Oh the bane of my existence!

So many of my friends have been asking for a belly pic.  I probably would have been much more willing to do so if I was this petite little precious thing waddling around.  I...am not.  Most people that I interact with don't even know I'm pregnant.  I just look like I'm fat and gaining more each day.  JOY!

Anyway, one of my friends begged tonight, so alas I'm giving in.  Here I am approximately 5 minutes ago, my mama made me a yummy dinner, I'm all dolled up in my fanciest pjs, and swollen from head to toe (check out my fab double chin).  I'm 30 weeks and 3 days!

The face is just for you, Balie!

Pictured right above my poking belly is my swollen, bulging, throbbing gallbladder.  It is the bane of my existence at the moment.  Not too much longer and I will be bidding it adieu!  Yay!

Yes Alanis, it is ironic!

I've had plenty of time lately to think about what the coming months and years hold for us.  The more I think, the more apprehensive I become. Why, you might ask, am I troubled?

Well, aside from the fact that we will be embarking on one of the craziest, most wonderfully exciting journeys God could have ever set before us, we are having a boy!  (Yes, I realize this was news to everyone a few months ago.)  We were equipped with a boy name, boy grandparents (everyone seems tired of girls around our place), and most definitely a boy kinda daddy.

Lately, I keep playing the same tired message over and over in my head: "I grew up with all girls, I went to an all female college, and until I met Phillip I never wore jeans."  Upon being informed of the gender of our little bundle of joy, a childhood friend quickly replied, "Who knew prissy girls like you could have boys?"  Valid point.

Phillip is 110% man.  I am 110% woman.  This is great for our marriage, but what happens with parenting?  Sure I have more experience with babies, but he's only going to be a baby for a short period of time.  Then what?  I love sundresses, pearls, and a fabulous pair of shoes.  Boys don't care about things of that nature!  Heck, if not required by law, I doubt Phillip would ever wear clothes.  I think Bambi is precious and cuddly, but my husband thinks that his mom should be around if he's near and that means he can hunt.  Phillip is fully prepared and capable of playing in the mud, working on cars, and making his way around a golf course.  I detest mud, cars baffle me, and golf tends to tick me off around the 8th or 9th hole (at which point I typically find the nearest water hazard and chunk whatever ball I have straight to the bottom where it will rest for eternity).

I've had Alanis Morissette's song stuck in my head all week.  It is ironic after all!  Perhaps this will be a journey in personal growth.  Maybe I need to stretch myself more than Phillip does, but I have a feeling this is going to be one heck of a stretch!

For all of you boy mamas out there - any pointers?

Perspective

This week has been a rough one, to say the least.  I would venture to explain, but I am drained emotionally and psychologically.  I feel like I've been thirsting after some little token or sign that everything will be ok soon enough.  

I get a daily devotional from several sites, one of which is Proverbs 31 Ministries.   It was one of those things that I knew God placed in front of me because I NEEDED to hear it.  An acquaintance of mine paraphrased it:

The Author of my story has a purpose for every page and chapter in my life. He’s got a story in mind and is building and developing the plot every day. No story is conflict-free. No story is complete without a challenge. Victory is empty without a struggle. Today, I’m considering my life as a grand story. Good will triumph. The victory will be sweeter because of the struggle. Today is not the story. It’s just page!

I have found so much delight in this.  It was such a beautifully small reminder that despite my apprehensions, the Lord is ultimately in control.  I'm just here for the ride.  I can't see any portion of the road except what's immediately in front of me.  The curve ahead is sure to hold exactly what He intends.  

  

Confessions of a Hippo

I have developed a not so healthy habit during the latter portion of this pregnancy.  I put off eating during the day for as long as possible.  This actually serves two purposes: 1) I now have gallstones...and have for approximately 10 weeks now.  Or at least that's how long I've been in pain with them.  Eating does nothing but intensifies the pain, so if I don't eat the pain is tolerable.  Since I'm officially running out of real estate in the abdominal area this is bad news bears for all involved.  And 2) Once I start eating it's like a parasite inside of me turns on and never wants to stop.  I still get sick, but I stay hungry.  ALL. THE. TIME.  I was in the kitchen this evening just staring into the pantry (sometimes this appeases the monster within), and I remembered one of my childhood games, Hungry Hungry Hippos.  I feel JUST like one of the hippos!  There's a hand that's slapping a clamp on my back and my mouth just wants to keep gobbling everything up!

