Last shot

Here is the cutest profile ever!


So now I ask...does this look like the "Sam Eagle" nose we discussed a few months back?
Any thoughts on who this little guy will look like?
Does he look extra juicy?

Our plan for tomorrow:
1. Call L & D at 6am to see if there is a room for me. (If so, continue to #2)
2. Enter L & D at 6:30 am
3. 7:30 am start induction
4. Get used to people touching and seeing my vagina
5. Dr. will come back during lunch to check on me
6. If no baby by the End of day:
a. baby and I are fine, Dr will take me off meds, let me walk, eat and shower and start again
Wednesday morning at 4:30 am and continue
b. baby and I are not fine- Dr. will slice and dice to get baby out quick

Any guesses on:
His size?
Day/Time he is born?
How many hours I'll labor?

I've been an emotional mess. Mark and I went to church yesterday...last time without a baby. Passed the mothers' room....last time without it actually having a purpose for me (other than being the stinky room). When I go to bed tonight, its the last time Mark and I go to bed in our room without our little guy. We've had 5 wonderful years together and boy has it been fun. I'm so grateful for the time we've been able to get to know each other, laugh, cry and pray together. Now we're going to have a great time full of laughter, crying (loads of that I'm sure), prayers and getting to know the new people we are about to become. I can't wait to share this experience with him and share our little man with you each of you. Thank you for riding with us on this wonderful journey of sentimental feelings. Tomorrow we leave as a couple and later this week we come home as a family! :)

My Best Friend- The Birthday Girl

Do you know her? This is Cassie Renee Gullett Clarkson. Today (Thurs Sept 17th) is her birthday. I think I get way more excited for her birthday than I do my own. I've been lucky enough to grow up with this gorgeous girl as my sister, my right hand, my best friend. She is unlike anyone you'll ever meet. She has a huge heart, she does anything she can for everyone she loves. She is LOADS of fun. She ALWAYS takes the best pictures...And I'm going to show her off for a moment.

Look how beautiful she is! This was from our sexy photo shoot we did for our husbands. :)

She even looks great up close!

She's always quick with a crazy face for pictures!

For Halloween one year, the three amigos from our office decided we should dress up as a great trio-we were Paper, Rock, Scissors. Cassie was Rock, I was Scissors...this is her crushing me.

Here we are with our super cute mama. This was a great weekend of Time Out For Women.

This was one of our fun Memorial Day trips- we love to ride go-karts.

Here she is with some crazy hair...looks like she's snorting to me. But why laugh if you don't snort? Cause that's when you know you're having a really good time!

This was a picture she was taking to send to a guy she met online...he's now her husband.

To go along with birthdays, here she is blowing out some candles after wishes were made for her and her baby girl, GA. She's great at picking out good cakes and desserts. This cake was super tasty.

Here she is super serious about the dessert table for my family shower. There were cupcakes, a yellow cake, chocolate cake with candied strawberries and a red velvet cake cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory! She wanted nothing more than it to be perfection for me...and it was!

Cassie and I have always done just about everything together. We shared a room growing up, we shared clothes for a short period of time (when she wasn't looking), she always took me places with her even when my parents didn't make her, she taught me to drive a 5-speed when I was 12 (I won't tell Christian), she let me hang out with her friends.

As adults, we lived together again, did everything together again and each Sunday, she'd jump in bed with me until it was time to get ready for church. We vacationed together, we prayed together and we've certainly loved together. We've had the best life as best friends and today, is a super special day that we get to celebrate her!

She recently got me hooked on a show called Deliver Me on the Discovery Health channel. The theme song reminds me of Cassie every time I hear it.

When the end of the day has come and we're running out of time
You are the one who knows me and knows what's on my mind
I can't be Super Woman no matter how I try
But my strength is greater when I know you're by my side.

My sister, my right hand, my best friend
Deliver me to the bright eyes of fortune
Deliver me
I need your help to push me through
And I know you need me too
My sister, my right hand, my best friend
Deliver me.

At the end of the day and we've fought the good fight
We've given our blood and tears and it's still worth the ride
You have an insight into how far we've come
And I'm grateful for every moment and every battle won.

My sister, my right hand, my best friend
Deliver me to the bright eyes of fortune
Deliver me
I need your help to push me through
And I know you need me too
My sister, my right hand, my best friend
Deliver me.

Cassie-Thank you for always sharing a laugh, a cry and sometimes a bed. Thank you for being my sister, my right hand and my very best friend. I love you so much!

P.S. She also shares a birthday with her husband Jason...so Happy 40th Birthday UKJay!

Set the Timer for 11 days

In 11 days I will no longer be walking around with a bun in my oven. Evidently he'll be golden brown (or nice and pink). I'll be checking in to the hospital for my induction. We might have a 22nd, 23rd or 24th baby. He could even really be sweet and show up on the 25th- our 5th anniversary! Hopefully, it won't take from Tuesday to Friday...but whatever it takes to get him here is what I'll do.

So 11 days it is. Mark and I are relieved we have a little more time to prepare for his arrival. I'm super excited I get to put on makeup and fix my hair before I head in! Hooray.

Tell 'Em Large Marge Sent Ya!

We had an ultra sound today!

Questions: Is Little Mark head down?
How big is Little Mark?

Well good news...He's HEAD DOWN!!

The ultra sound tech's name is Jenn. We love her! She's always been good times. Jenn asked "so when is your due date?" I said "supposed to be Oct 5th but last u.s. you said he was about 10 days ahead of schedule." And she said "WHEN?" And Mark repeated Oct 5th to her. I said "why, is it different?" She said "well, looks like he's measuring with a due date of TOMORROW!" I said "WHAT?" You can imagine my surprise right? So I said to her "how much does it look like he weighs?" She said "I'm going to calculate that right now, I'll be back."

