It's Too Bad We Never Have Any Fun Around Here ;-)

We're always so serious here in our household.

We hardly ever kid around...

...or do silly things.  And, on the off chance we would do something goofy here in our own home, we would certainly never post it for anyone else to see!

The man of the house in particular is a model of decorum, and he unfailingly shows his sons how to be civilized and dignified and--dare I say?--appropriately stuffy.

It's a shame really.  Maybe someday we'll learn to lighten up.  ;-)

Baby Blessing: Week 28

With only 80 days to go until the all-important date on which this baby girl may or may not make her appearance, this is what I see when I look in the mirror...

...and this is what I see when I look down towards my feet.

Not the usual maternity pictures, but still part of this slice of life.

More interestingly perhaps, these are some of the thoughts that are rambling around in my head here at this 28 (and a half) week mark...

~ I thought about making a to-do list of things I hope to accomplish before this baby is born, but then I decided not to.  At this point, it would likely be too overwhelming.  Maybe I will make that list when I get closer to my due date.  Or maybe not.  :)

~ Last Thursday, Shav said the baby's name for the first time...or maybe I should say that, for the first time, I realized that Shav was trying to say her name.  He usually says "oo baby" for new baby, and woe to us if we forget to pray for her in our mealtime prayers; when he hears the "amen" with no mention of "new baby," he pipes up and says, "And Oo Baby!"  "Yes, God, and thank You for our new baby.  Amen."  Then he's satisfied.  Because I hadn't heard him say her actual name yet, I wondered whether he had even connected the name with this Oo Baby creature he loved to pray for, so I was understandably thrilled and proud when I heard him saying her name.  It didn't roll easily off his tongue though, and it was so sweet to watch him concentrate and work so hard to try to say it right.  As it was, he didn't say it right...but right enough that I could figure out what he was trying to communicate.  :)

~ The big question continues to be the baby's position.  Since I haven't had another ultrasound, we really don't know whether she's still breech or whether she managed to get herself into a head-down position.  Or if she's still doing somersaults and changing her position every single day!  But one day this week, I was feeling hiccups down low, and that gave me hope that she has turned into the right position.

~ I had to get my rhogam shot today, which is really no big deal anymore because I've had it so many times.  Josiah and David alternated between snickering and looking horrified when I told them where on my body I had the shot.  The strange thing is that, although the shot was in my left hip, my right hip has been having terribly sharp, shooting pains in it tonight.  The pains occur at random times, but nearly make me feel like I'm going to fall over when they hit.  Just another aspect of the wonderful weirdness that is pregnancy, I suppose!

~ Even without sudden, strange pains, usually by the end of the day, I'm feeling quite cramped.  It is such a good feeling to lay down in bed and stretch out and be in a horizontal position where I can feel like the baby has more room to move around than she does when I'm sitting up.  (Which is probably all my imagination, but still...)

~ I got back the results from my blood tests last week, and thankfully, I don't have gestational diabetes.  I was also glad to learn that my iron level has improved from when it was low early in this pregnancy.  It would seem that my dad's kind provision of chocolate raisins is doing exactly what it's supposed to do to my iron level!  :)

~ Heartburn still flares up every so often.  Like tonight in a prayer meeting when I discovered that if I leaned forward and bowed my head slightly, I felt heartburn almost immediately.  So I did the logical thing and leaned back.  :)

~ I was seriously thinking about writing some this week about the things I've heard about typical girl pregnancies--i.e. lots of nausea, extra emotionalism, etc.--and how I'm NOT having those symptoms.  But before I got around to writing this update, I was hit with--surprise, surprise--extra emotionalism!  Having done this whole pregnancy thing a few times already ;-), I completely expected to have some irrational breakdowns at some point before giving birth.  I always do have some (here's just one example of many I could mention!).  But honestly, I haven't been extra weepy, and I was just getting ready to pat myself on the back for my obvious growth in maturity.  :)  And then, a few days ago, those too-familiar sensations of feeling blue started creeping up on me.   Fortunately, on the two consecutive days when I was feeling unexplainably low and prone to crying, I was able to head off the tears both times, simply by taking a nap before I got to the bad stage.  This pregnancy, I've discovered afresh the strong link between fatigue and emotionalism.  In short, I have got to get my rest, or I'll be a weepy mess.  I wouldn't be surprised though if, even if I get plenty of rest, I still have a strange crying spell (or two...or more) at some point before this girl is born; and I KNOW I will at some point in the week after her birth.  I guess I'll hold off on the self-back-patting and declarations about how reserved and calm I am.  ;-)

~ As I look down at my hugely rounded tummy, I ask myself, "Can I really grow any bigger?"  Chances are, I wonder that during every pregnancy; and because of prior experience, I know that yes, indeed, I can and will get bigger.  But how?  Things feel pretty stretched as it is; can they really grow more??  :)

