sunday am.

woke up again at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. i waited until nearly 4 to get up because that seemed more respectable. i don't know why i keep waking up at these crazy hours!

Friday was a full day. i lay in bed on Thursday night wrestling over how i was going to get all the things done that i needed to get done, but somehow it all worked out. just as it always does.

Brian and i met with Maplewood's assistant principal and Samuel's teacher first thing on friday morning to discuss how Samuel has done this year with the 504 accommodations he's been receiving for his ADD. he has to be evaluated every year to see if changes need to be made in the strategies and methods being used. we all concluded that most of the things that his teacher has been doing have been good and should stay in place. he's made great strides academically and socially, but still has a lot of emotional struggles. he needs to learn to take control over his feelings and not give in to them. all in all, it was a positive meeting. he has a wonderful teacher who has been really good for him, i think, and he's done much better this year than last.

after i left the meeting, i went and bought a ton of groceries for the weekend. while i was unloading the groceries at home, two women came up and wanted to share "words of Jesus" with me. i assured them that i was a Christian and really appreciate their concern, but i was in a big hurry, needing to get to a doctor's appointment. they asked if they could give me some literature. i saw that it said they were Jehovah's Witnesses, and i told them that i was pretty sure my beliefs about Jesus differed from theirs. despite my efforts to hurry with the groceries, we somehow got into a discussion about salvation, etc. they assured me that they believed that Jesus was God's Son and the only hope for salvation and the only way to God, just as i did. since we seemed to be in agreement, i said that was great, and told them to have a wonderful day. later i called Brian and asked him what exactly do Jehovah's Witnesses believe? i've always thought they were similar to Mormons, but these women assured me that they weren't. i guess i need to read up on it so i'll know better how to talk to them...next time.

i had to hurry to make it to my OB appointment on time. Dr. Love's office is connected to St. David's, so i have to park in the parking garage, which is always so hard to find a parking spot in, especially for my big suburban. i circled for ten minutes.

the appointment went well. i haven't gained any weight, so my goal this month is to work on that. the nurse, Janine, who has been checking my vital signs and measuring my tummy for years, said she wasn't sure if she'd be able to pick up the heart beat with the Doppler since i'm only ten weeks, but she'd give it a try. she found it right away! it's such a wonderful sound, one that i have been waiting to hear. when you're not showing yet, you start to doubt that there is a little person down there. that little heartbeat was music to my ears. i left the office feeling elated! i ran and got me some lunch at Taco Cabana, the first step in trying to gain some weight, then drove to the AISD central office on 6th St. to drop off Margaret's transfer request. i wanted to deliver the thing in person just to make sure the process got started. the woman in the office was able to answer a lot of my questions and told me that i'd be hearing back next month on whether or not her transfer was approved. that's good news!

from there i went down to Lady Bird Lake and enjoyed a 3 mile walk. it couldn't have been a more beautiful day! 

i made a mad dash back home to bake some strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, clean the house and water the garden before picking up the kids at school.


Brian's parents were here for a short visit. they got here Friday afternoon. we went to Central Market that evening, that being the place that Margaret wanted to go to celebrate her birthday. the food & music were both  good and there were a lot of familiar faces from school.

we had two baseball games on Saturday. i didn't go to the second, but stayed home with the younger boys and rested. Brian's parents left Saturday evening, but not before we'd made big plans for a week-long beach trip in August. it will not be in Texas since we want it to be convenient for Michael and Jana to join us, too. most likely in florida, mississippi, or alabama. after the inlaws left, i went over to Mueller and walked my 4 miles. despite feeling terrible, i somehow manage to get in my daily walks. getting outside like that seems to help me out.

celebrated palm sunday at church, then taught my sunday school class. after we got home and had lunch, i went to bed and stayed there all day. i felt like i had hours of sleep i needed to catch up on. i took Margaret and Samuel over to the park and they played with friends while i walked my 4 miles. i was feeling better, but i still found myself back in bed about 8:45.

monday

this morning i helped out at the school, first shelving books in the library, and then monitoring 6th graders in the computer lab. now i'm home with a to do list that seems a mile long. after the weekend there is always so much cleaning to do.

our church is having a noonday service every day this week. i hope to attend most, if not all of them. they're also have a maundy thursday meal and a good friday service. i'm so excited about all these opportunities to gather with the saints!