Belly update

I aim to please! Amy asked for a belly update pic - so here it is girl!
I am constantly amazed at how different this pregnancy is from my first. With Jeremiah I gained weight and size only in my belly and in the front. But this one is spread all over and I feel huge! (Of course, I have not been eating well and working out the way that I did with Jeremiah so it is probably my own fault.)
So I am now in week 27! It is strange but as much as each day individually seems to drag by, as I look back time has gone pretty fast and I am looking forward to a busy summer to help the time pass until August.
Please continue to pray that I will be able to sleep. I am getting very frustrated with how exhausted my body is at the end of the day, yet I toss and turn for hours before falling asleep.
It has gotten hot and humid here so yesterday I got out Jeremiah's little pool. He had a blast! I definitely think it is more fun for him this year than last. This year instead of contsantly trying to climb out he is content to stay in there, playing with the water and some toys. I lounge in a chair and watch him as he pours water over my toes - "wash mama's toes!" So that works out well for me too! :-)
Well, we have grocery shopping to do and a mountain of laundry to start (where did it all come from?).

Big Day of Shopping

This morning we were up early (well, we are that every morning) and out the door for our shopping expedition. I had intended it to just be a "scouting expedition" to price some things that be need for this little guy. But Babies R Us was having a 20% off sale and so we ended buying the stroller that I have been eyeing for a long time now. Click here if you wanna check it out. Jeremiah had fun a time in the store trying it out and he loves to sit and stand on the platform in the back that will be his seat. So it should be ideal (especially for our trip to the Netherlands in December)!

It was so nice to have Brenda shopping with us. We were able to get into Target (curtains were on sale too!), Hobby Lobby, and the mall before a yummy lunch at Panera. I would never have been able to all that with just me and Jeremiah. He was exhausted by the time we got back in the car and we are both up now from a good nap.

It feels good to have accomplished something!

Nesting Already?

I am not sure - but I think that I may already be beginning the process of nesting. Maybe that is another thing that happens earlier with the 2nd baby. All of the sudden this weekend I felt a slight moment of controlled panic. The closet in "the nursery" is a mess! Full of Jeremiah's things. I desperately need to go through it to organize and make room for new baby things. Same goes for the dresser. And don't even get me started on the coat closet in the front of the house! That needs a complete overhaul. Our bedroom still needs some shelves and extra storage spaces (since baby will sleep in our room for the first few months). And can you believe that after living in this house for 5 years I still have not purchased much less installed the curtains that I want in the living room (we have been "making do" with cheap matchstick blinds)?

So much to do!

Then there is the stuff the baby will need. Of course, because this is baby #2 we have a lot of the necessities like the crib, car seat, blankets, etc. But there are still things that I would like to get that for some reason I didn't think I needed with Jeremiah but have since learned (and been told) that are very helpful for #2. Oh my - less than 3 months to shop around and find those things on sale!

I know I have plenty of time - and a lot of things will get done when my parents are here later this summer. But still.....

So, tomorrow I am going on a scouting, shopping expedition with my mother-in-law.

Yep, I think I am definitely nesting.

Annual Memorial Day Picnic

Jeremiah is thuroughly enjoying his chocolate chip cookie!

Jeremiah "helps" play volleyball.

Yum yum! Water melon!

It was another fun Memorial day picnic. Paster Travis bbq-ed more brisket than everyone could eat and of course the typical picnic side dishes (baked beans, fruit, mac & cheese and lots of desserts) were delish! Once again the annual current youth vs. youth alum volleyball game was full of smack talk and playful rivalry. Jeremiah had a good time running around like crazy and eating practically anything he could get his hands on. We are discovering that this summer melon ("nelmon" in Jeremiah-speak) of any kind is a favorite. I had a great time talking with friends and watching Jeremiah enjoy himself. We are home now tired and dirty. We should all sleep well tonight! :-)

New Swing!

Jeremiah seemed to be feeling better this morning but we didn't want to take any chances so Aaron stayed home from church with him. When I got home the guys were outside washing the car! Jeremiah was a wet, dirty mess but was having a ball. Uncle Chad & Aunt Cherise came over for a quick lunch of grilled cheese. Jeremiah was happy to have some play with him on his new swing set (our neighbors gave it to us when they upgraded). So, hopefully a nice long nap this afternoon will knock out whatever is still in his system.

