So, about pregnancy

36 weeks, 3 days. Almost full term. Almost done being pregnant for the second time. Almost ready.

On an online forum someone posed the question, "What will you miss most about being pregnant?"

Really? Nothing. There is not a thing that I will miss about being pregnant, except maybe having the option to choose approximately when I sleep. Once Lizzie came, I never looked back.

That's not to say that I don't enjoy feeling movement, or getting a little extra courtesy at the grocery store. It's just that being pregnant is all about the hopefulness of what is to come. It's like waiting for a seed to come up out of the ground. The germination process is not what it's about, and frankly, it's hardly the fun part. (Perhaps the reason I haven't written a whole lot about my pregnancy has something to do with the fact that I don't want to come across as a complainer. I like the end result of pregnancy: a child. I am just not a fan of pregnancy in and of itself. Or maybe I just don't like my pregnant self all that much.)

Feeling her roll and kick and punch me in the bladder is all well and good, but inspecting her little feet and having her pull my hair with her little tiny fingers are infinitely better. Seeing my belly move when she gets hiccups or suddenly decides to change position is nothing like what it will be to look in her big eyes. Hearing her heartbeat (or as Lizzie says, "heart beep") on the doppler every couple of weeks is fun and reassuring, but I can't wait to hear her actual sweet little voice.

Sorm Fopt

I suppose you'll need a translation?

"S'orm Fopt" is the phonetic spelling of "storm stopped" in Lizzie-speak. We've just had a series of pretty intense thunderstorms blow through in the past few hours. At one point, when the trees were rocking and the dog was pacing, I told Lizzie that we would pray and ask Jesus to keep us safe in the storm. She had just gotten up from a nap and was still in that dazed, just-woke-up state. Her face brightened when I suggested we pray, because she gets "s'ared" when there is "tunner outside".

She likes to pray; she likes the story in her Baby's First Bible about Jesus being in the boat with his friends, and Jesus told the wind to stop blowing and the waves to be still, and Jesus could make the storm stop.

"Desus mate s'orm fop."

So we prayed. And the storm blew by much more quickly than I'd anticipated. Even minutes later on the radar on the weather update, there was a dip where there was less color over our area.

There were further waves of thunderstorm, but when Lizzie got scared as I tucked her into bed (it was quite an extended tucking in process) she asked me several times to pray: "Desus amen."

Because Desus mate s'orm go 'way. Because He likes to prove Himself to the little ones.

Lizzie's exclamations 5-23-11

Today has been a fun one for Lizzie quotes.

I always think to myself that I will write down all the funny and cute and smart things Lizzie says, but usually forget to. I guess Facebook has its place in some way for recording some of these things, but it really doesn't count. Let's face it; once a status update becomes old news of 22 hours ago (or if you're really popular, 3 hours ago), it is never heard from again.

Today Lizzie counted to ten without any coaching or prompting. She was in her high chair, minding her own business while I was getting ready to clean her up from lunch (rather, her pre-nap "I'm hungry" stalling routine cheese sandwich), when she started counting her fingers. "Two, fwee, fwee..." I almost stopped listening because she usually gets stuck at "fwee" like a broken record. But to my great surprise, she kept going. "Fo', fy, siss," I couldn't help it, I interrupted. "Wow, Lizzie! You counted to six!" She grinned up at me, then went back to her fingers. "Se'en," then moved to her other hand to finish, "Eight, nine, ten!"

Ten fingers. So what if she thinks the first seven of them are on her right hand. But at least she has ten in total!

While in the bath tub tonight, Lizzie was splashing up a storm with her toys. Once the waves subsided, her toys were floating in a spiral.

She started to exclaim, "Ring around rosie! Ring around rosie!" (Except she can't say her "R"s yet, so it was more along the lines of "wing wound wosie," which is kind of cuter.)

A few minutes later, she had her drenched washcloth draped over her head, dripping water down her face, thus, "Waning on you!" (Raining on you!)

Yes, "You" equals "me" and "Me" equals "Mommy". 'Cause that's how it makes sense in her head.

Unofficially

I took an unofficial break from pretty much all things blogs last week. I didn't write any. I only read a few (my Google reader had some 500 unread blogs that I sort of skimmed marked as read this past weekend). And I had a great week.

I've been getting up before 7 (most mornings) and having coffee, a good little quiet time, making something of a plan for the day, and usually doing a bit of exercise. Most mornings I can get all of this in before Lizzie wakes up. This is why I love it when my husband is on a routine that gets him up and out the door early in the morning, which also makes us ready to go to bed before midnight each night. All these things don't happen on a retail or unemployment schedule--or lack thereof.

Then during naptimes, I have been either getting in some reading or doing stuff around the house that needs to be done. Like de-cluttering. (Don't tell anyone but I actually borrowed and read through The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cleaning this week. I have 2 more weeks before I have to return it to the library, and I'm hoping I will actually implement at least some of it before taking it back.) But so far, I've just been trying to uncover the surfaces in our home. If I can find our furniture, I think I'll have a much better chance at maintaining a neat and peaceful home. At least for the next 2 months.

So, not much has been done in the realm of blogging.

However, I feel like it's a good time to give a brief update.

Lizzie is 23 months old. Almost 2. Sleeping in a big girl bed. Singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" into a microphone. Parroting what she hears. Walking around the house with her shopping cart (with her baby doll or puppy dog sitting in the front basket), putting things into it, and saying, "Buy diss." She has cut the first of four of her 2-year molars, and seems to be working on the next one. She is mastering the art of manipulation by cuteness. She "helps" me sweep the floor, water the garden, and clean up. (The garden currently still has one cherry tomato, one cucumber, and now 4 (hopefully) lettuce seedlings.) She still can't say her "k" sounds. She says "wuv you" when she gives hugs. She seems to be catching on to the idea that she will be a big sister, and that there is a "bay-ee hiding" in Mommy's tummy.

Speaking of which, I am 32 weeks pregnant. There are only 8 weeks left to go, Lord willing. I'm really hoping there aren't 9 weeks left. I'll try not to complain about it too much, but I just have to say that I am still not the biggest fan of being pregnant. I had to break out the support hose on Sunday; it helped the insane swelling I've been having in my left foot/ankle/leg, but I'm not sure if it was worth it. Part of me would rather have swelling than wear nylons. I haven't taken a picture of my pregnant self in a while, though I know I should. If for no other reason than to see how my size compares to what I looked like at this point last time. I have a feeling I'm bigger.

Every once in a while I get concerned about giving birth again, but the other night, after seeing a video of a goat being born, I was considering that I was glad we deliver little, soft, human babies, rather than anything huge or with hooves. I'm pretty sure being a mother rhinoceros would be the worst thing ever. Most other babies don't grow their horns or antlers until they're older. Not so the rhinos.

My mom's book release party/signing went really well. Here are some pictures. It was a lot of fun, and it was a huge success, due largely to a fantastic turnout of friends from church.

I am strongly considering venturing out into a business. Ambitious, I know. Especially for someone who is expecting a second child, and is somewhat lazy. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of risk, and there could be a fair amount of profit, even if I do get off to a slow start. We're praying about it, but for the most part we have peace.

Well, it's been about half an hour of nap time consumed here, and I have some more decluttering to do before I can feel like I crossed off much of significance on my To Do list today.

This may unofficially be my only post of this week. And I am OK with that.

Coffee and Meg's Book Launch!

Good morning!

This week has been a good one.

Sam started his full time job on Monday.  It's been great for him to be in a new schedule - a regular schedule - one that gets him up in the mornings and allows him to be home for dinner.

Sam's schedule has impacted my schedule, of course.  I've been able to get up before Lizzie most mornings, have coffee and a quiet time, and once actually did a complete 20 minute workout.  I thought about exercising this morning, but had vacuumed yesterday, and apparently pulled my lower ab muscles, so I will pass on that for a few days.  Pregnancy has its perks: Sam says he'll take over the vacuuming from here on out. 

Tomorrow is a big day.  It's Meg Moseley's book launch party and her first book signing!  When Sparrows Fall was released on Tuesday, May 3, by Waterbook Multnomah, and you can actually buy it off a shelf now!  It is real.

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Mom's book, follow this link.


http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bookcontests/.

In fact, you can win her book, plus a book of your choice from among these titles:
Be sure to include the contest code for the book you’d like to win.

• Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner (Contest Code: MMLIW)
• Anna Finch and the Hired Gun by Kathleen Y’Barbo (Contest Code: MMAFATHG)
• Shades of Morning by Marlo Schalesky (Contest Code: MMSOM)
• The Daughter’s Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick (Contest Code: MMTDW)
• Indivisible by Kristen Heitzmann (Contest Code: MMIKH)
• Lilies in Moonlight by Allison Pittman (Contest Code: MMLIM)
• The Harvest of Grace by Cindy Woodsmall, Advance Reading Copy (Contest Code: MMTHOG)
• Deadly Ties by Vicki Hinze (Contest Code: MMDT)

I can't linger online very long today, since I've got to make 5 dozen Snickerdoodles to bring to the launch party, run to Costco and the bank, and ideally even make dinner. And Lizzie is telling me that I have to "fix house" made of Lincoln Logs that she knocked over for the 3rd time.

But next week I will try to get a  bit of a recap of the launch party.  It will be quite the event!

Have a happy weekend!

Would you like to join this little blog hop?  Go ahead, it's fun!

Garden Update

You may remember that I had shared a fantastic plan for our Square Foot Garden for this spring.  It was a tad  bit ambitious.

Well, that ambition has been checked.  It's really due to the need for our land to be graded.  Our back yard turns into a muddy bog when it rains.  And we're kind of afraid that one side of the house is sinking and making our drywall crack.

Cute, right?  I mean the garden.

And we have at least 8 pine trees that need to go before we feel that our roof is safe.

So, considering that all these yard improvement projects will cost us a small fortune, and because a truck would have to drive directly over our garden plot to deliver fill dirt, we have decided to hold off on the full plan.  It's probably better to start slower, anyway, considering what all is going on this summer.

Thus, our abbreviated garden.

Yes, my Texan friends, that is a Buc-ee's shirt.  Eat your heart out.

This is only 2' by 2' and it is actually only a leftover piece from a container garden that my dad made to surprise my mom for their anniversary.  There are two plants in it so far: one cherry tomato, and one cucumber.  They will need a trellis, but that isn't quite necessary yet.



There are 2 more square feet available, and I am debating what exactly to plant there.  I think I will start putting in a few lettuce plants each week for a little while, until I have a good little salad bar setup.



We also have 2 blueberry bushes, one of which has a handful of berries coming along!  I'm hoping rabbits and birds don't steal them before we get to them. 

Do you have a garden going?  How does your garden grow?



My New Adventure is nothing like Alicia's this week, but I suppose we're adventuring along the same lines this year. :) Congratulations to her growing family!

Lessons Learned from a Little Engine

Or, God Really Meets Us Where We Are

A few months ago we had to renew The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper three times.  It has been 2 months since we returned it, and still, Lizzie quotes from it:  "Chug, chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff.  Ding-dong, ding-dong."  She read it to the dog.  She read it to her baby doll.  She read it to herself if no one would sit still for her to read it.  And she requested it every time I sat down to read her a book. 

If you think this is about the Little Blue Engine, who says, "I think I can..." and pulls the little train over the mountain for the good boys and girls on the other side, then you will have to keep reading, because it's not. 

I had just come out of my 4-month-long first trimester (yes, my first trimester was 4 months long... or at least felt that way), in which I was run down, miserable, and mildly depressed.  Then came February, in which some energy returned.  Sam was working, I was getting back in the swing of living again, and the weather was getting slightly warmer.  Things were looking up.  But I wasn't.

The fact is, I was struggling to get out of bed, to make meals, to have patience, to get--let alone keep--the house in order, and to just function.  Quiet time? Prayer? What were those?

Thus the only way for God to get my attention was through what I was doing every day: Reading picture books.  Every day--sometimes multiple times a day--I read The Little Engine That Could.

I think there are two kinds of women in the world.  The kind who over-commit and run themselves ragged trying to do a million things because they said they would; and the kind who are terrified of over-committing and rarely volunteer their time or resources, for fear of running themselves ragged.  I am typically the latter.  My first response is not usually, "I think I can." 

Enter the Old, Tired Engine.

I wish I could find a picture of the Old, Tired Engine on Google Images, because it is a very pathetic looking engine.  All the dolls and toys become so disappointed after asking the Old, Tired Engine to help them.  But the Old, Tired Engine explains, "I cannot; I am too tired.  I must rest my weary wheels," then he chugs slowly past them to the roundhouse (where engines go when they are not busy) with this refrain:

"I cannot.  I cannot."

Finally on a Sunday this spring our pastor spoke on repentance and refreshing.  My spirit was stirred, though I wasn't able to put it into words.  I just knew a shift had occurred in my heart.  Then shortly after I finally felt the words of the silly story pierce my exhaustion and prod my heart.  Why do I say that I cannot?  What is keeping me from doing what is before me to do?  What keeps me from helping?  From blessing?  From at least being kind?

Nothing, honestly.  Only a lie that kept me saying, "I cannot." 

I am not bounding out of bed every morning, of course.  Some days go better than others.  But I have hope that I can do the things that are in my heart to do--that God has placed me where I am to be a blessing.  I am not saved and redeemed and blessed in order to preserve myself.  Indeed, it is not by my works that I am saved, nor by my rest that I am preserved, but I am appointed and "created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Eph 2:8-10

Even when that simply means reading picture book after picture book, and preparing and cleaning up meal after meal.  The truth of it is, I can.

I'm linking up with the girls from Soli Deo Gloria today. :)