What's Missing?

We have a lot of new stuff at our house:

A car seat

A cradle (handmade for us by Don's uncle)

A changing table
And lots of other baby stuff.

I have had four showers now, and we have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams. We really haven't had to buy anything that we didn't have gift cards for.

So what's missing?

No, the baby isn't here quite yet. I'm getting a little impatient (not to mention enormous), but he should be here any day now. Please keep us in your prayers as we make this huge transition. I'll keep you posted.

Shower of Blessings

I am blessed. I know that, but sometimes I get a reminder, as I did yesterday.

Some friends at work gave me a baby shower. I got lots of "material" gifts (shown below, including a number of gift cards as well), but I was even more blessed by the work people did to pull it together, and "shower" me with their love. Many of their gifts were handmade (clothes, blankets and quilts for my baby, etc.). These are gifts and memories I will always cherish.

Today I am 8 months pregnant. As far as I can tell, Baby and I are both healthy. I have another shower this weekend that my church friends are giving me. God is providing for our needs even as He is blessing us with this baby boy. Of course I have panic attacks from time to time about everything that could go wrong, but God is faithful, and I trust that whatever comes in the weeks and months and years ahead will be in His hands, as He is currently reminding me through the many ways He is blessing me.

A Day to Celebrate

Five years ago today I was walking down the aisle at Hickory Grove Presbyterian Church to be married to a wonderful man. It was his birthday.

Now it's his birthday again, and we're celebrating 5 years of marriage. And we are very thankful. Thankful to have each other as companions in this crazy world. Thankful for our health, for a roof over our heads, food on the table, our families, our dogs and all the many ways God has blessed us in these 5 years.

This year we are especially thankful because God is blessing us again with a baby boy due in October. In some ways we are afraid of what lies ahead for us and our son, but we just have to trust that it's all in God's hands. And He is good. He has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams, and I pray that He will continue to do so as we journey through this life together.

Happy birthday AND happy anniversary to my husband Don. And many, many more.

We're Not Telling!

Whenever I run into someone who I haven't seen in a while, the first question they ask me, once we talk about me being pregnant, is, "Do you know if you're having a boy or a girl?" Well, I'll answer that one. Then comes the inevitable next question: "What's his name?" We've decided we're not going to tell anyone this, for two reasons: we reserve the right to change our minds (don't want any personalized gifts with the wrong name on them), plus we want to have something to announce when he's born. After all, "It's a boy!" will be old news by then.

Some people seem downright offended when I tell them this, and others badger me endlessly about it. So, I mostly just tell people now that we haven't decided yet, which is true. We thought we had a name we liked, and then I woke up in the middle of the night one night realizing all three names had 6 letters. After Ronald (Wilson) Reagan got accused of being the antichrist for the same reason (the 666 thing), I always thought I'd make a point not to do that. So, we're back to square one. At least for one of his names.

In other news, I just bought a new "wedding" ring. My hands are starting to swell, and my real one had gotten so tight that I was afraid if I waited much longer, I wouldn't be able to get it off. So, since I don't want to look like an unwed mother, I got a cheap one to wear until the baby is born. Unfortunately, cheap ones only come in full sizes, so this one is pretty huge. I may grow into it, though, if my hands swell any more.

I've passed the 6-month mark. Here's my latest photo: As you can see, my belly is getting quite large. I'm starting to feel handicapped: can't bend over to pick things up, have trouble getting up out of bed and other things that I have always taken for granted. And of course, it's going to get worse. But in 3 more months, I'll have my body back and a little baby as well, so I just keep reminding myself of that and try not to complain. Truly, I have much to be thankful for.

Little Pumpkin

My garden isn't doing as well as last year. We have had a considerably hotter, drier summer, plus I don't have a lot of energy to brave the heat and get out and weed it too often. So, we get what we get. So far we've gotten some green beans, peppers, sugar snap peas and broccoli, plus strawberries and various herbs. The tomatoes, potatoes, black-eyed peas and cucumbers are looking pretty promising as well.

An interesting thing that has happened is that I have three healthy pumpkin plants that I didn't plant. Apparently the seeds came out of my compost pile (one of them is growing in my compost pile and climbing my neighbor's fence). This little pumpkin, which has worked its way out of the garden and into the grass, is almost ready to pick.

Meanwhile, my other "little pumpkin" continues to grow and is apparently healthy. He is moving around a lot and, other than combatting the heat, having trouble sleeping and difficulty breathing, I am feeling pretty good. I am making progress toward getting the nursery ready, and we are doing what we can to otherwise prepare for his arrival. I'm not someone who thinks we have to have everything the market has to offer for babies, but there are a lot of things they really do need, so we are thinking about all of that and trying to pull it all together. People have given us a few things, which helps a lot.

We are praying each day for this child: for his health and ours, as well as lots of wisdom so we can raise him well. We pray for his salvation, for the country and world he will grow up in, and even for the wife that he will hopefully one day have, that God will protect her from evil and prepare them for each other. We pray for our finances, that God will provide for our needs so that hopefully I won't need to work outside the home and and can focus on being a mom, especially while our son is young. We know that these things are out of our control for the most part, so it has been a lesson for us in surrendering to God and a time of growing in our faith.

I am 23-1/2 weeks along now. Some days it feels like it is flying by, and at other times, he can't get here soon enough. At any rate, the time will come when it comes, and hopefully we will be ready.

It's a . . .

Yes folks, I'm still alive and well. Life has just turned crazy on me!

We had the "big" ultrasound today. It's a boy! It appears he's healthy, except there was a small concern that one of his kidneys was bigger than the other. They didn't pinpoint it as a problem, just something to watch, so we're hoping and praying that it's NOT a problem.

He's a feisty little guy, moving around constantly, making it hard for them to get a good look at what they needed to see. I already knew this, though, as he has been kicking me regularly for the past couple of weeks!

Here's another sneak preview of what he looks like:We don't have a name picked out yet. At least the news today narrows our options. (I guess "Holly" is out -- oh well; Don didn't like it anyway.)

I can't wait to meet him personally! The due date is still officially October 17, but they said he looked a little bigger than 21 weeks, so maybe he'll be born on my birthday: 10/10/10. ( :

Praise You in the Storm

This song, by Casting Crowns, has more or less been my theme song over the past couple of weeks.



My baby still hasn't moved into the position it's supposed to be in, though, thankfully, I haven't had to make any more trips to the emergency room, and the doctor is still optimistic that the problem may correct itself. So I'm trying to be optimistic too. And not worry. And not be anxious. And praise God in spite of it all.

After I had been singing this song for days, it was sung at my Bible study on Wednesday as "special music." Think God is trying to tell me something??

This weekend, the song took on a whole new meaning, as Nashville and the surrounding areas experienced record-setting rainfalls. Many parts of town are still flooded. You can view some pictures here. Thankfully, our house wasn't affected too much, other than a small leak and some water in our garage. We pretty much stayed home the whole weekend. Our church service was cancelled, as were many other churches and events around town, and most of the schools in the area are closed today.

Please keep the people of middle Tennessee who have been greatly affected by this in your prayers. And please keep my little baby in your prayers too. And me. In the meantime, I will keep trying to praise God. Even in the storms.

Blessed

While the past week has been a whirlwind, last night Don and I had to step back and be thankful. I am okay. The baby is okay. While I have had to endure some unpleasant things, it doesn't appear there will be any long-term problems for the baby or me. This is going to cost us a lot of money, though thankfully we have good insurance, and we won't have to pay another deductible when the baby is born.

So nothing really bad has happened. And a lot of good things have happened. We have been shown SO much love, and concern by those around us! The day I came home from the hospital (when we were both trying to get some much-needed sleep!), I counted 18 phone calls we got from concerned friends and family. There have been many more since, plus cards, e-mails and other forms of caring. People Don hardly knows have been coming up to him at work, asking how his wife is doing and assuring him they are praying for us. We have never felt so loved!

