Easter

     Easter is here! One of my favorite holidays! I love the fact that I serve a God who loves me SO much that He gave His son up to endure the ultimate torture so that I would NEVER have to. I have heard my whole life that it's a sacrifice you can't understand until you have kids of your own. I get that now. I would NEVER give up my precious Elsirae, as pure and innocent as she is, in order to save a bunch of ungrateful sinners. A God who can show that kind of love, is truly a God who IS love! It gives me chills just thinking about it! So, I count it a priviledge to celebrate that sacrifice and more importantly, the resurrection that followed that bought my salvation! Easter is so special!!!

     I begged Kev to get a pic with me before church and he finally relented (albeit grudgingly). However, Fiona always complies. :)

       We didn't get to see my beautiful angel-of-a-niece until later but...this picture was too precious not to steal. Isn't she stunning in her Easter dress?!?!

     After church we went to lunch with the Boatwright Clan. Waiting in the house was a sweet little Easter Basket for our little Elsirae! Tucked inside were tons of goodies for us and for her. My favorite goody was this little onsie...because of what it says of course! ;)

     We had a very happy Easter and MANY things to be thankful for! Spring is always the start of many new and wonderful things! Happy Easter to you and yours!!! May the love of our Heavenly Father and His precious Son, Jesus wrap you up with grace, hope, and unending love today and always!

The News is OUT!

   Well folks, we did it! We found out!!! Saturday morning we got up early and went to the Ultrasound Studio. Kev made his guess, and I made mine. We made a bet that the loser would have to give the winner a back rub...I lost. :'(
   
    We kept the secret safely sealed within the contents of this folder for the next 24 hours. We then called the baker to let her know what color to make the cake-pops for the Gender-Reveal Dinner with our families.

    Finally, Sunday night arrived and we showed up wearing the colors we had guessed...to play with everyone's minds. ;) No one believed I could keep the secret for 24 hours...but I DID!!! Here are some pictures from our dinner:

All of our family memebers got their own "pop" to bite into to reveal the gender!

   Well there you have it. Baby B is a little girl. Sugar and spice, and everything nice...at least that's what we hope. Her name will be Elsirae Hudson Boatwright. We thought and thought about the name. Truthfully, we had only boy names picked out. We were so certain that's what we were having. But AS USUAL God has a much better plan in mind. Elsirae means God is a promise. It's so fitting for our little miracle-girl because she is a fulfillment of God's promise to us.
 
   We are so excited to meet our little lady, but I'm not going to lie, I'm enjoying the slow progress. I'm still enjoying the fact that "Mommy" gets to be the sole source of love for this little Munchkin for the next 24 weeks. It's selfish, I know...but for a while I get to keep her all to myself. And that makes me smile. :)

We're Here...FINALLY!!!

    After TWO long years of construction...our house is finally done! We are moved in and sooooo happy!!! It truly is our Dream House, and I have to say: Kevin is an excellent contractor. I would hire him again ANY day! ;)

    Here are a few pictures of the final project...it's come a long way!!! (Please excuse the messes you may see as WE CURRENTLY LIVE HERE!!! :D) There are still many things that need to be done, BUT nothing we can't spend the rest of our lives taking care of. :)

He or She...what will it be?

  It's early...BUT we get to find out on Saturday what the little Miracle Munchkin is going to be! I can't stand the wait any longer so we made an appointment with an Ultrasound studio to get this party started!!!

   My amazing co-workers put together a "gender" basket for me. They delivered it item by item to my classroom via students throughout the day until I had a basket-full of pink and blue goodies! It was super sweet, special, creative, and FUN!!!

   My students also did a vote. Here are the results:

   Can't wait for Saturday morning to see if Baby B is pink or blue!!!

Awkward. Turtle.

  

Today is week 15, and Baby B is the size of an avocado!

   It's hard to believe we've gone from something so tiny, to something so tangible!!! Anyway, we started off week 15 with a bang! Well, actually...an awkward turtle.

Just in case you're wondering what "Awkward Turtle" looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SULsR9-lbw  

     Those of you who know me, know this is one of my FAVORITE sayings. It refers to that super-awkward, cherry-hot-faced, armpit-sweaty, crickets-chirping-in-the-background moment. For me, these happen A LOT! I don't know if it's because I'm so observant, or because I'm just super uncomfortable outside of my normal bubble. Either way...the "Awkward Turtle" seems to be my constant companion.
   

