Birth Announcement!

Just ordered them and thought I would share...

Stationery Card

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Our Sweet Boy...

Jacob Eugene McMinn

August 26, 2011
9:24 p.m.
8 lbs, 6 oz
19 1/2 inches long

And we are in love...

38 weeks...

and counting There's not much to report except that our little guy is still snuggled tight in my belly. He's been pretty active the last few days and I finally told him today that clearly we were having trouble "sharing" room and that he would probably be
much more comfortable if he just came out. ;)

One of the last things on my "to do" list was to take a few pictures and today we managed to snap a few. Here are a few...



and one that's a little scary... ;)

My next Dr. appt. is on Tuesday morning and of course I'm anxious to see if I've progressed any further than the 1 cm dilated I was at last week. I'll continue to keep my blog updated and would be thrilled to be posting newborn pictures in the very near future!

34.

37 weeks

Today I am officially considered "full term" which means anytime this sweet baby boy wants to make his grand entrance, we will happily oblige!

While there is always "something else to be done", I can comfortably say that we finally have everything ready to welcome a newborn into our family. His room is complete (with the exception of a few decorative elements), we are stocked with the necessary supplies, bassinet is ready to go in our bedroom, hospital bag is packed, and now we simply wait.

I am determined to complain as little as possible, but the truth is that in the last week I have started to feel pretty uncomfortable. Sleeping is becoming much more difficult (not that I expect to get good sleep for the next year), my stomach muscles seem to be stretched to their capacity and feel like they are going to tear from my ribs at any second and the pressure of carrying a baby very low has begun to radiate into my thighs. Oh and lets not forget...as much as my mantra has been "toes in", it's officially...I'm waddling! ;) With all of that I think I can safely say that I'm ready to hold my sweet baby boy in my arms. Yet, even so I'm content to wait on God's perfect timing...I know he will come eventually and when he does it will be worth every second of the past 9 months.

Andy snapped this picture yesterday after Bella's birthday lunch...I'm 1 day short of 37 weeks, but it's close enough...

Our beautiful Isabella Grace...

is 9 years old today. Half way to being an adult and yet it seems like just yesterday that we were meeting her for the first time. We didn't really know what a special blessing God had given us 9 years ago, but as the years have passed, we have realized just what an amazing gift she is. As her mom I know I'm a bit partial, but in my opinion she is a beautiful young lady with her crystal blue eyes and sweet smile, but more importantly, she has an equally (if not more) beautiful spirit about her. She is kind, considerate, compassionate, nurturing, helpful and so much more. We really couldn't be prouder of the young lady she is becoming.

Today we celebrated with our traditional "family birthday" by taking the girls to Build-a-Bear, enjoying lunch at Bella's favorite place, Claim Jumpers and then going to the movies and watching "The Smurfs". I hope that she never gets tired of wanting to spend a day with her family celebrating each new year. She will be having a sleep over next weekend with a few friends and has a fun filled evening of "girl pampering" planned. She has even requested that I make chocolate covered strawberries, as she is not a big fan of cake.

I wish I could slow time down just a bit, but knowing that isn't possible, I'm going to do all I can to cherish each and every day we have with her as she continues to grow into the young lady that God has designed her to be. It is our prayer that we are the loving, encouraging, gentle parents that she deserves...and while I know there are times we screw up big time, I'd like to think that a little part of who she is today is because of God's amazing guidance and grace in our lives as we have sought Him in this amazing journey of parenthood.

So to the 8 pound, 13 ounce bundle of joy that forever changed our lives 9 years ago, we wish you a very happy 9th Birthday and are so excited to see what this new year brings for you. You are daddy's "sweetheart", Chloe's "sissy" and my "beautiful" and we love you with all our heart...and always will!

My baby girl...

