4 months/ Kay's Bradford Bash

Well, I'm 4 months...and the monthly pic has been taken. My belly button is starting to pop out so Rich thought it would be funny to make a smiley face. I wonder if my poor flower tattoo is going to start growing? EEEK. That could be scary.

Rich said he took all of the pictures of the baby from our doctor visit to work today and he has called me several times to let me know that he has shown everyone in his office how developed this baby boy is. He said, "Everyone has responded, YEP THAT IS DEFINITELY A BOY!" He is very proud and I am seeing the excitement and relief he has now that it is a boy and HEALTHY. He is especially proud of the extra large "boy part". I think he is going to start beating his chest like a gorilla. LOL!!! It's very cute. Erin (Rich's sister) text messaged and said she is excited that the two boys will be only months apart. HOW FUN IS THAT!? I never had cousins close to my age, so I think that is awesome! :) Erin said that Gianna will be making these boys sit at her tea parties. Funny. I told her that Rich and #1 will have these boys hunting by age 2! She agreed.

Kay Bradford's party (Bradford Bash) was this past weekend...her twin girls are getting so big! They were dancing while singing, "Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground!" They wanted to wear all of my jewelry and my sun glasses... Poor Richie got eaten up by chiggers! Usually that's me...that's why I don't like being outdoors in the deep woods. Yucky. I had to put nail polish all over his bites, I didn't have any clear polish so he's got an extra pink shine to him today!

There is an opening at Rich's office coming up and I am really trying to talk him into applying for it. He will be doing his dissertation this summer and finally getting his PhD. He needs to start looking into getting ahead...he is brilliant and really good with people, so I am encouraging him. I'm not so sure about being a Superintendent...that is a lot of work and a lot of hours and dealing with a lot of problems. But whatever God has planned I'm sure it will come to fruition!

Went to lunch with a bunch of girlfriends. Robin got me the cutest little outfit that had a monkey on it and it says, "Mommy Loves Me." It is so fitting because I have a feeling any of my kids will be monkeys. Meg gave me a pack-n-play, a stroller and a breast pump...Dear Lord, I won't know what to do with that! But I am TRULY grateful for all of my friends. I AM SO BLESSED and I look forward to helping others like they have helped me.

Time to do Real Estate so that I can make as much money as I can before this baby comes. And Ellie is scratching at the door to come in. I told her last night that she was going to have a baby brother and she looked at me like, "OH CRAP!" I started laughing.

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Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!
Ecclesiastes 5:10-11

IT IS A..................BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today Rich and I were on a HIGH!!! We went to the Specialist in Temple again and they did all kinds of testing to be sure there were no chromosome diseases or other problems with the baby. They took about 50 pictures and found out that it was VERY HEALTHY!!! And there was no doubt as it was very CLEAR of this little boy's gender. It was a BOY! Rich was so excited...and so was I. I was more excited about all of the doctors and nurses coming in looking at the screen saying how healthy and beautiful this baby looked. My belly is not showing that much and so I was worried that the baby would be small, but the doctor said that he was bigger than average! :) I was VERY happy to hear that! Looking at the ultrasound truly makes you realize this is a TRUE GIFT FROM GOD. The profile of this baby was precious. You could see his nose (we both looked at each other because this nose was bigger than normal as well) and you could see his eyes and even his lips. He would scratch his face and wave and even held up his finger like he was saying, "#1!" I truly am thankful that this boy is very healthy and the doctors could not be more pleased. Jr. was even sitting Indian-Style at one point and it looked so funny!

My friend Meg has so many baby supplies for me and I am SO THANKFUL! There are so many reasons that I know I had to wait for so long to have a child. In my 20's I would want NEW everything...I would be concentrating mostly on the materialistic aspects of the baby items. At this age, I am okay with all of the hand-me-downs my friends are so gracious to give me. I want to concentrate on being a better person for my child and family. My friend Kelly has given me tons of clothes already so I can't wait to go through those. Now I just need to get my husband to help declutter the house. He likes to keep everything!! "Just in case," he says. :) I need everything in place and organized! Well, okay, I'm kind of "messy" but I just don't like CLUTTER! ;)

This weekend is Memorial Day...we go camping every year at this time...Oh dear, a pregnant lady's dream! Especially in this Texas heat! I think about things like, will I take the baby next year, etc... I also think about what I am going to do when I go back to work... daycare? A friend? Gayle? Hmmm, lots of things to think about. I will not stress about these things, these are fun things to think about! And I AM BLESSED!
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"What the mother sings to the cradle goes all the way down to the coffin."
-- Henry Ward Beecher

