Drum Roll please...

Well, the guesses came in from you all (and from xanga and facebook).
8 people said girl.
10 people said boy.

The ultrasound happened this afternoon. We all went in as a family. It was so neat to see the baby moving, trying to suck its thumb or fist, kicking its little feet, and waving. The tiny mouth opened and shut, the face turned. It was so cute!

After lots of measurements and stuff, the nurse said, "It's a boy!" and pointed to the appropriate appendage in the black and white photo.

Hurray, both a boy or a girl would have been great! We are thrilled with either. Although, now what do I do with my cool girl names of Olivia, Ivy, and Sahar? (Sahar was actually Mark's idea!) Know any unique boys names?!

What's Your Guess? Boy or Girl?

Cast your voting guess before Friday's ultrasound. See if you guessed correctly. :)

Boy or girl?

So I have spent a lot of time talking in public about sex this week. That's unusual. :)

I finished the second of my two speeches this week. It seemed to go well. I enjoyed being able to talk about physical intimacy in marriage, and tried to use lots of great authors and researchers, as well as the Bible. I was praying hard, and asking lots of others to pray for me too, that God would be glorified in my talks, and that they would be helpful.

So now I am home, warming up in a cozy maternity sweat suit, homeschooling my kids (they are on a school break now), and feeling relaxed.

My hands smell like oranges.

Today after work, I stopped by a coffee shop for over an hour to work on a speech I have coming up soon. I sipped my "decaf chocolate mocha nirvana" on a comfy stuffed chair in the corner by the fireplace. People came and went, their conversations ebbed and flowed. I sat, reviewing my notes. Later, the coffee drained, the notes reviewed, I ventured out into the cold.

At home, I enjoyed hugging my family, catching up on their news, and seeing my sister. She and my daughter had just gotten back from indoor rock climbing (my daughter's present from her aunt). They told us stories of towering rock climbing heights, cool feats of strength, etc. "She does some things naturally that other people have to learn!" my sister exclaimed proudly of her niece. Did I tell you that my sister just won third place in a rock climbing competition last weekend?! I'm so proud of her.

Supper was venison and bean soup, toasted cheese bread, fresh sliced oranges, and then pistachio pudding for dessert. Now, I'm relaxing. Mark is wondering when it is his turn to get back on the computer. :)

Happy Chinese New year!

Today was a fun day. For part of school, we made invisible ink messages, having learned about coded messages that traveled back and forth in World War I. I was tempted to try to affix the messages to our cats at one point, since the armies used to send messages via pigeons and dogs. We laughed though that our cats would probably not cooperate, or would simply lie down in "enemy fire" somewhere.

For the Chinese New Year, we talked about that with my kids, and then I made Vietnamese egg rolls from scratch! I was so proud of myself! An acquaintance had given me the recipe, saying that her mom had gotten it from a Vietnamese friend who taught her how to make it right. They were delicious and fun to make.

Here they are: before being fried, and after being fried. I made 30 of them.

How are you guys?