And Just Like That, March Is Gone

March brought us many gifts, but a baby in arms was not one of them.  However, this third month of the year did pour out abundant, surprising blessings, like glorious weather, warmth, sunshine, green grass, the year's first flowers, and opportunities for young boys to play outside and dig in the dirt.  An early spring is always welcome around here!  :)

On the day I took these pictures (which has been a couple weeks ago by now), while the other three headed to the garden with hoes and other tools, David got the job of emptying the ash bucket first.

And then he joined the others in the garden.

Does Josiah look like an overseer or what?

I'm not exactly sure why he was standing like that and watching the others, but it makes me smile to see it. He's such a firstborn.  :)

This March really has been out-of-the-ordinary, and my heart has rejoiced as I've watched my boys frolic outdoors.  Our trampoline, which stood desolate for most of the winter, has been the scene of hours (literally) of fun and exercise.  The swings, which hung empty for months, have been filled again.  Bicycles have been ridden, bows stretched and arrows shot, the grass has even been mowed--in March!  Some years when the first of April rolls around, the grass is barely green, much less long enough to be mowed.

Every winter I long with great ardor for spring, my favorite season; but this winter my longing for the season was dwarfed by my anticipation of this baby being born.  With thoughts of her in my mind, I hardly had time to chafe about the winter; and besides, with a winter this mild, there was hardly enough really cold weather to build up much longing for warmer days!  In my mind, this winter is officially The Winter that Wasn't.  Although I would have LOVED more snow than we had, I'll admit to being relieved at the moderate temperatures of the winter and the early blooming of this spring.

As has been my habit for the past two months, I want to include my status updates from Facebook here in this post; these tidbits give additional insights into the month we're leaving behind.


March 1 - It might be a sign that I'm a *little* too engrossed in the book I'm reading (Song of Years by Bess Streeter Aldrich) if I read about a threatened Indian attack in the book and feel an urgent need to go check the doors of my house to make sure they're all locked! ;-)

March 3 - Hustling and bustling around this morning to get out the door on time to Josiah and David's swimming lessons, I happened to glance down at my feet--right before I walked down to the garage--and noticed that I was still wearing my bedroom slippers. Good grief. After I ran (well, as much running as an 8-month pregnant woman can do) upstairs and changed my shoes, I rushed back down to the minivan where all the boys were waiting; and when I told them what I had almost done, they were mortified...and VERY grateful that I had remembered to look at my feet before driving off! It was one of *those* mornings... ;-)

March 5 - I can now say that, at 35 weeks of pregnancy, I went sledding with my boys. Whether that was a Cool Mom move or a Stupid Mom one remains to be seen. To my credit, I only went down the hill once. To my discredit, I ran into a fence to stop. Makin' memories, folks...we're makin' memories... ;-)

March 5 - The two hours it took Shav to settle down last night--his first night in a big boy bed in big brother Tobin's room--was wonderfully reduced tonight...all the way down to 45 minutes. That's what I call progress! Of course, during his "nap" in that room today, not a wink of sleep was had by him. Oh, well, he'll get there, until one day when it's completely normal to fall asleep in that room. I love to sneak into that room during the night and peek at my two little guys; they're so peacefully cute as they sleep! :)

March 10 - On the way home from swimming lessons this morning, we were listening to Focus on the Family's (excellent, by the way!) recording of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and I learned something new. One of my boys thinks that "Aslan's last name is God," but another one thinks that "His last name is Lion." Hmmm...which one is right? ;-)

March 10 - When it comes to internet speed, only one direction is preferred: FASTER. We recently made a change that decreased our speed, and it's about to drive me NUTS. And that just goes to show how much of a spoiled brat I am, when I fret and chafe at the fact that it takes me longer to...oh, you know...effortlessly send pictures and words all around the world. Rather than marveling at the wonder of it all, I'm drumming my fingers and growing impatient because it's not happening instantly. I need to step back and appreciate the lap of luxury in which I live...even if my internet is moving at a snail's pace!

March 13 - Just call Shav the Grammar Police. Whenever one of us says, "Blah, blah, blah..." (as in, "We were reading about how the underground tomb of the first emperor of China was filled with gems and blah, blah, blah..."), he immediately pipes up and says, "Not blah, blah, blah!" It cracks us up, and the other boys get a kick out of getting his attention and then saying, "Blah, blah, blah..." just so he'll say, "Not blah, blah, blah!" He does remind me to be more careful of my words so that I say what I really mean and don't just resort to "blah, blah, blah!" :)

March 14 - I was outside this evening, after the sun went down but before dark, pushing Tobin and Shav on the swings. I was feeling a little chilly (an uncommon feeling for me these days, thanks to this internal space heater!), but wanting to stay outside a little longer for the sake of the boys. Next thing I knew, Josiah had gone inside and was returning with something in his arms for me: my coat. The way he's learning to take initiative to meet needs--without being asked--blesses my soul! :)

March 16 - I wish I could think of something great to say about this morning... I'm coming up blank. But hey, here are two things to be grateful for: 1) this morning is over, and 2) not every morning is this bad. Does counting my blessings work if I'm doing it through gritted teeth? ;-)

