Prayers Please

So, tomorrow is the BIG day. Well, it's not really that big, but it's got me a little anxious right now. My surgery is scheduled for 8:00 and I'm sure only takes a few minutes. Like I mentioned in my previous post, it's not a huge procedure, but a few extra prayers couldn't hurt. I just want more than anything to wake tomorrow from the procedure and this sweet baby inside be unharmed. Please pray that God wraps his hands around this three-inch ball of sweetness and protects it with everything He's got. Please pray that my doctor has a steady hand and a confident heart. She knows what she's doing. Hey lets pray that my placenta has moved upwards - then the baby wouldn't even be in harms way! Just please keep me in your thoughts, the past 13 weeks have been hard but such a blessing. I want another 27! Love you guys and thanks for the prayers.

I'll update tomorrow afternoon. I've got a great post about our weekend and some wonderful pics. But for now, I'm gonna go lay in my man's arms, watch some tv, and relax. JD's with his KK so Jimmy and I are gonna enjoy eachother's company. Thanks mom for all your help...

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read All About It!

The time has come...here goes.

For those who don't keep up with my mom's blog or haven't picked up on my subtle hints in previous posts, this may come as a complete surprise...

I'm PREGNANT again! Yea! Sound the alarms because the word's out!

I waited a bit longer to send out the official announcement after the last one. The hardest part about miscarrying was telling everyone. So, I decided I better wait until I'm past the riskier first trimester. And although I'm not quite into my second (3 days away) and I know there's always a chance of miscarrying, I'm at peace that this is suppose to happen this time. So...I feel obliged to include it on my blog - because it's not official until it's blogged people!

So yes, baby number 2 is a cookin'. I'm 12 weeks and 4 days!! JD will be a BIG brother in less than 6 months!! I'll be a sleep-deprived, insane hormonal mother of two in 27 weeks and 3 days. I am counting down because I can not wait!

I went to the doctor today for my second prenatal visit. Things are looking good and Baby V is still set to arrive November 4th. Dr. S. did mention that my placenta was a little low. They usually move up as the pregnancy progresses but if not I'll be having a c-section. Sooo not worrying about that yet. She also ventured to guess that this will be another boy. WHAT?! That was not in the plan. And God laughs. She said it's too soon to "call it" but she see's what might be a penis (or a spec, or floating flecks, or anything else on that grey and white ultrasound). She couldn't see this so-called penis from any other angle, so I'm not convinced. Jimmy is though. He's already talking boy names. We'll soon see. I'm scheduled for my anatomy scan, where we'll find out the sex, on June 8. That's ONLY six weeks away!!!

So most people's next question is...how are you feeling? Like crap. Sorry I don't have anything better to say, but it's the honest truth. Anyone not feeling sorry for me yet should have witnessed the spectacle at Los Cucos last night. I literally darted out of the restaurant after dinner to avoid throwing up in the place. Unfortunately, I did not make it past the patio-filled with late night hungry people. Yes...I did puke in front of everyone. But...I managed to keep walking, not everyone is talented enough to puke while walking.

As for the last thing. I need some prayers my blogging sisters and brothers (if you're out there). Monday I'm having surgery on my cervix. I had a similar procedure when I was pregnant with JD. My cervix is incompetent (what everyone woman loves to hear) and might not carry full term. So a cerclage (stitch) will be placed in my cervix to strengthen it. With my placenta being low this causes an additional risk because this means my cervix is even closer to my placenta. The doc will just need to be careful. It's pretty simple and I'll only be down about 24 hours. I will however have to wait and see how my cervix reacts afterwards. Last time - not so good, but we have faith that this time will be better!! So...PLEASE...keep those prayers flowing Monday. I'm so attached to this bun, I can't imagine anything happening to it.

Oh, and if the above wasn't enough...here are a few pictures!!

The Baby's Body (I think)


The Skelator Face


My Growing Belly (excuse the blur...it's growing so fast my camera can't keep up)




Oh...and of course my FIRST Baby Vandagriff. He was so good at the doctor (another post) today that he got stickers. How cool is he???


He's starting to think he's too cool for this camera!

The Start of Something Summer

It's pretty much common knowledge that the women in my family were blessed with green thumbs. Well...most of them. Meaning, not me. I couldn't grow a lima bean in a plastic baggy with a paper towel - and we know those are the building blocks to a green future.

My Nana has a yard that deserves the front cover of every gardening magazine north of the equator. She can grow a rose bush in a desert. It's amazing and her yard is breathtaking. All of it. All 7 acres of her land is BEAUTIFUL. God blessed her with the ground and she made Him proud, with the help of my PawPaw of course. He's on that ridin' lawn mower every day (except when he's playing golf) keeping everything lookin' sharp.









My mom is equally gifted in the growing category, she's just a bit more limited on time. She had several BEAUTIFUL beds last year. They made the Easter pictures gorgeous.

But as I mentioned before...me? Not so much!

So, every spring I get this great idea that this year is it! I'm gonna have a pretty yard. Every summer this goes to pot. Literally - it turns into a pot with soil - NO flowers, NO herbs, NO nothing. Just dirt - and very dry dirt at that.

BUT this year is going to be different. This is the year that my yard stays pretty all summer through. We've started working on it. The front is done, but there's not much to do there. Mostly green stuff which I don't kill as quick. The backyard is getting there. Jimmy did a new rock-bed for me with a fountain and and some potted plants. I still need to do flowers in a few beds, but will work on this next weekend. I'm excited and motivated, which is a start, right? Here's what we've got so far...





And the main reason why I love this backyard so much...

LIVING LIFE

Today I went to the funeral of a dear friend's dad. This is a woman I grew up calling Aunt Lizby and literally thought of as another "mom". It was as most funerals are, sad and tear jerking, but SO BEAUTIFUL. Quite possibly one of the most beautiful funeral I've ever attended.

This is my third in the last 8 months.

They don't get any easier either.

The first wasn't so much a funeral as a memorial service. It was to date, the hardest thing I've gone through with my family. It was for Jimmy's dad. Jimmy and I have been together for 7 years in May, married for 2-1/2. I've watched him hurt many times. He lost a dear friend and mentor shortly after we started dating. He made the decision to quit pursuing his dream of being a professional golfer the year after. He lost another golf friend a while later. Losing his dad was the hardest and most difficult thing I've had to sit by and watch in 7 years. There is nothing harder than doing just that - sitting back and watching. As a mother, it's only natural for us to want to take other's pain away. Especailly that of your family. I've never wanted to take away someone's pain like I did the weeks following Jim's passing. I've also never fallen harder in love with my husband than I did during those weeks. He's an amazing man - an amazing son, brother, husband, father, and best friend.

About a month ago, I went to a funeral for a friend's mom. It was also very difficult. It brought back those familiar memories from Jimmy's dad. I saw it on Jimmy's face too. I hurt so bad for both of my friend's that were affected by this loss. One, a friend we've known since high school. The other, his sister that I've become good friends with. Both incredible people with life's that are only beginning. Austin is pursuing his dreams in Colorado. Sweet Amy is raising 2 precious children, Camryn who's 2 and Carder who's 8 months - both who will barely remember their grandmother. It was heartbreaking and still is. I think of Austin and Amy often and pray that they are able to move on and be better people beacuse of it.

Today's was one that was completely different. Sad? Yes. Hard? Yes. Tear-Jerking? Yes. But BEAUTIFUL? Absolutely. It was the funeral for an 87 year old man who had LIVED his life. As Aunt Lizby said, he literally "Lived until he died." He spent the last 8 years completely in love with his wife and LIVING and SERVING the Lord. It was INSPIRATIONAL to say the least!

I walked away with many thoughts, but one rang out loud and true. I want to LIVE life EVERY DAY like it's my LAST. I want my last day to be spent LIVING and SERVING.

Seventeen Again

Wednesday night I got to have a girl's night with my sister. We had a blast as usual, but it was more than just that. We are both very sensative people - her by nature and me - hormonal and that whole "mommy" thing. So sharing intense moments that bring tears is better spent with another sap as opposed to a non-sap, aka My Husband.

We went to the St. Jude's Partner's in Hope concert. I became a partner this year. I wanted to do it last year, but never called in so this year I jumped on the chance. Partners in Hope sign up to donate $30 a month and every bit of it goes to St. Jude's for research and operation. As a mother now, I have thought a lot about St. Jude. I pray JD never has a need for it, but if he does, it's incredible knowing they are doing some great things there.

