Windmills

They are huge. Perhaps they are eye sores. They make me kind of happy. They go round and round and generate power, clean power. It's a happy thing.

(I was going to post a photo, but the dial up sucks and this computer is so sloooooooow.)

That hurt a little

This evening I tried to see if I could do a situp. I'm not sure what I even accomplished could be considered a crunch. Yet, I am a little sore.

2 c-sections=0 abs

Do I dare hope?

Did he? Maybe? Do I get my hopes up? Could it be? What else could it be? If it's not, I haven't a clue.

Things that make me happy (in random order)

~My new cell phone (which takes really crappy photos)
~Generic baby thank you notes (that I'm hand making)
~Bye-bye hugs and kisses (Josiah just left for Grandma and Grandpa's till Monday.)
~Sleeping baby (But not for much longer)
~Being able to read my Bible while nursing (I'm plowing through it)
~Flowers (I can't wait to give them away)
~Friends (that's why I'm making thank you notes)
~Christmas trees (decorated by 4 year olds)
~First signs that he is starting to read (Really, he figured out the word milk a couple days ago.)
~Smiles (from my happy children, especially from Adaya)

I have no time to blog

Sorry I've been blog delinquent, on both blogs. I don't really have time right now. I wish I did. I wish I could think clearly.

Sometimes Adaya sleeps well. Sometimes, like last night, she doesn't. She was up from 3-6 last night. Not good. A couple nights ago, she slept 12-7, amazing.

Josiah annoys me. Four year olds like to nag. I don't handle it well when lacking in sleep.

Neither of my children have any patience. I am running low as well.

Sometimes I don't feel like I have anything left to give...

really?

I forgot friends?

Silly me.

Thanksgiving

Things I am thankful for... (In no particular order.)

My family - all of them (but I am feeling a bit partial towards my husband and children)
New life - they are so precious when they are new
Surgeons
My life - it really is good
New families - two shall become one (tomorrow)
Naps - sleep when the baby sleeps
Preschool

Things Adaya is thankful for...

Breast milk
Cloth diapers
Mommy
Daddy
Josiah
Grandparents
The swing that Ava lent me
Cute outfits
Snugly blankets

So while I still have a tiny little headache...

I can say it's been much better this past week. I have not even taken any tylonal for a couple of days now. That makes me really happy. (Still on chocolate theropy, Mark. However I think that's just a life long, day to day neccessity.)

Adaya is sleeping well at night. God has been good and given me an easier baby this time around. For most of the last week, she has only gotten up once during the night after she is in bed. Which means she sleep from 10:30-3:30 and 5-8:30 last night.

Recovery for the actual surgery is going well. It's been tougher this time around. I definately feel like it's taken a bigger toll on my body this time. Of course, having two children now means I have to do more and recover less. Also still having more pain in the area that I believe to be where they removed the meckel's diverticulum. But that too is getting better.

I also wanted to mention that my experience with and my attitude towards this c-section has just been completly different from Josiah's. For that, I praise God. Josiah's c-section was heart renching. I was unsupported in so many ways. I actually had to come to terms with it just a few months ago. With Adaya's c-section, I feel like I've been given life. I realize just how much it was a part of God's plan. At the least, the incedental finding of the meckels saved me a lot of future pain, at the most it saved me from a cancer struggle. I'll never know for sure, but I do know that God wanted the surgens to find it. I know that all the prayers that were prayed were answered. So thank you for your prayers.

for grandma

My mom has been pestering me to post some good pics. So here are a couple "one week" photos, unedited, complete with dust spots on my ccd.

Meckel's diverticulum

Also known as "Angie's incedental finding during her c-section." It looked more like a tree fungus than this drawing shows. They took pictures of it. My Dr was going to try and get me a copy. I will share if I get it.

I did a little research, here are some facts that I found:

A Meckel's diverticulum is a common congenital (present from before birth) pouch on the wall of the small bowel. The diverticulum may contain stomach or pancreatic tissue. (Mine had stomach lining tissue.)

A Meckel's diverticulum is a remnant of structures within the fetal digestive tract that were not fully reabsorbed before birth. Approximately 2% of the population has a Meckel's diverticulum, but only a few develop symptoms.