Is 4 years old today. Where in the world does the time go? We had a wonderful day celebrating our brilliant and spunky Chloe...spent most of the day at the waterpark and then came home for a BBQ and cupcakes...just the day she requested. ;)

As we were cuddling on the couch tonight before she went to bed she told me that she "wished she could be 3 again" and then when Andy was taking her to bed she told us that she "didn't want to grow up." Sometimes the things she says absolutely melt my heart and if she only knew how much we loved her...even in her "toughest" moments. She has brought so much joy to our family over the past 4 years and as hard as it is to believe another year has passed, I feel so blessed to be her mom and to watch her as she grows and continues to discover the world around her.

Happy Birthday mommy's "sweet baby girl"...daddy's "little one" (soon to be "middle one") and Bella's "sissy"...we love you so very much!

So much to say!

In the few quiet moments I get these days I sometimes sit back and wonder if we have some twisted need to continuously create chaos in our life?! ;) While, I know that's not the case, there is no doubt that we lead a very busy and unpredictable existence. I will be the first to admit that most of the time I am dragging my feet, sometimes even kicking and screaming, but eventually I come around to see that everything really does "work for the good" of those who trust in God and His perfect plan for our lives!

Our big news over this past month is that in a very short 30 days, we put an offer on a house, had the offer accepted, packed up our home, rented it out to a family and move across town! It would take much more time that I have right now to explain the details of how this all came to be, but suffice to say that there is no doubt that this is part of Gods plan for our family and without His favor there is no way any of this would have been possible. Bottom line, we are blessed!

It was definitely bitter sweet to leave the house we have worked so hard to make our home over the past 7 years. It represented so much "life" and it was hard to drive away knowing that in that moment it went from our "home" to a rental property. Even though it is just a structure, it is still hard to let go of the emotions attached to it. A very nice family has moved in and we are hoping that they find as much joy living there as we did!

We are currently in the unpacking process and while I would give anything to be able to wave my magic wand and have everything "just so", I know this is a process...a process that won't just happen overnight. We have some projects in the works and with the completion of each one, I know it will feel more and more like home to us and less like a place we are staying for a while. My mom and Mike came over this weekend and were such a blessing with their help. We spruced up the front yard a bit, installed a garage door opener, unpacked and organized boxes, and had a sounding board for some of our project ideas. In between all of that we also managed to enjoy our favorite past time when they visit and indulge in a ridiculous amount of sushi at our favorite sushi joint (which just so happens to be 5 minutes away from our new home). As a side note...as a sushi lover it is close to torture to only be able to order off of the cooked fish menu while pregnant...I'm pretty certain that after our sweet boy is here, Andy and I will escape for a few hours so I can enjoy all the raw fish my little heart desires! ;)

In other news, today marks the start of my 3rd trimester of pregnancy. It's hard to believe that I'm 28 weeks already and that we will be meeting our baby boy in 3 short months. I'd be lying if I didn't say that this move has me a bit stressed about feeling "settled" before the baby is here, but I'm trying to let go of some of my expectations and just focus on doing what we can and taking things one day at a time. I am getting to the point where my mind and my body are not necessarily in agreement when it comes to what I can do. In my mind I feel like I should be able to just continue along as usual, not being restricted at all by the fact that I'm growing another human being, but my body is telling me otherwise! ;) All of a sudden my belly is in the way of doing simple things such as bending over and my stamina just isn't what it used to be. I'm trying to be good and rest when I need to, but for those of you who know me, you won't be surprised to hear that I can be a bit stubborn at times and have a tendency to push myself just a little more that I probably should. Thankfully I have plenty of loving people in my life who remind me to take it easy and not over do it. :)

Andy and I are planning a short get away this month and I am simply cannot wait! Not only did Andy turn 33 last weekend, but we will be celebrating 11 years of marriage on the 17th. With this being our last opportunity to run away sans kiddos for a while, we've decided to take advantage of the time we have and combine a few milestones and celebrate with a short escape full of some of our favorite things!

