He or She?! We Shall See!

Happy Friday! It seems like it has taken forever, but today is the day! Today we find out if Baby Sparks is a boy or girl! We are off to the doctor this morning, so in an early celebration of this, I figured I would run through some "Old Wives Tales" about gender prediction. Just for fun...and to tide you over till later! So let's get started!

1. Chinese gender chart says: Boy
2. Pencil test says: Boy
3. Carrying high (girl) or carrying low (boy): Boy
4. Lots of morning sickness (girl), or not too sick (boy)?: Boy
5. Do you crave sweet foods (girl) or salty (boy)?: Both!
6. Is your skin clear (boy) or do you have breakouts (girl)?: Girl
7. Is the heartbeat high (girl) or low (boy)?: Girl
8. Have you been more clumsy (boy) or graceful (girl)?: Neither?!
9. Has your husband put on sympathy weight (girl) or not (boy): Girl
10. Consider your age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or both are odd (girl). If one is even and one is odd (boy): Boy
11. My "mother's intuition" says: I don't know! Most of my pregnancy I thought Boy, and then for a  few days Girl, but now I'm not so sure. If I had to guess I'd say Boy
12. The husband's "father's intuition" says: Boy
13. My mom says: Girl
14. My father says: Boy
15. Mother-in-law says: Boy
16. Father-in-law says: Boy
17. Sister-in-law says: Boy
18. Brother-in-law says: Girl
19. Other brother-in-law says: Boy
20. Husband's family history: Boy

What do y'all think?! Will we be buying trucks and dinosaur toys or princess crowns and dolls? Leave a comment with your vote!

A Flair for the Dramatic

I am not going to deny it - I have a slight tendency to be somewhat dramatic and over exaggerate. I blame my father.  My dad is a pro when it comes to story-telling. He would always tell his "war stories" while I was growing up. And y'all, these stories are famous in my family. They include recollections of life in an all boys Catholic school, to growing up in Philly, to serving in the Air Force during Vietnam. My aunts, uncles, and cousins know all the stories by heart. And, what is funny about them, is that the story slightly changes every time he tells it.

Take the killer bee story, for example. It's a hot afternoon in Brazil, where my father is stationed during the war. All of his comrades are sitting around a hotel pool, enjoying their day off. Nearby, a group of young, mischievous boys find a bee hive and begin to hit it with sticks. Suddenly, a huge swarm emerges from said bee hive and begins to fly over to the pool area. World War III ensues. Everyone is running around, trying to escape from the attack. My father runs over to the pool, but accidentally stubs his toe on the edge. He falls in, bees flying into the water after him like bullets from a gun. Sometimes during the story he claims to have been stung ten times. Other times its only twice. He calls it his "Purple Heart" story, since he nearly lost his life during the event. And had a purple toe for a few days.

I tell you all this because I had a traumatic experience a few nights ago. Jarrod claims I am over-reacting, but I beg to differ. Obviously he just is unaware of the severity of the situation.

You see, I almost chopped my finger off while cooking. No joke. I was chopping spinach when it happened. I began to bleed and the moment I saw the blood I became light-headed and nauseous. While Jarrod ran upstairs to grab me a band-aid, I laid on the floor, tears streaming down my face, feeling as though the pain would never end. I was certain I was either going to bleed to death or lose my finger altogether. There would be no way to salvage it.

Seriously...look at how bad that wound is!

Life threatening, I tell you.

Home Sweet Home

My dad is coming home. Today. After being in the hospital for 3 months and 21 days, he is finally ready to be discharged from the skilled nursing facility and finish his recovery.

I want to say thank you for those who never stopped praying. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I will never be able to fully express my gratitude. God is so good. Please pray that he continues to progress in rehab and that his health remains stable. Even though he will be home, he still has a very long journey ahead.


"O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You have healed me."
Psalm 30:2

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my amazing father and wonderful father-in-law! I hope you two had a great day and realize how special you are! I love you both so very much!

It is no secret - I am a Daddy's girl

My father-in-law dancing it up at the wedding