Delmae Shower

I work with some really amazing people. My team hosted a shower for me at work. We got some really great "much needed" items. Most of our gifts were gift cards which will help as I finish up that last minute shopping as well as in the future when we really "need" something.

The table was so pretty!

My assistant and partner in crime, Christy.

Some of the great ladies that I work with.

Just in time for the Georgia game next Saturday! :-) Go cocks!

(And it even came from a Clemson Fan! Thanks Mrs. Stanley!!!!)

Caroline Kickoff

Andy and I decided it would be a great idea to go to the first Carolina game because it will be one of the only ones we get to go to this year. I must say it was a LOT of fun! We have tickets to the November 8 game and I can't wait. We enjoyed our time and it was especially nice since we won! (Who knows how often that will happen this year...) I can honestly say that Carolina Football is something we both enjoy and it's a great time for us together as a couple. Although it will be a WHILE before we take Caroline, I can't wait to dress her up with all of her Carolina garb and head to the game! Oh what fun!

We are good!

Everything went well at yesterday's appointment. B gained a pound and grew 2 cm's. Our doctor was very excited. I had the sweetest thing happen yesterday while we were there. The nurse who sees us each week is so sweet. She always has a smile and is very calming. B and I both like her very much. While B was in the restroom she looked at me and said "So is this your first baby?" I am not really sure why, but it just melted my heart. I thought it was so sweet.

Hope you are all doing well. Please send me your email address if you would like to be added to Caroline's contacts. :-) Have a great day!

Operation Caroline

I have been a little stressed with going back to work and trying to finish up some of the stuff for Caroline's big arrival. So my mom called earlier in the week and said she would like to come up today to help me get the last minute stuff finished. I invited Mrs. Susan to come over and help us with hanging the pictures as she does an excellent job visualizing where stuff should go. Everyone arrived around 2:30 and we began our mission "Operation Caroline." We hung pictures, folded clothes, put up clothes, rearranged furniture, packed the hospital bag, vacuumed the whole house, dusted, made a trip to Target, you name it, we did it. Finally around 7:45 we had everything done and turned out the lights in the most amazing beautiful and peaceful room which will soon be occupied by a beautiful, sweet little girl. I don't know what I would have done without my husband, my mother and my mother-in-law. They were all so wonderful. I am trying to gather all the pictures from start to finish so that I can share our little girl's room with you! Keep checking I hope to have them posted by the middle of the week! A little over 2 weeks, OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!

Answered Prayers

B had an appointment yesterday and I was unable to attend since it was the second day of school. But everything looks great. Caroline is in the head down position which is good. B was having a lot of pain Friday and went to the ER to get checked out. They monitored her for a few hours and said everything was fine. The Lord placed a sweet angel, dressed as a nurse, in B's life on Friday night. B explained that she was placing the baby up for adoption and talked about Andy and I. She told the nurse that the baby's name would be Caroline. The nurse was so sweet and caring and told B she would continue to think about and pray for her along the way. That she thought what she was doing was truly amazing and what a great gift to give someone. B went on and on about how much she enjoyed her nurse. The nurse also told her that Caroline was reacting well to everything and her heartbeat was strong. So that was exciting.

With the big day less than 3 WEEKS AWAY, we began talking about September 9. In the beginning, I was going to be allowed in the delivery room. Then some things happened and she told us she would call when Caroline was born and we could come up. Needless to say, I was heartbroken and asked for prayer. Well once again God has heard my cry and answered in his timing. B said that she didn't want us to miss the "big" moments in Caroline's life. She laughed and said she knew we would have cameras ready to roll from the moment Caroline arrives in this world! BIG NEWS!!! We can be there for everything except the labor part. She doesn't mind if we are in the waiting room while she is delivering just not in the actual room. She has listed the adoption information on her preregistration forms and will ask the nurse to update us on the process while we wait! Thank you Lord. I was almost jumping out of my skin when she told me that.

Learning point-I have to remember that it is in God's timing and his plan as to when things happen. I also have to remember to give up the control (yes I am learning to do better) in situations and trust God. I have heard so many people say that you learn so much from your children. Well Caroline has only been in my life for less than 3 months and she has already taught me so many things about my life. Oh the joys of parenthood...

Heather's Shower

One of my very best friends in the whole wide world is Heather. Heather and I have been friends since 5K. You name it Heather has done it. She always has a way of bringing a smile to my face. She loves life to the fullest and brings joy to those around her. There are definitely angles around her. Heather married a high school classmate, Robert, and they moved to California. I really miss seeing Heather and try to arrange a visit when she is home. We Heather called me back in April to inform me that she was going to be a mommy. I was tickled! Then in May I called her to tell her that I was going to be a mommy and my baby would be 3 months older than hers. Talk about being confused...



