Getting myself ready to head out the door this morning. NST at Grtiman and then a trip over to see the Dr. We are hoping that the news will be good...baby is coming. Of course, we already know he is coming...I'm just kind of hoping that today or tomorrow will be the day.

At our last visit we were scheduled for an induction on the 25th at 7am. That is next Wednesday!!! I can hardly get my head around it. That is six days away! At this point I would prefer for him to make his grand entreance on his own but if it isn't going to happen that way so be it. The hospital bags are all packed, the nursery is finished, and we are all anxious to meet him.

In the midst of anticipating this little guy's arrival, we are in full fledge packing mode. It is kind of sad to look around and not see all of the familiar things that make our home so cozy, comfortable, and us. The pictures are down, kitchen cupboards are bare, games & movies are gone. I can't believe we are moving in the midst of a new baby and another semester at school. If this doesn't test our resolve I don't know what will.

A few weeks ago the two most important men (sson to be three) in my life were baptized. I thought I would share a few of the photos with you. I have to say that when the boy was giving his testimony in church we were touched. He has such a heart for God. It makes a mama proud! The baptism took place at The Big Eddy. This is off of one of the area rivers and the water was a bit cold. The coolest part was that once the hubby was baptized he got to participate in the baptism of the boy. What a wonderful moment for the two of them!

Here are a few of my favorite shots:

The days just seem to be getting longer and longer! I have been going to the hospital 2x a week for Non-Stress Tests. So far the baby has been doing great. On Monday the little guy wouldn't cooperate and it took 20 minutes to just get him to stay put for the monitor! Once we were all hooked up I got settled in and turned on the TV. I got a little food network going on...and then the contractions started. They weren't anything major...just small ones but fairly regular. During the course of the monitoring the Dr. decided she didn't like the way the baby's heartrate was reacting. This led to a biophysical (fancy name for in-depth ultrasound). Can I just say that this far into the pregnancy the baby looks more like a blob than a baby. There is just no room in there and so it is harder to see all of his parts!  Test went well and they sent me home after 3.5 hours!

Followed up with the Dr. today and there has been definite progress. First of all, I gained a bit of weight (like 5 pounds in 5 days) YIKES! Fortunately I am still measuring on track so we will just chalk it up to...who knows. Had my group b strep test...expect the results of that tomorrow, probably after my visit to the hospital for another NST. Then she checked my cervix...first thing out of her mouth...

His head is in a great position!

OK then...I thought he had dropped given that I seem to visit the bathroom about 6 times an hour! I am also starting to dilate...thank you contractions. She decided that she doesn't want me to go beyond the 25th of the month so we scheduled an induction for the 25th at 7am. We are secretly hoping and praying that this little guy will make his appearance on his own before then. I am still on bedrest...blood pressure was slightly elevated today. Nothing major...but still no activity for me.

Total bummer...I really want to go and take a walk or ride my bike. I guess there will be time for that soon enough. We are SO excited to meet this little guy. we felt that way with both of the other kids as well, but this time around it seems to be so much bigger. Maybe because we have sent two angels to heaven before this little guy, maybe because we were not anticipating having another one at all. Who knows...I just know we can't wait. Even the boy is stoked.

Talked to him today about the delivery...he so wants to be there. He knows what is coming...I told him. Not sure if he is prepared for it but we aren't telling him no. He is such a part of this little guy's life already that being a part of the birth just seems right.

Off to relax...slight contractions again this afternoon. Going to give my body a chance to settle in to what it needs to do. Who knows...

We may be welcoming him sooner rather than later!

Woke up to a beautiful 4th of July Day! Decided to start the day with bacon, eggs, toast, and milk/OJ for the family. Today is going to be amazing. We are heading out this afternoon to BBQ with some great friends. In the meantime we are beginning to tackle the extremely daunting task of packing for our upcoming move.

