Luke's here

I'm crazy for doing this, but yes I'm blogging just 8 hours after giving birth. I'm tired and don't want to take much time...I just wanted to let y'all know he's here. I started having contractions at 6 yesterday evening, got to the hospital around 11:15 when they got stronger, pushed 3 times and he was born at 1:55. God has blessed me twice now with very short labors! The worst part was they couldn't get my epidural in, so they had to give it to me 3 different times. It kicked in during the first push and Luke was born within 5 minutes. So needless to say I was in lots of pain until the very end. The stats are that he was born at 1:55, weighed 7lbs 6oz, and was 19 1/2 inches long.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers. We'll update more in a day or two.

Alabama Jubilee

This Memorial Day Weekend we went to the Alabama Jubilee to see all the hot air balloons at the Point Mallard Park.  We were disappointed Saturday night because the wind prevented them from even inflating the balloons.  But we went back Sunday and it was worth it.  We met up with the Turnbulls and Schnorrenbergs and ate at Greenbrier Restaurant in Madison then headed to Decatur.

What a great family picture with the gorgeous balloons in the background.  As you can tell looking at Sam's cheeks, it was hot Sunday afternoon.  When we pulled in the parking lot the temperature read 86 degrees.

Sam loves curling his tongue.  He took just a minute away from playing with Noah to show Ashley how he does it.  What a funny guy!

Me, Ashley, and Amy enjoying some girl time...

That's us, way up there in the sky.  And yes I was able to climb up into the basket all by myself even though I'm 9 months pregnant.  I would have loved to have seen what I looked like...in all my heaviness.  :)

I took this picture of us while we were in the air.  You can see in Sam's eyes he's having a blast.  He was a little scared when they lit up the fire, but other than that he had fun.

Noah and Sam were showing off their "trading cards".  The balloon we rode was called Desperado and had a little info on the back of the card.

This was so much fun it will definitely become a family tradition.  Feel free to look here for more photos.

Saturday happenings...

Yesterday morning started with Sam waking up and getting to play with his 3 cousins from B'ham.  Jennifer and I were talking about this, and we think this is only the second time in the past year they've been here; so this was a big deal to say the least. Sam LOVES his cousins and can't stop talking about them.  My brother and his family spent Friday night with us before finishing their trip to Franklin, TN on Saturday.  We ate pizza, watched cartoons with the kids, played A LOT, etc.  It was a fun time!
Saturday evening we drove to Decatur to catch the Hot Air Balloon Festival.  Unfortunately, there was a little too much wind for them to inflate the balloons.  We were disappointed, but Sam didn't come away empty-handed.  He got a small inflatable Spiderman doll and has had so much fun playing with it.  We may try to go back tonight so he can ride in a balloon; I just hope the weather cooperates.

That's about it for our weekend so far.  Church was uneventful...I was kinda' hoping there'd be some drama...you know, like me going into labor or something.  But it didn't happen.

Last night's dinner

Last night we had one of my favorite dishes: Crawfish Fettucine.  B and Pops were in town and the Moyers came over so I figured it was time to bring out the 'ole recipe.  Sam and Pierson just have so much fun playing together.  And what a blessing having B and Pops around.  Without asking, they cleaned the kitchen and helped keep an eye out for the boys so the rest of us could enjoy visiting.
Pops has such a fun way of playing that Amanda even said she needed to have a Pops around.  He definitely keeps the kids entertained.

On another note, I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and Luke still isn't ready to join us.  No change since last week.  The doctor still thinks I could go past my due date.  I'm looking on the bright side though:  this just means I have a little more one-on-one time with Sam.  Who could be upset about that?

"God Made Those Trees"

Sam and I were driving down the road yesterday and I heard his little voice behind me saying "God made those trees, Mommy".  I asked him if he learned that at MDO...they're teaching them all about God's creation this semester.  He answered "Yes I did.  God made those trees and that was very nice of Him."  I told him about other things God had made: the sky, the birds, the sun, etc.  He stopped me and said "Mommy, you say the stars and moon too".  He didn't want them left out, so I included them too.  What a joy to know that Sam is learning about God even when I'm not around!

Update on Luke

I had a doctor's appointment today to see just how things are shaping up.  According to the ultrasound, Luke weighs 6 1/2 lbs.  He's already almost a pound bigger than Sam was at birth.  On another note not so exciting, it looks like he has no intentions of joining us anytime soon.  According to my doctor he's still very high and I'm nowhere near delivery.  Of course anything can happen...I could go in to labor tomorrow for all I know.  But Dr. Reidy is already mentioning a possible induction a week after my due date.  Let's hope that isn't the case.

Ice Cream Anyone?

