11 weeks to go!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially 29 weeks today! That means that if my due date is correct and the baby comes exactly on time, I only have 11 weeks to go! (Which I doubt Cayson makes his world debut when he's supposed to!) I can't believe how fast time has flown. It seems like I just found out I was pregnant and now it's almost over. I'm going for my next doctor's appointment this weekend so please pray that everything still looks great!

One Proud Sister Coming Right Up!

Well, I've got to brag a little bit. My brother, Kevin, is 17 years old. (I know, it's hard to believe, isn't it Lee Ann?) Well about a year ago, he surrendered to the ministry. He's been given the opportunity to speak for his youth group several times. And he does a really good job. God has transformed him into a confident young man. Also, he's been given the opportunity to intern at his church, Immanuel Baptist in Warren. (Which is also my home church!) About a month ago, their pastor told Kevin that he wanted to give him the opportunity to preach on Sunday morning. Well, the big day was yesterday. I really hate that I didn't get to come and hear him, but I'm told that he did a great job. It's just an awesome feeling to know that my brother is doing exactly what God has called him to do. This is what I've always wanted for him. For him to follow God. And I praise God for the work that He's doing in Kevin. I know that God has some great plans for him!

Finally some pics!

Here is my latest picture of me. Now keep in mind, it was taken on Monday when I was not feeling well and the sun was in my eyes. But I promised a recent pic so here goes nothing!

Also, I took some pics at work today of my cute kids at the daycare. (I just love my new camera, can't you tell?)

We got to eat lunch at our local Mexican restaurant today because the "big kids" went to a movie!

Kids say the cutest things!

For your reading pleasure here's an email I got today. I got a kick out of it and I hope you do as well!

A little boy was in a relative's wedding.As he was coming down the aisle, he would taketwo steps, stop, and turn to the crowd.While facing the crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar.So it went, step, step, ROAR, step, step, ROAR,all the way down the aisle.As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears fromlaughing so hard by the time he reached the pulpit.When asked what he was doing, the child sniffed and said, "I was being the Ring Bear."

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One Sunday in a Midwest City, a young child was"acting up" during the morning worship hour. The parents did their best to maintain some senseof order in the pew but were losing the battle.Finally, the father picked the little fellow upand walked sternly up the aisle on his way out.Just before reaching the safety of the foyer, the little one called loudly to the congregation, "Prayfor me! Pray for me!"

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One particular four-year old prayed, "And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trashin our baskets."

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A Sunday School teacher asked her littlechildren, as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."

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The preacher was wired for sound with a lapel mike, and as he preached, he moved briskly about theplatform, jerking the mike cord as he went.Then he moved to one side, getting wound up inthe cord and nearly tripping before jerking it again.After several circles and jerks, a little girl in the third pew leaned toward her mother andwhispered, "If he gets loose, will he hurt us?"

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Six-year old Angie and her four-year old brother, Joel, were sitting together in church.Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud.Finally, his big sister had had enough. "You'renot supposed to talk out loud in church.""Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said,"See those two men standing by the door? They'rehushers."

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My grandson was visiting one day when he asked , "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?"I mentally polished my halo, while I asked, "No, how are we alike?""You're both old," he replied.

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A ten-year old, under the tutelage of hergrandmother, was becoming quite knowledgeable aboutthe Bible.Then, one day, she floored her grandmother byasking, "Which Virgin was the mother of Jesus? The virgin Mary or the King James Virgin?"

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A Sunday school class was studying the Ten Commandments.They were ready to discuss the last one. The teacher asked if anyone could tell her what it was.Susie raised her hand, stood tall, and quoted,"Thou shall not take the covers off the neighbor's wife."

Finally, something positive!

Wow, two posts in one day! That's what happens when you're home stuck in the bed, I guess. Except I finally got to get out tonight after spending 2 1/2 days in the bed. Shaun's parents stopped by this afternoon to deliver me some things from my parents. (I'll talk about that more in a minute.) Well, they were on their way to Fort Smith so we ended up meeting them there and going out to eat. I was finally feeling a little better. We went to a new place, well new to us anyway. It's called Calico County. It's a homecookin' type place. It was really good! Afterwards we all went to Wal-mart because we needed to buy some groceries. We had a good time. But I can tell I am pregnant and still a little sick. I wore out pretty quickly.