Happy Birthday Ramona! (late)

Friday was my sister Ramona's birthday!
I meant to blog then, but was dealing with a sick baby - so this is a day late....
I have loved Ramona since I met her. She is a beautiful person inside and out. I love her laughter, her desire for fun, her compassion for others, and her thoughtful and searching mind and heart.
Ramona and I have had many serious discussions about every topic under the sun. But I think what I have been the most blessed by recently is her desire to know God in a deeper way. She does not take spiritual things for granted or at face value and by her questioning and desire to know more she encourages me to think deeper about my faith as well.
What I also love so much about Ramona is that even though we may not always agree on everything she always extends love and acceptance toward me. I never feel that her love for me is dependent on us thinking the exact same way all the time.
So Ramona, I hope you had a terrific birthday! I miss you a lot and many times wish you lived much closer so we could get together more often. My prayer is that God will continue to bless you as you continue to desire Him.
And, I can't wait to see in December and watch you and Ben marry (I'm allowed to cry right?)!!!!! Then you will officially be my sister-in-law even though we are already sisters at heart and in Christ.

Sick Baby

This morning when Jeremiah woke up he was a bit warm, but seemed fine. He helped papa fix the pipes under the sink (yep, something broke again) and then happily waved him off to work. Then we went to the grocery store. When we got back from the store I put in his promised ABC video and started chatting on the webcam with my mom.

When Jeremiah came to sit on my lap he was hot! His nose was running and his eyes were watering. I got off the webcam and took his temp. 102.1 Yuck! I put in a Veggie Tales so that he could rest for a minute. This was scene when I came back into the room. Poor baby!

So we just took a nap from 11:30 am to 2pm. It was nice and I think that and the tylenol have brought the fever down. Although, Jeremiah still wants to be held and says "poor baby" when I snuggle him! :-)

Fever

Before lunch I thought Jeremiah felt a bit warm to the touch. But since it has warmed up and he had been running around I just thought that he was a bit overheated.

Nope.

He woke up early from his nap with rosy cheeks, glassy eyes, and hot to the touch. All classic Jeremiah symptoms of a fever. This also explains why he has been a bit clingy the past 2 days. So, he has a low-grade fever which means that it is not bad enough to take him to the doctor but there is defintely something working through his system.

I think an afternoon of drinking juice and watching movies on the couch is in order.

Please pray that whatever this is will work through his system quickly. I don't know if I can handle a sick kid on the little amount of sleep that I have had.

I need to take a moment to brag:

Jeremiah can now say his ABC's from beginning to end all by himself! I am so proud of him. The other day at the library we found the Dr. Suess ABC book (one of his favorite books) on video and he loves it! We are now working more on what sound each letter makes. So far his favorite one is C for "kay-leb" (Caleb). He seems to be catching onto the sounds quickly.

3rd Tri-mester begins!!!!!!!

This is how I know that I am in the 3rd tri-mester:

1. It takes a total of 4 pillows (including the one for my head) to help me get comfortable at night in order to sleep. Poor Aaron is so squished on his side of the bed he is going to fall off!

2. My belly now visibly moves and wiggles when little boy moves, kicks, etc. It is quite a sight and just a little freaky.

3. Little boy's kicks and punches sometimes wake me up from sleep.

4. Sitting is uncomfortable, standing is uncomfortable, the only comfortable position is laying on my side on the couch - and that doesn't happen much with Jeremiah running around.

5. Bending over, getting up from the floor, squatting down to pick something up all require almost superhuman effort (and of course Jeremiah insists on everything for him being done on his bed, a mattress on the floor).

Please continue to pray for me. I am dealing with insomnia again (it seems to come every 2 weeks or so) and the change in Aaron's schedule has really tired me out. I am looking forward to the middle of June when his summer class will be done and he will not have to start classes again until September.

The 7th month:

Your baby has grown longer than your uterus, so he has to get into what is called a typical fetal position, with his thighs bent onto his stomach and chest. At the start of this month, your baby's eyelids slowly open and a new sense blossoms. Your baby can open his eyes, and even in your womb, the pupils of his eyes will grower larger or smaller in response to changes in brightness. On the eyelids, lashes are starting to grow.

Your baby's skin is less wrinkled now as fat begins to fill out his contours. His body is growing faster than his head, but inside his skull, his brain is enlarging rapidly. The brains sections begin to take on their lifetime roles, such a memory and speech.

Aaron's Job Update

Please continue to pray!

After a promising week about 2 weeks ago in which he was actually able to talk to some principal's and make some contacts it has been pretty quiet with no call backs and no interviews scheduled. That is disappointing - but Aaron pointed out to me that our schools here are wrapping up for the year this week and the next so things may be quiet for a while.

