It has been rainy today-all day. It's definitely one of those days when you just want to hide under the covers in your pajamas-which I have actually had the luxury of doing. I have been putting off taking a shower for hours and now I am thinking about making dinner and getting ready to watch American Idol. Ike and Joni are sleeping peacefully beside me and it is just nice to sit around in a quite house and just relax.

Tomorrow I will be 30wks along in my pregnancy. The closer it gets the more nervous I become about the labor and delivery. I keep telling myself that women all over the world give birth to babies every single day and that I can totally handle it, but it doesn't really make me any less nervous. Plus, I made the mistake of watching a couple episodes of the Baby Story on TLC and that REALLY made me nervous. Even after all the stories I have heard and all the stuff I have seen on TV I really have no idea what to expect. All I know for sure is that it is going to hurt during labor and after and that I should just be prepared to ask for a lot of drugs.


There have been no more developments with Ike's job for the time being and things have pretty much just settled back down to normal. I think that in a way he thinks that he missed out-even though his boss has tried to reassure him. Ike is starting to get to the point where if something doesn't happen soon then he may begin looking for another job. I don't want to try to sway his decision in any way, but I sometimes think that it may be good for him to just get back out there and see if there is something else he could do for awhile. I think a change of pace would be nice for him. Unfortunately I think he has just found himself in a nice, comfortable position that he is not willing to give up quickly.

As for now,with the Plemon's family, Christmas has come and gone and we have both started to greatly anticipate the arrival of our new baby. I think this little baby will change our lives in more ways than we can even imagine at this point. Life is crazy, but I am thankful for the little life that my husband and I share. Each day is a new adventure with new lessons learned and more memories to be tucked away.

It is a new day, a new month, and a new year. I am now 28 wks pregnant and since the passing of the holidays I have become very nervous about giving birth. Time has gone by so quickly and I am sure that the next couple of months will be no different. I have to say that my pregnancy, up to this point, has been very manageable. I have not had any problems and I know that I am truly blessed. I have learned to take the pregnancy a day at time and just try to not let it keep me from doing the things that I would normally do. Unfortunately I have slacked off on my walking routine quite a bit, but I blame the weather along with the pregnancy for that. After getting some new encouragement from my husband's aunt I am going to try to pick it back up again.

The situation with my husband's job has not really changed much. He did meet with the owner of the company. The owner did want Ike to take over a store in Murphreesboro, TN, but after much deliberation and discussion everyone came to the realization that the timing is not right. So,for now, Ike is helping his manager train the guy who will be taking over the Murphreesboro store for the time being. Once again Ike and I are going to have to play the waiting game to see exactly how all of it will pan out in the end.

My parents are now living across town from me and it is really different. My mother is very happy to be so close to her children and I am grateful that they are both here to help me. Just the other day my mom came over and helped me to do some cleaning. The extra help was wonderful. I love having my mom so close, but at the same time they do cause me extra stress. I do not want to go into detail about it all, but I honestly worry for them both and I want to take care of them. I'm not sure where this feeling came from, but it has definitely become a lot stronger since they have moved here. It is something I will have to pray about.

I did not make any resolutions for this year, but I do have some things in mind that I would like to focus on. I want to focus on my relationship with God, my marriage, managing my stress, and of course I would like to focus on being a good parent. I have the tendency to immediately want to run away when things get tough and even though I cannot run away-I let the thought of running away consume my mind. This year I want to try and fix that problem. I have come to realize that I am pretty strong woman and I can handle more than I think. I just thank God every day that He has blessed me with a husband who never ceases to be an encouragement to me in this area. I also thank God for an old friend who first showed me that I was emotionally strong enough to make it through. Without these two people in my life I think that things could be a lot different.