Now about what my parents sent me. Shaun's parents had to go to Monticello this past weekend to help Shaun's sister Kelly move into her new apartment. So I came up with the great idea for my parents to send me some tomatoes. Now, if you've ever been pregnant you understand cravings. I have been CRAVING some tomatoes ever since the first of June. Now, not just any tomatoes would do. They had to be homegrown Bradley County tomatoes. I was wanting them soooooo bad! Like, one night I was talking to my parents on the phone and they started talking about tomatoes. I actually started crying because I couldn't have any! The hormones were really ragin' that night!!! So anyway, my dad met Shaun's parents with some tomatoes. Also some fresh squash, potatoes, and bell peppers! (I'm a sucker for fresh veggies!) Well that's what Shaun's parents brought me today. And tonight I finally got to eat my first Bradley County tomato since last year. And let me tell you, it was worth the wait! Like I said before, if you've been pregnant and had a craving and that craving gets satisfied you know that it's a wonderful feeling.

Also today Shaun surprised me with a new digital camera! We'd been saving for one because we didn't want to have the baby and not have a good camera to capture the moments. It's a nice one, too. I am so excited about it. I will take some pictures of myself soon. I know Lee Ann hasn't seen me since Joey's wedding in March. I've gotten bigger since then! And some of you have never seen me. So I will get on that ASAP.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Thanks for listening to my excitement over getting out of the house and eating a tomato!

Stuck at Home

Well, I mentioned in my last post that I was sick. Well I still am. Turns out, I have tonsilitis. Yuck! My throat hurts so bad. Plus, I have the normal pregnancy discomforts. I wasn't even able to go to church yesterday. And I'm stuck at home today, too. I was supposed to work at the daycare today, but Doc said no. And I was supposed to babysit Ty Mills tonight but that's not going to happen either, probably. Oh well, I guess I'll make the best of it. I get all the ice cream and popsicles I want! It's a good thing I'm pregnant. Otherwise, I'd be worried about gaining weight, too! My doctor is calling me in some antibiotics today, so hopefully I will start to feel better soon!

BTW, Yarnell's White Chocolate Mousse Frozen Yogurt is awesome! Just in case you were wondering!

Friday Fever (I was tagged!)

Name your favorite...

1. Candy: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (especially the egg-shaped ones at Easter!)

2. Cookie: Peanut Butter...soft and gooey!

3. Donut: glazed

4. Cold Drink: Pre-pregnancy-Dr. Pepper Now: (because I can't have caffeine) I guess A&W Root beer

5. Hot Drink: Any kind of latte

I'm tagging Shaun and Suzanne!

Oh Lee Ann, by the way, you gave me your cooties! I've been sick today! yuck. :(

Student ministry, daycare, and engagement rings

I know, I know, I haven't posted anything in a while. I've been so busy! We've kicked off our youth ministry and it's keeping us going! The cool thing about it is we've had a pretty consistent number of students show up to every event we've had so far. Granted, it's about an average of 8 people, but that is so much better than the ZERO who were coming! We get to fix up a youth room for them and we are going to work on phase 1 of the project on Saturday. They aready have a "game" room, so to speak. It has a pool table, a foosball table, and an old arcade game that no longer works in it! Also, the walls are in horrible shape. So we are going to start by cleaning up that room and fixing the walls and stuff. Then we are going to cook out and play volleyball!

Also going on in my busy life is working at the daycare. God has really taken care of me with that. I took that job mainly because they needed somebody and I wanted to get out of the house and meet people in our community. I was really scared about it at first. I didn't feel like I was adequate enough to work there. Don't ask me why...I'm always scared when I start something new. However, I knew that God really wanted me to work there. I was beginning to wonder if I'd made a mistake about 2 or 3 weeks ago, though. Things just weren't going well. But it's working out now and I really enjoy working there. The kids are soooooo cute! And it's really preparing me for motherhood. I've learned so much there that I didn't really know.

Well, I guess that's all I have for now. Oh, I almost forgot. I got some great news today. We made the final payment on my engagement ring last week and they sent us the papers on it today! So, 3 years after I got it, I finally own it!!! I think this is the first major thing that Shaun and I have paid off together, so it's a pretty great feeling! Also, our refridgerator should be paid off next month! I wish my car was closer...I still have 2 more years on it. Oh well, one thing at a time!

That's really it now. I have an employee meeting at the daycare in an hour, so I've got to get freshened up for that. I hope everyone else is having a great day!

