Overshadowed

Today I got slapped in the face by the Lord. Not really. But as Tom and I sat in the doctor's office this morning, I was swiftly reminded that MY plans are not necessarily HIS plans. And even though I can't see the big picture, and I can make some pretty good plans....I know that His plans are better. I've also been reminded of something else as evidenced by this conversation with my mom yesterday:

Mom: Well even if you don't have the baby by Friday (the due date), Dad and I would still like to come down and take you and Tom out to eat.
Me: That's really nice, but why would you guys drive all the way here, only to have to drive back in a few days when the baby comes?
Mom: Because Friday is your birthday.

I forgot that it was my birthday on Friday.

Make-do "Nesting"

I have been having the urge to get things ready and "nest" if you will, which is hard to do in our current situation. We are still trying to sell our house, so we haven't set up a nursery or anything. We have the crib put up in the office, with some baby stuff sitting in bags in the crib, and the rest of our stuff is in the attic. The other day, I decided to make-do with what I had and just organized the clothes by size and then put them back in the bag in the crib. That'll have to do for now. Even though it can't come to fruition yet, I have been thinking a lot about how I want the nursery to look. My creative vibes have been somewhat struggling. One thing I would LOVE to do is put up John 3:16 somehow, but personalized.....i.e. "For God so loved Ava, that he gave his only begotten son...". Any suggestions?

The Time is Drawing Near...

6 weeks to go. But I'm betting she comes earlier than that. Time has flown by and I am getting so excited. We got the crib this week, which makes me feel much more prepared (along with having some diapers). We have been very blessed to receive some gifts from family and friends, including most of the crib bedding, so we (aka Tom) put it all together and it looks marvelous! Every time I walk by that room I just want to go in a sit for awhile. Wouldn't you? I mean look at this precious stuff:








In preparation for the big day and beyond, I've been reading What To Expect When You're Expecting, Your Pregnancy & Birth, Baby Wise, The Bradley Method, and Supernatural Childbirth. I'm ready people!! The last two are for a natural childbirth plan. A friend just asked me today about my birthing plan and I told her I would like to try and do it naturally. She said, "Are you crazy? Why are you gonna do that to yourself?". I seem to get this response a lot.

It's Pat!

Things are moving along here. I'm now 27 weeks into this pregnancy and everything has been good for the most part. Yesterday however, I spent 3 hours in the hospital. I was out of the office on a home visit when my back started hurting. It was on and off for the hour I was there, but when I got in the car and started driving, it got much worse. I was to the point where I thought I might have to pull over when I called the doctor. After explaining what was going on, they said they wanted me to go to the hospital to make sure everything was okay. So they checked me out on the maternity ward and hooked me up to a heartrate and contraction monitor. The doctor on duty was one I knew from my practice so that was nice. The baby was fine but I was having some small contractions. First they were concerned that I might have a kidney infection, which the doctor said would be "really bad", but the tests came back clear. He did say that my back was really tight and spazing and that I should see a chiropractor or massage therapist. In the midst of this, nurse Pat got on my case about not drinking enough water. She also got mad when I ate something (we were there for 3 hours) even though nobody told me I wasn't supposed to eat anything! Bottom line is that I'm supposed to get lots of rest, drink tons of water, and take the next 2 days off of work. BLAH. I'm very thankful it wasn't anything more than that though because I did not want Ava to make a dramatic entrance yesterday! Here is a pic from last Friday, at 26 weeks:

Another stinker

So stinkin' sweet

This video, more than anything else, has made us super excited to have a little girl. Enjoy the sweetness.

The Best Christmas Present Ever

I've always had good Christmases. I was very fortunate to grow up with parents who were able to make Christmas wonderful each year. We never went lacking. But this year.....this year was especially wonderful. Two days before Christmas, we had an ultrasound which showed us that we were having a little girl! At first I was a little shocked and scared. For whatever reason, I thought it was a boy and all the pictures that had been streaming through my head of a little baby were all of a baby boy. But now that I know it's a girl and it's had a few days to sink in, I am SO excited. And I just can't wait to meet her. I'm ready for her to be here NOW. But patience....is a virtue. Here are some Christmas pics. We got about 6 inches of snow in little Washington. Enjoy.