It's Officially Official

As far as the law is concerned, Joe and I are officially hitched! I know it may seem like a shotgun union, but to us it's just a formality--in our mind, and in the eyes of all states that recognize common-law unions, we've been married for four years. But now we have the license to back us up in case of any medical or family emergencies. It's a shame that in so many states the same right isn't extended to same-sex couples. We really wanted to get a license in California, where up until one week ago they granted same-sex couples the right to marry, because to us equality for all is an important part of our belief system and it's something we want to pass onto Nayeli. Unfortunately, Proposition 8 was accepted by a little more than half of California's population, so there went our chance to get a license in a state not tainted by prejudice....we know that in Arizona same-sex unions would not be allowed because of how conservative this state is. We hope that we can still play some form of activist role in the future in this matter, but for now we had to do what was most practical for us and get the "piece of paper" in Prescott.

Oh, by the way, feel free to send any congratulatory gifts via USPS, FedEx, or UPS to our home and/or make out all personal checks to Joseph Devine & Anna Benitez:) LOL hehehehe

The Birthing Corner

Today was spent getting the rest of our birthing supplies ready and prepared for D-Day (the delivery day.) The picture above is of Joe blowing up the birthing pool, which has a sea theme going around it. I guess since we can't have the baby in the ocean, this would be the next best thing! Among the supplies we had to get are the following: wash clothes, batteries & flashlight, a fish/kitchen strainer, sea salt, bleach, Castor oil, tarps, garden hose, faucet adaptor, toilet paper & paper towels, garbage bags, super glue, stew pan, big towels, a bucket, Gatorade, and a ferret....just kidding about that last one:) Sounds like a list that McGuyver would request to build an airplane or something!

The other picture is of my birth corner up and ready--well almost. I'm not really liking the symmetry of the hanging sarongs from the ceiling, but I figured that I better save some stuff to do for my labor project during early labor. It was a lot of fun getting things ready. I have some birth art that Joe and I did in one of our birthing classes hanging from one wall. On the mirrors I have some positive affirmations written to remind Joe of what to say to me when I'm screaming and cursing at him for causing me so much pain:) It's really nice to be able to have a say in how your environment is during labor. The goal is to surround ourselves with as much positive and comforting energy as possible--what a great way to birth and to bring Nayeli into this crazy world!

37 weeks and counting

So this past Wednesday marked 37 weeks of pregnancy! Yipee! Our midwife, Paula, stated after checking me that she thought I would probably be another week to a week-and-a-half until I gave birth...apparently I went from 1/2 cms. dilated to 2 cms. in just 7 days, the baby had dropped substantially, and my cervix was even more effaced than the norm. So Joe and I went into overdrive today getting things ready for Nayeli--buying a hose to run hot water from the bathroom to the birthing tub, getting towels together, disinfecting & cleaning our home, etc. We get our birth tub this weekend and we're going to set it up and try it out before the birth, like a rehearsal birth:)

This Sunday we will also be having a "Family Blessing" sponsored by our school's director, Sue, and our very good friend and co-worker, Sarah Eastman. I am so excited to have a little party and to hang out with good friends and co-workers. We'll definitely take many pictures and share them with you all on the blog. In the meantime, here are some more belly pictures, as well as some pictures of Joe getting an orientation on a game called W.O.W.--this means I probably won't see him until Nayeli's birth:)