38 Weeks and Counting...

Friday the 7th I hit the 38 week mark and was getting more ancy than ever! My ankles have started to stay pretty swollen whether I've been on my feet all day or not. Austin and I decided to have a date night on this night since we don't know how many of those will get to have before we become parents. And, since Annabelle is showing no signs of wanting to leave my comfy womb, we thought tonight would be a great night. We went to Chipotle, which let me just say that this was a big deal for me because I have not wanted to step foot into a Chipotle since I've been pregnant. However, right before I got pregnant, Chipotle is ALL I wanted. We ate there and I found it to be very satisfying...no aversions to it which was good. Then we went across the way to AMC to see a movie. I hadn't seen a movie with my hubby in a good while so it was fun to get to sit close and see a movie. We saw Funny People...yeah...not so funny. That was my thought, anyway. Don't get me wrong, it was a pretty good movie, but I was expecting a lot more out of Adam Sandler and Seth Rogan. Just call me Siskel and Ebert.

Saturday was a particularly difficult one for me. I hadn't felt very good all day. I was tired, big, swollen and outright cranky. It was also Austin's mom's hubby's birthday and we were going out for his birthday dinner. As I made the dreaded walk to the closet to try and find something to wear, I eye-balled all of the clothes that I could still fit into. That equates to only about 4 or 5 different things. So, I tried on some shirts that I hadn't attempted in a while. After about the third one that was too small and uncomfortable, I threw it on the floor as well as myself, and started having a sobbing fit (getting the image of a bratty two year old? Yeah... that's pretty accurate!). Austin just stared at me for a while and then tried to talk some sense into me, but I was already indulged in my self pity (it's an only child thing). So, I put on my same ol, same ol red dress that I wear all the time, and we left to meet our family for dinner. I was pretty much a mess the rest of the night. I just felt huge, tired, and really ready to meet my baby. In all seriousness, the swelling was really starting to become an issue with me. It wasn't just the swelling, but my feet hurt and so did my legs. So, Saturday was just an all out uncomfortable and emotional day. Feeling sorry for Austin, yet?

Sunday, I woke up a mess . I was so upset, too, because I was supposed to go to sweet Brenna Pounds' baptism. I just couldn't get my sore feet and legs out of bed that morning. However, I heard that Brenna was jumping up and down in excitment of her wonderful decision to accept Christ. I wish I could've been there to see that. My swollen feet and sore legs also kept me from going to my Grandmother's birthday lunch that day also. I know everyone understood, but I hated to miss it. Towards late afternoon I started feeling a lot better, and I'm sure that was due to staying in bed ALL day and not being on my feet hardly at all. Austin and I ran an errand that evening, and on our way back he told me that he was taking me to Target. He said that I HAD to pick something out that I felt good about myself in and I wouldn't dread wearing. (He's the best, by the way). So, I waddled into the maternity section of Target and found this wonderful (BIG) flowy dress that I didn't feel too completely "whale-ish" in. I've ended up loving it and would wear it everyday...but I don't. That night Nick and Kelly were having a "Back to School Cookout" with everyone from work. I was pretty much set on not going due to my feet and legs, but I figured since it was at their house I could sit in their big, comfy chair all night. So, I did. I felt like a blob, and hated not helping cook or clean, but sitting on my big booty was good for me, I think. Here are some pics from that night.

Monday, I went to the doctor hoping to get loads of good news. Not so much. She had dropped a little bit from last week, but for the most part I was still only a centimeter dilated. Earlier that day my sister-in-law had picked me up and we went to Hobby Lobby and to look for some curtain's for Annabelle's room. Let's just say that little bit of running around allowed me to sleep really well that night.

Tuesday, I met my long-term sub up at school to go over everything I had planned. I'm really blessed to get such a wonderful, experienced (ex-Kindergarten) teacher. She's done lots of long-term subbing jobs in the past and I'm grateful that she can take over my class. We met for two hours, but I could've gone on for hours and hours about everything I do in my classroom. I'm trying to learn to "let go" and let things be just a little bit. It's hard for me to do that! Afterwards, I met Austin for lunch and then enrolled Joey into Pre-K. It was a full day, and my cankles didn't get much rest.

Wednesday, was back to work (sort-of). Our team had our team planning day that day that we were required to do for credit. It was fun to be back with my girls and to see everyone. They are one of the reasons I love my job so much and why I go back to where I am every year. We had a good day together and got a lot accomplished. I worked A LOT that day to get everything done, but I'd reached my limit and hadn't quite finished everything. So, I told myself that I would come up the next day.

Thursday was actually the last day I had off and the last day to sleep in. Friday was back to work day, so this day was the last day to veg out. I had planned on going into work, but with a friend's help, I decided not to. I figured that I had done so much already and there wasn't that much left, I should spend my last day relaxing. That's what I did. I slept in (something I'm trying to really take advantage of), had lunch with a good friend, and then spent the rest of the afternoon just lying around. However, this lying around was bitter-sweet for me. For those of you who have been keeping up with and praying for our situation with our nephew Joey, this day was the hearing to decide who gets custody - his mom or his dad. We have been praying and praying that Ashley (his mom) would get custody because we plan on taking the both of them in and helping in raising Joey. I was going to go to the hearing, but decided last minute that it was probably best I don't go due to how I'd been feeling. I don't know if I would've been much use anyway. I was on pins and needles waiting on the verdict all day long. The judge actually decided that he wanted to take another two weeks to do some more "homework" on the situation and talk to some of Ashley's doctors and things like that. From what I hear, the judge was very unimpressed with Joey's dad (no surprise there). I prayed that God would open the judge's eyes to the lies that Joey's dad had been spreading to try and get Joey. I think he saw that he was trying to cheat the system a bit. So, even though we were going two extra weeks without Joey, the judge said that we could have him on Saturday and Sunday from ten to three. Until then, we're just going to pray that Joey is placed with us and that he won't have to endure anymore of this instability. But knowing that I was going to be able to see him made my heart very happy! Leaving you with a picture of my ginormous belly at 38 weeks.

Stay tuned for week 39...