Vain? I think, yes!

Okay, so I am about to admit something to you all, my blogger buddies, that I am ashamed of, but its true! I have had more fun watching the poll numbers and the comment numbers on my blog these last couple of days! I go to all of these blogs that make me laugh, make me think, or make me cry everyday. I see their comment numbers. Its ridiculous, I tell you! I mean, I know I'm no Beth Moore, but please! So, it has been with a very prideful heart that I have over-enjoyed the numbers this week. How stupid, right?! All that to say this: first, thank, you all so much for voting in the now meaningless boy name poll and for all of your comments and well-wishes as Miss Lily Hope gets closer! Second, come on people! I know you're out there now...I expect to see dozens of comments on every mundane post from now on!

I am praying that you all 'hear' the sarcastic undertones above! :-) Have a great weekend!

ITS A GIRL!!!

I find it funny that you look for two little lines to tell you you're pregnant and three little white lines to tell you its a girl! We saw those little lines this afternoon and couldn't be more excited for our new precious baby! The picture at the top isn't from today, unfortunately. Our sweet girl wasn't into her public today and didn't want to give us her profile. So, while we got some great shots of feet, arms, legs, lips, and such, there isn't a really good picture for everyone to recognize! December's picture will have to do! Her name is Lily Hope Hardy. It has been decided for quite some time. Our due date for this sweet girl is July 14...4 years to the day since we lost our first baby. What a God thing, right? I would have never guessed on July 14, 2005 that I would someday rejoice in that date...ever. But, here we are! I have written before about that experience in great detail, (click HERE) but I will give you the abbreviated version of the special meanings of her name. Our dearest friends in that time, Damon and Erin, had suffered the loss of two babies when we miscarried. Erin sent me lilies with promises of God's sweet mercies. My mom planted those lilies at their home (I can't keep plants alive, and they were too precious to kill!) and those bulbs opened last summer for the first time...on July 14. I'm not kidding. Precious signs. During our miscarriage, Jared and I claimed the verse Romans 5:5 (in the right column). So, after we put it all together, we just felt so peaceful about the name Lily Hope Hardy if, in fact, we had a girl. So, there it all is. We are so excited, but not nearly as excited as one big brother...Jakob Mark. He has told us for weeks that he will NOT have a baby brother. God has a neat way of working things out, right?! Hope you've all had a great day...filled with little reminders that God's mercies are new EVERY morning and they NEVER fail.

Tell Us What You Think!

Okay, so tomorrow is the LONG-awaited day when we FINALLY find out the sex of this sweet bundle of baby! I am 20 weeks now, and we are crawling out of our skin to find out and slap some paint on the walls! We are dead-set on our girl name, but the boy name this time around is a little less certain. SO...I thought I would ask you all your opinion. Our top two choices are in the column to the right. Place your vote, and we'll let you know tomorrow night what the decision is!

I Got Your Nose!

You know the game you play with toddlers, right? You pinch their nose and stick the tip of your thumb through your index finger and your 'tall-man' finger and proclaim, "I got your nose!" Tonight at the dinner table, I performed said 'trick' to Jakob who quickly said with a wrinkled brow, "...then who has my boogers?"

TMEA

Well, I won't go into the process, because God only knows how much I've talked about All-State on this blog! But I thought I would post my sweet babies who were chosen to perform this week in San Antonio. This year's audition process started in July with over 14,000 students singing for just under 500 chairs in the All-State Choir. We are so blessed at Frenship to have students who have really caught the competitive music 'bug' and continue to rise to the occasion each and every time! We set our goal last year to significantly increase our students at the final audition in January, and we did...in fact, our kids doubled. Out of 14 Tigers at that audition, 7 placed in the choir: 4 as alternates, and 3 as singers. What a splendid week to watch their lives change. All three of our students who sang this year are pursuing a career in music, and two of them are auditioning at Wayland next month. They make me so proud to send them to my alma mater, proud to a part of their lives. These are special kids, each with their own story...but they are singing their way through life, and I am honored to be in their audience.

DeNisha - All-State Women's Choir 2009

Kandra - All-State Women's Choir 2008 & 2009

Kashif - All-State Men's Choir 2009

These are my people...they make my day!

We're in the Money!