~ I mentioned recently about some very vivid, very strange dreams I've had.  The fact that I'm having--and remembering--these crazy dreams doesn't surprise me, since I know that in my other pregnancies, I have also dreamed vividly--and often, terrifyingly.  In the past, my scary dreams during pregnancy have often revolved around the theme of water, particularly when I was pregnant with David and dreamed numerous times about being in scary situations involving water.  These recent dreams haven't been so clearly centered around a theme, unless that theme is simply my children being in danger.  For example, in one dream, David was lost, and we were frantically searching for him until I finally found him in the Grace Street Parking Garage (a structure that doesn't exist here in real life, but which was so clear in my dream that night).  That feeling of not knowing the location of my child was horrifying.  In another one, the one I mentioned previously, David and Shav (and Tobin and maybe Josiah?) were being cared for, along with a group of other children, by some friends of ours, while Jeff and I were doing something fun (riding on a boat maybe?).  When I went to pick up my sons, I discovered Shav nearly drowning in a swimming pool; and then once I rescued him, I turned around and David was face down in a pool, too.  No one else seemed to realize that he was in distress, but I knew instantly and struggled to reach him while still caring for Shav.  Finally, I had both of them safe but then had to look around for Tobin.  Oh, the feelings of fear!!  The third recent scary dream involved lions being near our house as we drove home one snowy day--Jeff and Josiah in the Jeep, and me and the others in the minivan.  Then for some reason, Josiah was out of the Jeep and was a clear target for the lions; but I drove by him, leaned out of the minivan, and used my left arm to pick up Josiah and pull him to safety on my lap.  But we still weren't safe yet, and at one point Jeff threw a snowball into the lion's face to distract him and give the rest of us time to get inside.  Oh my goodness.  What strange dreams!  What bizarre, creepy, dreadful, horrific, haunting dreams!  And the worst part:  why, oh why, does it take so long, upon awaking, to convince myself that it's really only a dream and there is nothing to fear?  My mind knows that, but my heart takes an awfully long time to catch on!

~ When I was putting away some clean clothes the other day, I opened a dresser drawer and happened to see a navy blue summer shirt (non-maternity) that I enjoy wearing.  It reminded me of this truth: as exciting as it is to start wearing maternity clothes, it's also exciting to pack them away after a baby is born and wear regular clothes again.  What's even more true:  as exciting as it is to experience a pregnancy and spend months and months in joyful anticipation, it's even more exciting to actually meet a new member of the family face to face and finally hold that child in one's arms.  I know I've got a long ways to go until that happy moment, and I do not want to rush through these next 12 or so weeks, missing the special moments along the way.  But I will admit to longing deeply for the day my daughter is finally born!!!  :)

Wordless Wednesday {New Paint for Tobin's Room? Yes, Please!}

Tuesday Cuties

Our home was blessed with extra sweetness this morning.

 Marie, and her two siblings, brought it when they came to play with my boys.

 We had seven children here, and...let's see...if I remember correctly...

 ...one is 9 years old, one is 6, one is 5, one is 4, one is 3, one is 2, and one is 1!

 My boys were so happy to welcome our guests...

 ...and, true to form, Tobin was telling them they should spend the night here and suggesting sleeping places for everyone...and David was lamenting their departure, wishing they could stay "just one more hour?"

 I've had the privilege of keeping them a few times now...enough to know what they normally enjoy.  They usually come in and play with the toys in the baskets on the shelf by the door first thing.  At some point, they migrate upstairs to Tobin's room and the train table there.  Hannah and I spend some time sitting on the couch in the living room, reading books that she chooses--and others join us and add books to my lap that they want read as well.  And Paul?

 He *always*...

 ...goes for the cars.

 This time, Paul brought along his new cowboy hat and bolo tie...

 ...and was kind enough to share it with one of the cowboys who lives in this house.

Thanks, Sally, for sharing your sweet children with us today!  :)

Sometimes I'm Brave...

...and I get out some dry rice, put it in a nice big plastic bowl, and let my little guys run their cars and trucks through it.  I must have gotten the idea from some wise homeschooling mom, because certainly this kind of tactile play is good for the developing brains of toddlers and preschoolers, right?

I do this so infrequently that Shav and Tobin think it's a real treat when it does happen, and it buys me an hour or two of basically uninterrupted time in which to focus more intensely on Josiah and David's schooling.  Sounds great, doesn't it?  Well...

Of course, I'm smart enough to know I should put an old towel under the bowl...just in case a few grains of rice spill.

A lot of good that does.

Especially when the bowl itself gets moved several feet from the towel.

And then I remember exactly why I do this so infrequently.

My boys come equipped with an internal sensor that says, "Aha, huge potential for mess-making at hand.  Must take advantage of it.  Not enough rice on the floor yet.  Should use wooden spoons and plastic cups to empty more from the bowl."

