... ok the dinner did not come from a garbage can, but it might as well have. 95% of it ended up there! So tonight wasn't my night in the cooking department. I'm pretty sure I'd made this ham and spinach risotto recipe before, but I don't remember it looking or tasting so nasty.
It was doing fine until I added the spinach (or so I thought) and that is where my desire to eat the dinner went out the window. I just chucked it up to the pregnancy until Lauren took one look at it and said "I'm done" without a single bite taken. Matt and I told her to pick out the ham, which she did, sort of. That is what I did too. We're usually pretty strict when it comes to meals- "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit." But tonight I gave her a break. I think she played with it, but that is what I did, so I couldn't blame her. Matt, being such a wonderful and loving husband said "it's not that bad, if you don't mind crunch rice." Yes the rice was crunchy...I'm not sure what I did wrong. It was probably a bad recipe, yes...that's it. The 5% that didn't end up in the trash was eaten by Matt- sweet man, he must have been hungry.
Guess I'm just distracted or exhausted or a little of both lately. I wasn't too hungry to begin with but I was forcing myself to cook food for everyone else. We were going grocery shopping after dinner (Matt, again being a gold star hubby, has been coming grocery shopping with us lately so I don't have to unload the groceries and put them away all by myself- 9 months pregnant). Our dinner options were pretty slim pickin's due to it being shopping night, so I just sucked it up and made the dinner I had all the ingredients for. Looking back, I'm not sure why.
Oh goodness, I'm hoping future dinners don't create such a flop! We snacked on rice cakes and grapes on the way home from the store and then I popped in a pot-pie we picked up so the baby didn't starve. I'm sure Saturday morning breakfast will make us forget this slop we "had" tonight.
Here's to not cooking that recipe again! (because I'm pretty sure it was the recipe and not my cooking ;-)
"I don't like food that's too carefully arranged; it makes me think the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I'd buy a painting." Andy Rooney
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Friday, January 25, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Under Stimulated and Over Ready
After what has felt like the busiest, fastest pregnancy I've hit a slow and steady pace of blah. I fully disclose the insanity of this comment and have laughed at myself as I expressed this to Matt last night at dinner- that I felt completely under stimulated just hanging out at the house yesterday. The constant go, go, go of these past nine months has made just being home for a few days in a row a little boring. Well day one wasn't boring because I had Brooke here to, so I was pretty busy and we did a fun craft to pass the early afternoon. But yesterday I was just in a rut with entertaining Lauren.
We had a good day. She and I went out and played in the snow, yes we got some snow, and we had a ball until I started getting pretty wet from rolling around with no snow pants on (I should really have my parents send those to me). After a yummy cup of hot cocoa we played upstairs. We started a new game of "picnic" and we used her favorite "green blankie" and a bunch of her stuffed animals to have a picnic. We even added some baby bibs for each stuffed animal and Annabelle joined in as well. After a game of Candy Land though I was ready to remove my head from toddlerville and do something adult. The house is pretty much clean so that wasn't going to help me. I'm still stubbornly procrastinating the packing of our hospital bag, so that was out of the question. Plus, I was just plum out of ideas to entertain myself. This is all part of the hazard of being a social person.
When I put Lauren down for nap, which she never fell asleep- guess she felt a little under stimulated too, I did some house work, finished a post, and read my book. While doing this and wondering if my talkative crazy girl was ever going to fall into sleepy land, I had to laugh to the words that popped into my brain "under stimulated." And laugh that these words are going to be no where in my immediate vocabulary very soon. Maybe I should embrace my lazy, lack luster day as a blessing since I know after this new sweet baby enters the world I'm going to have day after day of OVER stimulation and dream of this boring day in January and wish for it.
With this said, I need to back track a little and tell you about my Wednesday appointment. Please keep in mind that you might roll your eyes at my thoughts and I write these thoughts mostly for myslef so if you think I'm a nut- oh well. So I had been having lots of Braxton-hicks contractions the later half of last week into this week and some real ones (only they were pretty weak). But that paired with the fact that I could tell the baby had spun herself head down gave me the thoughts that maybe this baby might come early too. I've pretty much gotten everything (except for that wretched hospital bag) done and ready for her arrival. So I think part of my issue yesterday is I'm waiting on pins and needles as to when she may arrive. I know I have 28 days left until her due date, but I can dream right? But at my appointment the doctor found me to not be showing any signs of impending labor- which mind you is okay, just kind of put my thoughts of going early out the window for now. I guess in the business of getting everything ready so early that I forgot, I'm kind of over prepared for this stage of pregnancy. With Lauren I had ten million things to still do because I not only had to prepare the house but my classroom for her arrival. With the house all in order, I'm out of things to do, hence causing my "under stimulation" issue.