Although I hate the thought of packing...I do like to use the opportunity to purge! We manage to accumulate so much stuff that we don't need/use and this is a great time to get rid of it all! The plan is to have a TON of packing done before this little guy makes his grand appearance. While that sounds like a great plan let me just say that progress has been SLOWER than SLOW! That is a hard concept for me since I am always going 100mph. Unfortunately being on bedrest makes it hard to pack. I spend most of the time delegating. The nice part of it is that I am not actually packing! We have already measured out the new place so we know exactly what is going where, so that will make the moving process much smoother!

The boy is super excited about the opportunity to live outside of city limits. I can already see his plans formulating...lots of shooting! He is aching to get the bow and BB gun out. To bad he has to wait a few weeks!

And speaking of waiting...where are you little guy? We are anxious to meet you. How much longer are you going to make us wait for you? While it is nice to be getting things done, it would be so much sweeter to be holding you in our arms. I can hardly stand the wait. I wake up each day wondering if it will be the day I get to hold you in my arms and look at your beautiful face.

Pretty sure you aren't coming today. That's ok with us. We are going to be involved in other things today (and it is your grandpa's B-day). I am still counting the days though!

What is this thing?
I seem to have a huge tumor like growth radiating out from the center of my body. I just woke up one day and BOOM...there it was. It appears to be slowly sucking the life force from my body. Let me clarify:

1.  I can no longer sleep
2.  I am suffering from frequent potty stops
3.  I can no longer walk like a normal human
4.  I seem to have no energy what so ever
5.  I have been ordered to bedrest since Christmas
6.  I am a walking pharmacy due to said growth
7.  I am required to stick/bleed myself 6x a day
8.  I can no longer eat the way I am accustomed
9.  At various times the growth can be seen
      morphing around in there

Here's the thing: I am loving this thing!

Truth be told...it isn't a thing. It is our son and we are counting down the days until he will arrive. We are so excited...we can't wait to meet him. I am trying to spend the remaining days capturing and remembering this time. I know I will miss the days when I no longer waddle, make frequent bathroom stops, and am tired all of the time. I know I will miss feeling him move and morph inside of me. There are days I can almost wrap my head around the fact that there is indeed a small person inside of me. He is coming soon and we can't wait.

In the meantime...hospital bag is mostly packed. The nursery is set-up and waiting. The big brother is super excited and can't wait to meet him. Oh yeah...we are packing to move! What was I thinking...packing at the same time we are having a baby! Since that isn't insane enough, we are moving with a new baby and smack at the start of a new semester at school. That was great planning on my part!

Coming soon...updates on the rest of the family and hopefully some photos. I do believe I have taken some in the last few months. So great to be back in the blogging seat. I spent the last hour reading through old posts and found myself laughing, crying, and just enjoying the moments of our lives that I have "captured". My life may have changed a lot in the last year (not always for the good) but regardless there are still memories being made that can be shared and moments that should be preserved for forever. Here is to the may upcoming memories and sleepless nights!

Mine involved lots of reading, phone calls, piles of paperwork, committee meetings, and a new job. Between life, school, and scouts, I have no idea how I am going to squeeze a job in, but a certain dept. at U of I has been after me for a bit and it looks like I will be helping them out until the holidays are over.

On another note....we are collecting food for scouting for food next Saturday the 12th. If you have some canned food you would like to donate let me know...I will happily pick it up. All the food helps to assist those in our community that have needs.

Ok blogging world...I'm back! I am going to attempt to maintain this blog and post regularly. I think it should be interesting to see how well I can balance home, school, homework, housework, scouts, couponing, blogging, and life! Let's see if I have what it takes!

Ok, so I have been waiting for this day forever...I am finally under 200!!! Weigh in today put me at 197.6! I am so happy! I can't believe how I am progressing, and I am finding what is hard and what is easy, what works and what doesn't. There were a few days last week that I was ready to throw in the towel but I am glad that I kept plugging along.
The goal for this next week is to get my studying done (3 big tests) and to get to the gym to workout (at least twice). Let's see what happens!