24 Days and Counting

I cannot believe that we will finally meet this baby boy in no more than 24 days (there's always hope he could come a little early). In preparation, I spent this weekend getting as much as I could checked off of the never ending list. We did have fun, but I also got a ton of stuff accomplished!

Saturday morning we got up and headed to Burlington to visit with my mom. She seemed to be doing well and was in good spirits. While I was there, Dave took Savannah to the city park where they had a blast riding all of the rides. I've mentioned this park before, but Savannah LOVES riding the kiddy rides again and again. She was quite disappointed to see me come back from visiting mom as she knew that meant it was time to head back home. :(

Sunday was a pretty low key day with church, a few errands, and then some much needed cleaning out of the medicine cabinet and a few other drawers. I also ended up taking all of the cushions off of the sofas and vacuuming everything down, which was way over due!

Yesterday we had a yummy pancake breakfast and then headed to the park to meet up with Savannah's friend Anna Kate. Those girls are just precious and had a blast playing princess together. Savannah even let Anna Kate wear one of her princess bracelets so they could both be princesses in the playground tower. I enjoyed just chatting with Kristin while Dave played and chased Savannah, it was great! Again we ran a few errands, had dinner out, and then rented a movie to watch. I cannot even believe we made time to sit down and watch an entire movie.

Monday was also my first day without the big boot! I wore tennis shoes all day and although they felt odd at first, I think the biggest problem is the swelling that has started in my feet. I guess with only 3 weeks to go it's due, but definitely not welcome. For the first time this pregnancy I also cannot wear my wedding rings. :( Oh well, at least I haven't had to deal with carpal tunnel this time.



Today is sadly Savannah's last day of WEE school. We arrived super early this morning and took a final picture with her two teachers. Oh how we are going to miss them and going to school.

Baby + Shower = Good Times

Wednesday was a busy day for us! We started the morning by all going to my ultrasound. Savannah could hardly wait to see her baby brother's picture, although I think she was a little disappointed with the way the picture actually looked! This baby appears to be as healthy as ever and is already weighing in a 6 pounds, 14 ounces! Whew! Just seeing him again helps me escape the craziness of daily life and realize, once again, that there is a little miracle in my tummy. Oh how I can't wait to hold him!!

Wednesday night, my precious Bible study friends hosted a fun shower at a restaurant in Ballantyne. It was such a treat to be able to sit, chat, and open some adorable things for our new little one!

Now back to the real world . . .

Can anyone identify this fungus type of stuff that keeps growing in our shrubs and up the house?? We (okay, Dave) dug it up on Monday and already it is back, bigger than ever!

Mom is doing better and was moved to a rehabilitation facility yesterday. Here's another way God is working . . . she is in the exact facility that my great grandmother is currently in!! So not only does mom know someone else there, but she will have many more visitors!! I'm so thankful that she is getting back to her normal self and is feeling better each and every day. She has even eaten some real food the past two days! :) Please just continue to pray for her as she has a follow up appointment with the oncologist next week.

Encouragement Along the Journey

My friend Nancy posted yesterday about how our closest friends help us make it through this journey of motherhood. I can't stop thinking about that because it is SO true. Over the past few weeks my friends have been there for me in ways that I cannot even explain . . . through e-mails, prayers, meals, childcare, and countless phone calls to check in and offer words of encouragement. They even organized a prayer time just for our family where 10 women gave up several hours of their night to come and pray, just sit before the Lord and pray specifically for us. It's words like this that continue to speak to me and hold my hand along this journey:

Your pregnancy has been a journey. It’s a different kind of journey with different fears, different stress, countless tears have been shed for different reasons. The miracle for you and the gift through all of this is this precious baby. God knew what you would be facing, and although sometimes it may seem like the worst time to have a baby, to God, it’s the perfect time. Because this baby is a blessing, a gift, a tight hug and a promise from God that although some days seem darker than night, God has a plan. And that plan involves this baby. His due date was divinely planned. He is given to bring joy, life, hope. God knew everything, Chrystal, and so he gave you this child.

When we pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn't, it may be because He wants us to climb the mountain and see Him transfigured. Powerful words. Chrystal, you have quite a climb ahead of you...and you're doing it pregnant and with a bum foot. Sheesh, nothing like making the climb harder. But I can't help but believe that your climb will glorify God all the more since you have these obstacles. I wish I could see ahead to know what other obstacles you'll face or how high your mountain is. I wish that I could climb it for you. What I can do, is climb with you-carry your pack when you can't walk another step, rest with you when you feel like you've had enough, and encourage you when you overcome the steepest parts, and remind you that my view from the top of my mountain is incredible. I can't wait to hear about your view when you get there. And you WILL get there.

I wanted you to know that you're never very far from my thoughts and prayers. I'm praying specifically for your sweet baby boy. I'm praying that he is the healthiest and happiest baby you can imagine, and I"m praying for absolutely no colic and reflux! I'm praying that, when he gets here, it's undeniable that he's a miracle, a blessing, and confirmation that God's timing is impeccable. I know that your plate is full right now even without the anticipation of a newborn, but I can't help but think that you'll look back on these days in a few months or years and see so clearly how incredibly perfect his arrival was timed. That's my prayer.

I'm not sure what I would do without each of my friends, but I'm thankful that's one thing I don't have to worry about! I love you girls!!

