Wow…its been a busy weekend and week and now it is already over. Here are some highlights:
Jacob’s parents came for a visit last weekend. It was good to have them here. They haven’t been able to visit in quite some time. We went to the Waldo Flea Market where I usually find some great deals on antique/fixer-upper furniture that I love to redo (and Jacob hates), but I didn’t find any this time. Saturday night we had a great Sunday school potluck dinner. There was plenty of good food and friends.
Sunday the girls in our Sunday school class through me a beautiful baby shower at Katie’s house. I will post pictures when I get them. It was so sweet and meant so much to me with some great words of advice and encouragement from everyone and led by Suzanne. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have caring friends like I have. I know that they are truly interested in me and my family. It wasn’t just a time to get together and eat and give gifts, it was true fellowship the way God intended for it to be. I came away so encouraged and uplifted. I felt loved and Josiah got some really cute and practical things! Since then I have been busy “nesting” (yes, it is a real phenomenon). All of his things are washed and put away, his and my hospital bags are packed (Jacob is on his own), and things are nearly ready. I spent yesterday afternoon making spaghetti sauce, a lasagna, chili enchiladas, yellow rice and chicken, chicken/rice/broccoli casserole, taco meat, and hamburger patties to freeze away for future use. Today is chicken noodle soup, beef stew, pot roast, and pork chops. We will not go hungry!
Steve Saint, the son of one of the five missionaries killed in Ecuador from the book and movie “The End of the Spear” was at our church on Sunday. He was an awesome and inspiring speaker. How a man lives with, loves, and cares for the people who brutally murdered his own father the way he does is beyond me. If you don’t know the story, you should definitely rent the movie or the documentary, “Beyond the Gates of Splendor”.
On Tuesday, Jacob and I went to the doctor for yet another checkup. Everything seems to be perfectly fine. An ultrasound confirmed that Josiah’s head is down, he is for sure a boy, and that there is plenty of amniotic fluid in there! She did a size estimate for him which none of us believe. I am in trouble if it is correct. The first estimate was 7 lb 3 oz and the second, which she only did because she couldn’t believe it, was 6 lb 7 oz. Considering they can gain ½ pound a week and I could have 4 more weeks if he is a week late, then that would make him plenty big. He just doesn’t have the genetics for that! It’s a good thing those estimates are not reliable. So, for those who have had worries that I am too small, rest assured, he is fine! She thinks I’m plenty big enough for my size. In fact, she marveled at my recent weight gain and said it was only possible through water retention – lucky me!
On another note…some of you may have noticed that Jacob and I finally gave in to the pressure and are now on Facebook. I’m still not sold on it and it seems way too time consuming, but we’ll give it a try.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
God is good!
The other day Jacob and I were discussing how good God is and how his timing is always perfect whether we see it at the time or not. We have always known that we wanted kids, but never knew when the time would be right in God’s will for us. All we knew was that it was not time yet. I wondered if we would ever know for sure. Finally we couldn’t find a valid reason to wait any longer, yet we didn’t feel an overwhelming “ok” from God, but this was more than we had had up until this point.
We found out Josiah was on his way this summer, and shortly after, my mom unexpectedly moved in with us for other reasons. In December, I was laid off from my job. This posed financial issues along with the fact that I had wanted to be busy until Josiah arrived. The last thing I wanted was to sit around and wait for this new little life to join us and there was no way I’d be hired while I was in my third trimester. A few other minor unfortunate events happened and nothing seemed to be going right and I wondered about God’s timing and our decision to start a family. What was he thinking? What were we thinking? Why were these things happening at the same time? I worried that we had jumped the gun on God’s plan for us. Maybe it wasn’t the time for kids – such a big decision to be wrong on. Maybe I would not have lost my job if I wasn’t pregnant. We had never been absolutely sure, we had just moved on with life in faith. Along with the loss of my job came a move back to Gainesville from Ocala and a month later my mom moved (for the 3rd time in 7 months) to her new home just down the road from us.
