Vince Gill

Big John and I went to see Vince Gill Saturday night. It was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. It wasn't a full band. He just had a piano player, an upright bass player, a box player, and himself playing the guitar. No harmony singers, no fancy lights, no fancy anything. But still, one of the best shows I've ever seen. He is absolutely amazing!! His voice is so pure and smooth. In between songs, he talked about his inspiration was in writing each one. Sometimes it was a realyl sweet story and sometimes it was complete line of crap. But whatever the motivation, his songs are among my favorites in country music.

This song is one that I've always loved. I think it's my favorite Vince Gill song.

And this one always makes me cry. It came out not too long after my grandpa died when I was in the seventh grade. I remember the first time I heard it. I just dropped what I was doing, went and sat next to the radio and cried.

And here is Big John's favorite song by him. Really he said it was Kindly Keep It Country but I couldn't find that video.

Of course, I walked out of the house Saturday night and forgot my camera. So I have no pictures to show you. Which is probably good since our seats were in the nose bleed section. So I could've posted a picture of the stage and tried to convince you that the speck really was Vince Gill. Our seats weren't really that bad. We could still see the stage pretty good and we weren't cramped in like a bunch of sardines. So all in all, it was a really good show. If you ever have a chance to go and see him, do it. You won't be sorry!!

How Big John and I came to be... The Final Chapter

Big John's actual birthday was on Saturday and his family always went out to dinner. So he asked if I would like to go out to dinner with him and meet his family. I was so nervous. I was going to meet his entire family at once! But I went to the restaurant determined not to make a fool out of myself. We went to The Olive Garden for dinner. He had chosen this restaurant because it was his favorite and they had one in my town. So he and his family drove an hour to come and eat dinner just so I could go also. Big John was a DJ on the radio but he also had a side job of dj’ing in the bars on the weekends. He had to work that night so we only had time for a quick dinner and then he had to go. So it actually went well. I thought I had made a pretty good first impression on his parents. At least on his mom and Grandmother. I had already made an impression on his dad and brother and it wasn’t a good one. We parted after dinner with a quick kiss and a promise for him to call me the next day.

I went home floating on air and told my mom that I thought this guy was The One. She just smiled because she had heard it a few times before. But I knew this was different. I had never felt the way he made me feel. I had never looked forward to someone’s phone calls as much as I did his. I never grew tired of talking to him. We would talk on the phone for hours much to our parents chagrin due to the massive long distance bills we racked up.

We decided to have our first real date on Tuesday. It was a few weeks after we had met and we still hadn’t been out by ourselves. So he came to pick me up and met the rest of my family he didn’t meet before. Then he wisked me off to dinner. He was the perfect gentleman all night. He opened my doors for me and waited until I got in the car and closed it for me. I, being the considerate person that I am, would then lean over and unlock his door for him so he wouldn’t have to use the key. Later he told me that that was my test and I had passed with flying colors. He said any girl that wouldn’t unlock his door for him would fail his test and he was so glad that I didn’t fail.

I am a firm believer in the fact that you shouldn’t waste time on someone that you have nothing in common with. So during dinner that night I played 20 questions. If you ask Big John today it was more like 300 questions. But I was determined to get to know him well enough to decide if we had enough in common. I was amazed at just how similar we were. We both loved country music. We both were the youngest child in the family. Neither of us had been married or had any children which was amazing by itself. We were both very close to our family and our families were one of the most important things in our lives. We both wanted children some day. We both love to sing which we already knew.

We had both had our hearts shattered by previous loves. Mine was a little more recent than his. But the important thing was that we had learned our lesson and were determined not to let history repeat itself. I knew that this was a man that I could trust with my heart but even still I had a hard time letting go at first. Then I realized that I needed to let go and just learn to love. So that is what I did. I threw myself into this relationship and never looked back. And I have never looked back since then.

Our fourth wedding anniversary is next Thursday. I have never loved my husband more than I do today and I will probably love him even more tomorrow. I know you probably think I'm full of crap but we have never really fought. We've had disagreements but we have always been able to work things out right then. We have had some rough times also. But they have only brought us closer together. And now that we are expecting our first child, our love is deeper than I ever thought possible. I love him with every ounce of my being. He is the perfect man for me and I don't know what I would do without him. So, Big John, if you are reading this, I love you. Thank you for the best four years of my life. I look forward to many more years together. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Update on me and Eli

I had my monthly doctor's appointment yesterday. After my excitement last week at labor and delivery, I was excited to go and ask lots of questions. I am measuring a week and a half ahead of where I actually am. The doctor said that if they went strictly by my ultrasound they would put my due date at 12/20 instead of 12/31. That means that little Eli is not so little. But he said that they aren't going to change my due date or anything. They will continue to measure me at every appt. and if I am still measuring ahead at 36-38 weeks they will do another ultrasound to see how big he is. If he is still bigger than average then I will probably be induced. But they won't induce me any earlier than a week before my due date, which is Christmas Eve. So let's hope either that Eli stops getting so big or they let me wait until the day after Christmas or even a few days before Christmas. I just don't want to be in the hospital over Christmas.

