Decorate a Fall Tree

Good Wednesday morning!

The Gallery Pics are of Copper and Sparkle enjoying the crisp, cool autumn air. They are finally moving again. I love to watch them play in the fall and spring.

CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST! - In honor of my 500th post on A Simple Life, I am having a contest for the last Mystery Bag Party. The first SIX WOMEN who comment in the Comment Section, via e-mail or Facebook beginning 6:30 a.m. Friday, OCTOBER 1, will be eligible to climb on board the Big Gold Van for the fourth and final Mystery Bag Party!

I'll announce winners as soon as the first six people have entered the contest. Mark it on your calendars... Friday, October 1 at 6:30 a.m.

October Special Guest Hints - In only two days, our October Special Guest will be making an appearance! Here are a few hints for your guessing pleasure...

1. She is the wife of one and mother of three.

2. She is the driving force in her family... literally.

3. She is ALWAYS on the ball.

I'll have a few more hints tomorrow. Commence guessing!

Roxie's Birth Day Story - Part Four

As the weeks slowly went by (as they so often do in the last trimester of pregnancy), my numbers went up. It took a long time, but three weeks before Roxie was due, I had reached the "borderline number." It wasn't my goal number, but the doctor was much more confident of a safe delivery at this point of the pregnancy.

However, as I stated before, we were about to hit Incident #4 of this pregnancy. I was now going to the doctor weekly. A sure sign you are going to have the baby sooner than later. I was huge. And I don't mean huge from eating powdered doughnuts and Sneaky Pete's hotdogs thrice daily (see Austin's Birth Day Story). I mean huge as in Kate Gosselin! However, we knew because of multiple ultrasounds, there was only one little baby in there. Hmmm.

"You're measuring over 44 weeks," the doctor told me.

"I thought when you measured 40 weeks, it was pretty much time for the baby," I said.

"That is correct. Let's do another ultrasound and try to figure out what's going on," he said.

Now, I'm okay with ultrasounds. Except for a little cold jelly on the belly, it isn't painful, and because it is basically taking pictures of the baby, it's right up my alley.

"The baby is a normal size for 37 weeks. However, there is a very large amount of fluid," he told me. Fluid. That didn't sound bad. I could set a two-piece place setting of china and a pot roast on top of my belly and still have room for the dessert tray, but as long as it was just fluid causing my enormity, I could deal with that.

"What causes extra fluid? Am I drinking too much?" I asked.

"No. There is a 50-50 chance that the baby's esophagus is not attached to the stomach. That means instead of the fluid going completely through the baby, it is backing up." He let that sink in a little.

"That doesn't sound good," I finally said. "How do we get the esophagus to attach to the stomach?"

He then went on to explain that after Roxie was born, she would be whisked away to NICU for testing. They would have to give her a dye and X-ray her to make sure it went through her entire digestive tract. It would show if the esophagus wasn't attached.

I thought about that information for a little while. "What if it isn't attached?"

"We transport her to Children's and she'll have surgery that day to correct the problem. It's a pretty basic surgery," he reassured me.

"Can I go with her?" I asked.

"No. We won't transport you, because unless you go into labor before we schedule this birth, you'll have to stay put and recover from your C-Section."

Okay. This man was getting on my last nerve. He was nothing but a big fat bad news bearer from beginning to end.

"That's not acceptable. If one of my kids is having surgery, I will need to be there," I said stubbornly.

"You're not understanding," he said just as stubbornly. "This will have to be taken care of quickly. As soon as we see a blockage, she'll be transported immediately."

After asking a few more questions, I waddled out to the waiting room where Mike was waiting to drive me home. Everything had happened so fast in the doctor's office, I hadn't even had time to call him back. We talked about this latest development on the drive home.

"Okay. Here's the deal. I want you to stay with Roxie from the minute she's born until we know what's going on. I want you to ride in the ambulance with her, and be outside the operating room waiting for her, and I don't want you to leave her side until you know she's okay. Mom will go with you, too. And Daddy will stay with me until we hear something."

"I'm not going to like leaving you after you have surgery, but that's what we'll have to do," he agreed.

With a plan in place, we prepared ourselves for the birth of our third (and final) child. We were to wait two weeks for the scheduled C-Section. (The ultrasound indicated she was a little small, and if she was to have surgery, they wanted her to be a little heavier.) Needless to say, it was going to be a long two weeks.

You'll be glad to know, Roxie will be born tomorrow as far as this story is concerned. Heavy sigh of relief!

You've gone this long, you might as well come back tomorrow and finish the story. You know you want to!

Wednesday Wisdom - In keeping with our "Fruits of the Spirit" theme, today's quotes will center around self-control. That is the fruit which does not come easily to me... at all!

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” Benjamin Franklin

“If a man will understand how intimately, yea, how inseparably, self-control and happiness are associated, he has but to look into his own heart, and upon the world around. Looking upon the lives of men and women, he will perceive how the hasty word, the bitter retort, the act of deception, the blind prejudice and foolish resentment bring wretchedness and even ruin in their train.” James Allen

"A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in." C. S. Lewis

"Nothing makes it easier to resist temptation than a proper bringing-up, a sound set of values... and witnesses." Franklin P. Jones (It's hard to find a humorous quote about self-control, but this one is very true AND it made me smile.)

Decorate a Fall Tree

I don't have a fall tree, but I am seeing more and more of them in homes and in stores. I now have two friends who decorate fall trees just like most people decorate Christmas trees. They have ribbons, garland, mini-scarecrows, lights, bows... everything and more. These trees have pumpkins, pinecones and gourds... oh, my!

Since this is a tradition I haven't started for my family (YET), I have no pictures. However, if you live near a Hobby Lobby store, they have a HUGE beautiful go-by as you walk through the front door.

Not only would this be a beautiful, fun addition to the fall season, but if you want to be practical and logical, when it comes time for decorating the Christmas tree, your tree would already be in place, shaped up and lit! That's a win-win, isn't it?

Have a great Wednesday. Remember, it's Encouraging Wednesday! Have you called, sent your texts, e-mailed, etc. someone today? It's not too late. Encourage at least ONE person today... more if you can! Thursday I will have more hints about our October Special Guest, linkage and a fun date for you to try. Oh, and I'll be mentioning the CONTEST one last time before my 500th post Friday morning! You'll definitely need to visit Thursday. Definitely!

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda