Drum roll.......

And his name is.... Bryant Walker Tillman :)

We are sooo excited and can't wait to have him in our arms!

Catching Up...really this time.

I've started 2 blogs titled "Catching Up" over the span of the last few months...and have yet to finish either. SO, even though those were condensed versions of our summer, this is the super condensed version.

1. Biggest news- We are having a BOY!! I really never doubted it would be a boy although I didn't like to say I "knew" it was a boy much. Every dream I had, the baby was a boy and every time I looked at girl things I got the feeling I was wasting my time. Chadd, on the other hand, had the "girl feeling".

2. No, we don't have a name picked out yet, so stop pressuring us :) Just kidding. We have it 1/2 figured out, but are stuck on the middle (or first) name and are now taking any suggestions; except from my sister, Jamie. She has been kicked off the baby-naming team. ;)

3. We still have LOTS to do to prepare for our little man. The guest bedroom that will be the nursery has been taken apart and the closet has been cleaned out. Only problem is everything from the closet is now in the floor of the bedroom, hmm. We have wire shelving throughout our house and I hate it (one of those things you learn after building and living in your first home). I decided what better room to start converting closets than the nursery, so Saturday I convinced Chadd to take the wire shelf out. He so sweetly did, although he did not want to. We went and got paint and my Daddy painted the closet while Chadd painted another guest bedroom which will become the office. Yes, we are playing major fruitbasket turn over in our house.

4. CHADD HAS A NEW JOB!!! In May, he had a phone interview for a position at U. of South AL as an 'Assistant Professor of Military Science'. We, of course, were hopeful but decided to pray and then just give it over to God. Last year at this time, we were waiting to hear from another full-time military position and it consumed us. We prayed and we prayed and we prayed some more. Everyone around us prayed. We were crushed, to say the least, when he wasn't selected. It was hard for us to accept that it wasn't God's plan for him to have that job. This time, there were 60 applicants and we wanted to trust God, and just let His will be done. I am SO, SO thankful Chadd was selected and that we get a chance to be home together. I also pray that its a job he enjoys. He seems to so far (students haven't come back yet). He will be teaching freshmen students and of course will still be able to fly on the National Guard side of things. Sianara, Louisiana!!

5. On the down side, Chadd will be deploying again in the spring. I'm trying to stay positive. This one is supposed to be 12 months as opposed to the 18 month deployment last time. That is definitely a blessing. I'm already ready for it to be over. Just keep us in your prayers.

6. I am not keeping Philip and Mary-Claire anymore. I have missed them so much. When I found out I was pregnant they had to begin looking for daycare. Spots are very hard to come by around here. Fortunately, Mary-Elizabeth was able to find 2 spots at the center they liked the best. Unfortunately, that meant they had to start going sooner than planned in order to keep those spots. But like always, it has actually worked out for the better and has been a blessing, which I will explain in my next point :)

7. I had my first ever hospital experience last week (on the patient side). I have been having some severe back pain and cramping on the right side for a while. I called the Dr. to make sure it was safe to use a heating pad and maybe some icy-hot on it. Well, she informed me that I was to go to the hospital, go straight to Labor & Delivery and tell them my name- she was going to call and tell them I was coming. After a couple of hours of being monitored I was told that I was having contractions and that I was being admitted. I did NOT expect any of that nor did I want to stay. They gave me phenergan and pain meds and I was off to never-never land. I don't remember much of the afternoon and night. I think the meds relaxed me enough to knock out the contractions which is what they were hoping. My Momma and Jessica came down. Chadd's parents and cousin Amanda came to visit me as well as some sweet people from church. All of my sweet friends from church had a call circle going and we are very, very thankful for all of the prayers. I was discharged the next day because no one could really figure out what happened to cause them. I've been trying to resume normal activities, but take it easy at the same time. I wish I could say the back pain is gone, but its actually been pretty bad the last couple of days. My (complete) guess is that I have a kidney stone. I'm just praying it doesn't keep progressing and start causing contractions again.

8. I will start teaching again next week. I am excited to get started back but I'm also trying to be realistic and remember how stressful it was at times last year. For those that don't know I'm working with Baldwin County Mental Health. I teach afterschool programs for "at-risk" children and teens. I teach life skills lessons on peer pressure, goal setting, drugs and alcohol, etc..

That's all I can think of for now. Maybe since I'm supposed to be spending a lot of time off my feet I'll be able to blog more often and maybe put up some pictures of other fun things we have done this summer...maybe ;)

Me at 20 Weeks (I'm 22 and 5 days today)