Get-Away Car

"I need a get-away...." If you listen to Toby Mac, you'll recognize that phrase from "Get-Away Car". It's one of Jeff's favorite TM songs, and hopefully we will hear it tonight! I had a very full day planned today. My husband gave me a wonderful spa day for Christmas, and I had planned to do all of it today before we left for Indy, however, given the day I had yesterday, I decided to cancel it and try to rest as much as possible this morning. The tickets were non-refundable at this point, as was the hotel reservation (yes, we are staying overnight!), so we felt that I would try to go to the concert. Hopefully I can get through it and enjoy it without having too many contractions. I say this laughingly, because if you've ever been to a Toby Mac concert you know that there is no way to just sit quietly and "enjoy" the music. It is usually a total body experience! But I will try!

Anyway, I don't know if I actually have more energy today, or I am just really excited about getting away for a night, but I'm feeling much better today. I'll post some pics when we get back!

Good News, Not-So-Bad News

I have posted before about some of the "complications" that I've been having with this pregnancy. Aside from just the sundry aches and pains of being 6 months pregnant, I have also been experiencing contractions from a very early date. At first, it was not a big concern. However, in the last few weeks the contractions have become more frequent and much more difficult. They also seem to get worse with any kind of physical activity. Things came to a bit of a head last night as I had contraction after contraction--some of them Braxton Hicks--but many of them were very painful and gripped my whole body. They were much like the contractions that I had at the beginning of labor with Jack. When they kept me awake last night through the night that was pretty much the last straw. I called the doctor this morning and went in this afternoon.

I was really quite worried that all this might be summed up by saying that every pregnancy is different, I'm OLDER, and hello, this is motherhood. In my heart I feel that there is something more going on here, but I was willing to hear that I just needed to "suck it up" and keep going. I was very relieved when my doctor took all my symptoms very seriously and sympathetically. He was very adamant that "we" NOT have this baby right now! He said that I was at a very critical stage in my pregnancy, and that I needed to be very cautious. He told me about a new test that measures an enzyme that is only present in a woman who is going to give birth in the next two weeks. Wow! That will really narrow things down a bit, won't it? So, the GOOD NEWS is that I am not dialated at all, and the test came out negative, so I am "safe" for the next two weeks. The not-so-bad news is that even though I don't have to go on bed rest, I do need to be more careful and decrease my activity level even further. Tell that to my two-year-old!!! Unfortunately, it also means decreasing some of my extra-curricular activities as well--like ladies' ensemble and choir. I was already very sad to give up worship team, and this will be even harder. I LOVE singing. I LOVE choir. It will be very hard to sit on the sidelines, but I LOVE Grace more, so I'll do it with a good attitude.

So, that is the news for now, and I would appreciate your prayers for the coming months. My counter tells me I have less than 100 days left!

Now, with all this decreased activity, here is the conundrum...it's 9:00 p.m., I've already taken Jack UP the stairs to go to bed, and I am now sitting DOWNSTAIRS on the couch (watching AI). Jeff is out in the shop, and I hear footsteps running around upstairs in Jack's room. Thankfully, his door is locked and he can't get out and roam around the house.....do I get up or just let him play in his room until Daddy comes in from the shop (keeping in mind that it could be HOURS)????

Anniversary Pics

Happy Anniversary

When I married Jeff, I knew that I was embarking upon the greatest adventure of my life. The day we got in the "silver bullet" (Jeff's car) and made our get-away to Gatlinburg, we knew that there was no turning back. In three years we have weathered many joys and many sorrows. In just three short years we became parents of the most beautiful baby tornado that ever lived, became closer to our church and the people in our church than we ever thought was possible, lost a child, a grandfather, a grandmother, and a father, endured sickness and pregnancies, and anticipate the joy of seeing Grace's tiny face in the next 3 months. What a ride, baby! In all that time, and with all that life going on, I have never, ever regretted marrying this man. He has been a refuge of strength and a joy that I never thought possible in marriage. I can honestly say that I love him more than the day we were married. Happy Anniversary, love!

Blah, Blah, Blah

Is it possible to have post-partum depression BEFORE the baby is even born....?

