And Baby Girl Money will be named....

Susanna Patricia

We decided on this name about a week ago, but "sat" on it for a few days before telling anyone just to be on the safe side. But we've definitely decided on naming her Susanna, after one of Jesus' early female followers and the mother of John Wesley. We chose "Patricia" as her middle name because that's my "real" first name.

It's amazing how extremely REAL she seems now that she has a name. Adding to that is the fact that in a mere four weeks, she will be "viable", able to survive outside the womb (albeit in an NICU).

I have begun the task of "stocking up" on things for Susanna. Stuff like diapers, wipes, baby powder, etc. Apparently I should have about 600 diapers on hand when she comes home, because she'll go through about 100 diapers a week at first. I bought some yesterday, so that's 40 diapers down with 560 to go...

And the winner is...

So, here it is...the nursery theme that we have decided to go with. It's called Alphabet Soup and it's by a company called Cocalo. I think it's adorable, and I really like that it has bright colors and lots of images to stimulate Baby Girl. I'm currently watching eBay and scouring other websites to see if I can score a "deal" on at least the crib set (bumper, sheet, quilt, dust ruffle), which is the most expensive part.

I also bought a baby book, an archival-quality pen (so she can read what I wrote 90 years from now), and some photo corners. I've filled about as much as I can, although I still need to add some photos.

Oh, and she has a name now. However, I'm going to have to keep you in suspense for another few days. James hasn't told his parents yet. :) But I will tell you that her first name is shared by two women in history...one in the New Testament and one in the 1700's. Wanna guess? :)

Stupid Indianapolis hotels!!!

OK, so James has a family reunion-thingy in Indianapolis that's scheduled for Father's Day weekend (June 15-17). Since Bill (his stepdad's) health isn't that fantastic, we figure we need to go, even though I'll be 28 weeks pregnant.

So tonight, James got on the computer to reserve a hotel room. Keep in mind, this is six weeks in advance. There are virtually NO available hotel rooms in the Indy area that weekend. The hotel that we normally stay in (Quality Inn) only had smoking rooms available, at $150/night. The Holiday Inn Express had rooms available for $150+/night, but it wouldn't guarantee our smoking preference AND they wanted the whole thing prepaid. So we finally "settled" on one of their suites. We're paying an exorbitant rate, but we didn't have to put down a deposit/prepay and we're guaranteed a non-smoking room.

After some searching, I found out that the US Grand Prix is being held that weekend at the Speedway. That's probably why hotel rates are SO high and why there are so few rooms. Sigh. If this doesn't prove our love to Bill, I don't think anything will. :)

Nursery theme: a probable winner!!!

OK, so I think we've decided on a nursery theme: outer space/rockets. It's something that's traditionally "male", but this is 2007, and we don't want to place too many gender sterotypes onto Baby Girl. She can be into astronomy if she wants to be. Plus, so many of the crib sets out there are BORING...unoriginal, very light in color and they don't provide a lot of stimulation for baby. This one is kind of bright and fun. It's by California Kids and is called "Rockets". We're going to bring out the yellow and other colors in the rest of the decorating, so there's not too much blue. What do you think?

Which Early Church Father Are You?

You’re St. Melito of Sardis! You have a great love of history and liturgy. You’re attached to the traditions of the ancients, yet you recognize that the old world — great as it was — is passing away. You are loyal to the customs of your family, though you do not hesitate to call family members to account for their sins. Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers!

Pics of Baby Girl!

As promised, here are two pictures of Baby Girl from our ultrasound a week ago. One is a regular 3D photo, and the other is a 4D photo. Isn't she beautiful? Slightly alien-looking right now, but beautiful nonetheless.

Now we have to come up with a name that we BOTH like.

Greetings from Sunny Florida!

I'm here in sunny, hot, and slightly humid Florida, having a great time with Nani and Piet. I've been to the beach and the outlet mall. Tomorrow we're going to the movies and out to dinner. Fun!

Now, I'm sure that some of you have been waiting with baited breath to find out the results of our ultrasound on Tuesday. So, here you go. Baby Money is a...

GIRL!!!!!!