Bella is out of school this week and we are all ready for her summer vacation to begin. It's hard to believe that another year is down and she will be a 4th grader, but this past year has been wonderful for her and we are so grateful for the wonderful education she is receiving. We have lots of fun things planned for her time off and are hoping that the weather begins to cooperate so we can take advantage of our summer!

There is so much more, but for now this update will have to do. In the midst of all of the "big stuff", life still goes on as usual...there is homework, play dates, bed time, dance recitals, end of the year parties and so on. And while there are times I feel totally overwhelmed by it all, when I take a step back, I realize that I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I love our crazy and sometimes chaotic life and feel so incredibly blessed by it all!

Dancing beauty!

Chloe has been taking dance with the same dance instructor that Bella had throughout Preschool. Honestly, we wouldn't have guessed that dance would be top on Chloe's list of things she wants to do, but evidentally we were wrong. Several months back I found a notice in her cubby at school notifying me that we were late in paying our bill. I was just a bit confused because I hadn't signed Chloe up for dance. Well after a bit of investigation I discovered that Chloe had signed herself up! ;) Yes, you read that right...she decided that she wanted to go to dance so one week when Ms. Katherine came to pick up the kids for dance, Chloe lined up and told her that her mom said she could be in dance now and with that, she was enrolled in dance class! ;)

Once we got the mystery of the late bill figured out, Chloe continued in dance and yesterday she participated in her first recital. The thought of Chloe dolled up in a tutu was a bit hard for me to wrap my mind around, but I thought we'd give it a try and see how she did. Well, she had a few "moments", but overall she really enjoyed it. As long as she was on stage she was happy as could be, but the whole sitting around, waiting really wasn't for her. The longer she sat, the more itchy her costume became, the worse her hair hurt and the more she just wanted her daddy! ;) Never being able to predict Chloe's behavior, we were quite surprised and impressed with her focus on stage. She knew every step of her routine and had a great time on stage!

Here are a few pictures we snapped...


















And here she is, back to the spunky Chloe we love and know so well... ;)

On being a kid...

There are times when against my better judgment regarding the longevity of our furniture, I take a deep breath, walk away, and just let the kids be kids...here's an example of one of those times...

Great American!

For the past couple months Bella has been working on a project for school called "The Great American Project". In a nutshell, the kids chose a "great american" and had to complete 3 parts over the course of 2 months. The first was to create a bust, the second was a written report and the final part was to write and memorize a speech to be presented to the school. In addition to the speech they had to dress up as their great american and bring a food from their time period.

Bella choose Betsy Ross and not only did she learn a great deal about Betsy, but our family now knows more than we ever thought we would about the women who sewed the first American flag! ;) Chloe was even able to recite the majority of Bella's speech and could answer questions, like "what was Betsy Ross' real name?" For those of you who are curious...she was born Elizabeth Griscom! ;)

Of course the "fun" part was speech day and in addition to their presentation to the school, the parents gathered for the potluck and a final presentation of the speeches. All of Bella's classmates did a amazing job and it was so neat to see every dressed up and smiling from ear.

It certainly was a lot of work and a few times I found myself wondering, "if this is what Bella is doing in third grade, what in the world are the next few years going to be like?" but in the end, I am so grateful for a school who takes such pride in the excellence of their education. It has been such a blessing to have Bella where she is and we're grateful for all that she is learning!

And without further ado, our very own Betsy Ross...

Mother's Day...

a day late. ;)

There is so much I could say about Mother's Day, but I'll do my best to keep this short and to the point.

First and foremost, I am blessed with the best mom anyone could ever ask for. She has taught me much of what has made me the woman I am today and has allowed me to learn from not only her successes, but her failures as well. I'm so grateful for the relationship we have and hope that I can demonstrate the same unconditional love she has shown me all of my life to my children!

I am also very lucky to have a wonderful mother-in-law. So many people complain about how meddling and bothersome their in-laws are, but I can say without a doubt that my in-laws are neither of those. They are supportive and loving and are absolutely wonderful grandparents! It's amazing to think that I have known them for 14 years now and while there were some "growing pains" in the beginning, I'm so grateful for the family we have become!

