Day 88: Yes, I do notice, though I don't say it nearly enough.

Another haiku, entitled Jeremy:

Stoic and solid
The Rock of our family
We lean upon you

Thank you for all of your sacrifices and hard work. I love you, my darling.

So, it's beginning to look like all the naysayers who thought I would be late are right. I mean, sure, I'm not technically late yet, but I don't feel like anything at all is happening or is even going to happen anytime soon. That's ok, though. I've come to accept this. God is teaching me patience. Certainly Jade will be worth the wait. I am still a bit whiney about the achiness, though, as my husband can attest.

We went over to my mom and dad's house again today. They were kind enough to invite us again, even though they just saw us on Thanksgiving. Somehow the weekend just isn't right without that trip home, though. What can I say, I've always been a needy kid.

Anyway, we did another family craft (you may recall the gorgeous gourds we did in October). This one was born out of frustration with some knobs that mom wanted for her kitchen from this extraordinarily expensive shop that turned out to have imported them from Thailand!!! They probably cost them like 5 cents apiece to make there, but they were charging twelve dollars. Per knob! Well I, pompously, was sure I could duplicate them for much much less money, so I went out and bought white knobs and paint. Well, I couldn't quite get them to look as good. Not even close, really. My attempts were actually laughably pathetic, although mom kindly claimed to like them. Painting is a hell of a lot harder than it looks! Still, it was fun trying, and the whole family, even Grandpa and daddy, got involved, each making at least one knob of their own design. Sadly, Grandma's kitchen will not achieve quite the level of class it would have with the expensive kind. It will have...um...personality, though. Lots of personality. And...um...originality. I'm quite sure no one else on earth will have cabinet knobs quite like hers.

It was a nice night, and I am very thankful that we have a place like that to go and just enjoy family. Sometimes our own house can feel like a nagging wife, constantly reminding us of what we need to get done. Often, we don't really relax here. Even if we force ourselves to stop and spend time with the kids, there is this little voice in the back of our heads pointing out that the hallway needs to be painted, or the floor needs to be vacuumed. At mom and dad's house, the voice is forced to retreat, since we know there is no way to get to all that stuff from out there. So, thank you, mom and dad, for allowing us to vacation with you once a week. You guys are blessings to us in a million ways.

Well, the Jade's birth picks are down to Mom, Jer, and Becky. I'm thinking that if we hit Wednesday and still no baby we should all pick new dates. I'll create a new chart and all. Also, the widget doesn't work beyond the due date, so don't be shocked if it just disappears on Tuesday. It doesn't mean anything, so don't freak! You'll all be the first to know when the big event occurs! (besides the nurses, and the doctor, and Jeremy, of course)

Ok, time to put together Joshua's school schedule for tomorrow. Goodnight, sleep well, and dream of large women. (who can tell me what movie that's from? Huh? Huh? Think about it...)