2008

It is 10:08, 2 hours till the start of the new year. I am very much looking forward to all that this coming year holds for me. Usually I enter a new year having no real anticipation of what will change but this year is obviously quite different. Only 15 more days till Anna Claire is due (+ or-) I am looking forward towards being a mom! I know it will be harder than anything I have done to this point, but also more rewarding. It will be exciting to see how life in general and internal changes due to this one little person. I know this year will fly by but I pray that I will take the time to ponder and enjoy it all. Further bringing on excitement about the upcoming year is the knowledge that every year is so different. I look forward to seeing all that this year holds.

Pregnancy Pictures

These are pictures from Thanksgiving weekend. My family was up to celebrate the holidays. We went to the Opryland Hotel and had a great time looking at all the Christmas decorations. 6 more weeks to go.

William Glasser

Today I had the privilege to sit under the teaching of Dr. William Glasser. The Tennessee Counselors Association hosted him at the pre-conference today. He is the name most associated behind Choice/ Reality Therapy. As a student this is one of the therapies that stuck out to me, made sense and seemed the most user friendly for short term counseling. Now that I am a school counselor I use the basic ideas with students on a daily basis. Helping students see the choices in life that are always available to them, no matter what situation they are in, is a useful tool! Many students forget they have choices. I love to see how empowered students can feel when they realize they have a choice/ power in the midst of so many mandatory things that are handed down to them by parents, teachers, jobs, and school rules. They can always choose how they will respond in these situations. Dr. Glasser's presentation was both informative and comical. Not high energy or truly "dynamic." However, he does have a great sense of humor that kept a 4 hour session interesting. I felt very fortunate to be able to actually sit under his teaching. To hear the person behind the therapy somehow gives it even greater credence.

29 weeks-The Past and Present

Today I am 29 weeks pregnant. Overall, I must say it has been a pretty smooth ride so far. I am so thankful for this! There have been a few bumps in the road but nothing serious.
Physically, my health has been pretty good. I have had very little sickness. The worst of it has been some killer headaches. I also found out last week that I was anemic. So, iron pills were added to my daily diet. This is honestly the 1st day in a while that I have had some energy. It feels like it is flying by and Anna Claire will be here before we know it. She is moving strongly all the time now. I LOVE to feel her little jabs. Lately there have been less jabs and more large strong movements. Weight gain wise is great. 9 lbs. I think this is one of the funny things about pregnancy-any other time I would have been upset over 9 lbs in 29 weeks. Now that seems great!
Emotionally, this journey hits me in stages. Excitement has been from day one that we knew. However it has grown and still developed as I have realized more and more the changes that are occurring in our lives. I get excited over all the future moments that are to come. It is fun having a January baby because it is easy to think about how old she will be around different times in the coming year-The start of football season in 08-she will be about8 months old. (We already bought her an Alabama outfit to wear) December of next year, she will be crawling/moving around in various ways around the Christmas tree as a 12 month old. There are also times where it is completely overwhelming to think that I am about to have this responsibility for the rest of my life. I sit in meetings with parents and kids and either thing " O God, please don't let it be like that" or " I hope I have a good relationship like this one." But, I have come to also realize that be it a "good " or "bad" child or parent. There is always an amount of love that is amazing. Even if it is misdirected. I have looked at several parenting books and every one is so different in what they think is needed. I guess that is where prayer and some good common sense comes in. I am sure there will also be many calls for support/ advice.
Soon we are going to start on her nursery. This will be quite a project but fun as well. I was blessed with an awesome deal on her bedding! I went into Pottery Barn Kids just to look for ideas. It turns out they were having a Huge sale and I bought everything for $55. This was amazing because it normally would have cost $275. I love that it is simple and contains many colors.
We have also been blessed with a great shower from my people in Atlanta and some other family friends (I'll post about them later) who decided to bless us. We have received alot of things on our registry but also some other great things that were not on there, that will be wonderful for us. I feel so loved and blessed by this amazing outpouring of love from everyone for us! There are still some things we would like but nothing we can't live without.
Well I am off to bed. I have to give the ACT tomorrow morning at the school. It is an early morning but... you make great money to stand there for 4 hours!

Anna Claire Show and Tell Time-Coming Home

This is Ann Claire's coming home outfit. Robb and I had a fun time picking it out right after our ultra sound told us we would be having a girl. We wanted something soft that was not all pepto pink. I love the cute little hat. That day I really could have spent a fortune. It was so fun to pick this stuff out for our baby! The outfit is a soft fleece, perfect for a January baby. Robb found the bear hat. I know......she will probably spit up on everything on the way home, but at least she started out the trip clean and cute.

A Sweet Baby Girl

I am so excited. We found out this afternoon that we are having a little girl. It is amazing how one little word can create soo many thoughts and feelings. Her name is going to be Anna Claire or Clare. not sure on the spelling yet. Also at the ultrasound we found out the placenta previa has cleared up. Thank God! That relieves sooo many worries. After the ultrasound we went and bought her going home outfit. It was so fun to pick it out! I will post pictures of the ultrasound and new outfit later. Fun times in the Blackaby house!

What is It? Vote Boy or Girl

On Thursday, Aug 30th we get to find out what gender Baby Blackaby is. We are both very excited about this! For me all of this will take on a more realistic feel after knowing what we are having. I just recently started feeling it move around ( you would think that would be enough) but actually knowing what it is going to be will more concrete. So..... what is your vote? Boy or Girl?