1 Week to Parenthood

Little Gashler is due for the 17th, which means any day now is possible. It is really hard to believe that we are actually going to have another member of our family that WE have to be responsible for. It's hard to accept the fact that there is no real way to be emotionally and physically prepared for this, but I know that we can always rely on the Lord for help. Plus our parents, and family members, and friends.... and so many people! This experience of being pregnant has helped me realize that I am blessed to be around so many loving, caring, generous people. I have learned that I always need to be willing to give of myself because I know many who have made sacrifices for us.

We actually agreed on a name. Steve recommended it. His friend Monte wrote a song called Aurora Aria (though Aria is pronounced uh-RIE-uh, not AR-ee-uh). He recommended Aria, and I love how it sounds, but I wanted to spell it differently so people hopefully won't pronounce it AR-ee-uh. So, we added an h to the end: Ariah. I love how that looks, sounds, and feels. This is pretty much set in stone unless we look at her and she is not an Ariah, or she turns out to be a boy :b

Thank all of you for your sweetness, sincerity, and generosity. It means a great deal to us and I hope I can show you adequate thanks through my actions. Steve, thank you for all you've done for me. All those backrubs, delicious meals, giving into my dumb cravings and whims of fancy... the list goes on and on. I am so excited to be a parent along side you!

I have so much to catch up on, hopefully I'll be able to post it all before baby comes... knock on wood...