This is so true!

I get a weekly email from BabyCenter.com which gives me information about Cayson's development and this was at the end of it!

Which Princess Bride Character am I?

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti


Very interesting!

I Feel Better

After writing my last post, I was determined to get in the Christmas spirit and really focus on what's most important. But the devil knows just where to attack. Something else happened that really got me down, but after reading a wonderful comment that Suzanne made on my last post, I feel so much better. I'm not going let circumstances steal my joy. Pray for me this week as I've got lots of feelings to sort through and major shopping to do!

A Christmas Vent

This Christmas season I have had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit. This is really hard for me because I love Christmas. I put my tree up the day after Thanksgiving, start listening to Christmas music in October, and usually have my shopping done by the first of December. And you would think this year would be especially exciting since it's Cayson's first Christmas. But some things are hindering my enthusiasm. I though maybe if I address the problems then I can get past them. So here goes...

1. We went to Warren this year for Thanksgiving and didn't come home until that Saturday night. Therefore I didn't get my tree up until late Sunday night. And it took longer than I expected so after midnight we still had stuff everywhere and I had to have the place cleaned up by the next morning because I had to babysit. (Wow that was a long runon sentence.) It just seemed more like a chore after that.

2. We still aren't through with our shopping. Mainly because we're broke.

3. We haven't had a chance to go look at lights yet, which is also one of my favorite things to do.

4. Our anniversary was this past Wednesday and it was spent at the church, again because we're broke.

5. People shopping are rude this time of year. A lot are, anyway. I went to Walmart today. First of all, I parked in the back so I wouldn't have to fight for a space. It was perfect, too. There was a lone buggy sitting there, waiting for me to get it. It's easier for me to put Cayson in the buggy so I don't have to carry him in the carrier all the way. He's pretty heavy. Anyway, this man pulls in the spot next to me, at the same time. Because I'm a mother that has lots of stuff to get, including a baby, he beat me to the buggy. And he didn't even have anything to put in it. So I had to carry Cayson, who weighs about 16 pounds now, plus the weight of his carrier, all the way to the front. Plus, carrying my purse and his diaper bag. Once I got in Walmart and got a buggy, it was so packed. I had to go to the Christmas section, which I found that they are already marking down and condensing the aisles. They will probably put out Valentine's stuff tomorrow. Or maybe even Easter. Anyway, here I am with a buggy and a baby, I'm trying to get down an aisle and someone starts coming down the other way. Also, there is a Walmart associate working on one side of the aisle, so it's pretty much one way only. And the person just keeps on coming. They didn't even have a buggy! Whew...I'm getting mad again. Ibetter stop!

Okay, I need to list some positive things before I close this blogging session.

1. I have a wonderful husband and son who are both healthy, happy, and handsome!

2. I have a place to live, 2 cars to drive, food to eat, cell phones with bluetooth, a cute dog, a wonderful church family, this list could go on and on.

3. The most important: I have a wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who came to earth to save me from my sin.

Wow, that really puts things in perspective! Thanks for letting me sort through my "Scrooginess" and really get to the heart of the season!

P.S. One more good thing: we're getting fiber to the home! (It's something to do with the internet that makes it really, really fast and my husband has assured me it's a great thing!)

A few updates

Our choir presented "The Christmas Shoes" last night. It went so well. Everyone is already talking about what we're going to do for Easter!

Shaun and I will be celebrating our 3rd anniversary this Wednesday. Time has flown by!

Cayson is doing so great. He is pretty much sleeping through the night now. And he's finally on a schedule. Granted, it's a loose one, but it is there! He's going to be starting solids before I know it.

Really, that's pretty much it. Our life lately has been so consumed with getting the musical ready that not much is going on. I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays and not stressing out too much!

Going Better...

Well, it's getting better. Putting Cayson to bed, I mean. I mentioned in my last post that we are putting him to bed almost asleep now, and letting him soothe himself to sleep. The first night, he cried for the first 5 minutes and we then soothed him to sleep. The next night, he cried for 5 minutes, we comforted him, laid him down again, and he was asleep BY HIMSELF in about 9 minutes. Last night, he was asleep within the first 5 minutes. And today during his afternoon nap he even went to sleep on his own, within a couple of minutes. Tonight, however, was a different story. He cried for 5 minutes. I comforted him. He cried for 10 minutes. I comforted him. Then he cried for 14 minutes and fell asleep. This was very rough. But it is working. I just have to stand my ground. (OH, I always make sure when he's crying that it's not because he's hungry or wet or something. Just in case you were wondering.) This is a hard time for me because, number 1, it's horrible hearing him cry. And number 2, it's his first step of independence. It's very bittersweet. He's just growing so fast!

In other news, this week is one of 2 of the busiest weeks of the year for Shaun and I. It's Christmas cantata week. (The other is Easter cantata week.) Shaun will be at the church late every night this week preparing for it. We were able to purchase a new projector for the sanctuary. We put the old one facing the back wall so that the choir can see their words and not have to have books. (We actually have it memorized, most of us anyway, but it's nice to have a crutch.) Plus, our pastor can use it to keep an eye on his powerpoint and not have to turn around. And it saves money on copies of music for the choir.

Anyway, Shaun installed the projectors last night and tonight. And he's working on building the set. This should really be an awesome cantata. We're presenting "The Christmas Shoes" based on the novel by Donna VanLiere and the song by Newsong. It's very powerful.

If anybody reading this happens to be in the Fort Smith area on Sunday, December 10, we'd love to have you! It starts at 6 pm at First Southern Baptist Church in Central City. We're right on Hwy 22.

Sleep Methods

Ok, here's a question for the parents out there. What sleep method did you use on your children? Did you rock them to sleep, or lay them down almost alseep and let them fall asleep on their own? And if they cried did you do the "let them cry for 5 minutes and check on them and increase the time every time"? How did it work?

Here's where this is coming from. From speaking to a few people and doing a lot of reading, I've found that now is the time to start teaching Cayson to soothe himself to sleep. So we started last night. I nursed him and when he got really sleepy we laid him down. Of course he started crying. He's getting in the habit of wanting to be nursed to sleep. So we let him cry for 5 minutes. This was the hardest 5 minutes of my life! I think I cried more than he did. But it seemed to work. At the end of it, he was almost asleep, so Shaun picked him up and comforted him to sleep. And he slept through his normal 3 am feeding! So tonight we're going to try it again and this time check on him at 5 minutes and then at 10 minutes.

I'd love to hear from parents out there to see how you handled this. And if you did use this method, did you feel just horrible, too? I can't imagine what it's going to be like when he gets older and we have to discipline him.

Being a mom is hard work! But so far it has been such a blessing!

Martin Family Pictures 2006

Click the link to the right to view the rest of our pics!

Holiday Quiz

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wrap them!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White

4. Do you hang mistletoe? yes

5. When do you put your decorations up? As soon after Thanksgiving as possible!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Turkey and dressing

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Going to my grandparents' houses.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I really don't remember.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Shaun and I exchange an ornament on Christmas Eve.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? White lights, blue and silver decorations, and lots of snowmen!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it!

12. Can you ice skate? I am decent.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My bicycle when I was 7, I think.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Celebrating Christ's birth and being with family.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? My grandma's chocolate pie, lemon pie, and Shaun's grandma's peanut butter balls!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Decorating and my ornament exchange with my husband.

