Brown Guys

I've come to the conclusion that UPS guys that deliver in rural areas are very different from ones that deliver in the city. When we lived in Arlington, UPS would come to the front door. If you didn't answer they would either leave your package with a neighbor or wait until the next day to attempt delivery.

When you live in rural America it works a little different. Some days the UPS guy delivers our package to Mike at work (in town). Other days he'll flag one of us down as we're pulling into the grocery store parking lot. Most days he'll just leave the package on the front porch.

Well yesterday a different delivery guy (not Bob) delivered a package to our house. I had just laid down for a short nap and must have fallen asleep QUICK! I didn't even hear his truck pull up the drive! It was hot inside the house so I was laying on the couch in just a t-shirt when suddenly I heard a voice calling out, "UPS delivery". As I'm coming out of my sleep I'm thinking, "WHAT?" Then I realized the UPS guy was coming in the back door! I called out for him to wait a minute and then ran to find some pants.

He said he needed signature for the package and that's why he couldn't just leave it. So...he'd driven around to the back of the house, waded through our mess of a shop, and come right on in the back door! Like I said...only in rural America!

Long Weekend

It was really nice to have a long weekend. Mike and I both had yesterday off work for Memorial Day. My favorite part was the fact that I didn't have to go to bed at 9 pm and that I got to sleep past 3:45 am for 3 days in a row!!! It was so nice!

We got a lot accomplished on the laundry/mud room this weekend. Actually...it's probably more accurate to say that Mike got a lot done on the room and I did a lot of sitting and watching him work :) We spent yesterday installing carpet and hanging closet doors. It totally transformed the room! I think all that's left are some trim pieces...and then staining all the trim. I'll try to get some pictures to post.

I'll leave you with the latest belly picture. He's really been moving a lot lately. Saturday night we just sat there watching my belly bounce around. It was pretty funny! 

Rodeo Queen

I never got around to posting about this. Last Saturday, Mike and I went to the Abbyville Rodeo. Abbyville is a small town (smaller than Sterling) about 20 minutes away. The cool thing is that the rodeo is on the professional circuit, so you get to see some big time people!

Our friend Garet (who does http://www.centralksoutfitters.com with Mike) participated in Steer Wrestling. (This is a picture of one of the guys at the rodeo in the steer wrestling competition). He didn't win...but of course he was competiting agains the pros! In fact, he didn't really have a chance. I think the animals must have been feeling the weather changing (we had storms the next day) because a lot of them were acting strange. Garet came out of the shoot riding beside the steer and as he jumped from his horse to the steer...the steer stopped in his tracks leaving Garet to "airbull" (I don't know what you really call it). lol

That wasn't the best part of the rodeo though. . We saw something that I've never seen at a rodeo...the rodeo queens bucked off their horses! We saw Miss Rodeo Oklahoma and Miss Rodeo Kansas bucked off their horses! Miss Kansas was bucked off twice and fell pretty hard. They both got up, dusted off their clothes, put back on their tiaras, and climbed back on their horse.

News

Sorry to keep ya'll in suspense about Mark & Angela's little girl. I didn't talk to Mark last night until right before I had to leave to go to a wedding shower. By the time I got home it was bed time.

Anyways...the news wasn't what we were hoping for. The sonogram showed that she does have the problems the first doctor thought he saw. Mark said they were surprised at how curved the spine was. He said it was almost curved to a 90-degree angle. Her heart was still beating, but because of how curved over she is they were not able to get a good view of the heart.

They will go back in to the dr this Friday at 3:30 for the amniocentesis. It will take 10-14 days to get the results from the amnio. The specialists they met with yesterday were pretty sure that the little girl has Trisomy 13. The amnio will confirm that. Once they get the results from the amnio then Mark & Angela can both be tested genetically to see if either one is a carrier. Mark said the nurse that was with them said that even if one of them is a carrier, they could still have a baby that isn't T-13.

If the amnio comes back showing T-13 and she makes it to term, the doctors will classify her as lethally defective and she will be given "comfort and care" treatment. Whether she is still born or makes it to term...Angela will have to have a c-section. The spine is just too curved for it to be possible to deliver vaginally.

They have both been amazed at how strong they have been emotionally through this ordeal and know they their strength is coming from the Lord. The power of prayer is so amazing! Please continue to pray that God will give them strength and a peace that passes all understanding.

