What have I been waiting for?

Ok,

A post from Jason.

So how long has it been for The Family of Ramsey.  I am not going to look back because I am afraid it will depress me.  None of that is Margaret's fault as when we started this I promised to help.  Look back at the posts and see how much I have helped!  Anyone would get discouraged with that kind of help.  When I left work to come home tonight I had no idea that I would be writing on this blog tonight.

I was happy that I actually got off work at a decent time tonight.  I thought it would be great, since there was a lot of light still left, to mow the front yard.  It was actually relaxing since I was not trying to mow it as fast as possible.  Also, Margaret and Ford joined me outside for a little while during the process.  Once finished Margaret asked if we could put out our Easter cross.

I want to make this extremely clear.  This "tradition" is followed by certain denominations and that is NOT why we do it.  We choose to celebrate the meaning of it.  I know a lot of people from VERY different beliefs and there is nothing special about the day of Easter.  It is just a day we choose to signify what God has done for us through his promise He made to us through His Son.

Margaret then asked me if I would like to go through its meaning to explain to Ford.  Right, he is 1 year old so it took me by surprise.  I thought how weird it is to explain the Story of Easter to a 1 year old whose vocabulary consists of da- da and sometimes a grunt.  Once Margaret started I had an overwhelming guilt of the message that I heard Sunday morning.  More on that in a little bit.

If you have never heard of this tradition here is what we do...

A few weeks before Easter we put out a cross in our front yard with a purple cloth on it.  This signifies Jesus riding into Jerusalem as the King of Kings and how people reacted to him.  Laying down palm beaches and screaming like they were at a Justin Beiber concert is a far cry of the next week Jesus was to endure from the same people

On Good Friday the cloth is changed to black to signify the time that Jesus was put to death on the Cross.  The same people that acted like they were losing their minds a few days before just by Jesus' presence were now calling for His death.

On Easter Sunday morning we change the cloth to white to show the world that Christ has risen from the grave after taking on our sins so that we no longer have to be slaves to sin.  Our sin has been conquered by the only one that was perfect, and could take that upon himself, Jesus!

So back to the guilt I spoke about earlier...  actually first here is a picture I took of our cross tonight.  For those that care I took it as HDR to play around with it.  That is why it is a little sharp and surreal.  Overall, I like it....

anyway, I digress.  Here is the picture.

So, the story from above...  This is the Good News of the gospel!  That's is.  That's what the Bible is based on.  Why was that so hard.  Again, that guilt that I spoke about earlier comes from what I heard Sunday morning.  We are studying Stewardship at church.  We have been on this series for a few weeks now and not once spoke about money!  I think that is coming this week though!  Anyway, at the end of the sermon our Pastor spoke about sharing the Gospel and what holds us back from that.

I realized when Margaret asked me to share the story of Christ, THE GOSPEL, I felt shocked and a little weird about it.  TO MY OWN SON!  What is wrong with me!  If I can't be confident at a moments notice talking to my son about Christ and what he has done for me how to I have a prayer to do this at places by work.

So, here it is!  The only prayer that I have to get through this is my prayer to God.  No ore feeling guilty as if I truly believe the story of Christ the is NO ROOM for guilt.  Does this mean that I will always get it right.  Absolutely not!  I stink at my life.  That is why I am excited that I have Christ.  Christ is where my worth is wrapped in.  NOTHING ELSE!!!  I just have to keep praying and to remember that Christ is not surprised by my actions, and that does not make my actions right, but he has paid the debt for those actions already.

What does this mean?  Well, here is my challenge.  The christians that I work with, the people that I go to church with, the Men from Tres Dias...  anyone has my blessing to remind me when my attitude, language, actions, frustration level or anything that does not display Christ and what he means is out of line from the story above.

Just to remind everyone it was my Godly, faithful wife that took the place as Spiritual leader of our house at that moment only because I choose not to!  No longer.  God has made me as a man of Christ with a purpose for my family.  I will continue to remind myself of my place in this home.  There is no way that my family can survive successfully if I choose to relinquish the role God has placed me here for.

That is it.  A little longer explanation of a 1 1/2 minute conversation tonight on our front lawn.  I am so thankful for Margaret and her willingness to be who God has called her to be.

So, hopefully more to come but I am excited about what is going on.

In case you were wondering . . .

No, I haven't forgotten about the blog.  Nope, I'm just over stressing about it.  Electing to spend my time enjoying my family instead of writing about them.  "Slice of Life" updates are available on Facebook for anyone who is interested.  Here's one pic just for the sake of it.  :)

A Baby Story

More specifically, OUR BABY STORY!

