Choral Festival 2012

David and I have gone to Choral Festival for the last several years.  When we knew my due date was going to mid-August, David said "I guess we won't be able to go to Spartanburg this year for the conference".  I said 'YES - we are still going!"  It is such a great weekend of refreshment, encouragement, equipping and training for both of us and I did not want to miss it!!  At my doctor's appointment the day before I left town, I had a good check up although my heart skipped a beat when he said I was 3 cm!  I didn't tell my mom that part - she was already nervous about us travelling the week before my due date.  I assured her (and everyone else that was a little nervous about us travelling) that we were only 1.5 hours away...and that if anything happened, we would come on home.

It was a wonderful weekend.  Heard lots of great new music.  Sat through some awesome workshops led by amazing musicians and Christ followers.  Got some great ideas for our music ministry at Northside.  Pumped up and excited for my children's choir to kick off.  And heard and participated in some awesome worship throughout the weekend.  Oh - and the food was incredible, and it sure was nice having a last little getaway with my husband!!

I was definitely ogled while I was there - every time I was in the rest room (which was A LOT), the ladies would ask my due date and they would REALLY exclaim when I told them "next week!".  And then you can only imagine their reaction when they heard it was my 5th child!!!  :)

 Got to hang out with Jeff Slaughter!!!  Went to one of his workshops and then David and I had dinner with him one night!  It was awesome.  He has written and led the VBS music for Lifeway for the last 16 or so years.  I told him that this year's VBS music about did me in, but that I was sure he wasn't assuming a 33 week pregnant lady would be dancing around doing the choreography!!  I thanked him for his work in teaching children God's word and truth through the medium of music - what an impact he has had!  He was a hoot - we loved getting to know him!  :)  He prayed a blessing over my baby - and we prayed for the baby to sing on pitch!  :)

My friend Cindy let me borrow this chair - BLESS her!!  We sit in the sanctuary through most of the weekend for all of the reading sessions - when we hear speakers, sing through new music, etc.  I knew the pews would do me in so Cindy let me borrow her Gamecock chair and it was awesome!!  Just the cushioning and support I needed!  :)  Got lots of compliments too!

 Saw this AWESOME sand artist...Jose Castillo.  Found out he is currently competing on America's Got Talent (got to start watching so we can vote for him!).  Amazing talent.  Would do these fabulous sand creations telling biblical stories in about 5-10 minutes through his art.  Hard to explain.  Go to YouTube and watch one of his creations.  He did one on the prodigal son that was amazing.  This was "the Passion". 

 Wednesday night, Laura Story did a concert that was amazing.  I LOVE her.  She is pregnant too and due about a month after me.  I couldn't believe she could still stand on stage, hold a guitar, fit at the piano bench :) but she did and was amazing.  She taught some workshops that weekend and I got to meet her later and get a picture.  We were the only two pregnant people there - so we bonded!!  She shared something really funny during the concert.  This is their first baby, but they've been travelling so much that they haven't been able to attend the traditional birthing classes.  She said they got an app for it though!  :)  And then she said "I mean really.  I'm just going to get really huge for 9 months and then the baby is just going to bust out of me, right? I don't need a class to know that!"  We died laughing.  She's about got it right!!

 Jonathan Falwell at the closing concert

Charles Billingsley, the praise team, and choir from Thomas Road Baptist Church.  Amazing concert.  That church has been set free!!  Amazing night of worship.  Great to see Charles again.  He and David talked for a bit that day.  He gave a great challenge about the difference between being an artist and a worship pastor.  Spoke some really powerful truths.  I was so thankful for the weekend - and we made it through without having a baby (although I will admit to have quite a few contractions on Friday night during the TRBC concert and getting a bit nervous...)

Family Skate Night!

I know I took more pictures than this, but this is only one I can find!  Bummer!  We made Alli and her family come with us to family skate night - another thing on our summer list!  The kids went to a birthday party here a few months ago and decided they loved skating and wanted to come back!  It looked just like I remember all skating rinks looking like when I was a kid!  :) We had a great time - right up until we got in the parking lot to leave and discovered our flat tire.  Good thing Duane was there to save the day with his cool gadgets!  I was thankful that it happened while I was at home and not two days later when I would be driving to Raleigh by myself with the kids!!

