Great Day :-)

Yesterday was such a wonderful day even though it didn't start off so hot! First off it took 45minutes to drag Matt out of bed to get to our birth class at the hospital. Then we get there and they had cancelled the class due to lack of participants! They said they called but I don't believe it because I have had NO missed calls and I've had my cell on me at all times since Matt was in the field this past week (and I've been at home where I get perfect signal). Turns out they scheduled the class for July 24th- which may be too late for us! We told her on the 15th we'll schedule the c-section any time after the 19th so we didn't know if we could make that class so we asked for a refund. The lady said "oh you already paid?" Um yes they said we had to pay to reserve our spot. She said she'd leave a message with the midwife in charge about getting our money back. You'd better! Matt was freaking out because I don't have the receipt anymore but even the Dr mentioned at our last appointment that she remembers us paying for the class. We will be getting it back!

Anyways so we were bummed because we had really been looking forward to finding out what delivery as like especially here in a german hospital but I guess we'll just have to be surprised! I guess I'll go in there prepared like I would in the States and just be flexible- and I've learned don't ask first. Just do it and usually they don't say anything (but when you ask they say no) haha. Well the plan was to go take belly pictures after the class so that's what we went to do. I'm glad it worked out that way because it was warm at 10am and our original plans would have had us taking pictures around 2pm- when it was HOT! I had really wanted to go to this vineyard where my friend took her belly pictures but since my internet has been acting up (and still is) I hadn't gotten her message about where it was. Oh well she said she and her husband will take us next weekend and do pictures of Matt and I together! :-) I had one spot in mind by this castle like wall but we couldn't figure out how to park and walk there so then we went to this park by a river we always pass and talk about taking Elvis but never have. Then when we got there we saw this fountain that was awesome! The weather was great and the park was shady for the most part and it was just so much fun. We laughed alot and Matt kept his patience with my millions of "I don't like that, no that's not the angle I want, ew I look huge, etc" ;-) Love you babe. And of course Daddy sort of felt left out (that and my husband just loves having his picture takin- such a ham) so he wanted his own pictures taken. His excuse was he wanted new ones to send to his Mom but like I said- he just loves it! :-) I love being the photographer (and not the model) so that worked out! Hence why we have more pictures of Matt then of myself on any given occasion lol.

When we left we ran to the PX and also got some food then came home. Matt passed out in the recliner (He'd had it "rough" in the field for two nights!) for over 3 HOURS while I edited the pictures. Finally I dragged him awake again and we went strawberry picking! As soon as you pull up to the field (which is so close you can see it from our neighborhood) you are just hit with the amazing smell of strawberries- so awesome and so much better than the fertilizer you normally smell around the country! When you go strawberry picking you take your own basket (or bowl in our case) and first they weigh it and give you a receipt with the weight. After you fill up your basket they weigh it again and subtract the original empty weight and that's how you pay! So then after weighing you just get to walk up and down the tons of rows of strawberries and pick what you want! You're also allowed to eat as many as you want but I couldn't bring myself to eat a strawberry covered in dirt (the bushes are so low they sit in the dirt)- yes I know they were organic and all that but dirt is dirt. Next time I'll take a water bottle to clean them off ;-) Now this was at 4pm and it was HOT HOT at this point and like I said the bushes are on the ground so it's back breaking to pick them (and way too much for me to do at this point) so I took pictures and Matt picked (I got a couple of handfuls) but we both were drenched in sweat in a few minutes. We didn't go as far back as you could go but after talking to friends who went that's where the huge strawberries are so when we go back we'll go in the AM and walk farther back. Still though these strawberries are so red and so sweet and organic! Best part? We only paid 3.25euros for a big bowl of them!! At our commissary you get one of those small cardboard box things of them for like $5 and they're small, usually already starting to mold or squishy, and they're tart! We've already almost finished that large bowl we got! Strawberries have been my big craving the last few weeks- and definitely healthier than the poptarts, ice cream, and pickles I've craved over the different months.

