A Run in My Pantyhose

It all started last week with the wonderful news that baby girl had dropped down a few inches and gave me some breathing room. That morning I noticed a small patch of stretch marks. Just a small one inch by 3 inch patch. Nothing major right? Nothing major till the next morning. My sister made the perfect analogy - stretch marks are like a run in your pantyhose. Only these runs can't be fixed with a dot of clear nail polish.

Oh well. I live in Missoura...the only beach around here is at Longview Lake.

Also...the timestamp is going to be wrong again, but it's 3:30am. I wonder if this early VERY early morning ritual is going to continue after our little girl reaches her eviction date.

See the timestamp on the post below

See it? It says posted by Danielle at 1:33 am. It's actually 3:33 am, but I can't figure out how to change the time zone. This week I can breath. Hopefully next week I'll be able to sleep. Once her eviction date comes I'm sure I won't be getting as much sleep as I would like.

One other fun thing I forgot to mention earlier - Yesterday was the best. Sean and I spent the whole day doing a whole bunch of nothing together. It was great. (nothing did include the grocery store, Sweet Tomatoes and grilling lamb, but other than that it was pretty much the real nothing)

Taking a Deep Breath

We had a great weekend at the Henry household. It started Thursday night with 8 extra Jr High girls. Israel had a slumber party with several of the girls from The Daniel Academy, something we've never had the space of ability to do until now.

The next morning I woke up to Sean and Judah giggling in the kitchen. Apparently they had been looking online at minivans. We'll be running out of space in the car soon. Once we add our baby girl's pumpkin seat the girls will barely fit in my backseat. We definitely need the extra seat belts. How else would we get all of us and Dana and Emily to The View (our local gym with an awesome indoor pool)? So back to the giggling - not only had they been looking...they had also been bidding and were currently winning on FOUR vehicles! By noon we had "won" a Blue Chrysler Town and Country. At 1:00 we were on our way to St Louis to pick it up. Thankfully, by the time we got home we were only still "winning" on one last vehicle - a 15 passenger van. Sadly, yesterday we lost the auction.

Saturday was Purim. There was a great party at our friend Cristina's barn. We all got dressed up for the occasion. Israel was Barbie, Judah was a Girl Scout, Sean was an Amish Tom Petty, I was Esther after she'd been in the palace for a few years (meggo preggo), and Christina was a stunning Esther. I REALLY wish that I could show you a picture cuz we looked great!

That evening Huckleberry was moving quite a bit and making me quite uncomfortable. I felt kind of bad that I couldn't really focus during the reading and reenacting (thank you Judah) of the story of Esther. Every once in a while I have this feeling of...I can't do this for another month. There's no way. The only way I could do this is if I stayed in bed till she decides to make her appearance.

By the time we got home the most amazing thing had happened. She had moved down several inches and for the first time in 2 months I can take a deep breath! This feels like some incredible gift from God. For weeks now every time I eat a meal or have anything with sugar she immediately responds by sticking her feet in my right lung. She was up so high and kept putting those little feet in my chest that I was actually getting quite good at grabbing her foot (really...I could grab it) and pushing it back down where it belonged. This would only last for a few seconds before she put it right back. Now, even when she stretches out I can still breath. :)

International Hope Blankies

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Looks like some genous paid to have Hope Blankies sent to the orphanage that Li Hao (Hope) is at right now. I wish I could have been there when those little ones opened their gift.

Other good news - Zhe Wei has been adopted! Zhe Wei pictured on the 2nd row in the third block holidng the red blankie and cat.

It's Christmas All Year

My amazing sister-in-law gave us the coolest Christmas gift this year. Soap of the Month Club. At first I was amazed by such a cleaver gift! I told my friends and sisters. Naturally, they were jealous of my soap and my good gift giving sister. Later, I found out how naive I was in the estimation of the value of this gift. I read her blog one morning while enjoying the wonderful smell of lavender and lemon grass scented hands and discovered that she had been making the soap all along! I immediately informed the friends and sisters who then had no words to respond to the incredibly amazing discovery of my incredibly amazing new sister. Phew! Try and contain yourself.

The Best News Ever!

It has been a long time waiting, but today our good friends got the okay from China to go bring their little Hope home! They will be able to leave in about one month. Please continue to pray that all of their needs are provided for in the next month and that the travel plans come together easily. Woo Hoo!

Wanna See My Big Belly?

Check out Katchen's Blog. 33 weeks down. Who knows how many to go. :)

Judah the Dairy Farmer

  Yesterday we went to Shatto Dairy Farm. It was supposed to be a TDA field trip, but turned into more of a family event.

We drove an hour and a half out into the middle of nowhere! I'm telling you it was almost to the other edge of nowhere. We walked into their little gift shop and waited for the tour to begin. While waiting a gentleman with mud boots on. He made small talk with me for a few minutes until he decided to walk to the front of the store and introduce himeslf as Leroy Shatto! Welcome to his farm. From there the tour was just about as fun as a barrel of monkeys. We learned all about the dairy farming lifestyle which begins with a first milking at 3:30am. Next we tasted every wonderful kind of flavored milk they make - Strawberry, Bananna, Orange, Rootbeer and their world famous Chocolate milk. We also got to meet and milk some of their cows. There were 2 day old calves that jumped and leaped arround. They were definately the highlight of the tour.

I knew going to the farm that I would leave a raving fan. If you live in the Kansas City area you should be drinking Shatto. Support the local, hormone free root beer cows. Okay?

I'm writing this post just to let you know how dumb white tile floors are.

