It's getting closer

Last night I did not sleep well. I was so glad we had today off for Ft. Bend County Fair Day. I tossed and turned a lot and my hips hurt so bad. I also got up a lot to use the restroom. Thank God our restroom is in our room. What a blessing something so simple as that is for me.

Then, I woke up this morning and it looked like my belly had downsized to about half the size. Shelby had managed to move way down and is getting ready for her decent. The doc said I had nothing to worry about before Tuesday, but I'm not so sure now. She's definately ready. I called my sister, Shelly, to ask her about it and she said it could be up to 5 days. That's fine with me. I would really like to just get through the weekend so Ryan can rope tonight and we can have our already rescheduled baby shower on Sunday. But, that will be up to Shelby.

I guess this means I should pack my bags for the hospital. I have started on Shelby's stuff, but haven't even thought about mine. I also have that surge of energy I read about. It feels so good to have energy again and to be able to breath again! We'll try to keep you posted. Keep your fingers crossed it is not for a few more days or longer. :)

Getting Closer to Shelby

I had my doctor appointment yesterday for 37 1/2 weeks. Doc says still no signs of having a baby, but I am getting closer. He expects me to make it to my appointment next Tuesday. We'll see where I'm at and decide what to do from there. He says he wants to induce me if I don't go into labor by the 39th week. So, if nothing happens we'll plan a day to have me induced the week of October 5th. That will be weird picking out her birthday if that happens.

Last week was my week to panic. This week it was Ryan's. :) I was relieved to hear that the doc didn't expect her to come between now and next Tuesday. Ryan is roping in the rodeo on Friday night and he's in the ranch rodeo on Monday. We've also rescheduled our baby shower to Sunday. We had to cancel because of Hurricane Ike. I also had hoped to make it to the PRCA Rodeo before Shelby came the weekend of Oct. 3rd. So, it looks like I'll be able to make it to all of them. Also, Mom Boudrie is coming Oct. 3rd and I was hoping to have a few days with her before Shelby's arrival.

I've added some pics from my ITS baby shower under Shelby's name. Enjoy.

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Galveston Pictures

I have added pictures of my friend, Alison's, family beach house. This is the house I went to back in June for the day. I cannot believe how different everything looks. I have added the pictures of her beach house to "Hurricane Ike" but I wanted to show you this picture. I took the pic on the left when I was there in June because the view was so beautiful. The pic on the right is what it looks like now.

Most of the damage was done by the storm surge, but they also had hurricane winds up to 120 MPH. Although her family's beach house has damage it was minimal compared to those around it. This house has withstood many hurricanes including Hurricanes Alicia, Rita, Katrina and now Ike. Ike was only a category 2 (1 MPH from being a cat 3)...and look at the damage. It was such a big hurricane (500 miles wide) which is what it was as destructive as a larger hurricane.

In Memory of Diesel

Yesterday evening we lost Ryan's beloved dog, Diesel. He was one in a million and will be missed GREATLY. Ryan had just left with a friend and I went inside for just a few minutes to get some things together. I was leaving just a few minutes behind him. When I called for the dogs Diesel (aka Booze) didn't come like he always does. After calling and calling for him I went out to see if he was on the road. Unfortunately he was. We are both heart broken as this dog was not just any pet. He was our friend, Ryan's buddy. Just writing this brings me to tears and I know the next few days and weeks are going to be extremely hard for both of us. D brought a lot of life to our family and we are saddened that he will not be able to meet our daughter. We even made jokes of how he would be Shelby's first horse.


I know those of you that have had that special animal that left you way too soon can understand our hurt and pain.


Diesel loved playing fetch with Luna our other dog and Ryan or me every night, going for "Booze Cruises" as Ryan called them (which is a ride in Ryan's truck), playing with the kittens in the barn, and taking long, fast runs in our back pasture to stretch his legs. No words will describe how much we will miss him.


Here is a fun picture of our D just taken a few weeks ago trying to catch the tennis ball in the air. He wasn't very good at it but tried with all his heart and sacrificing his body 'for the game' as we always said.

More Pics of Ike

I thought I would let you know that I have snagged some pics from my friends around the Houston area and added them to my Hurricane Ike picture gallery. I will add more as they come up.

I had my ITS baby shower yesterday. ITS is my job title and there are about 25 of us in the district. Two of my close friends (Monica and Kaylene) hosted the shower. I was so surprised to see many of my co-workers to the party because many of them are still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Many of them have family members staying with them or they are staying with family members due to no power. It meant a lot to me for them to take time out of their very crazy week to come and spend some time with me to celebrate the upcoming birth of Shelby. I also appreciate those friends who planned to attend but were not able to. My prayers are with all of you during this trying time.

We took lots of pictures and I plan to upload those pics in the near future.

As for Ike news....We still have 25 out of 60 schools w/o power in my district. At this time FBISD plans to open up and get back to normal life. However, our superintendent was going to talk with Centerpoint Energy to find out the status of the schools w/o power and would make a final decision today. Either way, faculty and staff will go to work on Monday.

