WE FINALLY HAVE A NEW CAR!!!

FINALLY!!!! After months and months AND MONTHS of looking, we finally found the perfect SUV for our expanding family! We did buy the Toyota Sequioa today and we are soooo excited! We didn't get to drive it home though and that saddened me but oh well! Makes me look forward to tomorrow so much more! They are going to detail it and there are a few scratches that they are going to buff out for us. It was such a great deal that we just COULD NOT pass up! There's so much room in there and I just know it's going to be perfect for us!

Tonight we also packed most of my stuff for the hospital and all of the things that we will need for when Graham arrives. WOW! It's so exciting to know that at this time next month, we are going to have a precious baby boy in our lives. What a blessing!

36 Weeks

I had my 36 week checkup this morning and I am 1.5 centimeters dilated and 60% effaced so that means that our baby boy is getting ready to bless us with his presence! YAY!!! There's really no telling how long it will take...could be this week, could be next. It's just a waiting game right now. I'm not having any contractions yet either. I thought I was going to be excited about being dilated but now I am in a state of panic. I THOUGHT I HAD MORE TIME! I'm at work right now trying to get some things finalized but my head is in a million different places. I still don't have his nursery completely organized but oh well. I'm just going to have to chill out and do what I can. Thank God Chad is home now because he's so awesome! He mopped and steamed all of the tile, hardwoods and carpets on Sunday. Our floors certainly needed it! We still haven't purchased a bigger vehicle yet either. Hopefully that will happen in the next day or so. We are going to Parker Cadillac this evening to look at a Toyota Seqouia that we just LOVE! We saw it at the dealership yesterday but they were closed so we couldn't talk to anyone. It has LOWWW miles and is a great price. We just need to drive it and look at it really well. They are also going to provide a carfax report too. Well, I better get back to work...I have so much to do! Love you all!

35 Weeks & a SURPRISE BABY SHOWER!!!

My Gosh...when people have said "growing by the second", I really never thought they meant it LITERALLY. But yep, they did. That's me...that's Graham. Growing by the second. It has all certainly been a blessing but this being uncomfortable mess is TOUGH...I know, I know...just wait until labor. Well, I'm ready! Let's go into labor! Let's have this little boy...well, let's wait 2 more weeks...THEN LET'S GO INTO LABOR! ha!

Graham is doing great...but Momma on the other hand is TIRED. A good night's rest certainly is few and far between but I guess it's just preparing me for motherhood.

Chad gets home on Friday and boy, ARE WE EXCITED!!! It will certainly be nice to be waited on hand and foot! hee hee!

Last Friday at work, we had a retirement person scheduled to come to our office at 10am to talk about our 401(K) options. First of all, I am super tired, super swollen and SUPER miserable. I look at my watch and realize that it's 2 minutes after 10am and no retirement person...I'm getting very antsy and very impatient cause if someone is coming to speak to us, they better be on time or at least calling us to let us know why they are late. In the door walks Lucy that used to work at DRS as one of our Grants Coordinator who had a baby boy 9 months ago and is a stay at home mom now, and she has her son Andrew in tow. My first thought was, "YAY!!! There's Lucy and Andrew! I have been dying to see them but CRAP, that retirement person is supposed to be here any minute now." And then they walk in my office and Lucy says, "I'm here to talk retirement to you guys." Boy, am I confused cause I thought Lucy was staying at home...I had no idea that she was working for CitiStreet as a retirement specialist. And then Morgan, who took Lucy's place, says "Surprise!!!" Now I am REALLY confused!! Someone else then shouts out that Kelsey, another one of previous Grants Coordinators who also had a baby a year ago and decided to stay at home, is on her way. It was at that point that the bells in my head went off!! My office planned a surprise baby shower for me!! I couldn't believe it!! I can't believe they pulled it off without me knowing anything! But these days, I pretty much stay in La La Land in my office and am pretty much oblivious to what is going on around me. It's definitely what they call "Preggo Brain." I just can't believe that they did that for me. It meant so much and I seriously wanted to cry cause it was just the sweetest thing. I am so blessed to have a job that I love, a boss that I adore and look up to as a father figure and a staff that is truly amazing and we all get along so well! And to top it off, Lucy and Kelsey were there too with both of their babies!! It couldn't have been any better!!! Thank you so much guys!!

DRS Staff as it is now: Lindsey, Morgan, Me, Lauren and ButchW/ Kelsey and Anna and Lucy and Andrew

34 Weeks Pregnant!!!

6 more weeks to go!!! YAY!!! I went to the doctor today and everything is good. My blood pressure is good and my weight is good. Graham is still growing like he should. It was a pretty boring visit. I asked Dr. H why the joint in my hands hurt so bad and why it hurts to walk bare foot and she just said it's cause of the swelling. Told me not to be worried about it. It's just a part of being 8 1/2 months pregnant. I go back on August 25th and then after that appt., I will see her every week.

Chad came home from Dallas this past weekend! YAY!! I was soooo happy to see him!! But we had a BUSY weekend!!