When we got home our good friends came over and we hung out and bbqed with them. Jen and I took their 2yr old to the playground in our backyard (literally) and I was still in the shutterbug mood so I snapped a million pictures of him. After editing them I will post a link for them as well :-)

By this time I was POOPED- it had been a long busy but such an amazing day but Mama was tired, sweaty, and sore. We crashed pretty early and easily and slept wonderful! I did remember when I woke up this morning that yesterday was my grandfather's birthday and I felt SOO horrible for not calling. That morning I had remembered "Hey it's Grandaddy's birthday! I'll have to call when they get up" (remember when I wake up it's the middle of the night for yall) and then time just got away from me. Grandaddy I love you so much and I hope you had an amazing 60th birthday!! I will call you today- again at a decent hour. Right now it's 6am your time.

I have a few pictures posted here and some on facebook but to see all the belly pictures click the link on the right of this page.

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Another amazing blog

My friend and sister Anna shared this blog with me. While I cussed her amist tears the whole time I read the particular post she recommended "The Birth of Nella" I am glad she shared this blog with me. It is so beautifully written with amazing photography and is heartbreakingly honest. So when you're bored or have a free moment take a look!

Enjoying the Small Things by Kelle Hampton

PS She may live in Naples, FL? She referenced Ft. Lauderdale and I-75 and the visitors badges say NCH and look just like Naples Community Hospitals...Maybe my FL family will know!

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Belly Pictures

Hello! I have posted a link to the right with belly pictures. *WARNING* I have nasty stretch marks so if that grosses you out (like it does me) then don't look. I'm not putting these particular shots (of my bare belly) on facebook so you can only view them through my SnapFish. When I take more (nonbare) this weekend I will add those to SnapFish as well as Facebook.

In the shot with the "It's a Boy" ribbon over my belly if you know how I can make that ribbon it's original color (blue) but leave the rest of the photo black and white PLEASE share!! :-)

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Blessings

Wow am I emotional today. I have been following a college friend's blog for the last couple of months. It is about her precious baby girl who was born with Down's Syndrome and LOTS of heart problems- and all of these things were a complete surprise at her birth (whereas normally they can tell you those things during ultrasounds). This little girl even has what my brother had at birth Tetralogy Fallot (or however it's spelled). Because of my brother I have been paranoid and ask about the baby's heart at every visit but now I'm even more scared since they sometimes don't catch it in utero! However I feel so guilty for complaining about having to have a C-section and those other pregnancy complaints when parents are watching their BABIES suffer and some are watching them die! My friend posted about another family she had met in her time at the hospital and their two week old son just died from heart problems. It all just makes you realize how truly blessed you are and to not sweat the small stuff.

Please keep Baby Karter and her family in your prayers today and tomorrow. She goes for open heart surgery tomorrow (it was today but they rescheduled which I'm sure is so lovely on her parent's nerves) at only 11weeks old. Prayers for the doctors working on her, for Jesus to be holding Karter the whole time, and prayers for the family and friends waiting anxiously for her to make it out safely. Also prayers for a quick and easy recovery.

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52 Days (or less!) Left...

Today was my 32 week checkup. Roman Mathew is STILL breech and unfortunately probably won't be turning. When I first went to the Dr and had the very first ultrasound she explained that my uterus was heart shaped rather than a light bulb shape and that the baby had implanted in the left chamber of the heart. Then she said it meant nothing and was no big deal. Now she thinks that because of the septum (the thing that is between the two humps of the heart) is stopping him from being able to turn fully around and go head down. This is why he's ALWAYS been on my left side and the right side is squishy (it's just his placenta over there). Throughout the ultrasound today Roman kept kicking her and even the Dr said "Well that is probably not comfortable for you Mom with him in that position" and I said "Nope especially in my ribs" and she explained that was because his head bone is much harder than his butt (aka what SHOULD be in my ribs) and that yes it was very painful thing. I told her to tell my husband that so he didn't think I was a wuss and so she turned to Matt and told him "Yes you're wife is very uncomfortable and in pain!" Vindication! LoL