We have one school that lost 60% of its roof (Christa McAuliffe MS) and the students at that school will have to attend Willowridge until repairs can be made. I was told they plan to reopen the school 2nd semester. I'll be impressed if they are able to do all that construction by January. Kudos to them if they can! I don't believe there was any major damage done to any of the other schools, but I could be wrong.

As for us...the roofing company came out and did the measurements on our home and will have an estimate for us on Monday. I talked with our insurance agency and they are having more adjusters come to this area to help with the work load and plan to have adjuster come out sometime in the near future. So, we'll see what happens with that.

I'm still waiting to find out if my friend, Alison's, family lost their beach house on Jamaica Beach. I went to visit her back in June for the day and really enjoyed the home and the beach life. I am still hopeful that their home will be standing. It has withstood many other Hurricanes. They are allowing home owners to go to Jamaica beach today, so hopefully they'll find out today what the status of their home is.

Here is a pic I took from her deck back in June.

Hurricane Ike Pics and Video

Here is a video by our place of Hurricane Ike last Friday evening. It's not too exciting, but it is still interesting to see and hear the changes as the hurricane came in.

I have also added a place on the right for pics of Hurricane Ike. My friend's have pics from various places around the city. I plan to snag them so you can see their damage as well.

We are back to work today. So far, the kids are to come back on Monday. However, I don't believe all schools have power in our district yet. I'm not sure about the damage yet either. I'm fortunate as my two schools don't have any damage that I know of. PHEW! I also found out one of the middle schools in FBISD lost its roof. I don't have anymore details, but will share if they arise.

On a side note, I had told you about our sick kittens. Come to find out the Momma cat (Scrappy) had gotten in infection on one of her nipples and that, in turn, made the kittens sick. They all died. Scrappy is doing ok and is nursing a hole she has in her belly. She is still in pain but is looking better. Since she is basically wild we are unable to treat her. Poor Momma...

Waitin' on Shelby

Today we went to Richmond to do a little shopping before our doctor appointment. It was great to see stores open again and the power up and running too. We went to Academy and found Ryan some cheap jeans for work. Then we went to JC Penneys to get an outfit for Miss Shelby to wear home. There were so many cute outfits it was hard to choose. But Ryan picked out this one and I think it is very cute. He was bummed she wouldn't be able to wear her John Deere socks home. I told him why not...it has green in the outfit. :) So, She'll be all decked out when we bring her home. We can't wait.

Oh, then we went to Target and got some essentials for her and me to get through the first week or so after we get home from the hospital. Thank goodness for the gift cards. :) I know they will come in handy as we find things we need.

After we got home Ryan rode Badger and ponied Twister to start getting them back into shape. Oh, he also shod Badger. So, he's back to all 4s with shoes...which is good with the fair coming up and the anticipation of me riding again in December. The weather was awesome and I was a bit envious that he got to get out there and ride while I stayed back and burned some brush.

Our renters cut up the big tree that fell back in May and took the wood. So, we burned the brush that was left over from it. Well, actually, we burned a section of it. It is good to see that tree slowly disappear. It has been such an eye soar for me for so many months.

School is closed through Friday, but teachers have to report on Friday. So much to do and so little time. Oh well. I've had to think about it and realize I can only get done what I can get done. You can't control everything...especially hurricanes and babies. :) I guess this is God's way to make sure I don't stress and I get lots of rest before our big arrival.

Oh, back to the doctor visit...everything went well. I'm still in waiting and haven't started to dilate. I think that is good since I still have 3 weeks to go. The doc mentioned to us at the end of the visit that he'll see us at our next few visits and then he mentioned inducing at 39 weeks. That's only 2 WEEKS AWAY! I kinda panicked. This morning I woke up thinking I had 4 weeks. Only to find out I had 3 weeks. Then my doc tells me I only have 2 weeks. Too much pressure...Anyhow...Ryan thought he was kidding. So we went back and got clarification. Without giving you too many details it will depend on how my cervix is doing...if it is softening then he may induce. If not, he'll wait cause that would cause me to have a long labor. So, hopefully, we're back to 3 weeks.

I'm trying to decide when to reschedule our baby shower. I would like to do it Oct. 5 so Mom Boudrie can join in the festivities, but I'm scared if we wait that long Shelby may not wait and then we'd have to cancel or reschedule. So, we may have to do it Sept. 27. I guess I need to get with the ladies hosting the shower and see what they think as well.

Finally, here is my picture from today. I'm 36 weeks and 4 days. I gained another 2 lbs this past week so Shelby is definitely growing. I'm still within my weight. I've worked hard not to gain too much weight so I'm pretty proud of myself. I've gained 22 lbs so far. So, we'll see what the final number will be. As long as she's healthy I'm good. I just looked at the picture as I attached it and my face is definitely filling out. I guess that is good....