17. What tops your tree? Angel

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Because it's Christmas

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yum!

I'm tagging Lee Ann and Mandy!

Ok, Ok!

I made a quiz about me and posted it on Facebook a little while back, but I forgot to put it on here. So if you think you know me, take this quiz!

Brittany's Quiz

Another great quiz you should check out is Lee Ann's quiz.

I love my son!

Family Emphasis at First Southern

Hello fellow bloggers. Cayson is finally asleep so I have some time to blog.

Church was awesome Sunday. It has been family emphasis month at our church and Sunday was the climax. First of all, we had 4 baptisms. How awesome is that?! The worship time was so incredible. Our choir sang a song called "Something Happens" that has to be the most worshipful song I have ever sung. It's all about how something has to happen when we call on the name of Jesus. At the end of the song most of it is just calling/singing His name over and over. It's wonderful. Russ preached on the Lord's Supper. And during the invitation time, we took the Lord's Supper, but in a little different way. Usually the juice and wafer are just passed around, but this time we had 4 tables set up across the front of the sanctuary. Russ, Shaun, and a couple of our deacons each stood at a table. Russ invited everyone to pray together as a family and then come as a family to partake in the Lord's Supper. It was such an intimate time. And we didn't have children's church so everyone's whole family could be together. It was just an awesome time.

Then Sunday night we had our Fall Festival Trunk or Treat. We had a great turnout. Cayson was a tootsie roll! He was so cute! And he even won some baby food! Although he's not quite ready for it yet, it will come in handy when he is.

Well, I guess that's it for now. I hope everyone is having a great week!

Future Weevil?

Cayson and the Weevil at the UAM Homecoming. 

Cayson at 1 Month

 

Golden Opportunity

Hiya folks. As I'm writing this I am watching Dora the Explorer! Why? Because I am now keeping Ty, the 2 year old son of some friends of ours. Some of you might know them...his dad was the youth minister at Immanuel Baptist in Warren until about a year and a half ago. Now he's the youth minister at a church up here. Anyway, this is a golden opportunity because I'm getting to experience what it's like to have a toddler and a baby at the same time. I do want to have more kids someday, relatively close together. So far, it's been pretty easy. Nursing has been a small challenge, but I've figured out how to accomplish it while having privacy and keeping an eye on Ty. And he's potty-training, but that's just good experience for me! Time is flying by so quickly that it'll be no time before Cayson is ready to potty-train.

We had a double baby shower yesterday. One for a baby already born (they didn't know what they were having so we waited until after the fact) and the other is due in a month. Our church is growing in so many ways! Since we've been here there have been 5 babies born (counting Cayson) and 3 more expecting. There was another one, but we got the sad news a week ago Sunday that one of our mothers had lost her baby. And she was 8 months along. They had to deliver it on that Saturday and then the next day another lady had her baby. It was a sad situation. Please keep that family in your prayers.

This is also a golden opportunity because I'm actually getting to blog. Dora is Great!!! (What a random thought!)

Saturday I had to leave Cayson for the first time with his Grandma Sherri. (I don't know if she wants to be Grandma Sherri or Grandma Martin. She just now decided on Grandma, rather than Nana or something like that. I guess I'll have to ask her.) Shaun, his brother Kevin, his dad, and I went to the Razorbacks game. It was fun, mostly, but I missed Cayson terribly. And we didn't have the greatest seats. We sat in the level above the band...2 rows from the top! I felt like we were in another atmosphere. But the view was incredible. The leaves are starting to change and it was so beautiful. But getting up there was NOT. We were late anyway because the line to our gate was a mile long. (I'm not exaggerating.) So by the time we got to our seats we had missed the kickoff and the first touchdown. And everytime we tell someone that their reply is "You missed the best play of the game!" Oh well. Oh, it is not fun to climb all those ramps when you've just had a baby! I have seriously got to get back in shape. I have lost all of my pregnancy weight, however! Plus a pound.

Well, I've mostly caught everyone up on what's been going on in my life. Oh, Shaun's been leading worship for a revival. There, that's everything. Hopefully I'll get to blog more, so my posts won't be this long. I hope everyone has a great day!

Cayson

My son blows my mind! I love him so much! Last night (or this morning, rather) he smiled at me. It was the biggest smile yet. It made me forget all about how tired I was. I love to just lay on the couch and hold him. Well, he's waking up from his nap, so I'd better go.

We dedicated Cayson to the Lord Sunday. It was a very emotional event. Cayson did great...he slept through it! But afterwards, Shaun sang the song "I Want to be Just Like You" by Phillips, Craig and Dean. He cried the whole way through it! I have seen Shaun sing many times, even in some emotional situations, and he's always been able to push aside his own emotions and just sing. But this time was different. In a good way. It's just such an awesome song with very powerful words. And I know he took them to heart.

My whole family came up for the occasion. We had 12 people, including me, Shaun, and Cayson, in our house!!! It was definitely an adventure.

On Saturday, we held Hog Slop 2006 for the youth. We watched the Arkansas/Auburn game first--which was awesome, by the way--and then played games in the mud. It was pretty funny!

Housecleaning and Church news

Wow, I finally have a little bit of free time! Such is the life of a new mother! I'm loving every minute of it, though. You know, I've learned a lot since I've become a mom. Like the fact that laundry never ends! Before, I could do laundry all in one day once a week and stay pretty well caught up. Now, it seems like I have so much more! For one thing, the baby goes through so many outfits a day, or so it seems anyway! And between spit-up and other types of leakage (I'll leave it at that!) Shaun and I go through more clothes, too. I have so much to do around the house and all I can seem to get done is nurse, laundry, change diapers, nurse, dishes, change diapers, nurse, pick up the living room, change diapers...did I mention nurse and change diapers??? I did get tSo o clean out our closet tonight. And the nursery is finally finished. But we still have that other room that needs cleaning. The office/junk room. Maybe we'll get around to it one day.

Oops...my intent for this post was not to talk about my housecleaning, or lack thereof. I meant to actually talk about the other major part of our life: the church. There's a lot going on right now. We've started a new outreach program called G.R.O.W. (God Rewards Our Work.) So far it's going well. We've had 2 outreach nights so far and we've made a total of 133 contacts with 28 people involved in this ministry. Also, we had high attendance Sunday a few weeks ago and our Bible Study hour had 185 people attend...the most this church has ever had! We had about 250 in worship that day. The really great thing is we have been averaging 150 in Bible Study (Sunday School) and 200 in worship since that day. The best thing is lives are changing. The night before high attendance Sunday, Shaun had a bonfire for the youth. We had 32 kids show up. We usually average about 10. The goal for this event was 20. And Shaun had the opportunity to lead a young man to Christ! He was baptized this past Sunday.

Also, this month is Family Emphasis month. This past Sunday Russ preached on the husband/wife relationship. It was awesome. Sunday night was very different. Instead of worship time as usual, we had date night. We provided activities for the children and youth at the church and the adults were to go out on a date and just spend quality time together. I think everyone really appreciated the opportunity. This coming Sunday the message is on the family and there will be a baby dedication. Guess who? Yep, Cayson will be dedicated Sunday! That night, instead of church, it is family game night. Each family is encouraged to stay home and spend quality time together. The week after that is focused on reaching out to other families. And that night we are supposed to invite a family from church that we don't know very well, as well as a couple that might be a prospect over for dinner. I'm really excited about that. Then the next week is a celebration time as well as a family Lord's supper. Then the last week we are having fall festival. Last year they had over 300 people, so we are expecting more than that this year. Oh, and I am very excited because we're dressing Cayson up as a Tootsie Roll!!!

