things that need to be done...

that i can no longer do.

• hang christmas lights outside
• clean the house
• paint baby's room
• hang pictures on wall
• go grocery shopping
• go christmas shopping
• get EVERYTHING done at school

most of this will be left up to my husband for the time being.

4 out of the 7 need to be done by next weekend.

yikes!

all i wanted

today's my first full day off for resting.

it's been just wonderful. (i only wish you could hear the sarcasm in my voice.)

i've read e-mails, made my blog rounds about 5 times already (are you people working or what??), i took a shower, and watched tv inbetween.

i decided to get out of the house to go to the bank and grab some lunch.

no, i didn't get out of the car. i know my boundaries.

i went to chick fil a for lunch.

i really wasn't that hungry...just really, really thirsty for a diet coke.

i order my food and drive off.

i'm so ready to take a drink of that fresh diet coke.

i put the straw in, take a big gulp, and almost spit it out!

it was the flattest diet coke i've ever had in my life!

horrible.

all i wanted was a stinkin' diet coke!

i had to come home and settle for the one lone thing other than water that we had in our fridge...caffeine free diet coke...so not the same!

i really thought...

today was going to be a good day.

i got up at a decent time, made it to school at a good time, got through 1st and 2nd period, and then...

my principal delivered my appraisal.

it wasn't great, but not bad. i won't go into details about it.

i had a doctor's appointment right after that. so far, i've gained a total of 18 pounds. this appointment was only 3 weeks from the last. i knew i gained weight, i was just waiting to see how much.

i stepped on the scales and it read 7 pounds heavier! in 3 weeks...7 pounds!

so, i'm up to 25. i thought that would be the worst of my worries today.

the doctor gets called out for a delivery and we have to wait for her.

i had mentioned to the nurse that i have been having braxton hicks contractions for a while, but they're getting more frequent. she told me the doc would probably examine me, just to make sure everything was okay, but it was probably perfectly normal.

dr. adams finally got there and agreed with the nurse. she still wanted to check to make sure.

while she's examining me, she gets this look on her face like something's up.

i'm dilated to a 1 right now. i'm 30 weeks.

she said it could be just from being pregnant before, but there was no way to know for sure without watching me closely for a while.

she asked where i was working right now and i told her i was a teacher.

"so you're on your feet all day?"

"yes."

"i'm going to take you off your feet for a couple of weeks."

i'm sorry...what? after that, i seriously tuned out. i don't know any details of what she said after hearing that, other than i go back on thursday to do some test to determine the probability of me going into labor in the next week or two.

again, she said it's probably just from being pregnant before, but we must make sure.

so, as of today, i'm home...resting. i'll be here for at least the next week, maybe two.

no working, no shopping, no major cooking, no cleaning.

what's left to do?

blogging...of course. the only problem is, as you know from a previous post, my laptop is going out. at this moment we have a monitor hooked up to it so i can actually use it.

i can't put a monitor in bed with me or even on the couch. i'm sitting at the desk right now, probably not what i'm supposed to be doing. what will i do for the next week??

i really feel normal...if that's possible when you're pregnant. the past couple of weeks, i've felt REALLY pregnant, but still okay. it's very hard to be resting when you feel okay.

i guess i have no choice.

please pray.

overdue pictures

here's a little slide show of jacob at my parents' and at our house.

(i'm at school...so no music, marme.)

tragedy

my laptop is dying...yes, dying. something is wrong with the screen.

by some miracle, i just happened to be able to post at school this morning...even though there are 50 other things i should be doing, i felt it important to give you advance warning of my probable absence from blogging.

since i'm here...

we had a wonderful thanksgiving. we had lunch with one of jerry's co-workers on thursday and then headed to my parents. it snowed on us the entire way home. by the time we arrived at their house, the ground was covered. my mom already had her christmas lights up and on just so jacob could see them more than just at christmas.

he was amazed when we drove in the driveway. my mom does nothing so-so. they have a huge front yard and the majority was covered in something christmas.

jacob got to spend time with his grandma and papa...he's been wanting to so badly. we got to spend time with family and just relax.

of course, it's back to work full force this morning...only 4 weeks to christmas break.

