Less than 36 days

Baby bird will be here in less than 36 days (hopefully!). We are pretty much ready for him. The nursery is almost done, and the glider is apparently ready to be picked up and assembled. I'm starting to feel a little nervous about labor and delivery, but I know it will be okay. What an amazing gift we'll have when we're done! And millions of women have done this before me, right?

I'm starting to feel a little more tired. Sleeping at night is a little more problematic since I can't get very comfortable. The baby likes to nudge me in the ribs, and he's moving around a good bit even while I'm trying to sleep. : ) I guess he's getting me ready for when he's actually here and wants to be fed, comforted, and changed. I can't wait!

Isaac was reading me a section from his "Baby Manual" book about "Programming Sleep Mode." The book is written by an engineer and pediatrician, and it is HILARIOUS. There is good information in there, mixed with the humor of engineering, and told from the perspective that the baby is a "model." So, Isaac was reading about how to get the baby to sleep in his crib (later on, not when we first bring him home.). And I was surprised at how distressed I was just thinking about the baby crying in his room all alone... I KNOW that he may need a little time to transition to sleeping through the night. And I've always been a person who doesn't mind a little crying, and thinks it's probably even healthy sometimes. But, MY BABY!? No! : ) We'll cross that bridge when we get there. I think I'm just so excited about meeting him and loving on him.

I have my first appt with the midwives at UNC today. I'll get a non-stress test again--they just want to check on the baby to make sure he's doing well since I have chronic high BP (which is controlled by medicine so far!). I'm looking forward to meeting the midwife and asking a few more questions that I've been embarrassed to ask in the past.

We're off to TN this weekend for the long weekend. I am looking forward to some time with Isaac since we've been so busy lately. We will see family too, but I've asked that we get to spend a little time together too. Our alone time will be VERY different in the very near future.

I've also been reminded by 2 dear friends this weekend of my need to pray... I've gotten a little lax in my prayer life. And this is such an important connection to God that I need to nurture. Isaac and I have been reading the gospel Mark, and that's been good. But prayer has been lacking (aside from meal times, and quick prayers throughout the day).

Thanks for your prayers on our behalf as well. Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Baby Shower

My best friends Julie and Amy gave me a baby shower last weekend in Winston-Salem. We had such a wonderful time, and I came back to Raleigh feeling incredibly blessed to have such wonderful, loving, and supportive friends and family. The shower was at one of my favorite restaurants that has awesome desserts. My 5 flavor pound cake with icing was amazing... YUM.

Isaac and I had lunch with Amy and Julie before the shower. Julie gave me a gift gift full of pampering goodies: massager, lavender scented lotions, tissues, nail polish, etc. I am sure it will come in handy before and during delivery. A girl's gotta have pretty toes when she goes into labor... but I might have to teach Isaac to paint them b/c my belly is getting pretty big these days. : )

Isaac's mom, grandmother, and sister traveled from TN for the shower. It was such a blessing to have them. They spent the night Saturday, and we got to spend more time with them on Sunday before we headed back to Raleigh. We toured Old Salem and attended Home Moravian church on Sunday morning. It was a beautiful service and we felt so welcome.

The Baby Bird got lots of presents and we're almost all ready for his arrival. We ended up buying a chest of drawers at Target, and Isaac will put that together this weekend. I need to wash all the clothing and blankets at some point. But this weekend I'm off to Va Beach to give my twin sister her baby shower. It will happen and come together though...

I'll post pictures of the shower once I get some. I was a little busy chatting and opening presents so I don't have any pics. (Friends are going to send them...)

Hope you all are having a great week.

Kathleen's Wedding

This post is long over due. But I wanted to share some pics from Kathleen's wedding weekend. It was a great weekend. My whole family was together--even my brother and SIL and their children all the way from California. It's so rare that we all are in the same place, especially since my brother is in the Army and moves every few years.

We had pretty spectacular weather. Friday was gorgeous and we got pedicures--and Kathleen and Haley got manicures. The rehearsal dinner was at an Italian restaurant at our new Marriott downtown. It's right beside my office building, so that was convenient for me! : ) The food was marvelous, and the room was big enough and private enough for the nieces and nephews to run around and play. Let me just tell you that they had a record number of Shirley Temples during the weekend--an extra special treat b/c they don't normally get soda. Here's a picture of my mom, sister, and niece at the rehearsal dinner:

Kathleen's wedding was at noon on Saturday, so we were all up early getting ready for that. Isaac and I went to see her before the ceremony and she was SO beautiful. This is a picture of us right before the wedding:

Saturday was pretty overcast, but the sun came out just in time for the ceremony. It was in the low 70's and just perfect. The wedding was outside the restaurant where the reception was held, and the flowers were gorgeous. Note to self: don't plan an outside wedding at noon when you are surrounded by churches that ring their bells at noon. It was a beautiful sound--but it made the ceremony difficult to hear. : )

Here is a picture of the bride and groom after the ceremony. Scott looked so handsome in his Navy uniform. And Kathleen is beaming with happiness. We love Scott and are so happy he's part of the family now. He's going to take good care of my sister.

