Funny stuff...

These pics are of a shirt I wore to all of my classes...Babylicious...oh yeah. I made Rich take a pic of it 'cause I am documenting everything on this blog.

The second pic I made him take is of my muscle I thought I was making...since I'm injured I won't be able to lift weights in awhile so I thought I would lose any muscle tone I had. Well, after he took this picture (reluctantly)...I noticed there is no muscle tone to lose!!! HA!!! Oh well. But, I had to add this just to show my baby how cheesy I am!!!

Pulled Muscle

I ended up pulling a muscle around my rib cage last week and it has gotten worse. I guess when you combine a pulled rib muscle with a baby who is now 2 lbs and your stomach is growing up under your ribs, it is a wonderful feeling! LOL! So, I am laying in bed while Rich is at Sunday School. I am proud of him because he usually doesn't go if I can't go. When I told him I had to stay in bed he looked at me in shock and said, "What? You never miss because it is so important to you." Things usually work out this way...I have subbed for many classes this month(including doing my own classes) and have started showing a lot more property as I am trying to make as much money as I can before I have this baby...well, now I am out for at least a week, so with the money I will be losing, I am back to where I began! I was doing wayyy too much and never had time for anything else...even this blog...so here I sit with a heating pad and faithful Ellie by my side (she hasn't left my side in 2 days). I just want to be sure the baby is taken care of first and I know I can't be in this much pain while going through labor...so, rest is all I can do for now. It's humbling.

I told Rich to take his Bible to Sunday School and to start writing little notes and scripture that mean a lot to him. Down the road we can give these Bibles to our children (or they can have them once we are gone) and it is the best gift for them to be able to read our thoughts and some of our favorite scriptures. I started doing this over a year ago in one of my Bible Studies...I should find it to see what I wrote!

Okay, I hobbled out to my car got the Bible and it is a gift from my grandmother...
I wrote: My Grandmother, Betty Unckrich, gave me this Bible. She is an incredible Christian woman that has mastered GRACE in all sense of the word. She has followed the word of God throughout her life and at the age of 91, she has affected many people in a positive "light". She has instilled in us: to spread "light" to the world- not darkness. And to always be a BLESSING...not a burden. That was definitely my Paw Paw's motto as well.

This is very interesting because I wrote this when I wasn't even MARRIED yet:
I am writing in this Bible with love for the Lord. Every word is for my child that I do not even know yet. But the love I already have for my future child is the love the Lord has for me. Read this Bible and all of my notes I've written,...I have been through many life experiences...but nothing takes the place of following the Lord and being FAITHFUL!!! It is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life - but the most rewarding. When you follow the Lord - you do not have to worry about anything else! God will take care of you. I love you.

Awwe, that's sweet if I do say so myself! HA HA!!!!! :) I know I talk about the Lord a lot in this Blog, but I feel this is my Christian journal as well and this is my time to reflect. :)

Finally a birthday celebration...

The first pic is of my belly (JR) and Rich's hand celebrating his dad's first birthday!

I think it is so important to have get-togethers and a Bday party for Rich because he doesn't really care if he has them or not. He is an introvert and could go months without seeing anyone...me on the other hand...I LIKE TO BE WITH PEOPLE ALL THE TIME!!!! So, every time I get him to be a part of a party or celebration he loves it and always comments on how much fun he had. :) That's why I always say it should be interesting to see what type of personality this baby boy will have! :)

For Rich's bday we went back to the same restaurant (notice the same sombrero). Herman's got him a shirt that says, "Proud to be AWESOME" That is hilarious because that is so not his personality!! He loved it and actually wore it last night as we had a Euchre tournament at our house. I wanted to start this little club with some of our Midwestern friends because it makes me feel like a piece of the 'home' is with me. We had a blast!!! Rich was in rare form and it is great to see him laugh and let loose every once in awhile (rare form just mean really talking up a storm and laughing his butt off).

Elliotts got him a gift certificate to Best Buy...he LOVES technology...but I want him to buy a good camera for the upcoming baby moments! :) We'll see!

Back to his birthday, I had planned with some of the city workers of Gtown for weeks to get signs and stadium benches from the football stadium that Rich played on while attending school. They are tearing down this stadium and building an ampitheater. I ending up getting every sign on this stadium as well as 4 big benches from the home side for Rich and his 3 best friends, Mike, Wess, and Chris. He LOVED them and it meant a lot to have a piece of these awesome memories. When the ampitheater is built I will always remember being pregnant trying to get these signs off the building with the help of Bonnie Elliott and her dad...it was hilarious!!! Trying to get these old signs off the building using manual tools in 100 degree heat. I finally used Jr. to my advantage to help get those signs off - some workers came with their power tools, finally. :)

