Almost time

We are two weeks away from sweet baby E's due date, but he's already the same size as J was when J was born. In light of all the contractions I have been having at random intervals, I am thinking E might be here ahead of schedule which is okay by me!

I finally got the hospital bag packed and my focal point finished. I decided to do something similiar to last time. A few scriptures, two pics of J, and an ultrasound pic of E in a frame. It's nice to have something to focus on when things start getting intense and between E's sweet face and J running around in some striped pjs and piggy ears, I will have all the incentive I need to push through. No pun intended.

E's baby shower is this Sunday. Between my sister's wedding, wedding showers, and this baby shower, I think my family has the streamlined approach down to perfection. We're having the shower immediately following the church service, we're serving grab and go refreshments, and we're just having the gifts displayed instead of opening everything. The only sit down and stop activity is the ABC book. We made one at J's shower and it's still my most favorite gift. Each shower guest selects a letter of the alphabet and then colors a page that represents the letter. J's book is adorable because it's a great mix of adults and kids' artwork. I can't wait to see E's when it's finished.

I have a few more household things that I need to finish up and P needs to finish remodeling the guest bath so we can prepare for the British invasions that will occur over the next couple of months, but other than that...I think we're good. :)

FALL

It is finally Fall in Oklahoma! It rained a few weeks ago for a couple of days and now everything is lush and green in our backyard. Mostly weeds at this point, but it looks pretty. The weather has cooled down to a lovely 70 degrees F during the day and almost down to freezing at night. I'm sure it will heat up again before fall officially settles in, but we are grateful for the reprieve.

Baby G #2 is a boy! We had our 5 month scan about two weeks ago and everything is where it is supposed to be and functioning as it should and we're very grateful for that news as well. We decided to name him Elliott Frederick. The cutest thing in my little home right now is sweet baby J trying to say "Elliott." It comes out "Ell-eee?"

I am finding myself much more settled /comfortable with the title of stay at home mom. I am no longer struggling with trying to figure out what my role is going to be. When I first realized that I was going to have to give up all of the board/charity work that I had been doing since J's arrival, it was a struggle. I felt lost for several weeks. But, it's because my perspective was so limited. I was only seeing what I was losing and I wasn't open to what could be gained by freeing up that time and energy. I have found my focus restored and the biggest conviction that I have pressing on me at the moment is to make good use of the time that J and I have left together before we add in Baby E's presence. There is so much for both of us to learn between now and then.


There are always new lessons to learn, old lessons to revisit, and the opportunity to improve things that haven't been quite rounded and softened out of us yet. I am finding this to be true in all areas of life and I'm having to reconsider my stance on certain situations and people especially. I'm such a black and white thinker about things. I like evaluating and making decisions and seeing the decisions through. But, in that process, I think I have given up on people or distanced myself from people who are being knit into my larger family and at the end of the day, it was never my place to say who was worth walking away from because that's not the purpose to which I have been called. I'm learning that patience, hope, love, and endurance are what is required to see things through to completion - in myself and in others. We can't do this kind of work or experience this kind of growth alone if we have set our eyes on the prize and are determined to see it through.


Repetition is my biggest lesson with J in this season. Constant review and interaction and encouragement and reminders which pay off in a big way because at some point in the repetition, something clicks and HE GETS IT. Repetition is something good for my life as well because it's exactly the same. When good things are being put in steadily, constantly, and consistently and my heart dwells on them, at some point in the repetition, something clicks and I GET IT. So, I am reminding myself for myself and reminding myself for J, continue in the good way. Don't grow weary in well doing. Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together. Walk in love. As HE is in this world, so are we.

Too busy....

But, it's not a bad thing. At all. J is now completely mobile and army crawling all over the place. I thought I was busy before, but my goodness! I have really had to ramp up the vaccuming and keeping everything picked up just to make sure J doesn't get into anything he shouldn't. I still haven't figured out a good way to stay on top of Luke's excessive amount of dog hair. Since the weather has been fluxuating so much these past few weeks, he's shedding like crazy. If anyone ever tries to tell you that beagles "don't shed that much" kick them in the shins and run away because they are being dishonest with you!

It's a busy time of year for the boards that I am currently working with so I've been spending a lot of time in meetings and reviewing paperwork. I am enjoying the challenges and the interactions with people that I don't get to see on a regular basis. It's been nice to do some problem solving / critical thinking that doesn't relate to any of my bedroom closets or kitchen cabinets.

I have also spending a lot of time with my mother which I have loved. We have been going through her house like an organizing whirlwind and I'm so proud of her for parting with some of her beloved books and homeschooling materials from 15 years ago. She has been saving them for us to use if we decided to homeschool and I think she realized that the history and science are pretty outdated. She singlehandedly pared down to her most favorite books from each subject area and tomorrow we will put them away under the stairs so they are easier for her to get to when she needs them again. We are also tackling the under the stairs storage area tomorrow as well as the laundry room and closets.

We are both utilizing some of the new(ish) consignment shops in town as we're sorting through and getting rid of things. New2You Boutique at 9th & Main is currently accepting name brand women and girl's clothing, shoes, and accessories. Ecelctic Echo is accepting home decor, furniture, and other home goods. It's a nice way to make some spending money without having to hassle with eBay. I'm hoping to make enough this summer to pay for my vintage pin up (classy, not trashy) photo shoot that is scheduled for the end of September.

And, I'm making more effort to spend quality time pursuing things that are important and essential to me. My walk with the Lord, my relationship with my husband and son, my time with my family, my time with my friends, and improving my health are taking up most of my day. And I think this is great. In addition to all of the obvious positives, it has really reduced the potential negatives that were always looming in the background, waiting to pull me under.