Surgery to remove the diverticulum is recommended if bleeding develops. In rare cases, the segment of small intestine which contains the diverticulum is surgically removed, and the ends of intestine sewn back together. Iron replacement may be needed to correct anemia. If bleeding is significant, blood transfusion may be necessary. (Mine was removed from the wall of the small intestine. They didn't actually remove any of the intestine.)

Presentation in infants younger than 2 years has been considered the classic case. (Or 2+29)

Even more rarely, the Meckel diverticulum may develop benign tumors (eg, leiomyomas, angiomas, neuromas, lipomas) or malignant neoplasms (eg, sarcoma, carcinoid tumor, adenocarcinomas) (I will forever wonder if finding this now will save me from dealing with anything more serious in the future.)

Okay, so I was just looking at all this research info and this fact: The clinical presentation includes abdominal pain in the periumbilical area that radiates to the right lower quadrant. made me remember something. I actually asked the Dr about some pain I was having during my pregnancy. It was located in the lower right abdominal area. The Dr actually did some probing to make sure it wasn't a hernia. We ended up writing it off as round ligiment pain. Usually when one has round lig pain, it presents on both sides. I continued to have the pain off and on through out the pregnancy. Often, I had trouble believing it was just round lig pain. My gut told me something wasn't right. I worried about the pain and wondered if it would be the downfall of my natural birth. Now I wonder, and highly suspect that it was caused by my Meckel's. It is an odd realization to come to today.

To my A & B friends

Enjoy them. I sure do miss the days of being a B...

the pain continues

What a waste of a morning yesterday was. On Thursday I went to see the Dr. They did a complete evaluation and concluded that I had a spinal headache. I was refered to the pain clinic. My understanding was that I was going to the pain clinic to have a blood patch done so that the hole in my spine would heal and my spinal fluid would build back up, thus relieving the headache. Instead what I did was spend an hour in a waiting room, trying to fill out paper work at 7:30 while nursing. Followed by another complete evaluation (that was the same as Thursday's) where it was concluded that I had a spinal headache. I was then told that there is a 95% chance that the hole has healed on it's own and that I'm now just waiting for my body to produce the right amount of spinal fluid so that my headache will be relieved. What I'd really like to know is why I was never told that I might heal so on my own. I was then told that if we wanted to go ahead and do the blood patch (which probably wouldn't help at this point) that we would have to schedule that for another day. All of this was fairly frustrating to someone who had only had 2.5 hours of sleep that night, and had missed another 3 hour round of sleep by packing up the family and leaving for the pain clinic at 7am.

So in conclusion:

I could use some more prayer for my headache.
1. That the hole in my spine has healed/will heal quickly.
2. That my body would get the rest and fluids it needs to replenish the spinal fluid.
3. That my head would just quit hurting so that I can be a better, saner mother.

Of course you can also continue to pray that:
4. The rest of my body would heal quickly.
5. My body would continue reabsorb the extra fluids they pumped into me for surgery. (I did lose at least 2 lbs of it between Thursday and Monday.)
6. We'd all get some rest.


As one who doesn't generally get a lot of headaches, (I took one tylonal for one headache during my pregnancy. It was during the Ethnos gathering when we had the prayer night.) I have a deeper sympathy and love towards my friends who deal with frequent headaches/migraines.

Our little research participant

We allowed Adaya to take part in a research study on Friday. They are studying the healthy lungs of full term newborns. The hope is that this study will better enable them to help the premature baby, who's biggest issue is it's underdeveloped lungs. It was a no brainer to let her participate. If studying her lungs could save another precious life. Then as a mother, I can't think of a better way to support another mother. She was asleep the whole time, and didn't even realize what was going on.

Mommy's favorite Adaya pics

Just think, someone wanted me to pay them, to take photos of my little girl. I bet they wouldn't have been nearly as cute.

Adaya's visitors part a

More ways to pray

So if you have been praying for us, I just want to say thanks. If you'd like to know how you can pray for me now...

I have a really rad headache. It's bothering me more than recovering from the actual surgery. You would think that if you were constantly on prescription strength ibuprofen and extra strength Tylenol, that you would not have a headache.

