Visit from Grandparents and Spring!

The weather in Alabama is never very predictable.  Last week we had lows in the 30s and next week we have highs in the 80s.  but when it's beautiful, it's really gorgeous.  Today is such a day.  The high is 70, it's completely cloudless, and the sky is a rich blue.  Everything is beginning to bloom and become green.  It's a very hopeful time of year.  A great time to have a baby!

It's also a great time for year to ride a motorcycle.  Patrick's parents, Ed and Marie (or Hapaw and to-be-named) are part of a motorcycle club that is meeting in Huntsville today.  They rode down on their bike yesterday and are spending the day today riding with the club.  Tonight we'll go to dinner (probably Hapaw's favorite: Japanese) and tomorrow we'll go to church before they head back to Chattanooga.  I think Ed loves Connor just slightly more than his motorcycle, so you can imagine what a fun weekend this is for him.

Ed and Marie on one our their motorcycles on our driveway this morning.

Our backyard

Dogwood flower

Coral Honeysuckle.  We have two of these plants in our front yard, two beside our back patio, and a large trellis by the back fence.

One Month!

Yesterday marked one month until Connor's due date!  My sister Sarah and my brother Henry were visiting us and I got Sarah to take some pictures of Patrick and me together.

I've hit a wall of sorts where I went from feeling pretty okay, to feeling a little panicked and pretty physically uncomfortable.  It's hard to move and my belly gets in the way a lot.  I was also really freaked out by one of my friends from college, who is due the day after me, pointing out that her due date is 4.5 weeks away.  I was totally surprised  and started crying because I don't feel ready.  Not because I don't want Connor to be here, not because I would much rather not be pregnant right now, but because the transition time and adapting to have a baby is intimidating and frightening.

Babies = Lots of Stuff

Wow! After two baby showers, I feel like our baby owns more things than I do now... and he's not even born yet!

We had a trip to Chattanooga this weekend to see family and a couple of friends. We ate at Foodworks twice, so we got to see Aunt Megan, the best waitress there is, twice this weekend! Also, my food got cooked by Megan's boyfriend Dave both times, (note to self: remember to change that to "Uncle Dave" if his status changes in the future) and it was excellent as always!

The first time we went to eat was Friday night with my parents, "Hapaw" and my mom, whose grandmother name remains to be determined; as well as Becca's mom "Sani" (pronounced "Sunny"), Aunt Sarah, Uncle Will, and Uncle Henry. We went again for brunch today with Aunt Sarah and our friends David and Lorin (who wishes to be called "Crazy Uncle Lorin").

Yesterday Becca went to a Chattanooga baby shower. It was at Great-Granmar's house, and Great Aunt Graham and Aunt Sarah arranged everything. Becca had a wonderful time, and we are both so grateful for all the gifts we got from everyone!

Today when we got back home to our house, we went through all the gifts so I could see them, and I was amazed by how many things we have already accumulated. For your viewing pleasure, a photo of the madness:

Our little one is almost here, and we are very excited to meet him. Most of the people we saw this weekend will not see us again until he is here! I know I won't be getting the sleep I'm used to when he arrives, but the only thing I am really not looking forward to is changing the diapers! I am sure that my love for him will allow me to do it without hesitation when the time comes, though!

Love from Dad!

New Niece!

What can I say, my brothers are good girl makers.  My brother Parks and sister-in-law Liz are expecting another sweet little girl in early August, which will bring my Mom's grandchild count to 5 girls and 1 boy.  Poor Connor!  He's totally outnumbered.

To add to that, my first cousin Hayley and my sister-in-law Laura's sister-in-law Nelly are having girls around the same time.  I think they are due around 6 weeks apart from each other.  I guess it's a girl time of year!

I guess we know that Connor will know how to be sweet to girls and also to follow direction.  He's going to have to have a strong personality to hold up against all his powerful girl cousins.

 Lily Kate and Charlotte

Lillian (and Lily Kate in the background)

Happy Birthday Gwenyth!

To my baby:
 A year ago, your mommy was in Philadelphia to help your Aunt Laura, Uncle Myers, and cousin Lillian when your cousin Gwenyth was born.  We were all so excited to have another baby in our family, even though we were scared what was going to happen.  We were all praying to God that he would take care of all us and help baby Gwenyth to to survive her surgery.  So many miracles happened over the next few weeks and we were all so happy to have this precious new baby with us.

Here are some pictures from our baby Gwenyth's birth day.

 Uncle Myers, Lillian, and Gwenyth

 The sign the nurses made for Gwenyth

 Sani and Gwenyth

 Your mom and Gwenyth

Praying for Japan

As most of you know, Patrick's brother Kevin has been living in Japan working through the JET program as an English teacher in the Nara City schools for the past five years.  Last August, when his contract was up, he came back to the US, planning to be here a year before going back to open an English-speaking cafe in Nara and living in Japan permanently.  Last Wednesday he flew back to Nara to visit his girlfriend for her birthday.  Nara is in southern Japan, so it was not really affected by the earthquakes and tsunamis, but I know his heart is hurt for all the people in his adopted country.

Patrick and I have visited Japan twice and we know that we will be going back in the future to visit Kevin.  We want to get this book to help our children understand Japan's culture and what their uncle's life is like:

We love Japan and are praying for them as they go through this huge time of crisis.

Patrick, Kevin, and their sister Megan in Japan last May.

Busy, Busy Week Ahead

This upcoming week is going to be very busy!  We have a lot going on.  Tomorrow we will be having lunch with friends, Monday night is a class on breastfeeding, Tuesday is a shower for my friends Jessica and her fiance Tom, Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, Thursday is Jessica's and Tom's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, Friday we have no plans, and Saturday is their wedding!  I am a bridesmaid and I'm very excited for them.

That's way more stuff than I've had planned for a week in a long time.  I hope I don't get too exhausted!

Last Sunday, my sweet friend Britni threw me a shower for my Huntsville friends and it was so fun!  I loved being able to see all the people who were able to come, and we were grateful for all the gifts that we received.  Everyone got Connor a book instead of a card and Patrick has been reading them to him every night.  It's precious.  Right now he's working on The Little Prince.