Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Countdown Is On...and so is the heat!

Less than 9 days before Josh and I welcome our little Patton into the world. We are so excited, and can't wait for him to get here! The bags are packed and in the car, the baby clothes and such are washed, the car seat is installed, the stroller and swing and bouncy seat have all been assembled, the house has been somewhat cleaned, and most of the thank you notes have been written (well, maybe half of them). Tomorrow and Friday, Josh and I plan on finishing up the house (the last deep clean before Patton arrives) and doing the grocery shopping. We've made a list of things we need to stock-up on before Patton arrives like paper plates, laundry detergent, etc. We're getting into the home stretch, so we better get a move on.

Well, we hope that the weather will cooperate with us. The forecast is calling for some snow accumulation on Friday, and it seems like it could get pretty serious. They are calling for 2 to 5 inches of snow with some areas receiving more like 6 inches. Who would have thought that southern Mississippi could get that kind of forecast? At first I didn't really believe all the hype, but now that I have watched the local news, I'm beginning to think we just might get some actual inches of snow on the ground. The weather has already caused a youth event at our church to be cancelled this weekend, but my heart isn't broken about it. I'd rather the kids be safe at home than traveling on the roads in any sort of bad weather. Plus, I wasn't going to be at the event anyway. Being 8 to 9 months pregnant has labeled me exempt from any youth chaperoning duty...Thank You God! I would love to see some snow, and I have to say that the possibility of having a "baby bump" picture taken in the snow would be pretty awesome, but...I'm worried about my luck. I've had a pretty easy pregnancy so far (except for my hospital stay), so I'm afraid my pregnancy luck will run out and that I will go into labor the day southern Mississippi decides to have a blizzard. How fun would that be? Not much, considering the hospital is 30 minutes away. Let's just hope my luck hasn't run out yet.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

2 Years Later

2 years ago yesterday, Josh and I were forced to meet each other. Yes, forced. Neither one of us wanted to go on that blind date, but we are so thankful for our pushy friends. God used them in an amazing way to bring us together, and we are so grateful. Last night, Josh and I celebrated by not only having steaks (wonderful, juicy, delicious steaks) for dinner, but by eating those steaks on our china. This was the first time those plates came out of the china cabinet, so it was pretty special. We reminisced all through dinner about the night we met. We would look at the clock and say, "We were getting to the Mardi Gras party around this time" or "About this time 2 years ago we were on the dance floor." It was so fun to remember that night. After dinner, we celebrated somemore by finally tackling one of our big items on the to-do list: we packed our bags for the hospital. Who would've thought 2 years ago, that we would be right here, married, and packing our hospital bags for the arrival of our son? We are truly blessed.

Josh was so precious as we packed our bags. He checked things off the list as I packed my bag, and then he realized that he really couldn't pack his bag since he would need those clothes in the coming weeks. Since I am having a c-section, we will be in the hospital for about 3 days. Josh will need clothes for all 3 days, while I sorta have the luxury of staying in a hospital gown and PJs as long as I want. Instead of packing his bag, Josh made a list of everything he would need. It's sitting on the shelf with his clothes...so that he can grab everything (or someone else can) at the last minute. We then moved on to Patton's room to pack his hospital bag. We used his diaper bag that Ashley bought us and we had it monogrammed last week with Patton's name. I sat in the glider with the bag and the list as Josh went through and picked out blankets to take, socks and mittens for Patton to wear with his coming home outfit. Josh was adamant that they all match. He was just so excited and too cute! My bag, Patton's bag, and the car seat are all in my car waiting for that "moment" to come along.

We are finally in the home stretch and it seems like the days just get longer as we wait. But in comparison, the past few weeks feel like they have flown by. I guess that is because we were so busy. We had 4 baby showers (one at the church and 3 in Birmingham), doctor's appointments, work, and projects around the house. It would take me forever to recap all the events, but I will say that we are so thankful for all the gifts, the fun, and the support given to us by our friends and families. We are truly blessed...now if Patton would just join us.