Mishaps and Blessings

You know, sometimes it is so hard to see the blessings in things but they are always there, however small they may be.

Yesterday I was getting ready to meet Mom and Karri for an Acrylic monogramming party (so freaking cool!! more on this is a minute), but when I got in my car, it wouldn't start. The battery was dead. So Michael drove all the way home - we live in the sticks- to make sure I got to the party. Not on time, but I got there. Blessing #1. Michael works at a car lot and was able to bring a car home so neither of us was inconvenienced this morning. Blessing #2. The battery had gone bad and needed to be replaced. I am still looking for the blessing here. It cost us $85 dollars - it waited until the last day of the month - I just got paid. Blessing #3. Now this is the most impressive blessing yet - When I came home at lunch with Michael to pick up his truck, I couldn't find my phone, so we both preceded to tear the house and trucks apart looking for it. I knew the last place I had it was in his truck as I came home last night, because I called him. I helped him work on my truck as soon as I got home, but I never saw it after that. The only two places it could have been were in his truck or under my hood. Looked all through his truck - nothing. Looked under the hood - nothing. Something told Michael to look down into the front between the grill and the motor. There it was. About two feet down and no way to get it. I grabbed the grill tongs and managed to knock it around until it fell, and it worked perfectly when it was found (well, as close to normal as my phone can...). Even though I got paid, the Lord knew we couldn't afford another phone AND a battery!! It was pretty cool...

The acrylic party = awesome. There was so much stuff there to touch and want. All manner of kitchen ware, jewelry boxes, girly fru fru stuff - I just wanted to roll around in it! I managed to get out of there ONLY (Blessing #5) getting the acrylic decals for Olivia's bottles. They are so cute! She will be the talk of the daycare!

Nesting...

sucks. I am so exhausted. Michael and I have worked solid for over fours hours today - rearranging and compacting the outside garage closet, packing and moving boxes, moving out two bookshelves, making goodwill piles, plus tons of other stuff. And to make it worse, with as much as we got done, it seems as though me ToDo list gets longer and longer. However, I am so excited that we got so much work done. Not only did we almost completely empty the nursery, but we were able to load up some old stuff in the garage that has gathered dust for almost a year also. I am obviously thankful for this baby for many reasons, but it seems so much sweeter that we are getting this all done for her.
Mom and I went to the quilt shop yesterday and got all the material to do Olivia's curtains, dust ruffle, bumper pads. I am SO grateful for my Mom's talent!! (and her willingness!!) I love you, Mom!

We have a NAME!!

This has by far been the hardest decision of my life. I thought that naming my child and delighting in who she will be would be a breeze, but seriously!! This was crazy!! We started out with 20 or so names and narrowed and narrowed until we got a top five. However, the top five were so awesome, how do you choose?? I mean, this is something that will stick with her FOREVER. We had to think about monograms, horrible nicknames, the possibility of a devastating married name (can we just say Kerri Derryberry...?). We polled friends and family, and since they all had a different opinion, they were really of no help at all. When Mom heard the possibility of Olivia, she was all on it. She called her Olivia all weekend. Then we started calling her Olivia, and things just sounded right. But then the middle name. We went round and round with Grace - my Granny's name, which I loved - Michael thought was too overdone. This is true, but at least ours would have a family connection. I thought Michele would be kind of cool, but he pooed that one away almost immediately. As a shot in the dark, I threw Michael out there, and he said that it wasn't too bad. I think the clincher for me really was my Mom's reaction. She thought it was awesome. Michael got a few of the same type reactions when he told some people, and he said last Friday that we could lock it in! I was so excited. Because we had disagreed on several different ones, I really thought this task would be a longer process than it actually was.

So there you have it: Olivia Michael Harris. Our baby girl!!!

As for the nursery, of course it will be Olivia the Piglet!!

Big Changes Ahead...

For those of you who don't know, Michael has elected to undergo the Lapband Weight Loss surgery, a decision that I really struggled with at first. However, the more I think about it, I know that he is doing this just as much for Olivia (Kennedy/Reagan/Caroline/Natalie :) ) and me as he is himself. I keep seeing the commercials for the process that start with the overweight dad struggling to play with his little girl, and I just get thankful all over again. His surgery date is October 15. Please pray for him (and me), not only for a successful surgery, but for a prepared adjustment as well. These will be BIG changes...

Never too young!

