big change of plans

Hi everyone. Greetings from Houston. We've had a fabulous Christmas and enjoyed time with family. Today sure threw us for a loop, however. Can I just say I'm not really a big fan of Carnival Cruise lines right now? "Why?" you ask... Well, apparently there's some sort of policy (completely unknown to us) that states a woman cannot cruise on any of their cruise ships past week 24 of a pregnancy. Oh, yes, I'm well past 24 weeks now. 5 weeks past, to be exact. Kevin's parents have planned for months now (well before I was pregnant) and graciously booked a cruise for the entire family. Seeing as how Kevin's sister lives in North Africa, we live in Asia, Kevin's brother lives in North Texas, parents live in East Texas and nieces live in West Texas, it's quite an ordeal for all the chickadees to get together. And quite special. Today we woke up early and traveled from Lindale to Galveston to board Kathie Lee's favorite cruise line. But, then we met up with a lady who I promise reminded Kevin of the character "Angela" from "The Office." You know, a stickler for the rules. She told us there was no way I was getting on the boat. Yikes. It had not even crossed my mind that I wouldn't be able to board. I mean, I could fly from Hong Kong to Thailand at 36 weeks pregnant, why can't I float on a boat? Didn't see it coming. I know there are many, many worse things in the world that can happen. No one died. No one is sick. We're just really disappointed. And Grace is pretty confused. We've been building up getting on the "big ship" and she cried when we couldn't get on. And she keeps asking to see her cousins. But I think she'll get over it before we will! Fortunately the rest of the family still got to go and hopefully are enjoying some yummy seafood right now. Kevin and I got a hotel in Houston for the night and are going to get to see Jeff and Amy (his cousin and wife) tomorrow along with Uncle Larry and Aunt Jeanette. At least there is a silver lining! We did have a blessed Christmas, however, and are thankful we got to share it with family in the US this year. Hope to post pictures soon!

just pictures

3rd trimester

It's really hard to believe baby sister will be here in a few short months. I have entered the 3rd trimester and am feeling REALLY big already. Yesterday we went to our 4-D sonogram, which was fun! Grace cracked us up because when she saw the baby on the screen in "real life," she kept yelling "WAKE UP, BABY SISTER!" She wanted her eyes to open. Since we didn't get any 4-D sonograms with Grace, this really fascinates me. Of course I know she will look different when she gets here, but I feel like I've had a sneak peak. Kevin and I both think she already looks a bit like Grace did as a baby. We'll see!

And, before I ban pictures all together, here's a recent belly shot. Being middle kids ourselves, Kevin and I have always purposed we will take as many pictures of the 2nd kid as the 1st, but so far that hasn't held true! I think these are some of the only belly shots we've taken this pregnancy.

We've picked out a middle name, so this kid has a whole name now! I love it and can't wait to share it with you. I'm being strong...haven't spilled the beans yet.

chick-fil-a day

My brother Chad is an owner/operator for a Chick-fil-A store at a mall in OKC. On "Black Friday," he knew things would be pretty busy, so a few of us family members went and helped out for a while. Erin handled the free give-aways and drink refills, Dad was great at making the fresh-squeezed lemonade and giving out chicken samples, and Kevin volunteered to be THE cow. You know, the one in the fun Chick-fil-A ads. I couldn't wait to see this! I got to be the "cow escort," because the cow can only see a few feet in front of him at a time. Then I felt a little bit of irony being very pregnant and escorting a cow around the mall. At one point someone yelled out, "Hey cow!" To which another person joked, "Hey, that's not a nice thing to say to a pregnant lady." Ha ha, everyone's a comedian. Here's the family crew And here's Kevin in action. At this point he was being told by a guy in the karaoke store to dance, so he obliged! Check out these cow moves. :) He was a good sport.

Lots of kids came to get hugs...

And I was surprised how many adults wanted their picture taken with the cow! That made me laugh for some reason!

A great time was had by all! Go eat mor chikin!!!

proud of my dad

I just have to write and brag a little bit on my dad. He was honored this past week as the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce's "Volunteer of the Year." He's been actively involved with the Chamber of Commerce for over 10 years now and has put in many-an-hour volunteering. He was honored at a luncheon this week (along with a few other folks) with 500 people in attendance. Even got his picture in the paper. I know how great my dad is; it's just kind of nice when other people notice, too! I'm proud of you, Dad!!

