I think that Atlanta is about as Southern as Florida. Which is just to say that it is not. But at least it is good to know that there are pockets outside of Atlanta where Southern heritage is celebrated and Sherman is hated still.

Only two more months until my baby girl arrives...or maybe a little less. I have been in search of bows for her hair...Such a hard thing to find. Who would have imagined...

Isn't it funny that before Peanut arrived I was scared to pieces of having a little hellion when he started walking...Things actually get easier the older he gets. And parenting is more rewarding. What an awesome feeling it is every time that he brings me a book and plops down into my lap for me to read it to him...or when I catch him with a dust rag wiping down the furniture with Mommy when I dust. I can't wait to have two babies. I have no fear but that they will love each other. But for all of the horror stories I hear, I loved having my little brother. Who else would have let me play like Barbie was GI Joe's mommy? My only concern is that I will have to be careful to make sure that he isn't too rough with his little sister in his enthusiasm to hold and see the new baby.

Some day when I am dead and gone...Hubby will find himself a wilderness woman. She'll scrub her face on a rock in a murky stream. And fry him up a mess of crickets for dinner. She'll go a month between shaving her legs. And her favorite colors will be tan, red, and camouflage (...did I spell that right?)... She won't need a bathhouse when she camps...just a shovel and a corn cob. And she will laugh at the thought of a shower on vacation. She'll put on extra weight in the winter for insulation against the cold...and until she loses it again...she'll be his shade for sun in the summer. She'll be able to tree a squirrel better that any old hound dog. And she'll boss his butt around with a voice louder and more harsh than any man's. And I am going to sit up in heaven and laugh at him. And think about all of the times that he called my form of survival camping in the wilds of a campground for 1 night max "campering." It most definitely is not "campering" to fight off bugs all by yourself in a dirty bathhouse. It is a scary fight for survival...

Hotlanta

I am in Hotlanta now. Except for this week...but that's a long story. Renting out a house is no fun...especially in the days before it is rented.

I am scared that my babies will grow up talking like Yankees...or midWesteners - which is the preferred "American" dialect these days. Not that I have a Southern accent...but I always had such high hopes for my little ones. Everyone in Atlanta that I have heard speak, speaks just like a durn Yankee.

A few things that I have learned from moving...
1. Never hire movers... what a pain in the heinie!
2.Spanish soap operas are so much cooler than American soap operas...and the talk shows are so much more entertaining...even if you don't understand 90% of what is going on.
3.Throwing away what feels to be 1/3 of all of your earthly belongings to move is dramatic, traumatic, and a little empowering. I feel as if my soul in lighter now. Don't ask me why.

It all happened so fast...I am not even sure who knows that we are gone and who doesn't. By the way...I am trying to convince baby girl to make her debut in 10 weeks. Pregnancy is no fun anymore when it lingers on.

Oh...here is just one reason that I am convinced that I have the smartest baby boy in the universe...Hubby came home the other day when I was cleaning the back bedroom. And Peanut was playing with his toys in the livingroom. He came and got me when his Daddy was trying to get into the door (we have one of those locks that can only be unlocked from the inside...). He walked to the doorway of the bedroom, pointed tothe door, and said "Dada." I asked him if his Daddy was home and he started walking to the door. I had never heard Hubby knock at the door because the fan was running in the room with me. Thank goodness for my smart little boy...

Did you know that they charge $10 to see a cow eat grass here? Just as soon as I get a little bit of land, I am going to put a cow on it and start raking in some cash. Yankees who conglomerate down South are just plain stupid. Can you imagine what they would pay to see a chicken?

Thank God for lysol...People were in my house today when I wasn't there. And not little green men from Mars, either. Realtors. And househunters. And I just want to get rid of the germs tonight.

I have a strong inclination to buy a new coffee pot when all of this is over...If people will pee in a hotel coffee pot, then they just might pee in the coffee pot in the house they are viewing. The realtor was supposed to call to make sure that it was a good time to see the house before they just came right on in. But they didn't. And now I am weirded out. We found the business card on the kitchen table.

It's a little weird to me to think of people walking through my house while I am walking through some stranger's house in Atlanta. I remember thinking today...wondering if the people viewing my house would criticize my cleaning habits or my "decor." I call it "moving chic." With touches of baby style. And then I thought about the nasty smells in some of the houses that I was in today. One house smelled like stale, rank cigarette smoke. And another smelled like cat urine. And one smelled like what I thought was some little old man's cheap cologne, but Hubby and the realtor informed me that it was the smell of curry. And one smelled refreshingly like nice, clean, sanitizing bleach. I am scared that my house has some weird, foul odor undetected by me. I am so happy for Lysol. And candles. And bleach.

I don't know whether to be thankful or depressed tonight. We really do need to sell the house...seeing that we will not be living here much longer. But this is the first house that Hubby and I ever owned. And the only home that Peanut has ever known. And strangers invaded it today. And all I want to do is scrub...and throw away something. I have found that throwing away things is such a nice, in-control feeling. I like it.

