One Way or Another...

If this isn't a belly that looks ready to pop, then I don't know what is...

Well, it looks like tomorrow is going to be the big day! After my OB appointment on Wednesday of this week, my midwife said that my cervix was very favorable for delivery & she would be comfortable inducing labor at any time. While I actually much prefer the surprise of my water breaking spontaneously, as has happened 3 times, I'm beginning to think little Lucy is quite snug inside as she just gets bigger & bigger! (Darcy was the same way, so I was induced with her the day before my due date and she came out weighing well over 9 pounds!)
So, with Lucy's size not really an issue, and my cervix being favorable, and with my due date aka Drew's 2nd birthday fast approaching on Monday...Jeff & I talked it over on Wednesday & decided that we would give Lucy until Friday & if she still hadn't gotten the message that we all really want to meet her, then I would go ahead & be induced Friday morning. I'm still having sporadic contractions, though they have gotten more intense at times, and I really feel like my body is ready...so unless she decides to come on out tonight...we will be heading in to the hospital bright & early in the morning to see if we can't get things started for reals!
We sure would appreciate your prayers for a smooth delivery & a healthy baby girl tomorrow! We are so thankful for all who have been praying for us thus far, and I feel a wonderful calm & peace, along with all of the excitement of getting to have a baby tomorrow!!!
We are so thankful to have our family close by so that they can help with getting the rest of the kids to & from school & activities tomorrow & this weekend. We would also appreciate your prayers that everything goes smoothly for our parents who will be watching the kids...and that the kids will be good for them. They are all SO excited for Lucy's arrival, but the heightened emotional level can contribute to some crazy kiddoes at times!
So stay tuned, I will be updating here & on Facebook...we hope to have wonderful news to share with you very soon!

And before things get crazy around here...I wanted to make sure to share some photos of us celebrating another very special birthday this week...Jeff celebrated his birthday on Sunday! The past few weeks have been pretty low-key as we have avoided making a lot of plans since we were not sure when Lucy would arrive. So we enjoyed a nice family Sunday...we went to church, went out to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and then came home & let Daddy take a nice birthday nap! The kids had been working on special birthday cards for Daddy all weekend, so they used the afternoon to finish them up.

While Jeff was napping, I used the time to bake him a chocolate birthday cake! We had to head back to church Sunday evening, but as soon as we got home, we dug right in!

 There was great debate on how many candles to put on the cake, but in the end we decided on one for each of the kids...so each could help him blow one candle out. 

Drew, of course, was a big fan of the cake...as he loves anything "choc-at"

But since it was Daddy's birthday, Drew was willing to share!

Or maybe not!

Sophie & Daddy

Darcy & Daddy

Boys being boys

Knuckles!

Jack & Daddy

Happy Birthday to a terrific father, a godly man & wonderful husband! 

We are so blessed to have such a godly leader of our family! 

We praise God for you every single day! 

Thanks for making life so much fun! 

We love you Daddy!