Anyways, they put on a concert for all of the partners and I took Shannon as my guest. The two performers were Taylor Swift and Jason Aldean. They are both AMAZING. I love country music. I was raised on it and 99.5% of the time, my radio is tuned to 92.9 or 100.3. I love it. I love everything about country music. I love the sadness of it, I love the honesty in it, I love how it makes me want to dance, I love how it makes me fall in love, I love how it reminds me of summer, I LOVE IT. I've been a fan of Jason Aldean's for a while. He had me with Why? I liked Taylor Swift but only knew the two songs she had on the radio. That changed Wednesday night!

This girl is a doll!!! There was something so precious about her. She's 17 and she acts 17. She's not one of these celebrities that is 17 going on 25. No, she's 17. She's every girl at 17. She wrote ALL of her songs and they are all about the life of a 17 year old girl. It took me back. It took me back to high school. It took me back to putting on make up and getting dolled up for school knowing that I'd run into my crush. It took me back to broken hearts and falling in love all over again. It took me back to being jealous of new girl friends and disliking ex-girlfriends. She took me back. It didn't take much seeing how I only graduated 6 years ago, but still, she took me back. I loved high school. I have fond memories. I met the most incredible man in high school and now spend every morning waking up to him.

So thank you Miss Swift. Thank you for reminding me of what is was like. Thanks for making me smile and for bringing back old memories. It was a blast. It was even more fun watching her with my sister who will be 17 in June. She sang her heart out to a 23 year old remembering what is was like to be 17 and a 16 year old looking ahead a few months when she will be 17.

Here are a few of my favorite lyrics:

Our Song
I was riding shotgun with my hair undone in the front seat of his car
He's got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel
The other on my heartI look around, turn the radio down
He says baby is something wrong?
I say nothing I was just thinking how we don't have a song
And he says...

Our song is the slamming screen door,
Sneakin' out late, tapping on your window
When we're on the phone and you talk real slow
Cause it's late and your mama don't know
Our song is the way you laugh
The first date "man, I didn't kiss her, and I should have"
And when I got home ... before I said amen
Asking God if he could play it again

I was walking up the front porch steps after everything that day
Had gone all wrong and been trampled on
And lost and thrown away
Got to the hallway, well on my way to my lovin' bed
I almost didn't notice all the roses
And the note that said...

Our song is the slamming screen door,
Sneakin' out late, tapping on your window
When we're on the phone and you talk real slow
Cause it's late and your mama don't know
Our song is the way you laugh
The first date "man, I didn't kiss her, and I should have"
And when I got home ... before I said amen
Asking God if he could play it again

I've heard every album, listened to the radio
Waited for something to come along
That was as good as our song...

Cause our song is the slamming screen door
Sneaking out late, tapping on his window
When we're on the phone and he talks real slow
Cause it's late and his mama don't know
Our song is the way he laughs
The first date "man, I didn't kiss him, and I should have"
And when I got home, before I said amen
Asking God if he could play it again

I was riding shotgun with my hair undone
In the front seat of his car
I grabbed a pen and an old napkin
And I... wrote down our song


Mary's Song
(this song was written for her neighbors)

She said, I was seven and you were nine
I looked at you like the stars that shined
In the sky, the pretty lights
And our daddies used to joke about the two of us
Growing up and falling in love and our mamas smiled
And rolled their eyes and said oh my my my

Take me back to the house in the backyard tree
Said you'd beat me up, you were bigger than me
You never did, you never did
Take me back when our world was one block wide
I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried
Just two kids, you and I...
Oh my my my my

I was sixteen when suddenly
I wasn't that little girl you used to see
But your eyes still shined like pretty lights
And our daddies used to joke about the two of us
They never believed we'd really fall in love
And our mamas smiled and rolled their eyes
And said oh my my my...

Take me back to the creek beds we turned up
Two A.M. riding in your truck and all I need is you next to me
Take me back to the time we had our very first fight
The slamming of doors instead of kissing goodnight
You stayed outside til the morning light
Oh my my my my

A few years had gone and come around
We were sitting at our favorite spot in town
And you looked at me, got down on one knee
Take me back to the time when we walked down the aisle
Our whole town came and our mamas cried
You said I do and I did too

Take me home where we met so many years before
We'll rock our babies on that very front porch
After all this time, you and I

I'll be eighty-seven; you'll be eighty-nine
I'll still look at you like the stars that shine
In the sky, oh my my my...

Momma...I Got It!