Really, it all started on Tuesday, March 15.  My weekly doctor appointment was that morning, and being 39 weeks, we had an ultrasound as well.  Everything looked great, and they estimated his weight at 7 lbs. 6 oz.  Dr. Phillips said I had still made NO progress, so there was no reason to think anything would be happening any time soon.  We scheduled induction for two weeks away, Tuesday, March 29, as a last resort.

Tuesday night, I started feeling vaguely uncomfortable and decided I must be having contractions.  However, they weren't really measurable in that I couldn't identify a distinct beginning and end.  Using the contraction timer on the iPhone (WHAT a lifesaver, by the way) I tried to time them, but just really couldn't .  We didn't think much of it and went on to bed.

Wednesday morning, I woke up to  . . . well, let's just say, some normal indications of early labor.  Ok, we were excited about that.  Then a few minutes later, some not-so-normal indications of early labor.  One of the symptoms I had been told to call the doctor about.  So at 8 a.m., I was on the phone with the nurse line. She called me back a few minutes later, and after talking through things, she recommended I go on to OB Triage at the hospital to get on the monitors and let them make sure everything was ok.  Since I had just had an ultrasound the day before, we felt like it would be fine, just better safe than sorry.  I tossed the rest of my stuff in my suitcase, as well as a few things for Jason, figuring it would be downright foolish to head to the hospital less than fully prepared.

When we arrived at OB Triage, I was 1 cm, so we figured the mornings' symptoms were probably caused by the beginning of some progress.  Monitors showed that everything was fine, and although I felt like I was having mild contractions, nothing was registering.  We had another ultrasound, this one a special-something (BPP?? - I don't remember) that specifically monitors fetal movement.  We passed that with an 8 out of 8 score, and got ready to be sent home.  That ultrasound tech estimated his weight at 7 lbs 10 oz.  By this point, some mild contractions were registering on the monitor, and while I won't call them painful, they were definitely uncomfortable.  I told the nurse I was surprised to be in this much discomfort and going home.  She checked me again, still at 1 cm, so that was that.  She did say she thought I'd be back "within a few days - not tonight or anything, but probably by the weekend."

All afternoon Wednesday, the contractions never stopped.  The frequency varied from 6 minutes apart to 10-12 minutes apart, but I never went more than about 15 minutes without having one.  After dinner, I was really starting to get uncomfortable, and I suppose by that point, we were relatively certain this was "it".  Just waiting around for the contractions to reach the magical 5-minute-apart-for-an-hour threshold.  At about 9, the 60-minute average (see, I told you the contraction timer app was a lifesaver!) was still 6 minutes or so, but I was hurting so badly, I knew it was time to be ready.  We left home at 9:30, and by then, they had passed 5 minutes apart and were more like 3-4.

My family was sitting on pins and needles waiting for us to go to the hospital so they could head this way, so they were glad to get the call before they went to bed.

By the time we got through the ER and into a L&D room, I was 4 cm and in some serious pain.  Of course, I had to have an IV and a bag of fluids before I could get the epidural, so this was not a fun time. Bradford's heartbeat was trending down with each contraction as well, so they didn't want to give me anything that might make him sleepy - meaning, no other pain medication.  That was a l-o-n-g hour.  I had always known I wanted an epidural, so I had not anticipated being in as much pain as I was.  Mercifully, it passed and the arrival of the anesthesiologist was a blessed sight.  By the time the epidural was done, I was 7 cm.  Most of my family  had arrived at this point, and I was feeling good, so we got to visit a little.  Before I knew it, the nurse was back to check me and I was 8.5 cm.  This was probably around 1 a.m., so things were progressing quickly.  I should say at this point that of course my doctor, whom we love, was not on call this night.  The on-call doctor was someone I had never even heard of, so I wasn't thrilled about that.  Not to mention that my wonderful L&D nurse friend, Rivers, was still on a mission trip to Malawi, so I didn't have her either.

At about 2 a.m., I was at 9.5 cm, and the nurse thought I'd for sure be pushing within a half hour or so.  God and Bradford evidently had other plans.  My contractions began to slow down, and his heart rate was still dropping a bit with each one.  Normally, they would have started pitocin right away to get the contractions going again, but they didn't want to due to his heart rate issues.  So we gave it a few minutes to see what would happen.  And a few more.  And a few more.  At about 5 a.m., I made the joke "What time does Dr. Phillips get here, anyway?".  The nurse said about 7 a.m., and at that point I still didn't think there was any way we'd still be waiting then.  It sounds like this would have been a miserable time waiting, but the hours literally flew by.  Finally, they decided it would be ok to start the pitocin.  At about 6, Jason saw Dr. Phillips in the hallway, and we learned that he had a c-section at 6:30, but would come up after that.  I was so excited that he would be there for the delivery.

