baby update, july 4

john striking a pose

caroline's model pose

look at my sparkler!!!!

i love this picture :)

still no baby...see a recurring theme here? i went to the dr yesterday and i'm 3cm and 90% effaced. she went ahead and scheduled me for an induction next wed, july 11 at 7am if i don't have this little one before. she seems to think that i will have it on my own before then and that i will go very fast when the time comes. i take all predictions regrading labor and delivery with a very large grain of salt. i will be thrilled if it happens all on its own and i'm more at peace every day with the prospect of being induced if need be. i trust the Lord on this one! will you please cover me and this baby in your prayers for the labor and delivery? pray for wisdom for the nurse and obgyn and clear direction on giving me the stress doses of steroids needed for my addison's disease during the main even and the days following. it really isn't a big deal to manage medically, but is obviously vital for me physically.

we had a wonderful 4th of july! we went and saw happy feet that morning for free at the movie theater. we had an easygoing afternoon and headed to the beach later to enjoy the mild weather and fireworks at folly beach. caroline cracked us up...the louder the fireworks were, the more she loved them. she had no interest in the big ones that were too far away to hear. she liked to hear the boom and pop of the amateur ones right near us. she talked the entire time and entertained everyone around us :)

39 weeks, 2 days

yes, i'm still here! no baby news to share. i had a great weekend since some of my sweet friends here threw a shower for me and gave me lots of diapers, wipes, lotions, creams, bottles, etc. those who know me best know how practical i am and this kind of practicality makes me giddy. what could be better than a closet full of diapers? i realized on the way to the shower that we drove into charleston with our 2 uhauls, 2 cars and lots of family members exactly a year ago that very day, june 30. can't believe all that has happened in a year and the amazing and wonderful friends we've made here who have made it our home away from home. it was more than enough to make a 9 month preggo cry :)
so, now what you really want to know...when is this baby going to come? very good question. i will go back on thursday, july 5 if no baby before and at that point, we will talk induction for the week following my due date of july 8. i have been against an induction from the start since i went into labor on my own with caroline. however, this baby is clearly bigger and my body has about had it. sleep is something i catch off and on every night and comfort is not even on the radar. so, induction is looking more attractive to me. i'm just praying and trusting the Lord to work it out perfectly in His timing :)
on another note, caroline is clearly starting to react to what is coming. it may the combination of the age and all that is changing in her world, but she is acting out in a big way. it breaks my heart one second and makes me completely crazy the next. i think we've had more issues in the past month than in the previous 3 years. i was going to take her to a free movie at one of our local movie theaters today, but she got out of bed in the middle of the night and lost that privilege :( stinks for me as it would have been a great low energy activity for this tired mommy!
i'll let you know what the dr says on thursday if i don't have a baby before then!

baby update - 38 weeks, 1 day

as of last week, i was 2cm dilated and 80% effaced. but, people, please don't get excited or think a baby is coming. caroline did the same thing to me and then chose to arrive an entire week late, which would mean 3 more weeks of cooking this baby :) i'm totally fine with whatever. i mean, what can i really do about it? it will happen when it happens. the dr said the head is right there, and i mean right there, ready to come out. again, the same as caroline. my babies like to hang out really low. i'm at the point where baby movement hurts...those little parts visibly stick far out and make me cringe until he/she settles down. the guesses on the sex seem to be well in favor of boy as was the case with caroline. walmart seems to be the place people freely give their opinions on the matter. i've had no less than 8 people venture a guess the past 2 or 3 times i've been there. they look at my belly, nod and say with conviction "it's a boy, honey". well, you've got a 50% chance so guess away :) i go back to the dr on wed so i'll let you know what's happening then...in the meantime, pray for the health and safety of the baby, a smooth labor and delivery and for my sweet girl caroline as she jumps into the big sis role very soon. i want her to feel just as special and loved as always!

