1. Today was the first day I didn't throw up in the last 7 weeks. Yay for progress! Maybe I'm turning a corner and will truly feel better soon? Nausea, my constant companion, I'll be glad to bid you farewell!
2. The tummy is definitely pooching out in a major way. My body snapped right back into pregnancy mode and I now have a round little belly hanging over my (somewhat) lower-cut pants. I look five months pregnant, even though I'm only 3-ish!
3. I forgot how much I miss my house helper. My mother in law has been here these last three weeks, and has lent a hand many times with dishes, the vacuuming, tidying up, etc. She has even helped me prep some meals. We've had a wonderful time together, household chores notwithstanding, but she leaves on Tuesday. Lou, dear Lou, where are you??
4. The girls continue to be so very, very excited. They are divided on whether it is a boy or girl but talk about it every day. Clara Anne couldn't understand why we couldn't manage to have the baby sooner--like, later this month would work for her!
5. I've been reading a bit from people posting about sanctity of life month, and am so touched and moved again when I think of the precious life that is being protected by my body. How I love this little one already! I'm so thankful for the technology that has allowed us to see into the womb with such accuracy and detail, and the resulting increase in pro-life awareness that that has caused. May the Lord help us to keep on fighting for the protection of innocent life!
6. Our names are now on "the list" at our church...the list of expectant parents that is usually about 20 names long. The blessing of children abounds at our home fellowship. There were three new babies born just in this last week! One mother joked, "You know you're a member of Clifton Baptist when your 2.5 week old baby gets bumped off the new birth list!"
7. I'm thinking of cloth diapering this new little one. In fact, pretty sure I'm going to do it. Any words of wisdom for me from you experienced cloth diapering moms out there?
Thanks for reading my random pregnancy thoughts tonight! I'm off to bed (yawn). Can't seem to rest too much these days!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Funnies from my Funny Girls
On Sunday mornings after church Clara Anne and Chloe run to play with their friends as soon as the service is over. They stay right in the sanctuary, but often I am not really paying attention to what they're doing since I am busy catching up with friends myself! This last week, though, John happened to notice that Clara Anne was off in a little corner with a bunch of boys. He asked her, "Why were you with a bunch of boys? What happened to your girl friends?" Her immediate response: "Oh, those boys were just following me around. They like to be bothersome." True enough!
Christin always seems to know how to crack us up. The other day Chloe was telling a story at lunchtime and with a somewhat scornful look of perfect disdain, Christin said, "Really, Chloe? Really?" And of course she still pronounces the "R" as "W" so it made it even funnier!
Tonight in the process of getting ready for bed (anyone else struggle with long, drawn out bedtimes at your house? No matter what I do, it always takes longer than I'd like! Maybe it's just because I am so ready to get to bed myself!) Clara Anne said, "Mommy, do I have to change into jammies? I find it so much more convenient to just sleep in my clothes, and then I don't have to get dressed in the morning." She was perfectly serious but I insisted that she had to change.
Love those funny girls! They make me smile every day. I am so thankful for these precious girls and the fun, laughter, and yes, drama that they bring to our house and home every day. On Tuesday night, we had dropped the girls off at our friends for date night swap while John and I went out. Unfortunately by the time we were supposed to pick them up I was feeling pretty nauseous and headachy, so stayed in the car while John went in and got them. But when they came out and saw me in the car, everyone was excitedly calling, "Mommy, mommy, mommy!" and even in my yucky state, their love and affection brought joy to my heart and a smile to my face. Love you girls!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Girls' Favorite Christmas Gift
On the night before we were going to head off to Iowa/Minnesota, though it was only December 18, we had a wonderful time doing a special Christmas celebration at home. We finished the Advent Calendar, put up the rest of the ornaments on our Jesse tree, and sang Christmas carols. The girls had fun with all of the special events and though the clock was ticking (and much packing still needed to be done), we told the girls we had one very special Christmas gift to give them.
What could it be? We started a guessing game. Everyone made an (incorrect) guess.
Then, where could it be? Again, good guesses were made, but all incorrect. Not in the stockings, not under the tree, not hiding under the couch.
Finally, John said, "All right, I'll show you. Are you ready?"
"Yes, Yes," they all chorused.
John slowly pointed in a circle around the room until his finger finally came to rest on my tummy. Without John saying a word, Clara Anne "got it." Her eyes got as big as saucers and she launched herself at me, crying and saying, "Oh mommy, mommy, MOMMY!" Tears were flowing as she exclaimed, "It's just what I've always been longing for!!!"
