at the last minute, but sometimes it just can't be helped. Gracie was also supposed to have a playdate with the visiting nieces of some of our friends this afternoon, but I don't guess that will work out either. So, Chris has to break that date. Goodness. The things you have to do when a child gets sick!


Katie is feeling fine! She is such a goofball and so much fun! When Chris was pulling Gracie's tooth last week (and she was screaming!) Katie was dancing around making funny faces & funny sounds trying to distract her. It didn't work, but it was cute that she was trying. It made me laugh!


So, I feel like I need to back up a few days and give some more details about our doctor's visit last week. I was so full of nervous energy all morning and had dreamed about the visit all night. We'd had a light dusting of snow Wednesday evening which had all the kids hyped up and hoping for no school the next day. I was worried we wouldn't be able to get to our appt. which is about 30-45 minutes away. Since the snow stopped in about 45 minutes and turned to nothing but rain, we had no problems. A light dusting of snow in this part of the country is enough to get us excited around here-we don't see much of the white stuff!


Katie & I went to playgroup from about 9:00-11:00 when we left to go pick up Gracie from school. I got her out of class and ran home for about 30 minutes to wait for Chris and feed the girls some lunch. I'd eaten something around 9:30 and was way too nervous to eat again, so I didn't eat. We headed for the appt. and waited for my name to be called which happened quite quickly. Seriously, this new doctor is awesome! There are probably 12 doctors in the practice (although I only see my 1 doctor), but everything is always so serene & calm, and the wait time is fantastic! There is no watching of the clock in their waiting room. They get you in & out which I love.


I did all the lab stuff-weight, blood pressure, etc. I then went to the next waiting room where I joked about Chris & Gracie being able to read a book calmly while I was about to jump out of my skin! That's just the way they are. Katie & I talked. There's not much calm about her!


When they called my name, I knew the time had come! We went into the u/s room and got started. I was hoping to see the little heart fluttering right away so I could take a deep breath, but I couldn't see it. I think she must have started at her back because I saw the spine immediately. The sonogram lady (different from the one we'd had last time) wasn't saying too much, but I've learned not to freak out from their faces or lack of conversation since I haven't met one yet who is too chatty. Finally, at one point she said, "Stop moving, baby." At that point, I was able to relax a little since if the baby was moving, it was doing okay! She told us a few things along the way and at one point I asked her if that was the baby moving or her moving the baby, and she said it was the baby. (I'd had a Dr. Pepper on the way so the baby would for sure move-guess it worked!)


I kept looking for anything that would give me an indication of the baby's gender. A couple of times I thought I saw something but then wasn't sure. Those sonograms just look so foreign to me! Of course, I was a little distracted by the girls too since Katie was acting like a 3 year old. Gracie was okay, but I think she would have done better without Katie there to bother her. Finally, the lady said she was going to load some paper in the machine to get a picture, so I asked, "Were you able to tell what the baby is?" She said, "I couldn't a few minutes ago. The legs were crossed." I made a comment about not finding out with the girls and if we couldn't find out I'd be disappointed. She got back to the u/s and was encouraging the baby to cooperate (she was moving a lot!) She said, "I think it's a girl." She then looked some more and confirmed that yes, it was a girl.


To say that I was surprised is an understatement! I was 85% sure that this precious baby was a boy! The closer I'd gotten to the u/s, I'd started second guessing myself more, but I'd really thought it was a boy, pretty much from day 1. Chris had too. Lots of people thought it was a boy. However, we were wrong and that's okay. God has decided to bless us with a sweet, precious, HEALTHY baby girl and we are very excited! I won't lie. I have gone through some different stages of my emotions-sadness over not being the mother of a son, frustration, then GUILT over feeling those things. I'm only being honest. However, this little girl is SO loved and is obviously what God has picked out for our family, and He knows best, and we are thankful for HIS wisdom!


