The Waiting Game

We've officially entered the stage of pregnancy that I call "The Waiting Game." This is the period when my baby could be born, and she would be okay healthwise, but at the same time, I want her to stay put until she's just a bit more baked. (I know, the comparing the womb to an oven seems odd at times, but I guess it makes sense.) So, we wait. We don't know when she'll decide it's time to join our family. It could be tomorrow, it could be on my actual due date, or it could be after it. I was two days late with Brooklyn and I remember those last four weeks just droning on forever and ever. I never thought that the days would pass, let alone weeks. But, they finally did and what did we have to show for all our waiting? Our precious Brooklyn.

To be honest, I am not the most patient person in the world. It's something that definitely doesn't come naturally to me, but it's something I work on every day. Having patience as a mother is pretty important especially when you're trying to set a good example for your kids and help them gain this trait. I will admit that I am not always perfect in this department, actually often times I fail. So, when it comes to having to be patient for the arrival of my baby girl, it's a definite struggle, especially when I keep having contractions on and off all day long and some of them are way more painful than others.

We have her room complete. The walls are painted. The new bumper pads and curtains that my mom made are in their places. The new carpet is installed. All of the baby clothes size newborn to three months are washed, and put in their spot either in the closet or in the dresser. The carseat, swing and bouncer cover are washed and all items are ready to be used. The letters are strung across her wall, announcing that yes, it is her own room. (We're not releasing her name until her birth). Our family room has been rearranged to make room for baby items, such as a baby swing, a Graco bed, etc. The outfit Brooklyn purchased for her is washed and tucked neatly away in our new diaper bag. The only major thing left to do is moving Brooklyn's car seat over and installing the car seat base in the back of the Mommy-Mobile. That and packing hospital bags, but really I don't like to do that too soon because I'm afraid I will have to wait even longer. We even have solid arrangements made for where Brooklyn will go when Mommy and Daddy are at the hospital having her sister. We have preregistered at the hospital and have taken a hospital tour to know what to expect on the big day. And, my weekly doctor's visits begin next week.

But, there's still one thing that is missing from all this baby preparedness and that's our baby. Brooklyn asks me from time to time when her baby sister is coming. I tell her I don't know. One time she responded to her my not knowing with "maybe November." Hmm, baby girl, I don't think so. That would drive this pregnant mama a little insane, and besides my doctor wouldn't let me be that overdue. But, when she said it, it did bring a smile to my face.

We cannot wait to meet our little girl. The one that we found out in January we were going to have. The one that we struggled (I mean really struggled) to come up with a name for. The one who will reside in the purple room in the southwest corner of our home. The one who will make our first-born princess a big sister. The one who will depend on us for everything that she needs. The one that will grow our hearts even more. The one that will change the dynamic of our family. I am reminded of the saying that the best things come to those that wait? So, I guess, let the waiting game begin...

Support our Troops

My brother-in-law serving over in Iraq
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PRAYER FOR THE TROOPS
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you;
not as the world gives, do I give to you.
Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."
-John 14:27

Father, we approach You as the Most High God. We declare that You are the Creator of all things. You set the boundaries of the sea, and stretched out the heavens above. When You act Lord, no one can reverse it, and there is no one who can deliver out of Your hand.

We ask Lord that Your mighty hand of protection would be with our troops, that You would surround them with Your favor as a shield. Bless them in the land, and do not surrender them to the desire of their foes.

I pray that Your hand of protection would guard them from chemical and biological agents. Give our soldiers wisdom in staying clear of these weapons, and thwart the plans of the enemy to use them.

I ask for discernment in separating civilians from soldiers. Help our troops to protect the innocent, and to watch over the needy as they liberate the Iraqi people.

Go before them Lord as they press into the battle and be their rear guard. Surround them with songs of deliverance, and keep them from the hands of the enemy.

In Jesus name, Amen.

From the mouth of babes

As we headed back toward home after my 34-week check-up today, Brooklyn and I were talking about what the rest of the day would hold for us. As we talked about how fun it's going to be to spend part of our evening blowing bubbles after dinner, I looked in my rearview mirror to find a little girl that looked like she was just about to go to sleep any minute. We kept talking, and when I told her that I had to make a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up not only a few things for dinner, but also a few things that we needed in order to make the muffins that she had picked out, she started breathing harder. She told me she needed to talk to me. She said, "Mommy, I really think I need a nap. I am tired. We will go home, read books, have milk and take a nap. You're exhausted too." When I told her that I promise that the grocery store trip would be short and then we'd go home and nestle her in her bed for an afternoon nap, she started over with the same thing. She said it a few more times. When I made the right hand turn instead of going straight which would have led us to our garage, she started crying a little telling me that we had already talked about it (twice) and that she didn't want to do anything but take a nap. When we arrived at the grocery store, she immediately turned her attention to looking for beetle bug cars, a favorite car hobby of hers. By the time we ran into the store, picked up our items, and were in the checkout, I was holding her and she was laying her head on my shoulder. As we neared the checkout lady, she noticed a few magazines behind me. She looked up from my shoulder with this huge grin and said, "look Mommy, it's Nastia Liukin." I turned around and did see the same magazine cover and asked her if she would like to have this magazine since she was so brave and such a good girl for doing something that she really didn't want to do in the first place. She got an even bigger smile as I placed the maagazine into the cart. As I was buckling her safe in her carseat I thanked her for being patient with me as I had to run that quick errand. I told her that now we could go home and take that long awaited and desired nap. She looked up at me and said, "You're the best Mommy." Sometimes it really is the smallest things in life that remind you how blessed you are and how much you have. I really feel lucky.

Simply in awe..

I feel blessed beyond belief, overwhelmed with love, respect and admiration for my wonderful husband. My husband, without one selfish thought, took on an undesirable task, something that he really didn't want to do, but did it nevertheless. He did because it needed done. It wasn't glamorous, fun, or anything to boast about. Now that he's nearing the completion of it, I look back at the effort and responsibility he took upon himself, and I find myself in awe. In awe of this amazing man that I married. In awe because he never requested a thank you, he never played the martyr and he never expected anything from me in return. I'm proud to be his wife and I'm proud that he's the father of my children. He's just simply amazing, and I don't know if I say it enough.

A Perfect Description

If you ever wonder exactly what I do for my job, the video on this blog post sums it up perfectly.

WIthin 90 minutes

We just got hit with a slow moving thunderstorm that brought some lightning and thunder, but with rain so heavy it left three inches in our rain gauge in a span of 90 minutes. The streets were flooding, forcing the heavy rainfall onto the sidewalks. One corner of our yard is submerged under standing water and to top it all off we were under a tornado warning with sirens blaring that sent our family with dog in tow to the basement just in case. It's still raining, but very lightly and the all clear siren has sounded.

Here's a couple pictures of our backyard swimming pool. Brooklyn sure had fun splashing in the puddles. Kevin had fun watching the rain come down commenting about how this storm made up for all the rain we didn't get this summer. And, me, I loved the rain, but the tornado warning and rushing the family to the basement sent this pregnant mama into stress/panic mode. Now that all is clear, I'm feeling better and Kevin and Brooklyn are diving into our Nerds stash. At least our grass will be really green!

I'm Guilty!

I got accused of being "ornery" today by one of my co-workers. Hmm.

I work for a newspaper selling advertising space. We started a new special page for this week's edition and there were a couple errors on it and I pointed them out. The person I pointed them out to is super touchy about things they do, so instead of fixing it, fingers were pointed back at me. But, hey I guess if caring what something looks like and wanting it to look good is labeled as ornery, I am definitely guilty as charged. And, proud of it!!!