The waiting game...

For awhile I couldn't stop cleaning. I organized closets, rearranged drawers, and tackled areas of the house that most people will never see. Nesting is a very real, and somewhat scary phenomenon. After that I focused on packing for the hospital. I did not want to pack too much but wanted to make sure that I had all of the necessities (including waterproof mascara, which held up the entire operation for about a week since I had to run out and buy a new tube) so that process took a couple of weeks. The bag now lives in the car and is ready to go. Then I washed every single baby item, even the ones that I'm not sure needed washing, and put things away. The baby room is now completely set up and ready to go. So now... we just wait.

Our due date is still set at March 22nd and we will still be induced this week as I am now officially at 39 weeks. It felt like this week would never get here! Even though we've been anxious, I never really expected to go any earlier than my induction date since kids in this family tend to come late. But now that it's all coming to an end, I can't help but feel mixed emotions. For nine months this little one has been solely in my care. I've felt every bump, every kick, and every roll that sometimes seemed to crush my ribcage. I've talked to my belly, rubbed it constantly, and in some ways it now feels like it's a part of me. And even though I'm ecstatic that I now get to share him with my husband, a part of me doesn't want to share him with anyone else! However, I've spent every night for the past few weeks imagining his sweet face, wondering what he's going to look like and what he's going to grow up to be, and completely overwhelmed by how much love this heart already feels for him. Women always say that it's a love you don't understand until you have your own child, and I'm already beginning to see how true that is. And at some point this week, I will understand it even more. Oh how blessed we truly are!

This will probably be my last post for awhile, or at least until we are home from the hospital with the little one, so please be patient as I am not sure what day that will be. And if any of you know how to fast forward the whole labor part of this deal and magically get this kid out of me without having to go through it, please comment and tell me your secret!

Logic

Induction is a blessing and a curse. In many ways, I really like knowing that the end is near, but I also know that the fun part called "labor" is right around the corner. So like many other women before me who have no idea what to expect, here are the crazy things I've been telling myself over the past couple of weeks:

• It can't be that bad, can it? I mean, if it were so terrible women would not be willing to do it multiple times.
• I can totally do this. I'm pretty athletic and flexible, so this will be a piece of cake.
• It's just like a marathon I'm sure. There will be a point when I want to quit and then I'll get over it. If I can run 26.2 miles for a shiny piece of metal, surely I can give birth to end up with a baby.
• My guess is that I'm probably one of those genetically strange women who won't really feel contractions. The nurses and doctors will all be amazed by my smooth and easy labor.
• My body was made to do this. I probably won't even have to do any work at all.
• It's only 24-hours of my life... it will all be over before I even realize it began.

I told my doctor at my last appointment about these rosy colored thoughts and he replied that it was a very nice place for me to be. And then he said, "in the next week, however, I do want you to prepare yourself with some more realistic expectations. Labor will become the new benchmark for all pain that you will feel from here on out in your life." Oh the slap of reality. I think I'll stay in my happy place, thank you very much. So here's to every woman's famous last words... how bad can it be??? I guess I'll find out soon!

Happy Birthday to...

My Big Sister, Angie! With all of these birthdays in a row I am going to have to start coming up with creative titles instead of using the same one over and over again!

But anyway, I realize that I have 2 big sisters, but as the eldest (ha!) I've always looked up to Angie in so many ways. She was always the "cool" sister (no offense, Mindy) and played sports, had neat friends, and was just a lot of fun to be around. Yep, I spent most of my young life wanting to be just like her, and in many ways, I still think that's true. Afterall, she's now an awesome mom who does a great job raising her kids, still manages to do stuff for herself such as playing on various softball leagues and spending lots of time with friends, and finds happiness no matter what the situation or circumstance. She's pretty special that one. My favorite thing about her though is when she starts laughing so hard that she just can't stop, which makes everyone else laugh, too. Tears will be rolling down her face and she'll complain that her "cheeks hurt," and it is always contagious. I have so many memories of these moments, but for the life of me I can rarely remember how we started laughing in the first place. So happy birthday, sis, and thanks for...

Being the best Matron of Honor a gal could ask for,

Giving great advice and always being a good listener,

Producing two of the cutest, silliest, most fun boys that we have the privilege of being an aunt and uncle to,

Being up for anything, not matter how wacky the idea,

And as I mentioned, before... always making me laugh. So as a gift to you, I am going to post a picture that I know will make HER laugh even though it pains me to do so. You see, a few years back I went camping with her family and was in charge of being the s'more artist. The boys would bring me their marshmallows and I would sandwich them between the graham cracker and the chocolate. I tried to play it off that I wasn't sampling in between, but the next day when we looked at the photos in the daylight, the evidence proved otherwise.

So I hope that makes you smile today, Angie. You deserve it! We love you so much and will see you next week!

Which remind me... the next birthday post that I will get to do will be for our Little Baby Jake... due any day now! I certainly look forward to that one!

Happy Birthday to...

My favorite red-head!

Many people in this world have sisters, but I'm fortunate to be best friends with mine! Even though she's still in Florida, I had the gift of 5 wonderful years living right around the corner from her and I wouldn't trade them for the world. Mindy is one of the most thoughtful, genuine, kind, quirky (in a good way) people that I know and I am blessed beyond belief to have her in my life. She's a phone call away and is there for me anytime I need her. Not only that, but she's more of a sister to my husband than he could ever ask for. Unfortunately I don't have any embarrassing pictures of her growing up to post (although I should do an entire post on great hair-moments in history of this woman!) but I do have a few favorite things about her to share.