Thanksgiving festivities

Happy belated Thanksgiving, 2008! We had a great time with my family, our first holiday with everyone together in 5 years. It was quite a feat to have everyone present! My sister and her family first drove from Nashville to Lubbock to stay a few days, then we all caravaned to OKC to be with my brother and his family. I've managed to get my pictures out of order, but here are some shots of our fun time together. OKC had some beautiful weather on Thanksgiving Day, so the kids' table was moved outside! Three of us adult kiddos have birthdays in November, so here is a shot of us celebrating my brother-in-law Chris' birthday in Lubbock before we left. (Yes, this picture is out of order but work with me.) You can see my sister and her hubby have 3 cute kids. We got to meet my sweet niece baby Ava for the very first time.

Grace and cousin Jake are only 2 1/2 months apart...here they are having a fun tickle attack session.

Outside play is always a great idea when there are 7 kiddos in the house! Papa Jim and Granna with their grandkids, minus the one I currently have in-utero! You can have some seriously good conversations while trying to steal some ham and turkey before dinner. Erin (my sister-in-law) did lots of research and made seriously the most moist turkey I've ever eaten! Great job, Erin! And, seeing as how she is Martha Stewart, Erin also hand-made cloth pumpkins and napkin rings for the table this year. Here's the woman who worked so hard to pull it all together with niece Ava. Stay tuned for a few more pictures of our time in OKC, including a special treat of seeing Kevin dressed up in a cow costume!

holiday shout-out to my EA buddies

*Disclaimer: this blog entry was probably written under the heavy influence of a multitude of pregnancy hormones. Growing up, we would always have Christmas music playing while we decorated the tree. I mean, doesn't everyone? It seems like our cd of choice almost always included Amy Grant's "Home for Christmas." Or at least, that's the one I remember. So, even though I'm sure there are a multitude of wonderful Christmas cds out there, that particular cd takes me back to some fun Christmas memories more than any other. It was December 8, just before Christmas, when Kevin and I arrived in Asia in 2004. The hard goodbyes to family were very fresh, and we were still pretty scared about how to live in such a foreign place. We didn't have an apartment of our own yet and could barely find the bus stop or a grocery store to go buy bread. Finding peanut butter was a big deal. But, by golly, we managed to buy a Charlie Brown Christmas tree and decorate it with a few things we brought from the States. One day, however, I made the mistake of pulling out my Amy Grant Christmas album. One song into it and I was crying. I couldn't even begin to listen to Christmas music without getting homesick. I was PATHETIC. Now, don't get me wrong. We've had 4 Christmases in Asia, and for the most part, they have each been sweet in their own way. There is still materialism in Asia surrounding the holiday, but not nearly to the extent as in the US. Actually, most folks in Asia don't even really know why Christmas is celebrated, and that is always a good motivator/reminder of why it's so important to be there. But Christmas more than any other holiday has always made me miss my family and family gatherings. So, during the last 4 Christmases, I've only played Christmas music when I felt like I was in a good emotional state of mind! So, today I thought, "Hey, I'm in the US this year for Christmas. Let's bust out some Amy Grant!" I was SO surprised that I still got emotional. How silly can I be? But now, I think that album takes me back to those first emotionally tender days of that first Christmas in Asia. And, I started to think about all my ex-pat friends who are in Asia right now. I know they will have wonderful Christmases, but it is always a little different to be away at this time of year. So, for all you EA buddies, and you know who you are, I love you and am thinking of you this entire Christmas season. In particular, R, A, H and H, as you celebrate your first Christmas overseas, I pray it's one of the most blessed ones you've ever had, even if there are some homesick feelings. We love you very much!

photos

We had "Captured by Cassandra's" Cassandra McDonald take Grace's photos a few weeks ago. I was really pleased how they turned out! I had to share a few of them...

I'm calling it progress

A few weeks ago, Grace started going through one of those toddler stages...the FEAR one. Currently I find myself several times a day saying things like: "No, Swiper is not here. He's not going to get you." "God is bigger than the scary man. He's watching over us." We've even re-written the V-tales song to go, "God is bigger than Swiper..." But our biggest road block yet has become bath time. Grace has always reveled in bath time and loved every part of it. We've typically washed her hair by pouring water over her entire head because we didn't want her to be afraid of water. But, suddenly early last week Grace became terrified of the bath. I'm talking, screaming-like-a monster-was-chasing-her scared. We were completely baffled. I read online that sometimes this can happen out of the blue with toddlers. So, the last week we've had lots of sponge baths and sink baths and half-way done hair washings. But, I've decided those half-baths just don't cut it. So, tonight I got in the bath with her. She saw me in the tub and immediately said, "We're not going to get my hair wet, we won't get my nose wet; we're just going to swim." So, that's what we did. It was a lightbulb moment to let me know she really has just hated having water on her face. I was so excited she actually set foot back in the tub that I didn't even care about the hair-washing. We'll get there eventually. My mom says I'm just paying for my raising, because I was scared of EVERYTHING at Grace's age. So, in retrospect, THANKS Mom and Dad for putting up with me! :)

