I guess we'll have a Chrsitmas baby.

I have until Monday to have this baby naturally and then the doctors will induce. Please pray that baby will come before Monday. Some people fear spiders, but I fear medicine. It's not a conviction, it's not even that thought through; i'm just afraid. It is easy for me to believe that God has equipped my fallen body to handle things such as childbirth, but it's not so easy for me to believe that God has allowed us medicine that can aide the process. I know that's not reasonable, but especially at 41.5 weeks pregnant, i'm not a reasonable person.

If baby doesn't come we will go to the hospital on Sunday night for the doctors to put some kind of "let's make the cervix ready" cream in me. That could send us into labor. If it doesn't send me into labor I can see Sunday night going two ways..... 1- I cry all night because the cream isn't working and i'm in a hospital and i'm afraid of labor with drugs or 2- I am comforted by all the great hospital staff and have more confidence in God's provision of medicine by Monday morning. Let's all pray for the second!! (But most of all let's pray that baby comes before Sunday.)

Here's me last weekend outside the Memphis Zoo. I heard that babies like to come when there is a full moon, so i made sure the moon saw my full belly. It didn't work. All the walking didn't work either... or the primerose oil... or the caster oil... or anything else we tried.



But we will have our sweet baby this time next week... all 8 pounds 6 ounces of her if the ultrasound predicted right. ;)

I am really excited about being a mother and about seeing Jon as a daddy. It will be nice to sit (or stand bouncing and hitting a baby's bottom) on Christmas day and ponder the birth of Christ along with the birth of our baby. It makes things a little more real this Christmas season to be soooo GREAT with child.

Excited!!!

I'm super excited for several reasons. First, our baby is due on Sunday. I can't wait to meet her!! It will be so nice just to get to see what she looks like and to kiss her sweet face. Please pray that she comes soon, that the labor goes well, and that she is healthy. I really want to have natural childbirth, so it would be really nice not to be induced and not to have to get an epidural. Jon's been GREAT the last few weeks. He is going to be such a help once I go into labor. I have the BEST husband.




Reason #2 for intense excitement: Yesterday was my last day at work. I was going to work until the baby came, but I changed my mind. Funny thing is that I didn't change my mind until yesterday morning. Jon said he was all for me quiting early, so at 9:00 I asked my boss permission and at 11:30 I left Forest Cove for good. Yesterday afternoon and today have been so great!!




Reason #3 for being super excited: It's Christmas. And Christmas is my FAVORITE!!!!! This Christmas is extra special because it is Jon and I's first Christmas as a married couple. It is so fun to establish our own Christmas traditions. We went to get out tree on Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent. Jon had never been to a Christmas Tree Farm, but I insisted and I'm glad I did. Jon says he will look forward to going again next year. Growing up I would look forward to picking our tree all year long. I can't imagine not having a real tree. They smell so good.

Here's me hugging a random tree.

This is the one we finally picked out. It was the first one we saw, but I made Jon chase me through all the other trees anyway.
I like that the baby is in this picture!!!


Here is almost the finished product. Since then Aaron and Alice have lent us a box full of extra ornaments that some of the girls at church made last year. The lights are Brian and Cindy's. I like that our first tree is full of other people's things. It makes me happy to think of them when I look at the tree.

Let's celebrate big time!!

Just so everyone knows--

THIS IS MY LAST FULL TIME WEEK AT WORK!!!!!

I'm just a bad blogger.

It's not a secret that i can't wait to be done with work. But I have to admit it isn't all bad. Sometimes i get to do the really fun stuff that you can only do in a nursing home. Such as last week. Last week we took 13 wheelchair bound residents out to eat. It makes me happy and makes the job worth it to bring a smile to an old person's face. Especially a smile like the one above!!

We went to Gatlinburg this past weekend. Jon's grandparents rented a cabin for the whole family. It was a great time!! Jon let me hike the same 8 miles that we hiked last year- to the spot where he proposed. I was so happy to make it to the top of that rock!! Four miles is a long way up a mountain- even for someone who isn't 6 months pregnant!


On Saturday we went to the waterpark with Jon's brother, mom, her husband, and three of his girls. It made me a little upset that all the fun rides said no pregnant women allowed. I rode some anyways.


Saturday night Jon took me into Gatlinburg and we splurged on a great meal. Seriously, the waitor even wiped the water from my glass off the table for me! We got to pick our own steak before it was cooked and the cook cut it for us right there at the table. Here is the view out the window above our table...

On Sunday we hiked four more miles and saw both an old homestead and a beautiful waterfall. I love waterfalls! And I'm afraid I giggled the whole time we were there. The water was so cold and I all but went swimming. Jon spent most of our time there taking pictures. Coming down I was soaking wet up to my waist and pretty damp all over. Jon barely had any water on him. He's the responsible one. And I think he was a little afraid of his pregnant wife falling into the water and not being able to get up.


Needless to say, even after all that hiking and not too much overeating, I still gained 2 pounds!!



Maybe it was the chocolate cake!!!!!

i have been meaning to update, but we just haven't taken enough pictures lately. and i don't think a post without a picture would be interesting.


i feel like things have calmed down a lot for us. i feel better than i have the whole pregnancy. a little tired, but otherwise great.

jon and stephen put our little girl's baby bed up the other day. it was fun to watch.











the next pictures are from our festive crableg night with the kennedys. we even had streamers and sailor hats.




































in other news, we are looking forward to being in gatlinburg this weekend. jon's grandparents are paying for the whole family to stay in an awesome cabin for labor day. we are leaving thursday afternoon and will come back monday. i'm hoping to hike the 8 miles we hiked last year. it would be nice to go back to the place where we got engaged, but jon isn't so sure that my nearly 6 month pregnant belly should go that far up a mountain. but probably i am most excited about the huge tub in our room. it is going to be NICE to take a long bath!!

This will be us soon!!!!!

I'm so excited. We got our baby bed and changing table last week. And Jon traded his very large desk for a small one, so I even have room for a rocking chair in our baby's room. My husband is great!!

We're having a baby girl. I need to figure out how to scan our ultrasounds so you can see those.

My cousin is giving our daughter tons of hand-me-down clothes, so our baby already has too many clothes and it's still more than 4 months until she is born.

Summer Vacation 2008

We went to the beach last week!












































pregnant bellies!!!! (about 20 weeks.) isn't jon's the best?








it really was pretty wonderful to get to enjoy a vacation before the baby comes. sure, we won't get to go as much after baby comes, but we have had such a great year so far!!!!
we been able to go on a cruise for our honeymoon, to chicago to visit jes, to the beach, and we are going to gatlinburg for labor day.
we are certainly in a year of abundance and easy to see blessings. i'm so glad God has given us so many blessings for our first year together!
it's easy enough for me to worry about what will happen come 2009!!
who knows what i would be like if we were having to struggle right now.
my lack of faith is pretty sad sometimes. Jon helps me with that a lot.

Getting Started

So I guess we should introduce ourselves.....

I'm Carrie
















and this is my husband Jon.















we started dating in april,












got engaged in september,














and married in december.











we love being married













and are excited about our baby who is due in early december.











6 months married and 4 months pregnant!!!
that's the way to do it!
i get to become a stay at home mom in just 20 more weeks!