36 weeks

So Sara is right at about 36 weeks now.  The end is coming.  Fast for me, not fast enough for her (probably).  We just had an appointment today at which they did an ultrasound.  Apparently the kid is huge.  We knew that by the 'are you having twins' question from strangers, but he is currently about 7.25 lbs and the doctor was joking about how he will not be able to hold up his head it is so big, ha.  Also he has tons of hair.  That gift to him did not come from my side.  Anyways, some pictures.

I was joking the other night about how pregnancy is probably more convenient than it is not convenient.  Here is proof: 

All is well that ends well

So one small upside to catching part of our kitchen on fire (I find it is best to start stories with potentially startling information that people may not already know...) is that we were able to do a remodel we have been talking about for a long time but didn't think we would ever really do.  Our kitchen was always kind of like a cave to the side of the house.  Sara's dad and I already took out part of the wall where there is now that pillar/column, which made a big difference, but we always wanted to cut a hole in the wall over the stove.  

We did so during the fixes from the fire.  Here are some before/after pictures from both sides of the wall: 

From inside the kitchen (there was a microwave above the stove before, but that had already been taken out by the cleaning people):

 

Dang, she pregnant

On a walk earlier today, Sara was telling me about how people do weird stuff around pregnant women.  They ask how far along you are, they ask if you are having twins and they refuse to let you take out your own groceries.

Just a bit ago the mail man dropped off some boxes of stuff we bought online.  The window was open, and as he walked away I heard him say, "dang, she pregnant" and came back, picked up the boxes and rang the door bell again.  It was really nice of him since earlier in the day he only saw Sara and not me (dropped off the mail before the boxes).  Guess he just didn't want to make the pregnant lady bend over to pick up the boxes.

engagement surprise

This past weekend we went back and took some pictures of us and Franklin Maverick Felix Fantastico at the same place that I proposed to Sara in Colorado Springs.  More to come, but thought I would share this one... kind of fun.  Same spot and same pose as that day back in 2005.

DIA sunset

It was sad to leave this and come back to TX... 

It's not nesting

Sara began some sewing for Franklin Maverick tonight and was pumped about it. I asked if this was the start of nesting, to which she said no. She was just enjoying making something for Franklin Felix Maverick (insert other names he has/had(but won't have))...

A slice of TX

Texas has some of the best wildflowers I have seen.  They will cover entire fields and are all along the highway between Dallas and Waco.  There are lots of the classic Bluebonnet, but there are lots of other yellow flowers, red ones that look like Indian's Paintbrush, and all these little white and pink ones called the Showy Primrose.  

The top picture is at B's place (which she has sold now!), and the bottom one is one of her neighbor's place. That second one seems very Texas.  

The String That Binds

I have been digging this song lately:

Pruning Roses

Ever since this past fall I have thought our rose bushes out front needed a trim, and pruning is usually best done before it gets too warm outside.  So in a brief period of productive procrastination on a pleasantly warm afternoon a few weeks back I decided I should prune them.  Now, pruning is serious business.  First you need a sharp tool because you don't want to crush or tear the stalk; this invites problems.  Clean cuts are best for most things like life, whether it be plants, flesh or even emotions.  Second, you should probably allow for some time - don't rush it.  Third, know how and where to cut.  Cut the stalk at an angle - not straight if you can avoid it; above and near new or potentially new growth.  

Fourth, and hardest, you need to know what you want your rose bush to look like.  Lastly, related to this point, you need foresight - you don't need to know, or care for that matter, what you want the bush to look like at the end of that day, nor even the end of that week.  You need to know what you want that bush to look like for the remainder of its life.  In this, as I stared at the bush with on again and off again indecision, I was thinking about what it is I do with purpose that creates the 'me' not of today or next Friday but of years from now.  This got me to thinking about raising kids.  I wondered if I would have the same struggle choosing where to trim and prune for the purpose of shape, direction and growth with children as I did with my rose bush.  After all, what I trim today stops one potential bush from coming into being and brings another to life.  Years from now.  

Just then a neighbor walked by, returning home for lunch.  She said hello and said she couldn't believe I was pruning rose bushes without gloves on.  While it was a short, passing comment, I thought about this for a bit and decided that I liked doing it without gloves more than with gloves.  If for no other reason than that they seem to get in the way.  Just then I was brought back to the job at hand as I was stuck, for the fourth time, by a thorn.  Seemed somewhat poetic that the bush I was pruning stuck it to me again despite my best efforts.  But then again, they are not people or children lacking the foresight to the pruner.  They are rose bushes.