Ode to Kingman...(hum my country tis of thee while reading)

My Kingman 'tis of thee
all of this dirt I see,
to thee we sing!
Land of Walmart's shopping pride
with all your auto rides (senior citizen shopping carts:)
home to your double wides, to thee we sing!

Oh sage brush covered hills,
and trucks with gun racks filled
my heart cries out...
No more desert landscaping
or stoplight nosepicking
or bluehaired gun-slinging--please SET ME FREE!

Oh friends we'll miss you most,
our sanity to thee we owe.
Don't ever change!

The late night games we played,
culture--we never strayed!
great food we always ate,
come and visit soon!

(stop humming or the rest won't make sense:-)

So we are off to Vegas in a few short weeks--Scott's project is wrapping up here and we are headed back to start another. Although my "ode" doesn't state it (I couldn't come up with the right rhymes) we really will miss this place and the people here. It will be nice to get back to civilization but this was a great adventure while it lasted (Sunday "testimony" auctions, yard sale underoos and all!)

And the verdict is...drumrole please...

I was laying by Ryan today while he dozed off for his nap (before my ultrasound apt.) noticing his chubby hands, where he still has dimples on his knuckles and was remembering the outfit he wore home from the hospital. I started freaking out. I don't think I want a girl...changing a girl's diaper would be SOOO weird, I wanted another boy to wrestle with, chase and throw around. I know how to do boys, I don't think I could do teenage girls, I'm not a girly girl, I don't do slumber parties and Hannah Montana crap.

Needless to say, the Lord needed me to freak out for a moment so that I could be over the moon that #3 is another little boy. The ultrasound was VERY clear--just like Jason and Ryan's (showoffs). And to top it off, he stretched and put both his hands up behind his head, the same way Jason and Ryan liked to sleep when they were babies--it was perfect! The due date is still July 26 but the tech said she thinks it will be closer to the 21st with how we are measuring...big--but what's new? I can't wait and of course Scott is thrilled and said he secretly had his fingers crossed for a boy anyway! So frat house here we come--if I'm ever begging for a girl's night out, you know why!

Tender Mercies...

I find every time I'm pregnant I am much more sensitive to other's sufferings. I find myself bawling watching news features or tearing up reading articles or stories that wouldn't normally affect me. I find it easier to sympathize with friend's and family's struggles and I'm much more reflective on the blessings in my life. I've tried to be more service oriented, more patient and long suffering (I know--you can't tell from my 5 Stages and Vomit posts, but I really am trying :). So you can imagine how touched I was when I checked the mail box a couple weeks ago and found a package from my Aunt that I haven't chatted with in forever. She said she read my blog, could totally identify with my-life-as-I-know-it and thought I might need a pick me up; warm feety socks, lotion, a little crafty, and best of all--CHOCOLATE! I couldn't believe how something as simple as a note and some thoughtful treats could make my day--lets be honest, my week. Soooo thanks Aunt Julie and hopefully I'm reminded to do little things like this for those I care about more often! Oh yeah, I totally scarfed all the chocolate before Scott was home from work--come on, I'm not that selfless!

White Chocolate & Raspberries!

I was asked to make a cake for a friend's daughter's birthday. They didn't have many requests or ideas for it except that she likes "funfetti" cakes--too funny since she was turning 21--and that they wanted it to have "white" frosting and raspberry filling. Sooo I decided to make a white chocolate cream cheese frosting with the top layer being her "funfetti" request. The bottom layer--surrounded by the pirouette cookie sticks--is a simple butter vanilla bean cake. Both have layers of a raspberry cream cheese filling in between. Outside, on top of the frosting are white chocolate curls and tons of fresh raspberries. The cake was only supposed to serve about 8 people, but they wanted it to be 2 layers. When I showed up with this I simply told them I don't know how to bake "small"! I think they enjoyed themselves! I'll post the recipes a bit later if you want them!