She has a name...

Well, I am now almost 22 weeks. We heard Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" and I couldnt help but laugh at how true it was of our stage in this pregnancy. "We're half way there. Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear. Oh Oh... living on a prayer." After throwing up aroudn 20 times in the last four weeks, this couldn't be more true. The good news is that we have less time ahead of us than behind us! 

The baby has a name! Mason Eaves White. We will call her Mason. Ellie is very interested in Baby Mason but still likes to call her a boy... hopefully, she will catch on when she is here and wrapped in pink :) We got our Christmas tree the other day and I was arranging the skirt around the tree. Ellie pointed to the tree skirt and asked me "Mama, is that where the baby is going to sleep?" 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving. Here is the crew at my parents house for the occasion. It went almost too smoothly. The kids played together well and even sat and ate with the adults and I think all three of them missed their nap that day... We are so thankful for these three little ones and all the many blessing God has poured down on us! 

Thanksgiving Soup Lunch

Here is the family at Ellie's Thanksgiving Soup Lunch for her school! The kids were so cute in their Indian hats and the food was very good! Ellie helped stir the soup...

Baton Rouge

I know I have been a little mia. We went to the LSU/Ole Miss game in Baton Rouge and I got super sick. It lasted several days - until Thanksgiving and things have just been so busy. Here we are while I was still smiling and keeping my food down :) Thanks to the Rileys for giving us a place to stay and taking care of a sick pregnant mommy :) 

Its a ...

Girl... we think! We went this morning for our sonogram and little Baby White was very uncooperative. We had to go up and see the doctor and come back down for another sonogram after our appointment where the technician determined she was 95% sure we have another girl on our hands. Ellie is protesting this and keeps saying "Baby brother, Baby brother." The pictures from the sonogram look pretty much like a girl, though (I have never really studied a boy sonogram but this one looks like Ellie's). We go to a new doctor next appointment since Dr. Nichols is not longer delivering. We are excited and a little overwhelmed at the thought of sisters. We don't even know what to think since we both come from families of mostly boys! 

Cute as a Bug

Trick or Treat

We trick or treated with the Schmelzers and Stacys and had a great time... except for the quick trip to the scary house with the fog and the Heath Ledger Joker which made all five kids cry... the bottom picture is Ellie and Emilee Cummins. Ellie and Emilee go to MMO at Pear Orchard together and we ran into them trick or treating... how fun is Emilee's costume?

Halloween Playgroup

Elmo "wide"

Mom and I took Ellie to see Elmo Live last Thursday. She did not seem to like it at all while she was there, but she keeps telling me "I wanna go see Elmo wide"... so I guess it went over pretty well. I think my next job is going to be the balloon seller at Elmo live. $8 a balloon and I think the sold about 60....

Update on Baby White

Hello everyone. Baby White seems to be doing great. I had to go to the doc every two weeks for awhile to monitor my hydration and weight, etc so we have heard a lot of little heartbeats. Such a beautiful sound. And - praise God- I am starting to feel much better! I am still sick several times a week but it does not last near as long. I am off my all bread and gatorade diet and have actually been able to include some fruits, veggies, and even a little Halloween candy. I am still taking my Zofran daily but I am going to try to wean off of that in the next month or so. We find out boy or girl on Nov 10 so stay tuned. We can't wait to know if he or she is kicking in there! 

THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us during this difficult time. It is hard to explain what it is like to be really sick for two months or longer. If I could express it, you would know how thankful I am for every small and large gesture our friends and family have provided. From meals to childcare and everything in between - you shined a little light during a difficult time for our family and we love you! 

Clayton's 4th Birthday

Clayton is four! I cannot believe it. He had so much fun at his party... jumpers, hayride, pinata - the works. We had a blast and I think Emily enjoyed the cheetos :) 

Ellie and Sparks

How cute is Sparks? I just want to hug him. The Grenfells have been really sweet to us during this rough time of sickness. I am thankful to be coming out of it. Grenfells, thank you for feeding us several times during all of this. We appreciate your friendship and just enjoy hanging with ya'll! 

Spook-E

Halloween will be her in a little over a month, so I thought I would share a scary story. One morning last week, Ellie and I were riding in the car on Hwy 51. We passed a cemetery on our right. It was one of those that has markers instead of gravestones and you could really only see flowers sticking up from the markers. Ellie looked over at the cemetery, pointed and said "Mommy, look at all the peoples." Um. Scary.  There were definitely no living, breathing people in that cemetery. We hit the gas and are avoiding all cemeteries until this sixth sense passes...  