My back is sore. I'm not sure if it is from laying on an operating table for two hours, sleeping\sitting\basically living in a hospital bed for four days or what, but it aches.

Nausea, I am dealing with times when I just don't feel well.

The above mentioned items may be the result of a larger issue. There is a chance it is related to my spinal, that everything just didn't go quite right. If things do not improve I am supposed to call the Dr tomorrow.

Swelling, my body is not doing well reabsorbing the extra fluids of surgery and such. I have retained water everywhere from my hand to my feet. The biggest problem area being my feet and legs. I'm still not traversing the stairs often due to the water retention making my legs sore.

Sleep. Do I need say more?

Welcome to our world, Adaya Lee

Our little one has arrived. Wes posted a pic or two on his blog. I will post some when I'm feeling better and can go downstairs and work on our computer instead of Wes's work laptop.

Adaya Lee Smith was born on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 11:51am. She measured 20" and weighed 6lbs 11ozs. Adaya means "God's Jewel" and that's just what she is. A little jewel from God, sent from heaven, for us to love and raise in Christ. What an honor.

We arrived at OHSU at 8:15am. We were supposed to be there at 8, but traffic was bad. We figured it wouldn't matter too much since I was scheduled for 10. But after arriving we learned that we were actually scheduled for 9 and I was supposed to be there at 7. I guess there was some pretty poor communication going on there. It seems to me that it would be pretty important to let people know when their surgery is scheduled for. Lucky for us they were doing two emergency surgeries and my was pushed back.

I love IV's. Okay, not really. The nurses came in to do my IV and get fluids started. They gave me three really nice holes before they gave up and called IV therapy. I have one on the top of each wrist. But it's the one on the top of my right hand that's the winner. I had a huge knot on the back of my hand for a couple of days. Now I basically have one, huge bruise on the back of my hand. Did I mention that I thought I might pass out while they were attempting it? Yeah, it was lovely. I don't think I'd have survived if I wasn't laying down at the time. The room spun and my eyes got blurry and there was this ringing in my ears. I could hardly breathe. So they called IV therapy and we waited, and waited, and waited. In fact the surgeons and operating room were all ready, but we were still waiting for the IV. I ended up with it in the middle of my arm. It was highly uncomfortable. Any time a nurse shot anything into it, it was extremely painful.

I think I finally went to the OR at about 11. They wouldn't let Wes be there during prep, which sucked big time. He was there for Josiah's prep. It was a lot easier to "pose" for the spinal with him as a support. In fact by the time he got there I was beginning to wonder if they forgot about him. I'd already had a close to throwing up episode. After prep, things moved right along. Adaya was born and then they closed up the uterus and took at look at everything else. That's when the "incidental finding" happened. I remember the Dr asking me if I'd had my appendix removed. I remember thinking it was odd that he would ask that. Couldn't he tell if my appendix was there or not? Really, my gut was all opened up, shouldn't he know that? So they found this thing growing on my small intestine. I can't remember what they said it was, but it was basically a stomach lining cell that wandered there and began to grow. So it was a small piece of stomach lining. So they weren't sure if they should remove this thing or not. So they had to call down a surgeon from general surgery to have a looksee. However, he was in surgery, so we waited. I fairly certain that I laid on the table with my gut open an extra hour as we waited for the surgeon, waited for a special surgical instrument after the surgeon decided to remove it, and then they removed it. What fun. I could feel the spinal wearing off and kept thinking, I really hope they hurry, I don't want to feel anything. They finally finished up, good thing spinals last over 2 hours.

Off to the recovery room. We hung out there for some time. I vaguely remember getting a couple of texts while I was there. Wes actually took a picture of me trying to respond to one of them. My last spot was my room. The spinal had actually worn off so much by then that I did most of the transferring of myself to a new bed, which was so not the case with Josiah. Shortly after arriving to my home for the next four day, God placed a rainbow across the sky out my window. A gentle reminder that he was there, loving me, caring for me.

My parents came Tuesday evening. They brought Josiah. He was too cute. He loves Adaya. I can't wait to post those pics. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we had a variety of visitors. It was nice to have so many friends stop by and see us.

Saturday we came home. The first challenge of arrival was climbing the stairs. It was quite the workout. I haven't been back down since.