Garden/Hockey Game

Rich has made a huge garden in the back and we are growing all kinds of things...squash, cucumbers, peppers, melons, etc... it is about 20 yards long...I don't really enjoy going out there though because I hate bugs, MOSQUITOES and icky stuff. I am a wimp when it comes to that! I remember when Rich and I would go jet skiing at his lake...when we were finished, I would stay on the jet ski and Rich would hook it up to the trailer and pull me out of the water so I wouldn't have to touch the bottom of the gross lake! I don't know why I'm like that (I think because of my mom)...if I have a boy I sure hope he is not wimpy like me! Anyway, I am excited to cook up the veggies and eat the melons!!! I have been craving fruit so badly for the last month!!! It is like desert to me! :) I ran on the treadmill for the first time today and I felt very weird. Anytime I move around a lot in my classes I can feel little "movements" of the baby. Like he is swimming in there! It is weird and I think Jr is going to come out saying, "WHAT WERE YOU DOING FOR THOSE 9MONTHS THAT I WAS IN YOUR BELLY???!!!" LOL!

The Hockey Season is coming down to the finals...I like attending the games, and we always end up having a great time with the Elliotts and other friends that are there. We are very thankful to have this opportunity to attend these games, Rich absolutley LOVES them!!! One of the best times was when one of the friends brought their little girl name Alaysia and I held her the whole time...I was in heaven.

I am still feeling good! :) REALLY GOOD! I am so hyped up I can't even take a nap if I tried! I guess that's a good thing.
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Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage.
Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Philippians 2:3-4 (The Message)

Muddy Buddy

This past weekend we went to the Muddy Buddy where they biked, ran, did obstacle courses and crawled through mud. I did this a long time ago with Becky Vermillion...we were BeBe's (Beaudet/Basinger at the time). I was not in a good place in my life...so it was interesting to compare the two experiences...both they were both fun. This was my first time to just be a complete spectator. I took pics and videoed everyone crawling through the mud. That was even a competition for me. I wanted to get the best footage and I yelled SO LOUD and when I heard myself on the video, I thought...OMG, I am LOUD! I was thinking about myself at my children's athletic games and how they will be mortified with my yelling!!! I just cannot curb my enthusiasm during competition. I love it! Should be interesting! Luckily Rich is very subdued or we would be a crazy couple. :)

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If you want to be like Jesus, you must care about what he cares about most; you must have a heart for the whole world! You can't be satisfied with just your family and friends coming to Christ. There are over six billion people on earth, and Jesus wants all his lost children found. MORAL: WE ARE HERE ON THIS EARTH TO HELP OTHERS, NOT JUST OURSELVES AND OUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY! :)

It's A ...........................

Well, it's been awhile since I've written...I kept meaning to and then something would get in the way. Anyway, lots of things have happened lately...I went to the doctor and they did 2 ultrasounds. Both doctors thought they saw a "boy part"!!! So we might have a boy!!!!! :) I am excited...we have NO boys in our family and I don't think any of us will know what to do...but we will see! I just hope he is a gentleman and respectful, smart, healthy and athletic! I guess I want the perfect boy, huh? Well, I do hope he is healthy, most of all. It is hard to come up with names for boys...you want it to be a strong name but not too trendy. So far we've come up with... Richard Lee Elsasser III and call him "Tre" or "Trey" for the Third...Tre is French and my dad is French. Rich also likes Mason, Logan, Brayden, Ethen, Logan, and Landon. I like Bo or Beau (for my maiden name), Trey, Brayden, Aiden, and Jackson. I like A.J. Elsasser (Aiden Joseph - my dad's middle name) but, don't think Rich will go for it. I also try out names by while acting like a football announcer is saying it, "Number 84, A.J. Elsasser!!!!" LOL! For girl names I like Drew, Kendall, Aiden, Addi and Josie.

Last weekend for Mother's Day we went to San Antonio and spent a couple of days with Rich's sister and his mom and dad. They own a cool restaurant in the Botanical Gardens in San Antonio and we took some cool pics there. Rich's sister, Erin, is also having a boy...so I think that would be so fun to have them be the same age and gender...they could always play together. BUT, if I go back next week and they say it's a girl...I will be just as happy!!!

