how great is our God...

sing with me how great is our God... what a true and perfect song to describe the posture of my heart on this morning...  i feel overwhelmed by the goodness of my God... like i am personally seeing the reality of His promise in Luke 6:38 that states  "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom."   when i was a child my pastor would say this scripture every Sunday before offering... my brother and I would play around, mimicking the pastor to see who knew best exactly what he would say next... but despite my clowning, that deposit of the living word was taking root in me and now it is baring fruit... yesterday, at a women's function to celebrate key women in the church (my mother being one) i realized how blessed i really am... how good my life has been... how great God really is... as a child i was surrounded by kind, beautiful, godly people in my church... sister this and brother that were more like family than fellow pew sitters because we saw them soooo often... i actually did not know to complain then about how much time we spent at church - it was just the way we lived...  today i am beyond grateful that these positive adults have supported me throughout the years, they came to my track meets and plays as a child, made me feel like i mattered in the world by supporting my teenage dreams and accomplishments... and even now that my husband and i have a new church home, when i visit that familiar building they all still embrace me with true love and affection like i am their own child - still little and cute spinning around in my dress before the Lord, but only now they are oooing and ahhing in shock and excitement over the new life in "their" old little girl's belly... thank you to my parents for raising me in good and godly company...

Thank you for being a friend, Traveled down the road and back again, your heart is true your a pal and a confidant...this is the perfect song for this second part... as i watch the evening news and the host of Judge Whoever shows i am soooo thankful for the friends that I have...  they have never abused my kindness, ran up my cell phone bill, or slept with my man... we don't all talk everyday, some don't all live in the same city, but they all mean the world to me, and show that they are my Golden Girl-friends, they are great women - fun, professional, educated, supportive, generous, and most of all honest women... i have been friends with some of them for over ten years of bad boyfriends, crappy jobs, silly decisions, and hilarious memories...  despite the pace of life, our bond picks right back up where we left off with a simple ring of the telephone or status update on facebook, as if time stood still for us...  at my last two baby showers i prayed silently to God and explained to baby best, that these were the type of girlfriends that you want to have... friends of quality, that can stand the tests of time... friends that are quick to forgive your mistakes and even quicker to support your success... friends that make you laugh hard enough to cry and will stay around to wipe your tears when it gets hard... real friends like your mama's... thank you God for giving me such great friends 

we're blessed in the city, we're blessed in the field, we're blessed when we come and when we go... a perfect closing song for this entry... it is the declaration of my soul and car tag... Deut 28... i want to encourage you to lean on God more, to trust his promises for you... the Lord has blessed me in every area of my life, answering big and small prayers, providing me with new when i would have been happy with used, making my good into grand, and blessing the fruit of my womb "baby Best" with more then enough, even with me not working, she has no lack at all... Thanks God for all that you do and are... thanks for erasing all my "OMG i will be a first time mother of a baby in less than a month" concerns and all the "do i have everything she needs" worries... you are more than just God you are GOOD... 

 i always sit and read the cards and reopen the gifts once everyone has gone so i can ooo and ahhh all by myself... thanks everyone for all the cloths, diapers, gift cards, etc for our little girl... we truly appreciate your kindness and pray that the Lord richly blesses you

how do measure... measure a year

how about loooooovvvvveeeee.... seasons of love!!!!   happy happy 35th womb week to you....happy 35th womb week to you... oh boy, oops 

i mean oh girl only 35 days to go and you are 35 weeks what a ka-wink-e-deenk.... gosh you are almost here... i can't believe it... you are getting soooo big it is really hard for me to sleep at night... mostly because you like playing your xylophone concerto with your feet on my ribs... so talented my dear baby girl.. hope you like the extra vitamin k and cake that i have been feeding you... heheheh... i have been praying for you and your daddy bought plug covers to keep you safe - even though it will be at least 6 months before you can even get to them... love you precious love...ta-ta til later.. you are so sweet to me, i think we are going to be very close... cant wait to get to know you...  you are my dream come true

photos done by http://tekaphotography.com/

excuse me miss... what's your name

you just gotta be kidding me... are these guys actually looking at me... me... eight months pregnant me... waddling through the door me...  the other day a guy actually asked to come home with me and to attend the birthing classes with me... WHAT??? i am big, pregnant, and married... but it is not just him - everywhere i go men seem to be fascinated with the pregnant me... like they literally stare - in a trance - even when i am with my husband... perhaps i am giving off some super strong, sexy, fragrance that awakens the inner cave men in males and tell them that i am fertile, able to reproduce their offspring... i need a theme song sang by a pop star "my pheromones are popping, the boys are jocking"