I've been trying to convince myself that I'm going to go late since Lauren was so early, that this one will be late, but I'm having trouble believing myself. I think it's because I feel well prepare on the outside for her arrival. On top of that I feel big, I've gained all the weight I desired to gain and the thought of just getting bigger and bigger from here on out isn't my most favorite part of being pregnant. I'm not very good at being patient either- as much as I hate to admit that out loud, I'm not. I think that's part of my need to be the leader- if I'm leading I don't have to wait around for someone else to do their thing- I can forge ahead at my own pace. God has had to help me numerous times to enjoy being in the passenger seat and letting someone else do the driving (ask Matt though, this is still work in progress).
So I think I'm just getting myself ready. Ready for what, waiting, that's what. I've been a little too productive in preparing for her arrival and the with winter settling in I feel like I'm more restricted in what we can do. Hopefully this weekend will bring about some much needed distractions!
"Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience," Colossians 1:11
We had a good day. She and I went out and played in the snow, yes we got some snow, and we had a ball until I started getting pretty wet from rolling around with no snow pants on (I should really have my parents send those to me). After a yummy cup of hot cocoa we played upstairs. We started a new game of "picnic" and we used her favorite "green blankie" and a bunch of her stuffed animals to have a picnic. We even added some baby bibs for each stuffed animal and Annabelle joined in as well. After a game of Candy Land though I was ready to remove my head from toddlerville and do something adult. The house is pretty much clean so that wasn't going to help me. I'm still stubbornly procrastinating the packing of our hospital bag, so that was out of the question. Plus, I was just plum out of ideas to entertain myself. This is all part of the hazard of being a social person.
When I put Lauren down for nap, which she never fell asleep- guess she felt a little under stimulated too, I did some house work, finished a post, and read my book. While doing this and wondering if my talkative crazy girl was ever going to fall into sleepy land, I had to laugh to the words that popped into my brain "under stimulated." And laugh that these words are going to be no where in my immediate vocabulary very soon. Maybe I should embrace my lazy, lack luster day as a blessing since I know after this new sweet baby enters the world I'm going to have day after day of OVER stimulation and dream of this boring day in January and wish for it.
With this said, I need to back track a little and tell you about my Wednesday appointment. Please keep in mind that you might roll your eyes at my thoughts and I write these thoughts mostly for myslef so if you think I'm a nut- oh well. So I had been having lots of Braxton-hicks contractions the later half of last week into this week and some real ones (only they were pretty weak). But that paired with the fact that I could tell the baby had spun herself head down gave me the thoughts that maybe this baby might come early too. I've pretty much gotten everything (except for that wretched hospital bag) done and ready for her arrival. So I think part of my issue yesterday is I'm waiting on pins and needles as to when she may arrive. I know I have 28 days left until her due date, but I can dream right? But at my appointment the doctor found me to not be showing any signs of impending labor- which mind you is okay, just kind of put my thoughts of going early out the window for now. I guess in the business of getting everything ready so early that I forgot, I'm kind of over prepared for this stage of pregnancy. With Lauren I had ten million things to still do because I not only had to prepare the house but my classroom for her arrival. With the house all in order, I'm out of things to do, hence causing my "under stimulation" issue.
I've been trying to convince myself that I'm going to go late since Lauren was so early, that this one will be late, but I'm having trouble believing myself. I think it's because I feel well prepare on the outside for her arrival. On top of that I feel big, I've gained all the weight I desired to gain and the thought of just getting bigger and bigger from here on out isn't my most favorite part of being pregnant. I'm not very good at being patient either- as much as I hate to admit that out loud, I'm not. I think that's part of my need to be the leader- if I'm leading I don't have to wait around for someone else to do their thing- I can forge ahead at my own pace. God has had to help me numerous times to enjoy being in the passenger seat and letting someone else do the driving (ask Matt though, this is still work in progress).
So I think I'm just getting myself ready. Ready for what, waiting, that's what. I've been a little too productive in preparing for her arrival and the with winter settling in I feel like I'm more restricted in what we can do. Hopefully this weekend will bring about some much needed distractions!
"Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience," Colossians 1:11
Friday, January 18, 2013
My Prayer Life
I have previously mentioned in a post that my church is doing a book study on the book The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. I have been reading the youth/student version of the book, since our youth are participating too. The youth started before the rest of the church, putting me a little ahead, where Matt and I have just started for our Sunday school class this past week. I've been reading, highlighting, wondering, praying, and reading some more. I'm blown away by what the author is saying, in a good way, and want to share my thoughts with you. I'll have to remember to do another post after I've finished both the youth book and the Sunday school participate guide (goes with DVD we'll be watching).
The author's prayer philosophy is that we need to pray big and if we pray big and ask God for things we couldn't accomplish/obtain without God then these prayers will honor God because they will show his true glory. The concept makes perfect sense, and yet I'm not sure what to pray for these day. I can tell you numerous prayers of the past that fall under this category of a "big prayer" but as I read it now I keep wondering what God wants me to pray for now?
The author writes about how God isn't a genie and he doesn't grant our every wish and he also discusses how we need to line our prayers up with God. I keep reading and keep wondering... well how do I do that? How do I pray for the next big miracle in my life when I don't know what God wants for me or what I want for myself. I hope this isn't sounding like I'm writing in circles, although, I feel like my thought process is going in circles so maybe this post is too.
I feel so blessed with the "miracles" my life has seen already. I couldn't have dreamed up a more wonderful husband and feel truly blessed that God picked Matt and I out for each other. I can tell you that God's handy work was in our meeting, dating, engagement and is still in the middle of our marriage. Finding the right man for me is a true miracle in my eyes and I give Him all the credit.
My babies are true miracles to. I feel like Matt and I prayed them into being and that God's breath brought them to life and has kept them going strong. I look at Lauren daily and give thanks for God loving me so much that he blessed me with her. There was a time when I just prayed/begged God for the miracle I now call Lauren and for the one on the way too. Anyone who knows me personally, knows I say that I don't understand how people have babies and don't believe in God, because oh my what a miracle any child is!
Me staying home another miracle. I know that it was my hearts desire for a long time, even before I had Lauren or we started thinking about having Lauren. This prayer was started in my heart way back in middle school when I started babysitting. My passion for children started way before then but my desired to be a stay at home mom began when I babysat and realized what it takes to raise good, God loving children. I'm not saying it's the only way, it's just the way that fits me and my family best. Please also note that I'm in awe of those mom's I know that raise wonderful children and work full time too- bless their hearts. It's just not me, I'd crumble like a stale cookie in that situation. I've watched God bring about many miracles as Matt and I pray to provide for our small family with one income. I've shared many of them on here. This situation has pushed us more than ever to rely on His will and provisions, Amen for each testimony to His love!
So with those few miracles highlighted, I wonder what God has in store for me next. I wonder what my next big dream will be. I know I have lots of things I would love to see happen in my lifetime, so maybe I'll start there. Dreaming big for my children and their lives. Praying big for how God will use them as they grow strong with him to bear his good fruit. I pray for that in my life as well- but I pray that I do it in such a way that everyone who knows me, knows my love for our Heavenly Father.
The author's prayer philosophy is that we need to pray big and if we pray big and ask God for things we couldn't accomplish/obtain without God then these prayers will honor God because they will show his true glory. The concept makes perfect sense, and yet I'm not sure what to pray for these day. I can tell you numerous prayers of the past that fall under this category of a "big prayer" but as I read it now I keep wondering what God wants me to pray for now?
The author writes about how God isn't a genie and he doesn't grant our every wish and he also discusses how we need to line our prayers up with God. I keep reading and keep wondering... well how do I do that? How do I pray for the next big miracle in my life when I don't know what God wants for me or what I want for myself. I hope this isn't sounding like I'm writing in circles, although, I feel like my thought process is going in circles so maybe this post is too.
I feel so blessed with the "miracles" my life has seen already. I couldn't have dreamed up a more wonderful husband and feel truly blessed that God picked Matt and I out for each other. I can tell you that God's handy work was in our meeting, dating, engagement and is still in the middle of our marriage. Finding the right man for me is a true miracle in my eyes and I give Him all the credit.
My babies are true miracles to. I feel like Matt and I prayed them into being and that God's breath brought them to life and has kept them going strong. I look at Lauren daily and give thanks for God loving me so much that he blessed me with her. There was a time when I just prayed/begged God for the miracle I now call Lauren and for the one on the way too. Anyone who knows me personally, knows I say that I don't understand how people have babies and don't believe in God, because oh my what a miracle any child is!
