TAKS Domination Complete!

Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach

Jake has been invited to wrestle in Virginia Beach at the 20th Annual NHSCA High School Seniors Nationals tournament April 2-5. This is a BIG deal. The top wrestlers from the entire country will be there, along with coaches from the top wrestling colleges. This is certainly the place to be and be seen!

A trip to VA isn't cheap, so Jake is trying to raise money to help defray the cost. Some of you will be getting a visit or call, but many of you won't because he simply doesn't have time before they leave. A lot of you don't even know Jake, but who doesn't like to help a kid out?

If you would like to make a donation to Jake's "Domination on the Beach Fund," please leave a comment with your contact information, call me or e-mail me.

This is the most prestigious event in high school wrestling! Scholarships are given! Recruiters are present! The convention center is on the beach! Please consider giving to make it happen!

He Won! - Barry's Peeps Visit

Excellent news! Jake won all of his matches in El Paso so he took 1st place. He is the District and Regional champion in his weight class (171) so he's going to State in Austin to DOMINATE! I'm sure you've noticed that I really dig wrestling and will be sick all weekend in Austin with nerves.

Jake working on what I think is a "chicken wing."

And here he is on the podium...with all the boys he CRUSHED.

Barry's parents visited this weekend and we had a lovely time.

Sweet Avery at Valentine's Day dinner.

And reading her new book from Coco....

Go Barry Go!

Barry told me he was going to use the two weeks after Avery's birth to send some resumes and look for a better paying position, but I never expected him to succeed so quickly! He will start Sept. 2nd at a different hospital here in Arlington...it's only 2 miles from our house and the pay increase is significant. Any part-time work I do will be fun money. Praise the Lord!

We also had a visit with our midwife today and little Avery now weighs 8 pounds 4 ounces...which is an awesome gain from her birth weight of 6 pounds 13 ounces. It is amazing that my body alone is nourishing her so well. I have new confidence in our breastfeeding relationship. She continues to look more and more like her Daddy....

Sneak Preview of Our Birth Photos!

Our birth photographer put a preview of our pics on her blog...enjoy!

http://www.dfwbirthphotographer.com/blog/

Employee of the Quarter!

Well, he certainly won't brag about himself, so I have to do it for him. My Dickie was named Employee of the Month in February and just realized it. I guess he missed the meeting when they announced it and nobody ever told him.....in fact, he had no clue until about a week ago when he noticed his name on the plaque outside of his office. Hooray! But that isn't the whole story.

Today, he was instructed to report to HR where they would take his picture. Why you ask? Because he is also Employee of the Quarter and now in the running for a trip and some cash.

WAY TO GO DICKIE!!!!!



As for me, things are speeding along and I can't help but think I'm going to run out of time to prepare. I guess you can't really be prepared for the birth of your first child. We had our 28 week appointment last night and all is well. Ripley has assumed the head down position where I hope she will stay for the next 11 weeks. Barry did however have a pregnancy scare last week.......he was poking around on my belly, grabbed her and she moved. He was sure he had poked a hole in her brain and he was stressed for several days. I assured him that our child was not damaged in this encounter. LOL!

Rock-Paper-Scissors

And I quote: "There are too few genuine surprises in life and I love a good surprise." This is what I said approximately 4 weeks ago about finding out whether Ripley has a penis or vagina.

Well, this is really what I thought until about 3 days ago. See, Barry has always preferred to know the gender but he was pretty much down with whatever I chose. And then there's Robb (my mom for those of you who don't know) who whispered promises of pink or blue clothes if we found out. It all became too much and I became struck with curiosity over the weekend! Barry and I discussed pros and cons while I walked and he wobbled on the bike next to me. It's a difficult thing to go that slow on a bike....

We decided on a game of rock-paper-scissors. If I won, we don't find out. If he wins, we do. Well, we did a 2 out of 3 game and I lost! Secretly, I was glad I lost, which means that all of my stubborn talk about a surprise at the birth has been thrown out the window.

Unless some member of our very large family already e-mailed or called you, you're probably wondering the results.

Please close this window and go buy something pink.......because it's a GIRL!

Everything else is going well....I gained 5 pounds since my last appointment, which is a good thing because I lost 10 in my 1st trimester! My blood pressure is low and she regularly reminds me she's in there by pounding on my uterus. And if he asks nice, Barry can now feel her doink his hand.

Enjoy the pics!

Meet Ripley!

I'm back! I see that it's been almost a month since my last post.....terrible. I am currently recovering from a wretched sickness that kept me from work for a week. Hacking cough, sore throat, swollen sinuses, etc........but that's not the worst part. About mid-way through this ridiculous mess, I awoke from a nap to find my eyeball completely swollen and pink. My first encounter with pink eye! Notice the pink font for a dramatic effect or affect, I can't remember which one is proper. Anyway, it didn't really hurt so I got some cream and went to work the next day. They kicked me out and asked me not to touch the door when I left. Apparently, people turn into evil monsters at the mention of pink eye spewing statistics about the contagious nature of this affliction. So, I came home and sat trying to fashion some sort of eye patch to cover my swollen eye. Not because it hurt, but because I had to remove my contact from the infected eye and watching TV while blind in one eye can cause serious dizziness. And no, I didn't have a current prescription in my glasses........but I do now.

Now, on to more pleasant topics. As many of you know already, Barry and I are expecting a tiny little dude or dudette that I shall nickname Ripley. After the last year, you can imagine our excitement at this news. The excitement for me has been hampered by a slight numbness that miscarriage leaves behind. I view it as a normal God-given coping mechanism to help mom through the first trimester. My fears have been alleviated as we have been to our first real appointment with the midwife and Ripley had a very strong heart beat and is quite active. Probably going to be a devil kid like his/her uncle Jake. We feel relieved and are only about 1 week from officially being out of the first trimester so we're looking forward to a peaceful birth at home in July. Maybe on Dad's birthday!

Ah yes, Christmas was delightful. I sat by Mom and Marc's fireplace the whole time and even saw snow.

New Job Here I Come!

So sorry I've been MIA for the last week or so....I've been busy.....GETTING A NEW JOB! As many of you know, I haven't been extremely happy with the leadership where I currently work. And it's not just the usual "I don't like my boss" kind of thing, it's much more. The mission is wonderful and I have enjoyed very much finding my passion for pregnancy and birth in this office. I hope very much that one day this organization will have ethical leadership and an active Board of Directors with a heart for women and babies.

I am the new Assistant to the Director of Programs at The Parenting Center. And yes, this is the same organization Barry worked before he graduated and got his new job at Medical Center Arlington. I happened across the job posting several weeks ago and got in touch with his old supervisor who met me without ever having seen my resume. They love Barry and spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about him when we met, so I guess they figured I was pretty decent too.

I am very excited about the prospect of being out and about in the community. I will be able to write curriculum, teach parenting classes, manage volunteers, improve their Web site, plan special events and attend health fairs. They even have a Healthy Families program that serves pregnant teens, so I won't have to give up pregnancy all together. My commute will be cut in half, my pay has increased significantly and I can lunch at a good Italian place Barry loves.

God is faithful and life is good.