And then there's me. From as early as I can remember, I have always wanted to be a mom and these past 9 years have been more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. Sure, being a parent isn't always easy and I've definitely had my "moments", but when the day is done, I count my title of "mom" as one of my greatest honors and accomplishments in life. I love my girls with every ounce of my being and hope that they know that they will never have a bigger fan in life than they have in me...their mom. I am already falling in love with our baby boy as the days go by and I can't wait to experience the blessing of raising a son. A mother's day doesn't go by that I don't also have a few moments of reflections as I think about our children that aren't here on earth with us. It gives me an even greater appreciation for the blessing of our 2 daughters and the impending arrival of our son. It also reminds me that Mother's Day can be a heartbreaking reminder to many people...those who don't ha

Baby Bargains!

Okay, I know that my blog has become disproportionate in baby related posts, but the truth is, the McMinn household is very excited to welcome this baby boy into our family and we just can't help but share our excitement! The girls are constantly inquiring about what the baby is doing...is he moving? Is he sleeping? Does he have the hiccups? Andy and I are throwing around names, talking about what it will be like with a 3rd child and still stopping every once in a while to shake our heads at the fact that we are actually having a baby boy! So since this is my blog, I won't apologize too much for sharing our excitement, although I will recognize that we talk "baby stuff" a lot...both here and in person! ;)

Okay, without further ado, this weekend proved to be very successful in bargain hunting. As I've mentioned before, we need a new stroller and car seat this time around. I've gotten good use out of my stroller with the girls, but it is literally falling apart and as much as I'd like it to make it through another baby, it's just not going to happen. The carseat is a different story. We are very limited in space with our GTI and while we have the Durango, we try our best to use the GTI whenever we can because of the significant difference in fuel efficiency. While we won't be packing all of 5 of us in the GTI for any long distance trips, we do plan on continuing to use it around town as much as possible. I did some research and found a very safe carseat with great reviews that is specifically made for smaller vehicles. It wasn't the cheapest, but once I found it, my bargain hunting skills kicked in! I've been watching for several months now and on Saturday morning was able to take advantage of several "deals" which added up to a significant savings on the seat. Just to give you an example of how serious I am about my bargains, I even had it shipped to my moms house in California because they added tax to shipping addresses in Nevada. Knowing she would be over soon made saving another $20 a no brainer! :) It has arrived safely at Grandma's and I'm very excited to check it out when it finally makes it's way to our house! Here's a pic of the seat our little guy will be riding in...
As if that wasn't enough, I've also been diligently searching for stroller deals. I've found a few, but none that were just too good to pass up. Until this weekend that is. I was browsing craigslist for a few different brands of strollers I've been looking at and up popped a post that caught my eye right away. After exchanging a few emails and setting up a time to look at the stroller on Sunday, we are the proud new owners of this...

It is in like-new condition, used only a handful of times before they realized that a double stroller would fit the needs of their family much better. It came with an extra cover and a removable attachment that allows an older child to stand at the back of the stroller and ride as it's being pushed. It's absolutely perfect for Chloe who likes to walk just about everywhere, but who also gets tired on occasion and could use a break every once in a while. And at almost a third of the cost new I was thrilled to load it the back of the car and drive away!

It felt so good to mark those 2 items off our list...now it's just the "little" things...diapers, wipes, pacifiers, nursing accessories, etc. Things that are easy to stop by the store and pick up. It's kind of crazy how much changes with each subsequent child. I definitely have a list, but it is nothing compared to what my list looked like with Bella...or Chloe for that matter. As I told someone yesterday, all this little guys is going to need at first is a bassinet, a couple blankets and boobs. ;) Luckily, we have those things taken care of! :)

A special moment...

