Pix and tales from our Easter weekend

So I know my sister is ready to shoot me if I don't put up some belly shots soon, so even though the latest pix of me aren't my greatest, one has to appease one's sister. Here are a couple shots from the doctor's office at our 26-week visit (read more about that here):

Notice the bandage? I honestly don't know why they do blood draws at EVERY visit. And is it just me or am I looking swollen?

Our appointment was on Tuesday the 7th and by Thursday the 9th, we were on the road to an Easter weekend in Mississippi. We decided to stay in Memphis the evening of the 9th, and Marty was thrilled to take me out to his favorite BBQ joint, the famous "Rendezvous." Marty almost had tears in his eyes eating his ribs, but I was actually disappointed in mine. I think I'm just a Yankee, tried and true. Memphis BBQ is seasoned with dry-rub and smoked, resulting in an almost tough texture, whereas BBQ where I'm from means it's dripping with sauce and falling off the bone!

Anyway, the next morning we set off for Greenville, Mississippi, where Marty hails from. When we pulled into the driveway, my sis-in-law Melissa was...what else?...barbequeing!!! Her boyfriend, Keith, had parked his enormous smoker/grill in the driveway and I think they had at least 3-4 animals cooking in there. It smelled amazing and after lots of hugs and belly rubs from the sisters and nieces and nephews, we feasted. I called it "Meat-a-palooza." Then we went to a Good Friday service at the church that Marty and his siblings grew up in, and where Marty's dad was the officiating vicar before his passing last May. The new pastor gave a meaningful and somber message, and we refrained from speaking in the sanctuary. My aunt-in-law Linda sang the "Via Dolo Rosa" and it was very moving. Easter is my favorite holiday and it's so much better when you get the opportunity to observe the entire Passion week.

The next morning started with a big box of Shipley's donuts (quite famous in Greenville) and I can't even describe how good these donuts are...but eat your heart out, Krispy Kreme! Like Melissa says, "You can't eat just 3." :) We sat around the table and ate and drank coffee and just visited. Then we all left to go visit with Aunt Linda for awhile, and when I walked in her house, I noticed about a half-ton of wrapped presents on her fireplace hearth but looked right past it without really seeing it. Melissa said from behind me, with a giggle in her voice, "It's a baby shower!" My response was, quite literally, "Who's having a baby?" I laugh now, but seriously, I didn't say that because I'm dumb or slow (although I'm certainly dumber and slower these days), but honestly, it's because my pregnancy is still very surreal to me at times and I find myself shocked in some moments that I actually get to have this experience!

So after the initial shock wore off, Marty's lovely sisters and aunt got us placed near the gifts and I started opening. Here are a few shots!

This little sleeper says "Daddy's Champ" on it. If you don't know, "Champion" is our son's middle name and his Daddy has taken to calling him "Champ." Marty held the sleeper as if our little guy were already filling it out, and it was such a sweet moment.

We got this set of funny bibs...this one says "Being good is boring!

Finally, this might be my favorite picture. I don't know that Marty has a really strong idea of what a baby activity gym is, but he's so very much enjoying the process of becoming a Daddy. The joy on his face blesses my soul!

In all my life, I've never had a surprise anything -- party, shower, what-have-you. And I was wonderfully surprised, and both Marty and I were just overwhelmed by the generousity of our family. (I'm also overwhelmed by the fact that I can never seem to get any pictures of anybody!!!) Thank you again and again and again, Melissa and Sarah and Linda (and Keith and Nick and Mike and all the kiddos...). We love you guys sooooooo much!

We closed out the weekend with a wonderful Easter breakfast at church, an Easter egg hunt for the kids, and then a beautiful service. It was so hard to leave after all the fun we'd had, but Marty wanted to pace ourselves (in other words, pace ME) on the trip home, so we left for Nashville, where Marty had planned a little evening/day excursion for us at the Opryland Hotel! (If you haven't spent much time in Tennessee, you should know that the Opryland Hotel is like a cruise ship without the water -- it's a massive building with several hotels, restaurants, shopping, entertainment, etc.) We arrived in the evening and got dressed up to go out for a fancy-schmancy meal. Here's me, dolled-up and 27 weeks pregnant:

We knew the prices would be extravagant, but we really wanted to live it up, so we tried our best to ignore the ridiculous numbers attached to the menu items. However, we couldn't ignore that the food was really only just okay, and then it was only too easy to start thinking how we could have spent that money in other ways. Talk about disappointing! When we got back to our room, I started having a really sore throat and wanted to call it a night...which became a very LONG night, as I was up coughing and sneezing and blowing my nose, and basically just miserable because I couldn't breathe, swallow, or rest. In the morning, we ordered a fabulous breakfast tray and that I can say was really pretty good (I had cinnamon waffles with cherries in Grand Marnier syrup with whipped cream...uh, HELLO yummy!). I also got a few good shots out our atrium-facing balcony:

The hotel "exterior" in the Cascades section is done in the New Orleans French style, which of course I loved!

We tried to do some shopping in the hotel, but the bookstore I wanted to visit was mysteriously closed, so we decided our Opryland Hotel stay was a bit cursed. Either that, or we were exhausted from all the traveling and activity (I think it was a bit of both). So we headed home early, and I'm so glad we did, because by the time we got home I was in the throes of one of the worst colds I've ever had! However, small disappointments and one nasty cold notwithstanding, we had a wonderful Easter weekend. Now we're thinking about making the pilgrimage home to Missisisippi every Easter!