Yep, sometimes I'm brave.  But days later, as I'm still finding grains of rice under couches and in toy cars and whole handfuls of it in the car container, I mutter to myself, "Brave?  Or stupid?"

You decide.  ;-)

Still Arising?

Yep!

Not to sound overly pious or anything like that, but I am certain that it is only by God's grace and strength that I've been able to arise every day for the past 15 days when my alarm clock goes off and come down to my spot to spend time with God first thing in the morning.  I still marvel at how (relatively) easy it's been.  And here I was thinking that it would be a huge struggle for me!  I remember vividly how, as the last week of December slipped by and January 1 loomed ahead, I was very nearly dreading the accountability that my announcement of my 2012 goal would bring.  I would *have to* get up on time every morning.  How in the world could I do it??

Yet somehow I have, all thanks to Him.

I eagerly anticipate continuing this morning habit; but I'm realistic enough to know that with some major changes looming in a few months, I'll need to adjust my expectations, especially during the initial period of new-baby-in-the-house-and-EVERYTHING-is-different transition.  I'm not legalistic enough to fret over that, if my 7:00 a.m. wake-up time falls by the wayside for a while.  But for now, while this sweet girl grows and wiggles inside me, I'll enjoy the peace of my mornings with God.

Speaking of peace...  I have had some C-R-A-Z-Y dreams recently, which is not uncommon during pregnancy.  Perhaps I'll write more about them at some point.  But this morning, for example, when my alarm gave off its cheerful ding, it wakened me from a dream in which both Shav and David were drowning, and I had to rescue them, and oh, it was horrible.  I hated it.  With my heart still beating wildly and my mind racing as I tried to reassure myself that it was just a dream and all my boys were truly safe and it was time to put the fear behind me, I crept down the steps and settled onto the little couch to commune with God.  What deep, precious comfort it was to open my Bible and read Psalm 16:

"Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge...you have made my lot secure...because he [the Lord] is at my right hand, I will not be shaken...my body also will rest secure..."

The terror that had gripped me so fiercely when I first awoke gradually receded as the words of life flooded into my soul.  How grateful I was to be hearing from the Lord first thing, rather than listening to boys discuss which cereal they were planning to eat and who needed help pouring the milk and how much time we had to get ready to leave the house for a church service and where Tobin's black shoes were and could someone please tie them for him.

Many times I've tried to convince myself that it didn't really matter when in the day I spent time with God, as long as I was having a connection with Him at some point.  But honestly, now that I've been experiencing the joy of victory in this area, I can wholeheartedly say that there's no other way I'd rather start my day.

Just like this old song says (beautifully arranged and sung by Michael Card in the video below),
"I will arise and go to Jesus.  
He will embrace me in His arms. 
In the arms of my dear Savior, 
Oh, there are ten thousand charms!"

I am LOVING the embrace of my Savior that I feel every morning.  And all I have to do to get it is...

...arise!

Recipe Box - Smoothie 4: The New Baby

As these recipes (Smoothie 1: The Davene...Smoothie 2: The Jeff...Smoothie 3: The Josiah) that I've previously posted attest to, I'm a huge smoothie fan...but NOT the kind of smoothie you go buy at a shop and pay $5 for.  Those taste incredible, of course; but with that kind of a price tag, I'd much rather learn to make delicious smoothies at home.  

After I posted the first three smoothies, I was sort of at a loss.  Those three are the mainstay smoothies around here, but I wanted to branch out; plus, it seemed appropriate to name a smoothie that I started drinking during this pregnancy "The New Baby."  :)  So the search was on for a new smoothie.

I wanted it to have peaches in it, but that hardly narrowed down my search since there are many, MANY smoothie recipes online (I found this one at yummly.com) and many of them contain peaches.  I tried one recipe that included sweetened condensed milk; and while it was good, it wasn't quite what I was looking for.  I came upon another smoothie recipe that called for peaches and--get this--cashews (as well as some other stuff).  "That's different," I thought, "but I have all the ingredients for it so I'll try it."  In a word, here was our family's collective reaction to that smoothie:  YUCK.  In two words, our reaction:  NEVER AGAIN.  In seven words:  NUTS IN A SMOOTHIE?  NO THANK YOU!  :)

I kept searching.  And then I found this one--simple yet delicious, exactly what I was looking for.  Finally, The New Baby Smoothie was born into our family.

You know the other thing that makes this new smoothie the perfect one to be named after our first daughter?  It's pink.  :)

Here's what you need:

1 cup frozen peaches

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. wheat germ

Here's what you do:

Put everything in a blender and mix it up!  

Here's how I changed it a little:

I added ice cubes and a little milk because it was quite thick and Shav was having trouble sucking it up through his straw.  :)