Move Over Week 9

Week 10 has arrived today, and I welcome it with open arms, and finally, a big ole appetite. I had some kind of stomach bug earlier this week that brought on thoughts like, "HOW do women do this more than once?!" and "We are adopting the rest!!" After a steady diet of saltine crackers for three days, I just knew I was going to wither away and/or give birth to a big cracker (which, when I shared that with Kelly Keever, she thought that was quite humorous considering that my baby will NOT be a cracker, racially speaking).


My body also chose Week 9 as the week to reject any type of prenatal vitamin. The one I've been taking this whole time with NO problems, my body is all of a sudden treating like arsenic and sending it back up, much to my dismay. I also tried a new one, but that was worse b/c it was like regurgitating battery acid. SO... I now am taking Flintstone Vitamins (the gummy kind) and Folic Acid (thanks, Ellen). So far, so good.. and look how cute they are!

Dino, Pebbles, and Fred.

All though the pre-historic gummy gang taste good (and stay down), I'm kinda concerned about not getting enough iron. Supposedly, that's something you need, but go figure, it's supposedly the culprit in sending my lunch back up. So, I'd like to try and get it through the foods I'm eating, but considering anything "healthy" these days is completely revolting, it will be a challenge. So what foods contain iron? Isn't that why Popeye ate spinach? I guess I should do some research online, but if you have any suggestions, please let me know! (I really hope candy corn contains iron).


So, yes, I have a life beyond pregnancy. Donald and I went to go see The Kingdom on Friday night, and we both highly recommend it. Just make sure you don't get up to go to the bathroom anytime in the last 25 minutes. Donald got to play paintball yesterday with a bunch of high school guys...he had a blast, and I had to sit this one out. Instead, I enjoyed a wonderful meal at Cracker Barrel with Ellen, after which we checked out some furniture stores and discovered the prices at Wood You are a fraction of the cost of Pottery Barn (and it's real wood!). I'm talkin' 1/4 the cost. You just gotta have painting/staining skills since it's unfinished.
We will be traveling to Charleston next weekend to see family, which we both are looking forward to. My niece and nephew, Salley Kate and Rhett, will be staying with my parents, so it will be great to see them, and it's been eons since we've seen D's family. Kevin is having a huge Redskins party on Sunday, so that will be fun.


Okay, back to pregnancy for a second. There are a few things I want to remember about this time in pregnancy, so I will jot them here: waking up at 3am absolutely starving!, the rubber band trick on your pants (Thanks, Andrea!), wanting to sleep forever and ever (which is quite the opposite of my non-pregnant self), and wanting to eat pancakes for every meal.
Does anyone know of any websites that tell you what size your baby is, week by week? I know that Jenn had one that compared her baby to fruit, but I can't find it (you know, from a grape, to a plum, to a lemon, to an apple, to a grapefruit, to a watermelon). I think right now we are somewhere between a large grape and a medium-sized strawberry.

The rubber band trick pictured below.
Give yourself another inch before buying new pants!!

A Precious Heartbeat

Our first ultrasound was Friday, September 28th. I just knew that the doctor would say, "There's no baby in there! You're crazy!" but she didn't! She said, "There it is! A beautiful baby. With a precious heartbeat..." Of course this made me tear up, and of course I was ecstatic, and of course I wanted to fast-forward 7 months and have the baby safely here.

Proud mom and dad with first ultrasound pics and
first baby gift (from Mema and Granddaddy, of course).

I haven't figured out the rest of the acronym for PREGNANCY, but the P definitely stands for "paranoia." For example: "Is the cigarette smoke coming through my vents from the guy in the car in front of me, going to hurt the baby?!" "Are the fumes from the Sharpie I just used for .05 seconds going to harm the baby?" "The book says don't eat soft cheese that's not pasteurized. Do you think this cheese at the Mexican restaurant is pasteurized?!" I know - I know-- a little ridiculous. I'm hoping this is a first pregnancy thing, and I am sure it is a "Mary Beth needs to give this to the Lord" thing. Fortunately I haven't reached obsessive paranoia (Donald wouldn't let me get away with that), but even subtle thoughts show my independence from the Lord, and how greatly I need to depend on Him (which, ironically we are studying at church right now). Not that dependence is a magical formula for a perfect life, a perfect baby, but relying on the Lord for everything and praising Him for everything is the way to go. Today the teacher at church, Alcides Fuentes, from Nicaragua, said that we need to handle the possible and let God handle the impossible (well, I think Ruth Graham said that), and this baby is definitely my "impossible." A miracle that the Lord can totally take care of. My job is to not smoke the cigarette, not inhale the Sharpie on purpose for like a long time, and do a little research on cheese.

