It's (drum roll please) another GIRL!

My baby is now having a baby! How can that be? Used to be..in the old days...the sex of the baby was a mystery until the moment of the arrival. There were all kinds of predictions based on the heart beat...whether the mother carried the baby out front or "on her hips". I always carried everything on my hips...so that was no help to me! When I carried my babies....I just knew with a mother's heart that Andy was going to be a boy. I even dreamed him! I actually had a dream of my great grandmother Clark rocking a baby with a head full of black hair cooing to him and saying...."This is the prettiest baby boy I ever saw!" I knew from that moment on I would have a boy. And...I did! I was equally sure Katie would be a girl. And...she was! Feeling pretty confident about my motherly instincts....I just knew Amy was going to be a boy! The docs predicted it....I 'felt' it....everything pointed to a boy. On January 14th...two weeks early...Matthew Saunders became...Amy Elizabeth! She has been early and doing things ahead of time...in her own way ever since! 

Now our Amy is due to deliver around the end of June. No more do we wonder and guess. Technology has decided for us! Or...has it? The ultrasound says the baby is a girl. But....the umbilical cord is remaining stubbornly between 'her' legs. It is almost certainly....a girl....with a niggle of a doubt! For now....we are thinking pink. I am excited either way. Another little girl would be so much fun with the other two. We can just have princess parties forever! But....a boy would be so much fun too. We will take either! Today....her name is Ansley Kate.  Praying for good health...and a happy heart....she is already surrounded by grandparents, aunts and uncles, and lots of friends that can't wait to meet her and cover her in with baby love! And...if she is a he....well....we will keep our receipts just in case! :) My prediction...this baby will be early...and over 8 lbs....and....either a girl or a boy! :)

Moving Day !

For over a year now Amy and Greg have been living in Papa and Gran's house. Their energy and creative flair gave new life to the tired old family home. Jim's dad, Papa, built the house over fifty years ago. It was literally the "house built upon the rock"! He purchased four lots...sold two and built their home on the remaining two. It is a white frame house on a hill....now with black shutters. For about 49 years...the shutters were gold...a source on contention between Papa and Gran. Gran wanted to experiment with different colors...Papa refused to change them! The kids planted grass, painted rooms, added nice touches...and remodeled both bathrooms. But...as all young couples do, they longed for their own first home to create their own memories in their own way. 

With the government promise of a tax credit and a down payment in hand the kids went house hunting. In January they found what they felt was the perfect house. By the end of February they had completed the deal and were ready for the move. After realizing the cost of professional movers....they sent out an all call.....and friends showed up in droves. At one point in the morning I counted sixteen young strong backs! YEA! It felt like the cavalry had arrived! By noon all their belonging were in the new shiny house...and once again the old Hull House fell silent.

Jim and I have pondered whether to move there ourselves. It is a strong house, bigger....and there are many sentimental feelings surrounding its history in the family. But...we have memories invested here in our own home. Even our yard is a place where each tree has a history and a purpose for the planting. So....there is now a For Sale sign in the yard at the old home place. Potential buyers come and go....no nibbles yet. Our hope is some day a young family....with dreams of a bright future will look at it and see all the potential and once again....there will be laughter, tears, and stories to be created from the sturdy white house on the hill.