~*My 4 yr old niece Raquel*~

Here she is surprising grandma in her little red riding hood costume:


Here are some pictures at the Peninsula SPCA Petting Zoo:




Bananas in pajamas:


Raquel had to have her coffee:


Toys R' Us photos:


Her FAVORITE thing in the store- Thomas the Tank Engine Legos!:

Very cute picture:

Our dogs already miss her:

A few poses before flying back home:

Change Stalin Could Believe In

Now that Obama is in power, thanks to the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)--apparently "the first thing Obama will sign as president"--babies will be murdered in all 9 months of pregnancy. Good job America.

Freedom of Choice Act Definition

And according to Obama, even after they are born, the Constitution still doesn't protect them, if the 'original decision' was to abort them and the abortion was botched. (See The Born Alive Infant Protection Act & Obama's opposition)

"Universal healthcare", only if you qualify as worthy to live.

I hate to ask, what's next?

It was nice while it lasted

Here are some pictures from Saturday (before the shower) when John and I attended the Mccain rally at Christopher Newport University. It was fun to feel like I was a part of it, but my feet were killing me! My legs are already swollen from all the water retention from my pregnancy :(
But it was fun to be there and see him speak, as well as Senator Lindsey Graham (who just won re-election in South Carolina)and a few other local politicians. John and I both handed out signs even though we didn't get paid lol. I even spotted Molly Henneberg of Fox News reporting at the side of the stage!

This is her:


John and I, in front of one of the most offensive things according to Obama:


Volunteering for the Mccain campaign:


I love John!!! (And this guy too*):


Me and my future conservative:


Megan and John Mccain:


Cindy and John Mccain:



Unfortunately, it looks like the dictator/redistributionist-in-chief will win. I pray that America will retain it's values and persevere through these 4 years, and will be salvagable from the damage that Obama's and Pelosi's hatred for America will cause. I'll be hoping Bobby Jindal will be running against Obama in 2012. Start educating yourselves now!

Update on my pregnancy

I am 29 weeks, and I just wanted to thank everyone for your concern and prayers one week ago, when I had a kidney stone. I want to express how thoroughly I believe in the power of prayer--i went back for a second ultrasound and my kidney function is now normal and there is no stone. They say it must have been a small stone (2mm) as I didn't feel the excruciating pain when it went through my ureter. I am very thankful and lucky and excited to be a mom!

I also had my glucose screening and I am happy to say, that despite my risk factors and family history of diabetes, my blood sugar was perfect! Everything is on target and my doctor said I have a "beautiful belly!" I really like her now lol :).

I have 10 weeks left guys, and now I go in every 2 weeks. Thanks everyone for all the gifts and the shower- I will be putting together the nursery soon and taking pictures of all the wonderful things we got. That nursery is looking more and more ready for a baby!

Today is the Big Day

I am so uneasy and anxious to see the results tonight or tomorrow morning, but I honestly have little faith that the election will be handled fairly; with all the voter fraud and loopholes, I just don't think it's possible for Mccain to win. But rapper "T.I." was allowed to vote despite being a convicted felon, as a result of a loophole in Atlanta (that allows felons to vote permitted they aren't currently serving probation/prison sentences) and Georgia was just declared as a win for Mccain, so maybe just maybe, all the mainstream media and polling has been as skewed as I thought. When my sister Susan went to vote today, she witnessed a black woman trying to vote despite not being registered and the volunteer got her "registered" and allowed her ballot to count. Now, I've always been under the impression that you have a deadline to register for voting, but the rules are obviously being bent in Democrat's favor. The polling place I went to didn't seem secure; there was a stack of empty ballots being handed out and you take it and fill in the bubble and throw it in the machine anonymously...who's to say the 'volunteers' don't fill out multiple forms? Even if the election boards do the right thing and weed out all the false/fraudulent ballots, it's still a big mess that will delay and possibly botch the results. There needs to be a better more personal secure way to vote.
I hope you all got out and voted your conscience. Do what is right for family values and for this wonderful country.

***'A Judgmental Word' from Samantha Hodge***
Change isn't always good. Why is this country the most successful and free land in the world? Because we have always stood up against injustices and for individual freedoms, and for capitalism, and for progression, and for respecting LIFE under an inherent moral code; Christianity. We can't take a step backword into secularism and hedonism where everything is acceptable and every opinion is appropriate, because that undermines any laws or regulations that protect and nourish democracy. Don't adopt moral relativism; there IS a definitive RIGHT and a definitive WRONG. As Robert Bork says, guilt is the most powerful and overlooked emotion. And good people acknowledge it, not deny and excuse it. Standing up for yourself, should always equate to standing up for what is right.