One of the things I've appreciated the most is the reaction of our friends & family who seem truly happy for us. I love to hear a friend react with excitement when I tell her the news! I want this exciting time to be exciting for my friends as well! Of course, my dad & brother laughed. My dad laughed hard and asked what Chris was going to do about paying for weddings! My parents now have 5 granddaughters and no grandsons-which I think suits my mom just fine! I really think she wanted another little girl, so she's happy!


3 DAUGHTERS! How fun! I can't wait to see what kind of personality she will have. Will she be more studious & quiet like Gracie or more zany & colorful like Katie or will she bring an even different personality to our family? I can't wait to see the relationship these 3 sisters will have as they grow up together. I ALWAYS wanted a sister! Funny thing is, when Gracie is a Freshman in college, this baby will be in the 5th grade! WOW! What an age difference! We told Gracie she is going to have to be an example and help teach her lots of things. Of course, Katie will have that opportunity as well being over 4 years older. I really appreciate that God chose to let Gracie be the oldest sister because I think she is going to do such a fantastic job! Not that I don't think Katie is going to do a great job-she will-I just think God really used his wisdom in allowing Gracie to be the 1st one to babysit, the 1st one to drive, etc.


Here is a funny story about Miss Katie Boo: She had pretty much all along said it was going to be a boy. I would ask them what they thought, and Gracie would say girl & Katie would say boy. When we found out it was a girl, Gracie was ecstatic-grinning from ear to ear! This is what she wanted & expected. I don't think Katie understood that we had really found out. After the u/s, we had to back to the waiting room to wait to see the doctor. We looked at the pictures and had gotten up to go start making phone calls when the nurse called us back (about 30 minutes earlier than our appt. time!)


After we saw the doctor, we went out to start making calls. We called my mom at home and she didn't answer, so we called my dad at work. I let Gracie talk to him first and tell him the news. We said something to Katie about the baby, and she was still insisting that it was a boy. Chris said no, and showed her the u/s and told her that we had found out the baby is a girl and we weren't just guessing anymore. She threw her head down and acted as if she was going to cry! It was so sad! She said, "I 'thoughted' it was going to be a boy!" She was so heartbroken! I said, "I 'thoughted' it was going to be a boy, too." We decided to call my mom on her cell phone, and I thought I'd let Katie tell her the news. Lo & behold, the stinker tells my mom, "I'm going to tell you what the baby is. It's a boy!" I had to grab the phone away from her quick and correct her! She made a comment later in the day about wanting a baby brother and yesterday was carrying a baby girl doll around. She said the baby doll was a boy. *sigh* We're working on her!


Since this is a girl, I will tell you my boy name. I have had this name picked out since before I got married because it is my maiden name. JACKSON. I love it! I know it's #7 on the Top 100 list, and I didn't love that, but I wasn't using it because it was popular. I was using it because it had family meaning to me. So, I am hoping that a friend or family member of mine (ANDREA!) might use it. (Andrea is my cousin who is 4 weeks behind me!) We had a different middle name picked out with each pregnancy. With Gracie, it would have been Jackson Caleb. With Katie, it would have been Jackson Dallas (yes, my husband is a huge fan!). With this baby, it would have been Jackson Landry. We heard the name Landry on "Friday Night Lights" and both liked it. It also could work as a substitute for Dallas since Tom Landry was a Dallas Cowboys coach at one time. As for a girl name, we're still taking suggestions! :-) We have quite a few possibilities but nothing concrete. I might just keep that secret from the blog world just to keep things interesting-of course, if we don't come up with something it might be a secret from everyone-including ourselves!

As for meeting with the doctor, things went pretty well. Because of my medical history, I will go back in 2 weeks for an u/s to check on some things that could potentially-but hopefully not-be a problem. At 26 weeks, I will have another one to check on something found in the u/s that could also be a potential problem-but he wasn't too concerned-just being cautious. I think I'll have another one at 32 weeks, too. He said (with a twinkle in his eye), "You don't mind if I give you a few extra u/s, do you?" Of course not! It's always fun & reassuring to see my baby!