He has a good lead on a job at an "alternative school" (school for kids who have been suspended from or kicked out the "normal school"). That would definitely be a very challenging job - but it has been the best lead so far with the principal expressing a lot of interest in Aaron.

God is definitely using this process to test my faith in Him. I am reminded every day to trust that He will provide for our family. Some days I do that better than others.....

Tonight's the night!

Aaron and I have become addicted to the tv show Heroes. This is abit odd since we are not really tv watchers - but this show has us hooked. Monday nights have become a sort of date night and we can be found in front of our tv at 9:00pm anxiously awaiting the next chapter in this complex story.

Tonight is the long-awaited season finale in which we finally find out if the heroes are able to save the world!

Let's hope so.

By the way, for you Europeans - every episode is available to watch on-line so you can enjoy it too!

Another Answer to Prayer

I have been praying a lot about finding a new supervisor for MCC. We technically have one on paper and she signs off on anything - but because of where she lives and the jobs she has she cannot be that involved in the actual day to day supervising of the 2 case workers. That job has fallen to me (even though on paper I don't meet the supervisor qualifications). This has been an ok arragement until now. With another baby on the way my time is going to be even more limited and I want to sink my teeth into more directoral pursuits like fundraising and new parent recruitment.

God has answered my prayers and has provided MCC with a supervisor who is willing to work part time (she has a new baby) and who has all the qualifications that we need! To top it off she has a few years of experience contracting with the State DFCS system (the system that we contract with) and so will need very little in terms of initial training. She should be able to hit the ground running come June or July!

God has shown His goodness again! I will be able to go on maternity leave with a clear conscience and be able to truly rest and enjoy the leave since I know that MCC will be in good hands and will do just fine without me for a few weeks!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Thanks to all for your prayers! Even though the weekend was busy we have all woken refreshed this morning!

Saturday was crazy! I left early for a meeting at MCC. It went well but I wasn't home until about 11:00am. In the meantime Aaron had left early with Jeremiah to get granddaddy's truck and pick up a piece of machinery that would pack down the new gravel in the driveway (I don't remember the technical name for it). He and Steve spent the whole day hauling and packing gravel. It was lots of hard work but our driveway looks great! No more walking through red mud to get to the car when it rains! I should have taken before and after pics, but I didn't. Sorry. We then all had hamburgers at Steve & Brenda's, came home, and went to bed.

Yesterday ended up being more relaxing than I thought it would be. I did have to speak at a church in the morning. It was an interesting experience. The church is definitely dwindling (evidenced by a tiny congregation of mostly older people in a large sanctuary) but they were so friendly! Almost everyone made an effort to greet us and talk to us and they made us feel very welcome at their potluck lunch. They were also very excited about MCC and you could tell from their bulletin that they supported a lot of ministries in their community. I find that ironic about churches - I have spoken in large, supposedly dynamic growing churches and never even received a greeting or welcome. And here in this small, struggling church I felt like one of the family. What really impressed me was the fact that the first people to greet us were the teenagers (about 5 of them) coming out of their Sunday school room! I know that the teens in our church don't greet newcomers.....

Anyway, we got home and all laid down for 3 hour nap! It was awesome! Obviously we were all in need of the rest. We wrapped up the evening with mac&cheese for dinner (Jeremiah's new favorite pronounced "roni-cheez") and a long walk through the neighborhood which Jeremiah insisted that he walk the whole way and refused to ride in the wagon. We did end up with a wagon full of treasures (sticks, stones, pinecones etc.) and another skinned knee (on Jeremiah).

This morning Aaron is off trying to figure out how to get some heavy cement drainage pipes out of the back of Steve's truck. Hopefully it won't take long and he will be back home soon. We miss him so much with this new work and school schedule. Jeremiah has loved having so much papa time this weekend.

Another busy weekend ahead

Here is a picture that Moni's dad took at her graduation. Thought I would share it - and that some of you may be interested in seeing me in all my pregnant glory.

We have another busy weekend ahead. I have a lot to do for MCC - Saturday and informational breakfast at the office with a presentation about what we do and then Sunday a speaking engagement at a local church. During all of that Aaron is going to finish working on spreading and packing down the new gravel in our driveway. It has been a while since I have done the whole speaking in a church thing so I am a bit nervous. But really I am more concerned about what I will feel like on Monday morning after all of this activity. While last weekend was tons of fun it really did take me a few days to recover and get my strength and energy back. Thankfully Aaron does not have to work on Monday - but he probably will be doing homework.

Please pray for us this weekend. We need strength and patience that is not our own.

Considering...