He came in at about 7:45, and at 8:45 we had a healthy baby boy!!  The cord was around his neck, which had been causing the heart rate issues.  As any parent will attest, there are no words to describe the moment of your child's birth, so I'll not try.

Bradford Samuel Ramsey, 7 lbs., 8 oz, 19.5 inches, 8:45 a.m., March 17, 2011

We are overwhelmed and grateful for this precious blessing!


"I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well."  Psalm 139:14

38 Week Appointment

Doctor's words: "you're probably going to go a little overdue."  At this point, fine with me (but I reserve the right to change that opinion).  The Lord is always on time!

38 Weeks

Still here, don't worry!  No signs of an early appearance yet.  Doctor appointment tomorrow.  Still praying for him to stay put for another week, so I can finish this week at work and get my house back in order!

"The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?"
Psalm 27:1

I Should Blog . . .

If I'm going to claim to keep this thing going, shouldn't I?  I really do want to (keep it going, that is).  I just refuse (well, try to refuse) to stress over it.  Yes, I still have "The Grand Adventure, Part II" hanging over my head, chronicling the main part of the trip, the vow renewal ceremony.  I'll definitely feel better when I get that done.  Why don't I do it now, you ask?  I don't have access to the pictures from this computer.

So, I am 36 weeks and I day.  Though it feels awkward, I will share a few pictures for those who aren't on Facebook.  Thankfully I have the benefit of a fantastic photographer. 

To answer the common questions:

1.  Due date?  March 20

2. Am I ready?  Umm . . . I have to say "no".  I mean, if he were to come, of course we would be fine.  But this weekend Jason will be at Tres Dias, and I'll be spending time in Birmingham, including a shower on Saturday, and next weekend is Women's Tres Dias, and I really want to be there.  Then, I'm planning to work until March 11.  After that, I'll have a week before my due date.  I'd really like to have at least part of that week to get things in order at home.  So while I realize he will come in God's perfect timing, I'm praying that's not before March 16.  Yes, I realize I may totally eat these words if March 20 comes and goes with nothing, but at this point, I'm willing to take that chance. 

3.  Is the nursery finished?  Not completely.  Still finishing a few details on walls and decor.  I'm not going to post any more pictures until those items are complete.  But it could certainly function now if necessary. 

4.  How am I feeling?  I'm still sticking with the answer "really good!".  And it's true.  Yes, I'm slightly less comfortable than I was a few weeks ago, but still nothing to complain about.  I sleep well most of the time.  I wouldn't mind less swelling in my feet, but I digress.  I realize that not being miserable is playing a big part in my answer to #2 and wanting him to stay put for a few more weeks. 

5.  When do I go back to the doctor?  Currently, my 36 week appointment is Thursday, Feb. 24.  Thursday is a busy day all around, though, so I'm in the process of trying to move it up.  There hasn't been anything available, so I'm checking back for cancellations daily.  Next week, I start on a Tuesday rotation for the next few weeks, so it would be great to go earlier this week. 

6.  What am I doing about work?  I am so, so, grateful to our faithful God and my wonderful husband to have given my resignation effective March 11, so that I will be home full time with Bradford.  This has been both my and Jason's heart's desire since before getting pregnant, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity.

7.  _____ while you can!  Ok, I am aware this isn't a question.  But it's still something I hear often.  And yes, we are trying.  Sleep, eat out, shop, relax, etc.  This very morning, I enjoyed an extra 5 minute snooze on the basis that Bradford will not have a snooze button. :) 

Those are the main questions I can think of!  What am I missing? 

"There is an appointed time for everything.  And a time for every event under heaven.  A time to be born, and a time to die."  Ecc. 3: 1-2

"The Lord is always on time!"  H. Bradford Ramsey, Sr (Paw-Paw)

Welcome to the third trimester!

This seems to be the consensus lately.  At 31 weeks, it hit me.  First, it was back pain.  Quite significant back pain, as a matter of fact.  The nurse verified that it wasn't any kind of kidney or ut infection, then confirmed my fear - it's normal!  Try to stay comfortable, use a heating pad, take Tylenol if necessary.  It's the third trimester - you're going to have some pain.

Thankfully, the back pain has virtually disappeared at this point. I think I must have done something a couple of weeks ago to aggravate it.

So I'm cruising along, feeling pretty good again, when I happened to look at my feet.  Oh my!  Out of nowhere, they are swollen beyond recognition.  I was at work at the time, so my immediate thought was to put them up.  Easier said than done when sitting at a desk.  First plan, pull the extra chair around behind my desk and prop them there.  Problem is, this involved turning my desk chair completely perpendicular to my desk, therefore making it rather difficult to work at the computer.  I was eventually able to rig a box and some binders underneath my desk so I can be angled slightly instead of completely turned to the side.  Nonetheless, it's not as comfortable as it sounds.

At childbirth class this week, I showed my puffy appendages to our teacher, a nurse.  "Are you having any swelling anywhere else?", she asked.  No?  Well then, she smiled, "it's just what happens".  It's the third trimester - you're going to have some swelling.

Don't get me wrong - I'm NOT COMPLAINING.  I've been so blessed to feel great all along.  These are certainly minor issues, and I'm so thankful that it's all I've dealt with so far.  Nonetheless, it's crazy to think that the cure for these complications is delivery - meaning that by the time I'm better, we'll have a baby!  Wow!

I'm currently 32.5 weeks.  I go to the doctor tomorrow (every two weeks now!), so we shall see if he has any great insight into the swelling issue.  I've read my share of books and articles online, so I'm not expecting any miracle remedies.

As for the weekly pictures, umm . . . we kind of fell off the wagon with those.  I think we got off track when Jason was working very long hours, and I was always wearing pajamas and no makeup by the time he got home.  Don't worry, I'm huge now.  I'll try to get one posted in the next couple of days.  Same issue now - Jason's home, but I've changed clothes and my face is washed, so no way are we taking it now.

The nursery is coming right along.  I think I'll wait to post any more pictures until it's more complete.  My mom and I (well, who am I kidding, my mom) is finishing up the bed skirt and window treatment.  There's nothing on the walls yet, but we'll get there.  We don't have much in the way of clothes yet, but our first shower is this weekend, so I believe we're coming to that point!  Plus, my mom and dad have been in Florida this month and I've heard they had quite the time shopping at the Carter's outlet.  :)

So that's pretty much where we are!  Time is absolutely flying by, and we can't believe that we're under the two month mark.  Time to get these details wrapped up.  We are so thankful!

"Therefore I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name. "
2 Samuel 22:50

The Grand Celebration, Part 2

It's coming . . .  I promise.  Seriously.

Before and After

Office, 8 a.m., Saturday, January 1, 2011

Nursery, 4 p.m., Sunday, January 2, 2011

How's that for a day's work?!?  Thanks to my amazing husband and parents, we have a nursery!

The Grand Celebration, Part 1

On January 13, 2011, my parents will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.  F-I-F-T-I-E-T-H.  5-0.  Is that amazing or what!?  Last winter, we began discussing how we would commorate this incredible milestone.  Instead of a party, their request was that the whole family go on vacation together.  Of course, we all loved this idea too! We discussed a cruise, but some weren't crazy about leaving land, and some job situations didn't permit committing to a full 5-day trip 10 months in advance.  We settled on a trip to The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, AL.  Several of us had been before, so we knew what a wonderful place it is, but none of us had seen it at Christmastime. 

So on December 18, after much planning, discussion, and what must have been hundreds of emails, The Grand Celebration officially began.  Saturday dinner was our first group function - we met at a local Mexican restaurant to celebrate Daddy's birthday.  It's not actually until January 16, but it seemed appropriate to celebrate it along with the anniversary and since we would all be together. 



When we got back to the hotel, we headed to the Skylounge in the main building, which we had reserved as our meeting area.  It had a beautiful view of the bay, and was the perfect place for all 25 of us to sit around comfortably, talk, and play games.  

From left - Holly Beth, Blake, Leanne, Paul, Crawford, Owen, Carter (partial), Alec, Mitch, Melissa



Owen, Carter, Alec, Mitch, Melissa, Jason, Tiffany, Craig, AnnaClaire, Susannah

We each wrote down a favorite memory or story involving Daddy, then drew them out of a hat and read them aloud.  It was fun to guess who had written what, and see what has stood out to different people (like all 3 of the teenage guys writing about going to Baron's baseball games).  It turned out to be a great way to share familiar stories and hear some new ones too.

Saturday night wound up culminating at the indoor pool (since all our guestrooms were in the Spa Building where it is located).  The men were in one corner playing spades, the girls were in the opposite corner visiting, and the grandsons and younger girls were in the pool. 

