Some pics ...

Poot's first pair of boots!

35 weeks and then some ....

Kyleigh was in charge of taking pics. These 2 women are what keep me going! My mother was able to make it to this Calallen shower and I was so glad that she got to meet the many mentor women that God has blessed me with. I really do have an awesome family of God down here. Kitty inspires me to be the "good wife". There are times when farming can get to me, but then I look at her and how she handles everything and gets involved, so it helps me to hike up my big girl panties and jump on the bandwagon ... or should I say the tractor?

The wonderful hostesses and my mentors!

Today we went to a birthing class. There really wasn't anything that they "taught" us that I didn't already know through my wonderful momma friends, books, and emails. My mind set is still to attempt this whole thing without an epidural. I may not make it, but at least I tried. I am already having some pretty regular contractions about every 20 minutes. Last Wednesday I had some really painful ones (which is when the doctor thinks I dilated) and they weren't unbearable. I know they get worse, but I think I can make it through the contractions. It's having 'Poot' squeeze through my body that I am so unsure of. Again, we shall see! I have my Ipod ready to sing me through it. I did learn, though, that if I do have to be induced next week then I will probably want the epidural. Apparently the inducing meds make the contractions come on stronger than if they were to occur on their own, so that may push it over the edge. Please be praying for 'Poot' and I this next week. I feel great, praise the Lord. I start in service tomorrow and I can forsee a long week coming on of sitting. I want to at least make it to the first day of school, meet my kiddos, and then tell them "see you in 6 weeks"! Honestly, the longer baby stays the better because then when I go back, I will be that much closer to Thanksgiving break. I know the Lord will give me strength to get through going back to school, but I also know it will not be easy. "He never said it would be easy ... He only said you wouldn't go it alone." Thank the Lord for that. Love you all and will update as we progress!

Progress

So, I went to the doctor yesterday and I am dilated 2 cm already. I am 35 weeks and a few days, so I am praying it stays put just a little longer. I go back on Thursday to get an ultrasound to check the measurements and such. If I have progressed some more then they will probably induce the following week. I am ready, but I am not. I want to start school to see all my new students, but if God is ready for Poot to be here, then we welcome Poot with open arms whenever He is ready. I had a wonderful shower today. This one was put on by some friends from Sunday school and church. Of course we were showered with many great gifts and the fellowship was great. It was so wonderful to see everyone that we miss since we go to the early service. I love the people that the Lord has brought into my life while being in Bishop. He is amazing! I will post some pictures soon :)!

Realized how long its been ...

So I just now looked and saw how long it had been since I last updated! I knew it had been awhile, but not that long. We do not have Internet at our house right now, so it has been a chore to just long on enough to check emails and pay bills. I think that we can live without Internet ... and then we do for a few weeks and realize how much of my banking and bills I do on there! Eek!
House is coming along ... slowly. The biggest project we are waiting on is the fireplace. This has been a long headache from the day that the framer put it up. Apparently they weren't supposed to frame for it ... they were to wait until the fireplace was in. Well, the fireplace just got put in. So now they have to come back and frame around it. And then the masonry guy comes to put the rock up. Then we can do the last of the floors and should then be able to move in. By the way, I am 36 weeks along. But I am ok with it ... we were told we would be in mid July and we weren't, so now I'm just going along and not stressing about it. We have a pack- n-play so we are ready for baby to sleep wherever we are! No sense in worrying!
Kyleigh has been with m all week. It has been such a joy having her here. I forget during the hustle and bustle of the year how much I miss getting to see her every week or so. Now it is usually months at a time. With Poot coming, though, hopefully that will change.
School starts back for us on Monday, then the following Monday we get kiddos. I'm very interested to see how this year is going to go ... lots of changes. Change can be good, though, if people embrace it and try to make the best of it!
That tis' all for now. More insightful updates later ... right now I get to go play with Kyleigh.

Montgomery Shower

A good friend of mine made me a card with this verse on it and I thought it was very appropriate for our child ... "I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:27 As you all know, CR and I prayed for a child since we got married and tried for about two years. In God's grace and wonderful timing, He blessed us with "Poot". This weekend my sister Elizabeth, sister-in-law Shannon, and wonderful family friend Michele Rod threw me a wonderful shower. Of course it was western themed and they out did themselves with some really creative decorations and goodies. It was such a blessing to see some family that I had not seen since Christmas, and some friends that I had not seen in over a year. Of course there were some that did not make it that we missed, but the friendship, fellowship, and food (oh the food!) was supercalafragalisticexpealidocious! Thank you girls for the shower and thank you Michele for opening up your beautiful home! CR and I are truly, truly blessed.