Showered with Blessings

Some sweet friends of mine at church wanted to bless me with a shower for the baby!  They planned an open house shower after church where people could drop by - it was so nice!!  They had it set up with both blue and pink things, blue and pink decorated cupcakes, blue and pink plates - people could choose blue or pink depending on if they thought the baby was going to be a boy or a girl.  It was very fun!!!  There were many more gifts put on the "pink" table - most people were siding with Callie in thinking this baby is going to be a girl!  People watched David like a hawk - did he choose a blue plate? a pink cupcake? He outsmarted them all - he got a plain white paper plate from the kitchen and ate BOTH cupcakes! :)

 Callie loved helping me with the gifts...

My friend Alli put this inside of the diaper bag she gave me - isn't that the cutest idea? I loved it!

Guess whose new backpack came today???

As soon as she opened the box, she said "Oh good!  I don't have to change my name!"  Come to find out, she'd been looking at the catalog while she waited for it to come, and in the catalog it was monogrammed with "Megan" on it.  She was worried that since she picked that backpack, it would come with "Megan" on it and she would have to change her name!  :)

Another thing crossed off...

We took the kids on Friday to choose the "coming home" outfit for the baby.  We decided the girls should choose the "if its a girl" outfit, and the boys should choose the "if its a boy" outfit :)

 Here's what Callie and I picked...

 ...and here's what the boys picked!!  Now the baby won't come home naked!

 Playing a little pictionary while we wait...

...for the Olympics to start!  FINALLY!!!  Jacob was worn out (obviously) but still watched MOST of the opening ceremony.  The boys just loved it.  I felt like it was such a great history lesson as we talked about all the countries as they marched in.  Let the Olympics fun begin (and the very sleepy mornings too after staying up late for the next two weeks...)

The tour!

Once we got home from vacation, I started to really feel like I needed to get a few of my ducks in a row to have this baby.  Vacation was on the calendar all summer and I kept thinking "I"ll take care of it after vacation...".  Well, now it's "after vacation" and that means it's almost time to have a baby!

I called the hospital this morning to find out about the kids doing a tour of the hospital nursery and a sibling class.  The nurse on the phone acted like I should have called months ago (oops!) but said they had a class that night if we could make it.  I said yes and called David to tell him to be home right on time!

It was a really cute class for siblings.  Went over alot of the baby basics - wash your hands, don't pick up the baby without permission, what to expect from your baby brother/sister, etc.  The boys were horrified and embarrassed when the video MENTIONED breastfeeding :).  Pretty funny.  Their favorite part though was getting to put on their "scrubs" for the hospital tour!  

 Pretty cute aren't they? : )

 Then the nurse gave them all a baby and taught them how to swaddle them :)  It was a good refresher for David and me too!

I guess we're ready now!  :)

A fun Sunday!

 David got to do his very first baptism on Sunday morning!  A guy he led to the Lord in his office just a few weeks back :)  So exciting to see people excited about following the Lord!

 No food in the house after vacation?  I decided we would kill two birds with one stone and go out to Hibachi for lunch after church (after all, on Sunday afternoons they have an early bird discount!) :).  It was still on our summer list and I was bound and determined to get everything crossed off!  :)

 My kids eat with chopsticks better than I do - I don't even bother trying anymore...

 This one LOVES it - eats the veggies, loves the shrimp...he's so fun.

The last goodbyes...

It was after midnight...I had already gone to bed and was folding the last of our clean laundry to pack away, when Jacob came bounding into my room holding...

 ...his tooth!!!  It had been loose for a few weeks but hadn't wanted anyone to mess with it.  He had wiggled it earlier in the week and someone made the comment that he should try and pull it while on vacation - the tooth fairy may bring extra money (or should I say "tooth fairIES" ).  He was SO excited when he pulled it that night!!  :)

 I quickly sent a text message to the other "tooth fairies" to let them know since they had opened their big mouths and told him about the extra bonus vacation money :)

 This is how I found Jacob in the morning - he didn't quite make it all night :)

...and here's John

Luke and Josiah were WIDE-EYED and bushy tailed!!!  Josiah was SO excited that he made it all night and he said he wasn't tired ONE bit!!!

 Let the packing of the vans begin!

Came back inside to discover Josiah totally passed out!!!

 There's Luke and Jacob too....some tired boys after all :)

Trying to line up all the grandkids for one more picture...

A little difficult to find a spot for all 9 of them...and one of them (Josiah) was a total zombie!!!!

 See Josiah?  Eyes open and body upright, but still totally asleep I'm telling you!!!  :)  Hilarious.

 The brothers-in law

They really are troopers to put up with us girls!!!  But we are the funnest family :)

 My sisters and I (standing in birth order!!)

Kim, Kelli, Katy, Kristen

And our Mom!  :)

What an awesome week - can't wait until next year!!!  :)

(PS - we made it through vacation without either one of us going into labor!! Success!!)