Dear Rebecca,
                     Hello, my beautiful baby girl. I guess you got all the news that is news from your Daddy. I am so sorry that things had to work out this way; but maybe this is all in God's greater plan. I can't wait to hold you. Daddy and I are so looking forward to you being here with us that we can barely stand it. Daddy and I are so glad that God blessed you with us and we are so happy that you will be here with us soon. I was hoping for you to be here before the twelfth but I don't think that is going to happen unless I go into labor between now and then. Even if I go into labor, the doctor may very well give me a C-section anyway. There is a big chance of shoulder and hip dysplasia with babies born to diabetics from getting stuck in the birth canal. We don't want that!
   I hope that all is well with you; I can't wait to see you. You and Daddy mean more to me than anything in this world; we wanted you for so long. Daddy gave you all the important news, so I guess I don't really have much else to write other than I love you. I love you SO much. So does Daddy. We are waiting patiently for your impending arrival. We know that it will be the happiest day of our life.

Dear Rebecca,
                  Well, officially there's only 19 days until you are due. And today you are officially a term baby. So if you came tonight you wouldn't be a preemie. Your mother went to the doctor today and he said that if you didn't come soon he would schedule a c-section for around the twelfth. So I reckon that's your new unofficial due date.
   Well, this doesn't come as much of a shock to you, being as how you know where you live, but we have decided to sell the house. We've been mulling it over for quite awhile now but everything has come to a head and opportunities that we have to take have presented themselves to us so this is our final night in this house. I'm sorry you never got to see the room that your mother & I worked so hard on but I'm sure your next room will be just as nice. We decided that you deserve more than we could give you making an $1,100 a month house payment. I only clear $2,100 a month as it is. We are both sad to be leaving here but also very excited about a future with you in it.
   This is what has been bothering us both for so many months. I know that you have detected it in these writings. Now you know. We move tomorrow. This is our last night in the house that I have owned for almost a decade. Yeah, a little sad. The new place is so much nicer than this house. Kristie now has a dishwasher and tons of closet space. Our house was only 1,000 square feet and the new place is 1,300 square feet. The house had three bedrooms and the new place has two bedrooms so you can imagine how huge these rooms are.
   Well, your papaw is helping us move tomorrow and you know how he is. No half measures with that man. If it's gotta be done let's just do it now. No sense waiting a half minute. So I expect to be toatlly moved in by this time tomorrow night. We'll have a whole lot of work to do this weekend and I don't know when the phone will be transferred so I don't know when we'll get to put a blog post on the internet again. It might be a few days.
   I reckon I'll be seeing you sooner than later. I can't wait. You've been the only thing that has kept up my spirits these past few months and for that I am forever in your debt. I love you so much, Rebecca. I can't wait to see your chubby little face. And you are chubby; nine pounds at 37 weeks.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Only 26 more days until you are due. Big happenings going on today. I will explain it all to you in a post script on the hard copy of your blog. I'm sure you know that this little journal was originally on the internet. Posted for the world to see. Your mom hasn't slept very well the last couple of nights. There's been so much stress on her lately. Not only from being pregnant but from other sources as well. I just wanted to check in with you today. I love you and can't wait to see you for the first time. See you soon.

I just noticed that your mom wanted me to post the cute little poem that she wrote for me from you for Father's Day. It was really cute.

If you never rope the moon for me Or snag the stars in the sky I'll still love you, unconditionally You'll always be my favorite guy. If you never serve me Venus or the world, On bright, shiny, silver platters, I'll still be Daddy's Little Girl, And that's the only thing that matters. Just give me all your love & devotion, And all of your attention, All of your best emotion, And all your money, I forgot to mention! I love you Daddy, Love Rebecca