So she was crying, and of course I was crying, and Chloe looked up with an absolutely horrified look on her face. What was everyone crying about? Christin didn't really know what was going on either!
In a minute we all calmed down long enough to share with the girls in plain English that yes, Mommy is going to have a new little baby! The girls had known that I hadn't been feeling well, but never guessed the reason why. But recently they had even been mentioning, at random times, how nice it would be to have four children. Chloe was learning even and odd in math and told me how great it would be if we just had one more child in our family, then we'd have an even number! One time we were finishing up shopping at Target and the girls saw carseats and said, "Oh look Mommy, if you have another baby then you can buy her a carseat here!" Things like this kept happening and so it was so fun and special to tell the girls that they will have a new little brother or sister, Lord willing!
I am about 13 weeks now and maybe, just maybe, starting to feel better. December was a pretty rough month of only doing what I absolutely needed to do...I forgot, literally forgot, how crushing the fatigue and nausea of early pregnancy can be! Nausea has been a pretty constant companion but I am finding that if I eat enough, and rest enough, I do feel better. But it varies from day to day...last week there was a day where I took three naps! Yikes! Thankfully, it is all worth it and we rejoice in this new little one. We are praying for a healthy baby to make his/her appearance around the end of July. The girls are over the moon and have had fun gleefully announcing the news. It was very special to tell our families in person over Christmas and we are thankful that all seems to be progressing normally so far, though I haven't been to a doctor yet. Hopefully soon--we have to get some details worked out with our insurance, etc first.
Praise the Lord for the gift of life! We are so thankful for this new little one! (And you know, we might be slightly crazy too. What are we thinking, going back into the newborn phase again!) But this truly is a gift from God and I am very thankful. Rejoice with us in His wonderful plan! Here's a picture from that special night when we told the girls the news. What a joy!
What could it be? We started a guessing game. Everyone made an (incorrect) guess.
Then, where could it be? Again, good guesses were made, but all incorrect. Not in the stockings, not under the tree, not hiding under the couch.
Finally, John said, "All right, I'll show you. Are you ready?"
"Yes, Yes," they all chorused.
John slowly pointed in a circle around the room until his finger finally came to rest on my tummy. Without John saying a word, Clara Anne "got it." Her eyes got as big as saucers and she launched herself at me, crying and saying, "Oh mommy, mommy, MOMMY!" Tears were flowing as she exclaimed, "It's just what I've always been longing for!!!"
So she was crying, and of course I was crying, and Chloe looked up with an absolutely horrified look on her face. What was everyone crying about? Christin didn't really know what was going on either!
In a minute we all calmed down long enough to share with the girls in plain English that yes, Mommy is going to have a new little baby! The girls had known that I hadn't been feeling well, but never guessed the reason why. But recently they had even been mentioning, at random times, how nice it would be to have four children. Chloe was learning even and odd in math and told me how great it would be if we just had one more child in our family, then we'd have an even number! One time we were finishing up shopping at Target and the girls saw carseats and said, "Oh look Mommy, if you have another baby then you can buy her a carseat here!" Things like this kept happening and so it was so fun and special to tell the girls that they will have a new little brother or sister, Lord willing!
I am about 13 weeks now and maybe, just maybe, starting to feel better. December was a pretty rough month of only doing what I absolutely needed to do...I forgot, literally forgot, how crushing the fatigue and nausea of early pregnancy can be! Nausea has been a pretty constant companion but I am finding that if I eat enough, and rest enough, I do feel better. But it varies from day to day...last week there was a day where I took three naps! Yikes! Thankfully, it is all worth it and we rejoice in this new little one. We are praying for a healthy baby to make his/her appearance around the end of July. The girls are over the moon and have had fun gleefully announcing the news. It was very special to tell our families in person over Christmas and we are thankful that all seems to be progressing normally so far, though I haven't been to a doctor yet. Hopefully soon--we have to get some details worked out with our insurance, etc first.
Praise the Lord for the gift of life! We are so thankful for this new little one! (And you know, we might be slightly crazy too. What are we thinking, going back into the newborn phase again!) But this truly is a gift from God and I am very thankful. Rejoice with us in His wonderful plan! Here's a picture from that special night when we told the girls the news. What a joy!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Back in Louisville
It's been a snowy day in Louisville today, a wintry mix of rainy sleet and snow. We've had a good day inside staying warm--and a fresh loaf of cinnamon swirl bread just got pulled out of the oven. Yum!
