A Lifetime of Love

Tonight during my evening class my professor and classmates surprised me by throwing a baby shower, with a beautiful cake, drinks, chips, and of course gifts. It was so shocking and much appreciated. There are only 4 other students in the class besides me, so it was an intimate group and I just can't thank the girls enough. They are so sweet and, especially because they are all in their early 20s, I know the financial sacrifice they had to make in order to do this for me. I called TJ during my break to tell him what they did, and I smiled the entire class period (from 5-8pm). Here is a picture of the cake- isn't it beautiful?!

I went back to the doctor today. My cervix is "ripe and ready to go" as the doc so eloquently phrased it! The only problem? I'm still not dilating and probably won't anymore until labor starts. This is the complete opposite of my pregnancy with T.G. With her, I was dilating but my cervix wasn't ripening. I was going to be sent home from the hospital at 5cm because my cervix wasn't thinning out as quickly as the doctor thought it should be. Thankfully a very nice nurse let us stay the night because T.G. was born about 2 hours after that! Anyway, the doctor did say I was an excellent candidate to be induced if I choose to do so. I don't know what to think about that- I've never had to face that decision before! LOL! If I do decide to be induced, it won't be for 2 more weeks because the earliest the practice is comfortable inducing is at 39 weeks. Can you imagine me pregnant at 39 weeks? I surely can't!! I am torn on what to do because part of me ...

Th’s party was fun. He had a good time being silly with his friends. Below are a few pictures from the day. Oh, by the way, TJ pulled Th’s tooth so I have been joking with him about brushing his holes. He thinks it’s hilarious, and this morning he came in and said, “Mom, I brushed my holes already.” Still no baby. I am honestly shocked. A few weeks ago, I was having such strong, hard contractions and in the past week, they have been few and far between. I guess Taco is happy where he/she is and will arrive in his/her own time. I also think the Lord is trying to teach me patience because I am getting very impatient. My hips and joints are killing me and it is painful to walk. I thought that taking a stretching class with my students would help, and it has, but the relief is temporary. I also thought the stretching would get things going with labor, but that hasn’t happened, either! LOL! I have been trying lots of “natural” things to start labor (i.e. eating spicy foods, lots of walking)...

My speech went well, and I was surprised at the turnout. There were about 150 people in attendance. I was the second speaker, and was scheduled to speak after lunch. I finished my meal and excused myself to the restroom. On the way back into the room, I quickly phoned TJ and he prayed with me to help calm my nerves. As soon as I opened the doors to the dining room, all eyes were on me- it was my turn! I promise you I wasn’t out of the room for more than 5 minutes, but apparently the first speaker gave her speech as soon as soon as I left. I was so embarrassed! At the end of the presentation, several people came up to me and congratulated me. It was nice to have the support of so many, especially because a few of them didn’t even know me. I even received an email from a current classmate this afternoon congratulating and thanking me for giving such an inspirational speech (I didn’t think it was very inspirational). It was also nice to see some former professors, classmates, and friends ...

Below is the draft I submitted for my speech. Hopefully I won't have to make too many changes! *************************************************** We all have many names. T. is the one given to me at birth from my parents. Other names include: sister, friend, student, Coach, and my personal favorites, wife and mom. You may be wondering what being a wife and mother of 3 ½ small children have to do with taking classes here at (insert college name). To be quite honest, my husband and children have greatly influenced my decision to pursue my education. In high school, I applied for and received a full scholarship to attend a local university upon graduation. For personal reasons, I declined the scholarship and instead enlisted in the United States Air Force as an airplane mechanic. To say my family was upset with my decision is an understatement! The September following my high school graduation, I left small town Ohio and headed to Texas for Basic Training, then shortly thereafter I w...

I received this email request today from a pretty important person on campus. I am honored, but flipping out at the same time. Read below. I know that you plan to attend the Scholarship Luncheon this Friday, and we would like to have you speak on behalf of your fellow students to express appreciation to our donors. You could tell a bit about yourself and your own situation (as much as you choose) to demonstrate the need for such scholarship support. You will be one of two students speaking to the group, and between the two, you would be in a good place to represent the needs of those who are nontraditional students with family responsibilities, jobs, etc. We hope you will agree to take this on--folks in the college are very proud of you and all that you accomplish. How can I say no? Now I am working on a speech so I can turn in a draft by Wednesday morning. On a different note, my bulletin board that is due by Thursday has a little flexibility because of some circumstances out of my co...

are probably the best words to describe how I am feeling lately. In all honesty, I have never felt any of these emotions to the extent that I have been feeling since yesterday. Balancing my home life and school has always been challenging, but never like this. I am second-guessing myself in every decision I make, taking me on even more of an emotional roller coaster. For instance, I needed to clean the house as I haven’t done it in 2 weeks. I decided to begin last night, and I finished up this morning. I worked my behind off to get almost everything clean. But, because of my decision to clean, I put off doing my school work until this afternoon. I regret that decision now. I spent the afternoon trying to figure out where to begin, and with each assignment I started, I can’t finish because I either need more information from my students or from my teacher. Plus I received an email today informing me that I have less than 2 weeks to prepare and teach my students a 30-45 minute lesson. N...