So here we are, Sunday evening, working on recovering from major surgery. I'm doing a little, but not much around the house. Mostly just caring for Adaya which means lots of nursing and trying to get lots of rest. And who should I hear now...

the continuing saga of "Angie's having a baby"

I have a touch of sore throat. Now would not be a good time to start caughing and sneezing. Imagine doing so on the operating table or while in stitches and staples. Please add that to my seemingly endless prayer requests of the past few weeks. While you're praying about that, please pray over the surgical adhesive. It may seem like an odd request, but I had a really bad itchy, rashy reaction to it when I had Josiah. Of course if you're going to pray over the adhesive, you can add the drugs to your list. I'd rather not be too loopy come Wednesday. :O)

Thanks again for all your prayers. I have a calm and peace about this c-section that I just can't completly explain. I balled all weekend before Josiah's. I know that it is a peace that only God can bring.

baby update

Good news. We are home from our non stress test. We passed. They got to see the baby have active times and sleepy times, and a strong, steady heart rate.

Now you can pray that I don't start labor before the c-section on Tuesday, about 10ish. If I have to have a c-section, then I'd rather it be scheduled and not emergency.

Thank you for your prayers.

Pray for us

So...
Baby is breech.
I'll be going in tomorrow morning for a non-stress test. Pending the outcome of that test, I will be having a c-section tomorrow or Tuesday. Tomorrow would mean that they suspect that something might be wrong. I don't think anything is wrong. Baby is active (right now in fact) and I feel just fine. Pray for wisdom and guidance for the Drs. Pray for a Tuesday arrival.
Thanks.

"The line is busy."

I'm beginning to hate that phrase! Seriously! I spent two hours last night, calling every 15 minutes, trying to get a hold of my parents. All I got was, "The line is busy." They're not even home tonight (it's Bible Study night) and that's still all I get. I was going to leave them a message thinking they might return it when they got home. But all I get is, "The line is busy." They have dial up. I suppose Scotty is online tonight. If they're going to be online all the time, how am I supposed to call them to have them pick up Siah when I go into labor? Seriously, they are going to miss their granddaughter's birth at this rate. They don't have call waiting or voice messaging or cell phones. All I wanted to know was whether or not Dad thought he was going to go on Siah's field trip with me on Thursday. URG!

Aren't they cute?

I snapped this shot at community group last night. These are our friends, Kevin and Tiffany, aka Kevany. They're getting married Nov 17. They brought over invitations last night and we all worked on getting them ready for mailing. We also worked on Visible Grace Auction stuff. It was a night of helping our friends.

pregnancy art

I am reading a book called Birthing from Within. It encourages you to focus on your pregnancy not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. One of the ways in which to accomplish this is through art therapy. I created this sculpture this past week. It symbolizes the thing I feel I most need to remember and yet for some reason it is the thing I most struggle with believing.

Happy Birthday, Josiah!

Today, my baby boy is officially 4. He is growing up too fast.

Sad.

I missed my preggie water class. Sad. Josiah has two speeds, slow and super-slow. This morning was a super-slow morning. I walked out of the school at 9:10 instead of 9:00. My cashier at Freddy's was even slower than Josiah. I got stuck sitting through three lights at the Beaverton hillsdale/scholls ferry intersection, because of a bus. People are very slow about getting on and off buses. I missed my preggie water class. Sad.

Praying for mommy and baby

I posted this on the Ethnos forum and just thought I'd put it here too...

Today, believe it or not, marks 38 weeks for us. Which means we could have the baby as early as today or up to four weeks from today. Needless to say we are both nervious and excited about our upcoming delivery. So if you are the praying type, here is a list of specific things that you can be in prayer with us about.

