Disappointed in our lame pictures from Halloween. We forgot our camera so had to do pictures from Jer's phone...oh well! We went to an annual Halloween party at our friends Justin and Laura's house. You can see that my belly worked out perfectly to be a big bowling ball. On Halloween night, we went to our church Harvest Carnival with two of the prettiest ballerinas I have ever seen.
My parents are officially retired. They say they're busier in retirement than they were working. With the time they spend with all their grandkids, it doesn't surprise me. On top of that, my mom helps leads Bible Study and my dad is going to UW for a couple classes and is a part of their performing symphonic band. Add that to all the other things (bridge, prison ministry, friends and family commitments), and they're pretty much non-stop. We did make them stop, however, for a surprise Retirement Party. It was on my Uncle Ron and Aunt Jeanette's boat. We had a catered meal (thanks Snuffins!...Yummy Stuff), time to just sit and chat, and a little Bingo with prices that represented my parents (because once you are retired, you play BINGO, right?). We also had a couple great pies thanks to Stacie. It was a great surprise and an absolutely wonderful evening in which to celebrate all of the hard work both of my parents have put in throughout their lives - whether it be in raising us or earning a living.I love the relationship of my two girls. This is just a moment of them twirling together.
Abigail opened her Bible the other day and began reading to me. She combined the story of the birth of Jesus, Jesus getting lost talking to the scholars at the temple and Noah. I tried to have her tell me the story again, and this was her next version.
Kenzie has some pretty animated phone conversations with laughter and a lot of yeah, yeah's in the middle of hi and bye. I only caught a second of it. Kenzie tends to shut down when the video camera goes on.
People have asked what I look like in this pregnancy, and I have been lame at getting pictures taken. Here I am at 36 weeks...looking like I'm ready to pop....feeling like I want to pop. It's definitely been a bit more challenging pregnancy, although I know I have little to complain about. I think it's just harder when you've got two little ones to take care of. My body has felt tired, and I'm ready to be done. I haven't been sleeping well lately (3-5 hrs a night). It's a combination of bathroom trips, restless legs, a weird itchy arm thing that I'm going to see someone about tomorrow, my trip to the ER and then not finding or making time for working out. It has all just been different. However, I'm not on bed rest. He looks healthy. I don't get morning sickness or bloating. I've gained as much as I'd liked to gain, and mostly, I just want to meet this little boy, so bring it on - whether I am really prepared or not.
I planned a surprise birthday guy's night for Jeremy. This picture was taken after a few guys had lost their money and were either playing Wii or heading home. I made a bunch of guy food, which I thought I had plenty of but disappeared. I think the guys had a good time together.
My parents are officially retired, which means we get to see them a lot more. They are such amazing grandparents to our girls (and the rest of their 7 grandkids...a total of 10 with mine on the way). I love how Kenzie loves to curl up with grandpa.
My sister generously offered to take my girls for four days so that we can go on one final "baby moon." Jer's parnter owns a beautiful beach house in the ocean side beach community of Seabrook. This community is like stepping into a different era. It has one small cafe and a grocery. People sit out on their front porch, talk to their neighbors, light up their porches and write beach cruise bikes around the neighborhood. It is like pleasantville. The weather wasn't great, but we were content hunkering down, watching movies and my favorite, doing puzzles. Unfortunately, the weekend ended early as Jer had to drive me to the ER in Tacoma early Saturday morning. Mommy and baby are just fine, but I had to have minor surgery - blah. It meant the next week at home was pretty uncomfortable, and I was basically on bed rest. Blessed to have family and church family there to support me as I recovered.
