Waking up in the tropics

So if you have read last nights blog you would see that I couldn't sleep and was up until about 2:30am and then didn't sleep well even after that. I kept thinking I was just having pregnancy hot flashes and that is why I kept waking up sweating and feeling like the house was on fire. I quickly dismissed it and would try to go back to sleep. I had actually fallen asleep on the couch and that is where I stayed the rest of the night. In the morning Josh came down and said,"Why is it so hot in here." He had asked me if I had turned the thermostat up and I told him no. He checked the thermostat and it read 72 degrees. He then realized that the furnace was running so he went downstairs to check things out and still had no answer. I thought maybe he had a fever and I was having hot flashes.:) Our automatic thermostats battery died so Josh popped in a new one and the actual temperature finally showed. It was 90 degrees! It has taken hours for the temperature to come back to the normal 71 degrees we normally keep it at. So I definitely got my warmth fix for the next couple of days. Hopefully I will sleep better tonight when I'm not roasting.

Insomnia and update

The worst kind of insomnia is when you can't sleep but you have no energy to do anything. So you sit and think about all you could be doing but decide to just sit on the couch and read through other peoples latest blogs and update your own. I could be catching up on so many things............ but I'm not.

For those people who haven't heard we had our ultrasound last week and we found out we are having another..........(drum roll)........Girl! We are of course elated. We went into it really wanting a boy and a girl and to be honest I knew I was going to be ecstatic and a little disappointed no matter what. I love having my boy and I love having my girl. I think Josh still had hope that it could be twins and we would have one of each. He as well really wanted both and figured why not do it at the same time. Blake had a twinge of disappointment but was over it very quickly. Having another girl made the whole room situation very easy. We actually still had the crib set up in Liah's room even though she hasn't slept in it for almost a year. After the miscarriage in April I couldn't bear taking it down and putting it in storage and I knew as soon as we lugged the thing down the three flights of stairs I would be pregnant.

So now comes the real dilemma. The name. Josh and I tend to not agree on names and this is actually why I figured we were having a girl since it took us about ten minutes about a month ago to come up with a boys name. Isaac and we had too many choices for the middle name to count. After this I looked at Josh and said, "This must be a girl because that was way too simple." Liah was unnamed for 24 hours and I'm worried we might be leaving the hospital with no name this time. I really want a Biblical or Hebrew name so throw any ideas my way. We can use all the help we can get. We are also sort of big on meanings which adds a whole new difficulty to this process. For example, Jael is one of my favorite biblical women but her name means Mountain Goat. Josh doesn't really like the name anyway and the meaning immediately throws it out. I also like the name Phoebe (when I first heard a baby named this I didn't like it but it has grown on me) but Josh says he immediately thinks of Friends. When I mentioned the name Jordan he came back and said, "What about Euphrates or Tigris." As you can imagine this discussion is quite hilarious. I do like the name Ilana but maybe for a middle name. This is actually my Dr's name and I have always thought it was unique. We are still praying about it and hopefully the Lord will give us direction soon!

Hearts at Home and my religious ruts

This past weekend I went to a Hearts at Home conference. I look forward to these every year and know that I will come back with great ideas and insights. This year was the same as usual although I did come back tired which I guess is to be expected in pregnancy. I learned some great new things and also heard things I've heard before but for some reason I need to be reminded every so often. There are always amazing speakers but what is always so amazing is how the Lord speaks to me at conferences like this. Sometimes it is even small things, for example, I was sitting in a workshop and the speaker was talking about how she loved a clean house (as do I) but she didn't want to feel like she had to be cleaning all the time (as do I) so she set one day to get ALL of her cleaning done. A couple of years ago I prayed about how to keep things in balance and I felt led to start cleaning part of the house each day but this HAS NOT been working lately. When I heard this woman talking I felt the Lord saying to listen and do what she was saying. It was then I realized that my life is very different from what it was 4 years ago and God is changing my plan for keeping things in balance. Four years ago I had 1 child, living in a small apartment, without too many extra activities. I now have 2 children, 1 on the way, living in a house with a yard, homeschooling, in charge of a Moms Group and VBS along with some other ministry things. I see in this simple and maybe silly revelation I received how sometimes I can turn the smallest things into legalistic religious ruts. I want to be open to whatever the Lord says even when He changes things. This year we have decided to let our kids go Trick or treating around our culdesac and then come back and pass out candy along with tracts. I really don't like halloween and all the gore and just plain evil that it is associated with it but the Lord convicted me that I was missing out on a great opportunity. When else do you have kids you don't know coming to your door and asking for something. While we will be handing out candy I am also going to hand out something about a relationship with Jesus. I want to be ready for whatever God changes in my life.

