One Reason Jon is a Keeper. . .

. . .he doesn't just put the stuffed animals somewhere I'll see them, but he poses them too. He knows how to make me smile. (He refuses to cut my toenails, but he does just about everything else.)

A Whole Lot of Baby

Due in 13 days!

Growing Tomatoes (and a Baby)

We've had a couple very good crops this summer. Tomatoes were late to ripen, but we have had more than enough. I've made several batches of soup that use diced tomatoes, lots of salsa (much of which we canned), and many BLT's (which every time I eat one, I can't believe how much I love them; man, I love BLT's) and other dishes that involve delicious homegrown tomatoes. This, in addition to the 12 quarts of pickles made earlier this summer, make me feel proud and connected.

I've also been growing a bunch of baby. There are days when she reminds me constantly that she is in there. On these days, I feel like I have, well, a baby with me saying "hi" (in the ribs, in the bladder, and thankfully most often on the right side of by belly). I can imagine feeling lonely once I have to go back to work without any company.

People ask how I feel, and I always say something along the lines of, "really good." To be honest, if I think about it, I feel not so well a lot of the time, but I'm so happy that it doesn't really seem to matter. Being a shy-ish person, I am really enjoying the automatic icebreaker I am carrying with me. Mothers seem to gravitate toward a mother to be. Going to Jon's concerts and cross country races are much less lonely. And I'm big enough now that people to tip-toe around wondering if I've just gained weight. I've had some very strange conversations (one high-school boy -that I hardly knew - was hinting around wanting to touch my belly) and have been amused at the offensive things people feel at liberty to say:

My Principal: "You are due in October, right?"

Me: "No, December"

Principal: "Man, you are going to look good." said as he held his hands far out in front of his stomach.

I feel like this is the calm before the storm (which I am looking forward to the "storm"). I am enjoying this part of my life.

Before and After

(I reloaded the before pictures.)

Here are a few quick pictures of before and after. Most of the major renovation is done. It will never end I am sure, but most of the big items are taken care of.

The back.

Side/AC

The Front.

Deck

The last big project for us to complete before we are done with the outside of the house is to create a deck that is up to code. This has been an interesting process and the deck changed many times during construction. A huge thank you to all that helped, especially to my dad Harold and to emily's dad Bill! This wouldn't have happend without you.

Cool Beans

Three great reasons we are "cool" right now. The first is the weather. Currently 65 right now and cooling off. At 1pm Emily mentioned that she was cold. I love this weather. Secondly, because last Monday I turned on the new A/C below is a photo of what are attic has become. Although the system is not complete yet, it is up and running with high efficiency and a heat pump outside. Lastly, the siding is finally starting to go up and looks good. finally starting to see what it might look like.

The Southeast corner of the building.

Here is the front with the hole for the new window. We had 6 people help lift the rather large window in. We love our neighbors!

Here is what our attic has become. It is so nice to have A/C and not sleep in the living room with the window unit A/C.

The "beans" are finally here and we picked out first bunch. Tomatoes are setting on, corn is pollinating and the cucumber plants are taking over the garden.

She

Last night, as I was finishing folding the laundry and waiting for my dear husband to join me on the couch (and let's be honest, so I could snuggle into him and fall asleep as usual) I was getting a little impatient (it was 11:00.) I went in to the office to try to drag him away from whatever he was doing. I found him at the computer looking up baby names and meanings and making a list. This was extremely precious to me especially because most of our conversations about baby names involve me suggesting something and him either saying maaaaybe or no.

We found out yesterday that we will be having a girl. (7 out of 9 of you were right!) I've repeated this to Jon about fifty times since then. I just need to hear myself say it to help in sink in (for me). We are both very excited although I am fairly certain if they had said "boy" we would have been equally thrilled. I've had several months to get used to the idea of having a baby, and now that I can refer to her as "she" rather than "it", things seem to be more real. I know Jon will be an incredible father. He's always been gung-ho to hold babies and I feel like I'm getting closer to forming a picture of what it will be like to watch him hold our baby. . . girl. We are having a girl.