Sunday morning, Jason and a couple of the guys got up and went fishing.  Evidently it was wonderfully exciting for the first few minutes, before the lack of fish and cold caught up to them. :)  A bit later, a bunch of us enjoyed the famous Grand Breakfast Buffet (lump crab omelet . . . YUMMMM).  At 1 p.m., we were all to be dressed and ready for the family picture.  I wish I could adequately recount the hours of discussion that went into what we should all wear.  For the last 3 years, Jason has been the designated family photographer, but Tiffany's boyfriend (now fiance!), Craig, was able to be there for this portion and take it for us.  Jason was thrilled.  Much easier than him having to set the timer and run back and forth from the picture to the camera. Plus, Craig is incredibly talented and did a phenomenal job corralling 25 rather opinionated subjects.  See the result? 


Heffington Family, 2010

Sunday's dinner was our Hawaiian-themed luau at Original Oyster House.  We had a private room so we could have as much fun as we wanted.  I will share the full wedding story later, but Mom & Daddy were married in Hawaii when he was stationed with the Army there for 15 months. We tried to dress as festively as we could, considering it was December and our summer clothes were packed away.

Grandchildren, including unborn Bradford. :)

I was planning to wear one of Mom's original mumus, that she wore often while pregnant with Lane.  However, we somehow managed to forget how remarkably petite she was as an 18 year old.  Suffice it to say that it didn't fit my pregnant body as well as it had hers.  Yeah, how does it make a pregnant girl feel when a MUMU is too small?  You guess.  Anyway, I had to improvise with a sarong.

They were married as mere infants, I tell you!

Wish we all could be fun sisters . . . Laura, Margaret Lindi, Mom, Daddy, Lynn, Lane, Leanne

 Mom recently converted all their slide photos to digital format, so with a little effort from our resident AV expert, we were able to watch their Hawaii pictures while enjoying our dinner.  Laura did an AWESOME job planning, decorating, and organizing this event!



Merry Christmas!

So this is the original Christmas card I picked out, designed, staged the picture to match . . . you get the idea.  Well, as you may recall, I had 50 free cards courtesy of the Shutterfly post.  When I went to order this card, my coupon code did not work!  Imagine my frustration . . .  As it turns out, though, the free cards are not valid on plain ole' traditional photo cards; they have to be fancier ones.  Which, ironically, were far more expensive per card than what I originally picked. 

So the best I could create from the different style was this:

This is a stationery card, printed on very heavy nice paper.  If the reverse side was formatted properly, it could have been mailed as a postcard. 

So the 50 free cards were worth even more than I thought (and would have spent)!

"Stuff"

The title of this post would imply that it is about a random assortment of unrelated items that I couldn't link together in a more coherent way than with a vague descriptor like "stuff".  But that's actually not the case at all.  I've been writing this post in my head for weeks now, and just haven't managed to get it down on, theoretical, paper.  You see, it's a topic that God has been teaching me a new perspective on for some time now.  And believe me, it's taking quite some time.

Possesions.  Belongings.  Worldly items.  To me, "stuff" is just the most effective word.  The stuff that fills my closets, drawers, garage, attic, cabinets, shelves, and every other available space.  The stuff that fills my check register and empties our checking account.  The stuff that fills our calendars.  The stuff that fills my thoughts.  Bottom line:  how much of this stuff is from God?

Where to start?  Well, I started thinking about this post several weeks ago when Jason and I dedicated a Saturday to cleaning out our garage.  Incidentally, it was that Saturday in early November when it was 30 degrees at 7 a.m. when we began.  We've only lived in our house for a few weeks shy of two years, so the garage was genuinely not that much of a mess.  We've always been able to park one car in there with plenty of room.  The main problem was that we had never invested in any type of shelving or storage, so pretty much everything was on the floor.  We tried really hard when we got married and moved in not to move stuff that we hadn't used in years.  Overall, we were pretty successful, we thought.  Garage cleaning day still yielded a much bigger pile of trash than I anticipated. 

The giveaway pile was not as large, as I had done a fairly through clean-out before a garage sale last year.  I had a box of clothes that didn't sell there, and Jason added a few things to it.  A small table, some old luggage, and a few other assorted items rounded it out.  I was determined to get it out of the house, so I had Jason load it in my car immediately.  I knew that seeing it cluttering up my car would motivate me to deal with it.  I had heard that by itemizing your donations to charity using the charity's valuation guide, you can actually wind up getting more for them than selling in a garage sale.  I was stunned at how much!  For example, a women's sweater is valued from a low of $3.75 to a high of $15.  So for something that's in good condition, and I just don't wear anymore, an average of $8 is certainly reasonable.  When was the last time you got $8 for a sweater at a garage sale?  Yes, it's a tax deduction, not hard cash, but figuring in our marginal rate, we are still getting a lot more credit for that one carload of stuff than we would have sold it for - if we even could sell it!  Remember, the box of clothes I had was leftover from a garage sale.  And it was sooo much less work and stress.  And then it was gone - out of my way, on it's way to being useful to someone else. 

But the discussion on stuff is about more than cleaning out the garage.  What motivated me to be up at 7 a.m. on a Saturday, in sub-freezing temperatures, to clean out a garage?  Or clean out the office/soon-to-be-nursery and guest room closets a week later?  Or to try to limit the amount of useless items we moved into our house two years ago?  The desire of my heart is peace and order.  Too much stuff makes me stressed.  As I've learned this over the past few years, the question became how to handle it.  As I try to do with anything causing me stress or lack of peace in my soul, I took it to the Lord.  Let me tell you, the prayer, "Lord, please help me figure out what to do about the fact that I have more clothes than will fit in my closet" didn't get far off the lips or out of the heart without the absurdity of it hitting me.  My STUFF is causing me STRESS?  And I have to even ask what to do about it??  What is wrong with this picture?

We have not been promised that life on this earth would be easy or stress-free.  We are promised that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  We are commanded to be anxious for nothing.  We are warned not to store up treasures for ourselves on earth.  There are things on earth that will cause us stress.  Large trials of faith involving loss, relationships, sin, sickness, etc.  And small realities of life that just aren't fun sometimes.  Work, balancing the checkbook, cleaning house, grocery shopping come to mind.  These things sometimes cause me stress because I have to do them when I don't want to.  Such is life, and adulthood.  They are necessary.  But how many unnecessary things cause me stress?  Having to move a gillion knick knacks in order to dust my furniture.  Having so many clothes in the closet that I can't find a hanger for the clean ones, and can't find a place to hang them.  Redecorating my house for every season/holiday/event of the year.  Scrapbooking.  Blogging.  Attending every social event that occurs.  None of these things are bad.  If they bring you JOY, wonderful!  If they bring you STRESS, why are you still doing them?  Or in the case of physical possessions, why are you still letting them live in your house?  Clothes are a genuine source of stress if you don't have any to wear.  Or you don't have a coat to put on your child in the winter.  But to be stressed because I have more than I can keep organized?  May it never be!

I'm still asking myself theses questions, though through the grace of God, I have learned to release some of these "obligations".  I enjoy blogging, and it's something I wish I did more often.  But it does not deserve to make me feel guilty for not doing it.  My house is pretty simple, without a lot sitting around for me to dust.  I don't decorate for any holiday except Christmas.  And in fact, all we did this year was decorate the tree and mantle, and hang the outside wreaths.  My spring planting consists of two pots by the front door.  None of these things make it less of a home.  For our family, they make it more of the home we want - a safe place of peace, love, and calm - because we spend less time cleaning/decorating/gardening and more time with each other.  This year's Christmas decorations are minimal, but I LOVE looking at the tree and mantle, and I also love knowing that come New Year's, when we are ready to start working on the nursery during our time off, our time won't be consumed with packing up 4 tubs of stuff.  Maybe one day it will bring me joy to have every room fully decorated for whatever season we are in, but today is not that day. 

It's two weeks before Christmas.  Most of us are probably stressed about one thing or another.  Is the stuff that's causing you stress truly important enough to hold that power over you? 

Ok, figuring out how to close this ridiculously long, rambling post is now causing me stress. :)  I'm going to choose not to let it - after all, I'm not forcing anyone to read it, right? 

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  Matthew 11:28-30

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  Philippians 4:6 

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal."  Matthew 6:19 
 

Thankful

We are.  Very. 

20 and 21 Weeks

Shutterfly Giveaway!

As you all know, I am new to the blogging world, and somewhat photo-challenged (don't worry, my husband has the talent of several people; baby Bradford will NOT lack photos!).  I hear fantastic things about Shutterfly and the fun projects you can do with your pictures. Once you load your pics to Shutterfly, there are several options. You can edit your pics, make collages, order prints or gifts, etc! Of course, they also offer adorable cards for all holidays.  Love these Thanksgiving Cards!

Naturally, Christmas Cards are my very favorite - to send and receive.  I actually leave all the Christmas photo cards we receive on the refrigerator all year.  If you sent us a card last year, I still enjoy looking at your and your kids' smiling faces every time I open the fridge (which, let's face it, is pretty often these days!).  I can't wait to choose which of these super cute cards we'll use this year.  


I also love these beautiful, customizable  Thank You Cards.  That might be something we need to look into (we've agreed that I can end a sentence in a preposition on here, right?  Conversational?).  