Yes, that's right, folks. The ultrasound tech was absolutely positive that Baby is a girl. So now both our mothers are ecstatic, because they were secretly wishing for a girl. However, James and I would have been equally happy with a boy. Maybe I'll have a boy next time. :) The ultrasound lasted about 1 1/2 hours, and they measured EVERYTHING--heart, brain, legs, arms, liver, kidney, etc. We listened to the heartbeat (140 bpm). The perinatalogist proclaimed her to be "perfect". She does have one concern; the placenta is a little low for her comfort. It's not covering my cervix, so it's not placenta previa. And she says that most likely, the situation will correct itself within a few weeks. However, just to be on the safe side, I'm having another ultrasound in 6-8 weeks to check on things. Please pray that the placenta does move in the right way, because I really don't want placenta previa. Not only are there lots of potential complications, I would definitely need to have a C-section, and I'd really prefer to deliver her vaginally.

Now that I know the baby is a girl, I can really begin preparing for her. I hit a great sale at the Children's Place outlet store today. Three cute dresses for a grand total of $13!! Yes, I know people will buy her clothes and I should wait to see what she gets. However, I just thought I'd buy her a few things...especially for when she's older (6+ months). It makes it all seem very real, somehow. Of course, it's becoming more real by the day as I get bigger and bigger...

Vacation time...

My Annual Conference grants all full-time clergy four weeks of vacation leave a year. It's "use-it-or-lose-it" leave, because they want us to take vacation for rest and renewal. It's nice that we get that much, since a lot of conferences only give two weeks a year. I used a week in August, four days in November, and am now taking six days to drive to Florida and visit my maternal grandmother (whom I call, "Nani"). I haven't seen Nani in three years, so it will be nice to visit with her and her friend, Piet. She's anxious to "meet" her great-grandchild. I'm leaving tomorrow night and returning Monday afternoon. I plan on spending lots of time at the pool and beach, relaxing after some crazy times in the last couple weeks. And of course, there's shopping...Nani has an outlet center very close to her that apparently has a Motherhood Maternity outlet AND a Carter's Childrenswear outlet. Fun, fun, fun!! James and "the boys" will be staying here, since he has to teach.

James and I are also going for our second ultrasound tomorrow afternoon. It's the BIG ONE, so expect a post in the next few days about Baby Money's gender, as well as more pictures.

Holy Week, etc.

For those of you whose lives don't revolve around the Christian liturgical calendar, today is Palm Sunday, the day we Christians remember Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We have just begun Holy Week, during which we remember and celebrate (in a minor-key sort of way) Christ's institution of the sacrament of communion, His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, and subsequent trial, suffering, and death. Of course, the best part comes on Saturday evening/Sunday morning, when we begin the Easter season, celebrating Christ's resurrection and victory over death. I LOVE this time of the year...even the gloominess of Good Friday. These are really the "high holy days" of the Christian faith---and they should take precedence over Christmas in terms of importance.

Because I believe so strongly in the importance of observing Holy Week, I've really "pulled out all the stops" in planning for this week. I may regret it later, but I'm having fun right now! Today, we passed out palm branches, heard the Gospel reading outside, and then processed in, waving our palm branches. I've planned services on Holy Thursday AND Good Friday. On Easter Sunday, we'll have our usual 11 am service, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt. Please pray that word gets out about that, and we have a decent number of children present! Our congregation doesn't currently have any children, but we're trying to change that and attract some young families.

I've begun to feel much more comfortable in my role as "Pastor Patti" now that I'm nine months into my tenure, and I know that I'll be here until at least June 2008. I'm much more comfortable with expressing my opinion and vision and trying out new avenues of ministry. My congregation has helped with this, too. They're very willing to try new things so they don't get "stuck in a rut." My newest project has been learning new songs. Today we began learning "And Can It Be" by Charles Wesley. We'll sing it every Sunday in April, and by the end of the month we should know it well enough to add it to our repertoire. Hopefully by the end of 2007 we'll have learned four or five new hymns. In 2008 I'll begin trying to teach them some more contemporary songs.

Everything is going well on the pregnancy front. One of these days I'll get around to posting "belly pictures" for your viewing enjoyment. James and I have begun searching for nursery furniture in earnest. We've decided on getting a "convertible crib" that can transition into a toddler bed and then a full-size bed. This is the one we're seriously thinking about getting. The picture shows it being used as a toddler bed. It's made by Stanley Furniture, and is mostly solid wood. It's a little pricey, but we've seen other cribs that cost the same and aren't nearly as sturdy and high-quality. Hopefully this will last Baby Money many years:

We'll probably get a glider with matching finish at Babies R Us or Target, because they have the lowest prices and decent quality. We'll get a dresser than can double as a changing table, but it may be cheaper to buy one unfinished (maybe from GoodWood or someplace like that) and finish it ourselves. We shall see. The baby's room isn't that big (10' x 12'), so a crib, dresser, and glider should fill it up fairly well.
The church has graciously agreed to let us paint the baby's room to match the decor. We're waiting to find out if Baby is a girl or boy before we make the final decision on the bedding theme. I'm excited about decorating the room; it should be fun!
OK, I've rambled on enough. Time to get the laundry out of the dryer and do some folding! Have a wonderful Holy Week!

