oye

Last post was before Thanksgiving. Hard to believe it's been that long. So what's new.. Kim is currently 37 weeks and 3 days, which means baby could come at any moment (although we're hoping that she wants to cook for a few more weeks). Kim is doing great and although she is swollen, she is still the most beautiful woman ever.

Things have been crazy busy, which is just another reason why no posts in several months. Thanksgiving was out at Julie and Justin's. We had a great time and had a phenomenal fried turkey. soooooooo juicy and delicious.

Christmas was spent in Tallahassee with Kim's family and it was an enjoyable day. Kim and I also went over to Jacksonville just after New Year's to see John, Brenna and the kids. We had a blast that day and it was tough to leave after only spending a few hours with the kids. They are so much fun. After that, very little travel has occurred. We just don't want to be far away should our baby girl decide she wants to make her appearance.

Other than that, of course work is work, but still very enjoyable. Lots going on, including making sure everyone knows what I do and how I do it. I will be able to take up to 2 weeks after baby comes to help out in any and every way possible. Anyhoot, things are good.

wowzers

It is so hard to believe that it has been over almost 2 months since the last posting. Of course things have been non-stop and so no posts have come through. So what's the latest and greatest. Well I would say that would have to be the home that Kimberly and I now own. The process of buying a home was a great joy and also a huge pain in the.. umm toe. I definitely learned a lot in the process and am learning a lot about being a home owner and some of the necessities as well as some things that just don't matter for awhile.

Baby girl has been kicking and moving and we are so excited to meet her. For those of you wondering we do have our name picked out, but we are not going to share until baby gets to hear it! However, with all of the ultrasounds we got to have (baby girl covered her face each time, and we couldn't get a full profile picture, so we had to get another ultrasound at each of our doctor's visits), the way this little girl is moving and kicking and squirming, Kim and I are pretty sure we picked an appropriate name for this spunky kid.

Work has been non-stop for both of us. Kim is a trooper and does such a wonderful job as a teacher and grading papers and preparing for kids. Even in this second year as a teacher, I still can't believe how much WORK it takes to be a teacher. Makes me even more grateful for the teachers I had growing up.

We were able to make a trip down to West Palm Beach at the beginning of the month to see Kim's best friend from high school get married. On the same day, a good friend of ours from college got married too. Thankfully, they were both in WPB. One was at 2 pm and the other was at 6 pm. It worked out so well and we had such a great time.

On the way back up from the wedding we got to stop in Winter Haven, and my mom had planned us a "shotgun shower" and we had a bunch of friends come by and bring some wonderful gifts for baby girl. Thank you all so much for pouring out your hearts and your stories.

So, that's it for now. Pictures will be coming up soon of the house, Kim and I and other things to come I suppose. Much love, have fun ya'll!!

James

SPOILER ALERT!! BABY'S GENDER REVEALED!

3 weeks since the last post, but it's been awhile since great news has come through. So we finally got approval on the house and are having our home inspection at 3 pm today. Very excited for that to happen. After that we'll have the appraisal and then set a firm date for closing. Currently tentative closing date is Oct 22. So I just pray that everything goes well and that we get into our new home soon! It's so awesome to think that I will finally be a home owner.

In other news, our latest doctor's appointment gave us the knowledge of our baby's sex and I am very happy to announce that we will have a baby girl come February. Everything is still pointing to a Feb 14 due date and I'm just super excited. This is what our doctor believed he saw 2 weeks ago, and so it was fun to know a little early what our baby girl was. We got to see baby girl squirm and wave and make all kinds of movements yesterday during the ultrasound. A few times I think Kim and I were so proud we were just about moved to tears. It's awesome to think that we're going to be responsible for that little booger in her belly! When the tech showed us her little feet and we could count out that 5 toes was when it really got me. As we were trying to get a better picture of her face and features, she would keep putting her hands (held together) over her face. I think she knows how much daddy likes getting to see her, so we'll have to have a re-check at our next appointment in a few weeks!! It is really awesome how much joy this little girl is already bringing Kimberly and I, as well as the love that we already have. I just can't imagine having to wait another 4.5 months, but I know that will be upon me before I can even blink. Also just to let you know, we do have baby's name already picked out, and no we are not going to tell you until our baby girl gets to hear it!