on a random note, pregnancy heartburn has come on full force, making it so hard to sleep. my shirts are too small. unfortunately, i can't find any that i like well enough to spend money on. you people are just going to have to suffer through a bulging belly.

i just noticed the calendar on my classroom wall still says october!

hopefully, we will have a healthy family again. our colds are subsiding. jerry goes to the doctor tomorrow for a full work-up on his blood pressure. jacob seemed okay this morning, so we're not taking him back to the doctor. i go back on thursday for my check-up. did i tell you she's already got me going every 2 weeks??

i think i'm almost 30 weeks. only 10 more to go!

i'm having a very hard time lately thinking of having 2 children. i worry so much about jacob and how he will handle it. i worry about me and the guilt i will feel from holding a newborn and having my 2 year old long to be in my lap. i'm having such anxiety that i can hardly look at the nursery right now. i just want to close the door and not think about it. i'm savoring every moment i have with jacob. i know full well that everything will be fine and my love will be multiplied. God will provide me with sufficient time and attention for both.

this is not where i wanted to go with this post. i must stop now, because school hasn't even started and the tears are flowing down my face.

from reading this, i have no idea where i was planning on going.

hopefully our computer will be fixed soon or my school laptop will continue to let me post. if not, i'll miss you guys!

happy thanksgiving!

wonderful friends

i have the most wonderful friends!

if you were at the shower yesterday, you know why.

they did an AMAZING job on decor, food, gifts...and just making me feel plain special!

i had such a wonderful time at the shower. everything was so beautiful!!

jenny, kj, ang, seph, amy, chelle, meems...i'm so lucky to have you girls!

thanks for everything!

good news

the doctor called this morning and said the mri didn't show anything wrong!

they're thinking the culprit is high blood pressure. he'll go back to the doctor in a couple of weeks to get a full diagnosis. for now, he's got some high blood pressure medicine to try.

thank you for all your thoughts and prayers!

now, if you could just pray for jacob. we go back to the doctor on monday for him to see if the latest antibiotic is working for his ears. if not, we're probably going the tube route. right now, he's got an awful cough...i mean awful. we just got home from daycare and he asked if he could just lay down in his bed. so sad! all i hear is coughing coming from his room.

we get one well and something else comes up.

but here's what i was reading this morning...

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of goods, knowing that you have a better and enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
Hebrews 10:31-36

no news

jerry had an mri and mra at 3:00 this afternoon.

they're supposed to call us back with results sometime tonight...hopefully.

he saw a doctor earlier and he seemed confident it would probably not show anything. he thinks jerry has high blood pressure and that could be what's causing the problem.

thanks so much for those that are praying.

we're believing high blood pressure will be the worst case scenario.

i'll keep you updated as we find out more.

please pray...

pray for my husband.

he was at the gym this morning beginning to lift weights and felt a sudden pressure in his head followed by a never-ending headache.

he just came home and went to sleep.

one of his bosses called a doctor they knew today and he told jerry to see a doctor right away. this is not something to play around with.

the doctor has ordered him to have 2 different kinds of mri's which are scheduled for next wednesday.

only one problem...he flies out to houston on friday. flying and head pressure don't mix. we're trying to get him in hopefully tomorrow for the mri's.

just please pray that they find nothing...in a good way. a way that is reassuring enough for us to not worry about him having some kind of serious head trauma!

and pray that i may have the strength to be who i need to be in this time.

dear Jesus,
place your healing hands on my husband...

addendum to "craziest week in history"

you just thought you heard it all!

my crazy week post was on wednesday. wednesday was only half of it!

