Just Weeks Away!

Cameron,
For most of the country, September has not been a great month. The hurricane season has been horrible this year, wiping out tons of homes on the gulf states. Galveston was one of the worst, and people there will be rebuilding and trying to put their lives back together for a very long time. We don't really know anyone personally that was affected, but friends and family members of our friends were. (Later addition: This is a great blog entry from Living Proof Ministries based out of Houston.) And then this week, the economy has just dropped off into a pit. The bank systems are finally dealing with all the bad mortgage debt that they took on and I am afraid that a lot of people are going to lose their jobs and a lot of money too. The government is still trying to work on their plan to help by handing over a huge ($700 BILLION) influx of cash to the industry, but it is not looking good. Please don't even mention the stock market to your Grammy - she worries enough as it is.

But the truth is that you are the thing that consumed my thoughts for this month, and most of the past few as well. Just the other night, your daddy told me that he had the funny realization that all along, he has just had his mind set that you would be arriving on October 25th. That he didn't even consider that you could be here any day now... Of course, my doctor said that things are still progressing perfectly and that she didn't expect me to do "anything crazy" in the next few weeks, but the truth is that you are probably big enough and healthy enough to make it just fine out here in the big world.

Not that I am ready! You are definitely starting to seem more cramped, but you haven't kept me from going to work or getting a decent amount of sleep. I definitely love the part about eating for two, and I think you are hitting a growth spurt because I am finally able to eat a good dinner again. The funny thing lately is your hiccups. I have felt the little "bomp, bomp, bomp" that is so perfectly in time that I knew that had to be what it was. It is always on the bottom left side of my tummy, where I am pretty sure your back is laying most of the time. The doctor told me that hiccups are a good sign that you are doing well because it means you are swallowing more fluid and your lungs are preparing to breathe. It makes me smile to picture you in there hiccupping, because every time I take a drink of something carbonated, I have to hiccup too.

So we are down to just a few more weeks until you are officially here. I started thinking today about what I would like your birth announcement to look like and that I should get the list ready now for all the people we want to mail it to. It's gonna be a long list - so many people are anxious to see what you look like! And we just ordered the new upholstery for your stroller. We accidentally put that task on the back burner and are hoping that it makes it here soon. We can't exactly haul you around without a stroller! But the little things are easy to check off. I think preparing ourselves for the responsibility, the change that is coming is what will take the most work. All this excitement and nervousness! We love you and think about you all the time, and I can't even comprehend how those feelings will be a thousand times stronger when you are really here.