Why it is nice to have a highly efficient hubby

In my current rotund state, it has been more and more difficult for me to rest comfortably, let alone do anything remotely useful--and I wasn't really that useful to begin with. Nevertheless, I made a smart choice in eternal companions, and ended up with someone who is ever the hard, motivated worker. Witness the fruits of his labor:

Remember what our kitchen used to look like? I told you he was handy!

Adios, Irwin

Sadly, Keaton's beloved pet lizard, a bearded dragon named Irwin (we bought him the week Steve Irwin died) has been relocated to a better place...meaning, he is no longer taking up space in my baby's bedroom! We put him up on KSL "free to a good home" at 10 o'clock at night and had 3 calls within five minutes! I don't know why there are so many people out lizard shopping on the internet at ten, but there is one little boy in W Jordan who is now the happy owner of such a cuddly little creature!

The Belly

So my baby bump is now more like a baby boulder! The look on my face is an indication of my overwhelming excitement. I still have over 5 weeks to go! Its like the moon...I know my belly has another side to it, but I just can't see it...

And here is the most recent picture of my passenger. These were done at 33 weeks and he was measuring about five and a half pounds. The doctor told me that I could expect him to gain a half pound every week and we still had seven weeks left at that point which would put him at nine pounds by his due date. Yep, that's my big guy. :)

To help you decipher the two ultrasound pics, the first is a great profile of his nose and lips and a little bit of chin and forehead. The lower one is also a profile pic, but of the other side, and we mostly get forehead and nose, because that is a hand up there in his mouth. He isn't sucking his thumb, but he kept putting his hand in his mouth. At least that's better than his momma, who is always putting a foot in her mouth. :)

Only a few more weeks to go!

Spark Update

I just recieved an email from Cedar Fort, the LDS publisher who, in January, rejected my novel because it had edgier elements that they wished me to change. At first I didn't want to--writer's pride, you might say--because I felt like those elements weren't comprimising in any way and that they added to the emotion of the story. But I realized that unless somebody actually had the chance to read the story, it didn't matter how much or little of your message they got. So I made the few changes they suggested and resubmitted it (though they never actually said "please resubmit this") in July. This is the reply I got today:

Dear Crystal,

This email is to inform you that we have reviewed your revised manuscript, Spark. At this time we would like to put your submission on hold for a few months. We feel that you have made the changes that we suggested and have improved your manuscript since the first time your submitted it to us. However, your book does not fit the current fiction needs that we have right now so we would like to wait for a few months when we feel we might be better able to take on your novel. That being said, we cannot guarantee that we will publish your novel at that time. We realize your desire to see your book published and we understand if you would like to accept other offers you may have. If that is the case, we wish you success. If you are willing to wait however, we will be in touch over the next few months.

Thank you,

-- The Acquisitions Editors
Cedar Fort, Inc.
2373 W. 700 S.
Springville, UT 84663
(801) 489-4084
1-800-SKYBOOK

While I'm glad that they're at least giving my story a chance, it is frustrating to wait in limbo a little while longer. This isn't even the genre or audience I really want to write to, but I did put a lot of time and effort into the story, even if it was only to get the feel for writing a full length novel. It would be gratifying to see it finished and on the bookstore shelves. Who knows? It might still make it there. They said they'll be in touch. When they do finally make a decision, I'll post it here first.