Today's the day!

Yes, today is the big day! We finally get to meet our baby girl! I got up early, partly because I'm too excited to sleep, partly because I wanted to eat and drink a lot before my long day of not eating or drinking. We check in at noon, and the c-section is at 2:00! I did not go into labor on my own, as I had hoped I would, but God knows what is best. At this point, I don't care how she comes out! As you can see, I had some very last-minute images done Saturday by a friend in a field of our beautiful Texas bluebonnets! She did a great job! (www.petitephotography.com)

God gave me a poem this morning for my little girl, and I'd like to share it with you. We will, of course, be keeping everyone updated on our exciting news! Love, Lisa

Only God Knows
by Lisa Strealy

What will she look like?
Who will she be?
Will she be a much smaller version of me?
Will she have full hair or very long toes?
Or great big round eyes?
Only God knows.

Will she be like Daddy?
Will she sleep at night?
Will she be docile or put up a fight?
Will she take long naps, or just like to doze?
Will she like binkies?
Only God knows.

Will she fall in love?
Will her heart stay intact?
Will she behave? Will she know how to act?
Will she be kind, others first, she below?
Will she humbly obey?
Only God knows.

Will she love You, Lord, for the whole of her life?
Will she stray and return? Will her life bring her strife?
Will she serve You and love You for all of her days?
For this little girl, it is this that I pray.

I know that You made her, from her heart to her skin,
And I know that You know her, both outside and in.
But I've yet to meet her,
So you mustn't blame me
For wondering who she will grow up to be.

I love her already, and I'd just like to say
That I'm so overjoyed I will meet her today.
She was not expected or planned or proposed,
Who knew she was coming?
Only God knows.

Just as your love never ebbs, always flows,
No matter the answers to the questions I pose,
I will always love her, from her head to her toes.
How much will I love her?
Only God knows.

Photos From My Church Shower!

David's finally making an honest woman of me!

Yes, this is me at almost 36 weeks. It's actually our niece, Sabrina's, bridal veil, though. My sister, Kara, is getting married!!! She got engaged on my birthday in February. We went to Edmond to visit David's family over Spring Break, and my mom and sister came for a day to shop for wedding dresses. She was trying on Sabrina's veil to see if it might work with the beautiful wedding gown she found! The wedding is set for August 7th, in Pennsylvania, where her fiance Ben is from, and I am going to be her matron of honor! I hope I can get back to pre-pregnancy weight quickly so I can fit in the dress!

My c-section is scheduled for Tuesday, April 14th, at 2:00 pm! I am hoping to go into labor before then, and, if so, I can try to have her the natural way. This is my last week of work. I am so sad to leave all my students and co-workers. I have been there for almost five years now, and it is truly like leaving a family. However, I am so excited to meet my baby girl! (Not to mention ready to get her out of me!)
My friends and family threw me a wonderful shower last month, and I received so many nice presents. It was such a blessing to receive so many things that we needed! It really helped put our minds at ease that we may actually be ready for this! It was such a fun night, and I was so happy that most of my family could be there, and so many of my friends and co-workers.

The ladies at my church also held a shower for me yesterday afternoon. It was so nice, and I felt so loved! I will post photos from that shower, as soon as I get some. We'll keep you updated on any exciting news! She'll be here before we know it!

Love,
Lisa

Isn't she lovely? (And big-headed)

I had an ultrasound today to determine the position of the baby, approximate size, etc. The top picture is her face. Her head is turned, and she's looking at the camera. In case you can't decipher it, her forehead is on the right, then her eyes, nose, and mouth, which appears to be slightly open. She was opening and closing her mouth during the ultrasound, which my mom and David got to see. Bottom picture is of her little feet and toes. Good news is she is properly positioned for take-off, and, based on her position, I can finally identify some of those body parts that have been poking out or jabbing me in various places. Other news is that her head is a bit large for her relatively normal-sized body. The tech estimated that she is about 5 lbs. 5 oz. already, which is I think about 60 something percentile, but her head is about 89 percentile, or about a week and a half or two bigger than expected. (Katelyn was only 5 lbs. 13 oz. when she was born.) The doctor wasn't concerned about the head size, but we may have a future neurosurgeon or Jeopardy champion on our hands. Seriously, though, it sort of puts a damper on my hopes of having a vaginal birth again, like I did with Katelyn. Her head (and everything about her) was quite small in comparison to Garrett, whose head would not fit through my pelvis, resulting in my c-section. So, we are scheduling a c-section, and if I don't go into labor on my own, they will just rip her out. There's still a chance I can avoid the c-section, but we'll see. I would like the experience of going into labor on my own, just once. I am looking at April 13th for the c-section, which is the day after Easter. I am waiting for confirmation of this date from my doctor.

