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!