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my kneese and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great ou will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Ephesians 3:14-19

Do you remember what it felt like to fall asleep in the car when your parents were driving when you were a kid? So comforting. No worries. Well...I am glad that I can know that it's okay for me to just rest with the complete knowledge that my Heavenly Daddy is taking care of me and I don't have to worry about where I am going or if I will be safe.

Okay...

It IS a GIRL! Yeah!

One wonderful hubby+1 sweet little boy+1 sweet little girl=1 happy Mrs.Phreedom

Looking for apartments/houses in a city that I have only been to twice in my life...but am going to be moving to soon is so weird. Weird. Scary. Exciting. Scary. Did I say scary? I am looking around my home trying to imagine what it will be like when this place isn't home anymore. So weird. The farthest away place that I have ever lived is only about half an hour away from the place that I grew up. And...why in this world do they call it "Hotlanta?" I would like to know.

So far the only things that I know about Atlanta amount to the following list...
1.Some people don't wear shoes or shirts in gas stations. I found this out on a girl scout trip when I was nine. I also discovered on that trip that the Embassy Suites is a wild party place on Saturday nights.
2.The city is infiltrated with CRAZY drivers. I prayed the whole time that Hubby and I were in the car.
3.There is alot of concrete and asphalt in the city. Oh, yeah, and I think that I saw some red clay.
4.Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind there...and she also died on Peachtree Street when she was hit by a crazy Georgia driver.
5.Scarlett's Aunt Pittypat lives there.
6.I found a Jimmy Choo store! And there is some store called IKEA there that alot of people are fond of...but to which I have never frequented.

Such a gorgeous day outside. And...just 6 more days before I know if the pink flowery quilt that I am making will be needed in the nursery.

I would really love to watch "7 Brides for 7 Brothers" or "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" with a nice big veggie pizza. Or a John Wayne western with a nice, toasted hoagie sub. Or "Rear Window" or "Sabrina" with a plate of sushi. I haven't watched a movie in forever.

I was remembering yesterday what it was like to hold a tiny newborn in my arms. And I got so excited! Just 4 months and I will have my sweet little boy on my lap and my tiny, sweet baby in my arms. God has truly blessed me!

I was thinking this morning...At what point do you blindly trust God too much? Can it happen? How many times have I thought that when people say that God is in control that they are just behaving foolishly and using God as an excuse to do so. I mean...think about those people who won't take medicine or go to a doctor. They use the excuse that God will heal them without the medicine. Crazy, right? I'm not saying that God can't do that...Just read the New Testament. But maybe medicine and doctors are part of God's plan to heal people. God gives those people knowledge.
I have been reading Mark lately. And I was impressed by the story of the town that Christ went to where He couldn't perform miracles. He was impressed by their lack of faith. I don't want to be that town. But I don't want to take matters in my own hand and try to control God. Just because He can do something doesn't mean that He will do something. I know that He told us to ask and we will receive, but God is never "at our command." He is God.
So maybe it just all comes down to having alot of faith and listening for God's voice. He can do anything. But we have to be there and willing to hear what He is going to do for us. Without that combination, how many blessings we will miss... So prayer is key. And ...sometimes silence on our parts so that we can hear is also definitely needed. Maybe it is just that we need to remember what we are - dust - and what God is.

Randomness...I'm Bored

This has been a great birthday weekend. And...I have given Peanut the chance to practice blowing out the candles on Mommy's cake so that he will be ready to blow out the candles on his own little cake in just 9 days. Wow! My baby's going to be a year old...soon...How did the year go by so fast?

I finally feel pregnant. I feel heavy. And tired. And so EXCITED! I am going to have two little rugrats to play with in just 4 months. Yeah!

I am reading Jane Eyre again. Such a wonderful book. I love Jane...and Helen Burns...and Adelle...and Mrs.Fairfax...and even Bessie. I wonder if very many people have crazy wives in their attics who eventually burn down their houses? For those of you who haven't read the book - and shame upon you if you haven't - I wouldn't know where I got that idea. Read the book. I promise that I didn't give anything away...well, sort of. Just read it.

As soon as baby has arrived, I am thinking of only doing housework in a pretty dress and high heels...and a frilly apron with pockets and lace. I think that I could get more done that way. Oh...and pearls. And everynight when the babies are sleeping...I will pull out my workbasket and discuss politics with Hubby while I quilt or mend things. And I will serve a congealed salad with dinner at least one night a week...though I would never eat that crap...or let my babies eat that. Yucky! (It has horse's hooves in it.) And my babies will always have brushed hair and matching clothes...not matching to each other, though. And everything will be freshly ironed and starched. Including the handmade crocheted doilies lying around the house. And I will always have a small lamp on a table by an armchair near the window so that our house looks welcoming from the outside on cold, wintry nights. And it will smell like apple pie all year long. When it doesn't smell like freshly squeezed lemons. And people will slip up every once and again and call me "Mrs.Cleaver" or "Mrs. Reed." But only not on the days that me and my little wild Indians go outside and make mudpies or have "Act Like A Pirate Day"...