I had a wonderful shower on Saturday night! I think there were about 40 people there, including many of my co-workers and family. It was a lot of fun! We are so blessed to have received so many wonderful gifts. David and I are both nervous about our upcoming loss of income, but we are trusting in God to take care of us, and He has already started providing. I will post photos from the shower soon.

Six weeks to go til d-day! I'll keep you updated.

Love,
Lisa

We're in the pink!

Well, we finally got the nursery painted, or, should I say, David did. As you can see it is very pink! We haven't put anything on the walls yet, but thought I'd go ahead and post this. I'll add more photos as the room progresses. My mom made the valance, and she is making some crib sheets to match, in the same fabric. Our niece, Sabrina, is letting us use her daughter Kate's beautiful bedding, and the photo does not do it justice. The bumper is a pink, green, and cream striped, and the skirt is pink with brighter pink polka dots, and a green gingham trim. My mom and I added a white eyelet trim to the skirt, because we thought it needed it to tie in with the sheets she's making. (Don't worry, Sabrina, it can be removed.) I am very excited to be able to finally start decorating the room and get it ready for little what's-her-name's arrival.

Actually, we do finally have a name picked out . . .but we're not tellin'! I like our name too much to tell and have it possibly ruined for me (not on purpose, of course), so you'll have to wait until the big day! It is quickly approaching! I am in my third trimester now, and I am starting to feel it. There's not much room left in there for her, or for my internal body parts! My back has been rebelling against my extra weight, but, overall, I am still feeling pretty good, just fairly exhausted by the end of the day. I know that will only get worse from here on out, but we're hitting the home stretch, and it'll be here before we know it! I'll keep you posted on any new news or nursery updates. Talk to you soon.

Love,
Lisa

It's . . . still a girl!

I had another ultrasound on Monday, just to check out the heart, since it was a little too early the first time. She checked everything else out too, and everything seems to be going smoothly. That's little "what's-her-name"'s profile up there. She appears to have a big belly, so I guess I've been feeding her well. (I know I've been feeding her well.) Actually, the doctor estimated that she weighs 2 lbs., which is at 52 percentile, so, in other words, she's absolutely perfect! That moon-shaped object above her head is her halo. No, really, it's a cross-section of her arm. I think I can see her little fingers on her head up there, so I think she is doing kind of a Scarlett O'Hara swooning thing. Drama Queen already! We got to see a really close shot of her upper lip and nostrils and a quick shot of her face, although she wouldn't stay still long enough to see her face very well. So, I guess we'll have to wait until she comes out to see who she looks like. (Hey, I think I'll add a poll, so you can tell me who you think she looks like, judging from her profile. Look for it on the left.) David is in Germany for two weeks enjoying the Biergartens. Really I think he's spent more time in his hotel in the evenings than anything. It's cooold and he's working late hours! But he is going to get to see some really cool castles this weekend. My Dad actually came from Tulsa and went with me to the ultrasound, which was nice. He was amazed at how much they can see and all the little details they can focus in on. It truly is incredible how much they can detect within the womb! The doctor really liked Daddy. I think she wanted to take him home in her lab coat pocket! Anyway, that's all I have to report, other than I'm getting larger by the day. People at work said I finally looked pregnant this week. I guess I should - third trimester starts next week!

To clear up any confusion . . .

Just so you know . . . I do not put shirts with curse words on my 9-year-old daughter, even if I do have "sex parties". Katelyn's shirt says "Itsa Bitsa". When Garrett announced Katelyn's gender at her party, he was 2 1/2, and he came out and said, spontaneously, "It's a itsa bitsa girla!" So there, that clears up the confusion for those of you with dirty minds. (Since about five of you asked me about it yesterday.) Ha Ha. Oh, by the way, David was able to feel the baby kick last night for the first time. She was apparently doing somersaults in my belly when we went to bed last night!

Lisa