Look Who's Growing!!

It's been a while since I posted a pic of Simon. He's still growing, although not as fast as he was at first. We had him weighed about two weeks ago, and he weighed 37.5 lbs. He's still quite a bit smaller than Woody, but catching up fast! Woody weighs 58.7 lbs, so Simon only has 20 lbs to go! Here's a pic of our growing boy:

Simon's Dietary Regimen...

...is not limited to Purina One Large Breed Puppy Formula. Nor is it limited to his brother's food, Purina One Lifelong Health. No, Simon enjoys a wide range of gastrointestinal delights, such as: leather shoes (two pairs so far), bonded leather hymnals, library books, Annual Conference Journals, and yarn (he chewed a hole in an afghan).

Can you tell that he's teething? The sad thing is, we've been very careful about "supervising" him so he doesn't chew everything in sight. We've also provided him with tons of rawhide treats and bones so he has "approved chewing material." However, he goes through his approved material like it's going out of style, and then moves onto contraband material.

Anyone want a cute, adorable, black Lab puppy? Five months old, with all his shots and neutered to boot!

Babies "R" Us

So, I spent my day off today in Durham. James had to drop his truck off at the Line-X dealer (in Durham) to get his bedliner sprayed on, so I dropped him off and picked him up at work. I also got a yummy BBQ lunch out of the deal. I took the opportunity of being in the "big city" to stop by Babies "R" Us and look at nursery furniture and other baby stuff.

This was only the second time I had been in a BRU. The other time, I was shopping for a gift and spent a whopping 10 minutes inside the store. Today I had more time, so I wandered around and looked at everything. Oh my gosh, the place is HUGE. It's kind of scary how big it is, and how much baby stuff you can get. I have a feeling that whenever we go to register (which may be soon, since James is dying to use the "zappy gun"), it will take several hours, and maybe even several trips.

I do not, however, think we will be buying our nursery furniture at BRU. I wasn't impressed with their variety or quality. We'll check out several other places, like USA Baby or the Bassett factory showroom, before making a decision. I may also see if there are any good children's consignment shops in Greensboro or Durham. We're buying a new crib for safety reasons (everything I've read STRONGLY suggests that), but I have no trouble buying good-quality secondhand "case pieces" like the changing table, dresser, glider, etc.

So...question for my readers with children: any good crib recommendations? I've heard that Bassett, ChildCraft/Legacy, Munire, and Ragazzi are good buys based on "bang for your buck." But I'd love to hear your opinion. Either leave a comment or e-mail me at patti.money@gmail.com

Selecting a nursery theme

First of all, I want to give a big SHOUT OUT to my friends Tamara and Michael, who will OFFICIALLY adopt their little girl, Mia Elizabeth, this afternoon. They attend our former church in Lexington, and were part of our small group. They're adopting through the foster care system, and it's been amazing to watch their journey and see how God has worked in their lives and in Mia's life to bring about this event. I am SO SO happy for them and Mia. She just doesn't know how good she has it!

In other news, now that I'm nearing the 14-week mark of pregnancy, James and I have begun talking about baby stuff. Specifically, we have begun discussing what we want the nursery to look like. We want to go with a gender-neutral theme, even though we're planning on finding out if Baby Money is a boy or a girl. I initially suggested an "under the sea" theme, which was rejected because we've done that before for our bathrooms. James wants an "outer space" theme with planets and such, but we can't find one that we like...they're all very light-colored. So then I suggested a penguin theme, and James liked that. Slight problem; we can't find ANY crib sets with that theme. I've Googled and I've tried Ebay, with no success. Grr...my other idea was a rainforest theme....same result.

Yes, I know that I could, technically, buy fabric and make Baby a crib set. However, I can't sew to save my life (I'm not just being modest; I really can't sew). And paying someone to sew something like that would probably be really, really expensive. We shall see...I think we'll head to Greensboro next weekend to look for nursery furniture, so maybe we'll find something then. Who knows??