For more shower pictures, visit our shutterfly account: http://patrickpachangaphotos.shutterfly.com/

Shutterfly

I decided to open a shutterfly account for pictures. I will still do some favorites and sneak peak pics on here so it isn't just my rambling and antics, but shutterfly is much more picture upload friendly. Here is the link: http://patrickpachangaphotos.shutterfly.com/
Today I had a doctor's appointment and everything went well. I am measuring exactly 32 weeks according to the tape measure looking thing. So ... 8 weeks from today is September 10th. :) I need all 8 weeks because we are not in the house yet and I need to nest! The baby's heart rate was at 150 bpm and I gained 2 pounds over the last month. I am at 15 for the total and the doctor said that is just fine since the baby is measuring right on.
The farm got started on harvest this week. I am so glad because to me it is getting too close for comfort for baby. I hope and pray all is out by the time "Poot" gets here. The Lord has blessed us with almost a week now of dry, breezy weather, so that helps tremendously.
I am excited about going to Montgomery in a week. I can not wait to give Daddy a hug. I can not wait to see E, Mom, and Kyleigh ... and then on Saturday I hope to see many friends and family that I have not gotten to see in awhile. My cousin Megan got a new job (something more up her career path) and I am so excited for her! Shannon and Ken have been in Colorado for a bit so it will be super nice to hear all about their adventures. My mother and father's long time family friend gets to come up ... she remembers me when I was 2, so hearing old stories (again) will be sure to bring back some laughs.
After Montgomery I have to go to Austin (eek) for almost a week for a TAKS item review. I loved this last year ... I think that eventually I want to freelance write stories to go on these silly standardized tests. We proof read the stories and questions for errors, as well as determine if they are fair and if there are a wide variety of question/answer types. It really is super interesting ... I am just curious how well this is going to go since I will be almost 34 weeks by then. :) This baby will know how to go, go, go that is for sure!
Until next time ...

Paint is complete!

Well, lots has been going on around Patrick Farms! The house is getting closer and closer to being completed. The painter came in and took care of everything in just 3 days. He will come back this next week to paint the trim and interior doors. He may also stain the cabinets. That would be a great load off of us if that works out. The brick is almost completed and the fireplace will be in soon. Thank you God for providing us this opportunity just in time for the precious miracle growing inside of me.

Speaking of "Poot"; I had another small scare this past weekend. Nothing major, just more spotting, but this time it lasted for 2 fulls days. Before it was less than a day, so I was kind of worried. I wasn't able to talk to my actual doctor since Monday was a holiday, but the nurse on call said if I didn't have pelvic pain then everything was OK, just to put my feet up and rest. I didn't have pelvic pain, but my back was having spurts of pain, which I was concerned was back labor. Thankfully by Tuesday morning both had passed. Again, thank you Lord for that blessing.

Jody, Katherine, Caleb, Porter, and Anna Kate are with the Patrick's again this week. It has been so great having them around. I feel like I am finally able to get to know them even better. We have always lived at least 5 hours away from each other, so this has been very refreshing. I just love this family that I have married into. I could not have asked for better in-laws all around. Again, thank you Lord for the family I was born into and the family that I married ... I am truly blessed with the relationships and friendships I have from all sides.

Now on to something that has been on my heart lately. Discipline. How self-disciplined are you? It is so easy for us to look into other people's lives and tell them what habit they need to stop or what they need to start, but what about our own lives? There are many things I know I have lost discipline for since becoming pregnant (working out - I can still do it to a certain degree, I have just lost the routine; quite time - I still have it, but it almost seems to be patterned now and quick). There are always areas in our own lives that we can become better disciplinarians of. I challenge you to look at your life and see where some discipline action could occur. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7

Now on to the fun stuff ... pictures!

CR isn't too sure about this bathroom. I told him to just wait until I could finish my magic! I'm excited! I think it looks fun. :) The back wall where the mirrors go is a shade darker than the other walls.

I am super pumped about the shower! They still need to come in and wipe it all down (those are the smudges on the wall), but I am really pleased with how the tile came out.
Ceiling in our bedroom.

Soon to be "poot's" room!

Ceiling above the eating area ... I got my red in there!

