It's a BOY!

What a surprise!! Mark had me convinced, despite my initial gut feeling, that we would most definitely be having a girl. To his credit, he had pretty good logic behind the girl hypothesis... His dad has 11 siblings and Mark is the only male grandchild to carry on the Brooks name. So, it was all up to him to parent another male to continue to carry the Brooks name forward and he was convinced that it would take a few tries before that would happen. I am very excited and I can't wait to finally introduce David Crawford Brooks to the world in 4 months! I will post pics as soon as Mark scans them in for me. :-)

Other news:

The bonus room is only lacking paint and carpet to be move-in ready. Mark is very eager to get the room finished so that he can have his own space. I will be relieved to finally start working on the baby's nursery once our junk is moved out of the back bedroom and upstairs into the new room. It's going to be a nice retreat for Mark, especially during finals!

So, it seems to be the "thing to do" to blog about things that the previous year has taught us and what we will change in the New Year. I've never been one to make a "New Year's resolution", but I do feel compelled to share a some things with my friends and family...

Looking back:

1. I am so proud of myself for quitting smoking (again) in October... even though it took a positive pregnancy test to make that happen. It will stick this time!

2. Moving to a new part of town was difficult, but I've been so blessed with great new friends and neighbors! You know who you are!

3. Owning a business can be a tough job sometimes, but it always keeps me on my toes. I had more than a couple of slow months this year, but we still paid all of our bills on time!

4. I love both of my jobs so much and am blessed with wonderful people to work with!

5. I have a lovely family who are very supportive and caring. Although we may not see each other as often as I'd like- I know they love me and this year has been proof of that. We've suffered through births, deaths, illnesses, distance, and over-all shortage of time, but we've made it through everything with grace and dignity.

Looking forward:

1. This will be our year of health! Exercise classes, Juice Plus+ supplements, organic produce, and watching for dangerous additives in food (high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and Red 40 coloring). Mark can call me a hippie all he wants, but we will be a health-conscious family and he WILL at least try oatmeal bread.... or starve! :-D hahaha <-- evil laugh

2. 2008 will also be a year of productivity... It's crunch time for work! I will make more money than last year at my two jobs. I've got to protect my stay-at-home lifestyle once the baby is here.

3. I am going to be in planning-mode until mon petit oeuf arrives and I'm determined to pull everything together before the end of May.

4. I see travel in my future... Thanks to PartyLite I will be taking a 7-day cruise in May (if the doc permits) and thanks to my very good friend, Vickie, I will be able to fly as a companion with AirTran until June. I plan to go to the Mall of America, San Clemente, CA, Santa Barbara, CA, a beach anywhere once it's a little warmer, St.Louis, New York, New Orleans, and hopefully many other fun places before I loose my ability to fit in an airline seat. :-)

I want to say thank you to every friend and family member who has been there for me in 2007 even if you only played a small role. The little notes and e-mails go a long way too! I wish health and abundance to you all in 2008!