Birthday, Boxes, and Bellybutton

Hey all - hope everyone is doing well!

26 Weeks along, Baby is 24 weeks old. It's nearing the end of the 26th week already - I'm behind a bit on posting! I'm almost to the 3rd trimester!

• Baby now weighs 2 pounds and is 9 1/4 inches long
• For the remainder of the pregnancy, the books say I should grow about 1/2 inch a week!

Brent celebrated his 28th birthday this week - 7/1/08. He's getting to be an old man - only two years away from 30! I took off half a day at work and we spent the afternoon together. Brent's mom came over from Tampa and joined us for dinner and (Brent's fav) German chocolate cake. Happy Birthday to Brent, my dearest husband. I love you!

Boxes have taken over our house! Packing is well underway. We have empty walls and empty closets. Still lots to pack - it seems like a never ending project! My dad will be here on Saturday and will help us get organized and pack up the rest. Brent's dad will be flying in on Monday and his mom will join us on Tuesday. We're so grateful that they'll be here with us. Moving day is fast approaching - we'll have the moving van in our driveway on Tuesday morning. I can't believe it. I get a little anxious about it all at moments - but Brent, my mom, Joan, and everyone else in my life reassures me that "things will all work out"! And I know they will.

Well, my bellybutton is starting to stick out. I'm getting an "outie"! How strange. Brent and I laugh about it a lot - it's funny! One of my co-workers noticed today and we also had a good laugh. I am even busting out of some of my matternity clothes - bring on the bigger sizes!

I probably won't be able to post until after the big move. Wish us lots of luck and say prayers for a well packed moving van, for safe travels, and that a dog, a cat, and a prego make it to Grosse Pointe in one piece.

I'll be saying good-bye to Florida next week. We have been here for three years now, which is hard to believe. Although it hasn't been my favorite place on earth at times, we've really had a good time here and made some great memories. Brent and I learned how to make things work and to lean on each other when we had no one else - the best thing we probably could have done for our young marriage. We met our two beautiful nieces on their very first birthdays and have so enjoyed watching them grow up. We will miss them terribly. I went to Disney World on my 27th birthday. We kayaked the intercoastal waterway with manatees, dolphins, and (yes) gators. I learned to love this little rental house we're in, our home for the past two years. We made it through two hurricanes - small ones, but still hurricanes. We body surfed and boogie boarded in the ocean. We watched a tiny baby sea turtle make its way into the sea. And Baby Hartsell came into our lives - and has stolen our hearts already.