Deep Fried Turkey...

...is delicious. Never again will I deal with waking up at 5 a.m. to start the 8 hour long process of oven roasting a bird and worrying wether or not the inner most meat is cooked through before the outer layer dries out. 45 minutes in the deep fryer from now on! Mister did a perfect job on it and it was our first time ever to fry one - I hadn't even tasted one before.

Cooked it a little too close to the house for my comfort level but it's Sam - YOU try telling him what to do. lol I just stayed away from the porch and busy cooking everything else. Thank goodness for Brian - he did most of the chopping for me since Mom spent most of the morning on the couch with her boot elevated.

Christie spent the morning on her iphone playing trivia games;

Dad hung out by the fryer;

and I found this old man wandering the streets so we invited him in from the cold;

Certainly much less work than my last few Thanksgivings in AK. Last year my friend Marta and I cooked for 20 people, so this year was a breeze with only 7.

Lots of food, lots of fun - I think this is the first Thanksgiving Sam has spent with my side of the family. The Army usually has him on Turkey Day.
The other exciting mark of the day was that it completed my 32nd week of pregnancy. 8 weeks to go!

Oh, and this is the disaster area my mother and brother left in my kitchen Friday morning after making turkey sandwiches to take on the road with them....

Certainly don't need Maury Povich for this paternity test!

Guess who looks like his daddy?!

Oh my gosh, it was AMAZING. I am so fortunate to be pregnant at a time that technology is this advanced. I know what my son looks like and he's not here yet! It was just..............I can't even describe it. There is NO mistaking it - Andrew is definitely a Palmer. He's got Sam's nose and lips. He may end up with the Grace side of the family's cheeks but they appear to slant downward like mine do so we'll just have to wait for delivery on that one. That's my pointy little chin he inherited, though, so I'm in his face too! I asked Ultrasound Lady to show us his feet but Andrew only showed them for a second. Looks like we'll have to wait and see on that one, too. Sam gave me his LOOK when I asked her to show us. heh heh heh....
Ultrasound Lady sent us home with 52 pictures so I've posted some of the highlights. Again, just click on one if you want to see it larger.

I am so blessed! Look at this beautiful, healthy baby God has given me and Sam! I pray He continues to bless us this way and delivers Andrew to us just as healthy and thriving as he is now!

140 beats per minute - right on track!

I can see more of me in him when it's a profile shot. I kinda think he looks like my brother, Brian, when he was little in this one.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand then he turns forward and he looks like Sam again.
He's sticking his tongue out here.

Yes.....classy, I know. HAHA! Ultrasound Lady kept nudging him with the sonography wand so he punched her then flipped her off.....such a 'tude already!
Lady said she has very rarely caught a little one with his middle finger in the air. She laughed just as hard as we did. It was hilarious yet we were kind of embarassed once we realized he did that while his grandparents were watching. Sorry Mom/Dad/Mamaw/Debbie/Sherry/Gran!

I hope those of you who were invited to the live feed enjoyed it! I have the whole thing on DVD, so if it didn't work for you (like Christie) just let me know and I"ll get you a copy.

10.....9.....8.....7...

Holy mess, I am 30 weeks along! That means I've got just 10 short weeks til my due date. YES, I know Andrew will come whatever day he's going to come but I'm using the due date the hospital gave me as our official "D-Day". :) Who knows, it could be spot on - my nephew, Xavier, came on his due day. I did look at Sam last night and ask him if he realized that we could become parents any day now. He just shrugged and said "yeah" like it was no big deal. It was as if I had asked him if he checked the mail today.....he's so emotional... ha. About an hour later he did ask me what the baby's chance of surviving would be if he were born tomorrow so I guess it did sink in eventually. (95%, if you were wondering - huge relief to know Andrew will be ok if he decides he just can't wait any longer to meet us). 10 WEEKS! That will seriously fly by. I remember when Mr had 10 weeks left in Iraq and that was a breeze so I'm betting this will feel even quicker since I have much more patience for Andrew's arrival than I did with Sam's. I missed him! 14 months is excruciatingly long to have your husband at war and I was super anxious for him to come home. With Andrew, though, I don't want him to come early, I want him to finish baking!
**********There is an R.O.U.S. in my attic. We heard it last night above the living room and I can hear it again right now above the guest bathroom. I'm afraid it's going to haul Bodini off to the Fireswamp for it's next meal. Terminex appt was made this morning but they can't come til Wednesday. Ah life outside the city limits. Looks like Mister will be sticking a trap up in the attic tonight.**********
Back to Andrew - our final ultrasound is tomorrow morning. I'm excited! I'm 30 weeks along now so his little face will be mostly filled out and he'll have fingers and toes this time instead of alien pods so he'll actually look like a real baby. Those of you who are watching the live feed - log in at 11:00! If you were not invited to the webcast, please do not be offended, it is for immediate family only. I'll post the pictures afterward. They ought to be really cool!!!!! (Or really gross, depending on how you feel about it).

Oh, and if any of you have seen my belly button, I'd like it back please.