So, I went digging in my purse yesterday for some ChapStick… I found 7, and 2 lip gloss options!!! I think I may have to admit to having some kind of a problem here. A girl just needs her ChapStick!

It’s been a rough couple of days, trying to stay off my feet and “keep my chin up” as I wait to meet my baby girl. I’m finding that it’s hard for me to be still. (I’m sure the pregnancy hormones aren’t helping either).

Along with my bum foot, I’ve been battling a nasty sinus headache. I’ve talked to The Lord about this, and I believe He is teaching me, using the discomfort. He could take it all away if that was what He wanted!

I am working on returning phone calls when I am feeling chatty. It’s such a blessing to have folks like you who love us and care about how we’re doing! We’re going to start updating my voice-mail message as things happen with Hannah, so you can get the latest news whenever you call, even if we can’t talk right then. We’ll also update Facebook and this blog as the news is breaking! Pray with us that Hannah comes without needing to be induced!

Oh yeah, and I’d really like to know if anyone has more than 7 ChapSticks and 2 lip glosses in their purse… it just might make me feel better : )

Today, we are 39 weeks pregnant! Hannahgirl is very healthy and moves so much that the doctor has a hard time getting her heart beat because she won’t hold still. She likes to stick out her bottom just below the right side of my rib cage… She’s quite the character already : )

My visit to the doc today revealed that Hannah is putting pressure on a nerve on my right side. This is causing sharp pain in my right foot when I step on it, and slight swelling. (I was already swelling enough, thank you very much.) : P

This means that I am to put my feet up as much as possible (translation: Quit running errands and walking the dog), drink as much water as I can, and visit the pool once a day to keep moving.

We WILL meet Hannah one of these days in-between tomorrow and November 4th (the day we are 42 weeks). I am praying for her birth day to come as soon as possible, especially now that I’m stuck with my feet up most of the time. If you know me, you know that sitting down with my feet up is NOT going to be okay for very long…

Please pray with us that my bod cooperates and begins the process of labor very soon on it’s own, and for patience and peace in the meantime. I know God has the timing worked out as He’d like, and He is trustworthy in any circumstance!

So I’ve been feeling a little crummy for the past 48 hours due to some killer back and neck pain… I feel much better right now and praise God for that. Thought I would share a bit about this evening’s escapades, since pregnancy sometimes makes for amusing stories… (The short version is: My husband is wonderful, and Panera Bread saved my LIFE) : )

Long version:

At dinner time today, Hannah and I NEEDED some soup (preferably in a bread bowl, but trying not to be picky). Naturally, I set to work searching the Austin area over the internet for promising restaurants with yummy soup selections. If you know of a great place to get soup, please comment here and let me know! We had quite a time finding satisfactory soup!

We stopped at a new place for us that we found online, Kiefer’s Cafe, (great reviews) but they are closed on Saturday! : ( So, we stopped at Potbelly at Arbor Walk. They had 2 soup selections, neither appetizing… so we left. We even stopped to check out the menu at Mimi’s Cafe… not inspiring. We climbed back into the car, (Ben shaking his head at me, but wanting me to be happy) and drove toward the Gateway shopping center.

Lo and behold, there was Panera Bread! My friend Kristi recommended it to me a while ago, but I’ve never managed to make it inside. I knew they had salads and sandwiches, so I asked Ben to stop by so we could check out the soup selection. Much to my delight, they not only had yummy soup choices, but in beautiful sourdough bread bowls!!!

I had the broccoli cheddar and relished every bite. I can’t tell you how happy it made me! Isn’t it funny how the little things in life can be so enjoyable? I’d like to thank my sweet husband for his sense of humor and for driving me around town to my heart’s content, and of course – Panera Bread, for their delicious soup and bread bowl. Mmmmmm! : )

So, I am about 6 weeks away from meeting my little girl… Yay! I can’t wait to see her Daddy holding her. We are in the process of packing a bag for the hospital, figuring out how that car seat straps into the back seat, and finalizing our birth plan. I’m now visiting the doc every week. So far, so good!

One dilemma I’m up against tonight (and often, lately) is lack of inspiration to cook. Planning, gathering, and creating meals is just not flowing out of me lately!! Just going to the grocery store is exhausting. My old secret weapon, allrecipes.com, is even failing to light my flame of culinary creativity. (Sigh)

Sweet Benjamin has been very understanding and appreciative of the spotty instances of a well-thought-out meal… I eat lots of fruit, yogurt, cheese and such. (Smoothies… mmm) We enjoy eating out, but it’s too expensive to become habit, and so we are often left to add small things up and call it “dinner.”