The Secret Month(s)

Knowing that you're pregnant and not being able to shout it out to the entire world is quite agonizing. It was official for us on September 7th, the day upon our return from California, 5-6 weeks into the pregnancy and 4 weeks before we started telling "the world." Of course our families knew, which was super exciting, but keeping it from everyone else was hard.

The day we found out was exciting and surreal. I took the test after Donald had left for work, and I just knew it was going to be negative (by the way, for those who are not up to speed on pregnany test jargon, "negative" means "not pregnant"). I just knew I was "not pregnant." So, I took the test, placed it next to the sink and immediately began brushing my teeth. I looked down, and WHA-BAM it was instantly positive. As you may have guessed, "positive" means "pregnant," and I was very pregnant. My heart dropped, my eyes bulged out of my head. I was very, very excited. I immediately thought about calling Donald and saying (screaming), "it's a plus, it's a plus, it's a plus!!!," but decided I wanted to be more creative than that, which ended up not really working out. He called me, said he had to swing by the house for something, asked what the test said, and of course, when I said, "I"ll tell you when you get here," that meant, "heck yeah, I'm pregnant." Oh well. No cute little baby shoes for him to open in a cute little perfectly wrapped package, no cards, or t-shirts, or mugs that said, "World's Best Dad."


My actual plan was to continue the "bun in the oven" theme that stems from an event that had happened a few months back. You see, an actual bun (hamburger, if you need to know) had fallen to the bottom of our actual oven, and the oven being too hot for me to retrieve it and me not wanting it to catch on fire the next time we pre-heated the oven, I left him a note. "Honey- There's a bun in the oven." Cruel, you might say, but since we weren't trying to get pregnant, and therefore it wouldn't be a let down when it wasn't actually true, I didn't think it'd be too harmful to make his stomach drop for about 3 seconds. So he saw the note, looked at me to see if it was a joke (it was), and then I had fun telling people about our bun in the oven (oh, and once the oven cooled, Donald rescued the burned bun). So I was going to use that somehow in telling him that we were pregnant, but it didn't work. Next time, we will just take the test when we're both home like normal people. Next time?! Or I will just rent this hideous costume...

Looks More Like "A giant fortune cookie in the oven"

So the Secret Month(s), as I have called them, were not too bad, physically. The first several weeks I had lots of cramping, the next weeks brought on complete exhaustion and starvation. I was and am utterly ravenous. Feed me. Feed me. I need more food. Praise the Lord for this absolute miracle.

California or Bust, SC if We Must

Well, we're back from our trip to California, and it was absolutely wonderful. We had an awesome time and enjoyed viewing some of God's masterpieces, which I'll share with you below. There were some of the most gorgeous views on earth over there! The whole trip went off without a hitch, and we got plenty of rest while still seeing lots and lots of stuff and reflecting on the Lord's majesty. We also had fellowship with a bunch of great people (Bonnie (friend), Frances (old youth group friend) and her boyfriend, Greg. Herb and Helen Selby and their fellowship group who we hung out with on Labor Day). The fellowship group was very gracious while we watched the Clemson/Florida State game. They all thought it was quite humorous how we southerners get all worked up about college football. They even made sweet tea for us!

Here are some of our favorite shots:

What is that sticking out of my head?

A view of the bridge from the Marin Headlands.

The Sea Lions have taken over Pier 39 in San Francisco. They are cute!

