I cleaned up the carseat and the baby swing today. The kids just couldn’t resist!

Ugh! I went to bed over an hour ago. I was really sleepy when I went. So why am I still awake?
Well, first of all, as soon as I laid down, I had horrible heartburn welling up my throat. I’m talking eye-watering, throat-burning, gives me a headache heartburn. It’s awful. I was spared it with Kyra. With Elijah, I had it really bad. With this one, it’s been moderate up until the last few weeks. Now, it’s a killer. I’m hoping that, like with Elijah, it means that Little Man is going to have a headfull of hair. That was one old wives tale that proved true for me.
Secondly, I am huge. I’m talking HUGE. I cannot sleep on my stomach or my back. While lying on my side, the weight of my enormous belly (I am carrying all of my pregnancy weight right in front) makes my back hurt. Sleeping is a very hard thing to do when you are so incredibly uncomfortable.
Thirdly, I can’t quit thinking. My mind is going over and over the things that I need to do over the next two days. I am planning trips to the grocery store, housework, what I need to pack in my hospital bag, and the outfits that the kids should wear to the hospital. Not to mention just generally thinking about the baby. What will he look like? Will my surgery go uncomplicated? Will he be a good nurser? Will Elijah be jealous? I. Can’t. Quit. Thinking.
The fourth and biggest reason that I am still awake? I did not take my magic sleepy pills before going to bed. Don’t ask me why? I know that I have a hard time sleeping without them. I told myself that I was sleepy enough to go to sleep without them. Sleepy does not trump uncomfortable, though.
So, here I sit. Again. Awake when everyone else is sleeping. Well, Little Man is awake, but he doesn’t count. He’s always moving around, practicing his kickboxing.
I just wanted you all to know how miserable I am right now. Chris is not here, so I can’t wake him up to tell him that I am miserable. He can’t even hear my moans of misery. So, I just wanted you to know.

Maybe now I can go to sleep. I need to sleep!

Only three days left till Baby Day, after today. I’m so excited.
I had my last doctor’s appointment today. I didn’t actually even see the doctor. She had to go over to the hospital right after I got put in a room so she could deliver a baby. I saw the n/p instead. She said everything was good, and I was about 1cm dilated. Everything is a go for Monday morning. I’m so excited.
After I left my appointment, I went over to the hospital to visit my friend and next door neighbor. She had her baby on Tuesday. It was exciting, because she didn’t know what she was having. It was a little boy. She and I have been pregnant together all three times (her first baby died, though), so we will have five kids under five between us after Monday. We are trying to populate the neighborhood all by ourselves. I didn’t actually get to see the baby, though, because he was gone to be circumicised. I’m looking forward to seeing him after they get home. They named him Collin.
After that, I went to Babies-R-Us to get Little Man an outfit to wear home. I ended up buying two, because I couldn’t decide. I also got my neighbor an outfit for her new baby.
Time is passing pretty quickly for me this week. The next two days are going to be busy, because I have to get all the stuff done that needs doing. I’m going to call and see if Seth will come stay with me a day or two and help me out. I just get tired so easily. I have gained close to 35 pounds with this kid, so all that extra weight is really getting to me. I can’t wait until I can start getting rid of it.
For now, I think I need to go get a drink. It is hot out there today! The radio said that it was 91 degrees with a heat index of 96! I’m so glad this pregnancy is almost over. I can’t imagine being pregnant much longer in this heat!

“I don’t want to be good. I want to be bad!”

I can’t help but cry every time I hear a news story about a soldier who has lost his life. The story of the two soldiers who were kidnapped, tortured, and killed in Iraq breaks my heart. Every time I hear about them, I can’t help but think of my own brother who is over there. They are all over there, risking their lives, to defend our freedom. Whether they are over to actually fight, or if they are in a different kind of job, they are still in danger. My brother, Jason, is a driver, but has already had some close calls. People are so quick to argue that they shouldn’t be there, but I want to point out that they are fighting the terrorists over there, so that they don’t have to fight them over here. They are protecting your families and my family by being there. They are risking their very lives for our safety and freedom. Don’t forget them. Don’t forget what they are doing. Most of all, dont’ forget to pray for them. My heart breaks for the families of the soldiers who were killed, because I can’t help but put myself in their shoes. What if that was my brother. Please pray for Jason as he’s over there, and for all of our soldiers. Pray that the Lord will protect them, and that they will all come home safely. They are doing an honorable thing. We’ll all be celebrating Independence Day in a few weeks, and it’s men like my brother who are ensuring that we retain our independence and freedom. Don’t forget them.

LCPL Jason Francis

For those of you who know my brother, if you would like to send him an email to tell him that you are praying for him or whatever, just let me know, and I’ll pass it along.

I woke up early this morning. Well, early for me. I got up at 8:30 because I couldn’t put off going to the bathroom any longer. Once I took the trouble to get out of bed, it was too much trouble to get back in it…even though the rest of the family was still asleep. Seeing as how Chris was on one side of me, and both the kids on the other…that was kind of my problem. The logistics of it, ya know?

