Last Night

This is how we spent last night.  Both of us in the hall bathroom, watching the radar on the computer, and texting to make sure our friends were OK.  Please note the flashlight and my purse.  What you don't see are two more cell phones, an iPad, a motorola Zoom (that was dead), the comforter from the bed, and a pillow from the living room.  About 30 minutes before we headed in there, Brent looked at me and asked where our emergency kit was. HA!  Are you kidding?  So I guess you could say this is the Haywood Emergency Kit.  All you need is your wallet and several electronics. 

Luckily the storms went north and west of us, but for a little while I was scared that they were heading straight for us.  After watching Ned and Todd all evening long and stressing, I was wore out.  And the bad news is that they're expecting more tonight.  I'm just thankful that Jackson is safe with me right now and I'm not having to get him out of his crib to come in there with us.  This bathroom is plenty big for one person, but three is a different story. 

Easter Weekend in McGehee

This past weekend, I headed south to see my family for the Easter weekend.  Because there are two weeks of school left, Brent stayed home to complete his mountain of homework that was due.  I hated to leave him behind, but he's worked so hard this semester, and he needs to finish strong.  We didn't do much but eat, visit, and play on our iPads, but it was just what I needed. 

On Saturday, Dad and Josh went to Dr. Young's house and to the deer camp, so Mom, Sarah and I went to Paul Michael's in Lake Village to do some shopping.  I got a few decorative things, but mostly did window shopping.  After we were done there, we drove a few miles towards the new Greenville bridge to check out the Lakeport Plantation.  This house is apparently the only remaining Arkansas antebellum plantation home on the Mississippi River.  It literally sits about 300 yards from the levee, and great work has been done to restore the property.  We didn't get to go inside because it's only open for tours Monday through Friday, but Sarah and I walked around and peeked in the windows. 

Friday and Saturday nights, the weather was perfect after dinner for yard games.  Josh and Sarah brought botchi ball and croquet with them, so we played both until the mosquitoes came out and ran us back inside.  There aren't many nights like this in the Delta, so you have to take advantage of them when possible. 

Dad looked funny playing croquet - the sticks weren't quite long enough. ha!

Sarah always thought her team should get the point.  (She's very competitive!)

On Sunday morning, we got up and went to First Baptist in McGehee to worship at their Easter service.  I am having a hard time right now finding cute things to wear, and I did not like my Easter "dress", but what could I do at 7 1\2 months pregnant.  Everybody tolerates my request for photographs, but hopefully one day they will appreciate the fact that I made everybody stand up together for these. 

Ma got to come to church and Easter lunch with us as well!  I am so thankful she is healthy and doing well at 81 years old - and that she will get to hold her 3rd great grandchild soon!

The fam pictures.  Not a bad one actually.

Even Josh cooperated (he hates getting his picture taken the most).  But he obliged and even smiled!

So after pictures and before lunch, we got to open our treats from the Easter bunny.  Yes, the Easter bunny is still very good to us, and we were all excited about our goodies. 

I got a new garden flag.

And a new Big Buddha purse!  I got one for Christmas last year and absolutely love it.  I even looked for a new one and couldn't find one that I loved as much as the other one, but the Easter Bunny did. 

After a fabulous lunch (smoked ribs, smoked prime rib, twice baked potato casserole, green beans, marinated mushrooms, Ma's rolls), we took a little field trip to the new Veterans Memorial off of Main Street in McGehee.  This is a brand new site, and they did a really great job.  Dad bought a brick in memory of Pa, and he wanted to take Ma by there to see it. 

I truly love going home and seeing the faces of the people who've know and loved me the longest.  There's also something about the Delta, and I really can't explain it to you unless you're from there.  They say you can't go home again, and that's true.  But when you do go, you appreciate it a whole lot more. 



29 Weeks!

I was supposed to do a pregnancy post last week, but I just didn't get around to it.  So maybe I'll start doing them weekly now since I'm in the home stretch.  Last week marked the 3rd trimester, and I really can't believe it.   

Size of Jackson:  He's approximately 2.5 lbs, and over 15 inches long, but I really think he's probably closer to 3 lbs now. 

Weight gain:  At my doctor appointment last week, I was just under 20 lbs, and Dr. Fuller said that was really good.  This past month I've been going to water aerobics for an hour about three times a week, and I know that has helped!

Maternity clothes:  I will say one thing about being a bigger girl is that many of the clothes that I had are working as maternity clothes.  And now that it's getting more like summer every day, I am really enjoying the sundresses and flip flops.  It may be my "uniform" for the next several months.

Movement:  He's very active, especially at night and when I bend over. I don't think he likes to be swished up any.  I also think I can tell his little personality already because when I want his daddy to feel him kicking, he quits.  As if to say,  "I know what you want me to do, and I'm not going to comply."  We may have an ornery little stink on our hands! (But as Brent has pointed out, Jackson will probably look like his daddy and I will be puddy). 

What I Miss:  Enjoying a cold adult beverage on the back patio;  bending over without grunting; my hips feeling like normal; seeing my husband in the evenings.  Brent has been so inundated with school work this past few weeks that I've hardly gotten to see him.  He's working so hard to be done, so I've tried to occupy myself with going to water aerobics and watching TV shows he wouldn't want to watch.  He'll be done the first part of May, but is supposed to take a summer class in June.  Lord help us!  But in the fall he'll have two classes left, and then he'll be DONE! 

Cravings:  At this point, I really don't think I'll have any weird cravings. 

Symptoms:  HIP PAIN!!!  Oh it's been so bad these past few days.  I don't know if it's pregnancy sciatica, but if feels like my hip joint is bruised and swollen.  Last night I slept on and between pillows to see if that would help, and it might have some.  Since I am usually a stomach sleeper, I've resorted to my sides, but they go numb and hurt, so I end up just rolling over all night.  And let me tell you that the Tylenol and heating pad really isn't helping, but it's all I can do at this point.  As my dad would say, "Suck it up!"  Just a few more weeks and then I'll probably have something else to hurt. 

I really can't think of any other problems that I'm having right now.  My blood pressure has been really good, but the doctor wants to keep an eye on it here in the last trimester.  I'm hoping that continuing with the water exercise will also help to keep it down. 

Best moment since the last one:  I put my bedding on the crib this past weekend, and it looks so cute.  I'm anxious to get the room set up and see my vision as a reality.  And I also keep thinking about this person who will live with us.  I can only imagine what a little character he will be and if he will have brown eyes (just like his daddy).  In fact, I'm planning on it! 

I went to the doctor today and everything looks good.  I am so thankful to have had an easy pregnancy so far, so I hope the next 8 weeks go by smoothly.  He said I will probably be having him around 38 weeks!  I can't believe it and it'll be here before I know it! 

Spring Projects

Every spring we try to tackle a house project, and this year's was the front yard.  At the end of the year, we paid the city to fill in our front ditch with a drainage pipe and dirt.  So basically all winter I had a yard and drive-way full of dirt, and I was so tired of it, but what could you do?  A few weeks ago, we had sod put down and the driveway extended and it looks so great.  Now, we can both park in the driveway without doing the car switch and I don't have to worry about driving into the grass!  Plus, when we "entertain", we can have several cars in the driveway and not have them park on the street!

I also wanted to do put in a flowerbed around my mailbox.  Except when we started looking at the old one, we realized that it looked pretty shabby.  So here's the new mailbox with flowerbed.  Can you say Curb Appeal!?!

Here's the front yard with my new ferns at the front door.  I love this time of year when everything turns green (with the exception of the pollen). 

I went to Home Depot on Saturday and bought some new plants to go out back.  I'm not going to do a big garden this year because let's face it - I'm not going to have time!  I'll be focused on someone else this summer, so I'll be making regular trips to the local farmers market for my fresh produce. 

And here's the pack outside patio.  This is the part of the garden that is visible from the driveway, so it's my "pretty" garden.  Hopefully everything will live! 

Happy Birthday Brent!

Someone in our family had a birthday this week, and it wasn't me.  Brent turned 32 on Tuesday, so last weekend, we had a cookout at our house to celebrate.  Sarah, Jeremy, Lucy Jewel, Austin Michelle, Paige, Parker, Monkey, Jeff, and Mandy were all there to help wish B-Money a happy birthday.  But really it was a good excuse to have everyone over to enjoy a good hamburger and some laughs on the patio.  

Paige and Lucy Jewel are just a few weeks apart, and I really can't believe they will be 5 next month.  They got a long really well, and watched a movie while the adults visited.  

So a few weeks ago, we were watching TV, and Brent saw a someone wearing a sombrero.  He said that if he had one, he would wear it to mow the yard in.  Well, I knew that if I really bought him one, he really wouldn't wear it, but I did remember this picture from about 4 years ago.  We were camping with some friends, and I thought it'd be a good one for a picture cake.  When I picked it up from Kroger, I didn't know they were going to make the picture the entire cake! LOL.  The people at the store loved it, and I thought he would be mad at me, but he wasn't.  It was really good cake with whipped icing, so that made it all OK.

