Back to see EB

From Dad,

He keeps growing inside there. This was our third time to see our baby. Carrie was excited because the ultrasound lady got to use the one they put on your belly from the outside (so much more comfortable). It is so much fun to see how excited my little wife gets when she sees the baby inside her. Incredible. If you can imagine it, she is more excited than you ever see her. Yeah, that's excited.

I want to make sure that you see in the third picture, (right next to me) the baby is waving to me although Carrie will tell you that is to her. Already social like mama!!!

Actual Baby Inside

From Dad...

So it's real. There is an incredible amount of concreteness once you actually hear the sound of life, your baby's heartbeat. We were sitting there doing a routine ultrasound (easy for me) when all of a sudden it sounded as if the machine had broken. I thought the lady had hit a root in Carrie's belly (probably a cheese root). Duh, duh, duh, etc. The lady administering the ultrasound had flipped on the audio (without warning) so that we could here the heartbeat. Well, at 160 beats per minute it didn't sound like the heartbeat I was accustomed to hearing. So it caught us off guard.

Once we understood where it was coming from, the sound became palpable. It is the first moment on this journey that the enormity of being dad really set in. Everything in the room, in life, just got a little heavier. By heavy I mean--I get to love my child unconditionally, provide for him unselfishly, and teach him about the Lord. What a task. What a blessing.

So enjoy the picture of our little baby below. It's the first of many. Dad can't wait for you to get here.

Blueberry Muffins

From Mama...

Baby, There is something that I can't wait for you to experience. Christian fellowship. There is nothing like it. You will soon learn that you are so blessed to part of the Broadmoor Baptist family. Their lovingkindness and care over the last few weeks brings me to tears (and not just cause I'm extremely emotional these days). Tonight while we were at Mrs. Louise's I got a text. It was a from Jentry Davis, one of my small group girls. The first text that I didn't get until it was too late was asking me to verify our address. Since I didn't get it soon enough, there was another text, "I hope that is your address cause I just left a present on the porch." How fun is that - knowing you are coming home to a surprise. When I got home, I found a package of pancake mix and blueberries. See this week my application on my phone says you are the size of a blueberry and I told that to the girls on Sunday. Jentry also knew I had been getting sick so she wrote this note, "Hey Carrie, I hope you are able to eat this :) I thought your blueberry wouldn't mind some blueberry pancakes. Anyway, I have been praying for you and love you. Heart (Drawn heart) Jentry P.S. And if this does happen to make you sick, it's from Katie Hopkins." I laughed so hard when I read the card. How considerate!!! Plus, it came in handy Saturday morning, I woke up wanting blueberry muffins badly. I have been wanting some for awhile, but have been too tired to make them. I decided to finally make some. I got out the mix I use and realized I needed vegetable oil. The vegetable oil that I used the last of earlier in the week to make fried okra! I almost cried. Seriously. Then I remembered seeing on the side of Jentry pancake mix how to use that mix to make blueberry muffins. It didn't call for any vegetable oil!!! YAY!!! Thank you Jentry Davis for saving the day!

I LOVE my small group girls

From Mama...

There is a group of senior girls I have had in my small group or Sunday School class since they were freshmen. I love them to death. We have been through so many ups and downs together. We have learned, laughed, and cried together. We told the students in Sunday School on Sunday morning and this is how I found my car when we got out of church. It made me feel so loved and special. Thank you sweet girls for always loving on me. I love doing life together with y'all. May we finish your senior year strong. Growing closer together and to Christ. I love each of you.

You Know You're Pregnant When...

From Mama...

I have decided to do a theme of You Know You Are Pregnant When... blogs. These will be written when I have movements when I realize...This is definitely a pregnant woman moment. My first You Know You're Pregnant When...

You bring a whole bag of Ginger Snaps in your purse to church to keep down the nausea.

From My Desk

From Dad...

Remember when I said that we had been caught in the OBGYN. It was Mrs. Jean Swearingen. Sunday I got to my office, started getting ready for Sunday School, and found a letter on my desk. Carrie and I had decided to tell the students (everybody) that morning about having a baby, so we were still really worried that our secret had gotten out. That's when I read the sweetest letter:

"Dear Carrie and Jared, I was a witness to a happy announcement. I'm sending my heart felt congratulations! I'll not tell! In His name and mine, Jean Swearingen."

She had not told a soul. We were so thrilled to know that she had seen us and kept our secret. It will always be part of our little story.

Pizza Hut - Nothing Better

From Mama...

This is a very familiar smell in our home. It is my favorite food of all time. It is Pizza Hut pizza, a Hopkins tradition. I hope you like it as much as me.

March Madness

From Dad...

Moms (Nana) and Jacklyn took us to lunch today at Cantina Laredo. Just as I expected they are 2 for 2 with gifts since we announced that the littlest bud was on the way. I can't complain--I am loving all the good stuff. The first prize went to Carrie (LSU stuff). Second one was for me. As you can see in the picture below, the littlest bud is totally ready for next year's march madness.

Coach K I need you to stick around for 10-12 more years so that my kids fall in love with the Blue Devils. No matter what, I can't wait to fake sick with you on the first two days of the tournament. Maybe we will just check you out about 10:30AM on Thursday and stay home till Monday. We won't tell Mama, cause she'd never let us do it. It'll be our little secret.

One shining moment...

Your First Piece of Mail

From Mama...

Your Aunt Nene sent you your first piece of mail. It is precious bib with a fleur de lis on it. Your dad got it during the day and sent me this picture while I was at work. I started crying. People at work do not know about you yet and I had no idea how to explain why I was crying. March Madness is going on and people at work have a pool going. I didn't put money in, but I put one in for bragging rights. I have been talking smack and when Louisville lost, a team I had going to the Final Four, everybody started dropping by my office to let me know. When I asked your dad how to explain why I was crying, he texted back, "Tell them its because Louisville lost."

