37 1/2 weeks

Here I am today... 37 1/2 weeks into our little baby girl's life and just waiting to meet her for real :) The Braxton-Hicks contractions seem to happen so often, I'm just ready for the labor contractions that will lead to a baby! So our bags are packed, snacks for early labor (popsicles, honey sticks, and Gatorade - maybe even chocolate banana popsicles) and the hospital stay (orange juice for after labor, things for Matt to munch on) are purchased and we're waiting, waiting, waiting.



After I posted this originally, Matt and I started our weekend cleaning... I think I'd call it "nesting" as much of what we did is out of the ordinary for our cleaning routine, like:
~deodorizing the couches and rugs with baking soda cleaner
~scrubbing the refrigerator drawer and shelves
~washing the kitchen floor with a scrubbing sponge and Clorox
~using a Magic Eraser almost all the way in the bathroom and kitchen and also to scrub scuff marks off the walls and doors
I'd like to think that this too is a sign of some sort of progress towards Moriah's arrival, but I know I need to stop analyzing so much! At the very least, I'm hopeful that things will stay fairly clean between now and whenever she makes her appearance so our visitors won't visit a terribly messy house.

I could've been a great many things...

Well if you don't recognize that quote on your own, I'll help... it's from Little Women, and Jo is the one who says it. There are lots of moments in my life when I feel like it's a fitting response to my thoughts or situation. So it's been a blog in the works for awhile... at least in my mind! Maybe the Lord will use these very different interests someday in different seasons as He desires. Maybe not, it's certainly up to Him and in His wisdom I know I'll never be "missing out" if some are unfulfilled in an earthly sense. Really I don't even know that I want each one to be fulfilled, rather I think the curious side of me just likes to wonder sometimes what it might be like to try it out. I guess I'm more of a "Renaissance woman" than I knew - I think I could attribute that to my dad, if you know him you'll understand :)

So the list goes like this...
~a teacher, and of course, I was and am still teaching in different settings... I sometimes wonder if it would be fun to teach a college class of teachers, or to teach older students (3rd grade was my max), or to teach a class of gifted children
~a pastor's wife... which I'm learning to be a little at a time in our tiny church which is a different sort of situation of course, I'm also thankful for the Godly examples of pastor's wives I've seen for my entire Christian life... Julie, Grace, Dollie, Holley, Rebekah, Deanna, Melissa, Megan, and many more I'm sure
~a librarian, mainly a children's librarian... or to work at a children's bookstore, a quaint one where I could know my customers and make personalized recommendations - how fun!
~a simple server at a bakery or charming cafe... this might be more glamorous in my mind that it would be in day to day life, but I love cooking and being around great foods (mostly sweets) and I don't think I have the skills or desire to be THE baker - but I could work for one and enjoy watching :)
~the director of a daycare/preschool... making the behind the scenes decisions that matter in the everyday would be very fascinating for me
~a historian or museum curator... only if I was working with something that is particularly fascinating to me, EX: Egypt
~a prosecutor... this really was shifted to the other list - things I could NOT be - after my jury duty experience, but it still tempts me to think about it sometimes
~an activities director in a nursing home... I really enjoyed time in nursing homes as a middle schooler/early high schooler, so I volunteered there a lot, when my grandma was in a nursing home for a few weeks before she died I was reminded again that many people lead lonely days and would love to have the company and encouragement of a life shared with others, it would be very rewarding I think and sad at times too
~an educational researcher... again only if I was interested in the topic of research, lots of research is done on things that seem a little trivial to be honest! I'd have ideas for research on all sorts of things... lately, the effectiveness of busing students and also the real long-term impact of charter school education would excite my thoughts
~a curriculum writer... maybe in a church setting for children, maybe for homeschooling, maybe in public schools - I don't really know - just a passing thought

Well I think that's enough of a glimpse into my scattered thoughts... you can analyze that list and figure out what that means about my personality... let me know when you do, because I'm not too sure!

For now I'm so thankful that the Lord has chosen in His wisdom and perfect timing to add to the list "a mom"... we're just counting down for little Moriah's arrival... as I write this I'm at 36 1/2 weeks, hoping to hear about more of my body's progress at our Wednesday's appointment!

36 weeks... wow!

Well, it's really late for me but we enjoyed an evening with friends who've come to Louisville from our Kansas City world... what a great and happy mix! So I'm awake now feeling lots of little hiccups from our baby Moriah who's doing well according to my doctor, as I had a 36 week check-up today. While her check-up doesn't predict any sort of time line it was reassuring to know that my body is starting the progress that it will need to continue in order to deliver a healthy baby in the next few weeks, naturally we hope :) So here's a picture of me tonight... feeling pretty big, but you can be the judge of that I suppose!

a special person

When finishing up our 4th of July theme for the week at pre-school today we looked over some books we've read this week. I have a few patriotic children's books of various sorts, but most had too many words for three year old's to sit through so we looked at the pictures and discussed them instead. The White House was pictured in one book and trying to recall to their minds our discussion earlier this week I said, "Who is the special person who lives in this house? Remember, it's called the White House..." - lots of fairly uncertain stares met my gaze as I attempted to prompt and refresh their little memories. Then one little sweet girl's eyes lit up and she said "Jesus!" It was very sweet to hear that for her, Jesus is the first one who comes to mind when "a special person" is mentioned. I pray He will continue working in her heart and that her child-like faith will lead to salvation in His perfect timing.