Another Night Out

After coming home from work this evening and finding me in tears after a hard day with Jack, Jeff asked me if I would like to make Tuesday evening a "mommy night out". Ummmm.....heck yeah. So I'm just wondering, anybody free for either dinner or a little get together at Starbucks tomorrow night? I know it is late notice. I promise, you don't even have to be pregnant to go!!!! Just leave me a comment and we'll get together!

EDIT*****
Well, I didn't have any takers on the night out, which isn't surprising since I posted so late and the weather is soooo horrible. I didn't want to drive out in the weather by myself, but I also didn't want to stay home either, so I made Jack and Jeff go with me!!!! So my night out turned in to a family night out! GiGi joined us at Chik-fil-A and Jack played for a really long time in the play area. The "hot" sign was on at Krispy Kreme, and so of course we had to stop and get some doughnuts! The drive home was a little scary--there is so much rain coming down--and we just really had to feel for the people down by the river who are being evacuated and have a very long, cold, wet night ahead of them. We're home all snug in our house now, and I'm very thankful for the time spent with my family!

Fun Friends

As Leanne said in her post about this evening, there are actually 8 people represented in this picture: two precious little boys, two sweet baby girls, and four very expectant mommies who were thrilled to have the opportunity to spend a little "R & R" time together Monday night. These are my friends Sherry, Christine and Leanne. We all have babies playing together in heaven, and we are looking forward to our babies playing together here on this earth as well. God is very good to give me such encouraging friends. Thanks, girls! When can we do it again??

Night Out

I'm going out tonight......to dinner......with girlfriends........I can't wait!

Best Dressed - Best Price

When we discovered that we were having a girl, I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about a couple of things. I am so used to having a boy.....I know that a girl will be completely different and I'm hoping that Jack doesn't rough house her to death in the first year! I was also worried about what I would dress her in - I have TONS of boys clothes that I have kept in good shape and put away for the "next boy". My first thought was, what is she going to wear? Everything from Jack came from the two enormous showers that I was given, and everyone knew that I was having a boy, so everything is BLUE. I counted 8 sleepers of Jack's that Grace can wear that aren't blue.

I shouldn't have worried.

Grandma Poo has already been shopping! We went to Sears the other day to return some things and there was this awesome sale going on in the infant department. She bought stuff and I bought stuff, and I was feeling pretty good. I looked at a couple of dresses and was SHOCKED at how much they cost! On sale they were no less than $17.99! For a little 6/9 month old dress! However, today I went in to JC Penney and found another GREAT sale! I found the same dresses for $7.49! So I bought two of them. I also found cute little shirts and pants for $.98. Yes, that was 98 cents a piece! I was so excited! I bought several things. Once I got home I couldn't wait to spread them all out together and take this picture. The grand total for everything on this table is a measly $48.00!!! Wow. Leanne, are you proud, or what????

A Picture Says It All

Because of this......

It is more likely that my bed will look like this......

Respite

Jack slept all night last night! I got to bed around midnight, had a brief jaunt to the bathroom at 4:23 a.m., slept through Jeff's alarm going off, and was awakened at 7:45 a.m. by my sweet baby boy (notice that he's sweet now that I've had close to 8 hours of sleep). I feel almost human again, if it weren't for this alien inside of me! :-)

Thank you so much for all of your encouraging comments and emails! I'm going to buy some new baby gates today and start trying "roomtime", so pray that it works! Then I think that I will allow Jack to take a one hour nap in the afternoon instead of two hours. We'll see how that goes!

Tonight I get to go on a date night with my hubby--a wonderful thing to look forward to.

Please Help Me

For some time now we have been having problems with putting Jack to bed. It seems that the child NEVER wants to sleep, at least, that is what HE would say if you asked him. I know that a blog post cannot truly convey my frustration adequately, but I truly do feel that I am at my wit's end, for many reasons, but mostly over issues with Jack. I know that God's grace is sufficient, and that he will not give me more than I can handle, but I would have to say, I feel as though he is taking me as dangerously close to that point as I can be. I am just going to be plain honest and say that although I love this child growing inside me in a way that can hardly be put in to words, I am also very frightened at the prospect of having this baby AND Jack.