Me staying home another miracle. I know that it was my hearts desire for a long time, even before I had Lauren or we started thinking about having Lauren. This prayer was started in my heart way back in middle school when I started babysitting. My passion for children started way before then but my desired to be a stay at home mom began when I babysat and realized what it takes to raise good, God loving children. I'm not saying it's the only way, it's just the way that fits me and my family best. Please also note that I'm in awe of those mom's I know that raise wonderful children and work full time too- bless their hearts. It's just not me, I'd crumble like a stale cookie in that situation. I've watched God bring about many miracles as Matt and I pray to provide for our small family with one income. I've shared many of them on here. This situation has pushed us more than ever to rely on His will and provisions, Amen for each testimony to His love!
So with those few miracles highlighted, I wonder what God has in store for me next. I wonder what my next big dream will be. I know I have lots of things I would love to see happen in my lifetime, so maybe I'll start there. Dreaming big for my children and their lives. Praying big for how God will use them as they grow strong with him to bear his good fruit. I pray for that in my life as well- but I pray that I do it in such a way that everyone who knows me, knows my love for our Heavenly Father.
Heard this song today while Lauren and I played picnic with all her stuffed animals. It made me think of this post, which was sitting in as a draft, and thought it was the perfect song for how I feel. Happy Waiting and Happy Praying!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Thoughts, Prayers, Blessings
Here it is early Sunday morning and my house is quiet and dark. I've been laying in bed thinking, praying, dreaming. I love the moments when Matt is sleeping next to me and Lauren is sleeping above me and the baby is resting/sleeping inside me. When I'm all rested and my thoughts are fresh. There is a peace and happiness found in the quiet anticipation of a new day.
This morning I was thinking about how blessed I feel and then started praying for those blessings and praising God for all that I have. I'm definitely at the point where my belly is round and movement isn't always easy, but last night, after having a braxton-hicks contraction (or three or four or five...) and laying down was what my body needed- even if it wasn't what I wanted- I was thinking about how much I'll miss this. I enjoy being pregnant (after that yucky first trimester where you feel like do-do and in a constant state of panic that the baby is alright). I enjoy the special time where I selfishly have the baby to myself. Where their every movement is felt and enjoyed. Where I go where she goes. Where we can enjoy our special bond just being us. And this time around I'm not as naive and understand that you don't really remember what it feels like to be pregnant- the good and the bad- once you've given birth.
When Matt and I have discussed the number of children we're going to have I remind him how much I enjoy this pregnancy thing and how much I love being a mommy and watching him be a daddy. Before we found out this one was a girl and he kept telling me, in a joking manner, that if it was a boy I was cut off. I kept thinking how I was not ready for this to be my last pregnancy and how I would feel unfinished. Amen for God and now that this one is a girl he is all about having at least three, so we can try for a boy. He loves his girls and in fact was the one wanting a girl when we were pregnant with Lauren. And when we found out this one was a girl he smiled from ear to ear because he says he "knows girls" since we have one. So I think he agrees that our family wouldn't feel complete without at least one more sweet baby. Now I need to pray for what God wants for our family- two, three, four...dare I say 5 (honestly four might be my limit). Anyway, only time will tell what God has in store for our family, and I'm sure glad I have a front row seat to this show!
I need to get to waking up my sleepy family if we're going to make it to church on time. Just wanted to put down some thoughts, dreams, and blessings before the hustle and bustle of the day pulled them away.
May God be ever present in my mind and heart today!
"The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!" Psalm 18:46
This morning I was thinking about how blessed I feel and then started praying for those blessings and praising God for all that I have. I'm definitely at the point where my belly is round and movement isn't always easy, but last night, after having a braxton-hicks contraction (or three or four or five...) and laying down was what my body needed- even if it wasn't what I wanted- I was thinking about how much I'll miss this. I enjoy being pregnant (after that yucky first trimester where you feel like do-do and in a constant state of panic that the baby is alright). I enjoy the special time where I selfishly have the baby to myself. Where their every movement is felt and enjoyed. Where I go where she goes. Where we can enjoy our special bond just being us. And this time around I'm not as naive and understand that you don't really remember what it feels like to be pregnant- the good and the bad- once you've given birth.