Updates

Well, Lee Ann is simply craving more of my wonderful blog, so I thought I'd better post before I get in trouble! There's not really that much going on right now. I'm getting more pregnant by the day. I've started experiencing a little swelling now. Which is not very fun. I am now 26 weeks and 2 days. The third trimester is coming up quick! At our church we have 5 women that are all pregnant. Well, now we have 4. One delivered on Wednesday! And that means that I am next in line! Shaun, Russ (our pastor), and I went to the hospital to see the family and we got to see the baby right as they were bringing him in for the first time (after all the clean-up and everything). He is sooooo cute! His name is Hayden Luke and he weighed 8 lbs 12 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. It was just so touching to get to share that moment! However, it also hit me like a ton of bricks that my time's a comin'! It made it seem so much more real. It's kinda scary, but I'm so excited, too.
I do have an update on the student ministry. We had our first Wednesday night worship time this past Wednesday. It went pretty well. Also, I think we were able to bond with a guy that is about to be a senior. His mom has been pretty worried about him because he wasn't wanting to come to church. She said that he has been very excited about the student ministry and has talked more about church than he has in a while. We really need your prayers on this whole thing. Student ministry is really a full time position in itself and Shaun has so many other duties, including the whole music ministry. There's no way that we can be what we need to be to those students without God's help so please remember us! Also, a small worry that I have right now is what my role is going to be once I have the baby. Shaun and I have always worked as a team and with a new baby it might be harder for me to help him for a while. I'm just speaking from observation. It seems like most new moms kinda fade into the background for a little while. And if the baby comes when he's supposed to, it will be right when school has just started back, which is usually a crucial time in student ministry. Plus, that will also be when we kick off practice for our Christmas drama. Ok, maybe my "small worry" is a lot bigger than what I thought. Just pray that I will be able to give my worries to the Lord.
Well, I guess I had more to say than I thought! Thanks for your patience and friendship!

Praises

I have to give God some glory here today. First let me give some background info. My husband Shaun is the Associate Pastor/Minister of Music at our church. The "associate pastor" part of the title just means that he does whatever else needs to be done!! LOL. Anyway, everything in our church has been going great...except the youth ministry. It's been neglected badly for about a year or so. And I don't think they've ever had a really dynamic one. (We've only been here for a few months.) So now that Shaun has had a chance to get the music ministry off the ground and fairly well organized, he's starting the student ministry back up. Our promotion Sunday was yesterday so we had several soon-to-be 7th graders move up. So we decided to have a coffee house type welcome party last night. The devil tried really hard to keep this from going well, but our God prevailed! It was a blast! The kids had a great time, we gained several really good adult volunteers, and more than likely received the approval to knock out some walls to create a youth room. So, I just wanted to take this time to praise God for what He started last night in the lives of our students and also for what He's going to do in the future. I know full well that we could never have pulled it off without Him!!!

Date Night

Well, Shaun and I just got home from our weekly date night. Yeah...it's only 10:30! We used to be able to stay out until 1 or 2 am. That was pre-pregnancy, however! We had a good time though. It wasn't anything fancy.
We went to Wal-mart in Fort Smith and picked up some things for a youth event we're having Sunday night. Then, we came back to Lavaca and tried out this pizza joint that everyone says you have to try. It's called Steffey's Pizza. There's a neat story behind it that I can't quite remember right now, but they are known for pizza subs. It's pretty good.
Then we decided to go up to the church and play some pool. (We have a pool table in our youth game room.) Now, I am not very skilled in pool. I know the rules pretty well and I even know what kind of english to use and when. But that comes from playing Yahoo! pool all the time! I'm pretty good at Yahoo! pool. But real pool is a completely different story. And my hubby is a pretty good player. He used to be really good, or so he tells me! At any rate, he's a lot better than me. But, being the sweetheart he is, he took it easy on me and gave me some pointers. And I think I improved some by the time we finished. I had to develop some pretty interesting positions sometimes. My big tummy kept getting in the way! It was pretty funny. Anyway, we had a really good time and we didn't have to spend a fortune to do so! That's always a good thing! I'd like to encourage anyone who doesn't already have a weekly date night with their spouse to incorporate one. It is soooooo helpful in keeping our marriage fresh and exciting. And like I said, it doesn't have to be expensive or anything. We usually do different things. We usually eat out, but the locations vary from McDonald's to Outback. And it also usually involves a trip to Wal-mart! (We used to always walk around Wal-mart during our college days. It seems some things never change, even with a move to "the big city"!) Anyway, our date night has especially become important to us knowing that with the addition of a baby in a few months it will be harder for us to be alone together. Well I guess that's it for now!

Fishing with Moses