Our family is getting ready to welcome our sweet baby boy, Theodore Boone, on September 11th via scheduled cesarean❤️ As his arrival gets closer, we're feeling so much excitement and love, but if we're being transparent, we're also carrying a lot emotionally. This pregnancy has become more medically complicated during these final weeks, which means extra appointments, twice-weekly monitoring, and more uncertainty than we anticipated. We are incredibly grateful that Theodore is being watched closely and that we have a plan in place for his arrival. At the same time, the unknown can feel heavy. William is carrying a lot alongside me—continuing to work, caring for our family, preparing for Theodore, and getting me to the additional appointments each week. At home, our eight kiddos are also preparing for their baby brother and for Mom and Dad to be away for his birth. More than anything else, we are asking our village for prayer. We have already been so incredibly blessed by the people who have loved on Theodore and our family throughout this pregnancy. We created this page as one place to share updates and give anyone who wants to help some simple ways to support our family during these final weeks and the early days after Theodore comes home. We are grateful for every prayer, message, helping hand, and act of love. ❤️ ----- 🙏 Our Biggest Request: Prayer More than meals, gifts, or anything else, please pray for us. Please pray for peace instead of fear as we walk through these final days and prepare for Theodore's birth. Please pray for: - Theodore's continued health and safe arrival. - Reassuring ultrasounds and NSTs between now and September 11th. - A safe and peaceful birth and surgery. - Protection for Theodore and me from complications. - Our eight other children while Mom and Dad are away at the hospital. - Strength and peace for William as he balances work, our family, additional appointments, and everything that comes with preparing for another baby. - Peace over our home and our entire family. - A smooth recovery and transition home. - That the fear of the unknown would be replaced with trust and peace as we get closer to meeting our little boy. If prayer is the only thing you are able to give us, please know that we consider that a gift. ❤️ ---- Food Help After Theodore Arrives Please don't feel like you need to prepare a huge homemade meal for our family! Simple is absolutely perfect. Some of the things that would help us most during the first week or two after Theodore comes home are: - Pizza and fruit - Easy lunches for the kids - Kid-friendly snacks - Grocery pickup or delivery - Walmart gift cards for groceries Even taking one lunch, dinner, or grocery order off our plate gives us one less thing to think about while we're adjusting and I recover. ---- 🛒 Walmart & Grocery Help For anyone who lives farther away or would rather help from a distance, Walmart gift cards are probably the most useful option for our family. They allow us to order exactly what we need that week for pickup or delivery—whether that's milk and bread, snacks for the kids, easy meals, toiletries, paper products, or something we've unexpectedly run out of. There is absolutely no expectation to send anything. We simply wanted to include an easy option for those who have asked how they can help. ❤️ ---- 🧺 Other Ways to Love on Our Family Sometimes the most helpful gifts aren't things at all. We're very open to practical help during those first couple of weeks. Some things that would genuinely make our days easier include: - Taking a load of laundry off our hands - Taking the kids to the park or outside for a while - Hanging out with the kids for a couple of hours - Dropping off groceries - Bringing the kids an easy lunch or some snacks Sometimes giving Mom a chance to rest and snuggle Theodore while the bigger kids have someone to hang out with will be every bit as valuable as bringing a meal. These aren't expectations—just ideas for anyone wondering, “What can I do?” ---- 🏥 Hospital & Home Visits We are open to visitors and would love for the people who love our family to meet Theodore. ❤️ We will be welcoming Theodore at UT Medical Center in Knoxville. If you'd like to visit us at the hospital or once we're home, we simply ask that you text us first to make sure it's a good time. Please wait to visit if you or anyone in your household is sick or has recently been sick. We want to be especially careful with Theodore during those first weeks. There may also be days when we're exhausted, recovering, feeding a baby, or simply need some quiet family time. If we need to find another day or time, please know it isn't personal. ---- ❤️ Thank You for Loving Our Family Preparing to welcome our ninth baby has reminded us just how much community matters. We don't expect anyone to do everything—or even anything. Pray for us. Send us a message. Bring pizza. Take the kids to the park. Fold a basket of laundry. Check on William. Celebrate Theodore with us. Every little act of love reminds us that our family has people standing beside us during a season that feels both incredibly exciting and a little overwhelming. And right now, that means more than we can put into words. Thank you for loving our family, praying over us, and already loving our sweet boy. We cannot wait to introduce everyone to Theodore Boone. ❤️
Please text before coming!