Baby in a Box

This was too funny not to share . . . we finally broke out one of our Christmas gifts and decided to do a little spot cleaning on the carpet. (Nesting in full swing here.) Anyway, as the spot bot was running this is what we found, Savannah in her "car".

Week in Review

Savannah and Will at the playground

Savannah riding the airplane

I'm thinking that blogging is going to become a once a week thing, at best, with all that is going on around here. So here is my attempt at catching everyone up on our week, in reverse. Today was great! We spent most of the morning doing some much needed yard work . . . Savannah picked up sticks, I pulled weeds and swept, and Dave did lots of weeding and mowing. We finished just before the rain came in. Thankfully the rain didn't last long as we had planned an outing with some of Dave's friends from Clemson at a park. It's so hard to get everyone together that we set this date over 2 months ago and were all looking forward to catching up while the kids played together. What an awesome afternoon it was just relaxing and watching Savannah play with Will and Cooper. I enjoyed some time talking to the mommies while the guys caught up as well.

Friday was a day filled with errands and phone calls, as was the rest of the week! Thursday I did make it to Winston to visit with mom. At the time she seemed to be doing well, but has really struggled through the weekend, both physically and mentally. They just yesterday diagnosed her with another type of bacterial infection and have quarantined her room. You now have to wear a gown and gloves just to visit with her. It is definitely a roller coaster ride trying to get her out of there. Each day it seems like something else goes wrong, all the while another thing is improving. Mom is able to move around a little more now and is trying to start taking liquids by mouth, which has also been a challenge. Please continue to pray for her healing and that she will be able to leave the hospital soon. I know she is sick of seeing those walls and ready for a change.

The week coming up will probably be just as busy. It's Savannah's last full week of WEE School (sadly) and I have two doctor appointments . . . one for the foot and one for the baby with another ultrasound! Yippee! I'll try to get some pictures scanned in on Wednesday so everyone can see our "little" baby boy. Until then, please keep us in your prayers!

Mother's Day Weekend

What a special weekend this has been for us. We actually celebrated my mother's day yesterday since we knew today would be crazy with getting up early for church and visiting mom in Winston, but what a great day it was! Dave got up early to get us Chick fil A biscuits and we all enjoyed them in bed along with some Saturday morning cartoons. We had a low key morning with working on a few things around the house and then headed to Gaffney to see what was new at the Pottery Barn outlet. We ended up doing quite a bit of shopping and had dinner at Cracker Barrel before heading home.

Today after a great service at church we headed straight to Winston to visit with mom. It was so nice to see her feeling better and able to talk for awhile. She is still very sick and needs lots of prayers, but at least now the doctors are hopefully that she'll make it home by the end of the week! Dave surprised me with a ice cream cake when we got back home to top off a wonderful mother's day weekend.

I am so thankful to have such wonderful mother role models in my life. To my own mom who has raised me and my brother with such high values, who would do absolutely anything for us, who loves us unconditionally, and has sacrificed for us daily ~ thanks for showing me how to be a great mom and for molding me into the mom I myself am today. To my grandmother ~ thanks for bringing such joy and laughter into my life and for setting such a godly example of marriage. To my mother in law ~ thanks for being such a terrific mom to my wonderful husband and for the way you raised him to be a godly man. Finally, to my amazing mommy friends ~ thank you for walking this journey of motherhood daily with me, for listening, offering advice and encouragement, lending helping hands, and for loving me. I couldn't be the mommy I am without each and everyone one of you!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Covered with Love

Yesterday my precious friend Jenny came over to help me make some nursery decisions. We managed to pick a paint color, decide on furniture placement, and even go get the paint. On the way back she offered to help Dave paint sometime soon so when I got home and talked it over with Dave we decided to take her up on the offer. What we didn't know is that she would do it today! She called last night and said that she, along with her husband and two other friends of ours wanted to do this for us and could come while we were in Winston today to paint the entire nursery! Hallelujah! What a blessing not to have to worry about that task with everything else going on.

So today Dave and I went Winston to see mom ~ leaving a team of workers at our house to paint. I knew it was going to be a hard trip to make, but really wanted to go and see her. She is pretty sedated at this point, but my sister in law said it well when she said that she is still her normal sassy self. Although mom would doze in and out, we still were able to talk to her, laugh, and share Savannah's recorded message card with her. She seems to be better but they are having a really hard time controlling her blood pressure and pulse rate . . . last night it was up to 240! So for now, she staying in ICU with lots of attention and help. I talked with her surgeon for a long time yesterday and he said that if she continues to fight she'll make it out of the hospital, but there is a chance that she may not make it home. It breaks my heart, but I'm thankful that at least in the hospital they can keep her comfortable with the pain medication. Please just continue to pray hard for her body to heal from the surgery so that it can fight this cancer.

I am really learning how to let go and ask for help through this process. How thankful I am that when I ask for help there are lots of answers! I sent an e-mail on Friday asking for volunteers to take Savannah for the day today. I can't even remember how many friends offered to watch her, totally altering their plan for the day, but blessed doesn't even begin to describe how I felt knowing that I could leave her in super capable hands and that she would have a blast! Then, when we returned from Winston Salem this afternoon we found not only the nursery painted, but the dishwasher run and emptied, our toilet fixed (that had broken yesterday), and Savannah's new bed rail assembled and ready to go! Plus, another friend is bringing us dinner tonight. I'm not sure how we deserve these awesome, loving, giving friends but I am super thankful for each of them!

Today, I truly feel covered with love.