1. Safe delivery for mom and baby
2. A successful VBAC delivery. I don't want to have to have another c-section. I think a lot of people forget that a c-section is considered major surgery and that is what it takes to recover from one.
3. That God would give me the strength to work through the pain and have a drug free delivery. Because I believe it is best for the baby and also because my body doesn't generally cope well with drugs.
4. My blood pressure has been on the rise the last couple of appointments. Pray that it would return to normal and stay within a safe range.
5. Many pregnant women who have carpol tunnel experience bad flare ups through out the pregnancy, possibly due to swelling. Mine has been increasingly painful this past week.
6. Rest and energy. That I would be able to sleep better and keep up with my four year old.
7. The time to get done those things that need done before the baby arrives.
8. That God would help us choose just the right name for our little girl.
9. Emotional stability, which is difficult when the stresses of life collide with the hormones of pregnancy.
10. That Josiah would deal with the household changes well.

Thanks. I know it's a lot, but those are the things I'm dealing with this month.

38 weeks and recent happenings

Tomorrow marks 38 weeks. Today I had a dr. appointment. Nothing new. Measuring 38 cm. Blood pressure was a little high but the dr rechecked it at the end of the appointment and it was down 10 points. So not really anything to worry about. Baby's heart rate was a nice 148.

Life has been busy the past few weeks. Ashby threw a party in the baby's honor on the 22nd. That was fun. We collected about 600 diapers for needy babies. We didn't play any games. :O) That would mean I've never had to play a game at any baby shower that was for my own baby. I like that.

I've been going to a preggie water aerobics class now that Josiah is in preschool. It's nice to get in the water and just be able to float about. I feel so heavy when I get out. Gravity sucks.

Thursday and Friday I did a lot of last minute birthday party prep. Including the creation of dino island. I recommend that all the women out there forgo having parties for their other children when they are 8 1/2 months pregnant. By the time the party was over and all the kids went home, I was just beat. We had a time of playing, followed by peanut butter playdoh, and then it was time for the dino egg hunt outside. We then sang happy birthday and the children happily ate dino island cake. Finally we unwrapped presents. It's amazing how eager all the children where to help Josiah with that task. We opened up all of Josiah's new dinos and the kids were all happily occupied until parents came. We kept a couple of the kids till about 5, at which time I collapsed.

But wait! The day isn't over yet. Shortly there after I was off to the store to pick up perscriptions, milk, dinner for Josiah and Grandma Smith, and Josiah's Christmas present (I got a fab founder's day deal at Freddy's). We ran home to drop things off and then headed back out for Anthony and Sara's engagment party. We finally arrived home at about ten. And while beginning to get ready for bed, Josiah awoke in tears. So we spent the next hour or so trying to get him calm and back into bed.

So I didn't do much early Sunday. I was beat and then some. At 3:30 we left to host a concert at Our Place CC. After the concert it was time to go to our weekly dinner out. And then home.

I'm still feeling rather tired today. But it is time to get back to work on getting the baby's room together...

Super Cute!

Today was Josiah's first lunch buddies day at preschool. That means I had till 1:oo to do what I wanted. Of course all I ended up doing was a whole bunch of running around and errands. I had to do some photocopying, take recalled items back to Target, run out to NCO (I had a trunk full of diapers to deliver), and find some mat board for an auction donation. Between those stops I also stopped at boarders, office depot, christian supply, and marshalls. I was a bad girl. I know I have a ton of stuff for the baby, but I couldn't resist. I was just looking at all the little girl clothes when I saw the shirt. I saw it, and almost said out loud, "that is super cute!" It a shirt that screams, "wear me for super cute photos." I had to get it. Besides, it's blue and green, not pink or purple. What was really funny was that when I went to find the price, I found the tag first. The tag says, "Super-cute Carter's." I guess Carter's and I think alike.

Be nice, Mr.

Today, I am even wearing a shirt that makes me look pregnant. Can't you see that I am struggling with this 150lb costco cart full of costco goods? I'm doing my best. I'm sorry I'm currently walking in front of a parking space which you would like to claim. But do you really have to honk at me like that? Can we have a few seconds of patience for the 8+ month prego who just spent an hour walking through Costco and is now exhausted and trying to just get to her car?

Sing with me!
"Have patience, have patience, don't be in such a hurry. When you get inpatient, you only start, to worry. Remember, remember, that God is patient too. And think of all the other times when others wait for you."

jury summons

I have been summoned for jury duty next month. Sure, let's put a 39+ week preggie on a jury. I can see it now... I think I shall have to pass.

not again

I don't feel so hot today...

The terrible twos?