Well, I guess that's it. I don't even know if anyone will read this. I haven't been having any visitors lately. I guess because it's been a while since I wrote anything of interest to anyone other than moms! I'll try to do better. I've just got to make more time. I can't imagine how it would be if I were working! Ok, now this post has come full circle. Oh well. Goodnight!

Tiny Blessings

Wow! It's been a while since my last post! Motherhood seems to take most of my time lately. Even as I'm typing this I'm holding Cayson against my chest with one arm and typing with the other. But, don't get me wrong, I'm loving every second of it! He is the sweetest little person ever! Often I just sit in awe, praising God for this tiny creature He gave us. Well, not so tiny! At his 2 week check-up he weighed 11 pounds, 6 ounces! The point is this: God totally rocked our world with Cayson. It's amazing how much our life has changed...oh there goes the spit-up. I guess that's it for now!

Me and Cayson

Me and Cayson, just a couple of hours after he was born.

If you want to see more pictures, just go to my Flickr account, or if you have a Facebook account you can view them there...if you're my friend!

I'm FINALLY Home!!!

As in, Lavaca! Sorry I haven't blogged about our new blessing, but it's been hectic. But today, we finally came home to Lavaca. I have never been so happy to see my house in my life!

Anyway, for the news you've always been waiting for:

Cayson Elliott Martin was born August 28, 2006 at 8:57 AM. He weighed 9 pounds, 10 ounces and was 22 inches long! We are both doing great! I actually went home from the hospital the next day. I will post pictures later, as soon as I get settled back in. For now, you can head over to Shaun's blog and see a picture of the first time I saw Cayson.

Cayson's BIG Arrival (coming soon!)

Finally a new update. I know that all of you have been waiting on pins and needles to find out about Cayson. So let me fill you in on the past 3 days.

Wednesday morning:
I went for another ultrasound at about 9:00. This makes 5, I think. Doc just wanted to see how big Cayson has gotten. Well, he's very healthy, I must say. 9 pounds and 1 ounce!!! Yes, you read it right! At 37 weeks! Now, keep in mind that my doc had already said he wouldn't let him get that big, but I guess Cayson thought otherwise!!! Dr. Wharton hadn't come into the clinic yet, so they promised to tell him as soon as he got there about our little man. See, Shaun was supposed to leave after my ultrasound to go back to Lavaca. But I didn't want him to leave if Doc decided to induce or something. So, as we were leaving, he is pulling in. So Shaun just pulls around to the employees' parking lot (acting like we were turning around) and Doc spots us. He came over to the car and asked how it went. He was very surprised, I think, to hear how big Cayson has gotten. So he told me to come in Thursday at noon and he wanted to check me again. Then Shaun dropped me off at my grandmother's house (everyone is afraid to leave me by myself!) and he left for home.

Thursday:
Shaun got back into town at about 11:20 and met me at my grandma's house. We then we to my appointment. Didn't have to wait long either. They checked my vitals and everything looked good. When he checked me I had dilated to 1 and a half centimeters. This was pretty exciting for me. I just knew that he would send me back to the hospital and induce. This was not to be the case, however. He asked me what I thought about C-sections. This isn't my first choice, but I want what's best for me and the baby. He decided that he would give me a couple of steroid shots to help make sure Cayson's lungs are fully developed and if nothing happened this weekend, he would induce. I was pretty disappointed about that, mainly because Shaun has to go back to Lavaca on Saturday, unless we have the baby before then. This will make the 3rd trip in a week. However, I do want the best for Cayson, so I agreed.

Mom decided I needed to walk so we went to Wal-mart that afternoon to get some groceries and eat at Amecca. As we were walking around Wal-mart, I started having contractions. At first, they were coming about 10 minutes apart, pretty regularly. I thought, this is it! But after we finished our shopping and went to the cars to drive to Amecca, I felt better when I sat down. Then at Amecca, they started again. Still about 10 minutes apart. I couldn't even eat hardly anything. After we finished there, me and mom went outside and walked around and they actually started feeling better. Then we had to go back to Wal-mart because Shaun's sister needed some freeon (sp?) for her car. So back we went. And they started again. But this time pretty irregular. They would go from 10 minutes to 5 to 3 to 10 again. Then while Shaun was fixing Kelly's car, they completely stopped. My back was still hurting a little, but mostly I felt a lot better. So as tired as we were we decided to go back to my parents' house and rest and see if anything else would happen. Once we got to the house I was feeling much better, but completely exhausted. (Oh, I forgot to mention that on the way back, our car battery decided to die. So we ended up staying in Monticello until 10:30.) As tired as I was, I couldn't sleep. I finally got some decent rest from 5:30 to 8:10.

Friday Morning:
This morning we had to be back at the doctor's office to get another steroid shot. We were supposed to be there at 9, but that was just a tentative time, since it was just for a shot. Or so I thought. We woke up late, at 8:10, and we would have had to leave at 8:30 to make it there on time. I jumped in the shower and got ready quickly, but I had a hard time getting Shaun up. These trips to Lavaca and back are wearing him out!

We finally get to the clinic at 9:30 and they call me back fairly quickly. But they took my vitals again. I wasn't expecting that since they had just done it yesterday and I was only getting a shot today. I wasn't even supposed to see the doctor. However, they led me to an examining room and informed me that he wanted to see me since I'd had contractions last night! I hadn't even mentioned that! Apparently, my loving, meddling mother had seen him at the hospital (she works there) and he asked about me so she told him about the contractions. He checked me again and there was no change since yesterday. He told me to get dressed and he'd come back and talke to us. He said that he'd changed his mind about inducing me. That I would probably have a long hard labor and it would still end up in a C-section. So he just wants to go ahead with the section. Monday morning. Unless, of course, something happens this weekend. But it cannot. I have lectured Cayson that he has to stay put now until Monday, or at least late Sunday night. See, Shaun has to go back home AGAIN. Saturday morning. The good news is, they aren't going to make him stick around for the Sunday night service. So everyone pray that Cayson will stay put until Shaun gets back! Plus, I really do want to make sure his lungs are fully developed. So, the officialy report right now is I have to be at the hospital at 6 am Monday morning and they will probably do the section at around 9. I'm excited to finally have something set, but I'm pretty nervous about the section, too. This will be the most major surgery I've ever had. So be in prayer for all us this weekend and Monday. That I will calm my nerves and be able to get some sleep, that Shaun will have a safe trip home and back, and that Cayson will be born without any complications.

Thank you so much for your support during this time. This blogging adventure has made dealing with my doubts and fears and excitement so much easier to experience. And, if you read my blog and pregnancy does not interest you at all, I'm SO SORRY!!! It will be over soon!