When we found out we were having a girl, I was so excited at the prospect of dressing her in an University of Alabama cheerleader outfit! But, since she will be too little and it will be too cold when she is born, Robyn bought her (thanks, Aunt Robyn!!) this cutie set instead!! I will not be too upset if her first words are Roll Tide!

Free Baby Stuff + a Pedi = an AWESOME weekend!

Saturday was my nephews' birthday parties - a combo one year old and five year old party. However, it wasn't until this party that I realized how many BOYS we have!! There was one little girl there, but she wasn't family - the rest were all boys. Yipes!! Little Olivia (or Caroline/Reagan/Kennedy/Natalie) is going to have to learn to hang on and fight back! I fear that she will be quite the tomboy. How can she not be? There is a point to this... while at Mike and Angie's, I was graciously bombarded with free baby stuff! With Calin just turning one, there was a lot to get rid of. Saturday alone I got another bag of maternity clothes, a Target bag FULL of Avent bottles, a walker, and an activity center. How lucky are we!?! Now the problem is, where in the world is it all going to go? I guess it will have to stay in my car for a while!

However, the best part of the weekend was my pedicure today. I haven't had one since prom, and there is truly nothing better - not even the TCBY afterwards. The best, best part? I got to spend the afternoon with Retta and Robyn, my BFFs that were running from Hurricane Ike. Time with them is so rare, so I treasured this afternoon. And, Michael was thankful for the alone time. He's sick of talking about baby stuff, so he was glad for me to bend someone else's ear about it.

Pink or Blue??

There are always a series of questions...On our wedding day, people asked when we were going to have a baby. Seven years and a thousand (exact same) questions later, we finally have an answer. As soon as we started to tell people we were pregnant, they next question was, well, what is it? After sarcastically answering "a human" too many times, on September 10th we were finally able to successfully answer that question, too. When we went in for my five month appointment, which included a screening ultrasound, we were able to see our little girl as a little girl for the first time. Even though deep down I was willing her to be a girl, as I reclined on the ultrasound table, I realized for the first time that I really didn't care. Really. I was just as excited when I thought I was seeing boy parts on the screen as I was when the nurse finally (three minutes seemed like forever) confirmed it was a girl. In fact, I was a little sad that it couldn't be both. Now the question is what her name will be. That - we don't have an answer to. Here are our top five picks in no particular order:

1. Olivia
2. Natalie
3. Caroline
4. Reagan
5. Kennedy


One of the coolest parts about finding out the gender of the baby was being able to share the news with our family and friends. We were calling and texting from the lobby of the doctor's office, and everyone was so happy for us. We even got a few gifts! My mom, who had sworn the baby was a girl from day one, got her the most beautiful pink outfit (bonnet included!) for her first day at church. I can't wait! When I got to school the next day, Laren had the softest blanket and the coolest pair of pink baby Chuck Taylor's I have ever seen!! I can see her now in her white onesie, overalls, and pink Chucks. She's so adorable!






Lastly...
I have been feeling her move for many weeks now, but ever since we found out what she was, things have begun to feel more "real". Not only do we get to say she or her rather than it or just the baby, yesterday I felt her move from the outside for the first time. I was sitting on the couch playing on the computer, and I noticed she was moving around a lot. I just rested my hand on my stomach, and within seconds I felt a tiny kick. It was such an awesome feeling. I look forward to many more!

Where our fairy tale begins...

We found out at the end of May that we were expecting our first baby. The whole thing wasn't exactly planned - at least they weren't necessecerily our plans. God has a funny way of doing what HE sees fit. Go figure. We were going to try plan around my school year, but she's due January 29th. Oh well! Those things are working out, too.

There are so many things to be thankful for right now. Our relationship is the best it has ever been. Michael says he feels more drawn to me as I carry his child. He is so good to me, to us; I feel such a deep trust in him. I know that he will do whatever it takes to provide for us. Our bond is of God, and perfect. As far as we can tell, the baby is perfectly healthy. She wiggles regularly, and just when I think she isn't there, she gives me a gentle (or not so gentle) reminder. We have found a church home and family that loves and respects us, and that we fit into. We have made new friends there that God clearly led us to, and we are so thankful. In the realm of school, things couldn't be better. Because I am so paranoid about relinquishing control in January, God provided there, too. I literally prayed for a sub that I could trust, and this fall I met an intern who is willing to get her sub license, just to do my maternity leave.