Whoever came up with that phrase, hadn't experienced the joys of the threes yet.

I love preschool!

This morning I dropped Josiah off at preschool. Then I went to Freddy's all by myself. It only took half an hour. Not having a 3 yr old in tow is amazing. Then I went home. I relaxed a bit. Then spent an hour with an open Bible and e-sword. No kidding. A whole uninterupted hour studing God's Word. Unpresidented! I'm glad he seems to be enjoying it as well.

Calm down, Josiah.

Yesterday, Wes asked Josiah about his first day of preschool. Josiah responds by running into the kitchen and screaming "I don't love daddy" for 20 minutes.

Ten minutes ago he got up from a nap. He is sitting on the bathroom floor bawling. First of all, he's a big boy and can pull his own undies up. Second of all, I can't help if he won't stand up. And so he screams "I don't like to stand up anymore." I wonder how long he will scream and cry.

so frustrated

What the heck!? I just got a call from the Dr's office. They have to cancel one of my appointments. It's the only one I could get when my Dr was in the office. So now I have to reschedule with another Dr. I have spent 8 months building a repore with this Dr. Now she's not going to be in the office during my last weeks of pregnancy. I had to schedule all my other final appointments with other Drs. I don't get it. This is the most important time when we talk about the delivery and all that stuff and she's not going to be around. Is she even going to be delivering my baby? I don't know! I don't know what's going on. I'm freaking frustrated!

newest version

Still not quite right...

Hope

I've been going through lots of old photos. Some I've found for posting for Ethnos. Currently, I'm looking for pictures to upload to my favorite developer. I've got a ton of photo frames that need filled. As well as several Josiah scrapbooks that need updated. But, just now, I found this one. It struck me. Seems like so many are struggling with finding hope in life.

Preschool

Josiah started preschool today. He seems to have had a good time. At first he didn't want to tell me anything about his day, but once we got home he started talking.

He played at the train table with one new friend.
He had goldfish and juice for snack.
He played on the playground.
He drew a big smile on his apple coloring sheet.
They looked at the calender and talked about what day it is today. "Today is just two ones."

We had a couple interesting conversations after preschool.

Mom: Did your teacher read a story?
Josiah: No. She just read two stories. One about a mouse and one about a pig. They're just like the ones on my bookshelf in my bedroom.
Mom: Oh. Did she read If You Give a Pig a Pancake and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?
Josiah: Um, Yep.

Mom: Did you obey your teachers?
Josiah: No.
Mom: How come?
Josiah: Because I didn't want to clean up. I just wanted to keep playing.
Mom: You know that you're supposed to obey your teachers.
Josiah: I'll just obey them when I go back on the next day.

Josiah: No mom, you're just supposed to sit like this.
Mom: Is that how your teacher showed you how to sit?
Josiah: Yah, we just sit like this.
Mom: Did your teacher call that "criss cross apple sauce"?
Josiah: Um, yep.
Mom: Are you going to sit like that.
Josiah: No. Just at preschool.

Countdown to 40 weeks

Just 39 days!

I'm not ready yet!!!!!!

He loves me

One of Josiah's favorite things to do is transform my couches. It's okay when it's just one or when I'm not pregnant or sick. But I hate it when the entire living room becomes a circus train. Then when the circus tent is erected, I completly loose my living room. Yesterday, our house was in just such a state.

Last night, Wes and I were discussing some things. So when we went to bed his mind was still working, so he couldn't sleep. He got up and decided that while he was up he would put my living room back together. When I got up this morning, I had couches. Where did they come from? The couch fairy? That's when I realized that Wes must have gotten back up after I fell asleep. Then I saw the circus tent. It was built in the newly formed children's area of our living room. It is the best tent ever. So Josiah is also very happy. He has a circus tent. The most spacious one he has ever had to play in. The blankets also extend onto the train table. So he has a very, very dark tunnel too. He loves it!

I guess he loves us both!

life happenings

This past week we've been busy and sick.

