What's in a Name??

I think Shakespeare said it best...

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet;"

Or would it??

Would you really feel the same way if someone came to you and said "smell, it's called a skunk"? It's just not as pretty sounding and doesn't sound like something I want to smell. Is that because we have a preconceived notion that "skunk" = stink?? If I came to you and said "this is a thing-a-ma-bob, smell it." Would you like it? Does that roll off the tongue like rose?

Well, here is the dilemma. We are trying to come up with names for the baby. I think this is really one of the hardest decisions as a parent that you have to make. I mean, this is the name that our baby will have for the rest of his or her life. I mean, you go through all the possibilities, is this a name they can be picked on for? Should we go with a unique name that nobody can pronounce or spell? Do we go with a good standard? Do we include family names? Do we do Jr.'s?

I'm not complaining, I'm really not, but it's a lot to think about. We have had our boy name picked out for several years, so that wasn't an issue. I'm not telling just yet what it is, but it is a common but not popular first name with a family name for a middle name. Rob and I, thankfully, feel the same way about Jr.'s or 3rds or 4ths, etc. We just aren't fond of it. Not doggin' ya if you are a Jr., but it's not for us. I just feel that God made everyone different, so why should they have someone else's name? They need their own name. So, we have been going round and round for a girls name for awhile. Rob wouldn't really discuss a girl's name for so long because he is SURE this is a boy. Well, my gut is saying girl, so I'm just trying to be on the safe side and get a name for both. Finally, we agreed on a first name. The middle name is another story. We've gone with names we like to family names to names that are similar to family names. I finally gave up and told Rob the middle name was up to him. He said if we go in and they tell us it is a girl, he'll make up his mind right then. So, let's just hope he doesn't spit out something crazy.

So, we go back to the doctor on Monday and HOPEFULLY, they will be able to tell us if it is a boy or a girl. I'm so ready to find out so I can start looking for bedding and clothes and all kinds of stuff. We are slowly rearranging the house to make room for everything that comes with having a baby. It's crazy!

Well, that's about all for now. Hope everyone is having a great day!

Sneaux Day!

On February 12th, it snowed in East Texas! And, I'm not talking about the usual "snow" that we get. Usually, when they say it is going to snow here, they cancel all the schools and then it just has snow flurries and nothing sticks. So, this time, they decided to wait and see what the snow was going to do. I waited up late on Thursday night because it had already snowed quite a bit, but they never cancelled school. Rob worked early into the morning because this type of weather wreaks havoc on their satellites. So, the girls and I continued like any other school night. They made their lunches and went to bed on time. Well, at 5:33 am on Friday, the phone rings. Rob and I are both still in a daze trying to find a phone. It was the school board telling us that school had been cancelled. Well, since there was no way we were going to go back to sleep, we got up and much to our surprise, outside was a beautiful, white, frozen landscape. There was 6-8" everywhere. It was incredible. We sat around for awhile just looking at it and then we had to get ready for work.

Driving to work was another story. I know if you are from the north, you are thinking...Really? They cancelled school for 6-8"?? I know, but people here don't know how to drive in it. I left early and everyone was driving 10 mph. Only two of us made it in that morning, but we lived the closest. It was not really a productive day since most of the places we needed to get in contact with were also closed. We had lunch delivered to us and it was great. About 2:45 pm, I think the attorney's didn't want to be there as much as we didn't, so they let us go home. It was a nice treat!

Rob continued to work a lot that day. I think he said he closed 18 calls that day. A normal day is 3-4 calls. It was insane!!!

In the meantime, the girls had a blast hanging out with their friends houses that day. Here are just a few pics of the day:

Looking down our street Friday morning. Some people had already ventured out by this point.

A tree in our neighbor's yard. All the trees were beautiful. I wish I could have had some time to do some photography like I wanted to that day.

Daisy May (or Santa)...she didn't know what to think at first, but then she dove right in. She and Cricket had fun playing for a little while. It took some convincing to get Princess out and she stayed as close to the house as possible.

The girls with their snowman- the first one they have built in their lives!

Snowman Mullins

On a medical note, I'm doing great. I hit my 14th week, so I'm in the second trimester. I feel SO MUCH better! Not that I really had a bad 1st trimester, but I feel great. The migraines have picked back up, but other than that... My belly is GROWING! I went from wearing my clothes just fine on a Friday to not being able to button my pants on Monday. It was crazy. I still haven't gained any weight, and have lost 7 lbs total. My doctor is not concerned with this, so we aren't either. I still don't have the results back from the testing they did at my last appointment, so hopefully no news is good news.

Calling all Prayer Warriors...

I have had two prayer requests sent to me recently. Please remember them.

First, is from my friend Kim. Jason is her husband...here is what she sent to me:

I was wondering if you could add a friend of Jason's to your prayer list. His name is Michael Parker. He just found out that he has brain cancer. They are planning to do surgery on March 3 and say that things can go either way. His wife's name is Michelle and they have a 16 month old little boy. He was in our wedding and he and Jason were roommates at Texas A&M.

Please remember him.

Also, is my friend Elisabeth's cousin Tiffani. They found a tumor on her liver in June 2009. When they went in to remove it, they found out it was cancer and had spread. They ended up having to remove part of her spleen as well. It is called Cholangiocarcinoma and is one of the rarest and uncurable cancers. She is at the Baylor Hosp in Dallas, and they admitted her yesterday. She was taking Chemo, but had to stop because her cell count was so low. She hasn't been able to keep food down for 15 days. They have tried giving her blood, but she is throwing it up faster than they can give it to her. Please remember her. She needs the prayer NOW!!!

Tiffani

I hate cancer. In case you thought I might feel differently. We need a cure, and we need it now. Every time I turn around, it feels as if someone else is being diagnosed. Please continue your prayers. I know prayer works!

On a positive note, I mentioned a lady named Julie that was undergoing the same chemo that I did several months ago. I heard from her husband last week and she is in full remission!!! She has one more round to go, but she is in the clear. Praise the Lord!!!

With God, WE WILL BEAT THIS!!!

New Baby Pics

We went this week to have my first trimester screening done. This is where they check for chromosomal abnormalities like Down Syndrome. We don't have the results back yet, and it won't be a yes or no, it will just be able to tell me my percentage of risk. This is an optional test, but with my history, my doctor encouraged us to go ahead, and we felt we should as well. We got to spend a good 30 minutes in with the ultrasound tech. The last time we looked at the baby, there was just a circle and a heartbeat. It completely astonished me that when we got to see the baby again, he/she had hands and legs and a face and was moving, A LOT!!! I mean, I knew that he/she was growing, but it still isn't real to me because I can't feel him/her moving yet. This was incredible. The tech had to measure and my baby definitely takes after me and was being stubborn! He/she moved around and then got comfortable and fell asleep. I had to move around and we had to poke and prod my belly to get him/her to move. It was so cool.

Here are some pics:

This one is a little blurry, but it's a side shot

A 4-D image



The face- still forming

Legs!!!

And, a sweet baby hand.

So, those are my precious baby pics. We are truly blessed!

Hope you all are having a great time and feel fully blessed during this time of your life. And, with the superbowl being tomorrow, I must leave you with this...

WHO DAT!?!?!?! GEAUX SAINTS!!!