Make a pregnancy ticker

11/11--Remembrances.

Remembrances.
By Melissa Stevens


Poppies, Daisies
Snow white Lilies
and Roses red
Bundled together
Tied with twine and left on aging graves
Remembrances for the dead
Who dedicated themselves
To service and freedom
And fought for
Our defense
No flowers enough
No tears enough
To pay the price
For lives given on the battlefield
For sacred blood spilled
On the snow at Valley Forge
On the hills of Gettysburg
On the fields of Flanders
In the waters of Pearl Harbor
On the crimson shores of Normandy
On the soil of Korea
In the jungles of Vietnam
On the desert sands of Iraq
In the mountains of Afghanistan
On the battlefields of history
Long forgotten and fading with time.
On this day—
Veterans’ Day, Remembrance Day;
We thank those who have
Guarded us
Protected us and
Served us well;
May we nations today
Remember
The price of war
The price of hate
The price of love
The price of conflict
The price of peace
The price we have paid
And continue to pay.
We must not forget
We cannot forget
The meaning
The sacrifices
The lives
The time
The blood
Given on our behalf.
There are those who will condemn war
There are those who will condone war
But neither must be allowed
To subtract the honor
Bought through
The spilling of the soldiers’ blood--
The sacred blood
That stains our memories
And our battlefields;
Though hidden by
Verdant fields of greenest grass
Peaceful meadows of reddest poppies
Serene waters of deepest cerulean blue
And the sepia touch of time—
The blood still remains.
So bear in mind this day—
And everyday
All that was given to you
And to me
As we bow our heads in silence
In this eleventh month
On this eleventh day
On this eleventh hour;
Let us give thanks
For those brave souls
Who’ve long since gone,
Whose names are unspoken
And unremembered
As time has gone by;
For those brave souls—
Fathers, brothers, husbands
Mothers, sisters, wives
We’ve loved and lost and miss;
And for those brave souls
Who fight on still…
Let us give thanks.

Holy S***. I'm Pregnant!

Holy S***. I'm Pregnant!
I think the title says it all. This has been the craziest couple of weeks of my life. Much of what I'll write here will be completely cliche, but:

This is...
Surreal.
Completely mindblowing.
Awe inspiring.
Exciting.
Frightening.
Nerve-wracking.
Unbelievable.


From the moment that pregnancy test read "Pregnant", I've been floating (or bloating, rather) along in a daze. My nights are mostly sleepless or restless--the kid seems to have turned cranked the inner thermostat up past 90 degrees. Yay for wet towels on the belly and big ice packs...not to mention an incredibly patient husband who is intent on making this as easy as possible for me.

He's already started coping with my newly found cravings...

Boston Market Mac & Cheese...KFC biscuits...and Chinese food. LOTS of Chinese food.

2 months down...7 more to go!