Building the Nest

My sweetie and I took the girls to IKEA on Saturday. I had never been to the one here locally. The one and only time I have been to an IKEA was in Germany and that was over 10 years ago! We had a lot of fun looking at all the neat furniture and storage ideas. We are still thinking about how to arrange the bedroom to accommodate our two little girls, the new baby, and still have room in case another blessing is sent our way. Not an easy task for a room that is only 10x12! We've considered giving the kids the master bedroom, but I kinda like being able to walk around our king-sized bed. :)

While at IKEA, I ran into my very good friend who is also expecting. She's due the day after I am. I still can't get over that. God is so good, and has such a sense of humor. :) I also saw another lady that I know from another blog. She is expecting her second child in a few weeks. In fact, I think every woman at IKEA was pregnant and in the throes of a nesting urge. IKEA is like Mecca for pregnant women! It was good to see so many children about to join our human family, especially in an area known for Progressivism and pet-worship. Made my heart proud.

A Rant

I love my husband. He works very hard for a boss who appreciates him very little. That said, there is just something on my mind I have wanted to say outloud for a long time. Here goes:

It's hard enough for a man to be a husband to his wife. So much is on his shoulders in providing, protecting, and doing all the gentlemanly things expected of him. It's unconscienable to demand that he also act as "husband" to his female co-workers. Either equality in the workplace exists, or it doesn't. Women can't have it both ways.

Phew! I feel much better now.

On Our Own

When my oldest daughter struggled with reading, I was introduced to the book, "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." Half-way through the book, her struggles were overcome and she was off and reading on her own. I had always planned to use the book again if I had more children. What I didn't expect was to use it with a 3-year old. Jeremy has started going through the book with her and she is doing very well. (Yes, I'm bragging. It's my child and my responsibility as a mom to do so.) It's amazing to me how quickly little ones can pick up on reading skills. Before we started with the book, she was trying to sound out letters on her own and even doing a good job of figuring out what letter started words just by the sound the word makes.

Homeschooling is not about sitting a child at a desk at age 5 and going through textbooks while at a chalkboard (or whiteboard - don't want to date myself too much!). It's about teaching them at every stage of their development, focusing on their interests, and challenging them to do more than they think they can. It happens in the car, snuggled in bed, at the dinner table, playing outside. You get the picture. :) It doesn't take a "professional" teacher, a degree, or an institution to teach. It takes a dedicated parent who is willing to take the time. It doesn't take expensive curricula or fancy methods. Parents teach their children all the time without trying. It comes naturally. We teach them by our words and actions everyday. That's why Grace shouts, "Come on, stupid people!" when we're in slow traffic on the road.

The Name Game

Choosing a name for baby is, to me, the most anxiety-provoking aspect of pregnancy. The significance of the perfect name cannot be understated. The name will be associated with this new person his/her whole life. It will shape who s/he is. First impressions will be based on it. His/her personality will hang on it's sound, meaning, and any nicknames derived from it. Yep, I'm completely scared to death when picking one out!

With Carly, I had a perfect name picked out early on. My family belittled it. I am always amazed at how bold people are when giving opinions about the name you've picked for your baby. I can't remember how many times I've been told, "Oh, I HATE that name!" Makes me want to use it even more when I hear that. :) Carly wasn't always going to be Carly, though. The name I had picked was Autumn Lilac. Autumn because it's my favorite season, and Lilac because it's my favorite flower. However, God had a different name picked out, and I agreed to Carly just before she was born. Carleen Emerson. It fits her very well.

Grace was Grace years before she was born. Jeremy and I had decided on that name probably before we were married. I had had an ectopic pregnancy, an abortion, and a miscarriage after Carly. We thought that I may not be able to have more children, so if God decided to bless us with another, and it was a girl, she'd be named Grace. God did bless us, and we kept our word. Grace Eleanor. Grace because God gives us what we don't deserve, and Eleanor in honor of my mother who had passed away the year before.

Then God blessed us again with Abigail just 13 months later. Abigail's name was not even on our radar. When we found out she was a girl, we prayed over names that were placed on our hearts, placed them into a hat, and drew. The contenders were Sarah, Rose, Tesia, Abigail, and Beatrice. Jeremy, Carly, and I were all rooting for our favorites, but Abigail was not one of them. It was, however, God's chosen name. It means "the father's joy." And Abigail Elyce is very much a sweet girl who brings her father, and her Father, much joy.

Two years later we are faced with the task of choosing another name. For a boy, it is Tobias. For a girl, either Vivian or Beatrice. Slim pickin's this time around - but we believe in praying over names and God just didn't give us the go-ahead on very many. After finding out the gender, we considered names again and added one more. It was not a name Jeremy or I had seriously considered before, but it seemed God was telling us to and so we threw it into the hat. Jeremy prayed over the names and we picked one out. To everyone's surprise (and possible chagrin) it was the name we threw in at the last minute. Once again God had chosen a name that we weren't considering, but we can rest assured that He chose this child before the foundation of the world, and the task of naming him/her belongs to Him. A middle name has also been chosen, and the initials are C.J.