1:15 pm

Mark and Angela will meet with the specialists today at 1:15 pm. Please pray for them and for the doctors they will be meeting. I will update ya'll as soon as we hear anything. Thank you in advance for your prayers!


This is Mark and Angela at their wedding in 2004. 

Saturday

Saturday was a fairly relaxing day. Mike was playing in a golf tournament (they got 4th out of over 30 teams!!!) so I ran to town in the morning. I went to Target to buy a wedding shower gift and of course ended up with some other "necessities" (like maternity shorts/capris). The heat has come to KS and I was hit with the realization that I don't have any shorts that fit (besides workout shorts). At least I have 1 pair now :)

After getting back from town I started some laundry and then went outside to work on my tan...aka mow the yard. Dad wanted me to get a picture of me mowing the yard, but that's a little hard to do without someone there to take it. I could've set up the tripod and then made a mad dash for the mower...but I never would've made it before the camera took the picture! So here's a picture of me on the mower (at least this is the view I see).  

Mighty Fine Man

I have been blessed with a wonderful husband. I truly love every moment that we get to spend together! It amazes me how many things he can do. Not only does he work on computers, he builds houses, golfs, hunts, climbs mountains, and loves playing any and every kind of sport! All the while he humbles himself before our Lord and seeks God's direction for his life.

Not only is he an amazing husband (and a hottie too...check out that picture!), he's going to be an awesome dad! He is so excited for the baby to get here. Last night we were driving home from Hutch and he was talking to the baby telling him how he couldn't wait for him to be born. He's so excited about holding and playing with B. Of course some of the things he's excited about will be a ways down the road (ie: playing football, hunting, riding on the lawn mower together, etc.). I feel so blessed to be married to a man that is already investing so much in the life of our son. 

PLEASE PRAY!!!

This is me and Angela (Mike's sister). Today she is 19 weeks pregnant and I'm 27!















On Monday, Mark (Angela's husband) sent out an email asking for everyones guesses on the sex of their baby. Their sonogram was yesterday (the 17th). We waited with anticipation for Mark to call or email letting us know boy or girl. The majority of us had voted girl :)

The call we received wasn't what we were expecting. Mark said the baby is a girl...but things didn't look right in the sonogram. The doctor told them that it looked like the bowels are the outside of her body, she has club feet, and her spine and heart look abnormal. These are all indications of Trisomy 13 (a chromosomal disorder). If this is what she has, the outlook isn't very hopeful. They have an appointment to meet with a specialist on Tuesday (the 23rd) at 1:15 pm. They'll do an amniocentesis and we're not sure what else.

Mark and Angela are both very strong in their faith. They know that God has a plan for this little girl...no matter if or how long she lives. They see her as God's gift to them and they are trusting for the future. Angela flys out tonight to be in Joelle's wedding. Please pray for her and Mark as they are apart this weekend...and as Angela will have to break the news to her friends.

Please help us cover Mark, Angela, and their precious little one in prayer!

Garage Sale Treasurers

These are all the clothes that I got at one garage sale for $20!!! You can see the 4 pairs of shoes towards the back of the picture.















This is one of my favorite little outfits. He won't be big enough to wear it until next year...but I couldn't resist getting it :)

This is a picture of the exersaucer that I got for $10!

Bad Girl

Some might consider me a "bad girl" this past weekend. I didn't listen to my doctor. Instead of sitting around with my foot propped up all day Saturday...I was busy. She told me no cooking or cleaning on Friday or Saturday and that I should just sit around and relax with my foot elevated. Who honestly feels like they could do that? Not me!

Saturday morning, Mike informed me that he needed gas for the lawn tractor. I eagerly agreed to run into Sterling to get gas. I told him that after I got gas I'd just stop by a garage sale or two. (Saturday was Sterling's City-Wide Garage Sale! How could I pass that up?) So as I drove into town I got a map that told who was selling what. I headed straight for the houses that said they had baby stuff.

TWO HOURS later...I was proud of myself as I remembered to get gas for Mike on my way back home :) He came out to the car to help me carry in the exersaucer that I got for $10 and a box full of baby boy clothes that I snagged for $20! I'll take some pictures tonight of my finds and post them.