Thank you for all the well wishes & congratulations! We are truly blessed & excited about welcoming our new baby girl into our family! Since we know it's a girl, I am excited to keep Katie's room painted the way it is (green with other girly accents) and make it a girly nursery! We will start working on Gracie & Katie's room soon. Their bunkbeds should be here end of Feb. or first of March.

Oh, and in case I haven't mentioned it before, Chris is the BEST daddy to girls ever! Seriously, I don't know that he could be a better daddy. These girls are truly blessed to have him as their male role model!!!!!!


Thank you God for our healthy baby girl and her big sisters!

Sugar & Spice and everything nice!

Some of the words from a book I bought today:

If you weren't my little girl, there'd be a hole in the world.

If you weren't my little girl, there'd be a hole in our home.

If you weren't my little girl, there'd be a big hole in my heart.

For God gave you to me. You're special, you see.

Yes, God has blessed us with another precious, healthy, baby girl!

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

thank you

Thank you for all the wonderful comments on my last post. I still feel a tad guilty for even writing the words, but I was comforted to see that others had felt similarly. God has been so wise & gracious in blessing us with Gracie & Katie thus far. He truly does know best and either way-boy or girl-tomorrow is going to be exciting!

secret desire-true confession

Okay, so this will be a totally rambling sort of post. Probably more the sort of thing I should put in a private journal rather than a public blog, but it's my blog and I'll write what I want to. Sorry if that sounds blunt!

I'm trying to be all cool about this doctor's visit coming up on Thursday. Truth is, I'm really anxious about it and excited like I was for Christmas when I was a little girl. We've decided to find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl and I'm soooo excited to find out! We didn't find out with Gracie or Katie which was so fun, but I feel like we should find out this time. Now that we've decided to, I'm so looking forward to it and can hardly wait! With our luck, this little munchkin won't cooperate! :-)

We have 2 girls, so if God were to tap on my shoulder and say He'll let me choose, I would choose for this baby to be a boy. However, should I feel guilty for saying that or even thinking it? Used to, I wouldn't even say that much but one of our elders at church said something to me about it. I think maybe it came up because someone asked him what he thought it was and it seems like he turned it around and asked me what I thought. I guess I responded by saying something like, "Oh. I'll let God choose. He gets to decide." He said something like, "Have you told God want you wanted?" He was just so matter of fact about it like it would be okay to request a boy or a girl. I thought about it and decided that I think he's right. If it's another precious little girl, that will be fine! It's not like I'm going to get mad or be all disappointed. It's just that I think it'd be fun to have a boy since we have 2 girls. Ultimately, I want God's will to be done. I love thinking of that verse about God knitting the baby together in the womb. God got to choose whether or not this little "surprise" will be a boy or a girl and He certainly knows better than me. However, if it's a boy.....wow! What fun! It will be new & different and I can just imagine the things his sports loving Daddy will plan to do with him. Of course, I think Chris is just about the perfect daddy ever and he is such a sweet Daddy to his girls! The relationship between a girl and her daddy is such an important one and one he takes very seriously. I think the interest about whether it's a boy or a girl is really up for my friends at church too. One friend is expecting a little boy after already having a boy & a girl, one friend had her 3rd girl in September, another friend is having her 3rd boy in February, and another girl has 3 boys as well. It kind of seems to be a trend that if you have 2 of one gender, that the 3rd will be the same. I've even heard statistics stated that say it's more likely to have 3 of the same if the first 2 are the same. Of course, Brandon, Elizabeth, & Krista didn't follow that trend! I remember one time reading one of Elizabeth's posts where she talked about Mary Elizabeth being born after her 2 boys and how God knew the secret desire of her heart to have a little girl.

