Moving...

Well, I didn't write a blog entry last week and my posts in the next couple of weeks may be spotty, too. Last weekend, John helped my friend, Rebecca move some of her stuff into her new apartment. I didn't really help but did keep them company while I tried to write a blog entry for the Women's Blog. By the time, we were both done, we were 3o minutes late for our Bradley course.

Anyway, the next couple of weeks, John and I will be packing and moving units. This is sort of last minute but much anticipated. We love our apartment but have three smokers in three different apartments beneath us who take turn smoking from 6:30 a.m. to about 11:00 p.m. every day. There is not real break from the smoke that comes in through our bedroom, dining room and living room windows. In the winter, the smoke comes in through our bathroom vents and makes our mater bedroom smell like a smoking hotel room. It became a real big issue when I realized that our child will be sleeping in our room for the first few months and the room's windows have to be opened once a day to cool the room down (we have two computers and one server that heats the room). We've been trying to work with property management company for some time on this. They finally agree to one of our proposals. As a result, we are moving to a ground floor, three bedroom apartment in two weeks.

I am thrilled be moving. We are moving to a three bedroom apartment because it is just a huge answer to prayers. First and foremost, we finally get away from the smoke. Secondly, we get to have a dedicated nursery for the baby. And lastly, we get to have our office back and continue to use it as a guest room when people visit us...which is going to be more frequent now that Baby is on his/her way.

So we have a busy next two weeks ahead of us. We will have everything packed up by Wednesday, November 4. Next, we are running to Portland/Eugene for my last work trip before Baby is born and for John's grandma's 80th birthday celebration. We'll be back on Sunday afternoon in time for our Bradley class. The following day, John will be working with local movers to move us into our new apartment. The next couple of weeks will be busy but a lot of fun.

Anyway, other than moving, other things have been occurring in our lives. First, John had another interview this last week. It was an initial phone interview but it ended with John being of 1 of 2 people who will be brought in for an in-person interview. This job sounds wonderful and like it would be a great fit for John's skill. John also found that the place that he interviewed with a few years ago posted a position that he is extremely qualified for. It also works for one of the individuals that he interviewed with. When John interviewed, he interviewed with no one he'd be working for. It was slightly strange but did leave John feeling like this was a great people to work with and a good hospital to work for. This new position's hiring manger was impressed by John. I would be extremely be surprised if he doesn't get called for an interview. :) Either way, we are very thankful that there are these positions opening and that employers are starting to take notice of John.

As far as the baby, I think I shared that the baby was in a breech position last time we looked (and I felt). In the last week, I am sure that Baby has moved into the head down position. I am also sure that this baby is growing. When I wake up in the morning, the baby is one side or the other (depends on the side I sleep on). My stomach looks extremely asymmetrical. :) I haven't felt the head recently but in the morning I can feel/see the torso and it extends from just below my ribcage until it disappears below my belly button. It's been fun.

A few nights ago, after laying down for a bit, I rolled over and notice the baby again. I told John to come say something to Baby. He started talking over the baby's head area and a second later, a foot kicked out by my ribcage. John missed it, so I had him to it again. When he did, the baby's foot kicked out in the same place again. It was hilarious. The baby has been very active. In fact, earlier this week, the baby had hiccups twice in one day. It is a very strange feeling. I'll have to describe it like an involuntary frequent body tick. They say that baby hiccups come from babies who are practicing breathing. It was fun to picture the baby breathing.

Well, I should be signing off. I should be able to write next weekend. Until then, hope all is well in your lives.

One Day Late & Sundays

Okay, so I'm one day late in my blog post. I promise for good reason. I spent yesterday relaxing, working a little and spending quality time with my husband. Our Sundays recently have become obsolete for anything other than church, grocery shopping and Bradley classes.

There's something about Sundays and especially Sunday evenings. I really want Sundays to be a day of rest and relaxation and time for relationships. Last Sunday, I was experienced a lot of stress. I realized we had nine weeks, had many things to do, and I am tired and pain during the week. How was I going to do everything? Not to mention that we are dealing with our Property Management company and might need to move before the baby comes.

This Sunday was completely different. I needed to work some to finish preparation for Oregon PHS Open Enrollment. With that, I wanted to let something go. We skipped the Bradley class and had done our grocery shopping on Friday. With that we went to church and our Sunday class and enjoyed what we experienced. We came home and made lunch and ate together. I took a nap and John joined me (he can't resist sleeping Melissa or kitties). I finished my work quickly while John finished up scanning photos for his grandma's 80th birthday celebration. After all that, we went for a walk, went to Quiznos for dinner and finished the evening watching a movie. I know this may not seem like an exciting or good day but I thoroughly enjoyed it. John did, too. I think that I will work to finish tasks during the weeks and leave Sundays for just that church and rest. We'll continue our Bradley courses but will be done with those in a few weeks.