When Matt and I have discussed the number of children we're going to have I remind him how much I enjoy this pregnancy thing and how much I love being a mommy and watching him be a daddy. Before we found out this one was a girl and he kept telling me, in a joking manner, that if it was a boy I was cut off. I kept thinking how I was not ready for this to be my last pregnancy and how I would feel unfinished. Amen for God and now that this one is a girl he is all about having at least three, so we can try for a boy. He loves his girls and in fact was the one wanting a girl when we were pregnant with Lauren. And when we found out this one was a girl he smiled from ear to ear because he says he "knows girls" since we have one. So I think he agrees that our family wouldn't feel complete without at least one more sweet baby. Now I need to pray for what God wants for our family- two, three, four...dare I say 5 (honestly four might be my limit). Anyway, only time will tell what God has in store for our family, and I'm sure glad I have a front row seat to this show!
I need to get to waking up my sleepy family if we're going to make it to church on time. Just wanted to put down some thoughts, dreams, and blessings before the hustle and bustle of the day pulled them away.
May God be ever present in my mind and heart today!
"The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!" Psalm 18:46
Friday, January 11, 2013
SCHOOL!!!
So through this fall and into winter I've been doing some lessons with Lauren. Often she'll ask to do school and other times I'll prompt her to do it. It is always a wonderful time for us both. I enjoy watching her learn about our God and all the other fun things in the lesson and she enjoys the crafts, books, activities, and mommy's full attention. We're not done with our Creation unit yet, and I'm hoping we finish before the baby comes along, but we only have a few lessons left. I know I wrote about this way back in the late summer (check this post and check this post) but it's been long over due to tell you what we've been doing!
Sing Songs - There is a Days of Creation song I found on the DLTK website that we always sing. (Side Note -this site is awesome and I've used it for lots of crafts and activities aside from this unit.) We sing the song through the day we're learning for lesson we're on. So today we did the first five verses. This is where I also help Lauren learn to show her numbers on her fingers- not always an easy task for a two year old, but she does great.
Our lesson structure goes like this:
This unit was easily broken into 7 lessons, one for each day of creation. I then have each lesson broken into two days. So Day 1 of creation has two days worth of activities. Most activities are the same both days, we just repeat it, which is perfect for Lauren's age. Some activities are broken into two day. And then there are some things we do only on one of the days- mostly the activities I talk about at the end. You'll understand it more as I go through the routine below.
Start with Prayer- we have a poster on the wall were we write down people or things Lauren wants to pray for. Each lesson I ask if she wants to add anything new and then we take a moment to pray for them and for our time learning about God.
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| This is our prayer poster and the "Days of Creation" Song poster |
We always have a second song. First we learned "He's God the Whole World in His Hands" and now we're on "God Made Me and All of You" which she enjoys as well.
Read from the Bible - we then open her children's bible and read Genesis 1 through the day we're working on. So today when we did day 5 of creation, we read day 1-5 or Genesis 1:1-31 (which in a children's bible is not that long at all). Sometimes it's paraphrased and other times I read each day through. It all depends on how active she is or how long it has been since we last did a lesson.
Go over bible story - this is where we just have a short dialog about what we just read.
Read Story Book - "God Created" By Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones OR "The Story of Creation - An Alice in Bibleland" Storybook By Alice Joyce Davidson
God Created I got from our church library and The Story of Creation I got from my MIL (this book is part of a series and I love them all! I can't wait to do other units with Lauren with the other books). Both books are wonderful. God Created I've used more because it really drills home the point that God created EVERYTHING from people, and light, to smiles and dreams. But The Story of Creation retells Genesis 1 well in a fun way so it just reinforces what the Bible is saying, so I like this one too.
Talk about God - this is where we dialog about who God is- we talk about how he's the creator of all things and Jesus' daddy.
Felt Board - I purchased a packet of felt pieces for the creation story from Amazon and made my own flannel board with flannel from the fabric store and foam board from Michael's. There were multiple different creation story felt sets, I selected this one because it had lots of pieces, was colorful, and thought it would follow my lessons the best. She was in love with the felt board as soon as I showed her how it worked. She's played with it during none school time and has formed a special bond with, you guessed it, the shark piece. I also took a picture of how it looked at the end of our day 5 lesson today so you could see. She puts up the days in order and today I sung the Days of Creation song as she put up the pieces. Notice she put the birds in the sky with the sun and moon and all the fish are in the water. (The creation felt pieces also contain an Adam, Eve, angel, and the fruit tree, I've been incorporating them into the creation story)
Bible Verse - Our Bible verse we've been learning is Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." I have it written on sentence strips. I'll read it and then she'll repeat it and use her "pointer" to follow along as I read it again. I've cut it into smaller pieces because for day 6 I'm going to see if she can put it in the right order. You can see it in the top of the pocket chart below.
