oh my... have you ever

seen such beautiful lips?!

On the bottom left is Baby's belly. Follow that up diagonally and there's his little round chin and then a big beautiful pair of lips that he's got all pushed out and his nose is more in the shade. His arm is on the right, over the left side of his face.

He's had his arm up since the beginning, which is actually really sweet because I tend to do that a lot. He'll probably come out like that, making me work harder in delivery!

34 weeks (for Barbara)

Not a great picture, but here I am at 34 weeks. One, I can't believe that I'm this far along! Two, how can I still have 6+ weeks to go?!

I'm feeling well, actually, considering I'm carrying a five pound baby boy INSIDE MY BODY. I'm sore all over, my pelvis, my back, my hips. I'm waddling. I can't get up in one motion, it takes two or three. I have to pee all the time. And I'm sleepy all the time. But--

I'm great. And we're still having fun with the pregnancy.

today

Today, it has been a hard day. I've been thinking about not being in the house, and feeling lonely here in this apartment, and if it's lonely now, how lonely will it be to have the baby here and have Jeremy over at the house, trying to get it ready for us, and how tired and overwhelmed Jeremy must be, and how big and overwhelmed I am, etc., etc., etc.

So,

Today, I am thankful for such a loving, supportive, compassionate, funny, warm, caring husband. I am thankful that my parents are close by and are so willing and able to help during this time. I'm thankful for girlfriends that make me laugh and make me think and boost me closer to God. I am thankful for a cozy apartment and a car with air conditioning and a fabulous weekend with friends, and for this little boy bouncing around in my belly.

And I am thankful for an easily reheat-able baked pasta, some romaine lettuce I had forgotten about, a leftover Roma tomato from last week's CSA bag, and that teeny bit, but just enough, piece of parmesan cheese that made my lunch just now even better and so pretty.

summertime

It's been a busy couple of months--we were on vacation for what seemed like two weeks, traveling from Bloomington, IL to Kansas City, MO and back.

Of course, that all sounds like a lifetime ago. Crazy how quickly the vacation glow fades and the regular stresses/joys/boringness of life crowds out its memory.

We've moved into panic mode with the house... just hoping that we can get in there before Baby comes. (No, Baby doesn't have a name yet...) We did buy paint the other day, though, which is pretty exciting, even though we're not ready for it yet. We may even have to give our month's notice to our landlord later this month, which is another exciting (yet scary!) prospect.

It's so easy to lose focus of what we know GOD is going to do. We do know that He will give us what we need when we need it. It's just that sometimes... I think that I know better about what I need than he does. Which is pretty hilarious, since He's proven over and over that that is actually not true! Ha! I'm glad that I know that as big and powerful and scary as He can be, He also has a pretty great sense of humor. I hope that He finds these times of my freaking out funny rather than frustrating! I think to some degree that He really does.

Pregnancy lately has been... uncomfortable. This last week in particular has been hard for me physically, what with the hip pain, pelvic pain, circulation issues, emotional issues, heartburn, and a plethora of other aches/pains. I'm asking that GOD help change my attitude this week, though, because I have ten weeks left, and I don't want to spend them cranky. And cranky I have been.

And that's life right now, among other things. Barbara, I WILL post some more recent pictures of my pregnant self soon. I am certainly looking pregnant these days :-)