Halfway there!!!!

I am finally halfway through my pregancy! :) Going on 21 weeks!!! My belly has definitely grown this past weekend because I couldn't stop eating, my stomach would get striking pains in it and my belly is itching like crazy (stretching). So, I just got back from the pool at the Gtown Country Club and all the ladies said that I did grow. I enjoyed myself at the pool because I could just let my belly hang out and not worry about sucking it in!!! :)

However, I do feel like this little boy is growing in my BEHIND because that is growing, too. But, I will continue to say, "I don't care, I am blessed to be pregnant!"

4 more months to go! As I sit here, I am feeling him "kick" for the first time!!! It is the weirdest thing...it feels like a heartbeat in my belly, but it's his little kicks. So cute! I have been trying to poke at my belly for the longest time to make him kick or something. :) If he has legs like his daddy then I am in for it!!! They are BIG and very strong (like tree trunks)!

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Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.

Proverbs 4:23 (New Living Translation)

Weekend in La Grange visiting the Blackwells

After the adoption in San Antonio we went to La Grange to visit one of Rich's best friends, Wess Blackwell, and his family. Wess is a doctor (I think the only doctor) in La Grange and he is the nicest and most honest person I know. Rich and him remind me so much of each other. They have been best friends since the 7th grade and they are so lucky to have had such a wonderful group of guys to hang out with. Success was honorable with this group as they pushed each other in sports and academically and celebrated one another's accomplishments. What a wonderful thing to have growing up! Their loyalty is forever, like brothers.

We went to Natalie and Noah's swim meet...it reminded me of when I swam back in the day. We brought Ellie and I have never seen a swarm of kids around a dog all day long. It was unbelievable. We were calling Natalie "Paris Hilton" as she would take Ellie around by the leash and everyone would surround her and want to play with Ellie...Natalie would then say, "Okay, we've got to keep walking, excuse us!" I had Ellie's pink spiked collar on her and two pink bows in her hair, like pigtails.

We were playing cards and Natalie acted like Ellie was playing, too. This dog gets wayyy too much attention.

We had a great time with the Blackwells and on the way home we stopped at the best bakery and I had SO MANY JELLY ROLLS, UGH!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't stop eating. I don't even like jelly rolls.

Rich had Ellie in the car with him and he said when he stopped at a stop light she would get up on his arm and look at the cars next to them and Rich said he did not feel too manly when this happened. HA! That is funny. But he loves her.

After the long weekend, Ellie slept for 8 hours!!!! She was exhausted with all of the kids playing with her. She didn't move a muscle. :)

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Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won't be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple.

2 Timothy 2:15 (The Message)

After the Adoption...

After we left the courts, we went back to the Scott house to celebrate. Rich is so fun to watch with the kids. He was so gun-shy to have one...but is so enthralled with kids when he is around them (unless they are disrespectful - he has no patience for that). Derek and Kelly have a 40 pound tortoise (Franklin) and this thing was chasing Ellie around everywhere - for about an hour!!! It was the funniest thing. Sometimes if Ellie knew she had Franklin in a precarious situation, she would go "nose to nose" with him. It was hilarious. I am anxious to see how Ellie does with our new baby. She is used to being the baby...she even sleeps in between Rich and me at night...she loves to snuggle and stay warm.
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I loved this scripture...forgiving is one of the hardest things ever to do. But when God is in your life, He gives you a peace inside that fills you up and there is no room for bitterness and grudges. I love it!!!

"If you forgive someone's sins, they're gone for good.
If you don't forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?"
John 20:23 (The Message)

Tyler's Adoption

Well, Tyler (TJ) is finally adopted. It has been a year and a half in the making! Rich and I are his Godparents and I am so happy for him! He came from a family that were all in prison or selling/addicted to heavy drugs such as Meth. It was a very sad life that he had, but he has such a happy one now!!!! I can't imagine a mother not wanting to give her son the best possible life. But, it is a vicious cycle and the life you grow up in is the only one you know. As parents, we want to build a solid foundation for our children so they can make solid decisions. They will not listen to everything we say, but they will sure imitate our actions.

The adoption hearing was so sweet and heartfelt. The lawyer asked a series of questions to Kelly and Derek: "Have you loved this boy as though he was your own?" And they both said yes with tears in their eyes. "Will you love this boy unconditionally and accept him as he is forever?" And they both said yes while everyone in the courtroom was tearing up. The judge asked the CPS worker if it was in the best interest of the child that he be adopted by Kelly and Derek and the CPS worker said, "ABSOLUTELY!" Once he was adopted, the entire courtroom cheered and Tyler said, "YAY!" It was cute.

I will try to be the best Godmother I can be. I need to focus on Tyler, Sammy and Lexi as they are all of my Godchildren and I will try to teach them what I can about following God's path...it is the ONLY path that leads to happiness. :)

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Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts.
James 3:13 (The Message)