Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving

We had two Thanksgivings this year.  The first was at my mom's house, and we enjoyed a pot roast, mashed potatoes, other delicious things I have since forgotten, and of course, pie.  Osei made a plain pumpkin pie, and then got creative and made a pumpkin-sweet potato mix.  Overall, we all seemed to prefer the pie with sweet potato.  We enjoyed the time with family.  Palesa was the centerpiece, and we all took turns holding her.  Also during the evening, we video chatted with Osei's parents.  They were very impressed to see how big Palesa was, and agreed that she is simply growing more precious and adorable by the day.

We have so much to be thankful for!  Having baby Palesa has been the biggest blessing we could imagine, and we are thankful to be able to spend this time in Colorado with family.  We are thankful for how well my mom is doing during chemotherapy, and we are faithful as we continue praying for her complete recovery from breast cancer. 

38.5 weeks- only a few more to go!

Hello all,

As of today, I am 39 weeks!  This is getting really exciting!

Our weekends now amount to precious moments of attempting to cram as much as we can into a short amount of time, and take advantage of the opportunity to get as much done as we can (while also building in time for naps and cuddling of course!).  This weekend was particularly special.

Our major art project of the weekend was making a plaster belly cast.  At first, I started putting on the plaster strips myself, with Osei simultaneously a bit fascinated and grossed out.  However, half way through he got his hands dirty and had a blast finishing the rest.  We learned a lot for next time- mainly that Osei will take over from the beginning-  I couldn't exactly see what I was doing on my own belly! 

Osei also fixed our sewing machine!  We'd bought an old Singer 457 (metal machine, from the 1960's), and the timing became out of sync, causing a gear to break.  The estimate to repair the machine was 5 times what we even paid for the machine, so my saavy and industrious husband did research, ordered a part, watched multiple youtube videos and figured out how to fix it himself!  I'm incredibly impressed, and this means that our next project of sewing a cover for the diaper changing pad is ready to begin.

Finally this weekend, we also went apple picking.  Osei and I had gone apple picking on our 3rd date, so the entire event was incredibly sentimental for me.  Though we went to a different orchard, we did manage to recreate some pictures, as well as our enjoyment of fresh apple cider donuts.  We picked over 20 pounds of apples and promptly baked 3 apple-cranberry pies, which in my opinion, far surpassed the deliciousness of the pies we made after our first apple-picking adventure.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is my last day of working in the office, and then I'll work from home until the baby is born.  My commute to work has gotten progressively longer in the past month, as my walking speed has slowed to turtle-like pace.  I won't miss fighting for a seat on the crowded subway and am very thankful for the flexibility to work from home!

Please continue to pray and send healing thoughts for my mother, Nancy.  After surgery last month for breast cancer, she begins chemotherapy on Friday, and we are all prayerfully optimistic that her cancer will never return.

Love and blessings to all,

Amy, Osei, and soon-to-be-welcomed-to-the-world, Omee 

35.5 weeks- About a month to go!

Hello all,

We're getting closer! Our "guess date" is around October 18th, which a) is now less than a month away and b) means that the baby should arrive anytime in the next 1-6 weeks. Not exactly a small window or anything, but we are getting ready and very excited to meet this little person who keeps kicking me!

Osei and I spent the entire weekend nesting and organizing our house- such as sewing, washing all of of our baby clothes and moving our computer/office to our downstairs room. Years ago, Osei inherited an antique buffet from old roomates made by Consider H. Willet, a brand named after the maker himself (yes, his first name was actually "Consider"). It has spent the duration of our marriage in our laundry room kitchenette until now. In a wonderfully productive spurt of "daddy nesting," Osei did all sorts of research and then stripped and refinished the wood to turn the piece into a beautiful dresser for baby clothes. We're still waiting on the drawer handles to arrive, but it is absolutely gorgeous. Pictures to follow!

In other news, the past few weeks has been a mix of positive and somewhat stressful news. On September 2nd, my mom (Nancy) and Ralph, her sweetheart for the past decade, got married in a private ceremony on top of Flagstaff Mountain in Boulder (see picture of the glowing newlyweds). I've thought of Ralph as my stepdad for years now, and we are all so happy for them and their marriage!

Their choice of wedding day and their good news was also intended to triumph over some not-so-good news... We also confirmed that my mom has breast cancer. It is somewhat beyond "early stage" but is the most common and treatable type of cancer, and we are all incredibly encouraged and hopeful for her full recovery. Last Thursday, her treatment began with surgery, and chemotherapy will follow. She is in wonderfully good spirits and the surgery went very well. I am struggling with being so far away from her right now, but I greatly value our frequent phone conversations. Also, as this impacts our travel schedule in the next few months, this is a great opportunity for us to join the new millenium and learn to skype! We are all greatly appreciative of your continued thoughts and prayers for her recovery.

Much love and blessings,

Amy, Osei, and baby Omee