I was giving one of my friends a hard time today because she has a little boy who is around 7 months old and he is ADORABLE. Everytime I see him, I want to pinch his cheeks, and when you smile at him and talk to him, he just lights up. She dresses him so cute too-exactly the way I would want to dress a little boy. A lot of people dress their little boys in things I wouldn't choose-and that's fine-but this girl dresses him the way I would like to dress a little boy. Truly precious. I was giving her a hard time because I told her I'll think about it and decide boy or girl is fine, then I see him dressed in this cute little boy outfit with a darling little hat on and I just melt. So, this morning I had to go over and see the little girl (the 3rd girl born in September) because she is precious as well and so cute! I guess it's just normal to kind of lean a little bit towards wanting to have the gender you don't have after already having 2 of the same. I've heard of some people who get "mad" if they discover they're having the opposite gender of what they preferred. I can assure you, that won't be me.

I also worry about going to the u/s and discovering something wrong. I look forward to being at the point where I feel the baby moving regularly. I have felt a couple of things that I think might be the baby, but I'm not sure yet. I will be holding my breath as the u/s starts. I just read a sad post last night about a girl just a couple of weeks ahead of me. She is the little sister of one of my bestest "old" friends from high school and college, and I'm sad for her and will be praying for all of them. I had a friend last year who went through a heartbreaking experience at around this stage in her pregnancy. I can't keep those thoughts out of my head, although I have prayed about the health of this baby a lot, and I love to hear the girls praying for the baby as well. Of course, I know these 2 girls I mentioned above prayed a lot too-I don't mean to imply that they didn't!

We have a boy name all picked out & ready to go. Of course, I've had this boy name (the first name) picked out since before I even got married! Each time I've been pregnant, it's been there although we've had a different middle name picked out each time. Everyone around here pretty much knows the first name although only a couple know the middle name. If it turns out to be a boy, I may go ahead and "announce" the name to the blogworld. We'll see. All you people who know, don't tell! :-) We have thrown around about a million girl names and haven't really decided on one. Any help will be appreciated. Without really meaning to, we kind of have "matching" names for our girls. Gracie Madelyn & Katie Brooklyn. It'd be nice to have a 3rd matching name I guess, however I won't name it something I don't like just to have it match. I don't want it to rhyme with Gracie or Katie (like Gracie & Casey) and it doesn't necessarily have to have the long "a" sound but something kind of similar. Some of the first name ideas are Callie, Hallie, Mylie, Lyndie. Some of the middle name ideas are Ashlyn, Kathlyn, Hollyn. Please comment with any ideas because none of these have grabbed us and not let go.

This is one of those posts that I may delete as soon as I post it. We truly will be happy whether this precious gift is a boy or a girl. I guess I'm just a little bit like Elizabeth and have a "secret desire" for this baby to be a boy. I feel guilty for even thinking it, much less saying it, but maybe admitting it will make me feel better about it! Please pray that the visit goes well this week. Both of the girls will be us, and I think they'll enjoy it! Please pray for the health of our precious baby!

another tooth gone!

Friday-I took a friend to breakfast for her birthday. It's always good to have an excuse to go out to eat, right? We then hit Old Navy where we enjoyed a fantastic sale! Chris left work early since he was working on his official day off, so he was able to pick Gracie up from school which was nice for me, especially since it was rainy & icky out. Chris enjoyed a good laugh when they got home and I had fried up some bacon & scrambled some eggs and put it all together with tortillas, cheese, & salsa to make some breakfast burritos. YUM! I think he enjoys a good laugh at my expense when it comes to my cravings!

Later, after naptime for all of us except Gracie, we went back to Old Navy for Chris to look around then went to the Dollar Tree. I wasn't really hungry due to my late lunch of breakfast burritos, but Chris & Gracie were-Katie wasn't too hungry either. We ended up going somewhere and I got a salad-it felt good to actually eat something at least semi-healthy since most of my cravings don't fall into that category, although I have been enjoying large glasses of cold milk!

The rest of the night was spent at home. I'm really enjoying the book I'm reading, "Home to Holly Springs." We watched t.v., the girls played, and Chris & I watched "Prefontaine." It won't be making my top 10 list of movies, but it was okay I guess.