****This is where things will be different depending on if is day one of the lesson or day two.****
Coloring Pages - Each day of creation as a coloring page that goes with it. I got them from here but there are also some great ones here.
Letters & Numbers - I have a number dot page for each number we go over and I got them from here and Lauren loves them. The first day we put pom-poms in the dot spots and color the number and number word. The second day of the lesson we use a bingo maker to fill in the dots as we count.
Each number we've done has had a big project with it. This usually happens on day two of the lesson. 1 - we used rice to fill in the number, 2 - we used packaging peanuts, 3 - we used pom-poms, 4 - we used foam sea life stickers, and 5 - we used buttons. You can see them hanging on our fridge in the picture below.
For numbers on day one of the lesson, I also write the number out on an index card and she uses the bingo marker to trace the number. We put that in the packet chard too. (See picture below- in the bottom right)
Some of the lessons have lent themselves to learning a letter- we did the letters "G" and "F" only. I was more focused on the numbers then the letters for this unit. You can see the dot page we used for the letter "F" two pictures up. Each lesson that lent itself to learning a letter had a few words in the lesson starting with that letter. You can see the "F" words in pocket chart below (which is becoming awful crowded, so the "G" words have been covered up, but they were - God, Good, and Genesis).
Activities - Then we have other projects that we've done. We did the sun, moon, and stars project that you can see in the picture above for day 4 of creation. We also did one where she colored birds, butterflies, and fish, I cut them out, and she glued them where they belonged - the sky or the water. Check out the picture below.
For day three of creation we did an activity were I put water in a pie dish and we added a stone to show land and how it separates the water. Then we put a leaf and flowers in the dish, on the rock to show plant life. We also put apple seeds in there too and talked about fruit and seeds. She really enjoyed this activity, but I didn't think to get pictures that day.
This is pretty much what we've been doing. The lessons take us from 30 minutes to an hour depending on the activities and how active she is. She tends to pay better attention and be most involved the the hands on stuff at the end of the lesson. We've both enjoyed learning this together and I'm so glad I did it. Not sure how much we'll do after the baby comes, but I know for sure I'll start back up in the fall and I'm going to do letters- and some how link it with God. It will come to me just like this idea did! Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or want to know more, I'd be happy to share.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
A tour and a few dreams
So yesterday we had the opportunity to tour the hospital we'll being delivering at this time around. You see last time we were given two options in hospitals and we picked the hospital that was right next to my doctors office. We did this since you head there a billion and a half times for all the appointments, so when labor starts your brain and car know just were to go, since you've been going there all along. This time around, the doctor's main office changed locations and is now next to the second hospital, so we decided to go with the same logic and deliver at that hospital. We had a wonderful experience at the first hospital but haven't been there since my post delivery appointment after Lauren arrived, so going with the same logic as we used before the new hospital would be the right choose, or so we were thinking.
That is were my dreams come in. I've only had two dreams about this baby, both have been anxiety dreams about delivering at the hospital. I've had no conscience anxiety that I can think of. I know two people personally that have delivered at this hospital and they had a great experience, so I don't have a clue where this is coming from. Maybe because it is the one big difference between this pregnancy and the other?
With Lauren I only had a few anxiety dreams and they were all about breastfeeding. Indeed we did have a rough start, but we settled in quiet nicely. I'm hoping that doesn't hold true with the hospital experience. I hope there is nothing rough about my visit there, beginning or end.
The tour only proved to show two drawbacks about this hospital than the other. First, the postpartum rooms are pretty small and leave very little room for anything. The second was that there is no menu of food. You just get what they give you. At the old hospital you got a menu, you picked what you ate and you could ask for extra's of stuff or a double portion. That was nice since Matt stayed there with me the whole time and I would order enough for the both of us so he didn't have to leave the room or go spend money on food.
The tour guide was a sweet retired nurse but there were a few things she said that I didn't like too. She talked about sending the baby to the nursery a lot and how the baby would be at the nursery for a while after they took her to get her bath. With Lauren, she was back within an hour or so. Although I do have to remind myself that she went to the nursery at 1 am in the morning, so their load might have been a little light at that time of day or night or morning- whatever you want to call that hour. Anyway, the other hospital was big on "rooming in" which fits my personality much better. Lauren only left us when she needed to get checked out by the pediatric doctor or they need to do any testing on her. Other than that, she stayed with us. I liked that idea so this idea of sending my sweet baby away after being attached to her for nine plus months was not sounding so good. Now I need to add they will allow baby to sleep in the room with you here too, she just made it sound like it wasn't the ordinary way of doing things. When I talked to Garrett later that day she said that it was the personality of the nurse and that shouldn't be a deciding factor.
