39 Weeks - Random Reflections

We are just one week away from that "magical" date of pregnancy. The day I've repeated more times than I could possibly count - December 6th.

I've been here before but every go around always has it unique characteristics. This iteration finds me physically sick. Just a simple head cold, but I'm realizing that having a simple cold while 39 weeks pregnant with 3 small children does not feel simple any way you look at it.

A very sweet friend was having an etsy sale the other day so I decided to buy myself a pair of earrings I had been wanting for quite some time. I suppose I could call them a "push present" to myself. They certainly brought a big smile to my face as I opened them today! I cannot wait to wear them. Especially before our baby girl quickly enters the grabbing mommy's earrings phase, and then they'll be retired for about a year!

I have never been a week away from my due date before and actually been hoping the baby holds out a little longer, but that is the case here. I certainly was not here mentally or physically a week ago. It has taken me 4 pregnancies to finally understand what "rest" truly means. I am a slow learner. Slowing down with 3 kids is hard, but even when I feel like we did slow down, it wasn't as much as my body needed. This past week I did just that. Completely did nothing most days. I've made meals, kept up with the laundry and the dishes (somewhat), taken the boys to gymnastics, gone to a couple appointments, but basically just read hundreds of pages of books. I do not lie. We've finished 3 large chapter books in a week! It has been glorious.

The kids have miraculously been able to find creative ways of burning off their energy mostly indoors instead of the usual longer sessions outside in the yard or at parks. And, I've been able to oversee from the couch. I'm realizing my limitations and I now have no shame when I have to resort to all of us having some down time watching a movie. Pregnancy (and parenthood in general) is humbling like that. Ideal? No. But, realistic, yes! I'll be glad to get back to my normal self, (whatever that is) once the baby comes, but right now, I'm really trying to soak up these last "calm" days of life as a family of 5.

Truly resting has found me in a very different place. I have much more peace this late in the pregnancy than the others - I hope it lasts. My body is quite content. It is not spasming out on me contracting all the time, therefore not giving me the false impression that labor is imminent. I truly don't feel like labor is right around the corner, which is nice. Hopefully this deliver will come and go without all the false alarms like Samuel's and Annabelle's. Oh my, those were tough mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. (Joseph came at 38 weeks and 1 day, and labor started with my water breaking).

The Lord is so patient with me. You would think by now I would have this whole cycle down pat, but no. I'm still fumbling through the same lessons on the 4th go around. On a brighter note, though, I do feel like I'm making progress!

My thoughts as I enter into this holy season:

* God's grace is TRULY all I need to get me through.
* Birth is God's time. I am just a vessel He is using to bring one of his precious children into this world.
* I will only have peace when my mind is fixed on the Lord. My soul finds rest in God alone.
* The Lord gives strength to the weary.
* This birth is one means of God working to grow me in maturity and endurance. I will be stronger in my faith if I rely completely upon Him to accomplish His good work.
* I can lay my requests before the Lord and wait in anticipation that He will answer them!

Praise God he does not leave me or forsake me during such a season as this!

Thinking back on how much I struggled during the early stages of this pregnancy I am completely humbled at God's goodness to bring about this pregnancy to term. I was so doubtful that God could possibly bless us with yet another healthy child! God is a giver of good gifts. He loves to bless his children lavishly. And in our case (among other things) he loves to bless us with many children. We are honored he has chosen us to steward yet another precious blessing!

We are giddy in anticipation of meeting this baby, but also know God's timing is perfect and we are trusting in His perfect plan for her life. What he has started, he will finish it to completion! Praise God.

Now off to bed to try and truly kick this cold!

School Room: In Progress

The kids have enjoyed this project so much. Andy has done an amazing job letting them be a part of every stage that is safe for them.

I have been amazed at how intense this project has been. So much needed to be done to level the floor. Andy ended up using 11 bags of cement to make it level. You never realized how crooked it was until it was finished.

