Some News

No, no baby yet. :)

I haven't blogged about this, but for almost a year My Man and I have been house-hunting. We found several houses that we liked ... we made offers on a couple of them ... God seemed to keep closing doors.

In February I saw a little house listed on a real estate website. It seemed priced low for the neighborhood, and there were no pictures of the interior which made me suspicious about its condition. But I kept thinking that it wouldn't hurt to just go look at it, and after a couple of weeks we did. We were pleasantly surprised to see that it was actually kind of cute -- VERY outdated, but cute and with a lot of potential. We prayed about it and made an offer.

It took several weeks, but the seller of the house finally agreed to our offer and we signed the contract over two weeks ago. That is, we signed the contract. He did not. He was supposed to, but was dragging his feet.

As first time homebuyers, we were anxious to be under contract by today in order to qualify for the tax credit. Today kept getting closer and the seller still had not signed. We finally got word that he was going to sign last night. As of this morning, however, he had not.

We firmly believe that God has a plan for our lives. We have prayed and prayed and prayed for His guidance and direction in every step of this house-hunting journey. Each prospect that didn't work out was disappointing, but we kept telling ourselves that God had something better for us down the road.

When I saw the email this morning that the seller still had not signed, I cried. I really did. I KNOW God's plan is best -- I keep telling myself that, and I truly do believe it. But you know what? Even though I know His plan is best, it is still initially disappointing to find that His plan doesn't coincide with my own. 

So I cried and prayed and cried some more and God gave me that peace in knowing that He is in control. A tax credit is a drop in the ocean for Him, and God does not need government money!

And then after work My Man got a phone call that the seller had signed the contract this morning.

We are under contract to purchase a house! We are so excited! There are still many steps to take, and there is still the chance that things could fall through. It won't be our house until we actually close, and there is a deadline for closing in order to qualify for the tax credit. But we're on our way and we are so thankful to the Lord for allowing us to get this far. He is so, so good to us.

Now, if this baby would just decide that she would rather be out than in ... :)

Okay, Baby Sister

I think I'm just about ready for you to come. This weekend would be perfect: your daddy won't have to take as much time off of work, and we have some other things planned between now and then. So if you would be so obliging, would you please plan for Friday night or Saturday? Thank you.

Last night we went to bed around 11:00. My Man instantly went to sleep (have I ever mentioned my envy of his ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat? It always takes me a long time to turn off my brain.) I started having contractions. After a long while I dozed off ... then a contraction woke me up. I either slept through some or was able to sleep in between them.  Then they started getting stronger. Not painful, just stronger. Then they were getting closer together. Then I wasn't able to sleep through them anymore. Then they were getting even closer together and I couldn't doze off between them. Then I started timing them: 3-5 minutes apart. Still not painful, but definitely very uncomfortable, and continuing to get stronger. Finally I gave up on sleep, got up to pee (again), got a banana because contractions in the middle of the night apparently make me hungry, sat on the couch and watched "Three's Company" and "The Cosby Show"  and waited to see what would happen next.

Then the contractions stopped. Just fizzled right out.

Then I went back to bed.

The moral of this story is: if you are having contractions in the middle of the night, eat a banana and watch a couple of tv show reruns and they will stop.

(Unless they are the real thing.)

The end.

My Helper

The Boogie is at that age where she LOVES to help. Last night My Man came home for a bit after work and ate dinner, then headed over to church where several men were tearing up a concrete floor. The Boogie woke up from her nap right as he was leaving and was a little bit sad that she couldn't go with Daddy. To distract her I told her that I needed her to be my helper! We washed dishes, made cookies, put together a puzzle several times, and a few other things. When her Daddy came home the Boogie was excited to tell him about what she helped me do -- I "interviewed" her a little later to see if she would say the same things.



I'm so glad she was around to help me watch my favorite game shows. Whatever would I have done without her?

Belly!

39.5 weeks! Baby Sister can come any day now ... we're ready!

The Birthday Girl

The Boogie's birthday was such a lovely day -- it was exactly as I had hoped it would be, filled with little things to make it special.

Here's my last picture of our 2-year-old Boogie:

After she went to bed we decorated the apartment.

Streamers in front of her door:

A couple of birthday banners (yes, we were up until midnight):

Balloons here and there:

When she woke up she was excited by the decorations and I let her open a gift right away:

She had to wear her crown, since she was Birthday Princess for the day:

We picked up Taco Bell and went to see her Daddy for lunch. He had a little gift for her to open. After lunch we bought her birthday cake:

Later that afternoon we walked over to 52 where she got to open several more little gifts from her Mommom and Poppop:

During her nap I set up her "big" gift from us and when My Man came home he woke her up and brought her out to the living room to see it:

She LOVED it! We had some more presents for her (some books and games) -- she would open one, glance at it, and go right back to her train. We had to keep coaxing her back to open the rest of them!

"Forget those games, guys, I need to play with my train!"