Baby Update

I went to the doctor today for my weekly check-up. I was really, really hoping that he would tell me that I was thinned out and dilated and we were ready to have a baby, but, alas, that didn't happen. He did say that everything looked good, as usual, and that I had started thinning out. So maybe it will happen soon. He wants to do an ultrasound sometime this upcoming week to see how big Cayson has gotten and because my fundal height is not matching up with my due date. So Shaun had to go back to Cow town tonight (Lavaca) and I'm here with my family. I was very sad to see him leave. It's hard to be separated from your husband anytime, but in the 9th month of pregnancy it's horrible. I'm so afraid that I will go into labor and he won't be here and then he'll drive like a maniac to get here on time. Ok, there I go worrying again. At least I don't have to worry about going into labor in Lavaca and having to get to Warren to have the baby. For that I'm very relieved. Just keep us in your prayers, as always!

Just to let you know

If I don't post as often in the upcoming days (pray it's not weeks!!!) it's because my parents have dial-up. (Oh the horror of it all! LOL) They live in the country and their phone company only has a certain number of people who can have DSL, or something like that. So, just pray that this baby comes soon! (And I fully realize that after the baby comes it is very likely that I won't have time to post a lot anyway!) Oh, and I was just wondering, how many of you have or know women who gave birth very soon after having a baby shower? It seems like the majority of women I know have told me that they had their baby shower one day and a few days later went into labor. (I realize this is not a scientific thing, but it is interesting.) I say this because I have a baby shower on Friday...

Sad/Excited

I'm a little sad tonight. It set in while I was at church that the possibility is there that I might not be back here for 4 weeks. Or maybe more. There is so much going on that I don't want to miss out on. Like, on Saturday we are throwing a back-to-school luau for the students. And the next Saturday we are having Christmas in August for the choir members in order to introduce our Christmas Cantata. And we are learning some really awesome songs in choir rehearsal that will be ready to sing soon. And we have some really great friends that we hang out with a lot. So I'm a little sad tonight.

I'm also excited. I get to spend a lot of time with my family. Also, I will probably get to see people I haven't seen in a while. And I will probably get to worship in my home church again. And the best thing is I will soon get to meet my son! So that alone makes up for what I will miss.

Another cause for my sadness tonight is a very good friend of ours from church, Miranda, had another seizure tonight. That makes 3 in a year, I think. She's a year younger than me (22) and it really gets her down when this happens. For good reason. So please remember her in your prayers.

Feeling Fresh

Today, I woke up feeling much better, as far as worrying goes. I still have some back pain, though. But it's not as bad as normal. So it's all good. I'm actually getting things accomplished around the house. And since I felt better, i thought I'd freshen up my blog a little too.

Tomorrow I will be 36 weeks. The time has flown by. Hopefully one day my posts will have a little more direction. Right now most of my mind is consumed with thoughts of becoming a mother. Last night I dreamed about being in labor! It was pretty crazy.

Well, I guess that's really it. I just wanted to let everyone know that for now, my panic has subsided. Just keep us in your prayers!

Oh, I almost forgot, if you need something to watch on tv tonight, check out the Miss Teen USA pageant on NBC. The young lady that is Miss Arkansas was in our youth group in Pine Bluff. She's a sweet girl!

Newsflash

I got some news this afternoon. My mom works at the hospital in Warren, so she sees my doctor a lot. Apparently she saw him this morning and they got to talking about me. She told him that my dad was really hoping the he would tell me that I have to stay in Warren last weekend. And my doc replied, "I thought she was already staying." Of course, I'm not. I'm back in Lavaca. So he said I better come prepared to stay this weekend! So now I'm trying to get everything in order at my house so I won't worry about anything while I'm gone. Plus, Shaun is going to have to come back to cow town to be here for church Sunday. And then he'll come back Monday. This makes me nervous. I'm so afraid that I will go into labor while he's gone, or that he'll have an accident or something. Be in prayer for me this week that I will just give this up to God and let Him take care of us.

Home Again

Well, after 4 hours on the road, we're home again. This was a pretty good weekend. We got to spend more time with my family than usual. My doctors appointment went great. It was the shortest appointment ever. From the time I walked in the door it took 20 minutes and we were gone. He said my blood pressure was good, my weight was good, baby's heart rate was good. Everything looked good! Next week he's going to start checking my cervix.

Oh, we also went and saw World Trade Center with my parents. It was really good, but it made me cry. A lot! Especially with these pg hormones! I hope everyone else had a great weekend and that you have a great Sunday!

Much Better

Sorry about all the complaining yesterday. I guess 8 months of pg just caught up with me. This whole time the only person who's really heard me complain has been Shaun. And I really haven't done much except the past few weeks. But I guess yesterday something just snapped. All those pg hormones, I guess.

Church was pretty good last night. We had a good turnout for youth and choir practice. And after choir, the choir members surpised us with a diaper pounding! It was a huge surprise since we just had a shower on Sunday. They decorated so cute, too. And we had cute baseball sugar cookies.

I started working on the baby's bag last night. We decided that since we're going every week now for check-ups, we'd better be prepared. Now, I've just got to wash all the new clothes. This is hard because I can't seem to get caught up on our own laundry! Maybe today...

Pray that we will have safe travel today!

I know, I know

Again, it's been a while. This has been a hard 2 or 3 weeks for me. The hardest of the whole pregnancy so far. I haven't even been on the internet since my last post. Which is unusual for me, because I'm usually on there several times a day. First of all, we had VBS last week, which took up a lot of time. I had to rest all day so that I would be up for it at night. Then Friday morning we left to go to Warren. Then Saturday we came right back after my dr's appointment. And my family came back with us so they could go to my baby shower on Sunday. Speaking of Sunday, it was incredibly busy. We had church, my shower, Shaun had a meeting, and then VBS family night. On Monday, we went to Rogers to return some VBS decorations to First Baptist. And we ate at Copeland's. Which is wonderful, by the way. And yesterday I stayed in bed all day.

To add to all of that chaos, I now have 3 different kinds of back pain. There's the normal pain, which is just caused by so much added weight. Then there's the sciatica. Which hurts. A lot. Sometimes it makes my whole leg feel numb. And then on Saturday a new pain was added. I really don't know how to describe it. Just that it's the worst. My doctor said I was probably just experiencing some Braxton Hicks in my back.

To add to that pain, I have injured my shoulder somehow. I thought I slept on it wrong, because it went away after a couple of days. But then it came back. Add to that some minor swelling and occasional Braxton Hicks (other than the ones in my back) and you have my life for the last couple of weeks. This makes it incredibly hard to sleep, as well. Oh well, it will be over soon. I'm sorry about all the complaining, but I needed to get it out. I know my husband gets tired of hearing it, even though he never says so. He's been so supportive throughout this whole thing. And it wouldn't be too bad, except I have so much that needs to be done and I just don't feel like doing it.

Ok, enough complaining. There have been some positive things. First of all, my appointment went great. I have to start going every week now and next week he's going to do another ultrasound and start checking me. Also, it was wonderful having my family up here for church and my shower. And speaking of my shower, it was wonderful!!! And VBS was a huge success! We averaged about 77 kids every night and at least 1 accepted Christ. She was baptized Sunday night. And today I am 35 weeks which means I'm almost there! Just pray for me in these last weeks. I'm so ready to meet my baby! Well, I guess that's it for now. Thanks for bearing with me!