• thursday morning, i woke up in so much pain i could hardly stand it. i went to school anyway because i thought i would be having my appraisal. no such luck, of course. i really thought i might have to go to the hospital and deliver 3 months early! it was that bad.
• friday morning, i woke up deathly sick! the pain was going away, but i was coughing my head off. the doctor told me to just take over-the-counter cold medicine. i did. it didn't work. we signed the papers on the house at 10:30 a.m. our house payment turned out to be a little less than expected. we decided to go over to the hospital and payoff that bill so we wouldn't have to worry about it. after all, they told us if we paid it before the delivery, we would get a discount. no such luck. that rule changed october 1. we got all our big stuff moved on friday...no help from me. (thanks, chris and dave!) friday, we spent our first night in our new house!
• saturday, still sick. my mom came in and she's a madwoman! i mean, non-stop all day long. did i mention i was still sick? we did get alot done though! thanks, mom!
• sunday, still sick. we didn't go to church. my mom is still here. she's still a madwoman! again, we got alot done. the real sunday drama?

are you ready for this?? jerry's uncle and granddad come over to see the house. jerry's granddad just had surgery a couple of weeks ago to repair an artery in his leg from coronary artery disease. he's got a walker and never really leaves the kitchen area.

jerry gets done showing his uncle around and they come back in the kitchen area. he looks down at his granddad and says, "you're bleeding!"

bleeding? that's an understatement! he's gushing! i don't think you could ever realize the magnitude of this situation. he's standing in our foyer and blood is pouring out of his leg! we get a chair for him to sit in. we grab towels and start trying to contain the blood. it's not stopping. jerry's uncle pulls his belt off, wraps it around his leg and holds it to hopefully cut off the flow. still not working. my mom is right in the middle of it (again, madwoman!).

we call 9-1-1! yes, first weekend in our house and we already have an ambulance coming. the whole neighborhood is outside wondering what's going on!

all of the sudden, my mom says, "he's not breathing!" okay, i'm beyond freaking out! i don't even know how i was still on my feet. i call 9-1-1 back and tell them he's not breathing. she says the ambulance is almost there.

by this time, we've filled at least 3 full-size towels with blood! he suddenly takes a gigantic breath and comes back. he's still not coherent. they're doing everything they can to keep him awake until the ambulance gets here.

finally, they arrive! they're so calm. it was crazy. they just put him on the gurney and wheeled him out to the hospital.

this entire time, jacob is just sitting in a corner playing with his drums, oblivious to anything going on.

we go to the hospital and find out that they were letting his wound heal from the inside out. something came loose, hence all the bleeding. they had to give him 2 pints of blood in the er, if that tells you how much was on our floor! he had surgery and all went well. he gets to keep his leg for now and hopefully will heal fine.

absolutely unbelievable!

so, if you're wondering where i've been...i've been recuperating...or at least trying to!

and one last thing...

i'm talking to ang on sunday night about what all went on...after the story, the first thing she says is, "can i come clean your floor for you?" are you kidding? you want to come clean blood off my floor? what a great friend! and the floor looks great, by the way!

thanks, ang! i'm so glad we're almost neighbors!

my poor, neglected, baby...

between moving, being pregnant, and being sick, i feel like my little boy has been so neglected lately. i literally think i saw him for a total of 2 hours yesterday before passing out on the couch from my finally prescribed cough medicine!

so, here's some pictures of him...my sweet, adorable, precious, baby boy. (who keeps reminding me that he's a "big boy".) =(

my very own pirate


who can resist that?


a rare family pic at rtp.


my "big boy" eating his very own slice of pizza...our first meal in our new house!

in case you haven't seen...

here's what we've got going so far.

here's a view of the kitchen from the corner of the living area.


this is part of jacob's room.


here's the very bare baby room.


and the master bathroom. (i have yet to use my tub!)

6 months

here's the 6-month picture...compared to 5-month. (the 6-month on the right, if you couldn't tell.)

the jeans i'm wearing today are actually jeans i wore BEFORE i got pregnant with jacob.

crazy business.

only 3 months to go!

moving day

today's the day.

i'm at home right now. i took the whole day off so i could sleep in a little this morning and hopefully feel better. of course, i woke up with a horrendous cold.

my pains are going away though. i'm going to call the doctor today just to make sure everything's okay.

we're closing on the house at 10:30 and will begin moving things after that.

feel free to drop by anytime to see the progress.

i'm so excited! it still doesn't seem real!

appraisal.

what appraisal?

did he come?

NO!

i could barely walk thursday for hurting so bad and was on my feet the entire day because i knew he would be coming then.

nothing.

i now have to just wait till he decides to pop in one day!

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...................