My Baby Shower!

Saturday November 1st was my baby shower for Lucas. Even though your mom is technically not supposed to plan your shower, my mom and sisters helped put together a great shower, and John and I were very pleased. My sister Sarah surprised us when she flew out with her adorable and inquisitive 4 yr old daughter, Raquel! It was her first flight, and for some reason Sarah didn't get seated beside her 4 yr old; Raquel was seated behind her--and get this--NO ONE would switch seats with her! Very rude. But thankfully Raquel was a big girl and was fine- enough to keep asking the lady next to her what she was doing on her laptop lol. Here are some pictures of them during their visit:
Just off the plane:

At a starbucks in the morning:

She was afraid of the dogs at first, but learned to love them...and learned how to lock Tyrone in the crate!:

And with the strat:

Coloring Care Bears-- she said, "Wow you're a good decorator!":



Click on the picture to go to my slideshow of the baby shower:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Tagged by Sarah: 7 Things

So this tag requires 7 random facts about me. Well, there is a lot most of you already know, some things you wouldn't care to know, and some things I don't want you to know! So you'll have to be satisfied with these:


1. I married my high school bully (that is no joke or exaggeration)- and converted him into the best husband, father(i already know*) and man ever. Recently I have realized how little we fight anymore, and that we have actually over the past 4 years, become MORE compatible. I always miss him and everything I do daily involves thinking about how it will affect him.


2. I am proud to have stood up for my right to wear pro-life clothing at my high school despite insecurity and intimidation of the dumb staff at my high school. This press release was on many sites in 2002, and even made it on to Dr. Laura's show!


3. My mom's dad Norman Lee Fox was a prisoner of war in WWII, while serving with the U.S. Navy in the Phillipines, and my dad's mom, while pregnant with my dad, was also held prisoner in the Phillipines during the war. (Not really about me, but interesting tidbit).


4. As a kid, I slept in the living room with my dad and little brother James. We would put all the couch cushions together on the floor and watch Unsolved Mysteries. Occasionally we would make Simeen (what Hawaiian's call top ramen) late at night. We always talked about supernatural stuff and I always told my dad I wanted him to come to me in a dream when he died to tell me he was okay. He passed in Dec 2005 and did in fact visit me in a dream- but thats another blog!



5. I was never 'popular' by high school standards, more notorious no j/k. But for some reason I was voted both "Best Female Musician" and "Most Likely to Succeed" in my senior class of >600...baffles me!


6. I am proud to have worked as a Rural Carrier for the USPS for a year in upstate NY. Hardest job I ever had, physically and mentally. But once I got the hang of things I was sometimes in and out of work in 5 or 6 hours, and still got paid for a full 8 hours. I passed the state test with a score of 99.1% which I was told most people barely pass with a 65%, thereby increasing my pay from $13/hr, to $17/hr.


7. Since Sarah had a poop one, I will too. There are many, believe me, but she will remember and appreciate this one. I don't know how old I was, pretty young. We had an above ground pool and all of us kids were playing in it. I didn't want to get out and go to the bathroom so I dropped a deuce in the pool and didn't tell anyone. I believe my sister Sarah thought it was a leaf and picked it up!!!--but all I remember was going in the house, into my moms room, taking off my bathing suit, and scooting my butt on the carpet. This was my senior yr of high school...just kidding lol. (that pic isn't mine- i searched, "swimming pool poop" isn't it perfect?)

how'd i do? Next I tag Katie Coughran!

Thank You Sarah

Here are some of the gifts we received from Grandma Emma, and our game night friend's Shawna + Jim in our soon to be nursery:


Here's one of Sarah's gifts we got in the mail this week- (she allowed us to put it together now!) And John figured it all out with my help :) This is the rocking cradle we will have next to our bed in our room. This weekend after the shower, we are going to pick up the crib and changing table for the nursery.




The completed cradle: Very cute- can't wait to put Lucas in it!

I Must Be Feeling Better

Well, still waiting for that dang stone-- going in for a second ultrasound on my kidney later this week.

But I have felt good enough to care about politics again :)
I just recently saw clips of this interview that Senator Biden did on a Florida News Channel (WFTV)--not so used to someone asking direct questions instead of dancing around with him and Obama like Ellen Degeneres does. In fact, the Obama campaign was so unhappy with the interviewer's questions that they cancelled any/all future interviews with the channel!
Here's the interview:


In response to the Obama campaign not giving money to ACORN:
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign paid more than $800,000 to an offshoot of the liberal Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now for services the Democrat's campaign says it mistakenly misrepresented in federal reports.