Our main issue, as I said, is bedtime. Jack turned two on Thanksgiving Day. It is very hard for me to accept that he may be "outgrowing" his naptime, but I'm starting to wonder if that is part of the problem. It is hard to accept for many reasons: he is busy ALL THE TIME, but not doing constructive things (some of you may laugh at that and say "welcome to being two", but seriously, once other mothers have a little peep at Jack in action, they generally just shake their heads and say, "wow, he is really BUSY and, I think, silently thank God for their normal active children), he is BORED alot (so we tried playdough--he eats it and tries to stuff it in his ears, we tried coloring--he refuses to color on any paper and would rather just eat the crayon, we tried those cool markers that supposedly only make marks on the special paper--again the problem with wanting to color on anything BUT the paper, and those markers CAN leave a mark on other things!), he is OBSESSED with water (whether it is pushing a chair up to the sink to turn on the faucet, putting a glass under the water spout on the refridgerator, pushing another chair up to the counter to reach a discarded drinking glass, or trying to lock himself in the upstairs bathroom so that he can "brush his teeth", aka play in the water, for as long as he wants), and lastly on this particular list, he refuses to OBEY. We have chosen a method of discipline that we feel is honoring to God's Word and we implement it frequently, to seemingly no affect. All of these things leave a tired, hassled, frazzled, pregnant, congested, bewildered mommy desperately needing for this child to take a nap--even if it is for only an hour! So, you're saying, this is really about you, Betty? YES. We're on the same page.

So, our "normal" schedule is as follows:
7:30-7:45 a.m. Wake up
7:45-9:30 a.m. Watch some cartoons, mommy drinks her one allotted cup of coffee for the day, change diaper, snuggle on the couch, try to force-feed some breakfast (Jack is NOT a breakfast eater)
9:30-11:00 a.m. Mommy tries to "get some stuff done". This may be cleaning up any kitchen mess, check email and respond, get dressed, get Jack dressed, household chores, etc. This time is usually wasted because Jack wants me to stop whatever it is I am doing and do whatever he wants to do, which usually involves some form of water. Or candy. Or pop. Or Bob the Builder videos. This entails him following me around the house, crying and pulling on my hands or my legs, trying to stop me, begging to be picked up.
11:00 a.m. Mommy gives up, bundles up in coats and either goes in to Delphi to McDonald's for lunch or goes to Walmart for an hour or so and meets Daddy for lunch at Wendy's.
1:00 p.m. Jack is falling asleep in the car on the way home. Mommy tries everything to keep him awake--rolling down the window, singing loudly, playing radio loudly, keeping a hand on Jack's knee and shaking him vigorously. If Jack falls asleep for even 5 minutes--IT'S OVER. There will be no napping. He will scream in his bed for two hours, but he will not sleep.
1:30 p.m. We make it home with him awake (hopefully), get him in the house, change the diaper, get a drink, get a tissue, get blankie and AG bear and head upstairs. Turn the music on, turn out the light, sit down on the rocking chair. This is a great time for having conversations with Jack. He will talk about ANYTHING to keep from going to sleep. After about 10 minutes of trying to get him to lay his head on my shoulder, I start to threaten him--"if you don't lay down, mommy will administer the God ordained method of discipline". He doesn't obey so mommy obeys Jesus. We try again. We again fail so another round of discipline follows. At this point I put him in the bed. The tantrum ensues in earnest. I walk out of the room, leaving him to his fit. HE CLIMBS OUT OF THE CRIB and opens the door, running for freedom. More discipline ensues. He is placed back in the bed, and round and round we go until finally, an hour and a half later, he is worn out and finally goes peacefully to sleep, while mommy goes to her room and cries! He will then sleep for two hours! Then I have to decide if I am also going to nap or if I'm actually going to try and get something done around the house.
4:30 p.m. Making dinner, daddy comes home, eating dinner, playing with daddy until bedtime, or if we have to go somewhere that evening, loading up in the car.
9:00 p.m. The naptime process is repeated, although not quite as badly because usually daddy is home and he seems to do better. He generally will not crawl out of bed at night.
11-11:30 p.m. Mommy and Daddy finally get to bed.
2:30 a.m. Jack wakes up calling for mommy, or daddy, or both. I usually get up, turn his music back on, get the drink, get the tissue and rock him back to sleep in about 10 minutes, which really isn't too bad and I don't mind that so much.
3:00 a.m. Jack is awake again, this time he is screaming for someone to get him. I turn off the monitor, and lay there, awake, listening to him throw his fit for sometimes 30-45 minutes. He may or may not go back to sleep. If he doesn't I try getting up and doing the whole "routine again", but by this time I am wide awake and can't go back to sleep.
5:00 a.m. Jeff's alarm starts going off.
6-6:30 a.m. Jeff is gone to work, the alarms are off, TV is off, and I am drifting off to sleep.....until.....
7:30 a.m. Jack wakes up.

