I stalk Aggies in my spare time

No joke.

It's so crazy being 1500 miles away from home and seeing Aggie stickers and flags all over the place. I would guess there is a larger representation here from A&M than any other university, including the Naval Academy. Or maybe it is just that Aggies have more school pride and want everyone to know where they went to school? Within a one block radius of my house, there are at least 9 Aggie families. One block. Can you believe that?

It always made me so excited when I was walking and I would see the Aggie symbol somewhere. One day, I decided to make it my mission to meet all the Aggies around me. When you from a school where people say "howdy" as they pass, it doesn't seem too odd to go door to door introducing yourself. And that is exactly what I did. Plus, it was right when football season was starting up, so we wanted to invite all the Aggies in the area to watch an Aggie game at our house.

We met quite a bit of people this way and did have our get together. It is a running joke now around here that if an Aggie moves to the area, just give me a little bit of time and I will seek them out. There is my neighbor behind me, who was out of town for a month. I checked everyday to see if her car was back, and when she arrived I went over to say hi. Then there was the couple whose door I knocked on probably on 5 occasions. I finally tracked them down in the grocery store. Thank goodness for Aggie shirts. When they told me their last name at the grocery store, I told them I had been by there house quite a bit to meet them. (Our last names are all hanging in our yard on base.) I'm sure I would scare someone who attended another college, but I feel it is understandable coming from A&M. Or at least I hope.

The whole point of this story is to rave about my labor-inducing massage I just received. A new Aggie friend was the one who gave me the name of a masseuse known to work magic. The masseuse said that the massage is almost 99% effective and labor should start in 6-8 hours. This should be interesting. We will see what happens. If anything, I have never felt more relaxed before. This actually was my first massage ever, and quite a memorable one at that, especially if it works.

I asked her before it started what she did, and she said, "I rub down all your female organs." Interesting. I didn't know what to expect, but turns out, it was just your female organ pressure points in your arms, legs, and back. She was rubbing a knot in my leg for a while and when I asked what it was she told me, "that is your uterus." Again, probably wrong wording. I don't care what she calls it though, if it works!

6-8 hours. Here we go. One last meal out, a nice shower, and getting Emily ready for bed. Hopefully this will be an eventful evening.

Where would I be without Aggies?

I'm still here...

in case you all were wondering.

Voodoo (as Daniel likes to call it) labor-inducing massage set up for later today.

We shall see...

Multitude Mondays - Week Thirteen

238. getting quality time with Emily before Olivia comes

239. the beautiful weather we have been taking advantage of

240. still feeling comfortable at 40 weeks

241. having fun with Mimi in town

242. getting to another Bible study before Olivia comes

243. hearing from Daniel every night while he is out in the field

244. that Daniel has cell service out in the field

245. a healthy pregnancy

It's a waiting game... and I'm losing.

We are still here. Quite frustrated, but still here. Daniel is not, though. He is already out in the field training. Yea! This is just working out so perfect... He has called a couple of times, which means he has some cell service at least. It will only be about 4 hours until he can be back at my bedside if I go into labor. I am still debating if I should let him take a shower or not when he gets back. That will be decided when the time comes.

In the meantime, I have been trying everything to get this baby out.... I have walked more than you know, and I have even jogged. I ate a whole pineapple, which really isn't a feat because I usually do that. I have eaten spicy foods, done specific stretching positions and even a few things that shouldn't be mentioned on here. Still no baby.

Emily has been getting quite bored waiting, as well.

She has tried out all of baby items.

She has also spent a lot of time hydrating in preparation for what is about to come.

Maybe some shopping will help things along? We are getting ready to head down to Wilmington, which is an hour away, to have some fun. That could be a very interesting car trip back. If that doesn't help, I have a pregnancy massage planned that supposedly induces labor within 24 hours. I am determined to meet Olivia soon. Can you tell?

And I thought we were being unique

I have always been somewhat bitter about what my parents named me. They named me after my two grandmothers -- Elizabeth, who is my father's mother, and Lorraine coming from my mother's mother, Olivia Lorraine. Not that this wasn't a good idea, it's just that I have always loved the name Olivia more than the name Lorraine. In all honestly, though, Elizabeth Olivia or Olivia Elizabeth maybe doesn't flow as well as Elizabeth Lorraine. Growing up, I knew I always wanted to name a little girl Olivia. It was such a unique, pretty name. I just loved it.

When we found out we were having a second girl, the name game wasn't too difficult this time around. My grandmother is getting older and we thought it would be special if she was around when we named a child Olivia. A couple of days ago, an article popped up on Yahoo about how some older names are making a comeback on the top baby name charts. I clicked the article and to my surprise I found Olivia in the top 5.

Seriously?

Not that it really matters, but I have been waiting my whole life to name a child Olivia and nobody else has seemed to really care for it. Until now.

Now it just looks like we are following the pack.

Still in the womb and already behind

Poor Olivia.

She really has a lot to live up to.

Emily has been an absolute delight the past 21 months.

Sure she has had her moments. Sure we have had some difficult times.

But isn't that what you expect when you have a child?

No baby is perfect.

But Emily is pretty darn close.

And she already has one point up on Olivia.

Emily was already here by this point in my pregnancy.

Poor Olivia.

Multitude Mondays - Week Twelve

224. the smell of my daughter

225. that people are praying for me

226. that this pregnancy is almost over (although, it really has been enjoyable)

227. anticipating all the guests who are getting ready to visit

228. frozen meals when I don't feel like cooking (which has been all the time lately)

229. how neat and tidy my daughter has become

230. watching Emily be entertained for an hour with a wipe

231. all the fun we had watching the Olympics

232. that Emily enjoys our daily walks (for a while, she put up a fight)

233. that Roxy continues to heal

234. my new crossword puzzle book (it was suppose to be kept for the hospital, but I couldn't wait)

235. that we live 5 minutes from the hospital this time (it was about a 40 minute drive with Emily)

236. learning that I am not the only one who goes crazy at the end of their pregnancy

237. friends that the Lord has placed in my life