After hobbling around garage sales for 2 hours, I decided it was time to sit. So I rode on the lawn mower for awhile cutting the grass out front. Then it was time to make lunch, clean house, and start on laundry. Then I FINALLY sat down and propped up my foot :)

Still a Boy

Ok...before I tell you about this weekend....I need to finish telling you about LAST weekend! We got to TX on Thursday night late. Friday morning the boys went shopping for food for Mom's birthday party while Audria and I got a massage! Mike and Caleb had pre-arranged for me and Audria to go to a day spa and get a massage! It was AMAZING! They had the neatest pillow arrangement for me to lay on that had a hole for my tummy and for my chest! It was so comfy and the massage was super relaxing. When we left, we both felt like wet noodles and were so in love with our husbands ;)

Friday night Mike and I went to Paula's clinic for a sonogram. She wanted to do a proper OB sonogram where she took all the measurements our dr. would like to see (as opposed to just having fun looking at baby). I was a little nervous to see if B was still a boy! When she first started the sonogram and got the first shot between the legs we heard her say, "Uh oh. This is kinda lookin' like a girl to me." Mike's eyes got very wide and he was squeezing my leg to death! It wouldn't matter to us whether our baby is a boy or girl...but our shower on Saturday was advertised as a shower for "Baby Boy"! After a few seconds of not breathing (on my part) I heard Paula say, "Oh, nevermind. There's the scrotum!" Whew! I could breathe again! Everything looked really healthy with B and he is measuring right on with our due date. Here are a few of my fav. pictures of him from this sonogram.


Profile of the baby. Kind looks like he's blowing bubbles :)











This is a picture of his leg with his foot pushing up agains my ribs!





A picture of his hand waving at us!











Here's one of the pictures of his "boy parts"

Pain in my Foot

Today I had the planters wart on my heel removed. It was bad and not so bad all in one.

First she gave me NUMEROUS shots in my heel. Those hurt soooooooo bad! I told her (before she gave me the shots) that I was thinking this was good pain-control practice for labor and delivery. Before she gives me the shot she says, "Well, contractions are easier to breathe thru than these shots. These shots are pretty painful!" Just want I want to hear BEFORE I get them! So they were pretty bad, but I made it. Then she cut the planters wart out of my foot. This was the not so bad part as it was numb and all I felt was a bunch of pressure. She kept saying, "Wow! This is deep! No wonder you couldn't walk!"

So...then it wouldn't stop bleeding and the nurse tortured me further by sticking a swab of something that stung really bad inside the hole in my foot! It felt like getting the shots all over again...only it felt like the needle was being shoved thru my foot and up my leg! Let me tell you how much fun I had ! LOL

Before I left the dr. asked me what I have at home for pain. I told her I thought all I could take was Tylenol. She said, "I guess that'll have to do." So now I'm sitting at home with my foot propped up. I feel so silly! There's so much to do around here (and I just have a little bitty hole in my foot), but everytime I get up it starts throbbing and a pain shots up through it. I guess I'll follow her directions and rest this weekend :)

Anyone want to come and help Mike work on the house? ;)

SURPRISE!

After the shower was over...Audria, Ann, and I tried to stall Mom so that people could head over to Dad & Mom's house for a surprise birthday party for Mom! She'll be the big 5-0 on the 18th! It was fun to actually pull it off. She was very surprised! This is a picture of her with the cake made by LInda Montoya (and of course you can't say LInda's name without saying..."you killed my father! Prepare to die!" If you don't know what I'm talking about...watch The Princess Bride.)
This picture was just too cute not to post. Lauren really wanted her picture taken with Dad. She reached for him to pick her up and then squeezed his neck real tight to take the picture.

Here's a picture of Grandmommy (I think she was worn out!), Ginger, Bryan, and Nikki (Bryan's girlfriend) talking to Cindy and Brady.

While the girls were at the shower, the boys got stuff ready for the b-day party. Everything but the meat had been purchased the day before and stored at Caleb & Audria's house. Audria and I told them where all the decorations were stored before we left for the shower. They did an excellent job of getting all the food ready and the house decorated! We had beef (from Colters...although Mike started the grill outside so it smelled like they cooked it!), chicken, beans, cole slaw, potato salad, pickles, and rolls. Chuck and Lou Ann (Ann's parents) also brought a fruit and a veggie tray! It was yummy!


The kids just couldn't stay away from the pool! They wanted to get in so bad! This is Lauren, Katelyn, and Megan Thurman's boy (Conner).



There were 50+ people who attended Mom's birthday party! Thanks to everyone who came and helped make the day very special!

Showered with Blessing

So I promised "more to come" about this past weekend. It was such a busy weekend...I'll start with the baby shower.

