- an absolute great day! -

today, our church had a softball tournament at the local baseball park - they asked dustin to play since he's been coming to our church with us for awhile & since he's a huge ball fanatic, he said, "sure"

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spike, myself, our girls, my mom & madisyn all came to watch [dad was sooooo wanting to be there, but he'd to work, so he called all the time to get updates]

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we arrived at 8:30am & played until 3 [total of 5 games] - here's some pics of him playing - i know there's a lot, but it's my blog & my son, so there ya have it!!

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he was totally in his element & had a blast - it was perfect weather, he got along great with all the guys he played with & then to top it off, their team was undefeated & won the entire tourney!!! - that was just the icing on the cake!!

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enjoy the pics as we'll enjoy reliving the memories - dustin, you did great & we're so glad we were there to root you on - this will be a day we'll remember for a long time...for many reasons - we love you!

the winning team...'MEN OF CHRIST'

with the winning trophy!! - good going guys!!

- starting week 39 & still growing -

ahniér matches up to a mini-watermelon,

weighing a bit over 7# [length's about 20", head to heel]

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WEIGHT/HEIGHT
ahniér's weight & height have probably increased only a little from last week [& mama’s overstretched skin’s probably grateful for that], but her brain’s still developing rapidly [a pace that continues during the first 3 years of life], with changes you'll be able to recognize firsthand as her skill-packed bag of tricks expands almost daily - the lanugo [that soft covering of hair] is mostly gone now & ahniér will continue to gain weight, even up to the last week or two of pregnancy - she doesn't have much room to move in the uterus, so movements may begin to slow
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TEARS
heard that babies cry a lot? - there's definitely truth to that rumor, as you'll find out soon enough [& usually during the middle of the night] - but what you may not have heard is that tiny babies don't produce tiny tears when they cry, since their tear ducts aren't open for business yet - while you'll be consoling ahniér right from the get-go, it won't be until sometime after the first month that you'll be wiping tears off those chubby cheeks
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SKIN
her skin’s now finally changed from pink to white [no matter how dark-skinned she’ll be eventually; pigmentation will occur soon following birth] - that's because a thicker fat layer’s been deposited over the blood vessels [making her cheeks ‘both kinds’, pinchably & kissably round]

HAIR
at this point, all the organ systems are developed & in place – she’s still building a layer of fat to help control body temperature after birth - the last part of development’s maturing of lungs & she’s ready to greet the world – she’s approximately 20” & weighs 7# or a bit more - whether you give birth tomorrow or next week, it's pretty much all the same for ahniér, who’s now truly R-E-A-D-Y to face the big bright world outside of the womb - speaking of wombs, mama’s body’s priming up for the big moment & hopefully, she’ll be as prepared mentally as she can be – ahniér’s well stocked up on fat & all her organs have put on the finishing touches - here's hoping she’s already in the birthing position & basically just ‘hanging out’ waiting for that elusive moment when all systems synchronize in mama’s body to trigger the labor process

- house update -

well, today they painted the inside [1st coat] & will begin laying our ceramic tile any day [that's what i'm most excited about at this point!!] - they only use flat paint [which we absolutely hate] & give you the choice of either white or off white...hmmm, now there's some choices for ya!

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we chose off white, but after we close & before moving in, we're having a painter come & repaint the entire inside of the house [which will be horrible to have to wait an extra week or 2 before moving in, but...]

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the entry, kitchen & spike's office will be a brownish greenish color [i know, sounds pretty huh??] - then the dining room, family room & the hangout [our new name for the rec room/loft] will be a shade lighter than what's in the entry - then upstairs, the girls' bedrooms & their bathroom will be in goldish yellow - our bedroom, bath & music room are yet to be decided, but will fall somewhere in the same color wheel as the rest of the house [neutrals/earth tones!!]

- my man of the hour...days...nights -

i just wanted to publicly say happy birthday to my wonderful husband - i know everyone will say this about their husband, but he truly is the greatest - when we married, he was ok with just 1 child - we're now expecting child #6 & he's allowed that...for us

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spike, i don't know what i'd do without you - you're a very special person to me & i'm thrilled to be your wife - you're a wonderful father from our oldest [22y], down to our youngest for now [4y] - you're a great role model for us all & i certainly hope, by the end of my years, i make you as happy as you're making us

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thank you for all you do & for who you are

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we love you & happy birthday!!!

lori, dustin, brit, kiara, ruby, karleigh & ahniér [i added her as i'm sure she'll feel the same way!]

- our house today -

today they poured both the back patio & the front porch [yeah] - they also delivered tons of stuff that includes, but is not limited to: stair railing, trim baseboards, kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, tile flooring, etc. [yeah!!]

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tomorrow they're supposed to put primer on the walls, then it's trim & flooring next - we're so excited [i put that just in case you couldn't tell *wink*]

- what is love? -

lori asked: spike, what's your definition of love?

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spike replied: living out my life with someone that has menstral cycles [smiles]

- waht kiara's teacher's doing -

last week kiara came home after another great day at school & after being home for awhile, said she had to ask me a question - she said, "is haiti from the devil?" - i said, "no, why do you ask?" - she said that a little girl at her school 'L', was playing with kiara & kiara mentioned that she was from haiti - the little girl said, "well, hades from the devil" - kiara was confused as she knew that she wasn't born in hell!! - we explained to her that the little girl must go to church [praise the lord] & that she must have heard them talking about hades/hell/devil, etc. - when she heard that kiara was from haiti, it sounds so much like hades, 'L' thought that's where she were from!!