Granddad - Norwin Lee Elsasser

We were lucky to have made it to Michigan to visit Rich's Grandfather (he calls him Granddad) when we were in Ohio for my family reunion last month. He was such a laid-back, jolly little fellow (sounds funny to describe someone like that, but that is exactly what he was). He was pretty short (about 5'4") which is amazing because Rich's whole family is very tall. They lived outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan (where Michigan University is located!!! BOO!) in a small town called Dexter. It's beautiful there, so many HUGE pine trees and everything is so green and colorful. That is why I like going home to Ohio, too. My mom and my sister have the most incredible landscaping with flowers and trees. Their lawn is bright green and it is just amazing to look at (funny how you don't notice this stuff until you move to the desert). :)

While in Michigan we always go downtown where Rich's dad grew up...we drove past his house they grew up in (very nice) and go downtown to eat. Last time we ate at a really cool restaurant and ironically it used to be the gas station that Norwin owned. We also went to the Dairy Queen (I love me some ice cream lately) and of course Rich's dad had lots of stories of going to that DQ growing up. Rich's dad could tell stories forever!!!! It should be very interesting to see if he tells stories to his grandchildren, too. LOL!

While in Dexter we played Euchre, it was pretty amazing that his granddad was still extremely sharp while playing. He is one of those guys that can count the cards while playing...I was his partner and he could tell me exactly what I was about to lay down, it was unbelievable. I think I would make him laugh because I am very animated and I was floored everytime he told me what my card was. He would smile and he never wore his dentures so he had no front teeth. Everyone would laugh, but he didn't care. His house was still very 1970's with orange carpet everywhere and his furniture was even wrapped in this matching shag carpet. His towels in the bathroom were very retro as well as his artwork. He just never changed the place since he lived there...sometimes I think there is something so cool about that...being so content in not always trying to "update" and keep up with the times. The reason I say that is because my family is VERY into this and I can personally obsess about it with my own house. I could actually have a full time job just playing around in my house trying to make it perfect. Sometimes it's insane. But I do love to decorate!

Okay, DING! (My friends always say "DING" because I go off on tangents about other topics and can't stay on track). My point of describing Norwin and where he lived is for my little guy so he can read this someday and know about his great grandfather that passed away 3 months before he was born. I think it is so important to know your roots.

Norwin LOVED the Detroit Tigers...he could watch them all day long, they also used to attend many games. Funny thing that happened on Rich's birthday is that he turned on the television when he got home from work and the Tigers were playing Texas!!! How crazy. It was kind of a little sign from his granddad.

Well, one thing we know for sure is that we can keep his name going (Rich is the last Elsasser)...and we will make his middle name Lee.

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"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you."
I'm blessed because God is embracing me every step of the way (Matthew 5:4).

Kacy's Happy Birthday

Because Rich could not make it to his birthday party, Kacy sang him her own version of Happy Birthday...so cute. :) Just press play!

Rich's Birthday...

Well, this was an interesting birthday for Rich. His grandfather passed away on his birthday at the age of 92. He took it harder than I thought. Poor guy. I think because it was his last surviving grandparent and of course it was on his birthday. It just seems so crazy that Erin and I are both about to have baby boys. It's the true circle of life.

I had 17 people lined up to surprise Rich for his birthday, a cake, presents, reservations...but since he didn't feel like going I cancelled with most but some still wanted to come...and Ramsey, Kelly and her kids were already there (they drove 2 hours from San Antonio just to go out to eat with Rich.) Is this the true meaning of best friends OR WHAT???!!!! I was so honored and felt so blessed that they would do this...what incredible people!!! Meggers (Meg) and her troop came as well! I'm so glad they did because it was a smaller group and we all got to visit, laugh, and catch up. Meg wrote happy birthday daddy on my stomach and I showed Rich when I got home. He got a kick out of it. They also put the sombrero on me and sang happy birthday to Rich as I was representing him...I ate the free fried ice cream, too!!! :)

I am just blessed with the most amazing friends in my life!!! My little boy is going to be lovvvved!!!!

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Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation.

1 Peter 2:2 (New Living Translation)

Pics

Here are some pics of Gianna with her favorite princess outfit on and her belly looked like a mini one of mine. She said that princess bellies looked like ours. :)

Last night we went to Kay Bradford's 40th Birthday Party at a Kareoke Bar. That was pretty funny being at a place like that while pregnant. It is a whole different experience!!! But I still went up on stage with all of the girls and sang. My first kareoke with Jr!!!

Baby kicking more and Gianna in town...

I am feeling my baby kick more and more each day. It is usually at the same times everyday. The kicks get a little harder each day as well! Everytime I go workout and then lay down in my bed he starts kicking and rolling around...it's so funny! The doctor said that the endorphins have gone to him while exercising or eating and then when I rest, he wants more endorphins!!! I love to put my hand over my belly and just feel him kick my hand... I feel so blessed to be able to feel all of those movements! I just wish I had a little camera to see what he is doing! He is about 1.5 lbs and about a foot long right now... I can't believe that is inside of me! I wonder if he is going to have black curly hair or thin lighter hair? Is he going to be tall? Will he have white skin or dark skin? Blue or brown eyes? hmmmm.