We've been back at home in Louisville since late Friday night, after two days of traveling. We left Winthrop, MN (where John's mom lives), taking her with us on Thursday and had just enough time to eat a wonderful lunch at the Pizza Ranch in New Ulm before heading on our way. We spent the night in Waterloo, IA, with John's brother Andy and family, and then got up very early in order to drive directly to St. Louis, where we met John's Aunt Margie, his father's sister. She is 83 and still in very good health. We enjoyed our lunch together and of course John peppered her with lots of questions about his dad. Then, it was off to the Concordia Seminary Library where John wanted to do some research. We finally left for Louisville about 5pm, and after a brief stop for supper, arrived home about 11. All of us, especially my mother in law Ann, who was struggling with motion sickness, were glad to piled out of our very packed vehicle! Thankful for the Lord's protection as we traveled many miles without any major incidents.
It seems it always takes us a few days to settle back in to "normal" life. Is it just us or does this happen to all of you too? Laundry, sorting mail, stocking the frig again, unpacking, finding a new place for Christmas gifts...it all takes time. We had a busy day Saturday with all of that and then a full day on Sunday with church and small group Sunday night.
We've been easing slowly back into home school this week and the girls have done well. We started a new read-aloud, called "Flight of the Fugitives" about the life of Gladys Aylward. It is so interesting! The girls are really enjoying it, and I am too. I think the girls have been glad to have some routine to life again after the seemingly endless free time over vacation.
The news with my dad has been mixed. A new difficulty is that it seems that several of the major doctors involved in his case are now disagreeing about what should be done. Without going into the complicated details at this point (I'm still waiting to hear what happened in his last few days of appointments), we really need the Lord's wisdom. It seems that when doctors disagree, basically it is up to you as the patient to decide what is best, and we simply do not know right now what to do to help him. If you have been praying for Dad, please don't stop now! We are as much in need of prayer as ever.
I had to look up a recipe on my blog this afternoon and then got started looking back at old posts--always fun! I have a new resolve to stay better up to date with my blog in this new year--to record the happy, silly, sad, funny, difficult, challenging, exciting and normal moments of our lives this year. The girls are growing too fast, these days are going quickly! I'm glad for the opportunity to share about life here. Here's hoping for lots more blogging in 2012!
We've been back at home in Louisville since late Friday night, after two days of traveling. We left Winthrop, MN (where John's mom lives), taking her with us on Thursday and had just enough time to eat a wonderful lunch at the Pizza Ranch in New Ulm before heading on our way. We spent the night in Waterloo, IA, with John's brother Andy and family, and then got up very early in order to drive directly to St. Louis, where we met John's Aunt Margie, his father's sister. She is 83 and still in very good health. We enjoyed our lunch together and of course John peppered her with lots of questions about his dad. Then, it was off to the Concordia Seminary Library where John wanted to do some research. We finally left for Louisville about 5pm, and after a brief stop for supper, arrived home about 11. All of us, especially my mother in law Ann, who was struggling with motion sickness, were glad to piled out of our very packed vehicle! Thankful for the Lord's protection as we traveled many miles without any major incidents.
It seems it always takes us a few days to settle back in to "normal" life. Is it just us or does this happen to all of you too? Laundry, sorting mail, stocking the frig again, unpacking, finding a new place for Christmas gifts...it all takes time. We had a busy day Saturday with all of that and then a full day on Sunday with church and small group Sunday night.
We've been easing slowly back into home school this week and the girls have done well. We started a new read-aloud, called "Flight of the Fugitives" about the life of Gladys Aylward. It is so interesting! The girls are really enjoying it, and I am too. I think the girls have been glad to have some routine to life again after the seemingly endless free time over vacation.
The news with my dad has been mixed. A new difficulty is that it seems that several of the major doctors involved in his case are now disagreeing about what should be done. Without going into the complicated details at this point (I'm still waiting to hear what happened in his last few days of appointments), we really need the Lord's wisdom. It seems that when doctors disagree, basically it is up to you as the patient to decide what is best, and we simply do not know right now what to do to help him. If you have been praying for Dad, please don't stop now! We are as much in need of prayer as ever.
I had to look up a recipe on my blog this afternoon and then got started looking back at old posts--always fun! I have a new resolve to stay better up to date with my blog in this new year--to record the happy, silly, sad, funny, difficult, challenging, exciting and normal moments of our lives this year. The girls are growing too fast, these days are going quickly! I'm glad for the opportunity to share about life here. Here's hoping for lots more blogging in 2012!
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