I hope this cooking rut disappears when I have a little munchkin in the Moby Wrap to “help” me!

Sunday afternoon was such a blessing to me as a brand new mommy!! Some of my friends put lots of love and effort into gathering others to celebrate our new baby girl alongside me. :  ) Thank you so much to each of you who contributed time, resources, love, creativity, prayers, advice, and your company!!

Check out these awesome cakes!! The one on the left was made by the lovely and talented Tiffany P, who patterned the icing decor after one of the quilt blocks I am putting together for Hannah’s quilt! Carrot cake… mmmm!

The one on the right was made by the lovely and talented Kathy W, who used diapers, blankets, hair bows, and baby socks to create a sweet diaper cake for Hannah to use for the months to come! What a creative and practical idea!

Here I am with Gramma Shelley and Gramma Deonne, proud and excited to be the grand-mommies!

Hannahgirl, even though we haven’t met you yet, you sure have lots of folks who love you already!!

You could say it all started at Chick Fil A…. Kristi and I met at Texas A&M and wound up in the same pointless Human Geography class. Igor (as we nick-named our professor) rarely covered anything during class time needed for successful test-taking. (I think attendance must have counted for something, otherwise I don’t think anyone would’ve been coming!)

Anyway, Kristi and I took turns influencing the other to spend our Human Geography class time out on a grassy knoll on campus, enjoying Chick Fil A and laughing together. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship! : )

Well, we’re big girls now… Kristi was one of my bridesmaids a few years ago and she is full time staff with Campus Crusade for Christ in another country. She went for 2 years and has decided that God is asking her to live her life for now overseas. Kristi left this morning from Houston at 6:30 am for the other side of the world, with everything she owns in 3 large bags and 2 “carry-on’s.”

I went to visit my sweet friend before she left this week, and we packed in as many giggles as we could as we packed 70lb duffle bags and ran errands together. One super fun thing we found while we were out were my hospital pajamas for giving birth and a “going home” outfit for Hannah that match! A part of Kristi will be there after all, even though she’s far away!

Here we are at our roots:

Kristi discovered the fake belly pillows at a maternity shop that you can strap around your waist to try things on in the dressing room: I think she’s pretty cute preggy! : )

She had to take one with Hannah… ONLY Hannah : ) (Hannah and Kristi have a special connection: My baby girl did all her tricks just for Kristi to feel – hiccups, the “kick and scrape across mom’s belly” trick, and just general squirming)

Thank you Lord for leading my friend so clearly, and for the time we had together this week!

So, I turned 26 on August 5th and my sweet friends and family made me feel so special! Benjamin cooperated with a surprise party conspiracy for me at PF Chang… Here is my face of shock when I saw 6 of my girlfriends waiting for us around a big table:

Jenn and Cadence, Rachael, Kara, Aryn, Katherine, and Noell came to share my “Great Wall of Chocolate Cake!”

The name of this cake seems appropriate… I was so glad to share!

Rach, Hannah and me just after the sun went down.

Noell and I marveling at how much fun we had!

A few days later, my parents came back into town and took me out for Maudie’s queso and amazing Key Lime Pie from California Pizza Kitchen!! What a tasty birthday!!!

Okay, so my sweet friend Jenn passed on her Snoogle pregnancy pillow to me. She said she bought it during her pregnancy, hoping it would change her life. Jenn was blessed with restful sleep with only bladder wake up calls… But this weird looking pillow made a huge difference for me over night!

Now you know I’m not selling anything, but friends – the Snoogle pillow changed my preggy uncomfortable-in-any-position-at-night life!! Thank you Lord for inspiring someone to invent this : )

Now if I can just convince Hannah to do her keep-mommy-awake aerobics any time between 8am and 9pm only…

So, last night on one of my trips to the bathroom I realized that my tummy was all on the right side! It was twice as big on the right side as it was on the left! I guess the baby went on a field trip… as far right as possible : )

When I laid back down, I felt the baby squirm! It was so amazing! I had Ben put his hand between my belly and the mattress and we waited for another squirm. He felt it too! What a sweet moment to share, feeling our baby for the first time at 15 weeks. Thank you Lord.

We will know May 18th if this is “Hannah Elisabeth” or “Isaiah Benjamin!”