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i didn't really know what to do as 'L' didn't do anything wrong as she was just going over what she'd heard in church about hades being from the devil, so i couldn't really go to her parents over this - i called the teacher & explained to her what was said & that we didn't feel 'L' was saying it to be mean, but that she needed to be talked to so she didn't think kiara was from the devil!!

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the teacher had no clue what to do, but said she'd 'work on it' & give it some thought - here's a note that was sent home to all parents today:

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Dear Parents,

Tomorrow we will be reading the book, WHOEVER YOU ARE, by Mem Fox. It is a book about how all children are alike. The book tells us that children all feel happy, hurt or sad no matter where they live or where they are from. We will be sharing where we were born so the students see that we all come from different places, but we all have the same feelings. Please talk to your child tonight about where he/she was born, so they will be ready to share that information with us tomorrow. Thanks

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i thought that was such a creative way of handling it as now it can be discussed to some degree right in class where everyone can hear!!

- stomped ceilings & sidewalks cut in [1st post of several tonight, i believe] -

today they cut in the sidewalk going around our house & also stomped/painted all the ceilings in the whole house - you can't see it very well [the ceilings], but believe me, they look great

- siding's done -

here's some pictures of the house since it's totally sided now - they're supposed to start sanding off & finishing the drywall inside this week & getting it ready for paint - they'll be painting in flat/white [neither of which we like, but have no option]

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once we close on the house, as hard as it'll be, we're going to wait an extra week or 2 before moving in & have the entire house repainted in colors that we choose [we'll not be doing flat, either!]

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we're also [prior to moving in], having a contractor come & do some work for us inside - we have a music room just off the master bedroom, that we'll be closing in as well - we'll have french doors put in there, to keep little hands off of the music equipment - we're doing the same thing downstairs in spike's office

- check out this video -

watch this video, it's awesome! it's a church group that's put it on with white gloves & a black light - can you imagine the time it took for them to get it all straight!! - i don't know what church it's from, but good job guys!!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT7x3VnrqbA

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- the girls' new friend & baby news -

girls' new friend

here's a picture [below] of the girls' new friend - we've named him iggy & he lives 2 streets over from us - we pass his home numerous times per day on our way to/from our new house - there's actually another one just like him that they call island, but she wasn't in her cage today...isn't he handsome!`

baby news

we'd a doctor appointment today & nothing's changed...nada

• mama's still pregnant
• we're still waiting
• i'm still impatient

life's full of surprises, just the way i like it *wink*

- beginning week 38 -

ahniér's, now as long as a leek, weighs nearly 7#

[length: more than 19½ inches, head to heel]

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ahniér isn't so little anymore - weighing in at close to 7# & hitting the height charts at the 21” mark [or less] – she could be gaining as much as one full ounce of weight per day now
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as we prepare [best we can] for her ETA, she’s also getting ready, big time - vernix & lanugo continue to shed from her body into the amniotic fluid - she swallows that amniotic fluid [yum yum?] & some of it winds up in her intestines where it, along with other shed cells, bile & other waste products [triple yum], will turn into her first bowel movement [meconium] & perhaps her first diaper change
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her lungs & fetal digestive system continue to mature, too - all systems, almost go! - only 2 more weeks [or plus two more, max] before she makes her appearance & what an adorable appearance that will be! - her lungs continue to mature as more & more surfactant’s secreted [remember, it helps prevent the lungs from sticking to each other when she begins to breathe…definitely a good thing] – her lungs are continuing to mature & her grasp has become even firmer then before
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almost all babies born now will live with little medical intervention - there really isn't a lot to report on ahniér this week, so lets do a quick recount of where we're at now: all internal organ systems are pretty much ready for the outside world, she’s got her meconium stockpile building up [her first black baby poo], lots of healthy baby fat, a rapidly developing brain [that'll keep growing with her for years to come] & she’s more or less reached official baby status - all she needs to do is "head out" & say hello to the rest of the world

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- siding finished in the front -

as you can see, they've finished the siding on the front & side totally & part of the back done - all they've left of siding's part of the back & the other side [praise the lord!] - they say they'll be finishing up tomorrow on that, so by the weekend, it'll be completed sided!!

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they finished the mud process on the drywall & so as soon as that's dry, they'll sand it off & get it ready for paint

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we've been very fortunate so far to have met a few neighbors - the people living behind us are ryan & brooke, they've no children at this time, but are very sweet - there's also a family living just to the side of us [across the street] & they're tim, christy, megan, colin & natalie [i'm guessing on spelling there guys!] - although we've never actually 'met' tim, they say he lives there...we'll check them out just to make sure he's not a 'fake person' or something - they seem to be very friendly & are already helping watch over our house since we can't be there 24/7 - i think we're going to get along great as christy's a talker [i'm hoping she'll pull me out of my shell *smile*] - christy's going to have to start a blog, so we can all read up on her family *hint, hint christy!*

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we believe god's got us right where we're supposed to be & are praying we're great neighbors to those in our neighborhood - he planted us right across the street from a playground [those that know us well, know that without that, the kids wouldn't have been allowed to go there to play as we do NOT let them go anywhere without us]

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he also put us in this neighborhood & gave us a pool!! - we so wished our old place had a neighborhood pool, but they didn't - this one's really nice & we'd the opportunity to use it a few times this year - it's a regular pool & then there's also a toddler pool [a bit bigger than a baby pool] - the girls played in that most days as they could 'play' & not have to 'work' so much on staying afloat [it's a bit easier on mommy too as keeping 3 of them with their head's above water's sometimes a trick in itself!]

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he's blessed us so much to have the opportunity to build again & not only build, but build a home of this size/location - we're not taking it lightly either & give him the praise for it all because without him, we'd have nothing!

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THANK YOU JESUS FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE GIVEN US!