The shock has worn off

It's my bedtime. After about 6 PM, I'm beat and not much good for anything. As much as I'd like to go to sleep, there are things I want to record for memory's sake.

It's almost thanksgiving and I have a lot to be grateful for.

It seems that I could easily annoy people with talk of how much I love my husband, and while I don't want to be that annoying person, I really do love my husband. He is so good to me. I think it's the little things about our relationship that I appreciate the most. He's not very good at taking me on dates unprompted or being romantic (or even saying romantic things for that matter). I usually only get flowers if the boys ask him over and over if they can buy me some and it is rare that I'd find a note to me from him. But, he's always been good at showing me he thinks about what would make me happy regularly.

For instance, after he goes to work, I proceed to take a shower and get the kids ready for the day. In the hustle and bustle, I usually forget to go turn the van on so it will be warm when the kids get in. One morning I thought ahead and went outside to scrape the windows on the van only to find that they were already scraped. Even though Mike was running late that morning he still paused to scrape the windows for me.

Another recent example is that I've been going to bed with freezing feet every night. I hate having socks on my feet when I go to bed--it's just not conducive to a restful sleep for me to wear socks to bed. The result is very cold feet. Well, Mike had bought these hand/feet warmers called hot snaps awhile ago. I made fun of him for buying what I thought was a silly purchase--that is until recently, because I now get in bed each night to find a nice warm hot snaps placed inside the covers waiting to warm my feet.

I'm very grateful to have a husband who thinks of ways to make my life happier.

Not only do I get to enjoy being taken care of by my husband, but I also get to be taken care of by my little boys. I'm still sick, and getting moving in the morning is hard for me without food in my tummy. One morning I heard this banging in the kitchen. I assumed it was the boys but had no clue what they could be doing. I sent Mike in to see what all the commotion was. He came back two seconds later and told me they were getting us breakfast in bed. The banging was Isaac trying to find a proper tray to carry our overflowing bowls of cereal (which were mostly milk with a little bit of cereal). The boys carried the cookie sheet in with the bowls and then climbed in bed with me. Isaac, laying on my left said, "Was that the Spirit whispering to us that we should make this good choice?"

How can you ask for something better?

Not to be forgotten, I'm also grateful for a little 2 1/2 year old who is basically potty-training himself. It's fantastic. I love hearing, "You a pretty princess and Daddy a King and I a tobbler."

I am surrounded by males and it is a good feeling. I feel cared for and protected.

I'm excited to add a little female into the mix and I'm mostly excited to see her cared for and protected by the same loving males that take care of me. She will be loved beyond belief.

I am excited to use the blanket and pillow I made in the summer, long before I ever knew I was pregnant or that this baby would be a girl. And I'm excited for her to wear the blessing gown my mom saved for me and the other little dresses I wore that I have stored in a box, thinking I'd never use.

However, I have noticed something strange in this experience. It seems that almost everyone that finds out I am having a girl assumes I am super excited that it is a girl (and not another boy). It is true, we want her very much. Yet, I can't help but feel words are being put in my mouth. This attitude suggests that I'm not happy with what I have--that I've been pining away for a little girl, hoping with each baby that this would be the time.

That just isn't the case. I've never cared what the sex would be. We've never "tried" for a girl. We've only tried for babies. And if this baby were a boy, we would love him just the same.

But, it's not a boy--it's a girl! It seems a little strange to me but I also feel that she is meant to come to our home and that while I'm uncertain what to do with a girl, I already love her.

We took the boys with us to the ultrasound. They have been praying for a girl for a long time and when they heard that they were getting a baby sister they literally jumped up and down for joy.

So I am confident that this little girl will be more loved than any other girl on the planet and I'm so excited to share with her the tender father and brothers she is going to inherit.