Young lady, do you know what day it is?

Well, still nothing. We have spent the weekend doing everything that people have said brings on labor. Walking, eating spicy foods, uh... don't ask about that other thing. It doesn't work either. But we did have some excitement on Friday. One of the perks of your daddy's job is that he occasionally gets to meet famous people. And he says this was the best one ever:

That's right - King George. He came in for a knee brace and your daddy had quite a conversation with him. Said he is very kind but shorter in person than you think. :)

Since we have run out of things to do other than sit around and wonder why you are taking so long, your Grammy decided to come keep me company for a few days. Maybe she just wanted to have a head start on all your other grandparents if you decided to make your arrival... Well, you showed her. We spent Saturday morning hanging out at home with Emerson and Ryan and your Aunt Rachael. It was funny to see how interested Emerson is in Joe Dog and how nervous he is around her. He did lots of sniffing but would bolt anytime she made a grab for him. We had a fabulous lunch and did a bit of shopping, which was the true highlight of the weekend thanks to Crazy 8. I had no idea that we had a store in San Antonio, so I will be making many more trips there in the future. Check out the cute new things you got, little girl!

Who doesn't need a dress with milk and cookies on it? We even picked up a few Christmas presents while we were at it. We had a great time. Then your daddy took all of us out for a fancy dinner at our favorite place, Scenic Loop Cafe. We might not be eating there again for a while, so it was a wonderful evening with cool weather on the patio. Next time, I am having a margarita for sure!

But today, we are still waiting. Nothing to pass the time. Tomorrow we go back in to get monitored for a bit and hopefully we will set a time to induce labor. You know, I have always been a bit of a procrastinator (just ask my roommates about my senior thesis) but I can get amazing things done at the last minute. No doubt you have your own plans. Could I possibly entice you with the fancy new cusions that your Grammy brought for the rocking chair? Story is that your Papa brought this rocking chair home to Grammy when she was pregnant with me, and that's why she wanted us to have it. Now we will have two rocking chairs in the house, so I hope it is a magic calming thing for you.

Seriously, can we make some kind of agreement here? I know I am doing a great job as your incubator, and it is probably my own fault for giving you such amazing food and music to listen to. But you have to come out of there at some point! Your mommy really wants to wear pants with zippers again. Any chance for Tuesday? It's Ashley's birthday, and maybe if we make that your birthday too, she might start to like babies just a little bit. Let's talk more over some ice cream.

Can I have your lunch?

Last night was all about the ladies. I went to hang out with my friend Christy and her daughter Elizabel, and I guess we can count her tiny baby (not sure if it's a boy or girl, but Christy feels like saying boy) as the only man in attendance. Too bad Lizzy was not feeling well and was a bit cranky... But it is always great to just hang out with Christy and chat. Plus she made a mean pot roast last night!

We are just starting a new bible study with a small group of ladies, reading the book by Larry Crabb, "The PAPA Prayer." Haven't made it very far yet, but I really like it and hope it will make some positive changes in my prayer life. Christy also mentioned that she loves to listen to one of the AM stations here in town from 7:30 - 8:00 when they play a Focus on the Family broadcast. She even texted me this morning to let me know the right frequency, so I tuned in while I was stuck in traffic.

This morning, they played a message from a woman who works for a non-profit organization called Celebrate Life. They have programs in the juvenile justice system and public school sector that teach kids about abstinence, positive choices, and God's truth - all without using the religious terms that would get them in trouble. But her message really touched me as something that every Christian needs to hear.

She talked alot about accomplishing things with God's help that we ourselves are not capable of. Dreams that seem ridiculous, jobs that seem overwhelming, tasks that seem outrageous. When we are not able to do it, we become totally dependent on God's strength and his ability, and that's when he loves to rise to the occasion. We cannot do it without him, and he WILL NOT do it without us. She says that when God calls us to do things like that, we are living in the God space. Moses in front of the Red Sea, Abraham waiting for a sacrifice, David standing next to Goliath, Sampson in the temple. But my favorite scripture reference was when Jesus needed to feed a huge hungry crowd.

Can you imagine being one of the disciples? To have thousands and thousands of people in need of a meal, and Jesus tells you to go see what you can scrounge up? The boy they found was obviously living in poverty - barley loaves were small and inexpensive to make. Those two fish were probably more like sardines. That little boy could have held onto that meager meal and told them it wouldn't have made any difference to a group of that size. But he gave it up, perhaps with joy to see what Jesus could do with it. One blessing is all it took for it to multiply and meet the need of everyone there - with leftovers!

It seems to be everywhere in the news lately how disconnected the rich and the poor are in our country. Celebrities spend my entire month's salary on a few new outfits. People buy homes for millions of dollars and then can't afford their mortgage payments. Americans are willing to donate millions of dollars to presidential campaigns so it can be spent on ugly commercials and jet fuel for their candidates. We spend money to cure erectile disfunction, but don't think twice about the kids who don't have enough to eat every day. It certainly shows what our priorities are in the grand old U S of A.