While I've been feeling this little guy move around in my belly for quite some time now, it's just been in the last few weeks that Andy has been able to feel him on a regular basis. The girls have been anxious to join in on the excitement, but their little brother already seems to be playing games with them as they rest their hands on my belly and suddenly he stops moving. ;)

On Sunday evening our little guy was especially active and so I had Bella come sit by me and put her hand on my belly. Sure enough after just a few seconds, he gave quit a thump to his big sister! Bella's face lit up with a huge smile and she giggled with excitement. She was beyond thrilled as he made sure that she knew there was a little person moving around inside of my belly. It was so neat to see her just beam from ear to ear as she got to feel her baby brother move for the first time!

While we never would have expected that our family would grow the way it has, with our children as spaced out as they are, there is always a "silver lining" and I'm seeing that right now with Bella's age. It has been such a joy to share this pregnancy with her...she's so intrigued by everything that is happening and loves hearing about everything pregnancy related. We have yet to go, but have already decided to make a special shopping day where her and I go out and shop for the baby. She is already the most amazing big sister that we could have ever asked for and I simply cannot wait to see her love on her baby brother after he is born! :)

Happy Easter!

For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6: 9-11

As we celebrate this day I can't help but take time to reflect on what is without a doubt the most important event in history! As Andy shared at our Good Friday service, "most of us would sacrifice anything, including ourselves in a heartbeat for our children, but don't ask me to sacrifice my children for anything!" When I begin to think about the magnitude of a God who loves me enough to send His son to die and take on all my past, present and future sins, there is an amazing sense of humility and gratitude that overcomes me. I hope that the same is for each and every one of you!

Our day began at 4:30 a.m. so that we could be at church by 6:00 to begin preparations for services today. After church we enjoyed a relaxing lunch with friends and then headed home to see if the Easter Bunny received my email requesting that he visit our house a little later than usual since we had to get up so early. Even though I didn't get a response, he must have gotten it, because the girls Easter baskets were waiting for them when we walked in the door!

Happy Easter to all of our friends and family. We hope your day was blessed!

Unbelievable!

While Andy will still be out numbered by lovely ladies, there's going to be a little man joining our family that will help bring a bit of balance to the scales! ;) Yes, it's true, there is a precious baby boy growing in my belly!

We had our routine 20 weeks ultrasound on April 6th and when we arrived we told the technician that while we wanted to know the sex of the baby, we didn't want to know right then. She was more than happy to oblige and when it came time to check out the babies "goods" she had us turn our heads so she could capture a picture and print it out. She then folded it and stapled it up in an envelope to be sure that there would be no peeking!

That evening we had dinner with some of our closest friends and afterwards, we opened the envelope and let Bella announce the news! I have to admit that I saw "BOY" before she did and at that moment a grin spread across my face and I looked to watch Andy's expression as he heard the news. He has dreamed of having a son for so long and to see the look on his face when he realized that his dream was finally coming true, was just priceless! Of course the story can't end there with the McMinn's...it wasn't seconds later that Chloe burst into hysterics saying through her sobs, "I wanted it to be a baby girl! I wanted a baby sister!" It was both heart breaking and funny to see her so distraught while everyone else celebrated! Poor things cried on and off (mostly on) for over an hour. She went to bed telling us, "but I just really wanted a baby sister." By the morning she wasn't crying about it and said that she was "a little excited to have a baby brother", and now while she fully understands that she is having a brother, she still tells us that she really wanted a sister. I can live with that. I know it takes me some time to work through disappointment and so I'm okay allowing her the time necessary to adjust to the idea!

The whole notion of having a son has taken some time to really sink in for me, but as the days go by I find myself getting more and more excited! It's such a shift from what I'm used to though...I automatically gravitate toward everything girly and in the few stores I've popped in to since finding out, it feels so strange to even be looking a boy stuff, let alone thinking about having a boy of our own! We would have been so grateful and content to have found out we were having another healthy girl, but I would by lying if I said that knowing God saw fit to bless us with a healthy boy feels amazing! Through all the trials of the past year, we've constantly reminded ourselves that "God is good all the time"...even we we don't necessarily "feel" it, the truth of His goodness doesn't change. It's times like these that we just stand in awe of His goodness through it all!

