no progress

OB said that everything looked good and the same. Little "DONna PHILamina" is just content right now.

We just dropped off Thanksgiving dinner and food and diapers to a very local family in need. We got their name from an organization that works with social services and there was a language barrier for sure! We brought a bilingual relative (my dad!) to help us communicate and that was very helpful.

It is amazing how they live so close to us yet were so in need. The family was very thankful and happy to see the diapers and food. We are going to bring them Christmas gifts and clothes in December so I hope to have more interaction with them then. They have two darling boys age 24 mo and 4 years old. Any gift ideas... please comment below. So far they are getting a pirate ship, legos, dinosaurs, more diapers, clothes, snow boots and fun Bible books in Spanish.

Will update...

Good appt with the surgeon yesterday re: the "hernia"...

Looking forward to Thanksgiving with the family and seeing my cousins Kris and Mikey. Kris/Edward is pregnant with one and Mikey/Bethany are pregnant with TWINS! I am so thrilled for all four of them.

Many contractions (like 2 an hour), still no pain. This could go on until Dec 20 though considering my previous births!

This photo is of a cool dessert someone in Grace's class made for the Thanksgiving luncheon.

38 weeks...

Many contractions but no pain.

No Pain = No Gain.

Little "Lindsay Betsy" or "Alayna Sandy" is in no rush!!!

a beary nice birthday

We celebrated Rita's birthday last night with two of her little girlfriends and Grace. It was really a fun time for them and I am glad we could celebrate something special for Ree.

The little girls were very excited and we started at our house. Rita opened her gifts and got a wonderful assortment of princess shoes, books, makeup, dress up and books. Jilly is on the left, then Rita and Grace, and then Emily.

Sam spent the evening with Nate and ran errands to get ready for dinner. This is one of the only shots with Sam in it!

We went from our house to Build-a-Bear to stuff bears. It was really fun driving all the girls in one van and walking through the mall holding hands. I bought the bears ahead of time so they were all surprised when they opened their bags in the car.

The birthday girl picking out hairbows for her bear. They all wanted the hairbows so badly!This is Jill hugging her bear.
This is Emily with her bear.

After we left Build-A-Bear and went to the bathroom (took about 15 minutes!), we took the fancy elevator to the next location... Nordstroms.

I have to give a total shout out to Nordstroms for making this dinner so easy! I gave them the decorations and cake, they provided us with an attentive server and it was perfect! The girls played with Play-Doh, crayons and placemats. I ordered all the food ahead of time and it arrived right away to four hungry girls with kid-sized drinks, fresh fruit, and a lot of napkins. Sam and Nate joined us for dinner also. I also had little Bear sweaters wrapped for the girls to open and dress their naked bears.

After some more bathrooms breaks, all the girlies were chauffered home and we went to bed. Grace and Rita were up at 6:30 AM to play with all their wonderful presents. What a succesful and EASY birthday party!

Rita - almost four

Thanksgiving Feast

Yesterday was Grace’s precious Thanksgiving Feast at school. It was the most adorable thing! The kids were darling in their pilgrim hats and placemats! I am so thankful for her school, teacher and classroom.

Mrs. Masson adopted 2 Corinthians 5:8 as “Grace’s verse” for this year. It reads: And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times; having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Every child got a Thanksgiving gift from Mrs Masson.

This is her Thanksgiving placemat.

Her entire class, Grace is in the back with her head tilted.

You may recognize some of the other children!

Grace is the one on the left with her hand up. The teacher asked, "Who likes turkey?"

21 days!

I am so thrilled that my doctor reported yesterday that I am progressing, if you want more details, email me!

Won't be too much longer!

Craft Show Loot

I just dropped off my "crafts" for the craft show here in our town! Here are a few examples of the things I made. I couldn't list everything but will try to put it on the sidebar in my blog. Some of these things I am also giving as Christmas gifts to friends and family! That is actually how I started doing this. Whenever I make teacher or Christmas gifts, I have so many leftovers. So I started to think of something new each year to make and use the leftovers to sell at the craft show! I have done very well at these craft shows because I mark my items really low. It also gives me a creative outlet since I don't do the "creative activities" at MOPS anymore.

Notice the tag reads: "local honey" - I really used Local Honey!

I did not make these blankets but the little old lady next to me did! She makes the most elaborate afghans and quilts and sells them for around $13. She works at the local thrift shop and they give her all the yarn they run across. She told me she loves to make them and I can't believe the time she puts into these. There are a lot of "grandma" type items at this show but it is fun to look since everything is so reasonably priced.