a few months ago i raved about all the added attention i was receiving while in the public... but now somehow this has become too much... and it is not just men... it is everyone, everywhere, that feel the freedom to make some comment about my womb... i mean in every store, every place, all day, everyday... i would be rich if i wore a sign around my neck that said "must pay $1 to ask baby question"... i wrote down a few of the statements that i have heard over the last few days... they include - " wow thats a whole lot of baby", "woah", "so when is the package due", "you busting out that shirt", "is it two in there", "you look like u bout to pop", "oh you not going to make it to your due date with that big'ol cannon ball", "oooo weeee is this your first baby", this is just a few of the common ones... plus you have the ladies that are human ultra-sound machines and can tell by the shape of my belly or the pace of my heartbeat coming thru my thorax that my doctors were wrong cause "oh that is definitely a boy in there"...
the worst is when people say..."any day now huh"... because they look like they are going to  faint when i say i still have 6 weeks to go... recently i have started adding to the shock by answering the question "when are you due" by replying with ridiculous dates like April, June, even November lol... oh well i cant get too upset cause they always make comments with such joy, huge smiles on their face, just excited... so i know they mean no harm... they can only get away with it because my bigness is a new life... can you imagine me saying "oh my gosh - look like you ready to pop" whenever i saw a over-weight person come through the door... lol inappropriate huh... even when they start to share their horror stories, which i run away from, these perfect strangers think they are helping...
oh well i will count it all joy... it means that i still look good even though i can't walk upstairs without becoming short of breath... i still got it!!! shout out to the young man at wal-mart that saw me struggle to get of the car and simply looked at me and said "congratulations"

photos shot by     http://tekaphotography.com/       highly recommended

Aw push it, pu push it real good

salt and pepper definitely was not talking about a "push gift" when they made this song… actually I had never heard of a “push gift” until my mother-in-law presented me with one this summer… she explained that a “push gift” was a gift, usually given by the husband, to encourage and motivate his wife during labor to continue to push when labor got tough… apparently she read about it in one of the upper echelon love story novels that she enjoys reading or listening to on audio…

nevertheless I thought, ummmm nice idea huh… a special gift from my honey to me while my vagina is stretched to the size of a cantaloupe… how sweet huh!!!  For the last several months I have been dreaming of my wonderful “push gift” to come… I mean my hubby is so sweet, it just had to be super romantic, best gift ever… perhaps it would be a new diamond right-hand ring or a engraved bangle…  ooo even better maybe the invoice for an all-expenses paid vacation to some exotic location… hmmmm, sigh, oh the possibilities 

well readers, my well prepared husband did not want to wait to the last minute to purchase this very special gift… so over the holidays he went behind my back and purchased my surprise “push gift”… but unfortunately a few days after that I was doing my weekly bank account check up and discovered an unusual purchase, with a noticeable price tag… giggle giggle giggle…  oh boy oh boy, I thought to myself until I read the purchase description – not Jared’s or Tiffany’s, but Jay-Z…  that’s right Jay-Z concert tickets…  huh… what???   My husband excitedly explained how, he just knew this would be the perfect push gift for me, and how he had it all figured out…  his master plan was as follows I pump three bottles and then my mom watches our newborn baby for the four hours we are at the concert… a concert  that is scheduled for three days after my due date… 3 DAYS… THREE DAYS – what, lol… now way lol –

now to his defense I love Jay Z and would have a blast holding up my rockefella triangle and screaming to the top of my lungs – hova hova..  but can you imagine me at the hip hop concert having to pump n the bathroom during intermission, super thick maternity pad on, surrounded by thousands of sexy chicks that can walk faster in their stilettos than I can in my post-natal girdle… 3 days after i give birth!!! sigh simply priceless… gotta love my hubby – thanks babe for being willing to listen to me scream over another man for two hours – great gift idea, just bad timing… J I love you boo... i loved the make up date we went on this sunday to a more appropriate  concert by the atl symphony - the baby and i enjoyed listening to the classic tunes with you by our side... so sweet, so new black, high class...  i only nodded a few times and that was due to my pregnant body's uncontrollable need to sleep, anytime anyplace - lol 

hearts on fire... strong desire

rages deep within.... hearts on fire... fever's rising high... the moment of truth draws near