June 24, 2000

we're engaged! dec 30, 1999

the woodbridge inn - jasper, ga

enjoying our first meal engaged

"our rocker"

one happy girl!!!

random belly shot of me and my sweet friend staci...i'm 38 weeks and she's 36 :)

my crazy husband at dinner for our 7th anniversary

me and my awesome hubby celebrating

happy anniversary to my wonderful husband! 7 years....amazing :) and i don't think either one of us has the itch as they say. i'm attaching a few pixs of when we got engaged (december 30, 1999) and one of us celebrating over dinner last night at the old firehouse in hollywood, sc. yes, there is a hollywood right close by :) i don't have any of our wedding pixs as digital files or i would post some. the last 7 years have been full of love, joy, change, moves, babies, etc...

* we've lived in 4 houses and 1 condo in 4 different cities
* lauren had 2 jobs and now the 3rd is the absolute best of all
* john worked at fortney sales, graduated from med school and completed 2 out of 5 yrs of residency
* experienced God's amazing grace and protection over lauren's life while she lived, carried and delivered caroline not knowing she had addison's disease
* had one beautiful little girl and can't wait to meet whoever is hanging out in lauren's tummy
* experienced many wonderful highs and several difficult lows trusting in the Lord's plan and purpose for our lives

i can truly say that our marriage has just gotten better and better every single year. can't wait to see what the Lord has for us in the next 7. i love you, john!!!!!

fortney vacation - folly beach, sc

love this pix of the 3 of us - thank you to connie!

aunt connie reading to the 3 musketeers before bed

checking out the crabs that were caught off our dock

how sweet are they? looks can be deceiving :)

precious

daddy off on a kayak adventure

love this...kaitlin feeding caroline

one of my favorites!

caroline petting duke

the boys and their kids

the best shot of the 3 of them sitting on the bench in their coordinating shirts

the best pix you can get with cousins that are 10, 8, almost 4, 3 and almost 3

caroline playing with uncle danny

after my family left, john's family came in and we got to have more vacation time at folly beach. well, i did...john didn't get to really vacation until the second week his family was here. we had a wonderful house with a view of the marsh, a crabbing dock and a huge back porch with rockers. it was a week and a half of making wonderful memories together. the 5 cousins had a blast. thank goodness for rebekah and caleb...they kept katilin, caroline and abby entertained. caroline actually slept in the big kid room in one of the bunk beds. huge step up! we cooked in, ate out and just had a blast. it was a longer vacation than we normally do, but somehow the time flew by even faster. it is an awesome blessing to enjoy each other so much!!

cole vacation - folly beach, sc

caroline's beautiful princess bed

daddy/uncle john playing wit the kids

mommy (and baby #2), caroline and daddy

caroline running into the ocean

caroline chilling by the pool

luke looking cute as always

all the cousins playing in the ocean

beach babe

papa and dave built awesome sand castles with fountains

i love this pix of my girl

luke the "fisherman" at the children's museum

dressing up in the "castle"

i'm one sexy pregnant woman!

bet you've never seen this side of my mom :)

mommy, daddy and caroline

both sides of our families graciously decided to vacation right outside of charleston this year at folly beach so i wouldn't have to travel almost 9 months pregnant :) my family started off by coming first and we had a blast. the weather was a little cool, but made the days on the beach very pleasant. sarah, luke and caroline are at such great ages and had a blast playing together and making cousin memories. precious little andrew just sat around looking adorable and making me excited about my baby coming. my parents, sis and brother-in-law made it such a restful week for me by helping me with caroline. i barely had to do anything. my parents stayed a few extra days and worked like dogs helping us with stuff around the house that needed to be done before baby arrives. one of the highlights of the week was that papa brought the big girl bed he made for caroline. it's gorgeous!!! caroline loves it and sleeps like a log in her princess bed. it's exactly what i pictured for her and will be a treasure forever b/c of all the work and love papa put into it for caroline. we still have stuff to do in her room to finish it up, but we're getting there. here some pixs of caroline's bed and our time at the beach :)