Here are the girls enjoying the veranda.  Everyone got a chance to hold baby Parker, but Monkey was the best.  I can't wait to see her and Jackson together. The weather was really perfect too for sitting outside, despite all of the pollen.

The three stooges.  I can't even imagine what they were like in high school, but I've always said that I pray that their teachers will be retired by the time Jackson gets there.  He may stay in trouble if they're not. 

So here are all of Brent's birthday presents.  He has not let me forget that I did not get him anything for Valentine's Day.  Let me just say that the week before Valentine's Day was spent in an Arizona hospital, but that didn't matter.  (He got me a gift certificate for a massage).  I had planned to work on that the week we were gone, and then it just didn't work out.  So I wanted to make it up to him on his birthday.

The big box was an April Fool's Joke though.  I've been really wanting a Shark Steam Vac and had a coupon for 20% off at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, plus a $20 rebate.  Well, we had been talking about getting one for a while, and I thought I'll just wrap it up and make him think that this was his big present.  When he opened it up, he was like "Are you serious?"  His face was priceless!  Needless to say I quickly let him in on the joke and told him that no, that was not his present.  I did get him some shirts from JC Penney, new towels and a bathmat for his bathroom, and a hand-held document scanner. 

His birthday was also a bust since we had wanted to be home that evening and cook steaks and finish off the birthday cake.  Except the equinox had a dead battery and he had to catch a ride with a friend who wasn't coming right home.  We finally got to celebrate about 8:30, and enjoyed the steaks the next night.  Brent didn't mind though.  He is much more laid-back when it comes to this day, but I still try to make it as special as I can.  I did remind him this will be his last birthday with just us, so we have to make the most of it!

Babymoon in Branson!

Last Wednesday after work, Brent and I headed north to one of our favorite vacation spots...Branson!  I've been going to Branson for about as long as I can remember, and it's fun to think now we'll be taking Jackson with us in the next few years.  (I remember going with my grandparents and aunts and uncles - before all of my other cousins were born!)  Anyway, last week was Spring Break, and that meant a break from all of the school work that the Hubs has been doing, so we took advantage of it.  We also knew this would probably be the last trip that we could take with just the two of us before Jackson arrives. 

We rented a little cabin in Branson in the Westgate resort and it was really perfect for what we wanted.  I think it's funny that people always ask "did you go to any shows"?  Um - no!  I haven't been to a show in about 10 years, and I can't believe many of them are still in business.  All we did was eat, shop, sleep, and relax.  The only problem that we had to deal with was a sudden drop in temperatures.  It even sleeted on Sunday night! 

On Wednesday night, we went to the Landing and at at Texas Land and Cattle.  It's so good and our favorite place to eat when we're there.  Thursday the weather was pretty, so we went to the Tanger outlet mall and then to the Landing for more shopping.  I quickly realized that I cannot shop like I used to - mainly because I was always looking for the bathroom.  It's so annoying!  We bought a few things, but nothing crazy.  On Friday, we drove to Springfield to go to the Babies R Us to register, and then spent the rest of the afternoon at the movies.  We saw Hall Pass and The Lincoln Lawyer - both great movies.  Dinner was at this Brazilian place called RiRico's, and it was awesome - so much better than Gaucho's!  On Saturday, we drove back to Springfield to spend the day with my aunt, uncle and grandmother.  My Nannie has been up there since November and is going through Chemo treatments, so it was good that we got to see her and spend the day with them.  We did absolutely nothing except play with their dogs, eat, and visit.  On Sunday, we ate breakfast at Cracker Barrell, went back to the cabin and napped, then got ready and went to Target and Best Buy, then back to the Landing for our final dinner at Texas Land and Cattle.  On Monday, we packed up and headed home, and by then I was ready to be back at my little house in Cabot! 

 

Our babymoon photo!

Here's our little cabin.

He gets so aggravated at me when I want to take a picture.  LOL!

I reached 27 weeks on 3-27-11, and decided that I finally do look pregnant here. 

Overall, it was a great vacation away from everyday life, but I was very glad to get home.  There's lots to do in the next few months, and we definitely have to get busy!

Huge Praise!

I just talked to my mom, and she told me that my grandmother has absolutely positively no evidence of any tumors in her body! She was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma back in November, and just finished her 4th round of chemo. She will have to continue her treatment in Missouri for a few more months.

I am very humbled by the Great Physician and His healing hand on my family. Thank you for your prayers!