Ron, Travis, Larry, and Justin have started working out at Matrix on Sunday afternoons together.  Supposedly The Matrix Gym is a little bit like D-1, but Bull might disagree since he's an elite Division-1 athlete and Ron isn't.  Their personal trainer Russell challenges them like crazy, from what Ron says.  Russell put these pictures on his website Sunday so I decided to share them with y'all.  Look at Ron's intensity.  And poor Travis...Ron said this picture was taken after their one-hour session.
All this talk of working out makes me want to prop my feet up and eat some ice-cream.

Chuck E Cheese

Ron and I took Sam to Chuck E Cheese's for the first time Friday...This was Sam's face when he walked in to the big room of games.  He was amazed to say the least.

We went at lunch time thinking it wouldn't be too busy.  We didn't expect to see so many kindergarten and 1st graders there for end-of-the-year parties.  It was a little busy, but not at all overwhelming.  The best part of it was the darling little girl who walked up to me and tapped me on my belly and said "Ma'am, your belly is big!".  I said "I know, there's a baby in there."  She just stared at me for a second then walked away. 

Sam was his pleasant self and made sure to share his drink and pizza with both of us.  We'd heard from a friend the pizza was good; maybe the guy who cooked for her was off that day because our pizza was pretty nasty.  Oh well, what are you gonna' do?

Sam's favorite ride was Scoop, Bob the Builder's tractor.  He rode it about 7 times.

We got a cute family picture at the door.  I love taking pictures with my two boys...I don't know what it is about it but it just makes me happy.

Sam rode in the little car with whatever that is above; a mouse maybe?  And he had a blast playing the game below where you hit the sticks as they pop up.
Sam and I got in the photo booth that takes your picture then sketches it.  It's actually a good picture of us.  And happy Mother's Day to me...I got a scanner this weekend and can now scan things like this on the blog.  I just have to figure out how to use it; I'm not techno savvy.
It was definitely fun for the whole family.  I'm sure we'll be going back soon.

Diaper Shower

I can't believe I haven't mentioned this until now, but my good friends from church threw me a diaper shower this past weekend.  Amy, Ashley, Sarah, and Denise planned and prepared this wonderful event for me and Luke.  My mom and mom-in-law were able to be there with me which was nice.  Ashley, your home was welcoming and beautiful as always.  And the food was all delicious.  I went home with leftover Rice Krispies Treats which were gone in a few short hours.  As I'm writing this, I'm eating marshmallows that were left over and given to me by Ashley.  I love marshmallows!!
We unloaded the car and threw everything on the twin bed in Luke's room.  This is what we have...  about 1300 diapers, many boxes of wipes, and other baby items like bathwash, lotion, and medicine.  Thank you all for helping me and Ron be a little more prepared for Luke's arrival.

Sweet Sam

I was looking over these few pictures trying to decide what to title this post, and "sweet Sam" was all I could come up with.  All these pictures remind me of Sam's tender side and his love for others.  I know he's only 2 1/2 and a sinner just like the rest of us, but there are times he just seems so sweet and gentle.

Sam spent Sunday night in Birmingham with B and Pops so I could get a few things done on Monday.  Well, the boys were playing hard and Pops broke his toe.  (We confirmed it last night when Ron took him to TOC after hours and took an X-ray: it's definitely broken.)  Sam felt so sorry for Pops that he decided he needed a boo-boo too.  So B bandaged his foot up and we get an adorable picture of the two of them.
On the way out the door Sunday, Pappy and Grandee scooped up their Bibles.  Sam saw that and said "I go get my Bible; be right back."  He went into his room and got his Bible from his bookshelf.  Oh, how sweet to see him walking into church with a Bible.  Of course he doesn't need a Bible when all he does is play in the nursery, but he wanted to be just like his g'parents.
Today I picked him up at MDO and he saw me and screamed "I made you a surprise, Mommy".  His teachers had "helped" him make me a small cup of flowers with stickers on it and a picture of him.  As much as I love the gift of the flowers, I love even more the excitement he expressed giving it to me.

Oh, I'm cherishing these times.  It's going so quickly.  Luke will be here soon and we'll get to enjoy raising a boy all over again.  God is good.

Dinner at the Moyers

Tonight we went to the Moyer's house for dinner.  The Burgess' joined us there and we had so much fun watching all the boys play together.

Sam and Pierson had fun playing in the wheelbarrow and on their small little playground.  
Then at dinner, all three boys were lined up and eating like pros.  Sam and Pierson took turns feeding each other, which was hilarious.  At one point, Sam fed Pierson a bite of bread.  When Pierson decided he'd had enough of it he took it out of his mouth and...yep, you guessed it, Sam ate it.
Overall it was a fun evening for the adults to get to know each other better and the kids to have fun just being boys.

Sam and Seven

Sam and his friend Seven had a playdate this morning.  You're probably wondering why this is blogworthy...  Well, two cute boys are always blogworthy.  But I think this is Sam's first actual playdate.  It's hard to believe this is the first time I've set up something like this.  I feel like I've robbed my kid of some serious fun.  :)