It's been a while

I hadn't posted in a little while, so I feel need to let the world know what's going on in my life. Crazy, I know. Anyway, we're in VBS this week. It has been awesome! We've averaged about 75 kids every night. Last year, the most they had was about 65. And the neat thing is, almost half of these kids are bus ministry kids. That don't go to church anywhere. Last night, Russ, our pastor, talked to the older kids about salvation. We haven't heard for sure how many made decisions yet. I hope to find out tonight. Also, in the last week we've had 2 families want more information about joining the church. And another lady who is interested in visiting this Sunday. So, all in all, it's been a great week. Oh, our children's coordinator just walked in and said that her niece got saved last night. We thought she did, but we were waiting for her to tell someone. How awesome! Well, I've got stuff I've got to finish up for tonight. Please keep praying for tonight and tomorrow night!

My Crazy Dream (Inspired by Lee Ann)

Well, the dream wasn't inspired by her, but posting it was. First here are the main characters involved:

Me (Duh)
Shaun-my husband
Russ-our pastor
Angel-a worker at the daycare I worked at until this past Thursday
Morgan-one of the kids

Ok, I dreamed that I was taking a class at University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. It was Music History. (This is crazy because I've already taken it. I'm done with my degree!) The first class I was late to so I didn't go. The next class was on a Friday. Shaun and Russ had decided to have a weekly morning prayer meeting with all of the college kids from our church and this was the day for it. So we all met at the church and prayed. We still had a little time before class so we decided to go to Sonic and get something to drink. When we got there, everyone got out of their vehicles and ordered in the middle part where the picnic tables are. Russ told me that he always got a "student water". (Which was just a bottled water.) So that's what I got. Well, everyone had gotten their drinks and were leaving and I still hadn't gotten mine yet. Shaun, Russ, and I were all in different vehicles. Shaun and Russ took off and I noticed that there was a whole case of "student water" in the trunk of Shaun's car. And the trunk was open. Also, our brand new car seat was in the trunk. Shaun was driving really fast too. So I took off to catch him and warn him about the trunk. (We don't have cell phones.) I really don't know if I caught him or not because then all of a sudden I was driving by the daycare and I noticed that Angel's van was the only vehicle there. I was worried that she was by herself with a lot of kids so I stopped to check on her. When I got in there, she only had 2 kids but she wasn't by herself. A couple of ladies from our church were there with her and they were all decorating for something. (This is kinda funny because we decorated for VBS today.) So, satisfied that she was ok, I walked out the door. Just as I was getting in my car, Morgan runs outside. He's yelling "Bitney, potty! Bitney, pee pee in potty!" Now, Morgan is not potty trained yet, nor have his parents started working on it. So I was so surprised that he wanted to go potty. I ran him inside and helped him. And he did it! He was so proud of himself. And that's when I woke up and had to go visit the bathroom myself!

Isn't that crazy? It was the most detailed dream I've ever had.

By the way, I love the discussion from the last post on what to pack so keep it up!

Help me pack!

Today started out kind of scary for me. Early this morning I experienced something related to my pregnancy that freaked me out a little bit. (I won't share what it was on here, it's a little TMI.) But thanks to Suzanne, Brandy, my mom, and the nurse at my doctor's office, I was reassured that everything is okay. But I was advised that I had been doing too much lately and I needed to rest. So I spent the whole day in bed. Not as fun as some might think. But I do feel more rested and I haven't had the problem again today. Praise God. I did have to get out tonight, however. After all, this is our normal date night. So we went to Marketplace (one of our favorite places to eat) and to Kohl's. As much as I didn't want to, I had to buy some new pants. Mine are getting tight. But they lasted a long time. I think I bought them pretty early in the pregnancy.

This morning's experience did get me thinking that I better start working on my bag to take to the hospital. Now, I've read all kinds of checklists, but I want to get a discussion going about what item(s) you couldn't have done without at the hospital.

Free Woman

Well, as of today, I am no longer employed at Lavaca Learning Center. I've been looking forward to this day for a while, but it was really sad, too. I am going to miss those kids so much. And even though I might see them around town or something, it just won't be the same. I'm very glad that I took this job, even though I didn't want to at first. I've learned so much about childcare that I didn't know. I feel a lot more prepared to take care of my own child now! I'm just thankful that one of the kids, one that I latched on to immediately, finally said my name last week. Ok, so it came out "Bit-ney" but it's something!

We start vacation Bible school on Monday. I'm looking forward to it. It's nice to be around lots of kids again. At Immanuel in PB we didn't have many at all. We had a pre-registration kick off on Wednesday night. We registered 66 kids. I thought that was great considering we kind of threw the kick off together and didn't advertise much. The neat thing about our church is we have a huge bus ministry so we get a lot of unchurched kids. Please remember our VBS in your prayers, especially those precious kids.

Baby Update:
I am now 33 weeks as of yesterday. I think I finally experienced some Braxton Hicks contractions today. Well, I think I've had some before, but I wasn't sure. But these felt exactly as I've heard them described.

Also, I got my first baby gift today. A lady from our church left it in Shaun's office. She thought my shower was this coming Sunday and she was going to be out of town. But the shower is next Sunday. So I restrained myself and didn't open it! I figured it'd be nice to save for the shower. I was very proud of my self control!

I go back to the doctor next weekend. And he's doing another ultrasound in 3 weeks to see how much more Cayson's grown. (I hope I haven't already written that. If I did, I'm sorry. My memory has got to pot these days!)

Well, I guess that's it for today. I get to sleep in tomorrow! Everyone have a great weekend!

I'm so tired!

You know, carrying 5+ pounds of baby is awfully tiring! Plus add in the fact that I'm not sleeping very well at night, it makes for a long day. I've been so tired for the last couple of days that I have not even touched my laptop. That is amazing for me. I'm usually on it 2 or 3 times a day. I probably wouldn't have bothered with it today, except my husband had invited some of the youth guys over to play the new NCAA 2007 football game on X-Box. So I pretty much left them to their game and went in our room to watch tv, get on the internet, and catch up on my reading.

In other news, today was my next-to-last day of work. It's been kind of sad this week because they hired someone to replace me and I have to train her. And the kids really like her. I felt kinda weird because part of me wanted that to happen so it would make the transition smoother. But the other, more selfish part of me wanted them to be upset or something that I'm leaving. It's not fun being replaced. Fortunately the better half of me is winning this battle!

Also, my mom called yesterday and said my doctor had tried to call me to talk about the ultrasound. But I never saw where he called. Anyway, she said that basically he just said it was a big baby (duh!) and that he wants to do another ultrasound in 4 weeks. So we'll see.

To answer all the questions about our plans after the baby is born:
Yes, we are planning on staying in Warren for about a week after he is born, then my mom is coming back with us to help out. Also, I'd love to have everyone come visit. I'll have Shaun call Lee Ann, or it may be my mom. Anyway, someone will call Lee Ann and she can get the word out.

Well, I guess that's it. Pray for my last day (Thursday) at work.

Names

Just for fun

I discovered this on MySpace. I thought it was kinda cute. Some of them anyway.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street name)
Alexis Birch

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad's side, your favorite candy:
Dorothy Snickers

3. YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your middle name)
B Mi

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Pink Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Michelle Warren

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mom's maiden name and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in.)
Marbrclwar

7. Terrorist Name: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards)
ellehcim notnalc

8. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, favorite drink)
The Pink Tea (That one doesn't really make sense.)