Baby girl's toes! Kim and I are fighting over who gets the original of this picture!What we could see of baby girl's face!

Thanks ya'll! Have fun! -- James

whew

No skin cancer, it was a benign growth and I'm ok, nothing else to report as of yet, just having fun as the days go by! Have fun ya'll -- James

fun dreams

I had a very fun dream last night, so fun that I think I should write about it. I was dreaming about cartoons and characters and how one day the creator died and rather than the characters dying with them, someone else took over. However, the new creator took some new creative licensing and made some major changes. Some of the characters (I'm guessing fraggle rock, even though I have very little recollection of that show) would no longer have their "fluffy" sweaters, but would just have a bare chest. I actually saw and heard the "pop" sound as the next day they lost their sweaters. Then I switched over to the muppets and how Jim Henson had the idea to create the crochety old men (Statler and Waldorf). However in my dreams, Henson was on a treadmill type contraption that was swaying back and forth and he was throwing different muppets on the wall and somehow impaled Statler (long nose and pepper hair) and was thinking about calling him Stonewall. Then it showed the 2 characters as real life men that Henson had once known (again it was a strange, but fun dream). They were heading to rehearsals and Waldorf had a funny joke to tell, and as he reached the punch line, "Crap, what was the line." He kept retelling the joke, but always forgot the punch line (and of course, now I can't remember the joke).

Anyways, it made me laugh and it was just a fun dream to me. Here are some updated photos of Kim's belly, we're now on week 16 and have a doctor's appt on Friday. Not sure what will happen at the appointment, but we'll let you know!g

Finally starting to pooch, she's so cool! Yay for Kim being an awesome mommy!

Have fun ya'll -- James

2 in a day

Something must be up right? Maybe, hopefully not.. I had my yearly checkup with the dermatologist today. They took a spot off my arm to do a test and will get back to me in about 2 weeks. I'll let ya know what happens when that time comes. I'm not too worried about it because it's a bump I've had for a few years, but this year my doctor decided to take a look at it. Also heading out to look at some more houses. We're able to do this because when we made the offer on the short sale, we put a clause in the contract stating that if we find something else before the seller's lender gives us the thumbs up we can get out of the contract. So that's what we're doing, and again, we'll let ya know! Thanks for all the prayers and good thoughts! Have fun ya'll!! -- James

well..

Now I understand why people don't post so often. Sometime's there's just really nothing to report. As far as life goes, things are going pretty stinking well. Kim started her 2nd year as a teacher this past Monday and seems to be liking her kids this year (granted she's only been with them for 2 days), but that's a great thing!

As far as the house hunting goes, we're in a mini holding pattern at the moment. We've made an offer on a home that was up for short sale (which is a far cry from the truth, it's pretty excrutiatingly long as far as buying a home goes). However, there has been some good news. After we made the offer we heard back from the sellers that they accepted the contract. Here's where the long part comes in. The seller's lender now has to approve the deal (which can take up to 3 weeks to do). After that we do an inspection, get an appraisal and all that jazz. Then we work towards getting everything ready for closing (possibly 45 days after all that other stuff happens). So, it's just been a waiting game. In the meantime, we are still looking at other houses, just none that we want to move into just yet.

After hitting the dumps pretty hard from hearing bad news about the other offers we made on houses, I'm trying my best not to get TOOOOOO excited about the possibility of getting this house. After Kim and I made offers on the other houses we wanted, we started making plans as to where everything goes and what needs to be done before we move. Now, I'm just trying to ride the ride and get to the part of planning where everything goes, once we have an actual date to close (and it seems to be doing wonders for me!)

Seems like a good enough update, hope ya'll are doing well! Have fun ya'll! --James