A Letter to Calista

My Dearest Calista Kay,

As we anxiously await your arrival as a new member of our family I thought I would share with you a little story.
A week before Christmas Daddy and Mommy got the surprising news that we were going to have another baby. Although we wanted more children we didn't expect it to be so soon. At first we were very scared. But we realized that God has His own plans for our lives and in His own timing, He saw fit to bless us with another child. We felt overwhelmed and honored that God trusted us with another one of His children to raise as our own.
Fear and joy was replaced by worry when, in January, Mommy got so sick that nurses had to come to our house and hook me up to IVs and give me special medicine so that I could eat and drink to keep you healthy and safe. It was a very hard time but we got through it and by March Mommy started to feel better. We were relieved when we got to have an ultrasound and found out that you were healthy and growing as you should be! Mommy and Daddy both cried when we got to see you floating around inside my belly, kicking your legs and closing your fists!
I have watched as my belly has gotten bigger and bigger and when I first felt your little kicks from inside I was immediately overwhelmed with joy and tears of happiness. Your kicks have gotten stronger and stronger and I have become more and more excited about meeting you, welcoming you into the world and holding you in my arms for the first time.
I am sure that you know Daddy's voice very well by now. You get so excited and move all around when he talks to Mommy's belly or reads you a story. Your big brother Kyle is so excited to meet you too! I am sure you have heard him sing to you and felt his kisses and hugs. He has to kiss Mommy's belly at least a hundred times a day! Kyle has already told Mommy and Daddy that he wants to hold you, read his favorite books to you and teach you how to play with his trains. Your big sister Bella may not quite understand that she will be welcoming a new baby sister but I know that she will be very excited when you arrive. I think you and Bella will be very good friends. You will be playing dress-up and having tea parties and someday will paint each others fingernails and do each others hair. You may fight with your brother and sister from time to time but always remember that they love you and will also be the first ones to come to your aid and be there to support you.
Your clothes have been washed and lovingly placed in your dresser drawers. Your bed has been made and awaits your tiny little self to lay there and dream. Mommy is finishing up a quilt that we will wrap you in and bring you home from the hospital. There are so many family members and friends that have so much love for you already and can not wait to meet you.
You are coming in to a family that loves you already and has since the moment they heard about you. Our entire family believes in the importance of family, support, and unconditional love. Our ties to the Lord are strong and He is the center of our home and our lives! He will be with us to guide us as we raise you so that we can give you the best possible life that you deserve. Now I will tell you that your Mommy and Daddy are not perfect. Far from it actually......but we work hard everyday to be better. Just as you will grow, learn, and make mistakes- so will we. Mommy and Daddy will be learning everyday, right along side you. It is so very important to trust in each other, forgive each other for our short comings, and continue loving each other- unconditionally- no matter what. That is all part of being a family.
Your Daddy and Mommy have so many plans for you and your future. We hope to give you the guidance, the love, the support, the encouragement, and the tools for you to make your own decisions and be successful in whatever makes you happy. We pray that you will be healthy and that your heart be filled with joy. We pray that you will have good friends, be a positive influence to those around you, and have the courage to follow your dreams. We pray that you will know your worth- in our eyes, in God's, and in your own, and that you never let anyone make you feel less than amazing.
Jeremiah 1:5 says "I knew you before you were formed in your mother's womb; before you were born I sanctified you and appointed you as my spokesman to the world."
You have been beautifully and wonderfully made Calista!!!!! You have been formed by the gracious and loving hands of God- and that alone makes you incredible! Do not let anyone ever try and tell you any different.
Almost nine months ago I was worried about how I would care for you. If I would have enough love in my heart to share with you. But just as God has expanded my belly to allow you to grow inside of me..........He has also expanded my heart to allow me to love you as you deserve to be loved. It is amazing how I can rest my hand on my belly and feel you move and be so overwhelmed with love for you already. A big part of me wants to keep you inside so that I can continue to protect you and keep you safe. But a bigger part of me can not wait to bring you into this world, hold you in my arms to nurse you, kiss your sweet soft skin and look into your eyes as you discover so many things for the first time. I am anxious to see you play with your big brother and sister, watch you be carried on Daddy's shoulders, playing in the swimming pool, taking your first steps, sucking your thumb, throwing your peas across the table........... and someday to be there for you when you have a fight with your best friend, learn how to drive, help you ace that English test, and give you a shoulder to cry on when you get your first broken heart.
No matter what joys and sorrows life may bring you I want you to always remember that Daddy and Mommy love you very much and we will be there for you no matter what. You can fall down and make mistakes and we will be there to pick you up, dust you off and help you learn and try again. We are here to love you, guide you, support and encourage you. We will love you regardless of your successes or your failures because you are our child and we all must succeed and fail in order to become who God wants us to be.
We can not wait to meet you Calista Kay! We can not wait to welcome you into our family and be your guides through this wonderful and sometimes crazy life! We are praying that God brings you to us safely, healthy and whole. We will see you soon my little angel.

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

I wanted to give a very special thanks to Rhonda at Scooterblu's Whimsy for hosting a virtual baby shower for Cali and I and for all of you who are participating and to those who stop by and leave comments. I am still overwhelmed that Rhonda would do something like this. My eyes fill up every time I think of how sweet it is! I have been blessed with wonderful friends in the "real world" and NOW in the Blogging World. Words could never express how grateful I am for this beautiful sentiment and the wonderful opportunity to get to know fellow bloggers more- and meet new friends as well. Thank You so much! I am truly touched.