This week I feel so sorry for my parents as my Nanny had to go to the hospital with severe stomach/intestinal cancer and tumors. OH the joys of getting older. I have watched the pressure of being an only child has had on my dad my whole life. It is not fun! That is why I never want to have just one child. Even 2 kids seems very small. I just pray that she is not a lot of pain and is able to be with her husband, Paul, and that my dad has peace with everything. Sometimes I want to make so much money so I can take care of my parents and they don't have to worry about another thing for the rest of their life. My dad did not grow up with money and he has worked so hard to make money. I wish my child could meet my entire family (including my Paw Paw) so they know where they come from.


One of my girlfriends from San Diego emailed me today and she said that she has really been praying a lot lately (since her recent break-up from her boyfriend)...she said she felt the presence of God and I was the first person she thought of to write and tell! (I was so honored because I don't talk to her that much). But, this is a sign from God that I am doing the right thing and "planting the seed" and let him do the rest. I just hope that my children get this relationship with God at an earlier age than I did. This is the only thing that will hold them accountable.

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One Door Closes..Another Opens

Revelations 3:8

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go, only 1 of 2 things will happen, either He'll catch you when you fall, or He'll teach you how to fly! 'The power of one sentence! God closes doors no man can open & God opens doors no man can close.

Getting HOT!!!

Wow, it was 100 degrees today...it's getting so hot, but I like summers. We laid out by Robins's pool today after I worked (the kids were off school so there were about 10 kids playing in her pool). Chaos! I love it! It is tough to get into a bikini at 3 1/2 months preggers, but I did it! The kids at Robin's house always say, "Yes Ma'am" when asked a question...very polite and I hope my child is just as polite!

Not much to say tonight...I am so tired! I will write more later.

Lots of stuff...

Just trying to catch up on the lost days that I didn't write anything. Over the weekend we went to the Kyser's house to shoot guns (this is the Elsasser's best friends). I really like shooting...I think it's the competition in it and the thrill of holding something that is so powerful. I want to shoot that bullet in that red bull's eye more than anything. I did pretty good! Almost every single shot was in the bull's eye or close! :) I think Jr. would be proud of his mama! On the way home there was a car that was crossing the road in front of us...she was going about 80mph and didn't know her road came to a dead-end. Her car flew up in the air and landed about 250 yards into a field. I called 911 and had Rich talk to them. Very scary when you are the first one at the scene of an accident. Rich and #1went to help her and they found that she had been drinking...I thought to myself, "This is one thing I will try to instill in my children is to not drink and drive." My mother always said, "If you do, they could take our house and home!" So that always stuck in my head because I didn't want my parents to be homeless, funny as it sounds, but it worked. The lady was okay, amazingly...but definitely had some bones protruding through her skin.

The next day Rich went to his "Concealed Weapon Class" so that he was able to carry a weapon if he wanted. Not growing up with guns, it's a new concept for me...but he is very safe about it and was proud of himself that he got the top score in his class. He text messaged me on the way home, "I'm packin'"...I started laughing.

This week the Specialist called from the hospital and said that the test results came back "negative" for any genetic diseases! THANK GOODNESS!!! I don't take anything for granted and am so thankful that my baby looks healthy! I get to find out in 2 weeks what I am having...I am very excited! I think it is a boy...we will see!

I had been feeling better and then for the last 2 days I started throwing up...I was laying in bed 2 nights ago and I looked at Rich and said, "I am going to puke..." I went to the bathroom and sure enough I did. He was trying to be so helpful by asking what I needed and getting me water and a wet rag...anyway, I have found out that after I throw up, I feel better!!! HMM!

Last night I went to the hockey game...I do it for Rich...he LOVES these games. Again, I felt sick and went to the restroom and threw up...I actually don't mind it at all because I puke and then say, "I am thankful I am pregnant!!!" People must think I'm crazy. I came back to my seat and started eating my Skittles again. Rich just laughs. I'm not sure he understands this whole pregnancy thing.

I talked to my niece, Peyton, yesterday and she played me her song that she did at the recital...she is really good! Then she played me about 10 more songs and I listened to them while I cooked dinner...it was awesome. She even played me songs that I taught her about 5 years ago! She has such a good memory...and it made me feel good that I actually taught her something that she can "keep". She is so smart and such a doll.

Well, I am off to teach some Bootcamp...luckily I feel good today! It's 98 degrees out so I will keep them inside. Whew...summer is here.