What makes it all EVEN BETTER is that bloggers can earn 50 free holiday cards by blogging about Shutterfly.  Check out the details here.  Thanks to Jamie Whitt for the giveaway info!

Introducing . . .

Bradford Samuel Ramsey!

Jason gets credit for saying all along that it was a boy!  I thought so too for the longest time, but the closer we got to ultrasound time, more and more people kept predicting a girl . . . and they swayed me.  As I was lying on the table, he asked me for one last minute guess and I said "At this point, I'll be more surprised if it's a boy."  The ultrasound tech asked us at least 3 times if we wanted to know - I guess that's not an answer they want to risk getting confused on!  We assured her we had no doubts, and she gave us the news right away.  


More importantly, everything on the ultrasound looked great, and indicates a perfectly healthy baby boy!  We are so thankful.  He measured a few days ahead, adding a bit more validity to the date confusion.  Oh well, we are praying that he comes in God's perfect timing, somewhere in the month of March!


As soon as we found out it was a boy, we decided to tell the name immediately.  We first discussed Bradford Samuel at the very beginning of my pregnancy, and had officially settled on it a few weeks before.  We did not have a decision on a girl name, so we hadn't promised anyone that there would be a name announcement the same day.  Bradford is in honor of Jason's grandfather, Paw-Paw - a man who has loved and served the Lord on this earth for 96 years.  We could ask for no greater legacy for our son!  We chose Samuel for it's Biblical meaning "because I asked the Lord for him".  We will call him Bradford or Ford.  I love either one.  As I write this, several weeks later (oops), I primarily refer to and think of him as Bradford.  I can see that lasting until he's born, and throughout newbornhood (yep, I'm sticking with thinking that's a word).  Then, as he get's bigger maybe I'll think of him more as Ford.  We shall see.  As for now, I've told everyone they can call him either one.


This picture is my favorite, with his sweet hands up by his face.

And one where he's looking at us - facing forward.

It's amazing how "real" this makes pregnancy - seeing his limbs, organs, brain, 4 chambers of the heart, etc, along with feeling him kick more and more . . . and calling him by name!  What a miracle.  I am so humbled, honored, and grateful to God for allowing me to carry this child of His!


"So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, 'Because I asked the LORD for him."
1 Samuel 1:20

Halloween

I've never been a huge Halloween fan - not liking candy and such.  I really don't remember doing much of anything in high school, college was just an excuse to go to the guys' dorms, and after college I didn't even entertain trick-or-treaters.  But since moving to Montgomery, Halloween has become an event, thanks to the Dwyer's Annual Halloween Party.  As soon as we started work in Montgomery, we started hearing about the party, hosted by another husband-and-wife Renaissance couple, Jason & Carolyn.  They are always great hosts, and the party has lived up to it's reputation of fun, making us excited to dress up.  This year was no exception.

2008

We dressed as Sam Bonfe (one of Jason's bosses, and if you know him, this was a great costume!) and Tracy, Sam's assistant.  Tracy was expecting baby Avery at the time.

2009

Flappers

And without a doubt, our favorite so far, 2010 . . . .

Yep, that would be a priest and a pregnant nun.  Let me just say, we hadn't know I was pregnant very long at all when we planned these costumes.  In fact, I suspect Jason thought of it long ago and had always hoped for the opportunity to use it.  We didn't tell anyone in advance, so they got a pretty good kick out of it.

It will be hard to top this next year.  Good thing we'll have a sweet little boy to take the attention off of us!

A few more pictures to catch us up . . .

Yes, I realize there are a couple of weeks missing.  It's been a little busy around here!

An Actual Current Post

A couple of people have asked me if I've given up on blogging already.  I promise that's not the case, I've just been trying to get pictures together and such.  Oh well, you've heard all the excuses, right?  I am currently confined to the recliner due to a cold, so I'm making an effort to catch up.  There are several new posts below, with a couple more coming with pictures. 

October 14 - 25 Jason and I travelled to California for Northern California Tres Dias #1, as well as a few days of sightseeing.  The trip definitely earned a couple of dedicated blog posts, so those will be coming soon.  We got home Monday night, and jumped right back into the week.  Now it's Thursday, and I have a cold.  But I'll NOT complain, as I'm so thankful to have stayed well (in the midst of a lot of sickness) and felt great the whole trip. 