I can't wait to meet C.J! S/he is going to be a very special person!

I joked with Jeremy that if anyone can guess the name, I'd give them a $50 gift certificate to the store of their choice. It's like Rumplestiltskin - I sincerely doubt anyone can do it!

God is always surprising us with His provisions. :)

Half-time Show

Yesterday marked my 20th week. The family drove to Portland for our first-ever 3D/4D ultrasound appointment. Since this may be our last blessing, we wanted to do it in style. I was so nervous! I worried about seeing the baby on the screen - would it look weird? Would there be a problem? How would I react to knowing the gender?

The technician was a very sweet woman who was also pregnant. She made me feel relaxed and comfortable. The ultrasound began in 2D and we soon discovered that the location of the placenta was causing a problem viewing our little one. Also, the baby was breech and facing my spine. I think s/he was trying to hide from the camera. :)

So, we weren't able to get 3D/4D video or pictures, just the standard ultrasound. But, their policy is to allow a second visit to try again so we will go back in three weeks and see if baby is better positioned and has grown enough to overcome the obstacles.

We DO know the gender for certain. The baby was very cooperative in that area. :) And, we have decided to treasure this knowledge for ourselves for a while before we share with friends and family. With 3 girls, there are a lot of opinions on whether we're having a boy or girl and I want to take the time to allow our little family to get to know this new person and to imagine how life will be when s/he is born. Then there's the name to choose and we take that VERY seriously around here! I know everyone will understand our choice and it won't be secret for long. :)

Matters of the Heart

Last week I had my monthly visit with my mid-wife. I was 17 weeks. Everything has been going fine with this pregnancy - morning sickness is nearly gone, I started walking again, bump is growing, but not too quickly, weight steady (no gain, no pain) :)

Then it happened. My midwife had me lay down, slimed my belly with ultrasound gel, and began the search for the wonderful sound of little one's heartbeat. Only she couldn't find it. 15 minutes of prodding and searching and nothing. It is an understatement to say that I was freaking out. Where the heck could s/he be? It's not like there's a lot of room to hide. Another 5 minutes of trying after having me get up and walk around to try to move the baby. Still nothing.

Since my uterus was the right size, and there were no other indications of something wrong, she sent me home to "not worry." I have a 3D ultrasound scheduled in a couple weeks and we will find out then.

What, me worry?

I prayed and asked God for the faith and patience to wait and trust Him. I believe in the power of the body and blood of Jesus and have been partaking in Communion throughout this pregnancy. The life is in the blood. Rest in Him.

But, thankfully, my friend mentioned the situation to her doctor (she is due one day after me!) and her doctor generously offered to do an ultrasound/doppler on me for free. I have never heard of such an offer and I couldn't pass it up.

So, yesterday afternoon I walked into the doctor's office and waited for her to have an opening to spare a couple minutes to put my mind at ease. Praise God, the baby's heart was beating strong and I got to hear it for a very precious few seconds. There's no sound more beautiful to an expectant mommy's ears. :)

Hopefully this baby will stop giving me such grief and let me enjoy the rest of my pregnancy (hint, hint). I can't wait to see him/her at the ultrasound appointment!

The Wonders of the Pregnant Brain, or How I Completely Forgot I had Started a Blog!

Thanks to Kristin who recently commented on an old post here, I was reminded that this blog exists. Funny thing happens when a woman becomes pregnant. No wonder how intelligent she was before, her ability to remember things drops significantly. I chalk it up to the tremendous energy being put into growing a human being. My husband just thinks I've lost my mind. :)

I wanted to update anyone who happens to stop over here that things are going much better. Morning sickness is slowly on its way out. Food still tastes different and tends to leave a bad taste in my mouth, but I'm eating and keeping it down and am up out of bed. (Some) household chores are being done and Carly has resumed school. That's about all I can ask.

I am 14 weeks, 5 days pregnant. My belly has officially "popped." I'm at that stage where I am actually trying to look pregnant (i.e., wearing tighter shirts, rubbing my belly in public, putting my hands on my lower back when I'm standing) so people will know that I haven't just gotten fatter - there's a reason my belly has swollen. Think it's working? Yeah, me neither.

Since I last blogged, Grace turned 3, Jeremy turned 30-something, Abigail turned 2, and I turned 29 - again. :) That's a lot of birthday cake!

We have a 3-D ultrasound scheduled for next month. We are definitely going to find out the gender - I have zero patience. I'll break the news as soon as we find out. We're pretty sure of the girl name, but the boy name is elusive. We have a couple ideas, but nothing that just shouts out to us. Probably because it's a girl - which we are fine with. Jeremy is actually hoping for a girl.

Now that I know this blog exists, I'll try to update more regularly. Can't promise anything. Might forget all over again by tomorrow. :)