Well I knew she was coming home late this summer but I wasn't sure when. Turns out, she was planning to come home the same weekend as my shower and she too had a shower. It was a wonderful weekend celebrating the expected arrival of our little ones. I think it is great that Caroline and Ethan are going to be only a few months apart. I hope they too will enjoy each others company as much as Heather and I do. (Let's just hope that Ethan isn't as wild and crazy as his mother or Caroline may not be able to play very often... Love you Heather

I am so very sad to inform you that my pictures from Heather's shower and also from my kids first day did not turn out... They are on my camera however they are not showing up on the computer. I used my mom's memory stick, which is the same as my memory stick except for a different camera. Looks like all my stuff is lost in between. If you know how to retreieve, please email me. :-(

A true "SHOWER!"

This weekend we went back home for a family shower. We were looking forward to seeing our family and friends. Heather (friend from 5K) was in from California and Tiffany and Chrissy (friends since middle school)RSVP that they would be there. I was so EXCITED! I couldn't wait to visit with them. The sky looked a little dark as we headed to my brother Bob's house and it even sprinkled on us a little when we got there. However, within the next 5 minutes the bottom fell out. It thundered and lightened for at least an hour and it didn't let up. The men were so wonderful. They stood outside, battled the storm and prepared a wonderful meal. Did I mention this was an outside shower... It was amazing to see all the people who came despite the bad weather. Once the rain stopped, Richard worked hard to dry the chairs and tables so that we could take the party back outside.

The company was WONDERFUL. My brothers Bob and Daniel, Randy and Uncle Walter prepared a fabulous Low Country Boil. This is one of my favorites. My daddy use to make it for large group "functions" and I couldn't help but think of him as I enjoyed every bite. (The men learned from one of the best. I know George would have been proud...) We received 3 homemade items. Two blankets and one quilt. I can't wait for Caroline to use them all. We also received several gift cards to use later.

After the party, we headed to moms. Heather brought items for us to scrapbook. Aunt Lill made a bath page, Evette made a "Mommy and Me" and "Daddy and Me" page, I made just a general page, and Heather made the Birth Day page and the title page. I am very excited and can't wait to put them in my scrapbook. They are much nicer than anything I could have done!

I finally made it to bed at 12:30 AM Sunday morning. I guess I am trying to prepare myself for the long nights ahead. I appreciated everyone who came to the shower (especially those who traveled several hours) and love EVERYTHING we received. Three weeks from tonight, we will be getting ready for a good nights rest before our little one enters this world. HOW EXCITING!!!!

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Right on Track

Caroline is right on track. Yesterday we had an appointment and everything looked good. B gained a pound and was 31 cm. Less than a month... It's crazy how quickly the last month has gone by and how quickly I am sure the next few weeks will go by. Caroline's furniture will arrive this weekend. My Uncle Ed has been working very hard and I can't wait to show it off! He is amazing and extremely talented!! We have our family shower back home this weekend. It will mostly be family. However, my best friend since 5K, who now lives in CA, will be home this week. She will be able to attend my shower on Saturday and I will attend her baby shower on Sunday. YEAH!! That's about all for now. Thanks for you prayers and support!

What a day...

So have you ever had a day where you feel like for every step forward you take 4 steps back? That's how my morning started yesterday. Someone called Andy's cell phone between 4:30 and 4:45AM. By the time we realized what was going on and got up to answer it, it stopped. We didn't recognize the number and they didn't leave a message so we assumed it was the wrong number. After a while, we did manage to go back to sleep. Once I got up, I looked in the mirror... my eye looked like one large red ball with a little blue in the middle. I had a lot of problems last year with my cornea and looks like it is back. Luckily I found my eye drops and today it doesn't look so bad. But I was upset because I had a wedding to go to and didn't want to show up with a red eye! (Lucky for me, the church was dark and so was the reception!) My wonderful husband who was working so hard to help me around the house and around town wasn't home with my car and I wasn't going to be on time leaving to head to moms. (Andy knew I was having a bad day and was so sweet and so patient! I am very blessed!!!)

So I get in the car, agitated by everything. What a day I think to myself. I just wish I could pull back into my drive way, change my clothes and hop right back in bed because surely if I started the day again it would be so much better. Boy oh boy did God prevail at this point. On the radio was a song, not sure the title but its words really hit home..." You're all I want, you're all I ever needed, you're all I want, help me know you are here..." At that very moment I was broken. Because all I truly wanted or needed was Jesus. All the little things I was upset about were minor. And even in those "issues" God provided and was there with me. I had the drops for my eyes, the Church was dark and nobody could really see my eyes, and my wonderful husband had my car filled with gas when I got ready to head out of town. I realized just how much I had my eyes on the earthly things in life instead of God. I asked for forgiveness from my father and my husband (since he had to live with my crazy state for about 2 hours). What a wonderful day it turned out to be!