We were gone this week for TMEA in San Antonio, and my mom so graciously agreed, as she always does, to come spend the week with Jakob for us! Since we were gone over Valentines, they spent the day together doing all sorts of fun stuff. The day began with a Valentines card from Poppy and Nana that had a one dollar bill inside. Mom said when he opened it, he gasped and said, "Nana! A thousand dollars!?" She laughed, of course, and told us all about it when we woke up at home this morning. After she left today, we were all in Jakob's room playing when I saw the dollar bill. I asked him who gave it to him, and here is what he said, "Oh my goodness! My Nana gave that to ME...my HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!" I like the ways this sweet boy does math!

I'm SO Blue!

Jared and I leave tomorrow morning for TMEA, a music conference for all music people of all kinds in the state of Texas...or as we like to call it, paid vacation in San Antonio! Don't get me wrong, we work, but we play too! This conference comes at the right time of year every year, and we can't wait this year! We get to see so many of our friends from college and past colleagues. SO fun! This year, however, there is a little added incentive...THE DUKE VS. UNC GAME IS TOMORROW NIGHT AT 8PM!!! Jared and I will be stowed away in our hotel room watching the game, probably not very quietly! So, if you don't have a preference in which team wins, then go for my Blue Devils! If you are cheering for UNC, I love you in Christ, but not in basketball! No baby blue tomorrow....ROYAL blue all day long!!!

Oh, camera cord, where art thou?

I cannot find the cord that connects my camera to the computer. I am certain it has a technical term, but I don't know it! Anyway, since I cannot upload my pictures (from Christmas! ouch...) I don't have much to tell. So, I'll say this: tonight, Jared and I got our first real date night in such a long time. We've been out, but not alone in too long. We got out of our Friday jeans, and I even put on make-up! After dinner at Carino's, we went to see Taken and it was AWESOME! If you don't know, I am a CSI addict. I admit it freely. Taken was like CSI on steroids. It was such a great movie. So, thank you to Aly for giving Jared and me a much needed date! Can't wait for next week when I am with Jared all day for four days in San Antonio! Vacations disguised as professional development are great!

Glory be to God on High!

This fall, one of the all state pieces was 'Gloria,' and the words went something like this:

Glory be to God on high.

Who launched the sunlight, loosed the rain.

Who scattered stars across the sky.

Who piled the mountains, rolled the plains.

Who filled the rivers and the seas.

Oh, glory be! Oh glory be!

Well, this is my version after the dear, precious, God-sent plumber came this morning at 8:30:

Glory be to plumber guy!

Who snaked the clean-out, cleared the drain!

Who scattered poo across my yard!

Who pulled the clogs out, fin-al-ly!

Who filled my toilets up with pee.

Oh, glory be! Oh, glory be!

I never knew just how much I loved the sound a toilet makes as the bowl empties! I'm actually excited to do laundry today! Thank you, plumber guy!!!

Praying for Poopy-less Pipes

Weird title, I know. Just thought I'd let you in on the inner workings of the Hardy house lately. When we bought this house, we knew that the bathtubs drained slowly and figured that we were dealing with slow, older drains. However, over the last week, things have gone from suspicious to downright FRUSTRATING AND GROSS! Jared and I are notorious for putting things off for far too long. I suppose this is one of those times, but with good reason...I think. This has been a crazy busy week, filled with all kinds of things to get ready for contest yesterday. As our toilets began to overflow in the early parts of the week and our washer wouldn't drain and backed up in the latter part of the week, we decided that we would wait until Monday to call someone. We made a plan to not run water simultaneously, wait for a while after the shower to flush, and hold off from doing laundry until after the weekend. Good plans, right? Wrong. We got up this morning to water pooled in our garage at the washer...I don't mean a puddle. I mean an entire 5x8 rug was soaking wet, with water pooling under your feet. Neither of our toilets would flush even though nothing had been run all night long. So, we went to church, hoping that things would drain a bit while we were gone, as has been the habit of our plumbing over the past week. So, after returning from church, we found that the water had not subsided. This has not happened before. So, we went to the clean out, as we have done all week, just checking. It had blown the top off and there is all kinds of, ummm, stuff, let's say, on our lawn. You must be freaking kidding me. (Sorry if that sounds crude, but seriously.) So, it was at that moment, we decided to pay the extra money for someone to come out on an emergency call this afternoon. The problem? NO PLUMBER WILL WORK ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! Seriously, that is what we heard from several men. Give me a dad-gum break. So, it is with a frustrated, floating spirit that I warn all of you who live near to me: We may be at your house very soon! Here's hoping that the plumber of choice has a great Super Bowl party tonight, because tomorrow...HE'S MINE!!!