Part 2...

If you could visit anyone in the world and in any country in the world, who do you want to see and where would you go?
I would go see Rachel Gorman in Germany. She was one of the moms who Emily and I nannied for almost nine years ago. I went back two more years after that and stayed with the Gormans those last two years. We are "kindred spirits". We click in a LOT of ways! I love her very much even though we rarely talk. She has six kids - as opposed to the two then three she had while we were with them. And one keeps me on my toes! =) She truly is one of the most amazing wives and mommies I have EVER known! She's amazing to watch as she interacts with her kids! I would LOVE to be able to live life with her and her family!!! She taught me so much while I spent time with her in Germany, and I know I could learn SO MUCH MORE from her!!! In case you happen to read this (which you probably won't...BECAUSE you have six kids...), I love you Rachel!

Do you get a "rush" when you get your house clean from top to bottom or even when you get one room beautifully arranged and tidied up?
This sounds like quite the cheesy question, but I'll have to admit that yes, I do. I'm guilty of being one of "those" people. Unfortunately this hardly EVER happens for me anymore. Although I am very proud of the progress I made today (the other day, now that I'm actually posting this) in my living room. =)

Will you ever have a pet and if so, what kind?
I'm sure we will. Although I don't want one until Asher can take care of it. I like animals, but I don't LOVE them, so I'm not in a big hurry. But Asher LOVES dogs, so it will be fun to have one one day. For now, though, we rely on other people's dogs for happiness. =) I would love to have a little lhaso apso, because we had one named Goober when I was growing up, and he was the best dog. But Beau says that small dogs are "fake dogs", so I suppose we'll go with something larger. We like labs, German shepherds, American bulldogs...we'll see what we end up with.

Do you have any exercise goals for now or after pregnancy?
Since before I was pregnant I was planning on walking everyday. Have I done that? No. But I feel good when I do. And I would like to get in good shape asap after Baby #2, but I don't have a "plan". I figure if I did, it wouldn't happen anyway...knowing me....unfortunately.

Our Little Nugget's Cookin'...

I heard the heartbeat yesterday! I don't know why, but I actually got pretty nervous before I saw the doctor. So that little sound was music to my ears. =) A normal beat is between 120 and 160, and his/hers was 140. And the sound kind of changed a little bit while we were listening, and my doctor said that was because he/she moved. So that was good to know too. Anyway...I think we'll find out what it is in about five weeks or so. We can't wait!!! Ainsley Grace or Carl Albert. Just kidding. Ainsley Grace will be her name if she is a girl. That was going to be Asher's name if he was a girl. And we have a street here in McAlester called Carl Albert, and my sisters and I think that would be a great name for a boy...Carl Albert Waters...can't you hear it now? No??? Me either!!! We don't have a boy's name yet. =)

I've got to go soak my poor pregnant back while Asher is sleeping. We went to Tulsa with Beau yesterday, and for some reason that car ride did a number on my back. It's killin' me!

More to come soon...=)

Answers...TaDa!!!

What is your favorite place that you have traveled to?
This is a hard one. I have LOVED just about everywhere that I have travelled.

I loved the way the beach and mountains were mixed in Haiti. The people there were SO kind. I loved the simplicity of life there. And I loved hiking in dresses. =)

I really liked the "weirdness" of Amsterdam...and the canals and tulips and daffodils and bike riding...and chocolate and bread and gummy bears and pancakes...

I LOVE the people that Emily and I were nannies for and became friends with in Germany!!! And we loved riding the buses and walking everywhere...that goes for a lot of the places I've been! We also loved eating crepes and kabobs there.

The beauty of Gimmelwald, Switzerland is by far the most majestic and amazing place I've ever seen. We loved hiking there (AFTER we dropped off our ROLLING SUITCASE at the hotel- stupid, stupid, stupid...never take a suitcase to a tiny, remote village in Switzerland. A backpack would have been MUCH more ideal...DUH! =)) We felt like we were in the story "Heidi" while we were there. The beauty of those mountains is breath-taking! And the little mountain men who carry hay on their backs and the cows with bells around their necks...it's all surreal. And the cheese! Mmmm... I HAVE to go back there one day! And I think everybody else should too!!!

The culture in Turkey was unlike anything I had ever been exposed to before. The people were extremely hospitable and would have us over to their homes for tea. I LOVED visiting the seven churches in Revelation - old ruins like you see on the History Channel. It was AMAZING to BE where people in the Bible had ACTUALLY BEEN! Something else I would LOVE to do again. And I would love to take Beau, because he would really enjoy that!!!

I really enjoyed being in London for a day. I would like to go back and spend a little more time there. But one of my favorite memories of that little day trip was riding the ferry past the white cliffs of Dover, then riding a bus through the countryside and seeing rolling green hills with sheep scattered out on them. It looked just like "Sense and Sensibility" or some movie like that. I loved it! I got tears in my eyes...because I do things like that!

I don't think I'm leaving anywhere out overseas that I've been. But in the good ol' USA, I would have to say that my favorite place is the Grand Tetons! They're GORGEOUS! And I love vacationing in that area!!! Beau and I went camping there the summer after we were married, and we had so much fun!

How can you even consider naming your baby Carl Albert?
Like I said before, it just FLOWS...Carl Albert Waters. Just kidding. Nothing wrong with the name Carl, mind you. One of my great friend's names is Carl, but Carl Albert??? Just say it with a thick Texas accent, and you'll see what I mean. =)..."Carl Albert!" (Did you say it with an accent that time? See it was funny, wasn't it?!)