In addition to the blessing of our son, in the short amount of time since we've known, we've already started to receive offers of gently used clothing and other baby boy items that are no where to be found in the McMinn household. While some of what we have is usable, there are somethings that we just can't reuse from the girls and it's such a blessing to have people be so generous. Instead of worrying about buying all new clothes, with what we are receiving we should be able to use that money to instead purchase things like a new car seat and stroller...bigger ticket items that add up quickly. What a blessing to have resources freed up that we would have spent on clothing that babies go through so quickly and instead use them for more long term items!

In case you can't tell we are definitely on "cloud nine". A while back I wrote that when we found out we were expecting another baby, there was a deep sense for us that this child was THE child we had been praying for and as my pregnancy has progressed, that feeling has been solidified over and over again. We love our girls more than we could have ever imagined and to know that we get the opportunity to welcome another child into our family feels just as incredible as the first two did!

Here's a picture of our sweet baby boy...profile pictures like this are my very favorite. :)

Refreshed...

I love that most of our time is spent as a family, whether it be cuddling on the couch watching a movie, playing at the park or even working on household chores together...we try to spend as much time together as possible and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

But today was different...today Andy and the girls left the house early this morning for school and work and I stayed behind. I picked up the house and then got myself ready to head to the spa for a much anticipated day of relaxation. I have to admit that I struggled with taking a whole day "off" when there was so much to be done, but when I finally arrived, changed into my spa robe, poured myself a cup of infused water and found the most comfortable lounge chair and blanket waiting for me, everything else faded. I took a few deep breaths, determined not to only rest my body, but my mind as well and from that point on it was the most fabulous "me time" I've had in a very long time. I spent the rest of the day doing nothing more than allowing myself to be pampered and rejuvenated. I ended my day with a shower in the most indulgent shower I've ever experienced...5 shower heads, a wonderful lavender body scrub and most importantly, all the time in the world to enjoy it! :)

I am so grateful for my day and for the amazing sense of refreshment I feel. Like I said, I love my family more than anything in the world, but today I was reminded of how important it is to set time aside to rest and recharge so that I can be the best "me" possible.

Andy and Bella are out for the evening watching a concert and Chloe and I are getting ready to head to bed. I can't think of a better way to end my day then a good nights sleep in my comfy bed! ;)

A week later...

And I'm still sick. As a matter of fact, I'm worse off than I was last week. I stayed home Tuesday for an extra "rest day" just to be good and not push myself. I was back to work Wednesday and Thursday, not feeling great, but confident I was on the mend. Friday morning I woke up and knew instantly that as much as I had tried, I hadn't managed to dodge a sinus infection. My head, face, jaw and teeth were pulsing with pain and I was seriously bummed, to say the least. I called my Drs. office and thankfully they were able to get me in on Friday afternoon. The Dr. confirmed my self-diagnosis and gave me a prescription for a z-pack. I filled my prescription and came home and immediately took my first dose. As terrible as I felt I was relieved to know that the antibiotic would be kicking in soon and I would be on the mend in no time. The Saturday came and not only did I not feel better, but I felt worse...much worse. Now even the roof of my mouth hurt and it was all I could do to move without causing myself serious pain. I tried to push through it for a few hours in the morning, but finally realized that it was useless and spent the rest of the day between the couch and my bed in pretty bad shape. This morning, more of the same. The girls and I stayed home from church and I have left my bed only a few short times to tend to the necessary care of the girls. Bella has been an amazing helper and Chloe has done pretty well herself. I've taken 3 doses of antibiotics and have 2 left. If I'm not significantly better in the morning it's back to the Dr. I go. As the Dr. was writing my prescription she said, "if you aren't feeling much better by Monday this probably isn't strong enough and we'll have to give you something else." The z-pack has worked before on a sinus infection, but I recall experiencing relief much sooner so I won't be surprised if I end up on a second round of something. I have to say that the thought of taking one course of antibiotics while pregnant is less than thrilling to me, so 2 is down right discouraging, but in the end I know I need something to help me kick this. I'm on day 9 of this crap and unfortunately my body just doesn't seem to have what it takes to kick this one naturally.