This is what I'm talking about when I say, "most gorgeous views in the world":

Here we are at the "Lone Cypress" on the 17-Mile-Drive in Carmel.
The Sun Setting in D's Glasses

Long Beach, CA

La Jolla, CA (San Diego Area)

So, it's good to be home, but we're not really looking forward to the reality of work and busy schedules, which are quickly approaching as the weekend disintegrates before our eyes. We hope you are doing well and are enjoying football season like us, and praising God for the miracles that he performs each and every day!!

Sadie and the Cicada

Tonight I went outside with Sadie around, oh, 9 o’clock, and it was over 90 degrees outside. At 9 o’clock?! The last few days have been the hottest that I can remember. The heat index has been like 110 during the day. Crazy hot.
Well, while we were outside, Sadie discovered a cicada. You know…those ginormous bugs that have crazy fast wings and are known for the “songs” they sing out in the night. Anyways, Sadie was torturing the poor thing… smelling it, trying to put it in her mouth, and once, she even tried to step on it. Anytime she touched it, it would yelp out a loud chirp, and Sadie would jump back a few feet (me too), her ears perked in curiosity. And just for the record, I tried to pull her away from it, but pulling my dog away from any type of wildlife that she discovers is like trying to pull a post out of concrete (not possible). So the huge bug finally got away from her by flying towards our house, with its loud buzzing noise coming in my direction making me duck for cover. The stupid thing ended up on the side of our house after bouncing off the ground, the wall, and back again, like a ball in a pinball machine (I always feel sorry for bugs that do that). So of course, Sadie could not get over the fact that the biggest bug on the planet was hanging out on the side of “her” house, just a little too high on the wall for her to reach.

If you look closely, you can see the cicada on the brick. Yuck!

So the only other drama that occured with Sadie and the cicada was when Sadie leaped up as high as she could off the top step to reach the bug and then fell about 4 feet down to the ground. But, don’t worry…it didn’t phase her (or the bug). I happened to catch it on video (but the footage is pretty horrible b/c it was so dark and our dog is so black and I wasn’t expecting her to leap in the air like that!).So Dewa and Arie moved to Iowa today, so I’m going to go feel sorry for myself now as I drift off to sleep….

Meet the Greenleafs

Losing it, Weddings, and Warts

So, I’m totally losing it. Well, no more than the next person, I guess. But listen to my last 15 minutes. So I plugged in my camera to upload some pictures and then decided to order something online. So I got up to get my credit card, and while on the way to get my wallet, I remembered that I needed to switch out the laundry. On the way to the laundry room, I remembered that I was supposed to call Emily after work, so I went to find my phone. On the way to find my phone, I realized I had to pee. After using the bathroom and a room by room search for the phone (which was in the kitchen tucked away behind something), I headed back to the laundry room, while scrolling through my phone book to find Emily’s number. And while scrolling through the phone book, Peggy called. So I talked to Peggy while switching out the laundry and then hung up and forgot to call Emily. So I sat back down at my computer, with my wallet, to complete my order, which I did, and then I remembered to call Emily, who told me she’s watching Shark Week on Discovery, so I turn that on and forgot that my camera was still on and plugged in. Well, I finally remembered (during a commercial) and my camera had turned itself off because I had left it sitting there for 15 minutes. But it got done…FINALLY. And now after 10 minutes of Shark Week being on, I am just now realizing that I’ve seen this one. How can you have Shark Week with re-runs??


Here’s a random picture of a sparkler. D and I had fun with them a few nights ago when I found some in our kitchen “junk drawer”. Sadie wasn’t too sure of them.



So Jonathan and Bailey’s wedding was this past weekend! Yay! It was so fun and we had such a blast with our friends. It was a gen-u-wine College of Charleston reunion. We got to see Adam, Andrea, Jeremy, Sam, Jermile, Hailey, Simon, Stephen, Mylin, Dave and Davies (and 7 of the above got to stay with us, which made it extra fun). We are so very happy for Jonathan and Bailey and their “new life” together. And I don’t mean that in a fake greeting card kinda way… I really, really mean it.
Here’s a picture of all the guys at the Mardi Gras themed rehearsal dinner.

