WIPEOUT

Last year at this time, we had cable with DVR and most of what we watched were shows we had recorded. Because of that, we rarely saw previews and commercials and so we missed out on a new show last summer. Thankfully, though, we caught a couple previews for "WIPEOUT" over the past few weeks and saw it for the first time tonight. We were laughing for the entire hour! It is hilarious! It's like the old Japanese game shows where people go through a giant obstacle course, fall in mud, get beat half to death by large mechanical objects swinging or punching at them. Good quality family entertainment :)

And right after "WIPEOUT" comes "The Goode Family", which shows a family that takes the vegan, eco-conscious, meat is murder, organic only, Al Gore-loving idea to the extreme. It was cracking us up as well. The mom accidentally bought two-ply toilet paper, but it turned out to be okay because the dad had built a device to separate the two layers so as not to be wasteful. I don't know if it will continue to be as funny as tonight's episode was, considering the political nature of the show and the fact that most of the writers in Hollywood are liberal nutjobs. But for now, we're enjoying it!

Our Baby's Birthday

Today was the due date for our sweet baby who is now in the arms of Jesus. When we lost her (I'm not sure why I say "her"... I guess it's just habit with Charlotte), I didn't give any thought to how hard it would be when her due date came around. But today is a reminder that we don't have our baby to hold. I can rejoice that she is already with our Savior Jesus, but the selfish being inside of me (that being is a large part of me) wants her for myself. In my arms. For me to hold. And see her smile. And grow.

It is bittersweet though, because we have another baby on the way. And while I am thrilled that Charlotte will have a baby brother or baby sister in December, I realize that we only have this baby because we could not have our other baby in our arms today.

We'd like to ask you to pray for our friends, Nick and Kelly. They are a sweet couple in our Young Married's Sunday School class and received devastating news this past weekend. Kelly is 7 months pregnant, and though she has had a healthy pregnancy up to this point, the doctors could not find the baby's heartbeat. She will be delivering the baby today, and I just cannot comprehend the hurt they are feeling. I feel lucky that we were able to find out early in the pregnancy about the loss of our child. At 7 months along, you think that you're in the clear. I am sure their home will feel very empty when they come home without their sweet little boy in their arms. Please pray for them to feel a comfort from the Lord that only He can give. I know those prayers, and time, are the only things that can heal the pain.

One Foot!

I've been building up my nerve to do it for months, and have finally done it: I chopped a foot of my hair off! I had planned for only 8 inches, because that's all that Pantene requires to make a wig, but when I went in and got to measuring, for the cut I wanted, I had a whole foot of hair that I was able to lose. I've been asking some friends here in Jax who they go to, but was very scared to go to someone who I didn't know and let them go whacking at my hair, but then I heard that a friend of mine from high school was working at the Belk Salon near our house. So I built my nerve up (with a little encouragement from Shannon, who recently had 11 inches of her long, gorgeous locks cut off) and made the appointment and am soo glad that I did!

BEFORE... what a mess! I was so excited to be blow-drying and straightening it at that length for the last time this morning!


AFTER... I love it! No regrets at all!

(Unrelated sidenote: The shirt I'm wearing makes it look like I already have a huge baby belly, but it's just the cut of the shirt. I promise I'm not that big already!)

If anyone is in need of a new stylist in the Jacksonville area, I highly recommend Apryl at the Belk Salon in the Avenue's Mall (904) 363-7375. If you tell them I referred you, you'll get 20% off your first cut (and I'll get 20% off my next one!).

Sick of Poop

How's that for a post title?! But that's the state of affairs around here. Charlotte has had diarrhea since Tuesday, which isn't fun for anyone, but is even less fun for one in diapers. Or rather, the ones who clean up the mess of the one in diapers. And I say "ones" because there were a couple that required a team effort. They've been nasty. Usually she has one dirty diaper a day, very regularly in the morning, usually the second diaper of the day. She's predictable. No Phillips or Dulcolax needed for that girl. But this week... at least 2, more likely 3. And they are nasty! And they smell! The smell is bad enough, but you throw in a little morning sickness and seriously, it's just awful. And with the diarrhea has come some diaper rash, which she's never had a problem with. A little redness here and there, but nothing that one or two applications of some cream won't take care of. But the poor thing just got so red all of a sudden. She was pulling at her diaper and whining. It was so pitiful :(

Luckily, she already had an appointment scheduled for today for her 18-month well-check. (Sidenote: I cannot even believe she is a year and a half old!) The doctor said it could be her getting some teeth in that is causing the problem. I tell ya, teeth are great once you have them, but they can cause a raucus coming in. But as far as everything else, she's doing great. She's just above the 50% curve for her height, her weight is right around the 25% mark, and her head is around the 95% :) She's shaped like a lollipop!