What am I doing wrong? I really need to know, so please tell me. This pregnancy has been really hard on my body, and the poor sleeping routine keeps me tired and cranky all the time, not to mention I keep getting sick.

Should I just give up the afternoon nap and go for an earlier bedtime?

What happens when Grace is born and I've got Jack AND an infant that eats every 3 hours?

Help. Please.

Night Wanderings

In the hours that I've been up since my Nyquil wore off I've prayed specifically for Danna, Molly, Kristi, Leanne, Christine, Sherry, and anyone else who might still be awake because of heartache, pregnancy, or fussy babies (or all of the above). Sigh.....it is actually pretty cool to have the time to pray for my friends, uninterrupted, for as long as I feel the need to. Now if only Jack would sleep the extra hours that I've been awake!

Oh well. Such is life being pregnant with a head cold. At least you girls know that someone out there was up with you and praying for you (if you were so unfortunate to be up).

I'm thinking that I will try to go back to sleep now--a futile attempt really since Jeff's alarm will start going off in less than an hour.

Official

The squirmyness inside me is from my daughter, Grace.

Remember Gracie?

Per Request

On a very chilly November morning, Jack and Daddy were outside working in the yard, when I heard Jeff yelling for me to come outside. I was still in my pajamas, had no shoes or coat on, and was not altogether eager to run outside into the cold. However, he was insisting that I come outside. He started yelling, "get the camera--there are bald eagles in the tree!" I sighed and yelled back, "Honey, those are not bald eagles. They are turkey buzzards and they've been there all summer! They made a nest. I watch them every day!" "No!" he yelled, "they're bald eagles! Get the camera!"

So, I reluctantly slipped on some shoes, grabbed the camera and headed off outside. To my utter amazement, what I saw was NOT the same turkey buzzards from the summer, but two magnificant bald eagles, perched in our dead tree down by the bonfire.

I was very contrite.

They were beautiful, but we only got these photos and a little bit of video before they flew off. We hope they come back for another visit. I think they were just passing through.

Lack of Posts

Wow, I hadn't realized just how long it had been since my last post. I wonder if anyone is even out there still checking and checking to see if I've updated? I certainly couldn't blame you if you've stopped checking!

The truth is, for me, right now, life is kind of complicated. I would have to say that at the core I am still the same, but I find that my swirling circumstances have brought my peaceful life to a decided halt. At least that is the only thing halting, since everything else is pretty much running independently of my body. I feel like an alien has taken over and I am completely helpless. The "alien" of course, is the child growing by leaps and bounds daily. I am still experiencing some morning sickness, although it has tapered off quite a bit. It has been replaced, however, by a bladder infection, and for some strange reason my back has been completely "out" for several weeks now. I'm really puzzled by that one. It's too early to be experiencing the pain of carrying a heavy burden. I've had more than one person remind me that this is actually my third pregnancy, and however short the second one was, it still took a toll on my body. Together with the fact that I am now 37 and will be 38 before the baby is born....well, evidently I am going downhill. Funny, because I didn't feel that old. Oh, and did I mention that Jack turned two? A very independent two, in fact.