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Practicality, First Loves, and Valentine's

I don't consider myself a materialistic person.  I tend to be more practical in nature than anything, especially when it comes to money.  We have been (since I started grad school) a single income family essentially.  This means that my faithful car my parents purchased for me in high school is still my faithful car at 27.  It means that the brand new wardrobe for my growing belly is full of the necessities, certainly will not make the cover of Vogue, and tends to be repeated weekly.  It also means we are preparing for April as best we can within the confines of our budget (which I have found a rather odd delight in maintaining lately thanks to Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover).  Fortunately, my husband is an amazingly hardworking man and leaves me to it.

Now, when Christmas rolled around this past year we were in the midst of trying to determine just how bad my medical bills were going to be thanks to a few ... shall we say ... issues I've been having (I'll post more on that later).   My family does not do Christmas in the way Phillip's family does.  We typically have a small get together with friends and family on Christmas eve and then sometimes exchange gifts.  No biggie.  Phillip's family, thanks in large part to Santa Linda, does it up in ways I've never seen and have yet to comprehend.  So in trying to prepare and brace for the expenditures, I was dreading this past holiday season.  However, the Lord (in all of His provisional goodness) was looking out for us and made it all happen.  I am not a big present recipient, but I'm trying to learn to not see it as a hand out.  I'd much rather give to someone that needs it or see someone I love open a present.  Phillip and I agreed to not get presents for one another.

I thought I'd share some things that we received that make me SUPER happy.  Enjoy!

Please ignore the mess around this, but my parents bought us the baby's bedding (and the dresser barely pictured to the left) as our Christmas gift.  I struggled finding something that I liked for the baby's room that wasn't all cartoonish, so I sent my mom a link to JoJo Designs and asked what she thought.  Lo and behold, she bought it.  We love it!  I am sure my son will be as rough and tumble as my husband, but at least for a few months he'll be all precious and cozy in his argyle patterned room.  :-)  Mom and I spent several weekends looking for a dresser and found this one on sale!  I will post a real picture after we get the room painted. 

If you ask most people about their first love, they will probably give you a name of some lost soul that broke their heart.  Not I.  My first love and I met when I was in kindergarten in the form of a fictional character named Amelia Bedelia!  I have always been a night owl, so I would sneak these comical treasures along with my trusty flashlight under my mattress.  When my parents were sure I was asleep, I would break out my treasure.  Books have never failed me since.  I love their pages, I love the covers, I love their smell, I love the characters that I could almost promise exist in my life as other people, etc..  This love can be expensive if you purchase all books new.  So, Santa Linda shocked the Southern out of me this Christmas.  She bought me a Sony eReader.  My first purchase consisted of three books I had been wanting to buy, but couldn't justify spending 70 some odd dollars on them.  Thanks to this little treasure, I spent $21.16 and I'm set for a while!  Oh happy days!  (She even bought me the case that has an attached light.  Look Mom!  No flashlight!!!)

I realize that I already posted about this, but I broke the rules and bought Clemson tickets as a gift to Phillip.  We had so much fun at the game.  It's one of those moments that was totally worth the expenditure...even if they did lose.  This coming year looks to be shaping up with some good recruits! 

And lastly, guess what you do for Valentine's Day when your parents own a florist?  First, you work for them on February 14th no matter where you are actually employed.  Second, you suffer from exhaustion that evening so you skip the romantic date.  Lastly, you get real about the gift exchange and you certainly do not want flowers delivered to you on V-Day!  Our dishwasher decided to kick the bucket this past week.  Ask my husband, I don't replace things until they are broken normally.  He has determined I inherited this trait from my father, but I believe it serves a purpose in our lives.  So, we decided to give a dishwasher to ourselves.  :-)  It was delivered bright and early this morning.  Fortunately, my handsome handy man of a husband got her up and running in no time!  Here's to the slow conversion of all appliances to stainless steel (the fridge is being delivered Thursday).  Heavens help me and the finger prints that I am sure will ensue and subsequently drive me insane.

Happy Valentine's Day ya'll!