Rich's niece, Gianna, is in town and I took her to the Rec Center Splash Pool and she LOVED IT!!! She laughed and smiled and screamed for an hour and a half. She did not want to leave. There I was with my big belly chasing her around the pool! HA! I was exhausted...that's what it's going to be like in a couple of years! I hope! She is very funny...she actually looks like Rich. Erin is about to have her baby boy in a couple of weeks...I look forward to seeing these two baby boys at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Rich is applying for a few Superintendent jobs in the area (including Gtown!) AHH! This should be interesting! He is so perfect for a Superintendent job, but I will have to be patient and know that we will not have the freedom that we once had and i will not have him around the house as much. I am excited for him...God has given him some special gifts of leadership and goodness and he needs to do something like this for himself and a community. It will be God's plan.

I try to send Rich some scripture for him to read each morning...I think this is very important for a man to remember what is important each morning!
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The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

"Come with the purpose of doing anything and everything that God wants you to do." - especially when gearing up for interviews for future jobs.

"Don't look at what you don't have, look at what you do have!" "Don't look at how far you have to go, look at how far you've come!"

"Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.
Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark." James 3:5
(NIV)

This is my command-be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.


"Don't try to climb to the top by stepping on others. Try to promote others and help others first and you will soon see yourself naturally working up to the top"

When you put god FIRST, you will be happy at LAST!!!


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More reunion...and other fun.

When I went home, everyone loved little Ellie Belly...I know she is jut a dog...but she is so sweet, so kind to children and just does what any child wants her to...never barks or anything. All the kids begged to hold her and wanted to be with her all the time. I also loved the talent shows that all the kids always put on...it's so fun to watch their magic shows and their dance routines. My nieces are raising pigs again and chickens. Their chickens are actually really pretty. Peyton named all of them and loves them dearly. When we first got to their house we went to look at the chickens and Ellie got in the pen and scared all of them and one flew over the fence...we lost it for about 5 hours...Rich tried looking for it down in their creek for a long time. Luckily it came back. Thank GOODNESS...Peyton was so happy!

I had 12 kids over swimming in my pool this week and I loved it!!! I love to have my house filled with laughter and noise and fun! All the moms came over and I had a lunch for them, I love to entertain...I just want people to have fun! They had Ellie in the pool and and she was so good but I felt so sorry for her as she would just try to swim to the side...I finally just wrapped her up in a towel and told them no more pool for little Ellie. One of the little girls wanted to take her home. And she was crying when she left. I look forward to seeing what Ellie does with my baby boy! Also, I hope that my baby is well-behaved and respectful to adults so he is a blessing, not a burden, when around others...I hope he just loves people and has a kind heart.

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I want to teach my children that everyone and everything will change and let you down every now and then...however, the LORD is the one person who will never change what He stands for. Everything that is GOOD comes from the Lord, everything that is corrupt, bad, or evil is never from God and we all need to run from it - always.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17 (NIV)

It's been a looong time! Back from Ohio!

Well, it's been forever since I've written in my poor little baby blog...I've had too much going on! We went to Ohio about 3 weeks ago and I haven't caught up since! It was so nice to see my family...I didn't win the Family Olympics, but Peyton did! That girl can win anything. It was funny because Sammy called her, "A midget with super powers!" She certainly is very talented. It was also my grandmother's 93rd Birthday...she is so very sweet. I mean, she is not only sweet, she really "gets it" for 93 years old. It's hard to believe that this is my son's Great Grandmother. I look forward to seeing G.G. hold him. Whatever his name may be! I keep going back to "Trey" but I just can't imagine sending out my announcements with Richard Lee Elsasser on it...I think I've said that before, but that's my hang-up. So, we will see......

I can't wait to bring my baby boy home to see my nieces play sports. I think I'm going to make him a shirt that says, "GO SAMMY" "GO PEYTON" that would be cute. I think as he gets older my dad will be happy to finally be able to play ball and do other "boy" stuff with a grandson...poor guy has 2 daughters and 2 granddaughters! I wonder what a "Beaudet" boy would look like? I am so excited!

I had such a good time at home...everyone is just really down-to-earth...no crazy outfits, or hair, or tattoos or fake body parts...just as "real" as it gets! I love it. I feel very comfortable to be at home. My mom still caters to all of us and I like that, too...that will never get old. I always look forward to going home. They all said I doubled in size by the time I left...probably because I did not exercise and I ate some goood midwestern food! It is really hard to believe that next time I go home...I will be bringing a little baby!!!! I love it.

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When I put scriptures and important words of wisdom on this blog, it is not only for my baby, it helps me put everything in perspective! I want to be sure I go through each of these scriptures again as my child grows to be sure I not only teach my child these IMPORTANT lessons but more importantly I show these lessons through my actions.

"Put your hope in God who richly provides us with everything..." 1 Timothy 6:17 (NIV) We can put our hope in wealth, but that can be taken away at anytime. If we put our hope in God, he will always be there!