BY the way, yesterday I received yet another phone call from "Obama volunteers" this time for a "BETHANY HODGE"?! I was so angered I said, "What..do you work for ACORN or something?" He said, "No." I said, "Well quit making up names and trying to get illegal votes for Obama." And I hung up. I am so mad that they are using my residence and MY LAST NAME to fill with fictional democrats just so they can call and send me propaganda. ACORN is not even under investigation in my state of VA--so that leads me to believe that there are many other "community organizations" adopting ACORN's fraudulent tactics. This election better not be screwed up because of these idiotic criminals.

Update

Well, I am feeling alright today; no heartburn and very little nausea. Only slept til 2am, and napped intermittently today. My appetite is back, and Susan and John both went back to work today so things went back to normal a little and I did some much needed cleaning.

My sister Sarah is flying out from CA for my baby shower this week and the house just never can be kept clean enough with these darn dogs. I know I am just on edge because of my apprehension and lack of sleep. I washed the dishes today and cleaned the counters, took out the trash which smelled horrible from some thrown out brussel sprouts. Did some laundry. I am going to wash the master bathroom, but I need John to give the dogs baths first so I can unclog the drain of their hair before washing the tub. I love the dogs (at least my dog, Shmoopy :) but I just have no patience for them right now, and not having a fence in the back makes it a little more difficult.

It's rainy but humid today. Norman is over playing the guitar- he's bored. I keep offering him chores to entertain himself with lol. The sharp pains in my lower right abdomen are making me nervous that the real pain will soon commence. This anticipation of pain makes it worse I suppose, so I would like to just get through it.

It's 4:00pm and John and Susan are both on their way home. Thanks for all your guys' thoughts and prayers-- I really do have a lot of faith in prayer. Pain is a very humbling experience and it will make me even more grateful to get through this and have the reward of being a mommy. And yet, I am really scared of the pain. I would like to think I could just endure it and pray for strength to get through it, but I know if the pain is anything close to a miscarriage, I will be praying for God to just take the pain away. It's difficult because if I weren't pregnant, I would take and do anything to get rid of the pain. But I have Lucas to be responsible for and so I have to make very cautious and smart decisions. I know this is all obvious to you, but it's obviously all I have been thinking about the past few surreal days.

Thanks for reading and thinking of me- I appreciate the concern! I also wanted to thank Sarah for the gift I received yesterday...unfortunately, it was the big one that couldn't be gift-wrapped (she graciously bought a bunch of online only stuff from my baby registry, AND she is flying out here- which would've been enough!) but John and I greatly appreciate it and will act surprised for that one at the shower lol. It made us really excited to see how big it actually is- wish we could put it together now! But it would only make January 18th, seem so much farther away!

I am so exhausted. I never really did get to sleep more than an hour consecutively today since our ER visit. It's midnight now and I can't sleep. I have had terrible heartburn (the worst I ever had) off and on for the past 6 hours, and it's exacerbated by laying down. Now I am having horrid painful diarrhea that is literally just liquid. I wasn't really able to eat today except for a few peices of pear, and some brussel sprouts. I can't stop this nervous shaking of my head that started last night. So I came down here to read up on hydronephrosis and kidney stones. I AM TERRIFIED OF THE PAIN THAT IS MOST-LIKELY YET TO COME. I really need your guys' prayers to get through this. If any of you talked to me when I first found out I was pregnant back in May, you may remember my complaining of a deep paralyzing pain in my lower right back. This was around when I was 4 weeks pregnant, so I know it wasn't normal pregnancy back pain. I had had a bad cold and it was so painful when I would sneeze or cough. No matter who tried to massage it, it was too deep and internal a pain to reach or alleviate. I called my primary doctor to get it figured out, and the day of the appt 10 min before I was about to leave his receptionist called and told me , he "doesn't feel comfortable dealing with a pregnant woman- go to your OBGYN." Great. Yeah, it's my gynecologist's job to deal with non-pregnancy related intense back pain. And judging from numerous past interactions with this doctor, I could tell he just wanted to get out early and go home. Especially since my insurance doesn't require a co-pay. He wouldn't even prescribe me a pregnancy blood test when I first found out I was pregnant; I needed to know that my progesterone levels were normal...which I didn't get to find out until a visit to the emergency room, from spotting, during which they found that yes, my progesterone levels WERE in fact, low. So my point is that I have little doubt that my lower right back pain from 6 months ago, was directly related to my kidney. It's so frustrating that webmd.com serves more of a purpose than most doctors. Which is also why I am terrified.
My mom, everyone else, and everything I read keeps on emphasizing that the pain of kidney stones is worse than childbirth. I don't really know what to do...there is no way to determine the size of the stone, and how far along it is in the process of being passed, since they don't (or rarely) do CAT scans on pregnant women. But if it's caused hydronephrosis, which is:

Hydronephrosis is distention and dilation of the renal pelvis and calyces, usually caused by obstruction of the free flow of urine from the kidney, leading to progressive atrophy of the kidney.

