My sister had her beautiful little boy last night. His name is Justice Kyng Brathwaite. He was 6lbs 13oz and 20 inches long. So little! Of course as tiny as Caitlin was, he probably didn't have much room to grow! It's so weird to think that my little sister is a mommy now and so exciting!
Here are a couple of pictures of the newest addition to the clan:
This is Caitlin and her new little boy.
And this is Justice (he looks just like his mom!)
Sorry, they're a little blurry since they are camera phone pictures.
I get to go to Scottsdale to visit her in May. My mom will also be there so I'll get to see both of them. It's going to be bloody hot but it will be fun to see her since it's been almost a year since we saw each other last.
Chad and I have been worrying about what we're going to do once the baby is here for daycare. Chad's sister had originally told us she would watch him/her but her plans have since changed. So we've been stressing a bit, even though it is a little early to worry too much. We've been considering all kinds of options. Ideally I'd like to be able to just quit and stay home but with the housing market the way it has been lately, that's not really possible. (For those of you who don't know, Chad owns his own company designing homes.) So for a while at least, I have to keep working. The company I work for is an IT Research firm and we have many international clients. The only way we're allowed to work at home is by doing the European shift which is at night. They were also thinking of adding a shift for our Australia/Asia clients but not for a while. Last Thursday morning my boss asked me if I would possibly be interested in doing a second European shift. He said it wouldn't be for a while but he just wanted to know if I was interested. I told him yes and went back to work. A couple hours later he called our whole team to his office and said that Dawn, our European Client Rep. has decided to stay home with her kids and we would be needing a new CR for that time shift. I took it! Granted it's happening a whole lot sooner than I expected but hopefully that will help me get used to the schedule before the baby is born. Starting on May 19th I will be working from 11pm to 7am. The time sounds daunting but I have worked nights before and actually loved it. So now I get to stay home. It was definitely an answer to our prayers. The worst is going to be getting used to that schedule since I'm falling asleep about 10 o'clock. It will probably take me a good month but then I'll be fine! I'm actually pretty excited. Not only do I get to be home but since I'm the European CR I will be the one to go to our annual European conference. This year I won't be able to since it's in October and I will be 8 months pregnant but next year for sure!
Lately I've been having struggles with eating meat... the thought of putting meat in my mouth and chewing makes me gag. Even just writing about it! Last night I made this yummy chicken dish that Chad and I have had before. First of all, he had to put the chicken in the pan because I just can't bring myself to touch the raw meat. When we pulled it out of the oven it looked and smelled quite tasty but the second I cut into the chicken I about lost it. I thought huh, that's interesting and tried again and about ran to the bathroom. So I told chad just to eat the chicken and I'd make something else and eat some of the rice that I'd made with the chicken. I took one bite of the rice and gagged because it had touched the chicken and that's all I could picture! Haha! It was awful! I ended up making some grilled cheese sandwiches and had some chips and a smoothy I made. So I have a bit of a dilemma. I know I need to be eating some meat for the protein for the baby, but at this point it's just not happening. Hamburger seems to be about the only thing I can handle without gagging and even that is iffy at times. Has anyone else had this problem when they were/are pregnant? Any suggestions of things I could eat to compensate for not eating the meat? I'll be 12 weeks tomorrow and for the most part the nausea I've been experiencing (only at night) is abating but now is when I start feeling like I might really get sick. It's pretty funny! I thought it was supposed to be easier after 12 weeks but it seems harder now! Alright, enough complaining! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Today is the 40th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination so in honor of him I thought I would post a video of one of his most famous speeches. As well as a paper I wrote recently on the feelings I had after first really viewing and listening to his words.
I was brought to tears by reading and watching the, “I Have a Dream”, speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963 in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I could feel the emotion in the words. King truly believed what he was preaching. His speech was not just his hopes and dreams for the future, but also a warning to people of what could happen if they went too far in the other direction. He warned them not to let themselves be absorbed with hate. He warned them not to resort to violence because there was already enough violence against them. He warned white America that they were not going to just lie down and take it anymore. It was time for a change, time to pay on a long overdue debt. “It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.” I love this section of the speech because he is telling the whole world that, “We are here and we deserve as much any white man, and we refuse to back down”. It is an inspiration to me that they could stand up to such adversity and praise God for what they had and what they hoped to one day have. While watching the speech, I was in awe of how many people were there. It was a really incredible thing to see. I was honestly surprised at how many white people were in attendance. I think we are often taught that black people were alone and had to struggle against all of white America, when in fact they had support and even white individuals fighting in the trenches with them. Many Americans probably had the same hopes and dreams for the future that Martin Luther King had. My grandparents taught my parents to respect everyone, and that no woman or man is better than another because of the color of their skin or for any other reason. They may not have been on the front lines with the African Americans but they had begun to change beliefs in their own homes. King dreamed that one day his children would be able to live in a world that was just and treated them as equals. Have we reached that point? I believe that we have come closer to the end but we still have quite a bit of work left to do. There is still racism in our country and barriers that keep individuals back from realizing their dreams. We as Americans need to continue or to start teaching our children to love instead of hate. The best way to do this is by our example. We must watch how we treat other people, what we say and do in our homes will be reflected in our children. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream is still alive today and the struggle continues. May we choose to follow the outline of his speech; to “work together, to pray together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day”, to become the great nation that he describes.
This is Caitlin and her new little boy.