Around a year old, JD found his nose. Well, not necessarily his nose but his nose holes...as in, he learned to stick his fingers in his nose. It wasn't quite the process of picking, but more or less just sticking them in the holes. I have a great picture of this at the dinner table (nice)



So...we've moved past this...on to bigger and better things.

Like picking his nose. Actually picking it.

The best part is not the actual picking but the finding. He's a true man on a mission. And once he's done, He proudly anounces, "Mommy, I got it! Here go!"

He sure knows how to make his momma proud!

Back in Time

Very rarely do we have the oppurtunity to step back in time. It's not very often than we can time-travel back to our childhood and relive a few moments again. We look at pictures and remember old times and if we are lucky, we can watch home movies and enjoy those precious years for a bit longer!!

Last night I had this oppurtunity. My dad came across an old cassette tape when he was cleaning out the house. What was on the tape was...prcieless.

I was a bit of an entertainer growing up. This is something that still haunts me...literally haunts me when I watch home movies because it's a tad bit embarrassing now. The stuff when I was little isn't too bad because I'm 8 or 9. The other stuff howeber, yikes!! There's nothing more embarassing than watching my cousin and I at age 14 breaking it down to the Macarena and to "I Like to Move it, Move it" by Reel 2 Real (this is pre-Madagascar - thank you)!! It's near torture watching it with Jimmy because his accusations of me of being a complete dork when I was younger are confirmned (and I enjoyed every minute of my dorkiness)!!

So anyways, I go to my mom's last night to listen to this old cassette and it was the most amazing thing I've ever heard. For an hour I got to be 8 again. I go to laugh at myself and my friends again. One of the friends in the tape is still one of my closest friends to this day - we are as close as sisters. Ashley and I literally grew up together. Until we were in junior high, it feels like we spent every waking moment together. Once we went to different schools and she moved off of our street, we drifted a bit but when we got together it was like no time passes. Once we were older and in high school, we becamse a bit closer. Now, we are as close as we were when we were kids. Maybe closer because our mom's no longer have to call one another to break up our fights. This girl is one of the most precious people in my life and it was the neatest thing hearing us be kids again. I can hardly wait for her to get home from school to listen to it!!!!

Anyways...my mom's already blogged this because it was just as special for her. She wrote the most sweetest things and together we enjoyed reliving my childhood once again. I can't wait to share this one day with my kids...now do you see why I want a daughter soo??? Here's my mom's reaction to it all - Enjoy!

This Old House

Amanda over at Baby Bangs asked for an update...so here goes...it's gonna be long and no, not because my life is so over the top exciting, but because it's been one of those months....

As many of you know, we are in the process of selling our house. The following is the exciting timeline of this:

January 15th - end of February: I suffered through endless showings. This alone can be difficult, but throw a 2-year old, master-mess-maker into the mix and you've got a whole kind of "difficult". If I was lucky, the showing company would call an hour-1/2 before the showing and I'd approve regardless if I was still in my pajamas and JD had just finished an art masterpiece on the wall. I'd run around like a mad-woman cleaning the place and begging JD to help. After a few failed attempts, I'd strap him in his booster seat in front of the tv with 3-4 dum-dum suckers and pray!

February (end): We got an offer and then made an offer!! Whoo-hoo!! Closing date set for March 23!!

10 Days Later: The buyers would now like a laundry list of repairs done - fun!

March 21: The buyers want to move the closing date to March 26th (OKAY!)

March 24: The inspector comes back out and is not pleased (let's just say mis-communication on our realtor's part)

March 25-26: We bust our tails trying to get the reapirs done. There is literally contractor after contractor coming through our house. I'm now good-friends with one of the handy-men! We move the closing back a day.

March 27: Closing has been rescheduled for Wednesday - after much arguing from Jimmy b/c we are suppose to close on our new house AND leave town by Thursday.

March 28 (Wed - AM): We call to check on the closing and hear it went great.
March 28 (Wed - PM): We get a call that the buyer backed out!! WHAT???!!!! Yes, they no longer want the house - they loose their earnest money. WHAT???!!!

Thursday - A VERY unhappy Jimmy and Stephanie take little JD to Mississippi for some R&R and furniture moving.

So, our house is back on the market. The whole ordeal has been so frusterating. After already packing most of our house up and spending countless hours on repairs, we are staying a bit longer. I've had to unpack a bunch of thing and attempt to get the house back in showable condition. So here we go again....