Paula Rhodes had the shower at her house. Paula, Mom, Jan (my aunt), Julie (my cousin), Ann and Audria all worked really hard on getting things ready for the shower. The assortment of food was amazing! I'm sad to say that I only got one grape, one slice of cinnamon roll, one little bacon-wrapped-smokey, and a half a glass of punch. I was busy greeting people as they arrived when Paula and Jan told me I better grab a bite to eat and get to opening presents! They were serious about a "bite" to eat! :)

I could not believe how many people came to celebrate with us! I felt overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from all my friends and family. It was especially fun to get to see people whom I have not see in years!














This is a picture of me with some of my friends from school. Meghan Weydeck, Lori Lunsford, and Julie (Ward) Tuel. Lori, Julie and I went to elementary thru high school together. Meghan joined us in junior high.




Here's a picture of church/sooner friends. Shauna, Suzanne, me, Juli Beth, and in the back Megan & Sarah.













Cousins. Julie is due in June and I'm due in August. It's been fun going thru pregnancy together.


Here's a view of the shower party. The overflow of people were being entertained by Billy Rhodes in the backyard. You can see the little girls (Katelyn, Mackenzie, and Lauren) who were a great help in getting the presents opened in a timely manner ;)

More to come

Ok...this is just a quick post (so that my grandparents know we made it home safely!)

This weekend was amazing! It consisted of a massage and sonogram on Friday, Shower/Surprise birthday party on Saturday, church on Sunday, and lots of family time.

We were happy to find out that the baby is still a boy at our sonogram on Friday :) He's grown a lot and it was amazing to see all the changes in him!

The shower on Saturday was overwhelming! It was sooooo good to see friends (pictures to come later), but I wish I had more time to talk/catch up with them. When I post pics of the shower (and pile of presents) you'll see why I didn't have much time to talk! Let's just say I've written 50 thank you notes and have another 30 to write! We are so blessed!

We pulled off the surprise birthday party for mom with over 50 people in attendance! The guys did a wonderful job getting all the food ready while we were at the shower and the party went off without a hitch!

Saturdy night we saw Mission Impossible III (good movie!) and then all headed off to bed. It had been a long day!

Today I'm back at work with TONS to do. I also have to take an Accounting final tomorrow! Yikes! So....I'll be sure to post some pics later, I just don't have time now.

Thank you to all of you who made this weekend so special!

Discovery

So for the past 5-6 weeks I've had a spot on my foot that's been hurting. At first I thought I had a splinter in my foot. After 2 weeks of "letting it work itself out" I decided to perform surgery with a needle and tweezers. I dug around on my foot but never found anything! So I figured I just created an open wound (which would hurt more) and that SURELY it'd work itself out now! This past weekend I finally gave in and let Mike dig at it. It's on the outside of my left heel and it's getting hard for me to bend in a way that I can see it! He dug on it for awhile and never found anything! How frustrating! I finally decided that I'll just talk to my dr about it at my next appointment.

Well, this morning I was talking to one of the local doctors in the gym. She asked how pregnancy was treating me. I told her I'd probably be better if I could walk normally...then my back might not hurt as bad. She asked what was wrong with my foot and I proceeded to tell her the story. Then she insisted on looking at it. She immidately announced that it's a planters wart.

I was very excited to find out that I'm not just crazy (although Mike sometimes debates this), but that there really is something wrong with my foot. So I've made an appointment with my dr. for next Friday when she'll dig it out. She said I'll have to be off my feet for a few days to let it heal. That could actually result in a relaxing weekend next week! All of my current classes will be finished by next Tuesday...so I'm thinking maybe I'll read a book :)

We'll be leaving for TX in about 2 hours! I'm really excited to get to see a lot of you this weekend! I'll be sure to blog tomorrow after the sonogram and let everyone know if our baby boy is still a boy ;) I sure hope so! We put baby boy on the shower invites...so if he's not...I'll be asking for gift receipts ;)

"What was that?"

Saturday morning Remington was in need of some lovin'. We don't usually allow him up on the couch...but I gave in to the puppy dog eyes and let him cuddle with me on the couch. He proceeded to put his arm around my belly and then rest his head on the top of my belly. It was funny when the baby began kicking. Remy wasn't paying any attention to the kicks. Then the baby kicked HARD right at Remy's face! Remington jumped off the couch and looked at me! Then he went and sat by Mike. LOL! It was so funny! I think the baby really startled him!