Blueberry Muffin

From Dad...

Got my first call this morning from Mom looking for something she wanted to eat. I was eating breakfast with John Carruth and Kyle Jagers at Southfield Grill. The conversation was short and sweet--do they have blueberry muffins at Southfield? The answer was no, but being the good husband that I am, I stopped by Starbucks on the way home.

I just hope she doesn't start wanting Taco Bell for breakfast. I don't know if I can do that.

A Clean House

From Mama...

My mama saved the day. Our house has been a disaster since the weekend. My cousin Heather, we call her Weanch, gave me four piles of clothes on Sunday night. I was so excited about new clothes and some of them fit in a way that I can hopefully wear them throughout the pregnancy. I tried them all on Sunday night. They covered the living room floor for multiple days. On top of that mess, we didn't clean this weekend. We were busy telling people about you that we didn't clean the house. By Wednesday, I could stand it no longer. My mama offered to come over and help and I gladly accepted. She met me at the house at 5. We cleaned and cleaned before it was time for me to go up to the church. I actually missed most of RYOT. I got there at the end so I did get to see many of the middle school students. During IMPACT I was so tired. I think students notice because they started trying to comfort me. Guess they will understand next week when we tell them. It was so sweet of them to try to take care of me even though they didn't know what was wrong. We have the best students at Broadmoor. You are going to love them and all of our church family. Some of the best people I have ever met in my entire life. Anyway, back to the cleaning, the house looked spectacular when we finished. I was and am still so grateful!

P.S. My need to have a clean house is my mama's fault. She use to say, "Don't you feel so much better now that your room is clean." It apparently engraved in my head and now I feel better when my house is clean.

OBGYN

From Dad...

Guys don't have to go to these kind of places. Review: they are really not as bad as I've heard. Everyone is nice, you don't have to wait very long, and it seems like everyone is trying to be sneaky. I kinda liked it. I felt the need to summon my inner ninja the entire time. What if we got caught by somebody we knew. Our secret would be revealed if we didn't take precaution. Should we run from the car into the doctor's office. Really. However lame you might think it to be, we were totally busted on the way out by a member of the church. So much for stealth. Should have brought disguises.

So, everything was pretty easy from my perspective. We got in, did the ultrasound, talked to EB, took some blood and we were out. I did my part. A few jokes here and there--dealt with the insurance person. I earned my stripes. Picture below is from EB's (our doctor) office.

FYI: If Carrie wants Taco Bell, get here Taco Bell. Don't poke the bear.

YAY! The Test Were Right!

From Mama...

I had a secret fear that the test I took were wrong. My fear was eased when we went to the doctor today. As the ultrasound appeared on the screen and the nurse said, "You are definitely pregnant," as she pointed you out to me, I got excited. At the same time, it feels like I am looking at someone else's ultrasound pictures as I have done numerous times. After we finished the ultrasound, they weighed me and then we talked to E.B. He is great because he is so relaxed. Since you don't know yet, I am a little dramatic. Okay, maybe a little more than a little. Dad and I are hoping E.B.'s calmness will ease my concerns and dramatic tendencies throughout this process. Lastly, they took all my blood (ok so that may be my dramatic side talking). They took four tubes. It felt like a ton. The lady who had to take my blood remembered me from a few weeks ago. We are friends now. Your dad made fun of me the whole time. It was a good distraction. When we left the doctor's office, your dad took me to get two soft tacos, meat and cheese only, from Taco Bell. You should know I rarely ate Taco Bell before I became pregnant with you. We ate it every Wednesday night before church when I was a kid, but in the last few years, I only eat it on occasion. Since I have become pregnant with you, I have eaten it three times in addition to one failed attempt. The failed attempt was only due to the fact that their card machine wasn't working and they were only accepting cash. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed my two soft tacos. When your dad says it was the first time he has seen me eat two dinners, know that he is exaggerating. I ate a small lunch in anticipation of wanting the tacos after the appointment. I then ate Wendy's four and a half hours later! I am so happy to be your mama! Love you!

Your First Present

From Mama...

My parents could not stand it. After we told them about you, we left them to go tell the Osborne's. They left and went shopping, of course! When we caught back up with them for dinner, they gave you your very first present, a monkey. Why this monkey is so soft and cute, it is very symbolic. You see the very first thing I remember my daddy tell me I could not have was a stuffed monkey (King Louie from the Jungle Book) from the Disney Store. He said it cost too much and that I would never play with it. My MawMaw (my grandmother and your great grandmother) bought it for me. I slept with it every night to prove my dad wrong. I even slept with it on occasion all the way until I got married to your dad. I gave the monkey to your daddy on our wedding day and told him I was trading out sleeping partners. I also told him to keep the monkey for sick days. Anyway, I thought it was quite funny that the first thing I remember my parents telling me no on that my grandparents bought me was the very first thing they bought you. Haha!!!

Two Lines

From Dad...

I had no idea how two little lines would change my entire day--life. It's a boy. Well at least that was the first thought in my head. Carrie had taken one of those pregnancy tests a couple of weeks before and I really didn't give it much attention. I just figured this getting pregnant thing would take a while and I would be completely ready when it got here. IT'S HERE. Still don't know whether or not I am ready for it, but here it comes.

Back to the story. So, Carrie went into the bathroom to take the test, then I walked in, two lines and here we go. It happens that fast. From one moment you are headed to work and the next you are planning a college fund. For real. I know I'm thirty and I should be ready for this, but are we ever ready. God uses idiots, why not me.