That brings us to where we are now. Things have settled down (for just a short time since Josiah is due in 4 weeks) and Jacob and I were reflecting on how it all worked out perfectly. My mom moving in was a blessing in disguise because after work every night during the first trimester, I was too tired to get myself up off the couch. She cooked meals, cleaned and generally made things easier. If Josiah had made his way to us any sooner, we would not have been settled in our home and mom in hers. Moving would have been even more difficult and things would be chaotic. If he had come any later, he may not have come at all because we would have begun to see what the coming months would bring us and decided to wait. With my job loss, I was able to take the time to move and settle things (and re-settle after mom moved out). It has given me time to prepare for and anticipate Josiah. While I have to admit that I have been a bit on the bored side, I have had the opportunity to get organized, catch up on things, and do several upkeep type things I would not have normally been able to do. With it being Jacob’s slow season (and poor economy), we have also had lots of time together. I wouldn’t trade it all for anything.
God is good. He knows exactly how to turn the bad things that life throws at us to work for his glory and our good. He knew what he was doing when he led us to make the decisions we made although we had no idea what we were doing. We didn’t feel “guided”, but we always try to have faith in God and follow him and he always blesses those efforts. He saw the big picture while we were experiencing each little event. We probably still don’t even see the whole big picture yet.
We still have several problems that need to be worked out, but God always has been faithful to us and I have no reason to think that he won’t continue to be. The other day I read Isaiah 46:3-4 (God speaking to the Israelites) and it talks about how God upheld them since they were conceived and will continue to even in their old age when they have gray hair. It ends by saying “I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” What a promise!
We found out Josiah was on his way this summer, and shortly after, my mom unexpectedly moved in with us for other reasons. In December, I was laid off from my job. This posed financial issues along with the fact that I had wanted to be busy until Josiah arrived. The last thing I wanted was to sit around and wait for this new little life to join us and there was no way I’d be hired while I was in my third trimester. A few other minor unfortunate events happened and nothing seemed to be going right and I wondered about God’s timing and our decision to start a family. What was he thinking? What were we thinking? Why were these things happening at the same time? I worried that we had jumped the gun on God’s plan for us. Maybe it wasn’t the time for kids – such a big decision to be wrong on. Maybe I would not have lost my job if I wasn’t pregnant. We had never been absolutely sure, we had just moved on with life in faith. Along with the loss of my job came a move back to Gainesville from Ocala and a month later my mom moved (for the 3rd time in 7 months) to her new home just down the road from us.
That brings us to where we are now. Things have settled down (for just a short time since Josiah is due in 4 weeks) and Jacob and I were reflecting on how it all worked out perfectly. My mom moving in was a blessing in disguise because after work every night during the first trimester, I was too tired to get myself up off the couch. She cooked meals, cleaned and generally made things easier. If Josiah had made his way to us any sooner, we would not have been settled in our home and mom in hers. Moving would have been even more difficult and things would be chaotic. If he had come any later, he may not have come at all because we would have begun to see what the coming months would bring us and decided to wait. With my job loss, I was able to take the time to move and settle things (and re-settle after mom moved out). It has given me time to prepare for and anticipate Josiah. While I have to admit that I have been a bit on the bored side, I have had the opportunity to get organized, catch up on things, and do several upkeep type things I would not have normally been able to do. With it being Jacob’s slow season (and poor economy), we have also had lots of time together. I wouldn’t trade it all for anything.
God is good. He knows exactly how to turn the bad things that life throws at us to work for his glory and our good. He knew what he was doing when he led us to make the decisions we made although we had no idea what we were doing. We didn’t feel “guided”, but we always try to have faith in God and follow him and he always blesses those efforts. He saw the big picture while we were experiencing each little event. We probably still don’t even see the whole big picture yet.
We still have several problems that need to be worked out, but God always has been faithful to us and I have no reason to think that he won’t continue to be. The other day I read Isaiah 46:3-4 (God speaking to the Israelites) and it talks about how God upheld them since they were conceived and will continue to even in their old age when they have gray hair. It ends by saying “I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” What a promise!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Maternity Photos
Here are a couple of the pictures my uncle took of Jacob and I at 33 weeks. Here is a link to more: http://picasaweb.google.com/blessed309/MaternityPhotosAt33Weeks?feat=email#
This is only a small fraction of them. He did a great job, so it was difficult to pick our favorites to show everyone.
I can't wait to get some of Josiah!
Monday, February 2, 2009
34 Weeks (almost)
To wash or not to wash…that is the question.