I want to share one last picture with you. This is my whole family together. I love this picture and plan to have this one printed and framed:

Have a great day everyone!

Mother's Day

Isaac and I had such a great weekend together. We were home ALL weekend and had no plans at all. Of course we had our own to do list, but we didn't HAVE to be anywhere at a specific time. It was heavenly.

We saw Ironman 2 Friday night. Robert Downey Jr is just adorable, and Gweneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johannsen were gorgeous as usual. See how I rate my movies? : ) The movie theater was packed, but Isaac went early to get good seats while I chatted on the phone with my BFF. It was so nice to have time to catch up with her!

Saturday was a work/errand filled day. I spent most of the day cleaning (including scrubbing the air vent--seriously, the air vent?), doing laundry, and running some errands. Isaac worked on painting the baby's room and had it done by the end of the evening--taping, and 2 coats of paint. The room looks awesome. We picked a bright yellow color that matches the crib bedding. It's so cheerful and sunny. I think I'm going to enjoy rocking the baby in that room. Isaac also assembled the crib. This wasn't too bad b/c we got the crib from a friend. I can't even tell you how beautiful this crib is! See for yourself--here's a picture of me on Mother's Day admiring the room. We're going to have a REAL baby in there soon.

My dear husband bought me a Mother's Day corsage to wear to church. It had tiny white roses and some blue accents--in honor of Baby Bird. It totally brought tears to my eyes. Isaac is seriously one amazing husband, and is going to be an amazing dad.

The weather on Sunday was completely amazing--70 degrees and sunny. Isaac went on his 10 mile run and I went for a long walk. Well, it felt long but it was only 3 miles. It's amazing how much slower I am with this big belly! : ) But I'm not complaining, it was such a wonderful hour spent outside!

So it was a GREAT weekend. Now back to work. I'm ending with a picture of a baby giraffe Isaac bought for the baby a few weeks ago. He is almost the same yellow as the room. He's the guardian of the baby and has spent his time on my dresser watching out for the baby. Too cute. He can't wait to play with the baby, and neither can we.

Have a great week all!

Passed Exam and other heavy things...

I passed my PMP exam on Friday. I am so relieved and excited this is done! My sweet husband was amazing throughout the whole process, and I am truly grateful to God for giving me such a wonderful guy.

I am grateful the exam is over, but I received some really hard news over the weekend. My sister in law's dad died on Friday. He was living with lung cancer, and really took a turn for the worse in the last few months. She was with him about 10 days ago prior to Kathleen's wedding. But it is still so, so hard for her. She lost her mom to breast cancer when she was 15, so this is doubly difficult. The funeral is in Chattanooga, TN tomorrow. But I am not going to make it. It's an 8 hour drive and I was just out of town all last week in ATL, and I have some major stuff coming up at work that I can't miss. I just feel so heart-broken for her and WISH I could be there. Fortunately my brother flew in to be with her today. And she'll have lots of friends from ATL (her hometown) that will come love on her. Please pray for my dear SIL.

ALSO, we talked to Isaac's grandmother on Saturday night. She has been fighting stage IV cancer for the last 18 months (she was diagnosed shortly before our wedding). She's been on chemotherapy and fighting like crazy. But her last CT scan shows that the chemotherapy isn't working anymore. They are going to stop treatment and provide palliative measures. I cried on the phone when she told me--all the while praying that she wouldn't hear me. She needs us to be strong and supportive, and we'll do that. We just want her to be as okay as she can. Fortunately, being off the chemo has helped her strength. She is coming to my baby shower in 2 weeks and I can't even tell you how relieved I am that I get to see her. She is an AMAZING woman.

So, my heart is heavy... as is Isaac's. But we're hanging on to God's promise of comfort in the midst of heart ache. Jesus promised us rest when we are weary and heavy-laden. I just want Cathy (SIL) and Nana to experience a supernatural amount of love and comfort this week.

Thanks for your prayers on our behalf.