For a while Cherise was coming to our house one morning a week to watch Jeremiah so that I could go into my office and work. That was such a blessing to us, but she is now a working woman and so her schedule has changed. Lately Jeremiah has been doing great in the church nursery - he enjoys playing with the toys and is hopefully learning some social interaction with other kids. So we are considering enrolling him in a Mother's Day Out program at the local Methodist church. I think that I would bring him one day a week from 10 am - 2pm.

I think that this would be a good move for a number of reasons:

- I have to have some time each week to do my work for MCC without interuption.

- I think that it would be good for Jeremiah to be around other kids to learn to play and interact with them.

- Once the new baby is here I am sure that I will need that one morning a week to either work or rest or just have some one on one time with the new baby.

Now that I have actually made the phone calls and found out about the program I am finding that this is a huge step for me emotionally. To trust my child to strangers for 4 hours a week. Will he like it? Will he be ok with other kids for that amount of time?

If we decide to do this it will be another of the many steps toward independence for Jeremiah and letting go for me.....

25th Week!

We are adjusting to Aaron's new schedule this week. He is taking a 6 week summer class and so is gone until almost 9pm on Monday's and Wednesday's. This means he also has to work later on the other nights to make up for leaving early for class and so is not home until close to 6pm. I know that this is a minor and temporary thing, but it has me tired out. Jeremiah misses his papa during the day and often asks, "papa home?"

But on a more positive note - I start week 25 of pregnancy this week! Time moves along.

There is much to be done today so I will end this post with the weekly fetal development update.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 25:

Your tiny grower’s physical proportions are evening out at this point and most of their remaining development will largely be weight gain and lots and lots of nervous system development. The good news is: if your child is born premature now they’ll be more likely to survive without too much trauma as their lungs began to produce “surfactant” last week, which means their tiny respiratory system is getting stronger with each passing day. Yes, now’s a good time for a minor sigh of relief and a quick pat on the back—all that hard work and conscientious living is really getting your child prepared for a healthy delivery. Keep up the fabulous work mama! This week they’ll be scootching slowly out of the old breech position and start rotating (already!) into a better position for exit during their birth. Their head and feet are slowly rotating so that the head is pointed down towards the birth canal. Time is short (or really long, depending on who you ask)—just (still!) 14 weeks left before you can go back to being a single-resident human.

Mother's Day

I have had a good mother's day.
To start with Jeremiah slept in until 8:30 this morning (because we didn't get back from Atlanta until late last night) so I got some extra sleep too. Aaron and Steve made lunch for me and Brenda and I was also able to get in a nice long nap this afternoon.
Sometimes I am still surprised that I am a mother. Most of the time I am surprised at how much I enjoy being a mother. And every day I am reminded of how much I need to lean on God's grace through my imperfection as a mother. I also think that in being a mother and loving my son unconditionally and taking joy in his personality and accomplishments I have learned much about God's unconditional love for me.
Happy Mother's Day!

Aunt Moni Graduates!

Jeremiah's favorite part of graduations is all the clapping.

Moni gets her diploma.

Jeremiah and aunt Moni.

Jeremiah gets a piggy back ride from papa.

On saturday we went down to Atlanta to celebrate Moni's graduation from graduate school. She is the proud recipient of a Master's degree in Marriage and Family Counseling! We are proud of her and were glad that we could celebrate with her.

Happy Anniversary!

This is a 2-entry day.
Today is mom & dad's 33rd wedding anniversary!
My parents marriage has always been a picture to me of loving each other through all of the circumstances of life - good and bad. I am so thankful for them!
I hope that they have many more years to enjoy each other.

Mission Potty Training: Aborted

Yep, you read it right folks.

For about a week Jeremiah did great. Despite accidents he understood the concept of the potty and what needed to happen. Toward the end of the week he was even asking to go himself a few times a day. Then, 3 days ago he completely rebelled and would basically have nothing to do with the potty, except to play with it when I made him go into the bathroom to try and go. So, after 3 days of resistance and temper tantrums we decided that he was telling us he just isn't ready. So the little potty has been hidden and the diapers are back out. It just wasn't worth the constant hassle. Especially since I feel so worn out and lacking in patience.

So, I do not foresee the potty training starting again until Jeremiah is 3 years old and the new baby is about 6 months old.

I do not view this as a failure. I saw Jeremiah really grasp the concept in the short week - maybe his body just isn't ready. I also saw that even though I was tired and felt lacking in patience the process wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I was able to deal with the accidents in a calm and matter of fact way (even on the day I cleaned up 9 puddles!). I feel confident that with the lessons we have learned this time around our next attempt at potty training should be fairly straight forward. Especially if Jeremiah is completely ready.