Two Days Till Due Date

Somewhere along the short road I lost a day. So, day three we will skip and move straight on to day 2 until due date. I feel great today. Nothing different that I know of! Yesterday I was exhausted and today is just another day of normal, pregnant feeling! I am as big as a house and take the stairs here to our basement as many times as possible. It hasn’t helped yet…

Lyneil has the preacher’s kids today (added three more – that’s 5 kids under the age of 3). She and the preacher’s wife trade off days. Today is a crazy day at the Beck household. But, they all play well together and Lyneil and Lisa are both crazy saints for even doing it.

Two days until we hit our due date. My next appointment is Friday (a day after due date)!

Together
We
Overcome

The Countdown until we meet our baby K

FOUR days to go until we hit our due date. My official date (set by my doctor’s office) November 29, 2007. My date (the date that I calculated when I found out I was pregnant) has been December 5, 2007. So, only time will tell.

This pregnancy has brought:
one planned and one emergency sonogram,
13 office visits,
heard the heartbeat 13 times,
worn more pregnancy clothes more I than wanted,
learned to squat rather than bend,
more daily phone calls,
missed holiday with family,
and
great daily memories of having a wonderful pregnancy!

I have had a blessed pregnancy, no sickness and only beautiful days of growing large!

Family values
Outstanding pregnancy
Unbelievable feelings
Real life

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish we could be in Northeast Texas this week with family, but we have family up here that are going to take us in and adopt us! Karl and I are going to go over to Roger and Diana’s house (members of the church) tomorrow. We will definitely miss being at Jay’s with everyone.

This morning I woke up to little balls of snow everywhere. It kind of looked like sleet. I went to work and have when it was time for me to come home I found my poor car and Andy’s pickup covered in a layer of snow. The streets are covered and most things are white. It is pretty right now, tomorrow it will be messy. I wasn’t quite ready for our first snow of the fall, but I guess God was ready for us to have some! I know there are many kids that will enjoy it tomorrow and this weekend.

Micah and Jennifer (cousins of mine) are venturing up here with truck and trailer tomorrow. Please pray for a safe drive and good roads for them as they make their way north. We are excited to have some of our family come and visit us over the holidays!

I have officially begun my nesting. Yesterday morning I woke up at 4:30 am and started a mass cleaning. Needless to say, there are no dirty clothes, floors or dishes in this house. Neil left the upstairs clean (she shouldn’t have wasted her time, I was gung-ho and ready to clean from top to bottom). So, we’ll see when this baby decides to come. Most members of our family have guessed on date and gender of the birth. We’ll see who is right and who is not!

My livingroom is back in an orderly fashion! Except for the fact that I need to set up my sewing machine and serger and go to town on a special baby blanket! Life is so much better when things are in somewhat of an order...

Hope everyone enjoys their time with friends and family! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Gobble! Gobble!

How big is BIG?

I would like to say that I am only gaining water weight...but we all know the real truth. Mom has requested that I post a picture so she can see what I look like. Again, not real sure why I am complying with other's requests at this time. Maybe because I really could care less at this point. I am what I am and I don't know how to Photoshop myself in a skinny two piece for you, so you get this...the real - big thing!
Neil doesn't even look as though she is pregnant. She is due mid January and people at church are still asking her if she is sure she is pregnant. I have had people asking me if I am sure there is just one! Oh well! Two more weeks and counting.

Karl is getting more and more excited. He took a two day trip down to Thibodaux, LA and assured me (more than once) he had a full battery and he would take any calls that came in. Still two weeks...if we're lucky. Most everyone in our immediate family has chosen a due date for themselves and taken a stab at the gender, some even have been so bold as to guess the weight! We'll see who is the closest.

Ol' McDonald Farm

Good morning, morning!

Hello sunshine!

Wake up sleepy head.

The sunrise in this room will always be rising and beautiful!

Well, it is what it is! Karl has now decided that we are going to buy some acreage and build. This has come from a long line of processing and since we would rather build on land in Texas we have come to an agreement that downstairs, Urbandale will have to do for now...


Our little cowboys seem to be happy aobut that as they roll around on the new carpet...dirt on the farm!

So, the painting is done, the carpet is installed and the Ol’ McDonald Farm is finished. The closet has shelves, the dresser and changing table...finished, the base boards have been stained but the tree still needs leaves. Other than that, the farm is ready for it’s little poult (Mom has named Baby K “baby poult” since we are due around Thanksgiving. The Rancher and his wife are ready to meet baby poult.

Welcome to Ol’ McDonald’s Farm, located in a suburb of Des Moines in a cute little town called Urbandale (downstairs). Yes, one of the few things that I actually painted in detail, I painted crooked. I painted the pole on the right. It has my dad's character of his flag pole that he built in Paris.The blankety, white wall, blank farm,

now has an Aggie approved “classy” barn!