One more week to go! Just think, one week from this very moment, I should be holding my baby. I’m getting so excited. I’ve got so much to do this week…just in getting the house clean. It goes downhill so fast at this point. Chris is off of work for the next few days, and he said he would help me some. If all else fails, I’ll have my little brother come and help me out again. Not only do I want everything to be like it should be when we bring the baby home, but my mother-in-law is coming to stay with the kids while we are in the hospital, too. So, I need to get everything all cleaned up.

Yesterday, I went to church in the morning, we went to Ryan’s to eat, and then came home and I napped until church time again. The day seemed to go by pretty fast. Hopefully, that will be the trend this week. Last night, I was thinking…this is the last Sunday evening church service I will be in with only two kids. This morning, it was…this is the last Monday without Little Man. Yay! It’s getting so close! My next door neighbor and friend, Claire, is going in tomorrow to be induced. We are doing out part to populate the neighborhood. Hopefully, I will be able to go visit her later in the week, and see her little one. She doesn’t know what she’s having, so that makes it even more exciting. I know seeing her baby will make me that much more anxious for next Monday.

Bring on the babies! We’re ready!

We had Kyra’s party this afternoon, and it was a lot of fun. It was much less stressful on me having it at the park. We’ve always had their parties at home before. Park parties are the way to go. I didn’t have to clean for it! Kyra got lots of presents that were all right up her alley. Lots of princess stuff. She is all about the princesses. She’s playing with her princess Barbies right now, while wearing her princess gown. They had fun playing on the playground, and it turned out to not feel too awfully hot. Click here for some party pictures.

That takes care of all of my big obligations between now and Baby Day. We have church tomorrow, and I usually end up napping between services. During the week, I need to get the house cleaned up really well. Chris will be home until Thursday evening, when he goes back to work, so I’m hoping to get him to help me out with some of the household chore type stuff. Hopefully, this coming week will go by as quickly as this week has. I had a lot to do, so it really did pass pretty quickly. I’m just so excited to have this baby.

Kyra and Emily

Kyra got a lot of presents that she absolutely loved. She got several Barbies, a barbie car, sidewalk paint, a princess outfit, a Cabbage Patch Baby, a computer game, an outfit, a princess gown, a Precious Moments doll, and a few other things that aren’t coming to mind right now. She was so excited about them all.

Kyra was having fun playing on the playground.

Piper and Elijah loved swinging. Piper’s grandmother pushed them for a long time. Grandmas are good for that.

This is my friend and next door neighbor, Claire (Piper’s mom), me, and Ms Tammy (my friend and pastor’s wife). Claire made me feel better, as I was not the only very pregnant, very uncomfortable, and very hot expectant mother there. Misery loves company, you know!

And, finally, we had cake! This is Kyra blowing out her candles. The cake used to say “Happy Birthday Kyra”, but that was before I pulled the plastic wrap off of it. All of the writing came off with the plastic. So, oh well. It tasted good anyway!

I had a doctor’s appointment this morning. I had forgotten to take Chris’ radio broadcast to my mom to drop off at the radio station Thursday night, so I had to run it up there (about thirty minutes away) myself before my appointment. So, I was rushing around when I got home, trying not to get behind, and I ended up slipping and falling on my way in the house. My foot slipped out from under me, and I fell forward on the concrete steps going up to our porch. I broke my fall with my hands, but my belly is so big it kind of hit the lower steps. I started having more contractions than normal. When I told my doctor what happened, she hooked me up for a non stress test to make sure that the baby was doing okay. He was fine, but it was showing all of my contractions. Some of them were really hurting, so my doctor decided to send me over to labor and delivery to give me a shot of stuff that would stop the contractions so I wouldn’t be hurting and uncomfortable. So I had to go over there, get hooked up again, and they gave me a shot. The shot stopped my contractions pretty quickly. They also made me drink lots (and I do mean lots) of fluids. After about an hour and a half, I felt better than I had felt in days. I was very relieved that I hadn’t hurt the baby in any way when I fell. I didn’t schedule an appoitment for next week, so I guess I will call on Monday and see if they want me to come in before my c-section for another appointment.

Very hectic morning, but all’s well that ends well. My contractions started back this evening, but no where near as many as I was having after I fell. Hopefully, I can manage to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground for the next eight days!

After we got home, the kids had their Bible School program. It was cute. Kyra got so into singing the songs. You could heard her singing loud and clear over the other kids, as she was about half a beat behind on parts of the songs. She puts her whole heart into it, that’s for sure. It was so cute. She kept looking back at me and Chris to make sure we were watching her and hearing her. Elijah’s class was supposed to sing “This Little Light of Mine”, but they mostly just stood there. Elijah barely talks, so singing is a little bit beyond his abilities right now. He looked awfully cute, though. Kyra, on the other hand, sang her little heart out with her class. She did the motions and got all the words. It was adorable. Click here to see a pic of each of them with their class.

Tomorrow is Kyra’s birthday party. It’s hard to believe that she will be four on Tuesday. We are having her party at Frozen Head, and I know she’s going to have a lot of fun. I’ve got her cake in the oven right now, and I am fixing to go wrap her presents. Hopefully, me and my pregnancy brain won’t forget anything major tomorrow.

Kyra with her Bible School class.

Elijah’s Bible School class was supposed to be singing “This Little Light of Mine”. Their teacher did most of the singing, but at least they looked cute.