Matt and I enjoyed a lunch date after the tour, we were taking advantage of the alone time since Lauren was home with a babysitter. We discussed my thoughts and Matt and I are going to give the new hospital a chance. He thinks it will be just fine and since he is less influenced by crazy hormones than me and I trust his judgement completely I agreed we'd go to the new one. Hopefully my dreams will have no premonition as to the experience we have there.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all you ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
That is were my dreams come in. I've only had two dreams about this baby, both have been anxiety dreams about delivering at the hospital. I've had no conscience anxiety that I can think of. I know two people personally that have delivered at this hospital and they had a great experience, so I don't have a clue where this is coming from. Maybe because it is the one big difference between this pregnancy and the other?
With Lauren I only had a few anxiety dreams and they were all about breastfeeding. Indeed we did have a rough start, but we settled in quiet nicely. I'm hoping that doesn't hold true with the hospital experience. I hope there is nothing rough about my visit there, beginning or end.
The tour only proved to show two drawbacks about this hospital than the other. First, the postpartum rooms are pretty small and leave very little room for anything. The second was that there is no menu of food. You just get what they give you. At the old hospital you got a menu, you picked what you ate and you could ask for extra's of stuff or a double portion. That was nice since Matt stayed there with me the whole time and I would order enough for the both of us so he didn't have to leave the room or go spend money on food.
The tour guide was a sweet retired nurse but there were a few things she said that I didn't like too. She talked about sending the baby to the nursery a lot and how the baby would be at the nursery for a while after they took her to get her bath. With Lauren, she was back within an hour or so. Although I do have to remind myself that she went to the nursery at 1 am in the morning, so their load might have been a little light at that time of day or night or morning- whatever you want to call that hour. Anyway, the other hospital was big on "rooming in" which fits my personality much better. Lauren only left us when she needed to get checked out by the pediatric doctor or they need to do any testing on her. Other than that, she stayed with us. I liked that idea so this idea of sending my sweet baby away after being attached to her for nine plus months was not sounding so good. Now I need to add they will allow baby to sleep in the room with you here too, she just made it sound like it wasn't the ordinary way of doing things. When I talked to Garrett later that day she said that it was the personality of the nurse and that shouldn't be a deciding factor.
Matt and I enjoyed a lunch date after the tour, we were taking advantage of the alone time since Lauren was home with a babysitter. We discussed my thoughts and Matt and I are going to give the new hospital a chance. He thinks it will be just fine and since he is less influenced by crazy hormones than me and I trust his judgement completely I agreed we'd go to the new one. Hopefully my dreams will have no premonition as to the experience we have there.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all you ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Three Little Things
I use this blog mostly as a journal of my family's journey and all the things we see, do, and go through but I also keep this as a place to make sure I write down God's blessing, both big and small. Just recently I've had three little blessings come my way, and I felt the hand of God in all of them, so I thought I share them here.
My first little blessing came right after Christmas. We went out to eat with my dad and step-mom, mostly because Sue and I were tired of cooking. After dinner we headed to Home-Depot to return a few items we had gotten for the closets that we didn't need. Next store was Hobby Lobby so we just went in to look around. I had heard how awesome the store was for a while and Lauren and I had made our maiden voyage in there a few weeks back, so naturally I wanted Sue to see it because it's a pretty neat store. Anyway, while shopping I found the perfect picture for the "big girls bedroom" to go above their beds. It was on clearance for half price, a total of $30. I really liked it and Matt agreed it would fit nicely. It being so close to the holiday season I took a leap of faith on purchasing it since money this time of year is tight. But I was afraid if I didn't get it now they would be gone when I did have the money or what I found then would be more money- I hope this logic makes since to you and not just me. Well after we pulled into the driveway Lauren and Matt got the mail and in the mail was a Christmas check from Matt's grandmother for $30. One might see this as coincidence but I don't. I looked at Matt and said "Well grandma just bought that picture for the big girl room!" It was a wonderful Christmas blessing!