After dinner we loaded up the car with balloons and cake and iced tea and lemonade and went to church:

We set up a table in the foyer with cake and balloons and fun birthday plates. Sadly I somehow did not get a picture of it. It looked cute.

Her Auntie (SIL3) gave her this Ugly Doll named Chuckanucka:

She loves it!

Then it was time to sing and blow out candles:

Everyone ate cake and she got even MORE gifts!

I think she had a really fun day.

This morning she woke up at 6:15 and came into my room: "Honey, I need my engines!" I told her it was too early to get up and that she could get into bed with me for a while. She squirmed and tossed and turned and talked and finally held my hand and dozed off ... and then the alarm went off. Rats. But despite the shortened amount of sleep she was happy all morning playing with her new toys and her cousin HE who spent the morning with us. She even shared nicely! And now she is taking a nice looooong nap.

Thank you, everyone, for the happy birthday and anniversary wishes. While My Man and I didn't do much to celebrate our anniversary (we'll go out to eat sometime soon), it was still a lovely day!

I just can't believe my little girl is three years old already. What a joy she has been and continues to be to us -- we are looking forward to that joy being doubled when Baby Sister makes her appearance!

A Very Special Day

Our Boogie is THREE years old today!

Here she is eating her birthday breakfast of blueberry muffin.

We decorated the apartment last night with birthday banners and balloons and streamers. She was so excited when she woke up. Today we will go have lunch with her daddy and see grandparents this afternoon and tonight after church we'll have cake and call it a party!

Today is also special because it is our fourth anniversary, so happy anniversary to My favorite Man!

I'm so grateful to the Lord for blessing me with such a lovely family.

It's Official

I'm on maternity leave. Now Baby Sister can come whenever she is ready ... except not on April 22. Please, Baby Sister, do not come on April 22.

She seems pretty content where she is, though, so I wouldn't be a bit surprised if she stays put for a couple more weeks. I feel pretty well and am fairly comfortable (as long as the temperature doesn't climb too high) so as of this moment I don't think I mind being pregnant for a couple more weeks or however long she decides to hang out in utero.

My Man was offered the opportunity to work five hours of overtime this morning so he took it. That is a big blessing! He hasn't worked any OT in a year or so. Things have really been picking up at his job so we're hoping for more OT here and there.

The Boogie is watching Dora the Explorer and eating Cheerios. She loves Dora. She is picking up Spanish words left and right. Yesterday I heard her singing a song that ended in "buenas noches, buenas noches." She was showing My Man some colors and telling him what they were in Spanish. She counts from uno to diez. When she eats something she likes she says, "Yum yum yum, delicioso!"

I've been trying to remember the funny things she's been saying, but if I don't write them down right away I forget them. Let's see ... The other day in the car she was licking her finger and wiping it on her bare leg. "What are you doing?" I asked. "Why are you doing that?"
"I'n wiping my toof water on my knee," she replied. Tooth water! Hahaha.

Her cousin HE came over a couple of mornings this week. One morning HE brought a little snack with her. The Boogie asked her politely, "Are those for you, or for sharing?"

My Man and I will sometimes talk to each other in texting mode, saying letters instead of words. One thing we often say is "IDK" instead of "I don't know." I asked the Boogie a question and she answered, "I don' know, Honey. IDK!"

One afternoon she was acting a little crabby. I asked My Man, "What do you think? N-A-P or not?" Before he could answer she shouted, "Not!" I don't think she knew what I spelled ... but maybe she did ...

Havin' a Heat Wave ...

It has been bizarrely warm over the last several days. I am a person who loves warmth. I love summer. I love sunshine. I don't even mind humidity much (usually.) BUT -- and there's always a big but -- I've never been largely pregnant in hot weather before. If I have anything to do with the timing of further children, I never will be again. My calves are swollen. My ankles are swollen. My feet are swollen to the point of being painful. My toes look like sausages by the end of the day. I am uncomfortable. I keep thinking about my mom going waaaaay overdue with my brother ... in July ... in Texas ... and I know I have no real reason to complain ... and then I look at my puffy feet or limp to the bathroom to pee again and I feel justified in a teeny tiny bit of being sorry for myself.

It is supposed to be much cooler tomorrow and already feels wonderful to have the windows open with a lovely cool breeze blowing through the apartment. I am hopeful for some thunderstorms tonight. I am also hopeful that I will wake up if it rains so that I can close windows.

The Boogie and I took Baby Sister to the doctor for a belly check today. We were there for two hours. We saw the doctor for about ten minutes. It was ridonkulous. I love my doctor and I like the staff in his office, but that kind of waiting has been pretty much the norm for all of my recent visits and it's getting old, people. Like really old. Thankfully we only have a few weeks of visits left. Baby Sister is doing well. Her head is down and she likes to snuggle her back against my right side with her shoulder pressed against my right hip (most annoying when she has the hiccups.) She is squirming around right now, right on schedule. Same time every night! As uncomfortable as it can be, the only thing I would trade it for would be holding her in my arms or watching her sleep next to me.

