26 Weeks, 5 Days

Dear Baby Batts #2,

Good gravy, we are exhausted! It was a long, tiring, and fun weekend at the Celebration! My portions went well, we went shopping (hello, new dress, 2 shirts, and shorts!), ate dinner at Olive Garden, attended breakout sessions, and tried to sleep... some times the sleep went well and sometimes it didn't!

Now, it's good to be home with daddy, relaxing and getting ready for the week. Tonight, we went to Value Village and found daddy some new pants. Tomorrow is church and then the week starts all over again.

We love you, little Clara!

Love,
Mama

26 Weeks, 3 Days

Dear Baby Batts #2,

I took today off work to hang out with your handsome daddy and sweet big sister. This afternoon, Ruth and I are going into Anchorage for the Women on Mission Celebration and daddy is stay home for some much-needed alone time.

I'm looking forward to being with some of my WMU friends, leading a breakout session, presiding over a meeting, and generally spending a good time with Memaw and Gma Linda! I think you and I are sleeping on the pull-out bed in the hotel room... so hopefully it's comfy for us!

Love you lots,
Mama

26 Weeks

Dear Baby Batts #2,

26 weeks! We are almost in the third trimester. You now weigh about 2 pounds and are 14 inches long. Your fingernails have grown and your eyes are beginning to open. You can hear and respond to noises, tastes in the amniotic fluid, and light shining on my tummy. Speaking of tastes, you were active after our Mexican dinner last night! You must like chips and salsa like we do.

It took me a while to fall asleep last night. I had a lot on my mind that was making me feel all worked up. Finally, I relaxed enough to drift off, but I didn’t really feel rested today.

Tonight, I think daddy and I are going to work on the garage some more. This will be a busy week: he has class tomorrow, a missions committee meeting on Wednesday, I have a School Board meeting to watch on Wednesday, then Thursday through Friday I will be in Anchorage at a missions conference. The Lord is our strength.

Keep growing, little Clara – we will see you in about 14 weeks!

Love,

Mama

25 Weeks, 6 Days

Dear Baby Batts #2,

I’m officially in the Nesting phase! We spent a large chunk of the afternoon working on organizing the garage – a much-needed activity, since we have recently inherited so many treasures from well-meaning people. Unfortunately, many of the “treasures” are things we don’t really need (or, to be honest, want).

So we made piles, we threw away, we packed for thrift stores, we organized, we purged, and we started all over again! Daddy and Ruth are taking a load to the dump and another load to the thrift store. Then this week, we will work on organizing what remains into its proper place inside the house.

It’s amazing that in about 3 ½ months, you’ll be in our little family, too (on the outside). We have lots of work to do before then, but I’m so excited!

Love,

Mama

25 Weeks, 5 Days

Dear Baby Batts #2,

What a day! Things did NOT go as planned and, unfortunately, we were all a little snippy with one another. I hate days like that! However, after a much-needed family dessert date to DQ, we ate dinner at home and nestled in for a relaxing night.

Life is full of ups and downs… but what matters most is living with forgiveness, intentionality, and love.

Love,

Mama