Meaning if I already have hydronephrosis (unilaterally-only one kidney) then the blockage has already occured, and all I can do is wait for the pressure of backed up urine to push the stone into my ureter, which is tinier than tiny. That's the painful part- the long travel through the ureter from my kidney to my bladder, and finally out my urethra. Now I am having a wincing sharp pain that comes and goes starting right under my ribcage, radiating down my abdomen. And I am so scared that even after this ordeal, there is NO way to prevent further stones from developing in this pregnancy.
I am so scared of the pain and there is nothing anyone here can do to relieve it. I am worried it will affect Lucas. I am worried that the doctors didn't find everything that is or could be wrong. I gotta get to drinking more water and try to sleep sitting up, but there's no one up here and I needed to vent. I think I will have to take a vicodin tonight and I don't know if I will ever want to get pregnant again.

Another Night in the ER...

Over a month ago, I was hospitalized briefly for dehydration, which was causing the onset of pre-term labor symptoms. I had had diarrhea the night before and apparently didn't replenish my fluids quick enough. At the hospital, they monitored my contractions for a few hours, and I drank lots of water--John watched football and slept on the recliner; the maternity ward is very comfortable. This happened during John's overnight shift, but his work graciously allowed him to stay with me all night. I was eventually sent home and told to drink more water and have been fine.
Well, last night while making dinner, I started feeling some odd pains just under my ribs; it was a somewhat nauseous feeling, along with sudden sharp stabbing pains between where my ribs meet. I didn't think it was anything big, because it wasn't causing contractions. I couldn't finish my meal, and continued feeling these pains for 2 hours. John was of course on overnight shifts again, so he was getting ready at this point. Susan was on the computer so she decided to look up what it could be. She found this article: http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/who_gets_gallstones_gallbladder_disease_000010_4.htm
Basically the more she read about gallstones, the more I was sure this was them. I have had high cholesterol ever since it was first checked in 2005, and they are common during pregnancy, toward the last trimester (I am about 28 weeks--which is the beginning of the last trimester). So, I called my doctor's office since he was on call, and he said to go to the ER just to rule out any gallbladder problems.
At this point, I was feeling a few sharp pains but I wasn't too bad off. John was leaving for work and laughed at me, thinking I was being a hypochondriac lol. Susan had to work early, so I decided I better drive myself, as I was capable of it at that point. I knew I wouldn't regret going even if I was wrong, because it's not just me that I am worried about- it's Lucas.
When I got there I went upstairs to the maternity ward where I stayed from 10pm to 1:30am. They again monitored contractions, along with Lucas fluctuating heartrate (he kept moving around a lot!) and took some blood and urine tests. I was cleared obstetrically, so my doctor called and told them to take me to the ER downstairs to possibly do an ultrasound on my gallbladder.
While in the ER, the doctor on call gave me some Maalox, and something for my nausea which had gotten much worse since the maternity ward. A half hour later he comes in expecting to discharge me, and I told him my nausea got worse. He said, "Okay then we're gonna do an ultrasound." But the u/s tech was sleeping and took a few more hours to get to the hospital. During that time I started throwing up all over myself in the bathroom and shaking a lot. I pulled the nurse string while on the toilet and they came to clean me up. They immediately gave me an I.V.to re-hydrate me, and kill the nausea. I thought setting up the IV was going to be real painful but I evidently was so distracted as I continued to barf uncontrollably. They only gave me ice chips so my mouth tasted disgusting for a while. The sharp pains got stronger and more unbearable, and lower in my abdomen.
I called my mom crying and also tried calling John at work, and left a message. I eventually was pushed into the u/s room, where the lady pressed the thing into my right ribs pretty hard and made me hold my breath. After about 30 minutes of scanning, I was sent back to my room, where John soon met me- his work let him out at about 3:30 am. The doctor comes in to read the results and says, "Well, you don't have gallstones, you have a hydronephrotic right kidney and a kidney stone." !!!!
I was really caught off-guard, and kept asking questions. He told me it will take 5-6 days to 'pass' it, and that although they are relatively hereditary (my mom had one) pregnancy makes it easier to get them because the smooth muscles are so relaxed. So he gave me a prescription for painkillers and one for the nausea and we went home at 4:30am.
I didn't think I would need them yet, but the pain/nausea came back this morning and john had to pick up my prescriptions. I slept a few hours and feel okay now, just drinking lots of water and trying to eat a pear. Everyone keeps telling me the kidney stone pain trumps that of childbirth, but at this point it doesn't mean much because bad pain is bad pain! I am so scared to throw up because before last night I hadn't gotten sick like that since I was in grade school. Such an involuntary movement is scary- left me shaking and hallucinating- seeing little glitter specks like when I get migraines. The most important thing is that Lucas is fine--although his constant somersaults are making me a little more nauseous lol. John thankfully has a few days off to help me get through this, but boy am I glad I convinced myself to go to the ER last night! I ALMOST didn't go- and who knows what could've happened.
Please pray for God to give me the strength to get through this and to keep Lucas safe and protected for his last 3 months in the womb!