This afternoon when the Boogie took a nap I took one too, which meant sleeping during the time I should have been making dinner. My Man went to Wawa and bought hoagies for us, and I made a tuna sandwich for the Boogie and gave her a pickle and some canned pineapple. She ate the pickle first like an ear of corn and asked for more. "Finish your food and you can have more pickle," I told her. She ate the pineapple and asked for more of it and another pickle. "Eat your sandwich and then you can have more," we both told her. She poked at her sandwich and picked off pinches of bread and ate them. Finally her daddy insisted that she take one real bite of it. She held the bite in her mouth and whined and whimpered. "Is that still in your mouth?" I asked. She opened her mouth to show it to me (gross.) "Chew it!" I demanded. "Chew it up and swallow it!" She choked and gagged and swallowed it and shuddered. I laughed and laughed and laughed! I am a terrible mother. It was so funny. I didn't make her finish it. She had pickle and pineapple for dinner. Oh well. You win some and you lose some. At least she ate one bite. And I guess we'll stick to PB&J after this.

I have a confession to make. Before I write a new blog post, I have to go back and read the last one I wrote. I have to make sure I don't repeat myself. I just thought you should know that about me. I forget a lot of things and I'm only twenty- ... four. Or thereabouts.

Reason To Celebrate

"But God commendeth his love toward us, 

in that, 

while we were yet sinners, 

Christ died for us." 

Romans 5:8

"He is not here: 

for he is risen, 

as he said." 

Matthew 28:6

I serve a RISEN Saviour!

I hope you had a blessed Resurrection Sunday! Ours was busy -- sunrise service at church at 7:30 a.m., followed by a pancake breakfast at 8:30, Sunday school at 9:30, and regular morning service at 10:30. That afternoon MIL made a huge Easter dinner (which we missed the beginning of because all three of us took a nap and overslept) after which cousins played in the backyard and got thoroughly dirty. It was an amazingly beautiful day -- I don't ever remember such lovely warm weather at the beginning of April. 

 

Here is my pretty girl at church. I didn't remember to take any pictures at all, so I swiped these from SIL3's Facebook. 

And later, after playing in dirt and repeatedly wiping her nose with her hand:

She looks cute but do you know what she did last night? She peed on my new chair. Well, okay, not right on my chair, but on the ottoman. And it was on purpose. I was sitting in my chair talking with her and she was sitting on the ottoman and all of a sudden she got a funny look on her face. "What's the matter?" I asked.

"I peed," she said.

ARGH. Of course it couldn't have been on our old hand-me-down couch or the recliner or her own foam chair or even the floor, it HAD to be on my new chair! She normally does so well telling us when she needs to go to the bathroom, I can't imagine what possessed her to just go right then and there. What a booger.

Here I am with the other girl:

36.5 weeks ... we're getting so close.

My parents bought us a new double stroller for hauling around the Boogie and Baby Sister!

My Man had a blast putting it together and figuring out all the gadgets and gizmos. It is going to be a huge blessing after Baby Sister comes to be able to fit both kids and all their paraphernalia into one stroller.

"Make a silly face!" I ordered, and this was the best she could come up with ... poor kid.

See these?

These are homemade chocolates from my office manager. Some are chocolate filled with coconut cream. Some are chocolate filled with peanut butter. Some are peanut butter filled with peanut butter. They are AMAZING. They are better than Reese's Peanut Butter cups, I promise. But since you can only see them and not taste them you will just have to take my word for it. 

Today and the next few days are supposed to get into the eighties! Amazing!

Diaper Deluge!

Well. I already wrote about my wonderful boss giving me my fabulous rocker-glider. Then I wrote about the lovely ladies at my church going in together on a gift card for baby needs. Both things were a great big surprise, something I never expected at all. BUT that's not all!

The other night I finished washing and folding and putting away Baby Sister's clothes, blankets, sheets, etc. My Man and I were talking about what things need to happen before she makes her appearance, and I said, "I don't think we really need to get anything else except some diapers!"

The next day my office had a birthday lunch for the doctor. The Boogie went, as she usually does, and we all met at TGI Friday's. After lunch the plan was to go back to the office to give the doctor his gift and have some cookies before opening for afternoon hours. I was supposed to meet someone to do a Boogie hand-off but it wasn't going to work out, so while we were at lunch I told them I wouldn't be coming back for the little after-party because I needed to drive the Boogie back home. "Oh, no no," they said, "you can't do that. You have to come. The Boogie wants to come and eat cookies! Can't she just stay with you and her daddy can come pick her up after work?" It took a little convincing but I finally agreed -- I didn't really want to have to drive back home, anyway.

When we got back to the office there were balloons and lots of gifts for ME! Diapers and wipes and more diapers and more wipes and baby washcloths and towels and even a little gift for the Boogie. It was a surprise diaper sprinkle, though My Man said it was more like a deluge!

I was TOTALLY and COMPLETELY surprised yet again. Wasn't that a perfectly lovely thing for them to do? They are so good to me.