Ok bad news time. Because my baby is stuck in my darn heart shaped uterus I will probably be having a C-section. She said he most likely will not turn but we will try everything to turn him at 37 weeks (meaning medical wise). In the mean time she showed me how to lay on the floor on my back and put my legs up on the couch and put lots of pillows under my butt (so my butt is above my head). I have to do that 10 minutes 3 times a week. She didn't give me any excersises like my friend's Dr here (she's a week ahead of me) but I'm going to find out what they are from my friend- can't hurt right?? I've got FOUR WEEKS to try and turn him myself before the Dr has to do it- and I've heard that it is a painful process especially with your first baby when your uterus is still tight AND that it can send you into early labor. If she can't get him to turn either then we'll schedule a C-section. I asked if she allowed her patients to try and deliver breech babies vaginally and the face she gave me basically said "yeah right" but she did say under certain circumstances she lets them try but they usually end up in emergency c-sections (which I don't want) and that we would "talk about it" when the time came. So BIG prayers for this because I just don't want a C-section. I've always always always wanted a natural birth- I even talked about it in 8th grade when I saw my first live birth (my Aunt Marty). I don't want an epidural (especially after my effed up spinal tap when I had menegitis) and I wanted to try to go without drugs (although I wasn't 100% opposed to them). I always imagined my husband sitting behind me in the bed and coaching me through...ok stopping now because I'm starting to cry again. When we walked out of the Dr's I started to cry and Matt just kept saying "It'll be ok" over and over. I know it's not the end of the world and as a friend just told me as long as I have a healthy baby in the end it won't matter how he got here but it still bums me out. Especially since most Dr.s don't allow VBACs (vaginal births after c sections) that means I will never get to experience that amazing thing called labor.

Ok enough with that. Ending on a positive note here. Roman Mathew is now 4lbs and 14 inches long!!! Fatty boy :-) Just see the ulrasound pix below! He definitely looks like his Daddy but he's got my chubby cheeks in one picture (sorry kid- hopefully they go away for ya).

Sleeping all curled up on his placenta- I think he's going to be a blanky baby :-)

Ok how cool is this?? I guess my lil boy was annoyed that we were poking on him while he was trying to sleep so he kept opening his eyes and staring at us!! This is definitely MY grumpy "you just woke me up" face hahahaha

Oh my gosh I'm so in love with this face already!!! And no his lips aren't messed up there was something in front of them.

My wil fatty fat baby!!! I LOVE his chubby cheeks and those lips!!! :-)

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Thank God

So today in bible study we talked about how you are supposed to be praising God "without ceasing" which means when you're scrubbing dishesm or the floorm or your baby is in your ribs and won't let you sleep you must still be praising God. My leader recommended writing short praises on an index card and posting them around the house. I am going to be posting one above my sink that says "Thank you Lord that I have food to eat and thereby dishes to clean" (I HATE doing dishes but we must praise Him even while doing the things we hate). I will also post one by where I store the broom and say "Thank God I have a home and thereby a floor to sweep." I think my big ole belly is enough a reminder to keep telling myself "Thank you Lord that I was able to conceive and I can carry my own baby in my belly" because we all know how many people are not able to do that.

For those of you with body issues there's lots of bible verses you can post on your mirror. God made YOU so you are beautiful. God made you for your husband and his opinion is the only one that matters. Love your self. Just google them if you're not familiar (I will look up the ones I like and post)

So think about what really bums you out: vacuuming, cleaning that high chair, changing diapers, putting gas in the car, etc and put a "Praise" card by that thing so you can always remember to Praise God without ceasing!

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32 Weeks

Well that "feelin good and havin energy" buzz is gone. Actually it left at about 30 weeks. I'm so tired most of the time! This weekend when Matt wasn't playing softball I was sleeping- in the car, in my fold out chair at the field, at the hotel- crazy! Roman is also hanging out up in my ribs- especially the left side) and it is NOT a good feeling. He's been flopping around a lot so maybe he's trying his hardest to turn. I definitely feel him a lot more now and he's been known to give me some swift punches or kicks that make me jump. Not that they hurt necessarily but it's not a comfortable feeling either. We did feel his back the other day and his little spine was pressed up on my belly- THAT was weird!! Then last night I felt either an arm or a leg pressing out on my belly- it just felt like a long skinny tube :-) If it weren't for the rib thing I would be enjoying this time but it keeps me from being able to sit up straight because it's so uncomfortable.

