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!