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1. Stewart Little, as we've affectionately been calling the fetus, is now sexed, or at least is now sexed to us. Keisha and I are proud to say that we're having a GIRL. So it's gonna be me, Keisha, Stewart Little, Stella, and Sofie. I say I'm vastly outnumbered here...
Aren't those images crazy? Watching the little bugger squirm and kick and move and punch and everything yesterday was quite surreal, and it's amazing to know that I helped make her. See the little feet! The face still looks alien and skeletal, but I'm smitten. It was funny how hyper and active she was, too, but everything looked great and healthy, and we thank God for that.
2. We ordered our crib, changing table, and dresser last night from JC Penny. I applied for a credit card to save an additional 10% off, was approved, and then found out my limit was $50 less than what the total cost was. So I called Penny's and requested an immediate credit increase of $100 and got that taken care of. Then I went to finish the purchase and was asked to enter my credit card info, which I didn't have as I had no card yet, so I made another phone call. Everything was going well until my phone died about 20 minutes into the call, so I had to call back and repeat the entire process. All said and done, I spent about 45 minutes on the phone working it all out, but in the end we got our stuff ordered and now we're waiting for the backorder to fill and ship.
3. My paycheck is currently 19 days late, which is to say that I'm technically due two checks, as another is now 5 days late. This is confusing, as my firm was awarded a 10+ million dollar contract recently (though obviously we've seen no money from this yet, as the project is in its early infancy). I simply ask for your prayers in all this stuff, knowing God will provide and take care, but it's quite stressful, too.
4. My brother returned from Afghanistan over the weekend, and I got to see him on Saturday. We spent an hour or so sitting around and just talking, and it was great. I'm very thankful God watched over him and kept him safe. His unit encountered Taliban forces 41 times, and he was part of about 35 of those encounters, so God definitely saw to him.
5. My reading life is hectic. I'm listening to an audio book at work (Terry Brooks' Bearers of the Black Staff), and nearly finished. I'm finally reading a STAR WARS book that I've been waitlisted on for a while. I also checked out Joe Abercrombie's The Heroes (so many great reviews already) yesterday, which was purchased by my request to the library. I really want to start this soon, as I won't be able to renew it, since its waitlist is already growing. And then I'm reading an unpublished manuscript for someone, which has been quite enjoyable so far, and I'm about halfway through that. And then there's the smattering of graphic novels and comics I need to read and return. (Oh, and let's not even consider the time I'm spending playing Dead Space 2.) All of this on my plate and knowing Pat Rothfuss' The Wise Man's Fear will be shipped to my house come early March. So much to read...
6. As for Dead Space 2, it's been phenomenal. It's captured all of the terror and features of gameplay the first one had and upped the graphics and added better controls. The plot has been crazy; the necromorphs plentiful; the fear tense. I've only got a chapter or two left before I beat the game, and I've really enjoyed this play through.
7. We watched two James Bond films over the weekend: Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Neither Keisha nor myself have seen much (or any) of Bond, but we both liked these movies. Daniel Craig does great, and I'm looking forward to diving into more Bond, especially adding the older ones onto my Netflix queue.
8. So much going on in life right now that there's no way I could cover it all. At times I'm stressed. Other times I'm amazed. Sometimes I'm sickened and dismayed. Through it all I look to Jesus and try to live like Him. I fail, I know, but I try.
