It is a good thing that all my readers are sitting down at their computers! I have some crazy, wild, fun news to share with you! Matthew and I are having a baby!!!! Yes, you heard that right, a baby!!! And, the crazier thing than that is that I am already 20 weeks along! Halfway there! Sorry it has taken me so long to share but I wanted to make sure that each and every person that I knew "in person" had been told. I didn't want friends and family members finding out by reading the blog. They would have flipped out! ha.ha. But, since I'm pretty sure we've told everyone we want to tell, I'll be able to start talking about all things baby. Don't worry, this blog will still be a travel blog too. We plan on starting the traveling early with our little one!

I know you guys must have tons of questions. Some of my friends and family have asked these same questions so I thought I'd go ahead and share my answers to them. I plan to have many, many photos to share in the coming days. I'll start at "the beginning" when we found out the news all the way back in August. So, keep checking back. Until then, here are the questions and answers.

1) A baby?! I thought you two wanted to adopt from China and had never really considered having a baby the old-fashioned way?

Answer: Yes, this is mostly true. We had decided early on that we didn't really want to have a baby the regular way because we only wanted 1 child and we wanted that child to be from China. I just met the age requirement for China last week (age 30) when we could have submitted our paperwork for China adoption but right now we just don't have that kind of cash lying around. It is sad that it costs so much money to adopt from China, way too much in my opinion, but what can you do? We do still want to adopt from China one day though, just not right now. Don't worry, we are very financially capable of having a baby, just not movie star loaded like you have to be to adopt from China these days. We had decided over 5 years ago that China was the path we wanted to take and then when I was approaching the 30 year old bench mark and we still weren't ready to do our China adoption we thought, why not try to have a baby? We feel that we have room in our hearts and home for 2 children after all, so why not?

2) We didn't even know you were trying! Why didn't you say anything?

Answer: Uhhh, this one weirds me out a bit. ha.ha. I know some people don't mind discussing their sex lives with friends and relatives, but I am not one of those people. ha.ha. I didn't want to say anything about a baby until a baby was on the way.

3) When are you due?
Answer: I have been told that my due date is 4/13/09 but my ultra sound reads one week later than that at 4/20/09. I wouldn't be surprised if the baby comes anytime from the end of March to the middle of April.

4) What does Matthew think about all this?
Answer: Matthew has been an absolute rock. He goes with me to each and every appointment, shops for baby gear, and is just really into the whole pregnancy. I couldn't ask for a better husband or a father-to-be for our baby.

5) To MaLeah: What did your parents say?
Answer: My mom flipped out and nearly crushed me to death with hugs. My dad quietly left the room. ha.ha. I don't think he knew what to do, but he is excited about having two grandkids soon (ours and my nephew).

6) This isn't really a question but more of a comment we've gotten, "Oh, we knew you'd be blessed with a child one day. Sometimes it just takes a very, very long time."

Answer: What in the world?! Isn't it still quite normal to enjoy just being a couple BEFORE you have children? Yes, our child is definitely a blessing but we haven't been trying to get pregnant since the day we were married like everyone seems to think. ha.ha. We tried very hard NOT to get pregnant. If you really must know, we started "trying" in mid March and were pregnant by the first part of July. So, it only took about 4 months. Not 6 years like most people seem to think. ha.ha. If anyone would like to see my birth control prescriptions as proof that we didn't try for 6 years, please send me your mailing address or fax number. ha.ha. There I go discussing the sex life, like I said I didn't want to, but I wanted to clear that up. ha.ha.

7) Do you know what it is yet?
Answer: Wouldn't you like to know?! Check back here in a few days and I just might tell you.

Hey guys, this post is a shout out to my buddy Kim, whose only fault is being a St. Louis Blues Fan. Kim and I had a little friendly wager going on. The wager was Kim's idea and what we should wager on was mine. I didn't hear back in time from Kim to see if she agreed to the terms of the duel or not but being the not-so-sore loser that I am I decided to hold up my end of the deal anyway! I said that whoever lost should have to do a blog post about how totally awesome the "other team" is. So, here goes my praise of the St. Louis Blues. Dang it.

This isn't quite as difficult for me as one might think. The main reason is that one of my very favorite hockey players happens to be a goalie for the Blues! Yep, former Predator Chris Mason. My team was crazy enough to let Mason go and I was devastated. I'm kicking myself for not going to the game tonight; I had no idea that Mason was actually going to get to start! There are plenty of reasons that I think Mason is awesome. First off, he really stepped up for the Predators when Tomas Voukoun, our head goalie was out sick. He ended up getting the head goalie spot after Voukoun was traded because of how good he did. That's where things begin to look not-so-good for Mason, but I didn't think we should have gotten rid of him. I think it was a big mistake.