Baby-wise (the figure of speech, not the book) things are going great, and I'm thankful to not have much to report!  The trip really came at the perfect time for me to feel great and still be able to walk all over San Francisco.  The consensus is that I'm showing a lot more since coming back, and I'm enjoying the maternity clothes loaned by Robin, Allison and Natalie.  Thanks again, girls!  I did successfully purchase a pair of maternity jeans last week.  While in San Fran, I spotted a 3-story GAP, which I knew was likely to actually carry maternity clothes in-store.  Good news - I found a pair of jeans that I actually felt were flattering (definitely a first in maternity shopping).  Bad news - they were a horrifying price.  Definitely more than I've ever paid for jeans, and it about made me sick to pay it.  Thankfully, there was an Old Navy a block down the street, and I found an equally acceptable pair for half the price!  I marched right back to GAP and returned them, with a much more peaceful feeling.  I decided to wear them the next day, and Jason was excited to see them as I pulled them out of the bag and put them on.  Let me digress for a moment - I have realized that full-panel maternity pants are much more practical for me than low-rise.  I am carrying quite low, so anything that's supposed to go under my belly sits very low on my hips, therefore making keeping them up a rather full-time job.  My grandmother used to say "there will be a great meeting when your shirt and pants come together" and I've certainly felt that way wearing the low-rise pants I have.  So I was for full-panel all the way when jeans shopping.  Back to Wednesday morning - I'm putting the new jeans on, and I notice Jason staring at me with the MOST perplexed look on his face.  When I inquired what was wrong, he hesitatingly answered "what IS that?".  Why, it's a pair of actual maternity pants, my dear.  I didn't realize it was his first time seeing anything with a panel!  "I just expected there to be a zipper" he answered.  Once I reminded him that any shirt I wore would be long enough to cover up that part, he jumped on board quickly with telling me how good they looked. I wish I had a picture of that face, though!

The biggest news is that our 20 week ultrasound is this Monday!  We have been so busy since the last appointment, that I really haven't thought about it too much until this week.  It's definitely true that the closer it gets, the more anxious I am to find out what this baby is! And kudos to all my friends who wait until birth to be surprised, but honestly, there's not even a tiny part of me that wants to do that.  To each his/her own, I suppose.  All along, I've felt like it was a boy, but now I'm less sure.  Pregnancy buddy Alison found out 3 weeks ago that she's having a boy, and as much as I know that every pregnancy/woman/baby are completely unique, I can't help thinking that means maybe I"m having a girl.  Our pregnancies have been about as opposite as can be, and after seeing her today, I still feel like we are carrying and looking completely different.  We shall see!  Anyone who hasn't already levied their prediction, you have a few more days! 

Do we have names picked out?  We're hearing this question pretty often these days.  We agreed long ago not to tell names until we knew what we were having and had made a final decision (there tend to be a lot of opinions around here).  If it's a boy, I believe we are settled.  A girl name is proving to be more elusive.  We thought we had one, but after a frank discussion about how to spell it, I'm reconsidering (the spelling I like doesn't meet my requirement of "rational spelling", as it turns out).  So I do not know that there will be a name announcement on Monday, although I know I'll be anxious to make a final decision. 

Do we have nursery plans?  Second most common question.  Answer: somewhat.  Long ago, I knew I wanted the bedding to be neutral so we could use it again.  Not the whole nursery, but the bedding.  In order to be truly neutral, I wanted to pick it out before we knew the gender.  Finding something proved more difficult than I expected.  I found one I loved right away, but took several weeks to think it over, and it sold out.  I spoke to stores from Daphne, to Denver, to St. Louis, and NO ONE had or could get any more.  So we went back to the drawing board and found this:

Actually, my mom found it online and sent me the link, and I remembered that I had a swatch of it at home.  Jason and I ran in RichTex one Saturday to see it in person and make sure they still had it, and it happened to be the last day of a 30% off sale.  So we took the plunge.  It has two different shades of green, blue, and pink, so I think it will be pretty easy to match with some coordinates.  Besides this, we're waiting to make any further plans.  Step one is cleaning out the garage so we can combine the guest room and office, and we're hoping to start those projects now that we're back in town for a while.

So that's the real, current, update - and I'm back to blogging - for the time being, anyway!

"There is an appointed time for everything.  And a time for every event under heaven."
Ecclesiastes 3:1

16 Week Appointment

This appointment was rather uneventful, as it should be.  I came prepared with hours of reading material (based on previous experience of waiting) and didn't have to wait at all.  The nurse found the heartbeat right away with the Doppler.  It averaged 140 beats per minute, lower than in the past.  Dr. Phillips asked a few questions, we discussed the quad screen (which we declined), and basically I was on my way!  I was so thankful to have no serious side effects, symptoms, or concerns to report.  Next month, ultrasound!

"I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. "
Psalm 7:17