We have a wonderful kitchen. It is big and will one day be beautiful. There are lots of cabinets (but I think we could still use more), lots of space in the middle for an island one day, and sparkly white tile floors. Oh wait, did I say sparkly? Ummm, well maybe they sparkle once a week...for like 5 minutes. Then the dog will walk through the kitchen and all of a sudden I feel like I need to get the swiffer out. EVERY time the dog walks through the kitchen I feel like I need to get the swiffer out. He doesn't really shed all that much, but the white tile shows EVERY SINGLE HAIR!

The only time that the stupid white floor doesn't show how many times we walk through the kitchen each day is when I wear socks and intentially drag my feet so I can catch whatever extra fluff is floating arround the floor. When someone walks through with shoes there is usually a little gift left from the shoe to the floor as one exits. When Sean cooks there's usually a little funk under the stove. When I wash dishes there's usually a little funk near the mat infront of the sink. I guess the good thing about the white floor is now I realize how much of a mess we've always been making. I just really don't appreciate it the way I maybe should. I like a little mystery.

There are days when I could sweep the floor 10x. I usually give up at 2x, but today...I'm not going to do it at all. There!

The Future is Looking Bright

Well maybe partly cloudy, but at least it looks warm(er)! Hooray!

Kansas City, MO
30°F
Mostly Cloudy
Wind: NW at 17 mph
Humidity: 51%Today

33° | 19°Wed

43° | 27°Thu

53° | 35°Fri

On another note... I'm still batteling a little bit of sickness. There are moments when feeling sick and tired seem like a crisis. Right now I'm only cooking a baby. I don't even have 3 and one on the way like some of the women I know. Yikes! How do people do that?

Haven't I already paid my dues??

Since we've been in Kansas City I've had two colds and I'm working on my 3rd. Isn't two enough?

The first was just after we arrived. It lasted a long time, but wasn't too bad. The next one was over New Years. It was probably the worst I've ever had in my life.

I'm hoping this one is mostly done by tomorrow. I'm hoping in the car with Izzy and driving to Cincinnati for our baby girl's first shower. We gotta get this girl squeaky clean!

How to get your very own Hope Blankie

A few of you have asked how to get the Hope Blankie. If you go to the post below and click on the italicized words it will take you to the link. The new blog design I have doesn't allow me to underline the hyperlinks.

Those blankies make great shower gifts. Hint hint. :)

You Probably Need One of These

My dear friends are selling these beautiful blankies to raise funds to bring their little Hope home. You probably need one.

What are YOU doing this weekend?

I'll be in Cincinnati for my baby shower, but if you don't have plans you need to plan to be HERE.

Late Night Activites

I stopped by a friends tonight. She had remodeled, furnished and painted over the weekend and all on a dime. She is truly a "get it done" inspiration.

I came home and put the couch cover on the pink couch upstairs. It had been sitting next to the couch still in the package since Friday. I felt quite accomplished. NOT!

Living Room Before and After

I forgot to show you the living room changes. Last weekend we had a Saturday night painting party.

Before:

After:

Well I didn't run into the Lawrenson's, but once we got to the hospital I found out that their room was just down the hall from my Grandmother's. I went by Trica's room and left a note. I later found out that she was in surgery. I realized while I was there that if her little girl is 5 weeks old and was born 15 weeks early that we would have been due around the same time.

My Grama's tests came back with great results. She has the arteries of an 18 year old. We talked about stopping at the drug store on the way home to get a new appropriate hair color.

This morning I left mom's and came back home. Here are some photos from the week:

Charlotte and me. :)


My new gloves! Thanks Mom!



Here's the old pair. Zeb got a hold of him. I was devestated! My grandmother gave these to me when I was 16. They've been in my jacket pocket ever since.


My first flight was delayed, so I worked on this project. I finished it before my layover in Cincinnati! (please don't zoom - I haven't washed away the markings yet)


I had a great time with my Mommy! I'm so glad I'll get to see her again next weekend in Cincinnati.

Walking Down Memory Lane

I should really call this post "digging through memory boxes."

Mom and I went to her basememt tonight to go through old boxes. There were boxes from my childhood and teenage years. Most boxes were filled with thousands of notes and letters from old girlfriends, boys and my dear Jeannie Bean. I had forgotten that Jeannie and I exchanged SO MANY letters!

There were also lots of picture that I had forgotten about also. I found WONDERFUL pictures of Patrick. There were several years where I really felt like he was almost mine. He was such a fun little boy. Most of the pictures were of the two of us just hanging out in my room.

I found a few things from TheCall DC that happened in 2000. There were a few 40 day devoltionals, the book by Michael Brown and the CD that has Jason Uptons "freedom" on it. It was a quick reminder of what so many anticipate and are working so hard for this fall. That day was historical for me. I can look back to that day and see how it shifted the course of the next several years.

There were a few fun things for my new baby. Mom has kept some of my baby dresses, dolls and blankets that people made for me. I really look forward to getting my baby's room ready when I get back home.

Tomorrow we head to Duke Hospital to be with my grandmother and aunt as my grama undergoes some tests. I'm praying I run into these folks. If you haven't read their story and started praying for them please join me in prayer for them.

I love this girl!

 
I've been at my mom's today with Angela's little girls. They are just wonderful! The only downside is they make me miss my girls! The past several times I've seen these little Solomon's has been with Israel present. Ava loves to play with her and Charlie loves to be squeezed by her.

Israel is planning to come with me to Cincinnati next weekend. I'm so glad that I won't have to miss her when I'm gone then.

We were at the MAC store in Vegas in this picture. We weren't quite sure if the person who did her make-up was a boy or girl. Hmmm...