The thing that I think makes Mason the best isn't just his playing ability but his attitude off the ice. I had the priviledge of meeting him during an autograph signing and he was the most kind, humble guy you'd ever get the chance to meet. He seemed genuinely pleased that I had his #30 jersey and was glad to sign it for me and pose for a picture. I also thought it was sweet that he had a tribute to his little girl on his goalie mask. He just seemed like a nice family man and was cool on and off the ice.

Since Mason won the game for the Blues against my Predators tonight by saving 47 shots and causing a shoot off, I figure he would be the best person to congratulate! So, way to go Mason! That's awesome that you got to prove to the Preds that you still got what it takes and prove it on your old turf to boot! I'm sure the rest of your team was very proud of you. I've been kind of bummed that Mason was gone all year but didn't want to take it out on our goalie Ellis, even though old #30 was my favorite. I guess I'll survive without him though because it looks like he's thriving right where he is, in St. Louis!

Congrats Mason and the rest of the Blues too! Congrats to you too Kim and be on the lookout for the mail at your office come Fri. because I sent you something. :) Not to worry to my other readers, it is something nice, not hate mail. ha.ha. If it doesn't make it Fri., it should be there no later than Mon. I sent it today (Tues.)

Stay tuned to the blog when tomorrow I return to hating the Blues almost as much as the Blue Jackets and Red Wings. :) I leave you with a photo of me with the first star of tonight's game, Chris Mason, back when he was on our side!

Hey, just got word that Jason Arnott is going to be just fine! In case you missed it, Arnott is our team captain for the Nashville Predators and he had a nasty collision with the goal last night and hit his head. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution and then released before the end of the game. He came back to the arena and then was resting at home at last report. Coach Trotz said he thinks he will even be ready to play during the next game on the 25th, even if he is going to be sore for a while. I wish they would have told us all last night that he had been released, especially since he came back to the arena. But, none of us knew and I know I speak for the thousands of fans there when I say we were all worried. Glad to know you're o.k. though Arnie!

Hello Readers, sorry it has been like, well, forever since I last posted. I have had good intentions, but we have been soooo busy around here I just haven't had the time. I do have tons of photos to share with you soon though, so I haven't forgotten that pictures are everyone's favorite part of blogs. So, what have we been up to? Well, the day after Election Day, we went back to Greenville, SC and stayed for 2 weeks! Yes, you heard that right, 2 weeks! I was ready to come home by the end of it, even though Greenville is a beautiful town with lots of fun stuff to do. I just don't really like being away from home for 2 weeks in a row. We were originally going to go up to Washington, D.C. for the 2nd week but the work Matthew was doing in Greenville took longer than anticipated so we ended up postponing the D.C. trip and just staying put in Greenville.

So, how was Greenville? It was amazing! I have sooo many photos to show you but I haven't had a spare minute to go through them yet, so those will have to wait. We did have some absolutely perfect fall weather for the first part of the trip so I ended up doing a lot of exploring the city on foot. We ate some great food and for the most part I just relaxed. I watched a ton of mindless t.v. and read 3 entire books! It was great! Then, I got sick. Yep, I got some sort of nasty sinus, cough, sore throat deal that lasted pretty much the entire 2nd week we were there. I stayed in bed 2 of the days and just tried to keep hydrated and doped up on medicine. That part wasn't fun. The good news is, I'm finally on the upswing of the crappy cold or whatever it was that I had and now only have a mild case of the sniffles.

Other than our travels, we've been getting geared up for Christmas. We have actually done a bit of shopping. We braved Opry Mills Mall on Saturday and it was already wall to wall with people. It took us 10 minutes once we hit the exit of crawling through traffic to get to a parking spot. The time that it took wasn't so bad but once we got inside the mall it was so packed you could barely look at anything without people crawling all over you (literally). We stayed about an hour and a half and managed to pick out 3 presents before waving the white flag and retreating to the house. That barely made a dent in our list but 3 is better than none, I guess.

We'll be going up to mom and dad's for the day for Thanksgiving but before that we still have a bit more traveling to do---yep, back to Greenville. Sorry Greenville, but I am officially sick of you now. ha.ha. But, I do have a bit of good news. Guess what tomorrow is (11/19)? My birthday! Yours truly will be 30 years old! Geez, I know, 30 can you believe it? So, Matthew is taking the day off work to celebrate with me. I haven't decided what kind of torture (oops, I mean fun activities) I have in store for him tomorrow. :) He said he'll do anything and go anywhere I want tomorrow, so I have to make it count! I'll let you know what we end up doing when I figure it out for myself.

Last night was totally awesome! We went to the Predators game and got to sit about 12 rows up from the glass! It was Military Monday (they have a couple of those days this year) where anyone who has ever been in the military could get the best available tickets for only $20 each. What a steal! Those tickets would have been WAY more than that. We ended up losing to San Jose Sharks 4-1, but there were so many fights it was unbelievable. It was so much fun watching the brawls! My favorite player, Jordin Tootoo, got into at least 3 or 4 fights himself! The crowd was going absolutely nuts. Everyone loves a good fight! It was super sad though because our team captain, Jason Arnott, got hurt. He was pushed from behind by a Sharks player and fell into the goal and hit his head HARD. He had to be taken out on a stretcher. They said last night that he was able to move but was being taken to the hospital as a precaution. I haven't heard an update yet, but I will keep you informed.