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hello, baby. It's been a bit since I have posted and I wanted to let you know all about the baby shower they gave Daddy at his work. Some people really bought you some very nice things. You got all kinds of very nice clothes, things from Dillards and JC Penney and even some Tommy Hilfigger shirts. You got a really nice layette set, a crib pad and a sheet to match. There were some beautiful dresses and onesies and pants outfits, and a lady that works with Daddy knitted you a beautiful Afghan. She is also the same lady that made you your patch work teddy bear. I wonder if I will be able to put any of that stuff up for you or if you will drag it and gnaw it to pieces by the time you are three. Oh well, either way, do whatever you want to do with it. It is yours!
We looked all over the place for a white wicker basket for your laundry basket and could not find one ANYWHERE. But low and behold, today when Daddy went to work he got yet ANOTHER present for you, (he has been getting them all week long), and it was a WHITE WICKER BASKET. How lucky is that? A lady that works with Daddy made a beautiful cake for the baby shower. Daddy got to take some pictures. Maybe some day you can look back at them and see them. I will try to print as many as I can out and put them in an album for you.
   Well, Daddy is wanting me to have you so badly now. I keep telling him it is still a little too early but he is getting SO excited. I am glad, too. Daddy doesn't really get excited too much these days. I love your Daddy with all of my heart and I know that he will be a wonderful father to you. Well I just wanted to tell you some about Daddy's at-work baby shower. He really works with a bunch of wonderful people, for them to do this for you. Also, tonight when Daddy gets home I am going to have him post the poem I wrote for him from you & I for Father's Day. I love you, Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                  Only 30 days until your due date. My family leave came through yesterday so we are good to go. I drove a forklift this week and it was rough, mainly because it's been years since I have done it. I had to search for things that the regular drivers already knew where they were at. I signed a bid on a regular material handler job yesterday. I don't know if I'm gonna get it or not. It would be another 35 cents and hour or so. Of course my regular job isn't all that bad. I'd be pleased either way. We had a huge scare this week. In addition to your mom's false labor. Maybe I'll tell you about it one day. There was a revival at church this week. We only went to last nights meeting. That job really kicked my tail. We're going again tonight.
   Your mother wrote another poem about you. She wrote it early this month. I don't know why she hasn't posted it yet. I think it's one of her better ones. Here it is. It's entitled "Tiny Pink Dresses"

Tiny pink dresses, And tiny pink bows. Pink ribbons in your tresses, Tied up with a pretty pink rose. Little white patent shoes. With little white tights, Trimmed in pinks and pastel blues, Oh! What beautiful sights. Watching you spin round & round, As you throw your head back and smile, Singing "London Bridge Is Falling Down" Laughing, laughing, all the while. I dream of you just this way, Always playful and happy, But I know that someday, You'll turn into a woman before me. But right now I have my dreams, Of my precious little girl, And after wanting it so long, it seems, God has given me the world. To Rebecca Love Mommy June 2, 2004