Yesterday we had our first baby shower with family and church friends down home and they were VERY generous! I am itching to get things washed, organized, and put away, but there is no point in doing it too soon. Besides, what if he comes out a girl and I have all this washed boy stuff??? I asked my doctor this morning at our appointment (everything is fine) what the chances are that he’s a girl. She said it was slim, but she will do an ultrasound next time to check on everything. So, maybe I’ll wait to wash. It’s amazing what dilemmas you have when you are jobless and have too much free time.
FYI…for those of you that care…my doctor said that the latest study shows that running a ceiling fan while your baby sleeps decreases risk of SIDS. They think it prevents carbon dioxide from building up around their face. Who knows if all of the preventive measures help anything, but what the heck, that’s an easy one to do.
Anyway, about the shower…we got some pretty great stuff and had a great time visiting and laughing with everyone. Jacob came and dutifully recorded who gave what. It was good that he had a task! He did a good j
ob and is being a perfect daddy. One of Josiah’s toys even got broken in by my niece, Savannah. It was a little horse flashlight that whinnies and trots. She loves horses and was too cute with it! She enjoyed loving on Josiah’s other cousin, Samantha, who is nearly a year old and just about to learn to walk. His other cousin Mikayla (yes, he’s going to be surrounded by girls!) helped me open presents. Once we got everything home, it pretty much filled up Josiah’s nursery, so I have some work to do. Jacob could hardly stand himself and just had to put together the stroller/carseat combo his mom got us. It went much more smoothly than the crib and bassinet did. There were no temper tantrums thrown and no spare parts like we have for the crib. Does anyone know where the 2 extra springs go? I think he just likes things with wheels!
Yesterday we had our first baby shower with family and church friends down home and they were VERY generous! I am itching to get things washed, organized, and put away, but there is no point in doing it too soon. Besides, what if he comes out a girl and I have all this washed boy stuff??? I asked my doctor this morning at our appointment (everything is fine) what the chances are that he’s a girl. She said it was slim, but she will do an ultrasound next time to check on everything. So, maybe I’ll wait to wash. It’s amazing what dilemmas you have when you are jobless and have too much free time.
FYI…for those of you that care…my doctor said that the latest study shows that running a ceiling fan while your baby sleeps decreases risk of SIDS. They think it prevents carbon dioxide from building up around their face. Who knows if all of the preventive measures help anything, but what the heck, that’s an easy one to do.
Anyway, about the shower…we got some pretty great stuff and had a great time visiting and laughing with everyone. Jacob came and dutifully recorded who gave what. It was good that he had a task! He did a good j
ob and is being a perfect daddy. One of Josiah’s toys even got broken in by my niece, Savannah. It was a little horse flashlight that whinnies and trots. She loves horses and was too cute with it! She enjoyed loving on Josiah’s other cousin, Samantha, who is nearly a year old and just about to learn to walk. His other cousin Mikayla (yes, he’s going to be surrounded by girls!) helped me open presents. Once we got everything home, it pretty much filled up Josiah’s nursery, so I have some work to do. Jacob could hardly stand himself and just had to put together the stroller/carseat combo his mom got us. It went much more smoothly than the crib and bassinet did. There were no temper tantrums thrown and no spare parts like we have for the crib. Does anyone know where the 2 extra springs go? I think he just likes things with wheels! All the pictures are posted at http://picasaweb.google.com/blessed309/JosiahSFirstBabyShower?authkey=Av3o5sYzgzc&feat=directlink
Let me know if you have a problem b/c I've never done this.
On Saturday, my uncle did a pregnancy photo shoot with us (no bare bellies, though). He did a great job and we got some nice shots. I will post some as soon as I am able.
On another note…my mom closes on her house tomorrow. She is very excited! We will be prepping the house this week and move her in this weekend. Pray that all goes well and there are no hang ups. It will be strange not to have her here, but at least she’ll be nearby.
Sorry for the babbling post of random thoughts. I seem to be good at that.
On another note…my mom closes on her house tomorrow. She is very excited! We will be prepping the house this week and move her in this weekend. Pray that all goes well and there are no hang ups. It will be strange not to have her here, but at least she’ll be nearby.
Sorry for the babbling post of random thoughts. I seem to be good at that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