Andy hasn't ever done anything this in depth before, but he has done an incredible job researching everything so well. Just figuring how to level the floor and then laying the cement took days. You would think if you poured it, it would have just leveled itself, but that's not the case.

The kids just loved the bridge he made to do the middle section.

This one middle section took him well over 5 hours to get level!

 

Cement all done and now fixing the drywall.

 

Now laying down the moisture barrier.

And then starting to play with the flooring seeing how we'd like to arrange it. Joseph has been just giddy waiting for this stage. He couldn't wait to get his hands on these and start snapping them together. He wants to be a builder.

Next post will be with the finished floor! Yippee. I am even going to get a new paint job out of the room, too! Now to decide on a color or just stick with the one we have. It was on the walls when we got here, but I like it so much I just might keep it. It's such a good neutral color for all the chaos of colors that already goes into that room. Decisions, decisions...

Sweet Joe Joe

Joseph realized I never took a picture with his Operation Christmas Child sticker on. So, here we have it. I just adore this picture of him. It captures his sweet spirit so well.

Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving was so different, but it ended up being just perfect for the season we are in.

We have three sets of parents and a sister between the two of us, and we weren't able to be with any of them for Thanksgiving since we have to stay put for baby's arrival. I was getting sad as it approached knowing we had no plans and was completely incapable of making a celebratory meal for our family.

My mom decided to completely blow me away and ordered us an entirely prepared meal from Whole Foods and then proceeded to have a sweet friend of ours, Kim, deliver it to us Thanksgiving morning and then stay the day! I've cried just thinking of what a blessing both of them were!

We had a big brunch with Kim full of cinnamon rolls, omelets, fruit and steel cut oats, watched a little of the parade for the first time as a family, and just hung out the whole day together. Well, we all hung out while Daddy worked on the flooring. Kim ended up heading over to another friend's home for dinner, but helped me get us all organized before she left.

My mom also sent us a gorgeous centerpiece for our table.

The kids made leaves and Kim and I wrote bible verses about being thankful on them and then Andy hid them all over. Once they found them all they brought them back and we read them together. Then we made a wreath to glue them all to.

I'm really struggling with discouragement. My pain is increasing by the day and the uncertainty of when I will actually have this baby just about puts me into a state of insanity. I could have her tonight, or in 23 days! So, having an entire day set aside to sit around as a family with one of our best friends to reflect on all that God has done, is doing, and promises he will do for us was just what was needed.

Quilts for Uganda

We were able to ship off our second batch of quilts to Uganda. Our first shipment was 33 quilts and blankets and this one was 25. My goal when I set out was 50 quilts total. So, I've exceeded my goal with a total 58 quilts!

Here's a photo before we vacuum sealed them:

And one after:

29 1/2 pounds of love to children who desperately need it.

It's been a long journey (I decided to do this in January 2010), but such a beautiful experience. For this shipment we were able to send them to a close friend who is living in Uganda right now caring for children. So, she will be able to hand deliver these quilts to those in need.

Thank you so much to those of you who have made this possible.

School Room: Before

Those who don't think that men "nest" before a baby is born need to come to my home and see it for themselves! My precious husband is giddy for this baby's arrival. So, what does he decide to do while he anxiously awaits... redo our school room floor!

The reason for the project isn't because we desperately need new flooring, but that the concrete slab was cracked when we bought the house and it caused a gap of at least 2 1/2 to maybe 3 inches in one corner of the school room. In the winters it's very cold in that room. He's decided he's not going to let another winter pass us by without fixing it...even though I'm 37 1/2 weeks pregnant!

After having a small heart attack, I did agreed to it. Only under the conditions that our living room was still livable during the project and that it was done by next weekend. He's working around the clock to get this done.

The before pictures are just horrible. We figured some parquet flooring was underneath because all of the other homes in our area were all built with that too, but when we ripped it up, the corner which is a mess didn't have it, but as we continued to pull the carpet back the rest of the room did. The parquet in that corner had been torn away and an extra carpet pad was cut to fit the space that was torn away. It was laughable how bad it was.