I'm not complaining, really. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to have this child. I'm just trying to say that along with my responsibilities at church, I've had my hands full just surviving each day!

So, sorry for the no-posts. I'll try to do better.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to our sweet baby boy! Today at 3:57 p.m. Jack will be two years old. What a whirlwind two years it has been! It's hard to believe that we're getting ready to do this again, but it is all worth it. He is such a joy to us and we could not even imagine our lives without him (although we sometimes CAN imagine an evening without him, hee hee).

Today he is outside in the shop (with a nice fire going in the woodstove) playing with daddy, while I am in the house cooking, baking and cleaning. Tomorrow we have our "family" Thanksgiving (although we are planning to go over to my mom's later today and have us a little turkey and dressing), and then a small family birthday party for Jack. Anne and Bryan fly in tomorrow morning, and I promised them we wouldn't officially celebrate Jack's birthday until they got here. Just their being here will be surprise and present enough for Jack, let me assure you! We can't wait to see his face when they get here.

In the meantime, we wish you all a wonderful, happy Thanksgiving day! There is so much to be thankful for, most of all, the gift of God's Son, Jesus Christ, who came to save us all. Blessings on all of you.

First of the Birthdays

Last night Aunt Gigi (Gaylene) came over with a very special birthday surprise for Jack! She is going to be out of town on Jack's birthday, so we decided to have a little "pre-celebration" celebration. She did a great job decorating a car cake, and Jack loved it! He even blew out his own candles (after mommy showed him how the first time and then relit the candles for a second try).

Gigi also gave him a very cool light that has cars running a race all the way around it. Jack was mesmorized, and I had a hard time getting him to go to sleep last night. We finally had to turn it off because he just kept exclaiming over and over "bye bye cars"! It was really cute.

Jack actually turns two on Thanksgiving day, but we are waiting until Anne and Bryan arrive on Friday to celebrate with a big party. We figure he won't know the difference!

It's A Baby!

Today was the long-awaited, once cancelled, ten week appointment! We were a bit nervous and apprehensive going in to our very early appointment, but since we were the first ones there, we didn't have to wait long. We went to the ultrasound room first. Past experience with 10 week ultrasounds taught me to expect a round ball with a flashy light insight (hopefully, being the baby's heartbeat). To our shock and wonder, the image that flashed up on the screen was not an indiscriminate blinky thing, but a marvelous, wonderfully created, moving, wiggling baby! Our doctor's ultrasound machine rocks, and we were not only able to see our babies' head, back, arms, legs, nose, heart and mouth, but we saw it in 4D! It is incredible to see something so small and so perfect. The doc said that everything looked great, and baby Gray is growing at a wonderful rate. As a matter of fact, I am a week further along than we thought. What a blessing to discover that I could skip a whole week of morning sickness in an instant! I am officially in the last week of my first trimester, and they moved my due date up to May 30 (from June 6). All in all, this visit could not have gone better. We know that there were MANY out there praying for us, and we are immeasurably grateful.

We love these little pictures of the baby. The first one is the backside, and the second one is front facing. It's little hand is up by it's cheek, like a little salute, and very reminiscent of every ultrasound in which we saw Jack. No, they were unable to tell the sex of the baby--that will have to be for another day.

Quick Update

Hey! Some of you knew that I was to have my 10 week ultrasound appointment on Tuesday. Well, as it turns out, I had to cancel because I got a horrible case of the flu! It was TERRIBLE. I was very sick and couldn't even get in the car to go to my appointment. I am soooo thankful for Grandma Poo, Memaw and Jeffrey for taking such good care of me and Jack. I couldn't have made it without you. You are the best family ever!

My appointment has been rescheduled for Friday the 16th at 8:15 a.m. (yikes). I'll let you all know how it goes. So far I have no reason to believe that things are going anything but extremely well!

On a much greener note......we finally got our sod laid yesterday! So today my goal is to get pictures of the outside of the house and finally post all of the construction pictures. It has been a long time coming, and it is not finished yet, but I think that this is as far as we will get this season. Jeff has worked SO hard getting all of this done. It really looks wonderful.