Eli's heartbeat was 160. I have actually gained 4 pounds since my August appt. So that puts my total weight loss down to 15 pounds instead of the 19 pounds it was last month. I start going to the doctor every 2 weeks now. I will continue to do that until I am 36 weeks and then I will start going every week. I can't believe that it is going by so fast. Two weeks from today is the start of my third trimester!! Can you believe it??? I am still feeling pretty good. Besides being absolutely exhausted all the time. But I figure I'm six months pregnant. It's about time I start feeling kind of bad. I just wish I could actually sleep at night. I went to bed at 9pm last night. I took Tylenol PM (my new best friend) so that I could sleep better. I slept pretty good but I am still wiped out today. I guess I'll just have to get used to it since I'm pretty sure it's only going to get worse as the last 3 months go by. And then I'll be getting up for middle of the night feedings. So I guess this is just my body's way of getting me ready for what's to come.

Cool site giveaway

Check out the giveaway over at Mama's Losin It. I would kill for a new vaccuum!!! Go here to enter!

My exciting Friday night!

Friday night was very eventful for us. During the day on Friday, I noticed that my legs and feet were really swollen. My socks were almost cutting off circulation. And then in the afternoon, when I would stand up, I would get really light headed and see silver spots. But it would go away after a few seconds. I called the doctor’s office just to be safe and the nurse told me to push fluids like crazy. She said I needed to be drinking a gallon of water a day. Now that’s a lot of water!! I might as well move my office into the bathroom because all I would be able to do is drink and pee.

So I started drinking as much water as I could. When I got home, I still wasn’t feeling all that great. I couldn’t tell you what was wrong. I just didn’t feel right. Big John went down to the store to get something for dinner and Alli needed to go outside and go potty. When I let her out, I thought I was going to pass out. I was seeing the silver spots the whole time I was standing up and I had to brace myself on something because I was afraid that I would pass out. When Big John got back home, I was lying on the couch. I told him what happened and he said to call the doctor. I debated that for a few minutes and finally decided that I needed to call. In the meantime, Big John had started cooking dinner for us. He’s such a good husband!! The doctor called me back and said that I should come in for observation. So after supper was done cooking, we got in the car and headed to Labor and Delivery.

We got there a little after 7:30. The hooked me up to a fetal heart monitor and a monitor for contractions. The took my blood pressure lying down, sitting up, and standing up quite a few times. They did some blood work and did an EKG on me. Finally, the doctor came in to talk to us. He said that everything came back perfectly normal. He thinks that my uterus was pushing up against my spine and cutting off blood flow. So he told me to go home, take it easy, and drink lots of water. So that is what I did all day Saturday. Big John did my housework for me and I sat on my behind and watched tv all day. It was kind of nice.

I am back to normal now. No more silver spots!! Which is good because that really messes with my head. It was really weird!!

I remember...

Ask Big John's Girl

It's time for the first ever Ask Big John's Girl session. I was expecting a lot of thoughtful questions but I only got a few. So I will answer the few that I got and hope that next time I will get more.

Why don't we see more pictures of you?

I am usually the one taking the pictures. I also hate to have my picture taken. I am getting better about it though. I have had my picture taken once a month since I got pregnant. So I will be posting more of these as they come.

What is your favorite color?

I like a lot of colors but if I had to choose one it would be baby blue.

Who does the cooking at your house?

We both do. Big John usually cooks the meat and I cook everything to go along with it. He always does the grilling. It is our chance to talk about our day and spend some quality time together.

How long did it take you to get pregnant?

I am thinking about posting the whole story sometime. But I will tell you that it took us 20 months to get pregnant. It was a long and emotional journey.

What are the names you have picked out for your baby?

Since we know it's a boy his name will be Elijah David. If it would've been a girl, her name would've been Emma Grace.

Does Big John read your blog?

Yes, everyday. He is very supportive. He also points out when I have gone a few days without posting. He also gives me some great ideas for a new post.

When are we going to get more of the story on how you met?
Very, Very soon. I promise.

Why do you call Big John "Big John"?

I am going to do a feature post about Big John soon and will answer this question then.

Can we have more info about Big John? I feel like I know you but I don't know anything about him. More please!!!

See above answer.

What music do you listen to the most?

Country music. I have my MP3 player loaded with a huge variety of music but I love country music. It really speaks to me. Plus Big John won't let me listen to anything else.

What Cd's do you have in your stereo the most?

Big John has anything Texas Country in there the most. His favorites are Stoney Larue, Jason Boland and The Stragglers, and Adam Hood. As for me, I have a lot of different music that I listen to. I love Sara Bareilles. I also love Colbie Caillat. I mostly listen to my MP3 player not Cd's.

Are you going to have a natural birth or are you going to have pain medicine?

I am going to have as natural of a birth as possible. I absolutely will not have an epidural. But I am somewhat open to other methods. I am going to try my best to do all natural with no medicine of any kind.

What kind of dog is Alli? She's gorgeous!

Since we got her from the humane society, we aren't really sure. Our best guess is Beagle, Shepherd, Jack Russell mix. We just love her and she is getting better everyday. She is so well behaved most of the time and she loves to cuddle with us!

That's all the questions I have this time. Start thinking of some more questions that you are dying to know about me or Big John. I am going to a post that is all about him soon and would love to know what you want to know. Just leave me a comment on any post. I check them all.