   Pretty good isn't it. Your mother has a gift. Your mamaw, Aunt Lynn and everyone is just so impressed with your mom's poetry. I'm sure you will be as well. Only I know you are going to be so much more talented in all things than your mother or I.....LOL. No pressure. Well, that's it for now. See you soon, little girl of mine. We both love you so very much and can not wait to hold you in our arms and to look upon your face.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hello my beautiful baby girl. Well, you gave us quite a scare last night. Daddy and I thought sure you were coming. Mommy was having some very painful contractions for almost three hours. They wound up being six to eight minutes apart at the end.. then they spaced out when we got to the hospital and the doctor and nurses got me resting on my side. They did not want you to come out just yet, because 35 weeks is too early. You need at least a couple more weeks to fluff up some. Then you will be as good as gold. I hope that you do come a little early, I just don't want you to come THIS early. Besides, Daddy doesn't even have his family leave yet. So fortunately it all just turned out to be a false alarm and they let me go at around two thirty this morning. Daddy went to work SO tired today. He is in bed resting now.
   So I suppose that was mine and Daddy's practice run. We love you so much and we are SO excited to see you. We just want you to hang in there long enough to be PERFECTLY healthy. We love you and we only want the best for you. Well, I know we will be seeing you soon. I love you, Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hello sweetie. Well, it's not long until you will be here with us now. At the ultrasound the other day in the doctor's office, they said that you already weighed six pounds and two ounces. There are full term babies that are born smaller than that. At least I know you will be big enough to be healthy. I am so excited to see you. I know Daddy is too. He has got the new Daddy blues and he is nervous but I know that once you are here he will not have time to worry about anything but staring at and caring for you.
   I had to reschedule my appointment with the doctor for this week. Right now Mommy doesn't drive and it's difficult getting an appointment when other people like Mamaw and Aunt Lynn can take me. I got it rescheduled for 2:50 on Wednesday. I hope that someone can get me there. They were doing the appointments on Thursday and Dr. Youkilis is only there for half a day on Thursday. So all they could give me then were morning appointments. I really can't do morning appointments. People have kids and have to work. Well, hopefully I will get everything with my driving situation straightened out really soon. I am going to call the lawyer back and see if he has heard anything.
   I am wondering now more and more what you will look like. I cannot wait to see your beautiful face, and hold your tiny hands. I am so glad that God blessed me and Daddy with such a wonderful gift. You will never know the level of love we already feel for you... and it only gets stronger. I pray every night that you will be healthy and happy every day for the rest of your life. I know that Daddy and I our going to do our best to make sure that you are. '
   Aunt Mary said she caught Papaw Lawrence looking through a rack of baby clothes at Wal Mart the other day. When she asked him if he wanted to get you something he said he didn't know what to get... I think it is very cute. He is very excited about you too. You are his very first grand daughter. He has Dylan as a grandson but he never got to meet him. Papaw Lawrence will get to know you and I know that he will love you. You are a very lucky little girl to be so loved.
Well I am going to fiddle about today because I don't have that much energy left in me anymore. Daddy is right, you are wearing me out more and more these days. I can't wait until you are here, because I know you will wear me out even more. And I know it will be worth every minute of it. I love you, Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
                     It's only 36 days until you are due. Everyone is in agreement with us that you will not wait 36 more days though. I just hope that you can wait for my family leave to come through. I am so nervous about your birth. I know you will be perfect and we seem to be well prepared for your arrival but still to know that the actual event is so very close is terrifying to me. I am anxious to see you and want it to be as soon as possible but still kinda weirded out by it all. Nothing this momentous has ever happened to me before.
   It's a lazy Sunday afternoon here now. Your mother is taking a nap. You are tiring her out so easily these days. I just added your 32 week ultrasound to the blog page. I probably should mow the yard but it's so hot outside. I'll probably wait until tomorrow to do it. Your papaw helped us take a whole lot of the clutter that was in the office to the recycling center Saturday afternoon. While it's still a wreck it does look so much better.
   Well, I'm gonna let you go for now. See you soon, Rebecca. We both love you very much.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hello Rebecca. There's only 39 days left until your due date. Your mother & I do not think you will wait until then. You have always been a big baby. Your mother has gestational diabetes so you have been running large. At the ultrasound today it was determined that you weigh approximately 6 pound and 2 ounces. You are doing great. We have another great ultrasound picture of you. Maybe I will put it up here on the blog this weekend. I am kinda tired today though. We have been super busy getting ready for you. Your room is nearly complete. Your mom wants a rug that matches the decor and your papaw is gonna make us some blue gingham curtains when we get the fabric. Papaw used to be a sewing machine mechanic so that's how he knows how to sew. As you know already we have your crib and other furniture. We put up some shelves, your mother made some very cute pictures here on the computer and we framed them and hung them on your wall, we hung your plush moon & stars from the ceiling and we stenciled your name above your crib. The stenciling was hard. I was afraid we had screwed up your wall but it actually came out quite nice. We are going to try to get all the cardboard taken to the recycling center this weekend. Your room is nearly perfect but the rest of the house is a total wreck.
   Well, little girl, I am tired. I just wanted to check in with you today and let you know how things are going with us as we wait on you. I'm gonna surf around on the internet for a little while and then I am gonna watch some television with your mother before I have to go to bed. See you soon, Rebecca. We both love you very much