I can't say how ready I am to feel better. I want to be back to my usual self. My poor family has no doubt suffered from my week long stay in bed and that's not to mention any of the months prior that has seen me less than functional due to pregnancy related sickness. I had a little melt down this morning as I was trying to explain to Andy how discouraging and down right exhausting, physically, mentally and emotionally, feeling "sick" for so long has been. It started with influenza the week before Christmas, which was immediately followed by the start of extreme nausea and exhaustion and within a week of starting to get a glimpse of feeling a bit more back to myself, I came down with this crud. Just to torture myself a bit more I counted on the calendar and that makes 14 weeks of just plain feeling like crap! And I'm over it! ;)

I am praying that a good nights sleep tonight will be the turning point and that I will wake up with noticeable improvement. While the odds may not be in my favor, I can still be hopeful, right? ;)

And one more thing...for the 2nd week in a row I had to cancel my spa day. :( I've rescheduled for next Monday and come hell or high water, I'm having my spa day! ;)

Feeling sorry for myself...

Just as I started to feel some much anticipated relief from months of pregnancy related sickness, I came down with a nasty cold. Honestly, I don't remember a cold making me feel this terrible before, but I'm pretty sure that's what it is. It started with a sore throat (a bad one) and quickly took over my body with sinus pain (head, face and ears), terrible back pain and just an overall feeling of sickness. I am going on my third day and feel worse today than the past 2 days. To add to my misery I had scheduled a "spa day" for myself today and had to cancel it. I've had a gift certificate since August and our life was finally at a place where I had the ability to escape for a day and pamper myself a bit. I've been counting down the days and was praying that I would wake up feeling better this morning...no such luck. I rescheduled for next Monday, so I'll start my countdown over. I know I will be thankful that I waited until I feel better and can enjoy each and every minute of it, but while I lay on the couch miserable today, I can't help but feel a little sorry for myself. ;)

One more thing I have to mention is how much I love my husband. I know I don't tell him enough (I'm trying to get better at this by the way), but I see him growing in so many ways, ways that are an incredible blessing to our family. He's the first to tell you that he's just a "regular guy", with regular issues, who screws up sometimes, but at the same time I see him doing everything he can to submit his life to Christ's lead and acting in a way that is not "of the flesh" but rather of a man allowing God to transform him from the inside out. For example, in spite of a very early morning, a long list of tasks to complete at our rentals before renters move in tomorrow (in the freezing snow none-the-less) and then almost 3 hours spent working on long overdue projects around the house, he did nothing less than selflessly serve me all day long while I moved between the bath and my bed, whining about how terrible I felt. The icing on the cake was when he offered to go get me Wor Won Ton soup for dinner. I'm not sure how it came about but years ago when we weren't feeling good we would order Wor Won Ton soup, spice it up with hot oil and eat it...it always hit the spot and did an amazing job at clearing out the sinuses. ;) It has been years since we've done this and so my anticipation was great and it was even better than I remembered. Sitting at the table eating our soup, feeling a bit of relief, I realized just how grateful I am for this life I've been blessed with. I made sure to express my appreciation verbally last night (it can be difficult to go from thinking it in your head to saying it out loud) and fell asleep counting my many blessings despite feeling physically drained.

Okay, that's all I've got for today. I'm going to make my way upstairs to the bath...the only place I seem to find relief. I'm hoping that a day of rest will be just what I need to be back "in the game" tomorrow!