God is faithful. He is taking care of us and using those around us to remind us of that.

We are optimistic that the worst is over. I went to the doctor yesterday for a follow-up visit and he said things were looking better, though still not exactly as they should be. I will see him again in another week. Please keep us in your prayers -- that this problem will be resolved and that I will give birth to a healthy baby in mid-October.

A Wild Few Days

Well, things have been a little crazy for the past few days, which included a trip to the emergency room and an overnight stay in the hospital and some other unpleasant things I won't bother to mention.

I am having pregnancy complications. Apparently, I am carrying the baby in an odd way, which is causing me some big problems. This is something that happens only in very rare cases.

As of now, thankfully, the baby is fine. The doctor was planning to do a procedure on me this morning (under anesthesia) to try to resolve the problem, but lots of people are praying for us, and when he checked me out he said things were looking a little better and decided not to do it. This is not to say he won't need to at all, but I am choosing to believe God is answering our prayers, and this procedure can be avoided.

This is a time in my life when all I can do it trust in God, because things are completely out of my control. I want very much for this baby to be okay, but I know that whether it is or it isn't, God has a plan that's greater than mine. I would very much appreciate any prayers for the baby and for Don and me.

. . . and here's a "sneak peek" we got yesterday.

Overwhelmed

If I were going to choose a single word to define the past few weeks, since I learned I was pregnant, it would be “overwhelmed.” When I first found out the news, I was overwhelmed with a whole gamut of emotions ranging from excitement to fear to thankfulness to doubt that it was even real. (I’m getting past that one, now that my belly is getting bigger by the hour!)

In the weeks since, I have been overwhelmed with exhaustion, trying to just get through day-to-day life at about half my normal energy level. Rarely does a day pass when I don’t need a nap, and even then, I find it hard to muster up the energy to do the things I normally do.

Now that the word is out, Don and I have both been overwhelmed with the love, the joy, the excitement that those around us have shown. When he announced our news in church on Easter Sunday, the entire congregation responded with applause and cheers, followed by hugs and lots and lots words of happiness and encouragement. This has been echoed by the many others who have found out our news since then. It is so heartwarming to both of us to have people be so very supportive and joyful for us.

I’m sure I will have plenty more overwhelmingness in the days ahead: long nights with little sleep after the baby is born, the responsibilities of being a parent, and other things I can’t yet imagine. I am trying not to get overwhelmed with worry about my health and the baby’s, what kind of world this child will grow up in, how we will manage financially, etc. God is in control. He loves us and gave us this child for a reason, and I know He will take care of us all. I am so thankful for that and so thankful that He works all things together for the good of those who love Him.

And I am overwhelmingly thankful for all of you, who have shared in our joy and been supportive to us during this precious time in our lives.

Good News

Well, I didn’t want to blog about it until I told some people personally, and I didn’t want to tell anyone before I was 12 weeks along, but the time has come.

I’m having a baby!

God is good. He is also full of surprises! The baby is due just after my 44th birthday. One day, shortly after I found out the news, I was questioning, “Why now?” “Why, after we’ve been married for 4½ years?” We had certainly thought that, especially at my age, if it was going to happen, it would have happened long before now.

The answer came to me clearly in the form of a passage of scripture that I have grown to love in recent months since studying the book of Acts in my Bible study:

“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” Acts 17:26-27

God determined the time and place this child would live from the very beginning, so he/she would seek Him. To add to my reassurance, this was the passage covered in our sermon at church this past Sunday, the day we announced our news there.

We are so thankful for this gift God is bestowing upon us. We are trying not to fear the many uncertainties that lie ahead, but just to trust that our child’s life is in His hands.

Another sweet reminder God gave me came in the form of an old Gaither song we sang today in Bible study, which I hadn’t heard in years:

How sweet to hold our newborn baby
And feel the pride and joy he gives,
But greater still, the calm assurance
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.