Saturday we went to the circus. We took Josiah's favorite mode of transport, tri-met. We went an hour early to the interactive pre show. Josiah was ready to head home after the tigers performed which was close to intermission. I think he had a good time, but I think it was a bit over stimulating. Josiah has always been easily overstimulated. There was always something going on, so I think it was a bit much. Josiah learned two things. One, elephants eat apples (specifially apples belonging to clowns). Two, tigers can roll over. It was way over priced, everything from the tickets which were almost $75 for the three of us, to the $7 we spent on water to avoid dehydration.

Sunday Wes ran sound at the Ethnos gathering. So we left home at about 2 and got to head home at 7:45. Of course we didn't go home. We went to dinner.

Monday we realized that we were coming down with colds. We spent a good portion of our day enjoying the sunshine at home.

Tuesday Wes stayed home from work, but put in a full day telecommuting. Josiah and I spent the morning/early afternoon out. I didn't feel well and didn't really want to go. But I realized that Wes could work better without us there the whole time. So we went to the Waste Management Metro South Center. There we ditched 20 years worth of paint that we inherited from previous home owners. We also got rid of florecent light bulbs and batteries. We had to turn around in the home depot parking lot, so we just decided to make a stop there. I bought the workings for the utility room shelves that I've been wanting for 4+ years now. You may wonder why we didn't go to the closer WM metro station. That would be because my parents live just a couple miles from the South station. So our next stop was at the family home. My parents weren't home, but Josiah and I scowered the garden for a few ears of corn to take home. We also found ourselves a snack before heading home to a very late lunch. Tuesday evening I put up the first half of the shelving.

Wednesday our colds were worse, but we had lots to do. Wes worked from home again. Isn't it nice of him not to share? Josiah and I made a trip to Costco to get out of the house. We also stopped at the dollar tree to round out supplies for Josiah's birthday party. Then I bought Josiah his bi-monthly happy meal. We got home and I just had time to unload our groceries and get a quick shower. I was exhausted. Off to the Dr's office we went for our 34 week appointment. The Dr was 45 minutes late and only spent 15 minutes with us. I now know why I prefer morning appointments, they aren't running late yet. Nothing new to report on the baby front. After my Dr appointment I got to go through my Creative Memories order that arrived that afternoon. Then, that evening I put up the other half of my utility shelving. I spent the night hacking my lungs out.

Today, Thursday, Wes is working from home again. I feel like crap. I had originally planned to take Josiah to NCO today since it is his last Thursday to do so, he'll be at preschool in the future weeks. But, it didn't happen. I just wasn't up to doing anything today. Although I've been doing quite a bit around the house. I've gotten my CM customer orders sorted, put away yesterday's Costco run, and done some cleaning. I've also taken several breaks from life. Did I mention that I feel like crap? It sucks to be preggo and sick at the same time. I can't take anything for this congestion.

I am praying that we will be well tomorrow...

a work in progress

Here's what I've been up to today. I'm still working on it, but I thought I'd share anyway. I think I need to drop a phase or two and space things out a bit differently. The total eclipsed moon isn't placed right either. Yep, a work in progress.

3-k ekids mother's day posters

Wes and I taught the 3-k ekids class in May. One of the things we did was create these posters for class. Each child that was in class the week before Mother's Day had a flower. We wrote the things they said in each pedal to complete the phrase, "I love my mommy because..."

Visible Grace garage sale, July 12-14 2007

Setting up the tables.

I wonder what Kevin is thinking.
The mess, can it really be organized by tomorrow morning?
Tiffany and Ashby sort and unpack boxes.
Looks like Ashby is going to the prom this weekend.
A pink, little, Ella Blue.

That mask makes you look so pretty, Kevin.
All set up and open for business.

We brought my childhood picnic table for the kids to play at and eat on. Here, they stay occupied playing with some of Josiah's playdoh. Josiah, Abigail, and Cooper.

Junk turns into funds for Visible Grace.
I think Ashby's car is somewhere under all those clothes.
Cooper tries to balance objects on Josiah's head.
Friends relax on the swing.
Lemonade?

Brenda is folding the children's clothing.
More playdoh.
Are you ladies shopping or folding the children's clothing, yet again.
Chalking it up.
Waiting for business...

Aiden James
AntHoney, Sarah, and Ashby
Staying cool in the shade of the swing.
Rachel found some scrubs.
Ashby's reaction to Rachel's scrubs.