When I got to my Mom's Alston, Jake and Emma came RUNNING out shouting "Aunt Rida, you're here. Rita, Rita, Rita..." They all wanted hugs and were so darn sweet. They helped me carry my things in and we played, read books and my favorite we rocked in the rocking chair. So sweet. Mom and I went to a cute little kids shop and found Caroline an adorable smocked dress with circus animals on a train and a nice white bow for that head full of hair! The wedding was beautiful! Then we stopped by my cousin Bradley's 30th surprise party. I was able to visit with a lot of people that I hadn't seen in years! It was great! Mom was keeping Peyton and Wilson last night so we stopped by to pick them up. Even more wonderful love! Both boys were so sweet. We visited with Daniel and Claire and then headed to Moms. Peyton talked the whole way home. Not sure if all the stories are true but it was fun! Once we got to Mom's Peyton wanted me to read with him, help him brush his teeth, you name it he asked. Wilson enjoyed just being there. He give the best sugar! I could eat them up!!

And if my day couldn't get any better... When I came home the garage was cleaned out and I can now park my car inside again! (I haven't been able to do that since we started working on the nursery.) AND Andy made us a wonderful dinner and had my plate waiting for me. Now isn't God good! My daily prayer is that I remember the words of the song that spoke such truth and hope to me yesterday. Because Jesus is all that I want and need and he goes before us in everything we do. He is always with us.

Peyton can write his name

As we were leaving Daniel and Claire's yesterday, Daniel told me that Peyton could write his name. That's very exciting to a 5K teacher. Daniel said "Peyton show Aunt Rita how you can write your name." Now I was thinking he had some paper or something... wrong. Peyton leaned forward and pointed to where he wrote his name in pen on the back of the leather headrest in Claire's car! I said hey at least it wasn't with a permanent marker on the outside where everyoen could see it. The greatest part of this story is that after Peyton wrote it, he used a towel to cover it up so no one would see it. Pretty cleaver kid!

The Hospital Meeting

Yesterday we met to find out how the hospital "stuff" works when Caroline is born. There are a lot of unknowns for us because B has changed the hospital plans. Originally I was going to be able to be in the delivery room with her. Due to some things going on with her family, she changed her mind and asked her mother and friend to be there. Of course I told her I understood, but my heart was breaking. I so wanted to be there to hear Caroline's first cry, to watch her take her first breath, etc. However, I have tried very hard to focus on the big picture, which is at the end of the day, we will have our baby girl. However, my prayer is that if it is God's will, we will be allowed to be there for those first moments...

The good news is that once we are allowed to be at the hospital, our family can join us. It was explained that it would be just like if we were having a baby. The only tricky part... We will not be listed in the hospital because we will receive a complimentary room for Caroline. So we will have our cell phones if you would like to call. We are working on creating a group of contacts to send out an email once Caroline arrives. If you would like to be added to our list, please email me.

Thanks for your continued support and prayers for us during this time. We can feel God's loving arms wrapped around us during each of these steps along the way.

33 Weeks, 3 days

Yesterday B had her doctors appointment. We had to wait quite a while for the doctor. We enjoyed the time catching up and talking about the next few weeks. While the doctor was examining B, she was having a contraction. That lead to us having to be monitored for an hour and then an ultrasound. The monitoring showed that either Caroline was sleeping or she is a lazy little girl. B had to drink a mountain dew which woke her up just a little... The ultrasound showed everything looked good. She is approximately 4 pounds, 9 ounces. The most interesting thing the ultrasound showed was that she had a head full of hair!!! I guess I need to go buy a bow to match her coming home outfit. :-)

Five weeks today, if all goes well, Caroline will be a day old. WOW it's hard to believe how quickly this time has gone by. As we prepare for the hospital, I am trying to find a list of what I need to pack for Caroline for our stay in the hospital. If you have any suggestions or ideas, I would greatly appreciate it!

Hope ya'll have a great day. I am off to work registration. Hard to believe my summer is almost over. Friday is my first official day back...

We are so blessed!

We have always know that we were blessed with wonderful, supportive friends and family. However, in the last 2 1/2 months, we have realized just how much we are loved by so many people. Yesterday I had my third shower. It felt like Christmas. We received so many beautiful things for Caroline. We received lots of diapers, wipes, towels, burp clothes and wash clothes. All of which were things that we truly needed!!!! We also received a lot of "fun" stuff. Clothes, toys, sweet smelling baby bath and lotion. I would be here all day trying to describe all the wonderful things we received. My good friend Jill took a lot of great pictures so I think you will be able to see just how lucky we are! Thanks to Tomi Jean and Grace for opening their home for the shower and thanks to Rosalee, Theresa, Joy, Aunt Cheri, Delores, Katy and Jill for hosting such a wonderful event! You guys are amazing!!! Thank you!

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