I don't want to preach or point the finger at anyone. But I think it becomes easy to say that an average household doesn't feel like we can have any part in making a difference. If we are working so hard just to take care of ourselves, how can we be asked to do more for others? But that's exactly what we are called to do. Cameron, I hope that someday you will share that sweet passion with me. That your innocence will wonder why it is that we have what others do not.

God asks us every day if he can have our lunch. When he blesses us with something, he wants us to see what we can really live with and what we can live without. When we offer it back to him with joy, he can take it and do amazing things with it. And not just money! Our time, our talents, our love for others. When we feel like we just want to hog our lunch to ourselves, we miss out on the miracle.

Star Struck

Your daddy called me during lunch to tell me the highlight of his day. He got to ride in the same elevator as this guy:

That's right - Tim Duncan! Of course, Tim is seven feet tall and has been the NBA MVP on a few occasions, so I am sure it was a little intimidating for your daddy... He said they spoke briefly and shook hands. Said he was a very nice guy! Since the Spurs go to one of the doctors in his building, he has also met Manu Ginobili the same way. He even got to oogle over Tony Parker's white Lamborghini driving past him in the parking lot.

I keep telling him that he should invite them over for a barbecue or something, but I think he forgets to mention it. Hopefully he behaves himself well and doesn't seem too star struck!

Any Takers?

I think the whole paparazzi trend is a bit scary. They literally stalk new moms to capture that first picture, which is then sold to magazines for millions(!) of dollars. Why is our culture so obsessed in the first place? New parents have to be super-controlling and make arrangements to sell the photos themselves just to avoid the chaos of going out in public for the first time surrounded by insanely greedy photographers.

Rumor has it that the first picture of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's new twins could fetch somewhere in the neighborhood of $15 million. Granted, they allegedly donated the $4.1 million they were paid for photos of their first child together to charity, but that is still completely outrageous. So one writer for MSNBC decided to detail just what that potential $15 million could buy for the average person. Here are your 36 choices, with my favorites in italics:

1. Health care for about 1,250 families of four for a year.
2. Approximately 12,500 tanks of diesel fuel for 18-wheelers (based on 300-gallon tank).
3. One worthless New York Yankee, and change (Carl Pavano makes $11 million).
4. About 1,875,000 bushels of corn.
5. Almost four Kobe Bryant forgiveness rings.
6. Approximately 75 three-bedroom homes in Stockton, Calif.
7. Approximately seven three-bedroom homes in Beverly Hills, Calif.
8. About 13,600 Apple laptop computers.
9. Five 30-second commercials during the next Super Bowl.
10. Approximately 7 to 15 blast-resistant vehicles for soldiers in Iraq, depending on size of the vehicles and how they are equipped.
11. About 220 new public-school teachers in the state of South Dakota — and that’s if you doubled the average salary for a teacher in that state, which is the lowest in the nation at roughly $34,000.
12. About 1,500 bottles of 1966 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Romanee St. Vivant.
13. Somewhere between 4.28 million and 7.5 million bottles of Charles Shaw, depending on the region.
14. One year of tuition, room and board, and books for 333 students to attend Ivy League universities.
15. A two-week supply of Plumpy’nut peanut food paste for about 2,142,857 malnourished children in Africa.
16. Angelina Jolie to star in your film, depending on the project.
17. Average weddings for between 300 and 750 couples, depending on area of the country.
18. Slightly less than one-third of the breeding rights to Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown.
19. Roughly 11,540 seven-day Hawaiian cruises.
20. About 105,633 bottles of Viagra (90 pills in each bottle, 90 mg).
21. About 412 new firefighters in New York City.
22. About 349 prisoners kept behind bars for one year.
23. Approximately 7,500 babies provided with disposable diapers from birth through potty training.
24. One anchor for the “CBS Evening News” for one year.
25. The care and feeding of 15,000 dogs and 15,000 cats for one year.
26. The annual salaries for just over 88 U.S. senators.
27. Somewhere around 25,000 pairs of Jimmy Choo pumps.
28. About 2,500 Gibson Jimmy Page Signature Les Paul Custom guitars.
29. Approximately 20 cities hosting the Olympic Torch (with costs coming mostly from police overtime).
30. The training of 10 Air Force pilots.
31. Breakfasts for roughly 11,111,000 school children nationwide for one school year under the federal government’s School Breakfast Program.
32. One year of cable television for about 300,000 people.
33. Knee-replacement surgeries for approximately 882 patients performed in top-tier U.S. hospitals.
34. Knee-replacement surgeries for approximately 3,000 patients performed in top-tier hospitals in India.
35. Subscriptions to People magazine for about 131,578 new subscribers (based on 45 percent discount off the newsstand price).
36. Live-in nannies for 288 couples with newborn twins for one year (based on fee of $700 per week for one baby plus another $300 per week as a twin supplement).

Gosh, Bo and I will probably have to pay to have our baby's picture taken, then we will give it away for free! But if someone was willing to shell out the money, we could probably get something more exclusive arranged...