Well, that is what has been going on with us. I do have some other juicy news in the works to share with you but I don't know when that will be. Soon though, don't worry. Until then, have a Happy Tuesday!

Hello readers and Happy Election Day! I hope you have all exercised your right to vote today! Matthew and I just got back from the polls and we got lucky because we only had to wait 1/2 hour. We got there about 10:15 a.m. so it was after the morning rush, but before lunch. By the time we left, it was getting pretty crowded. My recommendation (if you haven't voted already) would be to go between 1:30 and 4. If you wait till after work, you'll have good company because I am sure that is when it will get really crazy!

One thing that confuses me though is that everyone on television keeps saying this "could be" an historic election. Won't it be historic either way? We'll either have the first African American as President or the first female as Vice President. I think that qualifies as history-making either way, don't you? Everyone seemed so excited to be at the polls today and we stood in line behind an 18 year old who was voting in her first election. She was on her cell phone outside talking to her friends who were all calling her to say that they voted and that she should go vote. So I guess they were pretty happy when she told the 100th person that called that she was standing in line to do just that. I think it is wonderful that people (both young and old) are excited about this election.

So, to all my fellow Americans, I say Go Vote! May the best candidates win and may we all have a prosperous and peaceful next 4 years! Happy Election Day 2008!

Above: The loot.

This year's Halloween was even BIGGER than last years. We had beautiful weather just like last year, so we were able to sit on the porch with our candy and watch all the kids come and go. It was so fun. We had bought 147 full size candy bars and in a little under 1 hour we had to run and turn off our porch light because we were totally OUT of candy. I've never seen so many trick-or-treaters in my life. There were groups of 10 and 20 kids coming at once. There were at least a half dozen vehicles pulling trailers with hay bales on them and 20 or more kids sitting on the back. The trucks would stop; the kids would jump out; then they would move on up the road. I actually heard one child say that he was TIRED and ready to go home. That is how much candy the kids in our neighborhood collected. Our development is considered very safe and family friendly so I think it draws people from all areas, not just children who live nearby. We had a blast handing out candy and talking with the neighbors. I heard some of the funniest things from the kids who were trick-or-treating that I thought I should share the kid-isms with you. Hilarious! Read on.

A kid chooses a Starburst Fruit chew pack from the bowl, turns around to his mom and yells, "Hey, mom! I got your favorite!" Needless to say, mom was mortified and everyone within ear shot laughed like crazy.

A couple of kids come up and get candy from us and then run back down the driveway to their parents and whisper something to them. The parents start laughing and say to us, "Well, apparently you have the best candy in the neighborhood." Matthew simply says, "SUCCESS!" He is so funny, he said that is what he wants to hear every year and I think he was vindicated when at least 3 different children told him that our candy was definitely the neighborhood's best. ha.ha.

Remember "tired" kid from the beginning of the post? Well, this is how that played out. He was trick-or-treating with a friend who had ran ahead of him and visited our house before he got there. "Tired kid" comes up and tells his friend, "Man, I'm tired, let's go home. I've had enough trick-or-treating." His friend tells him to come close because he has to tell him something. He whispers in his friend's ear, but very loudly, because we can hear every word he says. It went something like, "No way man, you have to go to their house! They have good candy. Seriously, you can't skip this one." So, "tired kid" comes up to our house and gets candy and then says, "Now, I'm definitely ready to go."

In addition to candy last year, I had gotten Playdough for the kids. Matthew made fun of me and said that was a dumb treat. Well, it was a huge hit and last year it was the first thing to go. I didn't get it this year and a little boy about 4 years old dressed as Buzz Light Year comes bouncing up the porch, looks in our bowl and gets this really sad look on his face and says in the most pitiful voice you've ever heard, "But, last year you had Playdough." I nearly cracked up laughing and Matthew and I both were shocked that such a small child remembered that. So, I asked him if I should get it next year and he shook his head yes and looked so sad. It was adorable.

So, in closing, I know we had at least 147 trick-or-treaters and that as I peeked out the darkened windows so no one would spot me, I saw a steady stream of kids for at least another 1 1/2 hours after we ran out of candy. So, Matthew says next year we are buying double that, just to be prepared. We had a great Halloween and we're already planning our strategy for next year which will most definitely include Playdough. :)No, this isn't Lexi's costume. She has to wear her muzzle because she has had a sore place on her foot for weeks and she won't give it a rest with the licking, so she has to wear this. She hates it big time. But, it is for her own good. She does look a bit like Hannibal Lector here, so we have taken to calling her Hannibal Lexi. ha.ha.