hAppY biRtHdAy to tHis gUy

he's handsome.
he's funny.
he loves jesus.
he likes to cook.
he's sensitive.
he takes lucy out in the middle of the night.
he makes me laugh.
he's really fun.
he's a really good conversationalist.
he's nonjudgmental.
he's disciplined.
he shows me what jesus looks like everyday.
he is always the first to apologize.
he's 27.
man, i'm lucky.

bAby uPdAte - 10 wEeKs

i'm 10 weeks along today.

baby seems to be treating me pretty well. i haven't been feeling nauseous at all the past couple of weeks.
woo hoo!
i have been very tired.
and very emotional.
and pregnancy brain has hit.
i'm clumsy.
i'm ditsy.
i knocked a glass pitcher onto the ground. it shattered.
i dropped a cup full of laundry detergent. it spilled everywhere.
surprisingly, those events did not end in tears.
multiple times a day, clay has to explain simple jokes to me.
my pants are fitting much tighter these days.
it's almost time to get a belly band so i can keep my pants unbuttoned.
this week, baby is the size of a prune.
my stomach seems much larger than that.
bones and cartilage are forming this week.
baby teeth are forming under the gums.
if this baby is a boy, it's already producing testosterone.
wow.
our God is super duper creative.
here's a pic of my tummy for your viewing pleasure.
now, i had just eaten wendy's and cobbler,
so part of that baby belly could just be a food baby belly.

oH tHe diSappOinTmEnT...

dear jodi picoult,

let me start by saying how much i love your work. seriously, i'm a huge fan. i love the way you write, the way you show every characters point of view and the way you suck me in. every time a new book comes out, i anxiously wait for it to show up in paperback at costco. then i sit on my couch and do absolutely nothing except read. once i finish, i go into serious withdrawl. i miss the characters, i miss the storyline and i become depressed that i have to start all over again.

now ms. picoult, my absolute favorite book in the whole world is my sister's keeper. it was the first of your books that i read and it began my love affair with them. oh, it is a phenomenal story. i finished it on an airplane and i balled my eyes out. i was so mad at you ms. picquolt, for how you ended that book, but oh how i loved it. you should know, that i never...and i mean never remember how stories end. i have often read a book and realized half way through that i had already read that same book about a month ago. but my sister's keeper was in a whole new league for me. actually, i've talked this book up to so many people, that you should probably pay me a portion of your royalties.

so, you can only imagine my elation when, as i'm sitting comfortably in my movie theater seat, a preview for the very book i could never forget comes on the screen. i think i cried. i think i spoke of it every day until june 26.

i decided it was only appropriate for me to reread my favorite book in preparation for it's big screen premiere. i did and i loved it all the same.

finally, the day i had been waiting for arrived.

june 26.

oh, ms. picoult. i must tell you that i cried through the movie as if i was a member of the fitzgerald family myself. i shook my head at the lack of development of jesse fitzgerald. i laughed at campbell and his funny explanations for judge. i smiled from ear to ear as taylor asked kate to the hospital prom.

but then...i was angry. i was so angry ms. picoult.

the movie had ended. and it did not end as the book ended. remember how i told you i never remember how stories end? well, my sister's keeper may be the only book in history that i remember the ending. it took me by surprise. it made my jaw drop. it made me seek out others that had read this book to discuss the ending with.

i just don't understand ms. picoult. i'm sure you made quite a killing selling your script to hollywood. but, did all that money hinge on the changing of the end of the story? changing something that you worked so hard to make perfect? changing something that was so perfect?

i'm sad. i'm angry. and i won't watch the movie again. i'll probably read the book again. but i won't see the movie again.

please, ms. picoult. don't misunderstand me. i still love you. i'll still read everyone of your novels. however, i will be skeptical of anymore of your books that are made into movies.

sincerely,
one of your biggest fans

juSt sO yOu kNoW

we

are

well, clay can't really use that excuse, but he does have to put up with me so i'll give him some credit.

baby fulghum is due january 29...which makes me 9 weeks along.

i'm feeling pretty good, just a little nauseous and tired.

i've been a tad cranky and emotional...just ask clay! i pretty much cry at the drop of a hat or a really good hip hop routine on "so you think you can dance".

i've been craving ice water and anything that consists of carbs and processed cheese...nachos, grilled cheese sandwiches, mac & cheese...yum!

we are super excited for this new adventure in our life. we know God is going to grow us in so many new ways and teach us so many new things. we are a little anxious, but mostly excited!

thanks for sharing in our excitement!

mY beStiE

since the first day of sixth grade, annalee and i have been best friends.

usually i refer to her as my bff, however, i ran it by her this last week and i would now like to call her my bestie.
annalee is seriously the best bestie a girl could ever ask for. she has been there for me through a lot.
she always makes me laugh, she always knows how to encourage me and she is a dang good listener. the #1 reason that annalee is the best bestie ever is that she married evan. evan met clay fulghum the first day of law school, introduced me to clay and the rest is history.
if i were a minor league blogger like annalee, i would put some good pictures of us on here from 7th grade mix match day, high school graduation, our weddings, etc. unfortunately for you, i'm a little league blogger and too lazy to go search for those pics and scan them.
so the mccords and the fulghums are besties.
they really like each other. there's only one small problem. they live three states away from each other.
this past week i went to visit my bestie in houston. clay came up for a long weekend and we had a blast.
it was so much fun to hang out day to day with annalee, adelaide, evan and berkeley.

we were pampered with manicures and pedicures.

we had lunch with old friends.

we ordered late night pizza.

we cheered this cutie on during swim lessons.

the fulghum's got some good parenting practice.

and we got to spend lots of time with our besties.

we love every second we get to spend with the mccords. it is a true blessing to have friends that you can completely be yourself around and know that no matter how far away you live or how much time goes by your friendship will not change.
annalee and evan, we love you guys so much and
can't wait to grow old with you.

gOiN' to tHe cHapEl

this weekend i was in good ol' huntsville, texas for my friend angie's wedding.

angie is a member of the blab (my college roomies).


it was an incredible weekend, full of lots of laughing, lots of food and lots of angie. it was fabulous!

there was bouquet making.

a bbq rehearsal dinner.

a beautiful ceremony.

a gorgeous reception.

complete with dancing.

and an armadillo cake (that's a foot).

it was such a wonderful celebration of such a precious couple. angie, i love you so much and i'm so glad you found trey. he is absolutely wonderful!

deLiciOuSnEss

well, summer is here.
clay really likes summer wife.
summer wife cooks and cleans much more than school year wife.
i have been just a little bit obsessed with pioneer woman's blog.
you should check it out. she has fabulous recipes and is absolutely hilarious.
i'd like to share a few recipes i've cooked from her site lately.

i made this pasta.















i'm not a huge pasta fan, so we don't have pasta around here much. this was easy to make and pretty delicious. i used chicken instead of shrimp and of course i didn't use enough chicken and overcooked it just a hair. summer wife still has lots to learn in the kitchen. clay loved it anyways.

on friday night we had clay's family over for dinner.















we had a great time.
the dinner included two of pioneer woman's famous recipes.

the main dish was her delicious bbq meatballs.
i will say, they were quite a bit of work (for my inexperienced self at least), but they were a hit.
delicious.

i also made this pie for dessert.















it was very tasty!
now, of course i made a mistake. i didn't put the crust all the way up the pie plate. oops. it was still yummy.

check out pioneer woman's blog for your next delicious dinner.