Whew!

What a weekend! We just got home a few hours ago from the great Warren, AR. We left Thursday night after we both got home from work. Which is another story altogether. I did not have a good day at work. Anyway, we pulled into my parents' driveway at about 10:30 Thursday night.

Friday morning we woke up at 7:30 and got ready to go to Crossett to see Shaun's grandmother. She had gotten us some fresh corn from Esau's in Dumas. Yummy! We visited with her until about 10:30, then we realized we were supposed to be in Monticello by 11 so we had to hurry.

We got to Monticello and picked up some lunch, then headed over to Suzanne's house. It was so great to finally put faces with the blogs I'd been reading! After we left Suzanne's, we had to hurry to Fred's, where Shaun's sister Kelly works, to deliver her a computer chair that her parents had sent.

Then we headed to Warren for the doctor's appointment. I'll actually give the details of that in a minute. When we got there, I signed in and sat down. Well, about 45 minutes later, one of the receptionists called me up and told me that my appointment wasn't in the computer. I wasn't too happy about that, but mistakes do happen. We cleared that up and I waited some more. Finally, at about 3 they called me back. Then I sat in the examining room for another 45 minutes or so. Finally my doc comes in, checks the heartbeat, asks if I have any questions, and lets me go. That took like 10 minutes! Then I had to go get an ultrasound. But I had to wait some more. Finally at about 4:45 we left the doctor's office.

We had to hurry back to my parents' house because they had planned a cookout for my grandpa's birthday. And Shaun was supposed to do the grilling. And I was making baked beans. My dad ended up having to grill most everything since we were so late. But everything turned out good. It was especially great to see some of my extended family that I hadn't seen in a while.

That night, after everyone left, we got to watch the video from my brother's first Sunday morning sermon. He did a great job, I am proud to say. It's wonderful to see how God is using him. We also watched the video from the ultrasound.

Friday was definitely hectic!

Today when I woke up, my grandma was there to visit with us and to find out what the doctor said. We had a good visit. Then we got ready and went to my other grandma's house so she could see the ultrasound pics and video. We finally got on the road to go home about noon.

Ok, here's the part everyone really wants to read!

Baby Update:
First of all, when my mom first saw me, her exact words were, "Whoa, Momma! You've dropped a little!" Which was news to me. My dad kept saying, "I just don't think you're going to make it until September." And Kelly, Shaun's sister, claimed that I had grown 5 inches! I have no idea if that's true, but apparently I have gotten bigger in the last week or so.

When I finally got called back at the doctor's office, Wanda the nurse immediately said, "You won't make it to September 13; you've dropped a little already." She took my vitals and my blood pressure was fine. I gained 6 pounds though. I didn't expect that. I was a little depressed because I was really trying to watch my weight for this appointment. Oh well, the doctor didn't say anything about it so I'm not going to worry too much. My overall weight gain hasn't been that bad. Not as bad as I always thought it would be. The baby's heart rate was 132 beats per minute. It never gets old hearing that! It's so amazing. My doctor thinks Cayson might come the end of August or beginning of September! He said he definitely wouldn't make me go over my due date, which is a relief. Shaun asked him when we needed to plan to come down and stay until the baby comes. He said probably the last week in August.

Now for the ultrasound. Everything looked good, he's just big. He was about 5 pounds 1 ounce! The due date that the ultrasound gave was August 19! That's almost 4 weeks early. We have to go back in 2 weeks, so hopefully we will get an even better idea of what to expect. We did get some good pictures and a video this time, but Shaun still hasn't hooked up our scanner so I'm not promising anything!

I think that's about it. I am so glad to be home! Everyone please just keep us and Cayson in your prayers!

100 Things About Me (Thanks Suzanne!)

Well, Suzanne tagged me, so here it is. Warning: it is very random and potentially boring!


1. I am 23 years old.
2. I lived in the same town my whole life until I got married.
3. I went to the same church my whole life until I got married.
4. My husband, Shaun, is a minister of music.
5. My brother and Shaun's brother are both named Kevin.
6. Shaun is 5 years older than me.
7. His brother is my age.
8. When I met Shaun, I was told he was 10 years older than me.
9. He told me on our first "date" that we would be married someday.
10. I first saw Shaun in a musical at UAM.
11. I thought his name was Mark for the longest time.
12. I once dated a guy with a mullet. (DON'T ASK!)
13. Another guy I dated transfered colleges so we could go to the same school. And then I broke up with him because God had convicted me that he was not the one for me.
14. I really felt bad that he did that for me, but it's okay now because he's now engaged to a girl he met at UAM.
15. I majored in music in college.
16. I play the flute.
17. I have been in 4 operas.
18. I once played a courtesan in a musical in college.
19. In another musical, "Pirates of Penzance", Shaun got to kidnap me.
20. I was a cheerleader in junior high and high school.
21. I also played fast pitch softball.
22. I was a "goody two shoes" all throughout school.
23. The worst thing I ever did in high school was date a guy that my parents did not like.
24. I didn't like coffee, Chinese food, or root beer until I met Shaun.
25. Until my junior year in college, the only job I'd ever had was packing tomatoes for my grandmother.
26. Now I have worked as a dental assistant, a music teacher at Grace Christian Academy in Monticello, and now a daycare worker (which I'm quitting next week.)
27. I used to want to be a music therapist.
28. I have a 17 year old brother who surrendered to the ministry last year.
29. I have never been to another country.
30. I love to read.
31. I got my very first pedicure last Thursday.
32. I loved it!
33. I have a dog named Batgirl.
34. Shrimp is my favorite food.
35. Purple is my favorite color, though I seldom wear it.
36. My favorite color to wear is pink.
37. I love candles.
38. And shoes.
39. My baby's name will be Cayson Elliott Martin.
40. My husband thought he made the name Cayson up, but we later found out that my great-great-uncle was named Cason. We just added the "y".
41. When I started college I was an alto.
42. When I graduated, I was a soprano.
43. I still am.
44. I got married at Christmastime.
45. Our dog got pregnant on our honeymoon. (Thus, we have Batgirl.)
46. I love sweet tea.
47. I have made my own arrangements of music.
48. I took 11 years of piano lessons.
49. I wear contacts.
50. I have an "innie".
51. It's on its way to an outie.
52. My favorite reruns are Golden Girls and Designing Women.
53. I committed my life to Christ when I was 10.
54. I once made my husband fortune cookies for Valentine's Day.
55. My favorite summertime pie is my grandmother's green tomato pie. (Don't knock it till you try it!)
56. My favorite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast.
57. My favorite movie period is Phantom of the Opera.
58. Out of the 12 bridesmaids and groomsmen in our wedding, 6 are now married.
59. Out of the 6, 4 are married to each other.
60. My favorite band is Casting Crowns.
61. I tore my ACL while snow skiing.
62. I had to have surgery to replace it.
63. I have never seen any of the Star Wars movies.
64. Nor do I care to.
65. I like to eat Miracle Whip on Saltine crackers.
66. This is not a pregnancy thing. I've always like them.
67. I recently left a frozen tub of orange muffin dough in my car and forgot about it.
68. I mix my own lotion.
69. I had a different roommate every semester I lived on campus.
70. My last roommate was my favorite.
71. Rosie was my last roommate.
72. My favorite ice cream is Blue Bell Banana Pudding.
73. I could watch Steel Magnolias every day and cry every time.
74. I took 3 pregnancy tests to be sure I was pg. (Not counting the official doctor's office test.)
75. I had menigitis in the 2nd grade.
76. I used to compete in pageants as a girl.
77. I sang on a radio-a-thon once.
78. In my freshman year of college, I cut my hand while washing dishes and had to have stitches.
79. Shaun had to cut my waffle at Waffle Inn because of this.
80. This was before we started dating.
81. I talk in my sleep.
82. Shaun and I have been together for almost 5 years.
83. We've been married for 2 1/2 years.
84. I was drum major for our band my senior year of high school.
85. I once dressed up like the Pink Panther for our show my junior year.
86. My first car was a '96 Toyota Camry.
87. It actually caught on fire my senior year of high school.
88. My second car was a '00 Alero.
89. Now I have an '03 Kia Spectra.
90. I am now 32 weeks today.
91. My most prized piece of furniture is a grandfather clock that my great-uncle made. It was given to me and Shaun after his death.
92. This is the first home since we got married that we actually have cable.
93. We've moved 4 times since we got married.
94. I am now taking 4 different kinds of vitamins a day.
95. I am a procrastinator.
96. In college, during a video scavenger hunt, our small group accidentally got a car stuck in the mud at Weevil pond.
97. Shaun proposed to me at Lake Chicot on June 21, 2003.
98. I paid for our first date.
99. Our first date was at Popeye's. It was during a marching contest that we were working.
100. He has more than paid me back!