You gotta be an 80’s movies fan to feel this one… I am in the home stretch and preparing like Rocky when he was about to face the Soviet Union machine… well I am not running up any mountains in the snow but I am doing the puff daddy shuffle… that counts as exercise right… if you could see me you would definitely laugh… every breath I take, every move I make – shuffle to the left, shuffle to the back – lol…

so it is clear that I am in a silly mood today… but why not – I have a lot to be happy about… its happy womb week number 33… 7 weeks or less to go.. its crunch time baby… and I am getting in gear to deliver my daughter into the world… we have finished our childbirth classes – truly worth every penny and the month of learning… now we have even more tools to make us confident in my ability to accomplish this natural process…
visit http://www.confidentchildbirthofatlanta.com/ for more info.. plus we met some really cool couples also on their way to be 1^st time parents… we have ordered the audio scripts for childbirth meditation and watched the 1970’s Lamaze dvd… let me just say these relaxation methods really work… it takes us at least two days to complete one of them because we always somehow get so cooked noodle = relaxed that we drift off to sleep…  we are getting ready for the big day… I am memorizing my affirmations, creating my ipod playlist, and filling the heavens with prayers and worship for this glorious occasion…  I have reserved my birthing pool, received my birthing kit, blew up my birthing ball, and increased my use vitamin c, Echinacea… my most recent cravings are for vitamin E, cocoa butter, shea butter, burt’s moma bee and anything else to ease the itch on my belly from my sweet baby growing… it won’t be long now until my cervix opens like a flower and my baby is in my arms… ok I just had to say the cervix like a flower statement because I find it hilarious…

for amazing, professional photos book with http://tekaphotography.com 

And I think to myself…

What a wonderful world… and  year… and God

This has definitely been a yr of first… such a great year full of unbelievable blessings… all my prayers answered…  I just want to take a second to highlight this year and give God he highest glory/praise… it is truly all because of Him that my dreams come true and that my life is bliss… so here it goes my ode of joy and favorite memories of 2009

-       -I shivered in the cold surrounded by a sea of people as I watched the first African American man become President of the United States

-       -I saw my name printed in a program with the words Masters of Education following it for the first time

-       -I slept on an adult beach and cleansed at a bath house, both were fun first

-     -  I cultivated life in my wombJ, first time ever had the honor of feeling a love like this

I must admit I am amazed by God’s love toward me… at the beginning of 2009 the Lord told me that this would be a year of increased prayer and giving from me and my hubby… what he did not reveal was that he was going to embarrass us with his goodness… I know that people throw this phrase around lightly so I am going to be a little more specific…  my job that could have ended a year ago kept me on for an additional year closing just in time for me to begin nesting… despite all the resumes I sent off I did not get a new job in an elementary school – don’t be sad it was God’s infinite wisdom not to have me round 500+ germ filled touchy feely kids tugging on my immune system everyday…  to make room for our sweet addition we sold all of childless couple amenities, including everything in our former IKEA Asian décor guest bedroom  and our two door car, on craiglist within the short number of weeks we prayed for it to be gone… But in true God-like perfect timing we were gifted all the baby room furniture, a closet full of super cute girly cloths, plus just prior to the new year’s ball drop, we purchased, in full, a great, low miles, quality four door car perfect for baby toys and vomit – we named her Ms. BettyJ !!! All of our specific prayers answered!

I love you Lord not because of what you do but for who you are… excellent provider and lover… may my life always bring you glory – here’s to 2010 Jesus...  out with the old and in with the new....

before

after

hey where's the party at...

 well the celebration has begun... over the holiday we had our first of many baby showers...  one by my "former" job and the students that served and the other by my mom/sister... they were blast, full of oooooooos and ahhhhhhhhhhs, mouths dropping at the site of my protruding belly and also totally over measuring the ribbon for my belly (except for you big unc), funny games to prove that we are totally going to have the time of our lives being parents... the best part was all the support... like we had family members literally drive from out of town to celebrate and shower us with love... gosh we felt so very special and blessed to be surrounded by a great crowd of family and friends, the village necessary to raise a great child...  thanks sooo much for your generousity... enjoy the pics