God is good! All the time!

And all the time...GOD IS GOOD! I just spoke with Harry, my team leader for the Board of Ordained Ministry. He informed me that I have been approved to be commissioned as a probationary elder at Annual Conference in June. I am SO thankful to hear this, because I was really unsure about how my Theology interview went. Obviously, they saw enough growth in my paper and my interview to indicate that I am "ready for ministry." I believe that God's grace had something to do with this happy outcome, too.

So...in June I will begin a three-year period of mentoring, covenant groups, continuing education, etc that will hopefully increase my effectiveness in ministry. At the end of that three year period, I will go before the Board AGAIN, but this time I will be seeking ordination as an elder. If all goes well, I will be ordained in 2010.

For those of you who prayed, thanks! My heart is overflowing with thanksgiving to God!

Here we go again...

If you've been a faithful reader of my blog over the past year, you remember that about this time last year, I went before the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry with the hopes of being commissioned as a probationary elder. And as you may remember, they said "not yet", and asked me to re-submit two papers (Practice of Ministry and Theology) and re-do the interviews this year.

So, the papers were written and submitted a month ago, and I have been dutifully preparing and praying since then. Tomorrow morning, I will present myself before the Practice and Theology committees. I think that I am much more "ready" and much stronger in both areas than I was last year. I am also more confident. Hopefully, sometime this week I will receive a call from my Team Leader saying that the answer is, "yes." Only God knows.

So please pray for me as you feel led, especially tomorrow morning at 8:30 and 9:30. Pray especially that I will not be overly nervous, that I will provide coherent and concise answers, and that the Board members will see the same changes in me and in my work that I see.

There is a silver lining to this whole adventure; my friend Sarah, whom I have known for 15 years, is also going before the Board tomorrow. So we're spending today together, will drive to Blackstone together this afternoon, and will be able to provide each other moral support tomorrow. I haven't seen Sarah in AGES, so it will be nice to spend time with her again.

Congratulations, James!!

James got exciting news today--he's been re-appointed for another year at NCCU! Next year, he'll go up for a three-year contract. After those three years have passed, he'll begin the tenure process and hopefully gain tenure within a year or two. Way to go, hubby!

Now the "race" is on...for me to be ordained and James to get tenure. Then we'll both have completed major goals and will have job security!

Coming Soon: Baby Money!!!

James and I are delighted to announce that we are expecting our first baby!! We found out on
December 23, so it was a great Christmas present! My Estimated Due Date is September 1, which currently puts Baby Money at 12 weeks, 1 day gestation. We had an ultrasound on Thursday and got to see the baby and hear the heartbeat. Everything looks good so far. We just told the church today, because I wanted to wait until I was at least 12 weeks along before we told them.



Although I'm not "showing"yet, I can't fit into hardly any of my regular clothes, and have therefore started wearing some maternity clothes. I plan on doing some major shopping in the next couple of weeks for some more maternity clothes.

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. Two are regular 2-D pics from the ultrasound, and one is a 4-D picture.

Hysterical cat video

You have to check out this video from YouTube. It features a cat getting a bath in a "PetSpa" machine-sort of like a washing machine for pets. James and I were dying of laughter while we were watching it. I wouldn't consider it animal cruelty, but it's obvious that the kitty didn't enjoy it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smwh1_XbnLo

In other news, Simon had an "orchiectomy" on Tuesday. That is, he got neutered. They sent him home with a list of admonitions for the next week or so. My favorite, "no strenuous play, running, or jumping." Great...he's a four month old puppy with a canine brother, and I'm supposed to prevent him from strenuous play? Sigh...

Good-bye, Barbaro

As someone who lived in Lexington, Kentucky, the so-called "horse captital of the world", for over five years, I've been following Barbaro's story over the past eight months. He was euthanized today, after a very long and courageous fight. I'd gotten kind of attached to the guy; he was a cute horse, and a trooper. I feel very sad for his owners, who invested so much in Barbaro, even after it became plain that his days of money-making were over. Here's a link to the Lexington Herald-Leader article on Barbaro's death:
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/16572911.htm

Happy Birthday, Mom Sufficool!

Wish my mom, Mary Jane, a happy birthday today! Let's hope her birthday present from us arrives on time...

Happy Birthday, Mom! I'm awfully glad you were born, because then I wouldn't be here! Heehee.