Safe and Sound...

...she's here with us now!

Introducing Maire (My-ra) Clare

Born March 26th

Anyone Seen a Stubborn Child?

No, of course not. Because she's STILL IN MY TUMMY!

Down with G-O-D

39 Weeks

Not the greatest picture, but at least one was taken, right?

7 Quick Takes - The Emotional Roller Coaster Edition

~~~1~~~

Obviously, my week started off with some bad news. I haven't received any further information, so I just keep praying. And while, yes, my fears for my own upcoming delivery have been raised a little, I really just can't stop thinking about what my friend must be going through, not being able to do anything for her newborn baby.

~~~2~~~

Minutes after receiving the details of my friend's baby in the NICU, I received an email from another friend with pictures of the first sonogram of her new baby. This friend miscarried her last baby, so I was so full of joy to see her healthy baby boy. The two vastly different emails made me think about just how much God is in control.

~~~3~~~

My doctor's appt. was a little disappointing this week. After hearing my "status" last week, I had higher hopes for this week's status. There was no change this week :( I know that really means nothing about when the baby is coming, but I was a little discouraged nonetheless.

~~~4~~~

After returning home from my appointment, my husband got the news that he has been selected for promotion! Woohoo! As he says, "I'm guaranteed a job for the next few years." As great as this news was for me, it was a little bittersweet. This will be the first promotion I won't be sharing with my husband, and many of our friends as well. So my pride took a little hit and I had to refocus on why it was I separated from the military in the first place. Luckily, I have 3 very obvious reminders with me at (almost) all times.

~~~5~~~

We finalized most of the baby details, like the room, choosing a name, and godparents. A HUGE weight has been lifted off of my shoulders by doing this. I even had a little Mommy fun and bought matching dresses for all 3 girls.

~~~6~~~

Alexis has an ear infection, again. This stresses me out because 1) I obviously want my children to be healthy 2) Isabel has never had an ear infection, so I have all of these questions about why Alexis would be getting sick and 3) it's not an ideal situation with a newborn on the way.

~~~7~~~

I am soooo ready to have this baby.

Small Successes - Vol 2

I wasn't going to post about this today, not feeling very successful and all, but then my husband said something that made me rethink it. So my one small success is...

Tonight at dinner, as we sat down and were beginning to say grace, Tom began by saying "Father" and then Alexis continued by saying, "Son, Holy." I was in total shock. She has been attempting to do the sign of the cross with us for a while now, but I had never heard her actually try to pray, except to say Amen. After finishing our praying, seeing the shock on my face, Tom said, "See, you must be doing something right." That's when a light bulb went off in my head. There are more important things in life that we teach our children than potty training, how to make their beds, and cleaning up their toys. If we can teach our children the greatness of God and His infinite love for us, then we can truly call ourselves successful.

Where I'm at Right Now

**Caution: There are a few choice words in the clip.**

Prayer Request Details

I received an email from my friend today about the status of her daughter and the news is heartbreaking. Without going into too many details, the baby is in a drug-induced coma so that the doctors can stabilize her. Once she is stable enough to do more testing, they fear they will find severe brain damage. Please, please pray for everyone involved. My friend says it is between baby and God now.

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

I received a text message today from friend of mine. Although it wasn't full of details, what I got from it is that her newborn baby, born 2 days ago, is in the NICU "fighting for her life." Please, if you can, say a prayer for my friend and her new daughter and their family.

Thank you.

Step Right Up and Win!

So while I'm "patiently" waiting for the arrival of my newest child, I thought I would put a little contest out there into the Blogosphere. All you have to do is write a comment guessing the day I will actually deliver this baby, the time of day, the length and weight. That's it!

The winner will be the person who is the closest on the day, then the time, then the length and then the weight of the baby. The winner will get a $20 gift card to Kohls!

But wait, there's more. I will add an extra $5 for EACH of the following...

- being within an hour of the correct time
- being within a half inch of the correct length
- being within 3 oz of the correct weight

AND if you get all four categories correct, I'll add and extra $5. Did you do the math? That's a total of up to $40!!!

So what are you waiting for? Stop by, say hi, and leave your guess along with a way to contact you if you win. Please leave your guess by midnight on Friday, the 6th. (Remember, I could have this baby at any time!) Obviously we won't know who the winner is until after the baby is born. OH, and if you don't have a Kohls near you, we'll work something out, like maybe a Target substitution.

GOOD LUCK!!!