Anyway, my massive to-do list is looking better. Partly because I actually wrote it all down instead of trying to juggle it in my head and partly because John has been great and helped take some small things. Have I mentioned that I have suffered from Pregnancy Brain a lot this pregnancy? Maybe you've never heard of it, but it does exist and causes women to become forgetful, misplace items...essentially becomes scatter brained. Need an example? Last week, I was packing up for our trip to Portland. John had pulled out two packages of Sudafed PE and had left them out. I picked them up to put them away and then went to get his socks from our closet. Later, John found the two packages in his sock area. Need I say more?

John Employment Update: John has an interview this Wednesday. Please pray that this opportunity will turn out to what God has in store for John and that his interview goes well.

Okay, I know that I promised a baby ultrasound update this week. I did have an ultrasound last week. We saw hair and the baby breathing. It was pretty cool. The baby is doing well and is currently sitting in a Frank breech presentation. Translation: Baby is enjoying sitting sideways in Mommy. The baby's sitting in a v shape in me. I still don't look very pregnant and this is because baby is sitting sideways. :) We did get some good profile pictures. I'm uploading the one I like the most. I'm going to sign off for this week. Enjoy...

Fast Week

This week has flown by. I shouldn't be surprised. I had three appointments this week, two and a half days of training at work, celebrating John's birthday and trying to crack down and get to work on my to-do list.

I did have some excitement this week. The first is something that has carried me through this last week and hopefully a little longer. To be honest, I have been lonely the last couple of months and it was really starting to drag on me recently. I had an epiphany last Sunday and started to once again turn my focus off me and back on God and my relationship and response to who He is in my life. In His graciousness and loving kindness, He responded to my need for connection in at least eight different circumstances on Monday. It was done in such a manner that it left no doubt that God was responding to me and my recent struggle. It left me soaring...In fact, I'm going to be writing about this situation and God's response in a blog posting for Women, Awake!, Northshore Baptist Women's Ministry blog. If you want to hear more about it, start reading this blog and look for my "Being Known" post in a couple of weeks.

Writing for this blog has been great for me. It has me trying to listen more for how God is speaking to me and in my life. It focuses me; it makes me be more reflective and assists me in writing about whatever in a manner to share with others. I would highly encourage you to bookmark this blog and read it. I'll put a link to it on under the blogs I follow. There are four other women writing as well and I am excited to read their entries as well. There will be three posts a week and I think my first three-part entry is scheduled for this next week.

Anyway, back to my week...as I was saying things have moved quickly. I had another prenatal appointment this week. Baby is growing and his/her heartbeat is strong. I'm still not gaining anything but am noticing that I am starting to show occasionally. As I was telling John last night, some days I show and some days I don't. It all depends on where Baby decides to sit that day. :)

It was fun on Tuesday to wake up at 5 a.m. and literally feel my baby's head right under the left portion of my rib cage. It was distinctly round, slightly large (about the size of a large orange) and semi hard. As I was drifting back to sleep, I felt the baby do something like a somersault. When I woke up for good an hour later, I felt the baby's head directly opposite of the previous position and towards my right hip. The baby's feet were tucked together again and could be felt slight above and to the left of my belly button. I think this child had a lot of room to move still. This should be changing soon...I am getting more and more excited to meet our baby. It'll be fun to actually get to see those cute feet and look into the face of the head I get to feel every once in awhile.

John is doing well considering he's still dealing with unemployment. His spirits are still good (as are mine). We honestly don't know when or where his opportunity will come from. We, of course, would like to know but are still trusting that God will provide for all of needs (especially with Baby coming) in His way and in His timing. In the meantime, I did ask John if he missed working other than for the reasons of stability and receiving a paycheck. He answered honestly no because he is filling his day with other activities that keep him busy (job searching, researching training, planning out new network or resume strategies, etc.).

One thing I've noticed is he's started to make an effort to help around the house. Part of this is due to my increasing tiredness and pain and part because he has the energy to do so and wants to help. He has been helping out with dinner or handling it all himself. It's been a lot of fun making dinner with him. I've been experiencing a lot of pleasure in talking while we do this and then sitting down at the table together to eat. I hope this is something that continues and we make a habit of eating dinner together at the table (versus on the run or on the couch). It's something I would definitely like our children to experience.

As I mentioned above, I am becoming increasingly tired and still dealing with my arthritis pain. I am praying for some relief from this as we have a lot to do and I need to be able to do some exercises that will help me prepare for the upcoming labor and delivery...ack...just realized we are down to approx 9 weeks! :)

Speaking of time, I should probably go. I do have a rather long to-do list and we are traveling to Portland this week (always disrupts the flow of our week). I need to write my sister's adoption reference letter for the Ethiopia dossier package and finish writing my next patch of blog entries for the Women, Awake! blog before our Bradley class tonight. There are a couple of more things starting to occur in our lives but are still in the middle of being played out. I'll have more next week on these. :) I want to keep you hanging and coming back for more. I will tell you that we have another growth ultrasound on Friday so the next blog entry here will have a new baby weight update and likely picture...