And I got my red in the laundry room! Maybe it will make doing laundry even more fun! Yesterday my sister turned the big 3-0. What an exciting time! Go out there, believe and achieve! We love you E!

Picking out Paint and such ...

So many choices go into building a home. When you are the contractors it is even harder because you do not have the interior decorator's advice to help guide you. So far I think that CR and I have done a good job getting things that flow well with the style of our home. I am so not picky and he is so picky; we make a good team. The overall feel of our colors will be the same as our home now because we like them so much. We know they are warm and welcoming and we enjoy their ambiance as they say. I am going to be bold and do the guest bathroom in a pop of color that others aren't so sure of. You will have to come visit us in South Texas to find out just what that is. For now all the bedrooms will be neutral and as we "move in" to them over the next few years I may go in and re-paint them. Since we don't know boy or girl on Nugget (or Poot as CR now calls the baby), we have decided this is the best bet. Quicker too ... we want to be in the house in 3 weeks.

This last week I was blessed to get to rest and visit back home. It was so nice not to have to get up in time to drive an hour to Corpus for class. I was able to sleep in if I wanted to, but that didn't really happen ... I am just an early bird. Dad and I got to go on our walks that I love, I was able to do water aerobics with mom (well she was busy one morning and had to miss), I went to the ranch and spent the whole day catching up with dad (very refreshing day for me), and then I drove to Katy to see my best friend and their beautiful bundle of joy Nathan. He is just so precious and I can not believe that our little one will be here in just about 10 weeks. This trip was so nice to get to sit and take in everything. I didn't get to visit everyone I was intending to (as usual) but hopefully when I go back in July for my baby shower I will be able to get together with the other girls one day or evening. It is just so hard to get together with everyone in such a short period of time. Mother and daddy brought me home on Thursday and stayed with us until Sunday. Again, too short of a visit but very nice and refreshing. We had wonderful seafood one night and then dad cooked for everyone Saturday night. Saturday night was the nicest evening and dinner I have had in a long time. Sitting and visiting and not thinking about what to do with furniture, paint colors, trim, or texture; just loving the fellowship and taking it all in.

Katherine, Jody, Porter, Caleb and Anna Kate are in South Texas for the next month. It has been very wonderful catching up with them over the past few days. The boys are getting so big and talking up a storm. They know LaLa and Tio and enjoy riding the tractor. Anna Kate is doing well and getting her own precious personality. She loved her pink shoes, so I knew her and I would get along just great!

There have been some options in my life that I am just so thankful for. I am ever so thankful that God has such an amazing plan. I love how He is so faithful to do as He says. I love reading and growing and can not wait to see what He has in store for us with this precious gift from above that will be here before we know it.

"The Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him." Psalm 32:10

Beginning of the brick laying!
It's hard to see the true color in these pictures ... it has more of a red tint to it than brown.

Wall tiles in our shower.

Floor tiles in our shower. I am so happy the way it turned out. When some people saw the tiles, they said, "Oh, that isn't going to look good." Now they love it!

Ceiling above dining area of kitchen. I am going to paint this a pop of red!

Our bedroom ceiling. The framer came up with this all by himself ... it was not in our plans. We really like the way it is turning out, though.

Lights, Sheetrock, Bathtub ... oh my!

Some exciting things have been happening in Our House, Texas. PEL is really wearing out this preggo, so I apologize for not updating sooner. On Tuesday we had all of the insulation put in. They were super fast and for a change ... CLEAN!They also put in the tub/shower combination for the guest/kids bathroom. The framer actually made the bathroom wider than the plans had specified, so the tub was short of hitting the back wall. Not a problem ... what do we do ... have them add a hiding closet!

Believe it or not, CR fit through this little opening to run the very last wire for the electrical in the house!

Tomorrow they will begin the sheetrock. This is super exciting to me, because then we get to go in and paint! After painting, the cabinets should be ready to go in, then counter tops and we are about there!

Oh ya ... how could I forget the best part? We have electricity and running water! I walked in tonight to check everything out and since we had lights, I was able to see and take all these pictures. Whoohoo ... thank you to my wonderful mother-in-law and husband. They did an awesome job.

Besides the house, we had an unexpected but exciting visit with my sister and Ray. Ray had to come to Corpus for a firefighter's training, so E rode along. They met us at church Sunday night and then she stayed with us on the farm for the night. We got to meet up again Tuesday for lunch before they had to head out. It was very refreshing to get to visit with just the two of them.