Saturday: As usual, the girls were up well before us this morning! We were pretty lazy this morning, well except for the girls who were very busy playing. Later, the girls & I headed to a yard sale being held to raise funds for Carley, a little girl at Gracie's school who is suffering from a brain tumor. As you can imagine, even with insurance, the medical bills mount up quickly. Katie was thrilled with the Nemo chair she bought and just had to take it to the park with us to sit on while she ate lunch.

Since her other front tooth was so loose, Chris & Gracie worked on that. *goodness grief* The girl really invests some drama into this experience. I've never heard such hysterics come from her! It was time to come out though, so it's good that it's out. I tease her, but I think she looks precious with both of those front teeth gone!

We enjoyed watching the girls play on the playground when we went later for a picnic.I don't think I've ever seen that many people at the park. It was definitely good weather for it! Gracie has been very proud of her monkey bar abilities which she has been practicing at school. This was only the first or second time I've seen her do it, and she did great! Chris is comforting Katie here after he scared her by holding her up high while she on the swing and not letting her go!

One thing we're trying to practice with Gracie is her bike riding. She still can't ride without her training wheels, and I really blame us, not her. We don't take her out to practice near enough! Chris is working on it with her. Learning from our mistakes, we will definitely start earlier with Katie on this skill! Here is Katie helping Gracie. She said she is helping her stop. She cracks us up! Oh, and by the way, that is a straw in Chris's mouth-he loves to chew on straws. I told him it looked like something different.The rest of the day should be spent pretty quietly. Church tomorrow. Looking forward to going to the doctor next week and then Gracie has a 4 day weekend next weekend!!!!!!!!

I read about "Shelfari" from Elizabeth. I'm working on mine, although it's not working exactly right.

another tooth bites the dust

Gracie lost another tooth tonight. It is her first top tooth to lose! It was traumatic for all of us. Chris was pulling, Gracie was yelling, I was grimacing, and Katie was crying because she said Gracie was scaring her! I bet they worked on it for over an hour and Gracie was very upset most of that time. It'd been loose forever and needed to come out; it was just being very stubborn! There is at least 1 more loose (the one right next to it!) but her daddy gave her a reprieve for the rest of the night.

Gracie stayed home from school yesterday because she wasn't feeling well. She had a headache and just didn't feel like going to school which is a sure sign of not feeling well since she always wants to go to school! She seemed to be much better today so we sent her on, but they called me by 9:00 saying she was in the office complaining of a headache and had around a 99 fever. I decided to just go up there and give her some medicine and see if that would help. She wanted to stay at school, so I let her stay.

Poor thing, having headaches isn't all that uncommon for her. Worries me sometimes. It's not like she has them all the time, but she'll go through "phases" where for she'll complain about them for a few days in a row. It is time to get her eyes checked again which could be part of the problem. She did have a couple of other complaints too though so I'm not sure if that's it or not. Mrs. Z wrote in her agenda that she had complained (of a headache) a little after lunch and then she also emailed and said that she looked pretty pale by the end of the day. She seemed to feel fine by the time I picked her up and has seemed good this evening. She worked on her homework eagerly as usual (and even had more since she was absent yesterday.) I'll have to see how she is in the morning, but she seems fine now.

Funny Katie story: yesterday, she brought some workbooks over to us and said, "Who can teach me?" Gracie said she would and proceeded to be the teacher. She was pointing at things and asking what it started with, for example: rooster. I'm thinking, "I'll help a little bit." I said, "What does rooster say at the beginning?," emphasizing the beginning of the word as I would say it (the "r" sound.) Katie energetically said, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Well, she was right! A rooster does say cock-a-doodle-doo! I asked the question wrong apparently!

Only 1 week to go before we go find out if Gracie & Katie are going to have a baby brother or a baby sister!!!!!!!!!! I'll be just over 16 weeks. Part of this pregnancy seems to be taking forever, but part of me can't believe that I'm already 15 weeks!

bunk beds

We ordered bunk beds for the girls! A friend (who ordered the same ones for her girls!) told us about a place they ordered theirs from. They were having a sale which included FREE shipping and 2 FREE mattresses! No tax was charged either! I got an email today saying the mattresses have already shipped and Chris just ordered everything yesterday!