Dear Rebecca,
                     Forty one days until you are due. That is only a month and ten days. It is quickly creeping upon us. We are excited to see you! So of course the month and ten days still seems like an eternity. It's Tuesday afternoon here at the old homestead. Daddy was right, this office is a wreck. I can't wait to get it cleaned out. I really haven't done that much today because my back has been hurting me very badly. I picked up the living room and made sure all the dishes were in the sink. I will take care of the rest tomorrow. I am hoping I will have all of this done before you get here. I don't know though, some things might have to be done afterward. Just rest assured that I will get them done eventually. I want you to live in a nice clean home.
   Sunday afternoon after church, Mamaw and Papaw took us to Babies R Us and bought you some baby furniture. They bought you a beautiful white crib, that turns into a toddler daybed, then into a full size bed when you get older. It is very nice. It is not the one we originally looked at. It is MUCH, MUCH better. Papaw did not like the construction of the bed that we had picked out. I don't blame him, it felt very shoddy. But I was also worried about Mamaw and Papaw spending so much money. They did not seem to be concerned with it, though. They also bought you a very nice mattress that is very firm and hopefully will be very comfortable for you. I don't know anything about babies and what kind of mattresses they like, but I like firm mattresses. Papaw then saw an even better dresser than the one we had picked out and it had a changing table right on the top of it. It has colored knobs to match your Sun, Moon, & Star Room decor'. It also has a little cabinet where I can keep diapers and wipes, and it has nice big drawers. Everyone discovered that Papaw is a very good shopper. Well, Papaw is very good at a lot of things, as I am sure you will find out. After Mamaw and Papaw bought the furniture, they came to our house and Daddy and Papaw put the crib together. It was very easy to get the crib together. It did not take long at all. Mamaw and I got your bedding on it and mounted your little mobile (which is NOT very mobile I should add) and put some of your stuffed animals inside the crib. It all looks very cute. Next Papaw and Daddy tried to put your dresser/changer table together. It was a lot harder than the crib. It got Daddy and Papaw very frustrated. But they finally got it put together and they loved you enough to keep at it when I am sure they both felt like pitching it out the window. They bought you a very nice changing pad to go on top of it, and Daddy bought you two covers for the changing pad. One is yellow and one is green. They both match your room very nicely. After the furniture was put together, the room really started to look like a baby's room, instead of a big sparkly yellow room. You are so lucky to have a Mamaw and Papaw that love you so much. When the furniture was almost put together, Aunt Lynn and Uncle Rodney showed up up see it. They liked it a lot, and Lynn made a good suggestion about your curtain. Now instead of using a dust ruffle to make your valance, we are going to use a blue gingham pattern. I think it will look very nice.
   Monday after work Daddy went to pick up the rocker to go in your room. We got a lot of nice gifts at the baby shower, and we got money too, $75.00, and your rocker was only a $100.00 after tax. So we only had to give $25.00 of our own money to get it. Daddy also got you a nice bookshelf for your books, lamps, & what-nots. He put the rocker and the bookshelf together last night. It looks very, VERY nice in there. We also got your pink Disney Princess CD player out on an other shelf beside the dresser. We are having a problem figuring out your diaper genie. I think Alicia or Lynn may have to show us how to do it. Today we are going to get some fishing line to hang your moon and stars above your rocker. We may get some bigger stencils to go over your crib or I thought about a pillow-picture but Daddy says we have already spent so much money, and he is right. We do not really need to spend any more. I am sure there are other things we will have to buy at a later date ... and that money could come in handy. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how nice your room looked. Today Daddy and I are getting flowers to go outside to make your arrival home even more special. We love you and can't wait to see you!

Dear Rebecca,
                  It's Friday now. My work day is done. I have mowed the front lawn; the back doesn't yet need mowing. Your mother is out with your mamaw & Aunt Lynn shopping. Probably shopping for stuff for you. I am feeling very relaxed right now. My office is a wreck. Your room used to be the "catch all" room. When we had to store something for later it went in your room because it was an extra room that was very handy for storage. Well, we have had to clear out that room and it all ended up in my office. We are gonna take all this stuff to the dump. But for now it' still here. It's rained so much lately and the dump closes so early that we just haven't had the chance to take care of it. My computer desk is also falling apart. The top drawer just dropped out of it. We need a new computer desk but we also need a thousand other more imortant things so I suppose I will have to wait.
   Your Aunt Mary and Papaw Laurence dropped in last night. They spent the night. Kristie left with your mamaw, Aunt Lynn & Allison this morning at around 9:30. That's all I have to say for today. I'll let you go for now. I love you and see you soon.