     Well, those of you who know me, also know I'm a crazy naturalist at heart. No, I don't go around hugging trees or refusing to shave my legs BUT I will cry if I kill a butterfly driving down the highway. No joke. (This is one of my husband's least favorite things about me.)

     In fact, my first year of teaching, as I was leaving my house (at 6:45am) I noticed a squirrel in the middle of the road that had been, shall we say...flattened. His pitiful little tail was just whipping around like a windmill! He was suffering...and I started bawling! I stopped my car, got out and scooped him up, pulled BACK into my driveway, took the little critter inside, and made him nice and comfy. Then I left for work (again). I called Mr. B on the way out...let's just say I got a SERIOUS tongue-lashing lecture. He was not happy.  I was late to work that day. When I returned home, Peanut (the rescue-squirrel) was dead. :'( I cried uncontrollably while my husband angrily buried him. Not good.

    But I digress...I said that to tell you, I'm a naturalist. Always have been. I've got TONS more stories just like that. Ask my family...they will tell you (in their oh-my-gosh-she's-so-annoying voices). Anyway, the naturalist in me has always, always, ALWAYS, wanted a natural childbirth.

    By natural, I mean with as little medical intervention as possible. My mom did it 6 times! My mother-in-law did it 4 times! Of course my grandparents did it...one of them 5 times and my great grandmother 10 times! It's just always been a dream of mine. I have a pretty high pain tolerance...BUT I am totally aware the childbirth will be like NO OTHER PAIN I have ever experienced.

   So, I want to be prepared. I want to have some coping mechanisms in place and I want to talk to other people who have chosen to do it and been successful. I started researching and I found a class. The class lasts for 12 weeks, you get a workbook, and you are surrounded by other couples with like-minded plans.

   Sunday night was our first class. We walked into a house...no furniture. Disgusting floor...hadn't been cleaned. Dirty sleeping bags laid around the perimeter for us to "sit" on. That should have been my first clue. We arrived at 6:00pm. We left at 9:00pm!!! For those 3 hours...I felt like an actor from a movie comedy about birth. I mean, ALL of the people were walking around barefoot, rubbing on each other, making ungodly noises, and crunching on food that had been randomly laid out on a side table!!!

   Awkward. Turtle. Mr. B was NOT a happy person. He gets even more uncomfortable than I do in situations like that and he was so embarrassed he was M.A.D. I couldn't stop laughing...at him and our surrounding entertainment.
   
   At one point, the instructor came to "inspect" our methods and told Kevin to remove my shoes. He responded with a quick, "no". She looked at him dumbstruck and he said, "her feet get cold" which, in his defense, is true. The instructor then told him that he could take off his shirt to keep them warm!!! She got an even quicker and more abruptly rude, "NO!"...and she finally decided to move on.

    When class was over (3 hours later) Kevin said, "You tell her we'll mail her a check. Then, you send her an email telling her WE ARE NOT coming back. Ever." If the situation wasn't so hilarious it would probably have been terrifying!

    Suffice it to say, I'm going to have to find a different class to help me if I'm going to stick to my guns. THAT was not working for me. Too much "Awkward Turtle" for my taste!!!

This is how I felt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSh7FRalwdg

2nd Trimester has Officially Begun!

    We've reached 14 weeks people! Man has time flown by!!! The Munchkin has grown to the size of an beet...but you really couldn't tell by looking at me. I'm starting to show a tiny bit...but really it just looks like I've become a glutton and my belly is swollen from food intake.  I won't be complaining about that though because I still have 25 more weeks to grow!

    We had our 2nd appointment with the OB/GYN last week. Everything still looks perfect and I haven't gained any weight! We also got to hear the heartbeat for the first time! I made Kevin record it. He was VERY uncomfortable...even though this was the first doctor's appointment I have been to in 5 years that I didn't have to get undressed for! I was FULLY clothed. The doctor simply lifted my shirt to expose my belly and Kev got all twitchy and uncomfortable. I couldn't believe it...I mean, it's not like he wasn't there for the embarrassing stuff for the past 5 years! Silly man!!! :) He better get used to it. It's about to get a WHOLE lot more embarrassing!!!

    Anyway...this is the recording. I would recommend that you avert your eyes and just listen because he seriously was trying to point the camera at anything EXCEPT me...it will make you dizzy. So, just listen. :)

   It was nice to hear the heartbeat. I'm so used to seeing the inside of my belly and now that I won't be able to until the gender-reveal...I just really enjoyed the proof of life. Especially since I can't feel all that movement yet. :)