Things are becoming more & more real about adding a 3rd child to our family. Some days I feel like I look quite pregnant and other days I wonder if any stranger could even tell. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a flat stomach (you'll notice I sure haven't posted any tummy pics on here!) but the pregnant belly isn't always that noticeable yet. It depends on what I wear.

My next appointment is the 17th and we've pretty much 98% decided to find out what we're having! With Gracie & Katie, we didn't officially find out until they were born which was so exciting, but I think we're going to find out this time. I'm very excited about it! We've decided to take Gracie out of school early that day so both of the girls can go with us to find out! I think it'll be fun!

bookworm

From time to time I run across a blog where someone has listed their reading goals for a certain period of time. I love to read and have this grand idea of keeping a list of all the books I've read. I started a list a couple of years ago but alas, it has fallen to the wayside. I thought if I posted a "public" list of what I plan to read, it might keep me a little more up to date. So, here is my list of books I propose to read over the next weeks and/or months. Most of these are on hold at the library, so some of them being read are contingent upon when they become available for me to check out.

Currently reading: Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson. I've read many of the other books in this mystery series about Goldy, the caterer. They're very cute, funny books.

Up next:
Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon. I loved the Mitford series and was very happy to see the 'Father Tim novels' begin.

It Happens Every Spring by Catherine Palmer & Gary Chapman.

Summer Breeze by Catherine Palmer & Gary Chapman.

Falling For You Again by Catherine Palmer & Gary Chapman.

When the Heart Cries by Cindy Woodsmall.

When the Morning Comes by Cindy Woodsmall.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great start to 2008!

We started yesterday with our visit with our friends from American Samoa. Gracie continued having a fun day by going to the movies with a friend. She had been invited a couple of days earlier, and she'd been looking forward to it. LA & her mom, along with her sister & a friend, were waiting for her when we arrived, and she had a great time. That night, some friends from church came over to help us bring in the New Year. It was a pretty quiet night. Well, as quiet as it can be when we have 5 combined kids 7 & under between the 2 families! We also had visits from 3 different groups of teenagers & chaperones from church. The teens were having a lock-in & scavenger hunt, and one of their assignments was to come to our house and play dress up & have a tea party. They also had to sing, "I'm a Little Teapot." It was pretty funny seeing teenage boys sitting on the floor with Katie's Mickey Mouse blanket, "drinking" tea, and wearing dress up clothes!


Today, Chris had a big day. He left town around 6:15 to drive to Jacksonville for The Gator Bowl. His beloved Texas Tech Red Raiders were playing, and since it was only a mere 4 hour and 15 minute drive each way, he bought some tickets and went! He is happy that they won at just about the last minute! As I'm writing this, he is about 5-10 minutes from home. It's been a long day for him but a good one. He also won something with his program. He had to give them his address & stuff and someone there said they think it's a refrigerator! Whoo hoo! If it's a nice one, we may just keep it. However, if it's not something we really need, we may try to sell it or trade it in or something and put it towards some bunk beds for the girls! One of the funniest things is that he happened to see 3 guys we'd been at ACU with. They all live in TX and had gone to law school at Tech, and they'd flown over for the game. What are the chances?!?!


My friend Mary Beth invited the girls & I over for dinner, so we happily agreed. Brett, her husband, was watching the game so I watched his reaction to know what was going on since I know virtually nothing about football. They pulled it out at the last minute so that was good. Chris has just gotten home, sunburned & with less of a voice than he left with this morning.


Happy New Year everyone! We have one more day of no school then it's back to the schedule. The break's been nice, but I guess it has to come to an end. Chris is supposed to go back to work tomorrow-he's been off since the 21st. I'm not sure he's going to make it in; maybe he'll make his first day Thursday!