snow

today was a fun day. dave and i slept in, and awoke to about an inch or two of snow on the ground. after enjoying a leisurely morning of breakfast, coffee and the paper, i bundled up and headed outside for some good old fashioned snow shoveling. yes, i know, you're probably thinking, are you crazy?? maybe i am. but you see, i have my reasons. at 37 weeks pregnant, i am now considered full-term. that means that the baby is fully developed and it is safe to give birth even though i'm not 40 weeks. by now, we are all ready for baby to come, and i am finally feeling the results of carrying all this extra weight for so long. i'm ready. not that i don't want the best for our child, but to tell the truth, i would like my body back. i'd really like to sleep on my stomach again and roll over without having to do a 3-point turn. not to mention the endless trips to the bathroom, or the water weight that's given me carpal tunnel. so yes, i feel a little selfish, but since it IS safe for the baby to come now, i will do whatever i can to 'help' it along. so i went shoveling. and no, it hasn't helped. all it gave me was a backache. but i will say, it was fun! i really enjoyed being outside in the fresh air! david came out and we shoveled out around the house. and i actually have pictures! we borrowed a camera, so here you go.

4 weeks and counting

well, it is official. i am 9 months pregnant.

at the end of this week, i will be considered full-term, which basically means after that if i have the baby, everything will be ok. up until then, the baby's lungs are still developing. i have a feeling that i'm not going to last all 4 weeks...but i have nothing to base that on, just a hunch. i wouldn't mind having the baby next week! i've been feeling pretty good up to now. the only thing that has really been bothering me lately is the pregnancy swelling. my hands are retaining so much water that i now have carpal tunnel in my right hand. it is getting very frustrating. i'm able to type right now, but writing is almost out. my hand starts getting numb and tingly and is painful. i have 2 braces, one for night and one for day. they help a little, icing it before i sleep is good too. i told dave, i've been able to handle all the aches and pains, all the other little things that have become harder and harder to do, but this is almost too much. it's limiting me tremendously. i had to have dave cut my chicken the other night! i felt like a little kid, "can you cut my meat? please???" all the daily things you do, opening doors, blowing drying your hair, even reading a paper have become painful. so in that sense, i can't wait for the baby to come! it will all go away! i only have to wait 1 more week before baby can come! there is hope!

other than my sob story, things are going well around the house. i do not have pictures yet, but will soon! having david home every day has been a huge blessing! i have been spoiled, but i know it is God's blessing on me to have my husband around 24/7 to help. we have finished the baby's room (hallelujah!!!!). those of you who have been to our house know that that room was the storage/everything room. well, i am proud to say that we have eliminated all the clutter and sorted through many piles and it is now the baby/study. and that is how it will stay! we also were able to finally get a washer and dryer, and God was good to us there as well. we were having trouble finding what we wanted and needed in our price range and a friend from church who works at Home Depot called us one day and told us there was a Maytag washer and dryer on scratch and dent. it was exactly what we were looking for and we got about $200 off! plus we opened a Home Depot credit card and got 10% off with no interest until next february. we can save all year to pay it off all at once. we were able to buy the extended warranty on both of them, so they both have 3 yrs. warranty instead of 1. we have them installed and i have been using them all week! i may be weird, but i love doing laundry! and now it is SO convenient! (for the last 2 yrs, we have been doing laundry every friday night at my parents house, a 1/2 hr. away) they are hooked up in our kitchen and look great! pictures will be coming...stay tuned.

so all in all, we could have the baby tonight and be ready. all the other little things are not necessary before delivery. i think i can finally say, we are ready and prepared for this baby.

Baby Copp

most of you know that david's sister, anna, was also pregnant, about 1 month ahead of me. this past friday, she was scheduled to be induced and give birth to their little girl, Dahlia Renae (i think that's how it's spelled). they had the nursury all ready and all the clothes bought and everything was going well. she had the pitocin (pi-toe-sin) and the epidural and her labor was progressing. then came the biggest surprise...anna gave birth, not to a little girl, but to a little boy!!!! apparently the technician read the ultrasound wrong and for months they were planning for a baby girl. now, while we are all shocked and excited, i (being the practical worrisome one) am wondering how anna and josh must feel with all the mixed emotions. i mean, when you are planning for so long, buying clothes and painting the nursery for a girl, and then to have a boy and not have anything remotely boyish, that has to be somewhat strange. especially with all the post partum hormones and emotions. i know if it was me, i'd be worrying to death about how to deal with all the girl stuff and how we could afford more boy stuff on top of it and dave would be the one to say, "it'll all work out." he says that alot to me. i worry. and my pregnancy hormones drive me crazy sometimes.

so anyway, they named him Jeffery Robert, after both anna and josh's dad's. here are some pictures.

in time...

i must ask that you remain patient with me...i have not been updating as i would've liked, and i'm sure some of you are wondering where i am. david and i have been very busy since we came home from vacation trying to get the house in order as soon as we can for the baby. we are in the midst of finding a washer and dryer to buy asap and just had a few days where our car was broken and we had to borrow my parent's van for that time. i feel as if i have very little time to sit and catch up with all that there is to do. my due date is march 17, which is about 5 weeks away. if i last that long! i really could go into labor at any time, so we are working hard to get everything we need done asap. so...hang on, i will try to really spend some time on here soon. in the meantime, stay warm and have a great week!