Love to All of You!

~Heather :)

The Pressure Is ON!

I feel like I have been away from the blogging world forever! It has only been a few days but I am soooooo far behind and am afraid I am going to fall even further behind now. I had my doctor's appointment with my OBGYN Dr. "R" today. The problem I have been having with my leg is not a major issue. Praise God! They did not find a blood clot which is what they were fearing. Basically the way baby Cali is laying- and the size of my belly!- is putting pressure on some veins that run through that area. The blood is flowing downward but moving slower coming back up because of the weight compressing on the veins. The blood has no where else to go so it kind of disperses in the low areas of the body which causes the swelling. I hope I understood and explained that correctly. When I sleep I have to do so on my left side and pay attention to my position when I sit as well- other than that everything is fine!
Dr. R also "checked" me today........ and I was shocked to hear that I have already started to dilate! My initial due date was set for August 19th. My last ultrasound (which was months ago) showed around August 9th . Right now I am only dilated around a one. Technically I could stay at a one for weeks, however, being that this is my third pregnancy and how I have done in the last two................ it could be any day. To make things worse my doctor will be out of the office next week so I have to see one of his associates. That makes me nervous. My doctor told me today to take it eeeeeeeeeasy for the next week. I asked him what he meant by that (expecting him to give me stipulations or restrictions) and his response was "Don't go into labor." Hmmm... that's reassuring. He said at this point in my pregnancy if I were to go into labor that they would not stop it. My husband and I are very nervous. We were nervous thinking we still had twenty some days left and now............. it could be any day??????? AHHHHHHHHH!!!! I started realizing that we needed a plan. We had a plan A already set in place. I was going to be induced on a certain day, my sister would come up for a week- she has already scheduled her vacation around it, and everything was going to go smoothly. We didn't have a plan B. We didn't think we needed a plan B. The problem that we face is that we don't have many people close to us. Marc has an aunt that is a half hour away but she has two small children of her own and works full time. Other than that the rest of our family- Marc's side and my side- are all over two hours away. So I talked to my sister and Marc's aunt this evening and we came up with a plan B. I feel better but still nervous. This has scared me enough though that I will be taking it very easy for at least the next week until my doctor is back in town and the longer Cali stays put the more thrilled I will be. I have so much to do and wrap up around the house before her arrival but I am too afraid to try and get it all done. I am going to concentrate on the most important things and let the rest go. Marc and I will be going shopping tomorrow for the all important items: diapers, onesies, sleepers, receiving blankets, etc. We'll set up the crib and put her clothes in the dresser. I am going to pack my bag for the hospital and pack a bag for the kids as well so it's ready if we have to drop them off at their Aunt's in a hurry. I will have Marc finish organizing the master closet (with supervision of course!) and I will put the finishing touches on Cali's quilt. The master bedroom redecorating project is just going to have to wait for now. :(

I thought I would share a funny story with you. If you find illegal acts funny that is. After my ultrasound appointment last Friday Marc and I drove by a house that is on the market. We pulled in the driveway and looked around. It is an old house and we love old houses. We dream of buying an old house some day. The house was vacant so we felt it was okay to be nosey! As I was peeking in one of the windows Kyle ran up and said "Hi Mommy!" Here my son was INSIDE the house! Marc walked up behind him and was just laughing away! Yes, my husband not only broke in to this house (it was unlocked) but he was using our son as an accomplice!! So we toured the old house and fantasized about how it looked in it's glory days and what it could someday look like again. It was so sad to see the years of neglect and "mistreatment" this house has suffered. All of the original charm and details were there but it was a total mess. And someone had removed all of the plumbing- we are assuming to sell it for scrap. Awful. Here is a picture of the outside..........

Isn't it precious? We said goodbye to the cute little house and prayed that someone would find her, love her, and take the time to bring her back to her original beauty. And that someone better have a whole lot of money!! It was a fun little side trip...... especially since we weren't hauled off to jail!

And since I don't foresee any big reveal of the completed master bedroom in the near future I decided to go ahead and show you the bedding that I ordered. This is the picture from the Pottery Barn website..................

It is the most beautiful toile in a light powder blue. The blue is so neutral though- almost a weird blue. Sometimes it looks blue, sometimes it looks gray, and sometimes it looks sage green. I really like it. I have never spent so much money on bedding before and actually felt guilty after ordering it, but when it arrived I was more than pleased. The quality is excellent and it is exactly what I wanted and had envisioned for the room. Plus, with this color..........I could paint my walls any color I want and it would match them all!! LOL!!! I was going to wait to dress the bed when the room was finished but...........maybe I'll actually put it on my bed now so that I at least have pretty bed!

That's it for now. I hope to get around to visit everyone within the next couple of days! See ya'll soon!

~Heather :)

SO SORRY!

I am so sorry I have not been around to visit you all! We are having an extremely busy few days- actually the last few and the next few are busy busy busy! I will be back to regular blogging hopefully by Monday and will be catching up with all of you wonderful friends!! I am having withdrawal from your blogs!!
See ya'll soon!
~Heather :)