What do you like to do for fun? To relax?
For fun? Ride roller coasters!!! I LOVE roller coasters!!!!!!! I don't get to do it very often, but I LOVE it! =) I also like going to movies, camping, hiking, riding horses...the last three also being things I almost never do. =) And I LOVE laughing really hard...so whatever makes me do that I think is REALLY FUN! And that probably normally happens with the sisters.

To relax? Sleep! I love sleeping! I love hot baths, hot tubs, floating in a pool, staying in hotels (without my kid especially), pedicures, facials, massages, going to a movie or to get coffee or something without Asher (not that he's not great, but you know what I mean...).

I'm sure there are more answers for both of those things, but that's all I can think of for now.

That's all for now. I'm going to take a little nap before the kid wakes up. To be continued...

Hello Out There!!!

Hey Family and Friends...if you're still out there! =) I cannot believe it's been a month and a half since I blogged - and that was a lame one. =) I don't really know how this post will turn out either. I'm FINALLY sitting at my computer, so I can do this. But trying to "catch up" after so long is a little overwhelming!

We've had several visitors over the last few weeks, and it's been great! Emily and Claire came to visit. Barbara (Grammie) came next. Then Lee (Beau's sister). Finally Amy and her family this past weekend. And in there somewhere, we (Asher and I) went to Dallas for Emily's birthday and got to see the rest of my family. It's been so great seeing Asher connect more and more with his family...our family! He's so loved. And I love seeing that!!!

I'm sixteen weeks pregnant and feeling good still. I have a check-up tomorrow and will feel better after I hear the heartbeat. I haven't felt the baby move yet - which is normal - but it will just be nice to have that reassurance. And soon I should feel it move. I'm really looking forward to that! And I can't WAIT to know what it is!!! I really want to start getting his/her room ready. And I REALLY want to know his/her name! So far this pregnancy has gone really fast! Granted, I have a long way to go, but I'm not too far away from the half-way mark. Amazing! I suppose Asher has helped make that happen!!! He keeps me on my toes!

Speaking of...he's as funny as ever! He's perfected smiling on command, so we have a lot of funny pictures of him recently. I pull the camera out, and he instantly says, "cheeeese" and makes the goofiest grin. Today, after I took some pictures, he said, "Asher" (in his own special way of course), because he wanted to see the pictures of "Asher" that I had just taken. It was pretty funny.

His Aunt Lee is a speech pathologist, and I don't know if it was coincidence or if she worked her "magic" on him, but the first day she was visiting, he all of a sudden started saying five or six new things. We couldn't BELIEVE it! I'm trying to think of what he said..."shoe", "WalMart" (which was very funny)...and I can't remember what else he started saying that day, but he now says, "out", "up", "down", "Asher", "outside", "other side" (Today I was doing the "give me five, other side" thing, and he started saying, "other side" over and over. It was hilarious!). And I can't think of other things he's saying right now, but he amazes us every day!

His Grammie and Grandad gave him one of those horses on springs (that every kid has to have) for Christmas, and he just started climbing on and off of it by himself today. Some other "big boy" things he's doing: We have a cement "curb" kind of thing on our patio, and he walks on it like a balance beam...and turns around and everything. We have a lot of big rocks around here, and there's a big slanted one outside of our house that he likes to play on. Today he would walk up to the top of it, then turn around and run down. He was so proud of himself! He would then look at us to see if we were proud too, and we would all clap (including him). He's too cute.

(By the way, I know some people probably don't like reading about the details of Asher's life, but that's kind of what I have to talk about, sooo... =) I'm not as "creative" as some of my fellow bloggers.)

And one last "Asher thing". He's made me cry a couple of times in the last day or two. I HATE seeing him in pain! I HATE it! It absolutely BREAKS my heart!!! Last night he was having a "diaper issue", and today he bit his tongue or something - I'm still not exactly sure what happened, but there was even some blood. But it hurt him whatever it was, and he was just crying and crying. And then even after he was "fine" and had been playing again, every once in a while, he would cry a little bit again and hold his mouth. So sad!!!

Then I was emotionally overwhelmed with love for him tonight as I held him before he went to bed. He was just so calm lying in my arms. And we were sitting right next to Beau on the couch, and he was just staring up at both of us with the deepest peace. I can't explain it. It was just one of the sweetest moments! I love him with ALL of my heart!!! And he loves us and trusts us so deeply - it just kills me. =) There's NOTHING like it!!!

Other things??? The other night we experienced quite the storm! We were under a tornado warning. The sky turned "green" as Beau called it, then it started hailing like I've NEVER seen before!!! It was so scary to me. I guess I'm in the minority when I get freaked out during times like that. Beau and Dina (who was over here at the time) weren't concerned. And during another storm a couple of weeks ago in Dallas, Emily was checking blogs instead of the weather on the internet (which is another funny story - in the midst of my agonizing over whether to go get Asher up, I told her that if my baby got sucked out a window, I would kill her!). But Asher and I spent a minute or two in the "safety" of our bathroom during the worst of it. There were piles and PILES of hail outside. It looked like it had snowed. I'm not kidding! It was crazy! But we were fine.

I've got to go for now. I need to get my beauty rest, but one more thing. My sisters (as most of you probably know) are doing this thing, where people can ask them whatever questions they want, and they'll answer them on their blog. So I want to join the fun. Ask me questions. =)

Good night!