The Scoop

Well, I can't believe May is here already, but it is. Where did the time go? Little baby boy will be here any day now, the weather is getting warmer, the flowers are dotting the ground, we are moved in and mostly settled, and life is just plain good. Spring is here.

Our house now looks like a home, thanks to the help of many people who come weekly to work on it for us. :) Thank God for family! We still have some minor decorating to do, but for the most part, things are looking pretty good. A lot of our projects are coming to an end as well, and the house looks completely different from when we moved in. I wish I had taken before and after pictures. We still have other projects yet to start, but we've gotten a good handle on things for the small amount of time we've been here, and all before the baby arrives, which was the goal. We couldn't have done it without the help we've had, and are so thankful to everyone who came to clean, paint, unpack, decorate, paint some more, and for those who've occupied Jak as well. I will post pictures soon, but you know me, not until the rooms are completely "finished". Which they almost are. :)

Jeff is enjoying his job more and more, and I can see that he is becoming much more comfortable with the things he's been learning in it. God has been very good to us: this job was literally thrown into his lap, so that makes it neat to know he is doing what he's supposed to for right now. He is also trying to trade on the side and still finds that job wise, he's most passionate about that. I'm so proud of him and the way that he works so hard to enable me to stay at home and care for him and the boys. It's such a gift, a dream come true, and I am ever grateful.

I am feeling well. Approaching the 39th week of pregnancy already and ready to meet my new little man. I did have some minor contractions on Friday night into Saturday morning, but they went away as soon as I got up and started the day. We were disappointed but hey, the more that happens now, the less that happens later on! At least that's what I'm hoping for!

My swelling has kept at bay, and I've been better about resting a bit more than I normally do. I get occasional heartburn but not every day, which has been a relief. The belly is quite large, and I'm not sure it can get any bigger but I don't dare say that out loud in case it just might. The baby is measuring on time and I feel like he's taken up every single inch of space that he possibly can! His movements now are hard and painful but again, I know it's almost time for him to come so it's not so bad. I'll miss feeling him inside of me and having the intimate relationship as only a Mother and Child can have during pregnancy. What a miracle.

I was reading my previous blog the other day (www.kellyjoan.blogspot.com), trying to remember how I felt at this point in my pregnancy with Jak, when I read one particular post. I was 40 weeks pregnant and all of my time and energy was focused on having my first baby. I wrote:

"In other thoughts, I've been thinking a bit on how right now, this baby is in the Lord's presence...right there! How neat. No wonder it is taking it's time to enter the world. I think I'd want to wait a bit, too! I thought about this the entire pregnancy, that the only person to really know this baby was God, and how intricately He knows him/her. He is the only One who has seen and soon we'll be welcomed into the picture, but all of this time, this created soul has been hanging out with the Almighty. That's really pretty cool and I can't quite get my head wrapped around it."

As I think about this baby right now, my thoughts turn to the same thing...that he (John Stephen) is in the presence of the Lord. WOW. That stills my heart. We can never know what that will be like until we die, and yet this baby is living through me and in me and yet is with the Lord right now. Hard to understand but awesome to think about. I feel blessed beyond words, that God would have me to be a Mother. A humble yet extraordinary calling, and I can think of nothing else I'd rather do.

And while I'm on the topic of Mothering, let me just say that my husband did a wonderful job of making me feel special this Mother's Day. He gave me a day at the premier spa in town so that I could be pampered for 5 hours!!! I got some beautiful flowers as well, which I've been meaning to take a picture of for days now...they reminded me of our wedding flowers because they were gorgeous colors of greens, creams and pinks. Fragrant, too! And on the actual day of Mother's Day, I was not to lift a finger and I tried hard to follow his request. Ok, so it wasn't that hard. He took care of Jak so that I could relax all day, and while we celebrated at my sister's house with the family, he was cooking and cleaning and setting up desserts while I sat there! I really could get used to that! All in all it was a very nice day and he did a great job making me feel so loved.

As for Jak-man, he is growing like a weed and we are loving watching him get older. I miss my tiny baby boy, but watching him grow is like watching a flower blossom--as corny as it sounds. Everyday he does something new and he is now more of a little boy than a baby. I get so nostalgic these days, I can't imagine how I'll be in 3 years when he goes to Kindergarten, or in 16 years as he heads off to college! He is now climbing which I could do without, but hey, he's a boy. He runs throughout the house like a madman, screaming and laughing as he goes from room to room. I'm sure we'll have to tweak that once the baby comes but I do love watching him do this. :) He tries new sounds/words every few days, and when you tell him to say "yes" he becomes a little bobblehead. His hair flops and he giggles as his head goes up and down. The actual word "yes" never comes out, but this bobblehead will do just fine for now.

He got some cool animal toys for his birthday and has just recently begun to play with them. During his 'independent play time' in his crib (read: Mommy's alone time to clean/shower/read/email/cook/lay down) he will line them all up along his crib rail and make all kinds of animal sounds. Then he'll carefully take them down, put them back in the basket, and do the entire routine all over again. Very cute. He also started playing with his Mega Bloks and enjoys building them just to knock them down. Must be a boy thing, because for me, I'd like to build them and stand back to say, "ahh, how pretty!" Guess I'd better change my way of thinking.

We took him with us into church yesterday instead of leaving him in the nursery. He was so cute with his little seersucker blazer and saddle shoes on, and since it was Mother's Day, I wanted him to be with us. He sat between Jeff and I in the pew and was the best behaved little boy. He "sang" and clapped and watched the screen, and when he got restless we gave him his teddies and pacifier and he stayed calm. The man behind us remarked on how well behaved he was and we agreed, proud parents that we are.

Well, I think that's all the news that's fit to print for now. Life is good and is about to get better, if not more tiring!