my poor husband

Do you remember that episode of the Brady Bunch where one of the kids had their tonsils out but it was all going to be ok because they'd get to eat ice cream? That's always the image I've had of a tonsillectomy...you know, not a big deal. Well, it is a big deal when your 30-something husband has to get them out. Not fun! Kevin had his tonsils out yesterday, and the surgeon said they were the worst pair of tonsils he had ever seen! Normally the doctor can get tonsils out of a person in 12 minutes flat, but he spent about 45 minutes working on Kevin's. I'll spare you most of the gory details, but they were swollen, infected, and had started growing their own blood supply! It's a good thing he got them out now before they really gave him problems. I've joked with Kevin that he never does anything halfway, including getting sick. He's been a trooper and feels better today than yesterday, but still quite sore. He'll be eating soft foods only for about 5-7 days. Kids are really smart. Grace knew her daddy, "got a little bit sick" and laid on the bed with him for a long while today. She asked him several times, "You feel ok daddy?" Here's to lots of vanilla ice cream this week for Kevin!

First Fall Festival

Since no one really celebrates Oct. 31 in Asia, we've never dressed Grace up before. So, she truly enjoyed going to her first fall festival at our church. I enjoyed watching her "people-watch." She was completely in awe of all the costumes. "Mommy, that boy looks like a lion! Mommy, look at that girl; she is a duck!" And so forth. And, it didn't take her long to realize she was going to get lots of candy that evening. A good time was had by all. Grace loved her Sleeping Beauty costume, but she wasn't so big on the scratchy sleeves, so they became a bow tied on her back. Good thing it was pretty warm here.

Granna and Papa Jim joined the fun and were working that evening. Papa Jim even gave Grace rides around on the golf cart that night as he was working security/welcome crew outside.

Granna worked in the face painting booth, and she drew a kitty cat on Grace's hand.

Pure sugary-bliss.

Pumpkin Patch

sneak peak and our little surprise

We had another ultrasound today and got to see baby girl's little face! Yes, that's right, no parts grown and she still appears to be a girl. The ultrasound tech said that sometimes she doesn't like to do the 4-D ultrasound so early (21 weeks) simply because the babies usually still look scrawny (I think her words were "sea monkey") and parents don't always understand this fact and freak out when they see their baby live! But, she relented and let us look and I'm so glad she did. We got a great shot of her face! The tech right away thought baby #2's lips looked just like her big sister's. Grace really loved seeing the baby. Our little surprise is that we are pretty sure that we have a name picked out, but we're not telling! We've decided it would be fun to announce her name when she is born. And, it's not a name like we have discussed with others in the past (we've ruled out Faith, Charity, Hope, and other names of the sort), but we found a different name we both really love. Can't wait to tell you! Kevin says I have to be strong because I usually cave and spill the beans, but we decided this would be fun to wait and tell. Let's see if I can do it because I REALLY love this name!

Nana and Pappaw's visit

Kevin's parents drove up to visit us this week, and we had a great visit! We're looking forward to their visit in November, too, and at that time they will be bringing Aunt Kimberly along (Kevin's little sis), who gets back to the US this week after spending 3 years in North Africa! Cute picture taken at a local park

In the background, you can see the hospital where baby #2 will be born!

Here's Grace playing in what will be her "Fall Festival" costume. :) She loves to dress up these days. Nana and Pappaw bought her a bath toy fishing game while they were here, and Grace seems to believe the bath toy should be played at any time of the day. So, sometimes we put a little water in the tub and let her "fish."

Baby Evyn

My dear Kristen gave birth to Evyn May this past Wednesday. She's a beautiful baby with all sorts of dark hair! I'm looking forward to some fun playdates with Kristen, Carter, and Evyn now that Kristen's on maternity leave for several weeks. What great timing!! Evyn arrived on Oct. 22, weighing in at 6 lb. 13 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. Big brother Carter is so sweet and smitten with her!

in Oklahoma City

Before and after 2 separate conferences, we got to see my brother Chad and his wife Erin and their 3 sweet kiddos. They were gracious to let us stay with them, including one night while Grace was sick. (Erin, hope we didn't share any germs!) We also got to celebrate my mom's birthday together. We're looking forward to more time together at Thanksgiving, when my sister and her family will join us, too. Grace and her cousin Jake are just 2 1/2 months apart! Granna with 4 of her grandkids At a conference in OKC, Grace made a new friend who was kind enough to share her princess play clothes!