Baby in the Bubble

So, I did something hilarious last night. I did not even think it was possible, but I did it! After the Indian's game was over my wife was asleep and I developed a hypothesis (educated guess.) My line of thinking was...my wife and my son are not the same person...the baby sometimes sleeps when my wife is awake...can I wake the baby with out waking my wife?! So I slowly crept up on my sleeping wife, got very close to her belly and softly said "Billy Boy." And a little foot kicked my wife and woke her up! I am a genius. But I guess you can't be a genius if you have to ask your wife how to spell it.

Busy Busy "B"

So incredibly busy. Wow! Is life supposed to go so fast? It seems like just yesterday we had 6 months until our baby boy would be here, and now we have 30 days! There is still a lot to be done, but a lot has been done so far. I get distracted easily. First it was the hot water heater...then the kitchen...then the start of the EAGLES season...then the kitchen...then the FIGHTIN' PHILLIES got hot...then the kitchen...then the end of the eagles season...then the kitchen. Needless to say I'm still working on the kitchen, but my heart is torn. Isn't it funny how easily distracted we can become. I have so much to be thankful for.

1. A God who loves me even though I am unlovable.
2. HEAVEN!
3. A wife who is the best thing that has ever happened to me.
4. A BABY on the way!
5. Two sets of loving parents who always want the best for us.
6. Friends who will always be there for us.
7. A church family that supports us.
8. A house.
9. The Fightin' Phillies in the playoffs.

The first thing my wife said when she saw this list was, " You could only think of 9 things!" I'm shallow, so sue me. But even with these 9 things I have a constant dull ache in my back that is the Philadelphia Eagles. Many of you do not understand the relationship between the Philadelphia Fan and the Eagles. Watch "Invincible" and you will get a taste. It's like the eagles are a friend that I grew up with who has now gotten in trouble with the law, started doing drugs, knocking over gas stations...and I now find myself sitting in the prison visitor's area looking at this friend, and wondering, "WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED!"

All that aside, life is good and here are some pictures to prove it.

Billy Boy at 35 weeks.

"Tugger B"

Julie's Fantasy Football Team: Billy's Mom Has Got It Goin' On!

Julie at 34 weeks.

And of course...

the kitchen.

My Hero

My husband is the greatest and I think the whole world should know. He has probably had the roughest week, but he accomplished sooo much despite all the crazy circumstances. I don' t have pictures of what all he did yet, but I will get them for you. The week started with what we thought was a gas leak. We ended up evacuating our house early Sunday morning, missing church, and then finding a foot of water in our crawl space. At first we thought it had come from the flooding earlier that week, but a day later, when Billy inspected it further, we discovered it was because our hot water tank had exploded, and was dispelling water everywhere. Fortunately, our furnace still works, which saved us a bunch of $$$. Not only did Billy have to get a new water heater, at every turn there was a new problem to solve because of the size of our crawl space compared to the size of water heaters, along with building codes that needed to be updated, and the price of install was ridiculous. So, Billy being the genius that he is, was able to figure out all those problems, buy a new water heater, cut pipes, repair wires, install new equipment to meet code requirements, and finish the job virtually by himself. I do need to mention however, two young men that were instrumental in helping my husband get the heavy awkward water heater down a 19" wide hole into a 6' deep crawl space, so that my husband did not die. To them I am very grateful. Their names are Matt and Kyle. Thanks guys!

I just wanted to let everyone know how proud I am of this man, and the perseverence I saw in him this week was amazing. I am thanking God so much that I am married to someone like him, and that he will be such a good example to his son, let alone everyone else he comes in contact with. What an example of dedication and hard work, sticking to a job until it is fully completed.

West Virginia!

So we went to West Virginia last week with the Sr. Highers in the Youth Group. We had a great time and the kids learned a lot. We were really proud of them. They all participated in each one of the challenges, whether it was on the high ropes course, rappelling down the side of a cliff, or white water rafting down the New River. They really looked out for each other during the trip, not just during the challenges, but also helping each other through personal struggles in their walk with the Lord. It was great to see God growing them closer to Him and closer to each other. We are proud of each and every one of them, and know that God has great plans for them. Here are a few pics from the week.

Everybody wanted to feel Billy kick. He was very active that week, and I'm sure someday will enjoy West Virginia adventures. :)

Lil' Billy's progression chart

Summer pics

Here are some good ones from the summer so far.

Jr. High Camp - I love these girls!

I was so excited, I caught a fish! You can't see it very well here, but it was a little bigger than the fish other people were catching.


Billy caught one too.


Vacation Bible School craft time

Billy and I got to read 1 Corinthians 13 together at my cousins wedding.