Friday morning, I had Jury Duty Orientation and I was hoping that I would be able to get out of it but no such luck. There's a number that I have to call every Tuesday starting September 2nd to find out if I have jury duty on Wednesday (I'm a Wednesday juror). My jury duty begins September 1 and lasts til Dec. 31, 2008. In that time frame, I have to serve 10 times. ugh. What a pain in the butt. But when I go into labor and have Graham, all I have to do is call Baliff Richard and tell him and he said he will take care of me. I made sure to make nice with one of the baliff's. :) Jennifer & Trent's wedding was this past weekend as well so I had to be in Hot Springs Friday afternoon at 4pm for rehearsal. After rehearsal, we all went to dinner at Back Porch Grill that is located inside the Sunbay Resorts. I had the filet and it was FABULOUS!!! Oh man, I wish I could have ordered another one. Chad didn't get to go to rehearsal or dinner with me cause they were driving back from Dallas and then they had to go to their garage to load their trucks to get ready to leave Sunday morning at 1pm. But I left Hot Springs after the dinner and got home at 8pm...and Chad pulled up right behind me! :)

Saturday morning I had to pick up my bridesmaid dress from Bridal Cottage after having it altered 4 times...this time it FINALLY fit perfect! YAY!!! I still felt like a huge tent though. Chad and I ate lunch at El Porton and then we came back home and I got ready for the wedding. I had to be in Hot Springs around 3pm so Kari (another bridesmaid) could fix my hair! She did an awesome job!!! The wedding began at 7pm and was absolutely GORGEOUS! The ceremony was very sweet and very emotional. I am so happy for Jennifer and Trent...when I get pictures, I'll be sure to post them. Chad and I left the reception pretty early cause we were both POOPED! We got home around 11pm and crashed shortly after.

Sunday morning, we had brunch at Cracker Barrel and then I had to take Chad to the AT&T garage for the guys to leave. :( It's always hard watching him leave but thank goodness it's only 2 weeks this time. I plan to keep myself SUPER busy and hope that time will fly by fast!

That's all of the updates that I have for now!! Be sure to leave me some comments so I will know our friends and family are stopping by! :) Love you all!

33 Weeks

Yep...here it is...Lil ole Stepper with a big ole belly. I can't believe I am already a week into my 8th month. It's going by so fast and to be honest with you, I'm sad but also very excited. Sad that before long I won't feel him moving inside of me anymore. It's just a feeling that is truly remarkable. Very excited though to have him here with us to love more than anything in this world. The love that I feel for him already is just absolutely amazing. I cannot wait to see Chad holding Graham. Chad is going to be the best father and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life. He's THE BEST MAN I have EVER known and I thank God everyday for giving me someone who will always be there for me and who will always love me and our son with all of his heart and soul.

My Trip to Dallas

Relaxing at the pool

After getting Chad's hair cut...he needed it BAD!
Outside of Pappadeaux's
Leafy Sea Horse
Sting Ray
The Sharks

Beautiful 6am sunrise

I left Little Rock Wednesday after work to drive to Texarkana to stay with mom so I could break my trip up and not have to drive the entire 5 hour trip all at once...and boy was I glad that I did that...an hour into the drive, I was MISERABLE...my back and neck were killing me! So I got to mom's and she cooked catfish...it was soooo yummm and then I crashed out! I was EXHAUSTED! I got to sleep in Thursday morning and left mom's around 11am to head to Dallas. The trip actually went by pretty fast and was pretty easy...maybe it was because I was so excited to see my husband! :) So I get to Irving - Las Colinas and let me tell you...these guys that work for AT&T are spoiled! They seriously have it made! The apartment complex is on the same campus as the AT&T headquarters and training building and is all VERY nice! But let me say that it's FREAKING HOT AS CAN BE IN TEXAS!!! The highs were between 110 - 115 degrees!!! Why didn't anyone warn me??? Thursday evening we ate at the AT&T cafe and it's not regular ole cafeteria food...it's actually some really good stuff!! We didn't do a whole lot cause I was tired from the drive and really I just wanted some time to see my hubby! Friday Chad had class and I slept in...or tried to sleep...I didn't sleep at all the night before...may have been because of the 4 root beers that I had at the cafe. ha! Too much sugar! So I had a headache for most of Friday...when Chad got out of class, we got ready and had dinner at Joe's Crabshack...YUMMMMMYYYYYYYYY....Saturday morning we woke up EARLY and got some breakfast at Chick-Fil-A and then went to the pool. It was nice because it was just us two...no one else! We had a good time just relaxing and Chad pulled me around the pool while I was on my raft...the only time I got off of that thing was to use the bathroom...I was in HEAVEN! We spent 4 hours at the pool and then got ready to go eat. We ate MORE seafood at Pappadeaux's and it was GREAT!! It was the first time for me to eat fried alligator and I have to say that I LOVE IT! After dinner, we came back to Chad's apt and laid our butts on the couch and watched TV the rest of the evening. I think we were both so exhausted from our day at the pool. Sunday we got up and went to the Dallas World Aquarium. That was so neat and is definitely worth the trip for those who haven't been before. Chad loved the Shark tank...I think that was his favorite thing. After the Aquarium, we tried to find the Holocaust Museum but were never successful. We were disappointed but oh well. There's always next time. I was craving Mexican food so we went to eat at Pappasito's...again it was DELICIOUS!! Sunday night I didn't sleep very much....not sure why...guess I was just sad to leave my husband Monday morning...but I finally woke up around 5am and packed up my things and hit the road around 6am as soon as Chad left for class. Boy, what in the world was I thinking??? That was a tough ride home and I was so tired so I stopped at mom's in Texarkana and took a good 2 hour nap and then hit the road back to Little Rock!! I was so happy to be back in Arkansas, that is FOR SURE! There is just NO WAY I could live in Texas with that heat. I stayed swollen and drained the ENTIRE time...that's one of the main reasons we didn't get out just a whole lot. The car couldn't even keep me cool enough. WHEW! Texas is where the devil lives cause it's hot as HELL!

That pretty much sums up my trip to Dallas...I know, not too exciting but I was just so happy to get to be with Chad. He comes home Friday at some point and then has to leave again Sunday morning for St. Louis for two weeks. :( I'm ready for him to be home and STAY HOME! I miss him so much! Graham does too! I'll take new belly pics this week and post them when I get a chance.