Thursday, October 8, 2009

IT'S A........

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Introducing:

Jossilyn Claire Stevenson

Praise God and thank you everyone for all your prayers and support!!! Of course I would have loved the baby either way, but I wanted this SO desperately! Thank you, JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!

***UPDATE***
The doctor said at the sonogram that while there is no such thing as a perfect baby, Jossilyn is as close to perfectly formed as possible. She is perfectly healthy and beautiful. Praise God!





Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Crash, Boom, Bang…Hello, Big Tex!

This past weekend we were all set to head out of town to go to the Texas State Fair. We were SO excited! I have attended the Texas State Fair all but 8 years of my life. It's one of my favorite things to do every year.

After I picked Matthew up from school on Friday, we headed toward Ulta to go buy some shampoo about an hour before we were supposed to be on the road. In hindsight, I
really did not need that shampoo. Long story short, I was about one block from the store when some jerk in a Texas-sized pick-up truck made the fateful decision to try and change lanes at the last second – directly into my car. One giant crunch and giant bang later, my front end was smashed and our plans changed… slightly.

Funny thing is, I felt strongly that the other guy was at fault and he felt strongly that I was. We could have gone around and around about this since he thought it would help the situation to keep berating a pregnant woman with her four year old looking on, but he finally had the good sense to convince his girlfriend to call the police. She had been hesitant, trying to convince him to let the insurance companies work it out. But he just
knew I was going to get a ticket and was insistent that she call the cops. By this time, James had arrived on the scene which made the guy suddenly decide that yelling at me was perhaps not the best tactic to take.

Matthew and I sat in the car, shaken up, but otherwise unhurt, while we waited for the officer to arrive. All this time, the other guy was still maintaining that I was going to get a ticket and he was free and clear.

Minutes later (props to the Sugar Land police department for timeliness), the officer arrived and took our statements. Twenty minutes later, he issued the
other guy a citation for unsafe lane change and bid us good day. Hahahahahahahaha............. =)

The good news is, the other guy did have awesome insurance (props to Texas Farm Bureau Insurance) and they have already adjusted my car and will issue me a check for repairs within the next few days. Thank you, Lord!!!!

We ended up having to board Scooby at the last minute and take James' car to DFW, but it all worked out alright.

Here's the damage... makes you miss the days of solid metal, heavy clunker cars, huh?



We did finally make it to the Texas State Fair! We went with my parents and had SO MUCH FUN!!!

The boy's were wide eyed as they watched Big Tex talk. John was two last time he was at the Fair and doesn't remember. If you're not familiar with Big Tex, he's been an icon of the Texas State Fair for over 50 years. Every 10-15 minutes, he "talks" to the crowd much to the delight of the children and first-time visitors.


The Texas State Fair is one of the largest in the country. It has something for everyone! John had a blast checking out the auto shows. Here he is happily "test-driving" a '10 Chrysler Sebring.

I enjoyed the landscaping. This year, in true Texas form, the fair was covered in pepper plants.

At one point, we stopped to watch the not-so-Polynesian dancers perform a Polynesian dance from the Big Island. All I have to say about that is hmmmmmmm......

Before long, we found an exhibit that Daddy and James could really get into. It wasn't until much later that James even noticed the random guy in between the two… uh… displays.

Here's Matthew enjoying a Texas-sized rootbeer straight from the barrel. At least I think it's Matthew… the face is obstructed by the giant cup.

We stopped for lunch at the food court. John and Matthew decided on pizza.

It's not a very fair-like selection, but you can't deny its Texas flair. In case you missed it, here's close-up of John's slice.

My parents got the colossal-sized nachos.

They had a Texas spin, too! Notice the chips…

After lunch, the boys hitched a ride from Peepaw and Daddy.

They found some energy when they spied the monster trucks!

The boys had many adventures at the fair. They were a lion and tiger in the backyard circus…

They were junior farmers at the Little Hands on the Farm Display…

And they got to ride miniature John Deer tractors!

All in all, the Fair was tons of fun and we ate an embarrassing amount of fried and junk food. The next day, we made some time to cuddle and play with Grammie and Papa before heading back to Sugar Land on Monday.


Stay tuned tomorrow for the BIG REVEAL as we finally find out what Baby Bubba is!!!!