So…what’s with the “warts” in the title, you might ask?? Well, we are keeping Bristol while Jonathan and Bailey are on their honeymoon. And Bristol is laden with warts all over his mouth. Oh yeah, Bristol is a dog, not a child. So the warts have been around for at least a month now, and his vet says they’re not contagious, but I still am washing my hands every two seconds and cringing every time he wraps his monster jaws around Sadies snout. But, regardless, we love ‘em….warts and all.

The 3 Other Quarters

So I’ve covered the week at the beach, but the other three weeks of June have been left out of my memory bank, aka blog. Well…let’s see…My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on June 3rd, which I think is amazing. My mom says they “couldn’t have done it without Jesus,” and I say, amen, we couldn’t have done the last 2 years without Him, and I fully expect to need Him for the next 38 or however long until death makes us part.In early June we said goodbye to Rick who left America to help plant a church/lead worship in a city on the west coast of Australia. Kelly and other (female) members of his fan club threw a party for him so that he could be properly “well-wished” and sent off… I am also preparing my heart to say goodbye to Arie and Dewa, who are leaving in 3 weeks or so, and the possibility of two other sets of friends leaving. Good grief people! This is the summer of Exodus for our friends, and it is SO not cool.

Before we left for the beach, we were able to spend a night in Blowing Rock with Jack and Christine. We stayed at an amazing little cabin that they had rented and had an absolute blast with them…dinner on the deck in the middle of an isolated forest with nothing but frogs and crickets to bother us…a round of cards while sipping chocolate martinis. Donald and I decided to avoid the interstate on the way there and back, and ended up traveling on 9 different highways, winding through the hills and mountains of North and South Carolina. It was totally worth it. We saw a bunch of beautiful farm land and cute little towns– and while traveling through the cutest of the cute little towns, the highway signs suddenly disappeared, and we ended up on a side of town where it just felt like we were headed southeast instead of northeast. Donald has no fear nor stereotypical manly reservations of asking for directions, so he stopped at the first gas station that he saw, and let me tell you that I am so grateful that my husband rarely judges a book by its cover. For what he saw was a man pumping gas who could easily be asked, “which way is…,” but what I saw was not just a man pumping gas but the most redneck man you’ve ever seen in your life pumping gas, and everything in me naturally screamed “avoid. avoid. avoid” as my little white self sat next to my very black husband in the middle of nowhere North Carolina. However, Donald thankfully doesn’t think like I do, so we got our directions and headed on our merry way. It was just another reminder of how stupid I can be and how thankful that I am forgiven for poor attitudes (attitudes that need adjustments).Our garden absolutely took off in June as did our apple trees (two of them in our side yard that produce the tartest apples you’ve ever had in your life). So we’ve had beans galore, ginourmous yellow squash, tomatoes, and an array of herbs. Trying to be creative with you can make when you have the same veggies to use over and over again can be challenging, but so far I’ve made tomato/basil/mozzeralla salad, squash casserole, boiled squash, grilled squash, chicken, squash and pasta with a cream dill dip (Andrea’s recipe), apple cobbler, boiled beans, steamed beans, and next will be a green bean casserole. There’s something very 19th century about using the things in your garden, and I kinda like it.

Our Apples

Turned into this…

Dewa and I took our dogs to a pond on Paris Mountain towards the end of June. It was a lot of fun, regardless of getting attacked by aliens and covered by dog slobber and mud. By aliens, I mean at least 30 daycare students who were on the trail, who, after eyeing the dogs, came marching at us, with their arms in the air like creatures from the dead, with echos of "ooo doggy"..."I want to pet your doggy"…"doggy!”…”will they bite?"…"ooo a dog!" Poor Sadie and Khairie backed as far away from the kids as possible, shaking like leaves and wondering what all of those mini-people were doing reaching for them. But- as soon as the kids were gone, it was back to jumping in the water and fighting over sticks. Sadie was literally STEPPING on Khairie, dunking her under water in true middle-school fashion– it was hilarious (and Dewa laughed too, so it was okay for me to laugh at my bully dog and her antics).

OMG! Sadie! Stop!

Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.