So Mark and I sat waiting and waiting and waiting. When Jenn came back, she wouldn't look us in the face. She kept saying "Well, I could be off by a pound, give or take." and things like "Do you know how much I told your sister her baby was to see if I was pretty well on target with her?" I said "No, I don't know anything about that." I said "Are you going to tell us or are you waiting for back up from the Dr?" She said "well, I told Dr. Thirumlai and she said she knew your baby would be big!" At this point, Mark and I are DYING to find out. "Jenn, just tell us!" She said "I'm measuring him at 8 lbs 9 oz!!!" Go ahead, re-read that. 8 lbs 9oz (give or take a pound). All I could do was laugh hysterically! I think everyone in the office heard me laughing. What a SHOCK!

Jenn said she measures large so realistically he's between 7.5 lbs and 8.5 lbs. She would put money on him coming out no less than 8 lbs.

If he was going to be a girl, I'd name her Large Marge! Just like PeeWee!

Tomorrow, we meet with the Dr and and we'll have a better idea of what to expect. I will be glad to share more info with each of you in our super exciting journey of the Little (or not so little) guy getting here.

Close enough I Can Almost Smell the Dirty Diapers

...that's how close He feels!

I have to say, getting pregnant was misery. Wait, let me rephrase that...I loved the practicing part- that part was fun! The emotions of not being pregnant for 3 years, month after month, having people ask if we even wanted children and going through the fertility process. After finding out we both had fertility problems and we kept getting jerked around, we finally quit because it was far too stressful. Then with losing my job and my insurance I was running low on everything, especially hope!

I had 3 experiences last year that led me to believe a baby was close. I was exercising like no one's business (except maybe a personal trainer) last year in my zumba class and was overcome with emotion. I knew what I was doing wasn't just for me, it was for the little spirit waiting for me to be ready for him. I couldn't believe I was crying in zumba. I couldn't even blame it on my eyes sweating. I had to walk out. Then I tried a spinning class. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. While spinning (not just the bike class, also my head) I wanted to quit so badly but as I was pushing along, I saw a face. A baby's face appeared as if it was there to cheer me on and finish the class. Then towards the end of December I finally started thinking about how Heavenly Father best answers my prayers. No matter what, if I need help finding something He ALWAYS helps me. So I decided to give it a try. I asked that He help me find my baby, regardless of where or how. I pleaded with Him to help me open my eyes, so I wouldn't miss any opportunities. Whether He direct me to a birth mother or a surrogate mother- I would accept His will with gratitude in my heart.

At that point, I knew I did all I could. I spoke to a very close friend and told her how I felt like there was a little boy close by, but I didn't know exactly what "close" was going to mean.

Well...my eyes were opened. As always, HF helped me find what I've been looking for. I have been so fortunate to have a smooth pregnancy. I've been blessed beyond measure. After trying for 3 years, the last 9 months have passed quickly. I've got my bag packed, I just need a few things to put in his bag and a few more things for him at home. I've got so much support and love pouring out from all over. I'm one grateful soon-to-be-Mommy. With a full heart and an always full bladder, I'm officially close! I really feel like I can smell the dirty diapers coming my way. I can't wait.

So, when will the little guy be here? Tomorrow I go in for an ultra sound, they will measure him and we will see if he's head down. If he's still breech, we will schedule a c-section. On the day of the c-section, they will do one more ultra sound to check him again. If he's turned at that point, they will send me home. Either way, we'll have a baby in the next 3 weeks. It feels SO good to be this kind of "CLOSE."

My Faves

Feast your eyes on my FAVORITE car ever. Not because its my favorite color yellow and not because its a convertible and certainly not because its a Mustang. Mustangs are not important to me (my husband would divorce me if I thought otherwise). From the back, you can see that two people are in the car. Looks like they carpool to save on money and the environment. You will soon see why this is my FAVORITE car.

I tried to get close-ups. If you see it, you'll want to speed up so you can catch a glimpse of this for yourself.

This is why! Do you see the passenger? This is not my first time seeing him. I have been lucky enough to witness this fun for the 5th or 6th time. Let me get closer for you

Are you wondering if his head moves? Cause it doesn't. This is a real dummy! (and a real oxymoron)

I'm not sure if the driver keeps this guy around for protection or because she's a comedic genius...but either way is fine by me.




Lately, he's gotten a really nice tan, a new hat, an earring and some drawn on facial hair.

Last time I saw him, he was wearing a Steve Irwin (R.I.P.) type hat, a little bit lighter skin and he was clean shaven.

Don't you love that the seat belt has the cushion on it, for his comfort? If that cushion wasn't there and there was friction, they might start a fire in the car!

Oh yeah, and the window is down. Gotta make sure he stays cooled off!

New Shower!!

This past weekend I was showered twice. One was a family baby shower which was absolutely beautiful. The other was a new shower head! It was a late birthday present from my sweet husband. When we moved into our house, we had a waterfall type shower head and were so excited about it. However, it has totally sucked for the past 3 years.

Here it is. Once Mark installed it we had to try it out. No photos of us in the shower...we'll save those for Mark and Little Mark showering. And I promise they will be G rated.

I wanted one like this so we can rinse the shower. Mark gets SUPER greasy during the day and at night it goes EVERYWHERE. So when I clean the shower, it takes about an hour because all the pitchers of water I have to slowly fill to rinse the walls and door of the shower.

So now, we're ready for spraying down the walls, a dog or anything else that comes our way. :)

The best part, if we want to shower together, we can both rinse off at the same time.

Thank you Mark! Showers won't ever be the same again. They certainly don't have to be lonely.

P.S. I remembered my camera cord!