March 16 - I'm so grateful that this evening was significantly better than this morning! We celebrated Tobin's Family Night, and he chose to eat pancakes at home for supper, then go to our local indoor mini golf place for our fun activity. It was a good way to end the day. :)

March 18 - I think there comes a point for every pregnant woman when she feels like nothing more than a big, overgrown, overstuffed, bloated, bulky, enormous blue whale. Not the whale that swims and dives and floats gracefully in the water, but the kind that got dragged up onto the beach and just lays there, its gigantic size exposed to everyone's eyes...and they all walk past with shock in their eyes. I think it's safe to say that I've hit the point. No matter what I wear or do, I just feel H-U-G-E. As much as I wouldn't mind hiding out for the rest of this pregnancy, real life demands that I march forth and face the world...so even though I've lost whatever confidence I had, here I go. I'm striding forth...with about as much grace as a beached whale!

March 19 - This evening, Shav was talking in a funny voice, and Tobin did not like it, so he called out in his I'm-going-to-get-my-brother-in-trouble voice, "Shav's talking not regible!" Well, my dear Tobin Bear, have you ever heard of the pot calling the kettle black? Shav isn't the only one who's "talking not regible." P.S. "Regible" isn't a word, Tobin; it's "regular." ;-)

March 22 - One of my little pleasures these days is going softly into Tobin and Shav's room after they're asleep and just looking at them--they're adorable! It seems so right for them to be in the same room: Tobin on the top bunk, Shav on the bottom. And it seems so right for Josiah and David to be on bunks in the next room. Two sets of boys in bunk beds, and one little girl still nestled under my heart. I am so blessed.

March 24 - Last night I slept with my window open for the first time this year. It was rainy and cool outside, and I LOVED waking up (because I do that about every hour these days) to the fresh air and the clear bird songs. Ah, the simple pleasures of life! :)

March 26 - Last night I was lying in bed, feeling Baby Girl's kicks and squirms. Then the rhythm of the motion changed as her hiccups began. I treasured each sensation and thought, "There aren't going to be many more nights like this." The end of a pregnancy is so joyful as a birth draws near, but can you blame me for being a little sentimental and wistful at the same time? :)

March 26 - Why, oh why, don't I use the crockpot more often? Throw a roast in there with some veggies, and dinner is (mostly) done. It's such a good feeling to have that taken care of...and it's not even noon! ;-)

March 26 - In his bedtime prayer tonight, Tobin thanked God for (among MANY other things) "our cousins...our cousins' dogs...our rooster...our woodshed...our dirt garden...the stars," etc. I love the unpretentious nature of the prayers of the young. :)

March 27 - I've enjoyed some wonderfully productive energy surges yesterday and today, but whew! When my energy is gone, IT IS GONE. I go from 60 to 0 in about 3.2 seconds. ;-)

March 28 - Baby Girl's heart rate was 138 at the midwife's office this morning...which just goes to show that you can't trust the old wives' tale that girls have high heart rates and boys have low ones. If we had not had ultrasounds, I would have been convinced this baby was a boy! (Not just by the heart rate, but also because this pregnancy has felt so similar to my other ones.) Even though I believe the ultrasounds, I think I'll still be a little shocked when she's born and she's a GIRL! ;-)

March 29 - When it comes to laundry, I feel a particular sense of triumph when something that was worn on one day is washed, dried, folded, and put away by noon of the next day. It's much more satisfying than doing all of those steps to a neglected piece of clothing that sat in the bottom of the laundry chute for weeks. When I put a shirt away and think, "Shav wore this yesterday!" or hang up a pair of pants and think, "Didn't Jeff wear these yesterday?" I feel like Laundry Superwoman. It doesn't happen very often, but it makes me feel victorious when it does. ;-)

March 29 - Little girl has the hiccups again. Does she do this every night? Sure seems like it, but maybe it's because I only slow down enough to notice them at night. I wonder...how many more nights will I get to feel her hiccups inside me, rather than holding her in my arms and watching her hiccup on the outside of me? :)

March 30 - Finally finished packing my bag for the hospital...now Baby Girl can really come! ;-) Or she can stay put a while longer. Either way is fine. :)

March 31 - I went to the hospital this evening, to the Family Birthplace. Oh, not for myself. ;-) I just had to go to meet the newborn daughter of my nephew! Kerigan Grace is her name, and she's so sweet and tiny. She weighs exactly what David did when he was born, but boy, how quickly we forget what it feels like to hold a newborn. She felt so light in my arms! What a sweetheart she is! :)

And now, with that taken care of, I can proceed to change my blog layout in preparation for April--always a fun task for me.  This time, however, I had the hardest time deciding what kind of header to make!  The good thing about Baby Girl not being born in March is that I can end up using the header I finally decided to put together, the "waiting" header.  If she is born soon, maybe I'll end up making a new header for the rest of April?  Or maybe I won't.  Who knows?  Time will tell...

And now, farewell, March.  You've been a wonderful month, but I must confess that your glory will soon be eclipsed by this new month.  You understand, don't you?  There's not much that can compare to the thrill of a new baby!!  ;-)