My second little blessing is kind of random but stick with me. Our church is doing a church wide book study. They've done this a few times previous but this time it's a book I'd heard about. In fact, I heard about it from the wonderful lady who does my hair. The book is called "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson. Our church is offering a number of small groups throughout the week for people to participate in. The thing is, I really wanted to do this one together with Matt. We've been attending Sunday School, but the Sunday school classes listed in the bulletin as using the book were the men's class and the woman's class. So, if we wanted to do it then we'd have to do it separately. Then they have classes during the day, but Matt works. They are offering one night class but it's on Thursday when I help out with the youth and it starts at 7 and goes to 8, which is prime pre-bedtime activities, so there would have to be lots of prep in order to make it work. Anyway, here's where the blessing comes in. When we went into Sunday School this past Sunday, the leader announced that our class was going to do the book, so Matt and I would be able to do it together!! It was quiet the answer to silent prayer as I kept trying to figure out what to do, so Amen!
The last thing that happened was yesterday at the store. We use "treats" to potty train Lauren. Matt keeps asking when we're going to stop giving her treats, and I'm not sure I know the answer to that. I think it will naturally fade out. Anyway, she gets a M&M upstairs and downstairs I have skittles. Now the reason for this is because I had purchased a Halloween candy mix that contained small packets of skittles so I started using them as the downstairs treats instead of having to run to which ever bathroom had the M&M's in them after she had done her business. So on my short list of things to pick up at the store today was skittles. Well someone had left a $1 off coupon for skittles on the shelf so I scooped up a thing of skittles and the coupon, thanking God as I did. Each dollar counts you know. Again, someone might dismiss this as coincidence but I see God working in my life.
Just wanted to capture where I see God in my life. These aren't the only places, just a few times His ray of light shined brightly on my life. I'm so grateful for a loving God!
"...God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out 'Abba Father." Galatians 4:6
My first little blessing came right after Christmas. We went out to eat with my dad and step-mom, mostly because Sue and I were tired of cooking. After dinner we headed to Home-Depot to return a few items we had gotten for the closets that we didn't need. Next store was Hobby Lobby so we just went in to look around. I had heard how awesome the store was for a while and Lauren and I had made our maiden voyage in there a few weeks back, so naturally I wanted Sue to see it because it's a pretty neat store. Anyway, while shopping I found the perfect picture for the "big girls bedroom" to go above their beds. It was on clearance for half price, a total of $30. I really liked it and Matt agreed it would fit nicely. It being so close to the holiday season I took a leap of faith on purchasing it since money this time of year is tight. But I was afraid if I didn't get it now they would be gone when I did have the money or what I found then would be more money- I hope this logic makes since to you and not just me. Well after we pulled into the driveway Lauren and Matt got the mail and in the mail was a Christmas check from Matt's grandmother for $30. One might see this as coincidence but I don't. I looked at Matt and said "Well grandma just bought that picture for the big girl room!" It was a wonderful Christmas blessing!
My second little blessing is kind of random but stick with me. Our church is doing a church wide book study. They've done this a few times previous but this time it's a book I'd heard about. In fact, I heard about it from the wonderful lady who does my hair. The book is called "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson. Our church is offering a number of small groups throughout the week for people to participate in. The thing is, I really wanted to do this one together with Matt. We've been attending Sunday School, but the Sunday school classes listed in the bulletin as using the book were the men's class and the woman's class. So, if we wanted to do it then we'd have to do it separately. Then they have classes during the day, but Matt works. They are offering one night class but it's on Thursday when I help out with the youth and it starts at 7 and goes to 8, which is prime pre-bedtime activities, so there would have to be lots of prep in order to make it work. Anyway, here's where the blessing comes in. When we went into Sunday School this past Sunday, the leader announced that our class was going to do the book, so Matt and I would be able to do it together!! It was quiet the answer to silent prayer as I kept trying to figure out what to do, so Amen!
The last thing that happened was yesterday at the store. We use "treats" to potty train Lauren. Matt keeps asking when we're going to stop giving her treats, and I'm not sure I know the answer to that. I think it will naturally fade out. Anyway, she gets a M&M upstairs and downstairs I have skittles. Now the reason for this is because I had purchased a Halloween candy mix that contained small packets of skittles so I started using them as the downstairs treats instead of having to run to which ever bathroom had the M&M's in them after she had done her business. So on my short list of things to pick up at the store today was skittles. Well someone had left a $1 off coupon for skittles on the shelf so I scooped up a thing of skittles and the coupon, thanking God as I did. Each dollar counts you know. Again, someone might dismiss this as coincidence but I see God working in my life.
Just wanted to capture where I see God in my life. These aren't the only places, just a few times His ray of light shined brightly on my life. I'm so grateful for a loving God!
"...God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out 'Abba Father." Galatians 4:6
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