MEG Cartter joined the world at 2:42 p.m. MST on Saturday, December 30, 2006. She weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces and measured 20 1/2″ long. As you can see, she has a full head of hair:

Isn’t she beautiful?

Try this one with her Mommy:

OK, if you insist, I’ll post one with me, too:

Can I tell you a secret? I get a Tear of Pride every time I hold her - I can’t even look at her picture without getting fogged up!

We had gone in Saturday morning to induce labor, since MEG was running a bit late. As the pitocin went in, it became apparent that something wasn’t quite right - with each contraction, MEG’s heartrate would drop drastically. So - TMBWitW was prepped for a c-section. No, it was not what we had prayed for. No, we didn’t even consider this possibility - communication from the Dr. has been a sore point lo, these many months.

But, it went without a hitch - MEG came out at 2:42, and started letting the world know that she was quite comfortable where she was, thank you very much. After a bath and a nap, she got down to the business of eating - and she is taking to that quite well also. Momma is getting the hang of it also, and they are working on that at the hospital this morning while I am here at the house getting all of you fine people updated.

Speaking of which - I gotta run. I need to get a shower, and maybe a quick nap before I head back up there.

WooHoo! I’m a DADDY!

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and support the Freedom Project!

Go here.

Wearing red as a show of support is to let any veterans in the area know that you support THEM regardless of your take on the current military situation.

While you are in the mood to show support for veterans, go here and show some support for the Freedom Project. Tell Minuteman I sent you. He will be more than happy to stop by your town so you can meet him in person, once he gets on the road.

I am heading out for a PGR ride for an Army sergeant who has fallen victim to the drivers here in the States (from the site www.patriotguard.org):

Robert Eppich returned to the US after a tour in Afghanistan followed by a tour in Iraq serving with the Army. Last week Robert was involved in a motor vehicle accident after being home 8 days. Robert was newly married and was set for discharge in February. His new wife Ashley was in Iraq serving with the Air Force, she was flown home shortly after being notified of her husbands death. Both Robert’s and Ashley’s families live in Mesa.

I will be driving rear guard in a cage, as a bike is not an option at this point in my life.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, support the Freedom Project and get in on the Baby Pool!

I’m considering moving over to a different platform - because of this.

I am currently wrestling with WordPress.com, which is free, which is a problem - I can’t make the changes to the template that I can here. Specifically, I would lose the eagle in the background, and the blogrolls would disappear.

WordPress.com has a blogrolling feature, but you have to manually enter each blgo you want to roll - and in the case of other people’s blogrolls (such as Texas Fred’s, and Ika’s Roll) you can’t, as far as I have been able to tell, get them to appear in your sidebar. Security reasons, they say - force you to pay for hosting and using WordPress.org, I say.

Another big stumbling block is the fact that you cannot import your “new and improved” blogspot blog to WordPress.com. That means I would have to manually move each post over, and I would lose all the comments.

Ah, well - back to searching for the answer.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, support the Freedom Project and get in on the Baby Pool!

Go HERE.

Minuteman 76 has a dream - an attainable dream - as he says:

Hence, the Freedom Project. I propose to travel the United States, living full-time in a 28’ RV trailer, meeting other Disabled Vets, getting their stories out, and showing the ones who feel hopeless that no matter what, you can turn your life around if you work hard enough and get support from those around you.

It may seem selfish to you now, but this project isn’t really about me, it’s about what I can do to help and inspire those that see no way out.

You ever have a moment when you say to yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

It’s because you aren’t in the shoes of the one who DID think of it. Here’s your chance to help the Vets that no one seems to remember after the initial headline - the ones who sink into a morass of self-induced lethargy and hopelessness.

I know that I, for one, will not settle for being on the “Donors Blogroll” - I’m shooting for at least bronze, if not higher, depending on his criteria for each level. This is a cause I will be supporting - so don’t be surprised if I ask you, randomly, if you are on his blogroll yet.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, support the Freedom Project and get in on the Baby Pool!

So far, it’s only my birthday - there is still time for a certain stubborn little girl to make an appearance, and then I will gladly share the day with her.

Thank you, to all of you who are sending your prayers and thoughts our way.

I just got back from a Patriot Guard Ride - Air Force Veteran (Ret) Ed Coleman was escorted to Sky Harbor Airport, where he will be flown to Utah for final services.

Well, that’s all the update I have for now. I’m off all this week, so I will keep everyone here posted.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and get in on the Baby Pool!

Well, no baby.

Yet.

We traveled to the hospital this morning; we are at home this afternoon. The RN on duty told TMBWitW that the contractions, while painful and frequent, were not enough to admit her - she was not in full labor yet.

This is a very emotional and trying time for TMBWitW, as it is the culmination of her dreams and to be so close and yet so very far away, and to be told by a nurse who has no bedside manner that she isn’t really feeling labor yet - well, it was all I could do to not coldcock the RN myself.

Talk about a lack of empathy.

I am re-opening the pool, until that time that we are so sure of the impending birth that we see what color hair the little girl has.

OK, maybe not that late, but you know what I mean.

This has been the most tense and terrifying and thrilling and depressing Christmas I have ever experienced.

Thank you all for your prayers. Please keep praying, as we need all the help we can get.

We are leaving for the hospital as soon as she gets dressed.

Contractions are 1-3 minutes apart, long, and strong.

Baby pool is closed.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

Just a little cat/sink humor to pass the time.

No, no baby yet.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and get in on the Baby Pool!

Mary said it only gets more so - the little girl is not here yet.

I would like to thank Mrs. prying1 for getting in the spirit of the pool and setting up two entries yesterday, before she even had a blog (has she got one yet, p1?).

TMBWitW is finished with this whole “being pregnant” phase of child rearing. I’m thinking that TMBCitW is going to come out when she’s good and ready, and not a minute sooner.

So, that means more time for people to enter the pool. My theory is that the closer the time gets, the more entries I should see, right?

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and get in on the Baby Pool!

First of all, a blessed Christmas Holiday to each and every one of you - thank you for being such loyal readers.

Second, there is still time for a few entries in the Baby pool - we haven’t left for the hospital yet, and until we do I will still accept entries. Heck, that ought to give you enough clues for some fairly accurate entries. Remember, the winner gets over 800 BlogMad credits, and second place isn’t too shabby either.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and get in on the Baby Pool!