Here are the pictures of all of the hard work Rancher Karl has done. We are minus base boards (have them, just not installed yet) and the tree has leaves (purchased, just not tacked on). I will post final pictures when the room is completely set up and I have my living room back in order…Hallelujah!

You have four white walls,

What do you get?

A custom closet,

And paint and sweat!

My favorite of all are the two sets of animals. Karl did such a fantastic job all the way around. But I like the Hampshire Sheep and the Santa Gertrudis Cows! I think they are priceless! The sheep are grazing in the pasture on the south wall and the cattle are in front of the hay bales and sunrise on the east wall (near the barn).

Here is Karl's favorite spot. He probably worked the hardest and longest on this patch of corn. It is non-genetically altered Iowa corn. He did a shoot up job on it!

Sorry I didn't get a good pictures of the leafless tree...we'll try harder next time (it comes up over the ceiling)! Now that you have seen some of the detail...here are the big pictures!

Room Updates

Our weather vane is pointing to the north in Iowa, so I guess it is about time for an update and some pictures!
Because I am half crazy (and other reasons) I am going to post this just for Amy and some others to see what craziness we have been living in. Okay! Remember, Karl and I are living with Andy, Lyneil, Braxton and Brazos. We are occupying the whole downstairs of the house. We have two bedrooms, one bathroom, a large living room and a large utility room. We have a whole house minus a kitchen. Before we arrived Neil had downstairs fully furnished. So, when we came in and interrupted her furnishings, all of her stuff got stuffed…The baby’s room has a large walk-in closet that we have filled to the top. The rest of the room’s stuff has been in our living room for the past 5 months. I have not been able to sit on, much less see our furniture in the downstairs area. Andy and Neil have been VERY wonderful about allowing us to veg with them upstairs. We are ready to get this bus moving in the right direction so we can put all of the baby’s room together and have our living space back….preferably before this baby comes!
So, my craziness has brought me to this point of showing you the nastiness of our junk. Some ours, some theirs, but all cluttered and all “stored” in the living room. Don't judge me/us. It isn't always this bad! Knowing it was only temporary has kept me going but my definition of temporary and 5 months don't match up to the same status. We are making progress, that is what matters!
Now, the good news is...
Karl has finished painting and we are ready for carpet (that will be here on Wednesday)! I was able to help some along with some of my favorite little guys! We have had a great time painting and we are extremely glad that it is finished.

This is what happens when you leave me with two helpers...good thing the carpet hasn't come yet! Opps! We didn't need much purple, but we did have enough to finish the job!!

I will post pictures of the finished product (painting and carpet) on Wednesday or Thursday of this week. We are going to stain the baby furniture tomorrow night…More to come.

Shower with paint...

My wonderful husband left me all week for Kansas City. He was being submerged into the world of school again. Karl had an evaluation about 6 months ago. He and his direct sat down and Karl decided he wanted to be PMP certified by Oct. 07. His boss asked him to change his goal to attempt the PMP certification and Karl changed his goal. Still, he went full force. Being inundated with stretches, functions to make his brain retain more and more new information, high protein diet, no sugar and few carbs; Karl had a full week of arrow spinning new information being thrown at him and on Friday he was able to test. MY HUSBAND PASSED! I am now married to Karl Wayne McDonald, PMP. He is officially a Project Manager Professional! He is super excited and with super reasons to be! We are thankful God took him through this class and he is able to mark a HUGE goal off of his list!

Way to go, BABE! I love being your baby’s momma…

This week is my last week at work in Newton, Iowa. I have been working in Human Resources Dept. at the Career Resource Center for Maytag which was bought out by Whirlpool. Since the acquisition, we have been helping salaried individuals through their career transition. I has been awe inspiring (all the emotions) and such a great learning experience. I have been driving 45 minutes (all interstate)! Now, I am going to be working in the Des Moines area for my boss and my drive will be all of 10-15 minutes! WHOOP!
The lovely (extremely professional) ladies at work blessed us with all kinds of baby goodies today and we had a blast. It’s so weird to be a part of this group. I am not a “professional” person. I am me…not sure how to explain my work persona. Anyway, these ladies are fantastic and they showered us with blessings. The director that I will continue to work for personally knit this little sweater/jacket for us. All of the gifts were so wonderful and nice. I have a special place in my heart for homemade things. I will be the first to admit that I will go out and buy something off of the shelf to give as a gift, but when someone puts that much thought and time into a gift, it just makes it that much more special. Guess I get it honest from my mom and Mama Denton!
We are truly blessed…me and my PMP husband!