In other news we finally got our changing table/dresser in! Matt got it all put together last night BUT the top holes for the cabinet door are ruined so we can't get the door on right now. May just try and use wood glue in the whole since the bracket doesn't have to come on or off. I want to find cute baskets to put in there and keep all his hygiene stuff in them. If it works out that the door won't be able to go on it won't look bad. I can FINALLY start to organize his room and put up his wall stickers!! I will post pictures soon. I can't wait to wash all his little clothes and put them away :-) My mom is mailing me several boxes of hand me downs from my awesome friend Amanda who has twin boys that are almost exactly a year older than Roman! I can't wait to get them (hopefully SOON Mom- if this kid comes early he's going to be naked ;-) We go to the Dr on Thursday so I will update then!

**By the way people keep asking what I still need- I have updated the baby registry on Babies R Us and taken off the items I have received. Don't feel like you HAVE to buy that exact item or buy it from Babies R Us- any store or clean, functioning hand me downs are MORE than welcome!! I know as of today I still need baby towels, burp cloths, 6+ clothing, bottles (I plan to pump some so Matt can feed as well- or just in case breastfeeding doesn't work), bath products (like lotions, soaps, etc), medicines, older baby items such as bowls and cups, etc and surprisingly toys! My poor baby only has 2 toys LOL (but plenty of books!!)**

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Softball softball softball

Old photo from the Schweinfurt Tourny where we took 1st!!

Before beginning a busy weekend of nothing but softball I got to spend Thursday with girlfriends! During lunch I watched two toddler boys while their moms went to a gym class and I had so much fun with them! Made me miss my toddler class at Grace and also made me so excited for my own little boy and his toddlerhood!!! After their class I got to chat with both moms for a little bit which was a pleasure. Then I ran to the commissary and to pay the internet bill and then another friend came to pick me up for swimming!

This is the big outdoor pool- you wouldn't catch me on THAT high dive!!

We went to a german public pool and it was awesome! They have an indoor pool and about 4 outdoor pools!! We just hung out in the older kid pool since we just wanted to sit and talk in the cool water. It was a HOT day! I've been dying to try the german pools but I won't go alone and haven't had a chance to go with anyone yet. They are cheap and very clean plus no one cares what you look like or anything- not like in the states where the skinny girls all just lay out by the pool in their skimpy bikinis and make up and perfect hair and never touch the water! We swam til about 6pm then she took me home and I showered and got ready for a dinner date with two other friends! They took me out to a great outdoor resteraunt downtown in celebration of Baby Roman since they couldn't make the shower. I had such a nice time talking to a fellow teacher who had great advice for teaching and a new(er) mom who also had great advice about babies and breastfeeding. Afterwards they gave me two amazing presents and I am so grateful! Thank you so so much ladies! The best part was just having girl time- something that I've only had one other time in the last YEAR in Germany!
Friday I went to the elementary school to help out with the first grade Father's Day project. I got to see all my kids plus two other first grade classes. It was chaos but fun. They were making stained glass DAD cutouts with melted crowns and glitter. By the end of the project it looked like a bunch of fairies got into a fight with glitter covering every inch of the floor and every kid! Alot of mess but they enjoyed themselves and that's what matters. We were supposed to have the first grade bbq but of course it's Germany and it rained so we just did it in the hallway- that was craaazzy crowded and hot! But again there was tons of food and the kids had a blast. I ran to see my third graders and they were hanging out watching movies and playing games and it was just so nice to see them. It was especially nice to see my mentor teacher since she's PCSing to DC in a couple of weeks. Thankfully we have facebook to keep in touch :-) Then it was back to first grade who was now outside in perfect sunny weather. It was a great day but man was I exhausted! Even if the Dr hadn't had me stop teaching a few weeks ago I don't know if I would have made it this far. I wanted to collapse from the heat and exhaustion!!! That night we had to drive to Heidelberg where we were staying in a hotel for the softball tournament. Of course we missed our exit and on the autobahn that is NOT good- there is no just go to the next exit and turn around. We had to go 100kilometers out of the way and got to the hotel an hour later than planned. Matt and I were both grumpy and tired and passed out as soon as we got to the room.

Matt up to bat- he hit a double!

Saturday we woke up and started our weekend of softball. Due to rainy weather and a couple of teams not showing up they had to rearrange the whole schedule so we got to the field 2 hrs early (I went back to sleep in the car). Matt's team won the first game by alot (I never remember the exact number) but then lost the second game to a team (Ramstein) that spends half a day every day practicing and going to the gym! Not fair. They had bad defense but they still killed us because every single person hit a homerun!! Boo. After the games we went to the PX there on that post and found great baby stuff that our PX didn't have and I finally found nice, comfy, white sandals!! Then someone said Ramstein was close (that's where Chili's is at) so we looked on our GPS and it was only 40mins away!!! So we had Chili's that night :-) It wasn't perfect like last time but oh well. Another late night and lots of driving so again we crashed as soon as we got to the room!

Matt playing 3rd

Sunday was very cool and sprinkly and again we were told we had a game early (at 9am) but we showed up at 8am to warm up and nope we weren't playing til 10am. We played an ok team but won by 1 run and then we had a SIX HOUR break (and of course we were already checked out of the hotel). We went back over to Heidelberg (the tourny was in Mannheim- 20 mins away) and checked out that PX. We hit the baby clothes jackpot! THey had SO MUCH more selection and it was different than our PX. We also bought more boardbooks since ours only has like 3. Their bookstore also has a starbucks in it so we got Fraps mmmmmm haven't had one in a year!! After killing time we played what they called Ramstein's JV team (a mixture of Kaiserslautern and Ramstein people who didn't make their post teams). They were a bunch of smack talkers the day before so I really really wanted to beat them but unfortunately not :-( I think our guys were just tired and ready to go home and just didn't want to play another game (the championship against Ramstein). We were home by 8pm (no missed exits this time so only took 2 hrs) ;-) and boy were we pooped! Matt especially found the fact that I was slightly sunburned AGAIN but this time I had on SPF 85 (!!!!) AND I sat under a huge umbrella the entire weekend- how does that happen?! Go figure...
Yesterday was another recovery day for me- my tummy muscles are so sore from stretching and plus being in a car and a fold out chair so much this weekend. And next weekend we have a tournament even farther away! Only good thing is it's at a resort so I can go swimming and possibly get a massage :-)

In random news my best friend Adri just had her 23rd birthday AND she got engaged that day!!!! As her Maid of Honor I'm supposed to relieve some of her stress and help in any way I can so I'm collecting recommendations and advice for her. They aren't getting married til Oct 2012 (he's in the Reserves and was called up to serve for the next year in Washington state plus she's starting grad school) so we have time but of course she's having the time of her life looking and getting ideas. Plus she won't be able to do much while school's in session so the more she can get done now and next summer the better! She's chose a "plum perfection" palatte and is having an evening wedding in Oct in Dallas (a catholic wedding) so feel free to start sharing ANY wedding stuff you can!

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Volksfest and Baby Shower!

This weekend was very eventful! In fact it took me two days to recover it was so busy ;-) Friday I was in a funk- super tired and kind of depressed. I don't think I would have felt so depressed (and I don't know why but I think it had to do with the shower and my family and friends from home not being able to be there) if I weren't so tired. Anywho I hung out at Jen's all day to keep myself from spending the whole day on the couch in my PJs. She was decorating my cake so I got to watch her- very inspiring. It made me want to go buy all this cake decorating stuff and just practicing over and over. I probably would have if I had Walmart and it's cheap prices ;-) Anywho that evening we all went to the Volksfest (the largest festival in Schweinfurt) for opening night. We met up with a couple other families and WOW were there alot of kids running around. Kind of nerve racking with all the crowds of people but luckily not my kids lol. We enjoyed our awesome fest food and Matt had his beer and we watched the kids ride some rides (I was insanely jealous of course- I LOVE rides!) and then after dark there were fireworks! We ended up not getting home until midnight and even then we both had things to prepare for Saturday so we weren't in bed until well after 1am.