So first off... I love that we can be silly together and that she is as much of a Disney maniac as I am.

She's pretty darn intimidating when she wants to be

Her behavior is sometimes inexplicable, which makes her very funny

She's a great party planner

And I love that we got to experience pregnancy together

And that we could both sport cute little bumps

And mostly, I love knowing that if she could do it, I can, too. And that she's going to be a great mommy to my nephew.

Mindala, we miss you dearly and hope to see you very soon.

Now I need to go dig up some photos for the other sister tomorrow... I love that I get to do these two posts back-to-back. Very convenient, ladies!

Oh, and I guess I should mention that it's Teeny's birthday, too... the red heads have to stick together I guess. Have a happy birthday!!!

Dog For Sale

One naughty shiba inu for sale- free or best offer. Likes to run away. Loves to look at you like you're crazy when you scream and yell for her to come back. Will make you look like an idiot in front of your neighbors. There is nothing like feeling like a complete moron who is incapable of controlling an inferior creature.

Sure, Teeny has run away before. Usually she runs to the neighbor's yard or down the street and then she comes back.... not because I call her and she listens, but because she is done exploring. First it was for five minutes, then maybe fifteen, and at the worst it was an hour. I was a wreck during that hour, but old faithful came back home eventually. I used to run after her and then eventually resorted to hopping in the car and trying to follow her as she likes to "go for a ride" and will usually jump in. But last night, at 9:30 pm, this 9-month pregnant mommy wasn't having it. I was done. Besides, she bolted so quickly that I couldn't even see where she went (which was a first... usually she sticks to the same path). So a half hour went by and I was fine. I was sure she'd be back soon. Then another hour passed with no sign of her and I really wanted to go to bed. I went to the back yard, whistled a few times, and did not see or hear her anywhere. Fine, have it your way, I thought. Let's see how well you handle sleeping outside.

So into bed I climbed. All was well until Josh said something totally unrelated to the dog and all of my pregnancy hormones took over in full effect. "The... dog... ran... away" I managed between sniffles. "I... hate... her... so much." I sobbed. Josh offered to go look for her, but I told him not to because I wouldn't even know where to begin to look. She could've been miles from home by then.

Somehow I managed to fall asleep, but between not sleeping well anyway due to the bowling ball I swalled and knowing that my dog was out wandering the streets, it wasn't very restful.

Then... I heard it. Barking. Lots of barking. And then Minnie heard it and ran downstairs. She was back! I glanced at the clock and saw that it was two in the morning! That dumb animal had been running amok for four and a half hours!!! Of course I let her back inside, but then what? Do I kill her? Reward her for coming back even though she worried her mama sick for hours on end? Tie her up and make her sleep outside? Since I was half asleep and had zero energy, I just opened the door, let her in, and went back to bed. Way to be the alpha. It's no wonder she doesn't listen to me.

I wish I didn't love that stupid animal so much. I really do mean it when I say that I hate her because every time she bolts on me, I really do. There is a voice in my head that tells me that it would serve her right if something happened to her. Then, as we found out last night, there's the outpour of tears that tell me that despite her naughty behavior, I love that dumb animal. I can't even imagine how much stronger that love is going to be when it's my own child... it's terrifying and exciting at the same time. And there is no way I'm running after that animal with an infant at home.

So maybe I'm not entirely serious about giving away the dog, but what I can say is this: my mom is coming this week and if she runs away again, there will be a dog in her suitcase on the way home. She's the only person in this world who loves that naughty animal just as much as I do!

**And just as an update (as of 3:15 pm on Tuesday, March 9th), she has escaped once again and is currently roaming the neighborhood. I'm officially back to hating that stupid dog again.***

Showers of Happiness

Somehow in the hustle and bustle of getting ready for baby, I never got around to posting pictures from our wonderful shower! We had originally planned on having it at the youth building at church, but after the great blood clot debacle of 2010 we did not know if and when I would be back on my feet. So... we moved it to our house just in case I was still on bed rest! The good news is that I was up and moving at 100% by then, but we just decided to keep it here as to not change the location again. Let me just say that having a house full of 50+ women was more fun and special than I could ever imagine! It was a day full of smiles, laughter, games, great food, and more love than Josh or I even knew what to do with. Our Crossroads family has become the biggest blessing and has exceeded our wildest expectations. For as much as we (and by 'we' I mostly mean 'Josh') put into this ministry in terms of time, relationship building, and love, we are rewarded ten-fold. Small Town, Illinois truly is home and this baby has more women vying for his attention then he's going to know what to do with! Thank you to all of our Morrison Crossroads family for an incredible day and for all of the gifts! After the shower we are officially stocked and as ready as we're going to be! Now all we need is baby!

The "spread"... yummy!

Thanks to Deb for my amazing monkey cakes!

GIFT TIME! I loved these handmade booties!

I clearly have a few things to learn about mommyhood. I seem to be perplexed by this rubber ducky! We're in trouble.

The gift we've been waiting for! THANK YOU, Connie, for the incredible quilt. It turned out so beautiful and this will be in the family forever! This one got a round of applause when I opened it.

Seriously? Is my belly really THAT BIG???

Yeah okay, maybe it is. Someone needs to lay off the cupcakes!

The cameraman and his apprentice. Josh loved having a houseful of women!

Thanks to my fabulous hostesses! Katie... you're next!

Alright Jake, we're just waiting on you now, buddy!

It's March...

which means we will be meeting the little one soon! Am feeling so blessed.