Mommy sick becus baby in dere

If you could have seen the outfit Ellie wore to night church Sunday night, it would paint a clear picture of our struggling but persevering family. I will try my best to describe it to you. Hot pink bow, baby pink Big Sister t-shirt (scroll down to see a pic of the shirt), lime green and white gingham shorts, and pink polka dot sandals. That is what happen when Dad is left to fend for himself while Mom repeatedly loses her cookies with the new baby. You know it is a family effort to get through this pregnancy when your two year old finds you in the bathroom and yells "Daddy, Momma is sick. Momma needs a wet rag..." Ellie is being a real trooper and at times loving every minute. Her supper the last two nights consisted of pop tarts and yogurt. All in all, we are doing better, but already wishing for April. I got two iv bags of fluid today so that is giving me a bit more energy and I am finally able to keep food down (though not much). Please pray for us as we struggle through. Everett is carrying much more than his fair share of family responsibility and doing a great (though sometimes humorous) job of taking care of us. 

Times - they are a changin

Well, we are officially old. Approaching 30, expecting our second baby, and driving a minivan. We have had an eventful few weeks! Baby #2 will be here April 17 (about 2 weeks after Ellie's 3rd birthday). We had a sonogram yesterday and all seems well. Heartbeat was 166 and the baby pretty much looks like a peanut. I have yet to figure out why my stomach is sticking out so much when he/she is the size of a peanut (or maybe even smaller). As for the minivan, we bought a Honda Odyssey this weekend and are loving it. Definitely the coolest car we have ever owned despite the "momness" of it. There is no better vehicle with kids and we are loving our new ride - ours is actually white but the internet pics were limited.  Ellie is thrilled about being a big sister (for now, anyway). She loves to touch my stomach and say "mornin, baby, mornin" when she wakes up :) We are thankful for our newest blessing! 
                                                                                                                      

Mmm...

It was good, Mama! 

Eliza Kate and Ellie

Snuggle time... from this pic, you would never know how much strong will is in these two! Together, they will either save the world or destroy it one of these days :) 

Catching up on Summer Pics... stories

Ellie is cracking me up daily. She is really learning how to have a conversation which is hilarious bc she asks everything as a question. We had this one Sunday morning. 

E: Paint nails, mama? (can I paint my toe nails, mama?)

Me: No, we need our nails to be dry for church so we cant paint them today.

E: Paint another time?

Me: Yes, we'll paint them another time

E: Paint them morrow mornin?

Me: Yes, you can paint them tomorrow morning

E: Sounds like fun? 

Me: Yes it sounds like fun 

Step on the Gass...

I am still learning a bit about uploading these videos so hopefully this will do ok. This one is a bit long but try to hang on for Ellie's version of the Motorboat Song... 
Swimming - Summer 2008 from Jennifer White on Vimeo.

help

Can somebody help me figure out how to upload videos? My files are the right size and type (AVI) for blog but it wont let me upload. I do not want to use youtube. I tried vimeo but I can't figure out how to get the video from vimeo to blog. It has options to upload to a bunch of other stuff (facebook, etc) but not blogger... I would appreciate any advice...

'Where Shell?"

Michelle recently stayed with us for about a week and half while she was raising support for her work with Campus Crusade. She was a real trooper to put up with Ellie following her around the house and "helping" her dry her hair, put on make up, etc. Ellie also daily asked to see the pictures of Michelle's "raffs" (giraffes) from her trip to Africa. Ellie will ask every few days "Where Shell" and now I just make up things Michelle might be doing or places she might be. We miss you, Michelle. Thanks for being so sweet to Ellie. Pray for Michelle as she raises money and heads back to Georgia this Fall. She will be carrying an extreme amount of weight and responsibility because they are short staffed this semester. 

Playtime at Didi's

Cute Cousins

EHS Reunion

Everett had a great time seeing some old buddies at the Reunion. 

The Glory Days

Well, what can you say about reuniting cajuns from the class of '98 and putting them in old bar under an overpass? A good start to a weekend full of comments from classmates a bit concerned about my marital choice :) It seems I have ended up with the most disrespectful student that may have ever graced the halls of Episcopal High School. One encounter with a former teacher seemed to sum it up. Everett, Ellie and I have just pulled up to the school for a lunchtime picnic. Ellie is loudly exclaiming "Daddy's Birthday Party" (She has seen balloons and a spacewalk and have decided that we must be celebrating a milestone). One of Everett's former teachers pulls into the parking lot. (No one else is getting out of their car at this moment). The teacher looks at us and completely ignores us. Everett says her name. She ignores us again. Everett, who now sees this encounter as somewhat of a challenge to make his teacher speak to us, calls her name out loudly followed by "It's Everett." She looks up, barely moving, and simply says "I know" and goes back to what she was doing. Once she has talked herself into the need to be cordial, she walks over and greets us only to mutter something about how she hopes I know what I have gotten myself into :) I am not worried about Everett. By the grace, he has grown into a responsible and respectful (most of the time) adult. But I am now a little more concerned about how many calls I will get from Ellie's principal's office in the future...