Saturday Matt left early to drive to Hohenfels for a softball tournament. It was going to last all weekend (if they kept winning) and the team was all camping out so Matt bought a tent and was going to do the same. We went ahead and bought a 6person tent so we can start camping after Roman's here and friends can join us! Anywho after Matt left I started getting ready for my shower. I had to run to the PX and buy a couple things we had forgotten (clothes pins and hershey kisses for the games) and then it was off to the shower! My hostesses had made AMAZING food- chicken salad with croissants, crumb cake muffins, triple chocolate muffins, fruit tray, veggie tray, french toast casserole, ham and asparagus quiche, bacon and cheese quiche (which i never got to try boo), plus the awesome "puerto rican" cake by Jen! The food was by far my favorite part...I'm drooling just thinking about it and I haven't been hungry the past two days!

After we ate outside in the wonderful- if not too warm for me- sunshine we came in to play some games. Unfortunately my hostesses didn't like the gross (aka fun in my opinion lol) shower games (but we won't hold that against them) so we played baby shower bingo and then they tried to guess my belly size using toilet paper. Through out the shower we were playing "Never Say Baby" where everyone has a clothespin and you can't say the word baby. If you do then another person takes your clothespin. Person with the most at the end of the shower wins! My friend Lindzey got really into it and made it very difficult for the other women to tell me their labor stories (you try it without saying Baby!) but she's so funny to watch! After the games it was time for gifts! A few of the kiddos wanted to help so they took turns bringing me gifts and even "helped" open a couple lol. One gift I had no idea what it was but the others were oohing and aaahing because the kids had ripped opent the front of the present LOL. I got lots of wonderful things and I am so grateful to those women! Shopping in Germany takes time and prep since it usually involves the internet so I know it wasn't easy for them. After the gifts the ladies all sat around and just shared stories and advice on kids places in Germany- it was great! Thank you so much again to Krista, Kara, and Jen!! I love you ladies!

After the shower I went over to Jen's to watch the baby play in his whale pool. He wasn't too interested but Jen was babysitting our friend Holly's oldest daughter who's 9 and she loved it. It felt nice to sit outside (in the shade in my case) and just watch them play. I went home for about an hour for a quick catnap then headed back to Jen's to watch the baby and the other girl for the night so Jen and her husband could have a date night. I have to say Jen is a busy busy woman and I give her credit! While the baby plays nicely in his room upstairs- and for the most part doesn't bother the master room or bathroom- you still have to go check on him every 10-15mins and that's alot of up and down those stairs! After he crashed early the girl and I watched some movies and she crashed around 10:30 so it was just me for the last hour or so. Jen brought me chocolate covered strawberries from the fest as payment and they were sooooo good! :-) But again another night of getting to bed after 1am.

Sunday I tried to go to church- I set my alarm and had clothes out and everything but it just wasn't happening. I had slept VERY well the night before and didn't even wake up to pee until 7am and ended up staying in bed until 11am!! It felt wonderful. I felt slightly guilty for missing church like I always do but I know once Roman is here I won't be sleeping in and therefor missing church so I may as well take advantage to getting to stay in bed til 11am like that! Only thing I did on Sunday was run to the Commissary and PX but other than that I stayed on the couch. Matt came home from the tournament around dinner time and sadly they didn't win- they came in 3rd out of 8 teams so I was still proud of him.

Yesterday I was still exhausted and slept til 10am and stayed in my PJs all day and in the house and all I did was some sweeping and dishes. Who knew that weekend would exhaust me like that! They tell me it's pregnancy and I sure hope so- it's sad to think I will always be this tired!!

** If you would like to send "Mommy advice" or "Mommy and/or Baby wishes" or guess what day Roman will be born on and how much he'll weigh/long he'll be I can write it in his Baby Shower Memory book for you! I would love to hear from you so please leave a comment, msg me on Facebook, or email me with your advice, wishes, and guess!!**

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Baby Book

So I'm calling on all my mommy friends to tell me where they found their baby books. I'm having trouble finding an actual baby book (and not just a photo album) but one with journal pages and that has places for the first 5 years or so. I found one possibility on Amazon but before I ordered it I wanted to see if anyone had somewhere they recommended! I like this "concept" but I'm not a zoo lover but it's still pretty cute.

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