I have also been focusing on just enjoying my kids and having fun. We always have great family times but last night was a blast. We decided to play charades. Josh found a program online that actually gave you the words. It was hilarious to see Liah play this game. Blake was awesome at it, much better than Josh and I. It was a fun time and I realized that things were perfect even though the house was (or should I say is) a mess. Sometimes I need to be reminded that this is just a season in life. There will be days down the road that I will have all the time in the world to clean my house because my children will be grown and gone. And though I'm excited to see what my kids turn out to be and see how God uses them I don't even want to think about them not being kids anymore.

This is the day the Lord has made

While I still feel like I'm not getting as much done as I should I think I am FINALLY starting to feel better! This has been such a fun and exciting day. The work has finally begun on fixing our drainage problem in our yard. Or at least they're bringing in al the equipment today. When we bought the house we knew we wanted to have this fixed so we could actually make the side yard into a Real Yard. I never thought this would be happening only a year after moving in since we still have other things to finish but it is. The reason it is happening is because the city said they would fix the problem since it is the drainage easement for the neighborhood on this side of Blair Hills. Did I mention that this is being fixed FREE OF CHARGE to us!!! This is the reason this is being fixed now and not years down the road. The company that is coming out is very friendly and has even agreed to pull out a stump and bushes quick before they leave with the big backhoe. We will still have to dispose of all that stuff but who cares. This is going to save us a good two weekends worth of yard work. I will be posting pics soon. Josh was like a kid at Christmas! We also have started carving our pumpkins which was a fun project and we will finish them after Josh and I come home from Date Night.

I think it's amazing

Sometimes you just find those things that make you wonder "How did God do it?". If you have a weak stomach you may want to quit reading now!

This morning as I was throwing up my 5 strawberries I had just eaten I couldn't help but be amazed at how little I put into my body and how much can come back out. This has always baffled me. I remember about a year ago Blake had a little stomach bug. He seriously ate 3 bites of chicken noodle soup and the mess that I was cleaning up about 5 minutes later took 2 full size towels. God made our bodies so unique and crazy!

OK I better stop talking about throwing up or I'll have to go up to the bathroom again. I am past that much awaited 12 week mark in pregnancy and I'm still sooo queasy. I feel my energy coming back but my stomach hasn't decided to cooperate. Each day I tell myself "Tomorrow is the DAY!" That day has to be coming, right???

Blake: My Helper

Blake has always been a very compassionate and sensitive child. Today I was feeling a little worn down so I decided to sit for a moment and rest. I was checking my email when I felt my blood sugar drop and I immediately was very shaky. I went down to the kitchen in a panic to find something quick and easy to eat. After I grabbed my leftovers from yesterdays lunch and an apple I sat in the living room trying to not panic and relax. Blake came into the room and was wondering why I was eating and sleeping at the same time. I sat my head up and told him I wasn't feeling well and was just trying to relax. Blake then decided to try to make me laugh by doing a funny dance around the living room. He did take my mind off things while the food started to take effect. He then said he would get lunch for Liah and him which he did all by himself so I could sit and rest until the shakes went away. I really don't know what I would do without him lately. He is always such a big help.

Let us not eat the bread of idleness

I was remembering a prayer I had posted quite a while ago and dug around and found it. This is something that I want to read everyday to keep my focus on what's eternal.

"O God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungry; When I have work, help me to remember the jobless; When I have a home, help me to remember those who have no home at all; When I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer, And remembering, help me to destroy my complacency; bestir my compassion, and be concerned enough to help; By word and deed, those who cry out for what we take for granted. Amen."

I feel like I take things for granted so many days as do most of us American Christians. I've never felt real hunger pains, I've never not known where I'm going to sleep. I think the most important thing though is I've never had to fear speaking that I follow Jesus. So many people in this world can't say the same things but most all the follower's of Christ I know can. This is something we should thank God for everyday and at the same time it should stir within us a desire to help others who can't.

My Biggest Accomplishment for Today

Today is one of those days that I wish I could start over, well at least after 10am. I feel like I've done absolutely nothing today. We did get good news today though. People may or may not know that we are pregnant with #3. We had our second ultrasound today and everything is still looking great and I have been released to just the normal prenatal visits now. This was a huge weight lifted off and I'm feeling very confident that everything will be ok. The problem is because everything is ok I am physically feeling awful. I can't get motivated for anything. I need to finish school (or should I say start) with Blake. I have to get the kitchen cleaned up or my family will be eating without any utensils tonight and I still don't have Moms Group finalized for tomorrow. My Biggest Accomplishment for Today: I haven't thrown up.

Finally Decided to Switch

After many frustrating problems blogging on Myspace I have decided to finally make the switch. I will hopefully be transferring things from there to here and also from the other blog I have.