She was scheduled to get her MMR vaccine today, but they didn't have any in the office so we were put on the waiting list. And of course, we got a call right after lunch saying that they have arrived. She has gotten all of her vaccines so far, but I'm a little nervous about the MMR. That's the one that people point towards for causing autism. I told the pediatrician my hesitations and she calmed my fears, saying that the worldwide studies are not showing any link between the two. She also mentioned that she doesn't like to just look at the U.S. studies because they are quite often funded by pharmeceutical companies and there's a bit of conflict of interest there. She said that she and the other doctor in the practice believe that some children may be genetically predisposed to getting autism, perhaps even showing a few signs before receiving the vaccine, and the vaccine acts as a trigger that sort of sets it off and causes the condition to fully develop or flourish.

Charlotte is scheduled to get her chicken pox vaccine at her 2-year well-check, but I'm leaning towards opting out of that one. The chicken pox vaccine requires boosters, which a lot of people don't realize, so as they get into adulthood they're not really immune like they think they are. Then they end up getting the virus, which is really bad for adults. I think it's better to just get the chicken pox as a child and let your body build up the immunities on its own. No boosters needed, no risk of getting it as an adult. ::Steps down from soapbox::

:)

It was raining for three or four days straight, but it finally let up this morning. No sunshine yet, but I won't be picky. Arin is hogging all the sunshine up in Atlanta. Go see some of the cute pics of Anson and Ella, but don't go to her other blog, Easy Sewing Tips, and, most definitely, do not enter her give-away. I want to win!

Fun Update

I saw this on my friend, Candace's, blog and thought it was cute. She and her husband are expecting their first baby, and we are only one week apart, so it will be fun to share pregnancy stories and compare belly size (I have a feeling mine will be bigger- she is so tiny!).

So here's a little update...

Week and Day: 10 weeks, 4 days.

Belly Button In or Out: in... sort of. The top half is flat and the bottom half is in. It was a weird looking belly button to begin with, and never really returned to its state of normalcy after having Charlotte

Wedding Rings On or Off: on, but they didn't stay on the whole time with Charlotte so it's only a matter of time

Food Cravings: Little cravings here and there. Jared has been to the store a few times to pick up some things for me... fruit salad, sub from Publix deli, ice cream (which turned out to be a bad idea)

Food Aversions: Lots of things. All the food on commercials I see looks disgusting. And pretty much whatever I've just eaten, I never want to eat again.

Nausea: Pretty much ever-present, sometimes worse than others.

Energy Level: low low low, especially with the nausea meds

Weight Gain: -3 pounds! That's the nausea rearing its ugly head

Moody: Of couse not! I'm a constant array of rainbows and sunshine! (Jared may tell you otherwise though... just don't ask him)

Maternity Clothes: not yet, but I'm looking forward to having a new wardrobe!

Size of Baby: kumquat

Changes of Baby: He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

Next Appt: In 5 weeks, but I have to get some blood work done before then.

Other: Naptime and bedtime are my favorite times of the day!

God Is Good

Strong heartbeat, everything looking good! Around the 2:45 mark, Baby Rollins starts squirming around :)

Translation, Anyone?

My New Favorite Website

My sweet sister-in-law Arin has created a new blog, and it is already my new favorite! It is Easy Sewing Tips and features, what else... Easy Sewing Tips! She has made tons of cute bags, the most adorable dresses for Ella, matching shirts for Dusty and Anson, and she even made Ella's curtains and bedskirt in her nursery. She's magic with the sewing machine, folks!

So head on over and check out her blog. Lots of great tips for beginners and she'll feature some projects she's done with the how-to's. The tagline for the site is "For people who like simplicity!" Seriously, it doesn't get much better than that! She's even going to have some give-aways soon. Now that I think of it, don't go there. I want as few people to enter the give-aways so that I have a better chance to win. Head on over to her family blog and just tell her how cute her kids are instead. :)

Growing Like A Weed

I measured Charlotte on her growth chart yesterday, and could not believe that she has grown more than two inches in three months! Hopefully she'll be tall like her Daddy :)

And on an unrelated note, it started raining here just a few minutes ago and the noise of the rain hitting the roof scared Charlotte. It's been so long since it's rained, she's forgotten what it sounds like!

Happy Mother's Day

I'm such a blog slacker. I go in waves- have you noticed that? Nothing for a week or two, then I overload it with two or three posts in one day. I need to work on that!



Anyway, I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Charlotte's gift to me was a full day of "daddy sitting", where I can take a Saturday (or ask Jared to take a day off work during the week) and have the whole day to relax and enjoy myself without the usual responsibilities. And Jared gave me a gift certificate redeemable at the culinary or retail establishment of my choice... a.k.a. $cash$! Updating my wardrobe would be just about pointless since I'll only be able to wear whatever I bought for another month or two, and I could have a field day in Hobby Lobby, but there aren't any craft projects that I have in my mind right now. So I'm thinking of keeping the gift certificate in my pocket for a little bit, waiting until food is something I'm able to enjoy again, then going out and celebrating at the Melting Pot! Yummy!