Whew! That was hard! I am so glad that is over. I'm tagging Shaun and Lee Ann.

Trevor Thomas Drama Ministries

Okay, I realize that I just posted, but I had to post about this as well and the two subjects just were not related at all.
Tonight at church we had a guest christian comedian/dramatist/whatever else you want to call him. He does a little bit of everything from skits to comedy to pantomiming to impersonating Elvis! He is a good friend of Shaun's from Florida named Trevor Thomas. He is an awesome actor/comedian who loves the Lord. We had a great time visiting with him tonight. I posted this to give him some publicity because he's always looking for new places to go. And believe me, as talented as he is, he truly does this as a ministry. So if your church would be interested in having him come do a presention, his website is www.trevorthomasdramaministries.com. You can view video clips of his presentations and also get contact information. We have had him at every church we've been at and everyone seems to really enjoy his acts. If you do contact him, tell him Shaun or Brittany sent ya!

This Weekend

Ok, I decided to answer Lee Ann's question (see yesterday's comments) in a post because it relates to lots of you. Well, Suzanne, Mandy, and Lee Ann, anyway. Yes, we are coming to the Monticello-Warren area this weekend. I have a doctor's appointment on Friday at 1:45. Since we've never really met Suzanne and Mandy and we'd like to, we propose that we meet for lunch on Friday. But, it'd have to be early, like 11 or 11:15ish. So if that's ok with whoever wants to meet up with us, please just comment me back and let us know. We need to know soon because we have to schedule time with our families too. If that's not ok, the only thing that is set in stone right now is our doctor's appointment, so we might could do it at a different time. Oh, we're coming in to Warren late Thursday night and we will leave to go home sometime Saturday, preferably mid morning or so. So just let us know!

God even uses pedicures!

I just want to say pedicures are awesome! For my birthday my friends Miranda and Derenda gave me a gift certificate to get one and I finally got it today. All three of us, in fact. I had never gotten a pedicure before. But it was awesome! A much needed pampering time for me! Now I say all that to tell this story about what happened while I was getting my pedicure. It's awesome how God works!

The lady sitting in the chair next to me struck up a conversation with me about being pregnant. (It seems all women love to talk about pregnancy!) So we were talking and she all of a sudden says, "Do you live around here? You look really familiar." So I told her that we lived in Lavaca, but had only lived there since March. She then proceeded to tell me that she and her husband had been living in Lavaca for a year. We kept talking and found out we'd both gone to UAM. They had moved here from Monticello. Talk about a small world! But I didn't really recognize her still. I also found out that she went to 2nd baptist while they lived there. And that we knew a lot of the same people. So then I asked her what her name was. And then I knew who she was. She is the mother of one of the kids that I keep at the daycare. One of my favorite kids, might I add. Now this is the awesome part to me. I had been worried about this kid because I had never met his parents and didn't know if they went to church anywhere. I pretty much knew about the rest of the kids, but not him. They always dropped him off before I came to work and picked him up after I left. So when she told me that yes, they were attending a church in Fort Smith I was very happy. I was just so excited that God arranged this time for me to finally get to meet her and to be assured that Morgan was in church. And I felt like I had made a new friend. So now my prayer is that God will put their family in contact with us more often. Especially since I only have 2 weeks left to work at the daycare.

So that's my awesome experience getting a pedicure! I told Shaun that I will definitely have to have more! LOL.

Date Night and Baby Registries

Today was our date night. Actually it was a date day and night. We started out eating lunch at Gringo's, which is our favorite Mexican restaurant up here (Amecca still rules!). Then we went to the church and finished up some last minute things for Sunday. Then we went back to Fort Smith and the real fun began!

First we went to Toys 'R Us. By the way, creating a baby registry is a lot harder than creating a wedding registry! We probably spent 2 hours in there. And I know that we selected way too many things, but we got a litte carried away. I think we ended up with about 140 things!!! At least whoever shops there will have a good selection of things in all price ranges!

Next, we went to Sears in the mall. This one was a little easier because there were specific things that I knew I wanted that are only available at Sears, such as the bedding I like. Shaun's mom is making our bedding, but it doesn't hurt to have extra! However, halfway through, our scanner thingy messed up so we had to figure out where it messed up and start over. I still don't know if we got everything. I'll have to go online and see.

After we left Sears, I was exhausted, but I wanted to go ahead and get Wal-mart out of the way. So we went and ate at CiCi's Pizza. It was great, as always. The really nice part was after we ate, Shaun and I just sat and talked for a while. Finally, after an hour, we went to Wal-mart. This was the easiest yet. I don't know if it was because I was tired, or what, but it didn't take near as long.

All in all, I think we picked out some cute stuff and gave everyone lots of choices.

Baby Update:
I think I felt him hiccup today. I was feeling some strange movements; they felt kinda like kicking, but it was a very regular beat. My mother-in-law thinks it was hiccups, anyway. Oh, also my next dr.'s appointment is next Friday. I get to have another ultrasound! I'm very excited about that! I want to thank everyone for the advice, as well. Suzanne, maybe we can meet up then. Coming home is tricky because all of my relatives want time with us, so we have to be on a tight schedule.

Well, I guess that's it. Have a great night!

Welcome to the blog community...

My Awesome Hubby...Shaun Martin!!! Looks like my scheme worked, people! HEHEHE. Stop by his site and give him a big welcome!

ADVICE Wanted

Okay, moms. I need advice! I've really been reading up on labor and deliver lately. I want to know what you know now that you wish you had known then. My time is getting close and I'm getting nervous so anything you can give me would be appreciated!

Baby Update:
I am 31 weeks today! Time is passing by so quickly!

Cayson's crib

As promised, I took a picture of our crib with the linens on it. There's still a comforter yet to come; Shaun's mom is still working on it.

Oh, I at least got my husband to comment on here. It's the anonymous comment under the Just Random Stuff post. He thinks he's so funny!

Whoever Came up with the Concept of a Student Lock-in Should Be...

Either praised or shot! Depending upon who you talk to, a student or an adult chaperone! We took our students to Wild River Country last night for a lock-in. It started at 8:30 PM and ended at 1:30 AM. Then we went to IHOP in Conway and ate breakfast. We finally pulled into the church parking lot at 6:00 AM. What a night it was!

Actually, it went pretty well, considering some things. Like the fact that I'm pregnant and I couldn't ride anything except the Driftin' River and get in the Wave Pool. Also, the temperature was pretty cool, especially when you get out of water! The kids really had a good time, I think. So that's what matters. I can put my personal comfort aside for a night. IHOP was actually pretty fun. We were all at that really, really tired stage were everything is funny and you giggle for no reason! And my husband is a natural ham anyway. So all in all, I think our first official trip with our students was a success. We were very tired today, though. We didn't get up until 1:00 PM, and then we laid around until 3:00 PM.

Due to popular demand, I'm going to try and have a baby update section at the end of each post. So here goes!

Baby Update:
-Cayson is kicking a lot! And a lot of times, it's pretty steady, too. Maybe he's going to follow in his parents' footsteps and be in marching band! LOL. My dad will die! He wants him to follow in Shaun's other footsteps and be an athlete. Maybe he will do both. Only God knows right now.
-Also, my heartburn is back. It was terrible today! And that was after eating a Pop-Tart!
-Shaun's mom finished the bumper pad for the crib this week. We got it last night. I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but we're doing baseball as a theme. She had already finished the dust ruffle and the crib sheet. It looks so cute! I will take a picture sometime so you can see.
-Tonight we went to Wal-Mart and we ended up looking at baby stuff, like always. They had a soft baseball rattle that Shaun had to have, so we got it! Also, in the picture frames they had the cutest baseball frame. We got it too! I'm so ready to put a picture in it. Only about 10 more weeks!

Oh, I passed the comments to Shaun along. (He doesn't read blogs very much.) I didn't tell him what I did. (Having you guys beg him to blog.) After I told him Phillip's comment he looked at me funny and said, "What are you telling these people? Are you pulling a Jeff?" How funny is that?! But he just doesn't want to blog right now. He says that I tell everything that's going on and he doesn't read anyone's blogs because I tell him what they say. So I guess I'm doing too much for him! He did say that if the church gets DSL or cable internet (yeah, we're still on DIAL-UP) he might blog. (We've been going around in circles with internet companies because no one wants to provide DSL or cable internet to Central City.) So there's the update with Shaun.

Well, I guess that's it. I hope that everyone has a great worship time tomorrow!

Just random stuff

Well, the redness is slowly subsiding, but it still hurts a little! Especially on my shoulders. And to make matters worse, I had to go back to work today. So imagine having a terrible sunburn on half your body and trying to take care of 1 and 2 year olds who love to be held, tickled, etc, and who also love to tickle you! I had a hard time trying to explain the concept of a sunburn to them! But the good news is I don't have to be back at work again until Monday, so maybe it will be gone by then.

In other news, I'd like to welcome Rose Anne and Phillip to the blogosphere! They are good friends of ours. Rosie was my roomie for a semester at college, and was also in my wedding. And we met Phillip at the BCM at college and he was also in my wedding. I'm trying to talk my husband into starting a real blog (he has a xanga, but he never uses it), but it's not working. So, I would pull a Jeff and ask everyone to go to Shaun's xanga and ask him to start a real blog, but at xanga you have to be a member to comment. So I won't ask anyone to do that. But, if you happen to already be a member, you're more than welcome to bug him a little bit! I think the main reason he doesn't like to blog is he thinks that he has to have this awesome sermonette written or something and he really doesn't have time to do that much. He's such a perfectionist!

We're heading to Little Rock tomorrow. Wild River Country is hosting a youth lock-in tomorrow night and we're taking our students. I think it's going to be fun, even though I can't really do anything! Except maybe the lazy river.

I know this post is kind of random, but that's how my mind is working tonight. I do have some positive things that have happened this week that I can share. First of all, a date has finally been set for my baby shower at the church! August 6th. I am so excited. Now I need to go register! Also, the daycare was closed Monday and Tuesday, and I don't work on Wednesdays, so I got a whole week off! It was very nice. Our 4th of July celebration at church was a huge success. OH, we had the most awesome choir practice last night! We are working on a song called "Reveal" that is just beautiful. The words are awesome. I will try and post them sometime. Shaun is real big on worshipping even during rehearsals and also really understanding what we're singing. So we usually take a few minutes and discuss what the song is talking about, and then we'll sing it again. Man, last night when we did that, we had church right there! It was just so evident that the Holy Spirit was there. Which is cool, because that's the main theme of the song, asking God to reveal himself to us. I can't wait until we sing it on a Sunday.

Well, I guess I've rambled enough. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

A comparison

This is a picture of my family (and Shaun) taken about 4 years ago. It was the last time Immanuel Baptist in Warren had a church directory done. Now my mom, dad, Shaun, and me, look pretty much the same. But look at my brother as compared to the first picture I took last weekend. My little (not-so-much) brother has grown up!

Like a Lobster

I'm burnt. And pregnant. Enough said!

Well, maybe not. We went swimming today at a friend's dad's house and I cooked! I have never ever burned this bad. I guess being pregnant makes your skin more sensitive, maybe? But, we had a great time. I guess that's what counts. I'm just praying that it tans quickly.

Home Again

This has been a very eventful weekend. I had to go to Warren this weekend for my doctor's appointment. He said everything looks great. My weight gain is good...only 17 pounds total! My blood pressure was good. I had to get a Rhogam (sp?) shot because my blood type is B negative. That was an ordeal because I had to go to the hospital to do it. And it was the weekend, so I had to go through ER and of course, all of the emergency cases had to be seen before me. So I was there a lot longer than I anticipated. But I finally got it done.

Also, I got to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in a while. First of all, my parents. It's been 5 weeks since I last saw them. That may not seem like much, but this is the first time that I've lived more than an hour away. We never went more than a couple weeks without seeing them before. I also saw both of my grandmothers, my grandpa and his wife, and my Uncle Daren and Aunt Tammy and their kids Alyssa and Logan. I hadn't seen Uncle Daren and his crew in 6 months so it was really good to see them. Their son, Logan, is 6 months old and he's so cute! He has the prettiest blue eyes. Oops, I said pretty...I got in trouble for calling him pretty today! Oh well!

We also got to eat lunch with Lee Ann and Taylor. We went to Amecca--which I hadn't eaten at in a long time! We had a great time visiting and reminiscing about old times. And then today, we ate lunch at Subway in Warren and ran into Alan, one of my longtime friends from Warren, who is really more like a brother.

So, all in all, we had a great trip. I think I have to be back in 3 weeks and I get to have another ultrasound then. I praise God that we got to see so many friends and family and that He gave us safe travel. Oh and, of course, that the baby is okay!

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