Nugget is doing well. I go back to the doctor again on Friday. It seems like I was just there, but I like going every 2 weeks. It makes me feel better about everything. I (think) I have started to have some Braxtin Hicks contractions. These are just preparing me for when I really get contractions. My belly gets really tight and it is an interesting feeling. The baby has really been moving this week. Last night I think it was teaching itself how to do forward and backward rolls. I will try to update on Friday before we leave for Montgomery. We are going up there for Father's Day and will hopefully get to see the whole family. It has been since Christmas since we have seen everyone and it would be really great to see them all.

Nesting ...

A question that I often get asked: "How does one nest when they do not know what they are nesting for?"

I have been collecting some clothes whenever I see any that seem to be gender neutral. For clothing, the options are really thin lately. If it is yellow, it has flowers on it and if it is green it has dinosaurs. I went to a Carter's store last weekend and found some ducks, bears, and puppies. They will work for the first week for sure! The bedding is very similar to the picture above. I found some black and white cow print instead. If it is a girl, we will add some pretty turquiose and maybe lace; if it is a boy, you got it, just a bunch of John Deere tractors across a shelf at the top of the room.On top of not knowing what we are having, the nursery is actually being built along with the rest of our home, so I can't exactly go in and start nesting in there. My in-laws think we can be in the house in about a month, so that will give me some time to get this nestingness (word?) out of me then.
"How beautiful are the feet that bring good news ..." Romans 10:15

Announcements

"For I know the plans I have for you ... " Jeremiah 29:11

My best friend Bethany had her baby on June 2nd. Nathan Matthew was a little early, but not small in size by any means! He weighed in at 7 lbs, 12 oz. and was 20" long. He was just ready to come out and start learning football from his daddy. I am very excited for The Thompsons. They are a very special part of my life and I can not wait to see Nathan grow into a wonderful young man that the Lord and the two of them will mold him to become. Sorry the last 2 pics are kind of blurry ... copyrighted from facebook! :) I will have live and in-person photos in a few weeks when I get to see them!! Congrats Bethany and Kevin!

The kind of scary part is ... Bethany was right at 12 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy. So, in reality, that could be us in just 12 weeks! We need to get crackin'. Sorry it has taken me a week to give you an update on the doctor's appointment. Life has been so busy in a blessed way. Thankfully everything went well last Tuesday at the appointment. They got me in a bit early since I was so concerned. They listened for the heartbeat right away and it was lower than Nugget's normal, but still considered a resting heartbeat for the baby. I think that I just wore Nugget out so much the last 2 weeks that he/she just decided to sleep for a few days. They sent me up for an ultrasound to make sure that they weren't in a compromising position since I did have some bleeding, but everything was fine. The lady had the monitor on the TV the whole time so I was really nervous about seeing what it was. I looked really quick to see the beautiful face and then kept my head turned the whole time. Nugget is getting big! According to "averages", Nugget is a little over 2 pounds and 14 inches long. Yesterday I definitely felt that in my rib. CR said they were giving me a tickle fight. I go back on June 18th so stay tuned!
Today began the summer intensive portion of my principal certification course. It was a lot of fun. Besides having to drive into Corpus everyday, I am really looking forward to this portion of the course. This class has already taught me so much with the different professionals that Mr. Spencer (our Santa Clause) has invited in. I am excited to see who else we get to meet with over the next few weeks. For my wonderful classmate Bev ... PEL YEAH! As for the house building, it is still moving along really well. It doesn't seem like as much is going on because it is mainly things that one doesn't "see". The air conditioner people finished up with all the duct work, Kitty and CR are almost finished wiring the house for all of the electrical work, the garage door was installed (see above), and the water lines have been dug and are just about complete. Friday installation goes in and I believe Monday the sheet rock will start to go up. The Patrick's really think we can be in July 16th or so ... that seems hard to me, but I will definitely take it! That will give us almost 2 whole months before baby.

All the outside trim and underpinning has been painted. It is kind of dark, but check out the cedar posts. I just love them. I told CR I thought it would be neat to get our friends who have brands to come over and put their brand on them. Kind of like a record of visitors, but instead of in a book, we have it on our posts! And this frog is for Kyleigh Anne. A few weeks ago we had hundreds of these guys all over the yard. They weren't bigger than a nickle. Now they are about a half dollar.