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is being released on DVD today- I highly recommend buying it or renting it. I took John to see it on our anniversary (just before we conceived Lucas*) and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you haven't heard about it, the movie is a documentary full of interviews with people who were fired and/or prevented from advancement in their workplace (mostly in science & education), due to their acknowledgement of the mere possibility that there could be other explanations to our existence besides Darwinian Evolution. These were not fanatics, or even deeply religious people themselves, and yet for preaching open-mindedness and tolerance of other possible reasons for our existence, they lost their jobs and credibility.

Also in the documentary, Ben interviews many outspoken atheists such as the infamous Richard Dawkins (author of "The God Delusion") and asks them for their explanations of how we came into being. Many of their theories are shocking and laughable, but the point of the movie was that differing views are being tolerated in many venues so long as they aren't Christian, or biblical explanations. This bias is most apparent in the mainstream media itself, and now it has spread to the ivory towers and beyond. This bias is also evident in the response to his movie in comparison to the rave reviews I am more than SURE Bill Maher's Religulous will receive. Totalitarianism is back in style, and Ben makes an awesome and eye-opening connection between what is happening now and what happened in our history as a result of only pushing Darwin's theories.
Ben Stein has done so much in his life and sadly many people only know him from his "Bueller" role, and "clear eyes" commercials. He is an attorney, a law professor at Pepperdine Univ, author of several books (my favorite "Can America Survive?") among them many investment/financial advice books, and was a speechwriter for both Presidents Nixon and Ford. He writes a regular article in the magazine "The American Spectator," which I always enjoyed reading. He would tell various stories of the events in his daily life with his wife Alexandra(of 2 times- they remarried in 1977 after a divorce!) , his dog Brigid, and his beautiful and expensive cars. He's a very adamant prolife advocate and I even emailed him once asking for permission to put his picture on a prolife shirt and his response was, "I'm not afraid, and I know you're not. Do it!" Very intelligent and interesting man.
Here's Ben and his wife in the 60's:

So next time you see him on "The Wonder Years" reruns, or clear eyes commercials, remember what a great American he is!

SUGGESTIONS!?

So in my previous post I made an agreement with John and let him shave his head if he found a hobby for him and Norman, my 13 yr old brother. Does anybody have any ideas for some good male bonding time? The thing is, it will have to be something they can do at pretty much any time of the week, seeing as Norman is in school, and John's work shifts change every week. My mom of course suggested Tennis but I think they want to try something else. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

It's Contagious Brianne + Brandon...

So John was told his hair was getting too long for military standards, so he was going to supercuts to get it cut. He usually gets a fade. He asked me today if I would let him shave his head. I told him he could do what he wanted, but I may not like him as much :) So then he felt guilty. Then I felt guilty. He doesn't want to bother with that extra 5 seconds it takes to comb his hair before work. I guess I can appreciate that so I told him I wouldn't hold it against him. I told him we could make a deal- he could shave his head if he finds a hobby for himself and my brother Norman to do together on a regular basis. He agreed. After going to supercuts and finding out they were doing some woman's hair that would take a while, we decided to go to walmart and buy some clippers of our own. Here are the pictures of him shaving his head in the garage:





He feels 10 lbs lighter:

Can someone say 'gayface?'

I still love him, and I even still like him. (Besides, it will have grown out by the time we have Lucas so he doesn't scare him!*)