Andy certainly has his work cut out for him, but he's determined to figure this out. I love his determination.

Celebrating New Life

Seeing as though this is #4, and we've had a girl and 2 boys already, when a friend asked if I was interested in a shower, I said no. So, when Andy told me to be ready by 2pm on Saturday and a friend came and picked me up, I had literally no idea what in the world was going on. She drove to a good friend of ours home and told me we were going to a shower! I literally just thought of our friend, Aimee, pictured below. But, then I thought, why would this have been a surprise for me. I was clueless!

It was such a joy to have so many friends together to celebrate these two precious lives that are about to enter this world. Aimee is pregnant with #3, and due towards the end of December with a boy, who they are naming Joseph.

This is my fourth baby and I've never had a diaper cake before. The boys were so confused when I came home with it. They were appalled and asked if they had to eat it.. Haha!

We got lots of diapers, wipes, lotions, soaps, books and a few super cute outfits. The diapers are such a blessing since I don't use cloth diapers full-time for the first month or so.

Then on Tuesday, because I had no idea Saturday was happening, I had planned for some very close friends to come over to pray for the labor and delivery and specific prayer requests I have. Since it was a different focus, they all wanted to keep our original plan as scheduled. They all brought verses of Scripture to encourage me during these intense last weeks of pregnancy and the delivery. A friend made these beautiful cupcakes and we had tea and cookies. It was such a joy to be able to share what's on my heart and know these friends are so passionate about bringing me and my family before God in prayer.

I am so blessed to have friends that celebrate number 4 like it's number 1. Every life is a miracle from God no matter how many other children have come into a family before them.

November Happenings

Gigi was able to squeeze in one more visit before Thanksgiving, and most likely the last visit before the birth (unless this creature decided to be super late, and then I'll probably beg her to come again). I needed back up pretty bad. She took care of the kids while I ran around town doing what I hope to be the last of my errands for awhile. She kept the kids busy with some fun outings and adorable crafts. What an angel she is in my life.

This is what it looks like seconds after Andy walks in the door most nights.

Andy snapped this adorable picture of Annabelle one night they were all playing outside together.

And here was the state of our home before Andy's mom came. A pile of clothes on their school table about 5 or so loads of clean laundry high. But, looking on the bright side, the clothes were clean, the pile is no longer there and it was especially helpful getting to our shrinking countdown chain for baby's arrival. I just adore this picture. It speaks a thousand words to me.

Andy is right in the middle of his busy season and needing to go into work on Saturdays. So, when a friend mentioned "Superhero Saturday" we were of course game! All you need is to be under 12 years old and in a superhero costume and you get free frozen yogurt. The kids woke up and immediately got dressed in their superhero costumes and waited patiently until I finally gave in around 11:30am to take them. They say it's going to be the second Saturday of each month. This will certainly be a monthly ritual in our home if they have anything to say about it. I have no objections.

 

Election night maps we were coloring in as we were watching the polls come in. I was too depressed the next morning to continue any lessons on the election, so here they sit unfinished.

The boys dropped off their boxes for Operation Christmas Child and much to their dismay, I forgot to take a picture of them with their boxes. So, here is Samuel with the sticker he got when we turned them in.

Annabelle is constantly sitting next to me on the couch with a pillow behind her back like I do. She asks "Mama, do girls always have pillows behind their backs when they sit on the couch?" She wants to know exactly what is and isn't appropriate girl behavior. I just love having a daughter!

Home Visit

My midwives came for my 36 week home visit. The kids were thrilled. Just as they were headed to bed, they were all able to come down to be there for the "fun stuff". They absolutely love going to my appointments and checking out how the baby is doing. For this pregnancy I've had mostly all Saturday appointments so they have stayed home with Andy while I go alone. I just love how involved the midwives allow them to be when they are there.