So other than spoiling me rotten with my gifts and changing all diapers on Sunday, Jared also let me sleep in that morning and for our Sunday afternoon nap when Charlotte woke up before I was ready to. I took a 2 1/2 hour nap!! It was wonderful! We were all especially worn out from having half the church over on Saturday evening. Not really half, but we did have about 45 people show up. But don't worry, we invited them all :) Some good friends of ours in the church, Austin & Ashley, are moving to Tallahassee for Austin to attend med school at FSU. But before you look down on them for that, they are both UF grads and, therefore, huge Gator football fans. We took turns hosting some football parties with them this past fall and it just won't seem the same without them there singing "We Are The Boys" at the end of the 3rd quarter with us. (That's a whole 'nother story in itself. None of us can sing. It was not a pretty thing to hear.) It's not hard to find a guy who is obsessed with Gator football, but to find one with a wife who shares his obsession, and for them to live close to us... well that's just something special.

Pool Day

Jared took the day off today to recoop from the trip, and it was such a gorgeous day (we've been having lots of those in Florida lately!), so we took Charlotte to the neighborhood pool to swim for a bit. (Sidenote: I love our neighborhood pool. It's about a two minute walk from our house, we have unlimited access to it, and, my favorite part, we don't have to do any of the work to keep it clean!) Charlotte loved the water and had a great time climbing up and down the first three steps. I think I might try to find a cheap wading pool for our yard. I think she would have a blast with that and never want to come inside!

Rolling on the River

This past weekend we went on a houseboat trip with some of Jared's family down the St. John's river. We had such a great time! The boat was like a big RV on the water, with all the ammenities (AC, kitchen with a stove and fridge, bathroom and shower).

So without further ado, here is a recap of the trip...

Let's start with the cast...

Gilligan and Skipper, too

The millionaire and his wife

The movie star(s!)

Professor and Mary Anne

haha, I crack myself up :)

Okay, so here is where we docked the first night. It was right off the main river. The guys hopped off the boat and made a fire and did some exploring.


There were tons of gators. We saw them all over the place. Anson's excitement over seeing the alligators never dwindled :) We woke up on Saturday morning with a gator just a few feet from the boat.


For lunch on Saturday we went to the Blackwater Inn. On the way there, one of the props hit a sandbar or something of the like that knocked a few inches of it off. We called someone to fix it...


And it was taken care of in no time while we were eating, and then we were on our way again...


On Saturday afternoon we docked at a different location, again off the main river. It was in a little lake that we had all to ourselves. Very quiet and somewhat eerie, but a lot of fun. Arin was the only one to catch a fish Friday night, but the men redeemed themselves on Saturday and each caught several bream, many of which were large enough to eat for lunch on Sunday.


We counted as many as eight gators in the lake on Saturday night, when we could shine the flashlight and see their glowing eyes. One was quite "friendly" with us, and got very close to the boat. Jared had him hooked, but the gator spit out the bait. (I'm not sure what the plan would have been had the gator not spit it out). There were several times when he had his whole body floating on top of the water, and we think he was at least 6 feet long!


On Sunday, we went to Blue Springs and walked around the park there. The only ones crazy enough, I mean brave enough, to get in the water were Anson, Jared, and Gavin. In the picture below, Jared and Gavin are on the opposite side, very close to where a smaller gator was hiding out.


After lunch there, we headed back to the marina, unloaded and headed home. It really was a lot of fun, and thanks to some nausea medication from my doctor, I was able to get through the trip without any morning sickness. It does tend to make me drowsy though, so I ended up taking several naps!

Grandma Helen Rollins

Two weeks ago, we were able to make a trip up to Port Wentworth, GA (just north of Savannah) to visit Jared's grandmother. Earlier that week, we received news that she had stage four cancer all over her body, and was told she had between one and two weeks to live. We went up on a Sunday morning and were able to stay until Monday afternoon. The trip was to say what would likely be our last goodbyes to Grandma, but it was not the sad type of occassion that that would be for many people. Grandma has been ready to go home to the Lord for quite some time, and knowing that we will see her again one day eases the pain and sadness. She and Grandpa, who passed away in 2001, have left a strong heritage for Christ. It was neat to see all of the Rollins family, including all 6 of her children and all 23 of her grandchildren (along with most of the spouses), and many of her great-grandchildren there. There are few families who can say that everyone within it is a Christian and following the Lord, but Grandma and Grandpa raised their children to love the Lord, who have raised their children to love the Lord, and who are now raising their children to love the Lord. Grandma is still hanging on, but we know it won't be long before we can celebrate the life she has lived here on earth, and rejoice that she has a new life in Heaven!

Grandma's house isn't really much wider than what you see here, and it was packed with people who love her dearly. Someone counted and said that over the weekend, 50 people had come by to visit.


I'm not sure why, but we didn't get a good picture of Grandma that weekend. This is the only picture I can find that she's in (far right, sitting in her recliner). Like all good southern families, everyone is eating. The people of Grandma's church, Port Wentworth Christian & Missionary Alliance (one of the several that she and Grandpa planted), brought so much food over for us. Even with the multitudes of people there, we ate off of what they brought for several meals, and still had plenty left over.


Ella hugging Charlotte

Ella's hug turned into a tackle


Uncle Bennie loving on James

Happy Heartbeat

I had my first doctor's appointment on Wednesday and we received very comforting news. Baby Rollinski has a strong heartbeat and is measuring right on track for 8 weeks!