38 Weeks and 5 Days

Let the count down begin! We are impatiently waiting for our daughter to arrive! I'm not sure there's any more room for her to grow in there... COME OUT BABY!

21 Weeks 4 Days

Okay... it has been requested that I put a picture of my pregnant self on the blog. I want you to know that I avoid taking pictures of myself pregnant. There were only a handful taken when I was pregnant with Rufus, and I don't plan on breaking that trend. I just don't feel attractive and I don't want to remember my unattractiveness. Anyway... here it is.

P.F. Chang's Rock & Roll Marathon

Kudos to our brother Jeff who bravely ran the P.F. Chang's Marathon in 5 hrs. 28 min. 14 sec. this past Sunday. JEFF, YOU ROCK!

Jeff crossing the finish line!

Jeff after crossing the finish line... somebody give that guy a hug!

Good call Mom!

We're here for you man!

Everclear was performing as participants were completing the marathon.

The Verdict

We went to the 20 week appointment and the ultrasound this afternoon. Getting there was half the battle with all the construction on Greenfield and Baseline but we all made it in one piece. I was so excited I wanted to scream, but our ultrasound technician was less than enthusiastic and did not share our sentiment at all. She was all business... taking measurements and recording data. Me? I couldn't stand silence so I chatted up a storm and asked a dozen questions. Then she calmly asked, "Were you wanting to know the sex?" I didn't even have to stop to think before I blurted out, "YES! I need to know!" I even explained how my school kids and fellow teachers were all waiting for an answer. We were holding our breath as she angled around trying to find an indisputable view. Rufus, of course, didn't really know what was happening. Finally I piped up, "What are we looking at? Because I'm lost? If that's suppose to be the part it does not look boyish." The technician showed her first ounce of emotion, grinned, and confirmed that it was indeed a girl.

A foot and part of an arm.

Front view of face (eyes, nose, chin)

The girlie parts!

Christmas Cards

We had every intention of sending out Christmas cards this year (like we do every year). So... they're a little late, but they are in the mail. And in the spirit of downsizing, we downsized our mailing list and decided to post it electronically for all of our blogger friends/family.

As the economy took a dive, enrollment at University of Phoenix Online climbed and thankfully that meant Albert was much needed in his position. He is still taking classes towards his MBA and has a new graduation date set for May 2010! Albert was drawn for antlerless elk in October, but unfortunately was unsuccessful. This past year he was called to teach Valiant 8 in primary, but as of the New Year we will be team teaching CTR 7.

Midway through her 5th year with Gilbert Public Schools, Rafaelle again finds her services split between two great places. She is teaching music at both Val Vista and Gilbert Elementary. She is highly anticipating the end of this school year, as she will be delivering our 2nd child on or around June 2nd. She has also been working in the primary with the CTR 5 class.

Rufus will be turning 3-years-old in February and is just a wonderful boy. He has become an excellent helper around the house and loves to ask, “What you doing?” May the great inquisition begin! He enjoys counting to 12, saying ABC’s, singing, playing with cars, and is learning to ride the bike he got for Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas... more pictures and posts from Christmas Day to come! Stay tuned!

All Aboard!

On Saturday we took Rufus to see what is believed to be the third-largest garden railroad layout in the United States. There are 3,500 feet of track, 300 model locomotives, 4,000 freight cars and 400 passenger cars on what the owner calls the "Palo Verde & Southwestern Railroad." To say this is a small hobby would be an understatement! Rufus was in awe... no screaming, no running, no jumping up and down... he just couldn't believe what he was seeing. He spent most of the time perched on Albert's shoulders so he could see all the trains that were running on the tracks. I think this may have renewed his love for Thomas the tank engine. Since we went at night I found a few pictures from www.azbigtrains.org of the trains during the daytime. Enjoy! They do this every year at Christmas so take your family next year... you won't regret it!

The Bump

Since I'm starting to show... there's no hiding it any longer! We are expected to have a new member of our family on or around June 2nd. Besides the 3 months of morning sickness and the flu, the baby and I are doing great! We are scheduled for an ultrasound on January 19th and if all goes well we should know the sex of the baby at that time. Until then... we will be practicing our breatheing!