More Renovations

So, we were so pumped about getting the nursery ready, that we decided to paint our bathroom, and we started doing major work on our dining room. Special thanks to Luke and Hannah who spent an entire day with us doing these projects. We started the front room, just by painting it, and it looked better just with a different color. But of course we couldn't stop there, we had to keep going. So far we have taken out the built in bookshelf that wasn't really that attractive in the first place, which gave us more space in the room; Billy also took up the carpet on the stairs, and they look pretty good and are in decent shape. We decided that we will look for a remnant carpet to lay down, so we don't have to have the red carpet anymore. :) So, here are some pics of our work in progress. It might take a while longer, only because the next 4 weekends are a little busy for us. After that it should lighten up some and we can concentrate on the project again.

Renovations

Last weekend Billy's parents came in and got a lot accomplished in our house, especially the nursery. Here are some pics to prove the amazing transformation. I love the nursery so much, I can hardly wait for little Billy. I'm so excited.

BEFORE
AFTER

William John Mulligan IV

We are so excited! We found out that our baby is a boy, and no one is more excited than Poppy Mulligan (my dad). He already has the rights to be his agent, and is bringing the paperwork this weekend.
He is a very active baby and is 15 oz right now. Julie and I were watching a movie last night, and I was able to feel him move. We have a feeling that he is goi ng to be a BIG BOY just like his dad (9.5 lbs 22.5 inches)...poor Julie. Please keep praying for us we are so excited to see what God has instore for us in this new adventure.

I'm 15 weeks today!

4 or Ryan?

Sorry! We have not posted in forever. We have been soooooo busy. No excuses though, our public awaits. Here is the transcript of the press conference and the latest pics of the future superstar.

Dad: We will now begin the press conference. I have a brief opening statement and then will be taking questions. My wife and I are extremely sorry that we have not kept you in the loop of the happenings in our lives. We are both well and the baby is well..as...well. So, I will begin answering questions... Yes, Barbara Walters.

Barbara: Can you teww us how far awong Juwie is in her pregnancy?

Dad: 14 weeks and the baby is about 4 inches long. Yes, Harry Caray.

Harry: HOLY COW! IsItABoy...or a Girl!?! And are ya gonna find out?

Dad: We do not know yet, but yes we are planning on finding out. Most experts say we will not know until the 20th week. Yes, Howard Cosell.

Howard: With the emergence of the modern athlete and the father son duo of agent and player and the possibility of having a boy and therefore with the father being William John Mulligan the third, is it possible Mr. Mulligan that we could see a William John Mulligan the fourth, and what would be the likelihood of the future superstar excelling at the sport of Golf?

Dad: If it is a boy we will have a fourth, and yes we have kicked around the golf idea with him having both Mulligan and 4 in his name. Last question. Yes John Madden...

Madden: What about naming the kid Brett Favre. Doesn't matter if its a boy or a girl. It's a great name for a girl too, and I'll bet she'll throw a mean football. I love boys names for girls!

Dad: Well John, we do have a name picked out and it is usually a boys name, but not Brett. It's Ryan Elizabeth Mulligan. That is all. We will leave with Pictures to publish... in your various... publishings...anyway that's it.

Drums and Beats?!

Wow what a crazy month! After recovering from hernia surgery (thank you for your prayers), I'm back to teaching, preaching and coaching rugby. We have so much good news to share with all of you. First of all we are quitting our paper route (praise God.) Secondly, dad and mom bought me a drum set so I can begin to give lessons...





It's a Pearl Export EXR and it is sweet! I love it! Thanks mom and dad! That's pretty exciting but nothing compared to this...



Julie is Pregnant! We had an ultrasound done, heard our baby's heart beat and found out that she is due some time in November. We are so excited! Please be praying for Julie as she has been both sick and tired. God is awesome! I'm gonna be a daddy :)

her·nia

: a protrusion of an organ or part (as the intestine) through connective tissue or a wall of the cavity (as of the abdomen) in which it is normally enclosed

Billy found himself in the hospital last weekend--not because he had Peter Pan peanut butter, but because he tried to push a van out of the snow and aggravated his hernia. They had to cut out the only fat on his body.

Party!

A good time was had by all. A couple days before the party, Billy found out that he won 25 free burritos from Chipotle. So we picked them up right before the party. Everyone was excited to get one! How did Billy do that, you ask? Well, I don't know. He always wins when there is something to be had. For instance, the ipod shuffle, free dinner for 10 at Yours truly, a guitar, concert tickets, and the list goes on. Let's just say he's one lucky guy. :)

And there was one special presentation for the winner of the
2006 Fantasy Football League: Timmy P.

Dinner

Yes, that's right. I cooked dinner! It was actually really good. And the house smelled really good. I think that was the best part. I suppose I should try to cook more regularly. I think Billy would appreciate it. :)

Dr. Myles Spencer

Here are some amateur photos of the surprised Allyson, when Chad brought home their new dog, Myles.





Other pics:

Pictures

Well, we finally downloaded some pics. So here they are. Most are from the holidays. Kind of a recap.


This is my Aunt reading a book to the family dog :)


This is Billy and my cousin trying to see who is taller. What do you think?


Here are some family pics: