Alice is in bed. Andrew is at a meeting. Amy is home. Emma is too--inside her mommy.
Today at church was a bittersweet day as we sent off to the mission field a young woman who has attended Village since she was born. Obviously I haven't known her that long since I grew up 3,000 miles away, but since moving to Orange County and becoming a part of this church I have been so blessed by her friendship. I can't imagine how hard it must be to leave, yet how exciting to know that the Lord has prepared her for this purpose. Having grown in the Lord alongside her for the past several years has been such an encouragement that it will be hard not seeing her regularly. But I count it a privilege to be able to pray for her as she goes. Part of those prayers I hope will include keeping each other updated on how the Lord is at work in each of our lives, no matter how many thousands of miles apart we are. Ironically, she leaves tomorrow, which is my due date. So we've been "counting down" to the same day for different reasons for quite a while. I'm sad that Emma didn't make it for her departure, but am so thankful for technology that allows us to send pictures & emails and even SEE each other "live" on Skype. Can't wait to hear how the Lord uses her!
Before I lose it completely, a quick update. Tomorrow morning we have another appointment and I'm praying there will be some progress. Friday night I was up from about 2-3AM with regular contractions (about 6-7 minutes apart). Around 3AM I decided to type out instructions for anyone taking over the "Alice Routine." I wasn't keeping track of the contractions at that point, but by Saturday morning they'd basically stopped. Unfortunately I didn't actually fall back asleep until around 5:30 or 6AM. Bummer. Last night I slept better though. Tonight I hope to do the same. Unless Emma has other plans. I wouldn't mind. As if there were any doubts.
1.15.2012
1.13.2012
Well?
Today it was supposed to be really windy, but I think they were wrong... It's also supposed to get into the upper 70s. I think they hit the nail on the head there.
How's this for the most boring post EVER? This is about how I feel today.
Just. Waiting.
1.10.2012
Christmas Movie!
It finally worked! Yes, it's 8 minutes long and it's not the most thrilling "movie" ever made, but we think the main subject is the cutest almost 20 month old!
Pregnant
Yup. Still. I'm dilated 1 cm, but no signs of labor starting any time soon. Today I finally got to some of our (overdue) laundry and hiked up and down the stairs about a half dozen times carrying stuff. I know I can't make labor start, but I'm certainly not opposed to trying to help it along!
On Sunday Andrew preached on Mark 11:20-25 "As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.' And Jesus answered them, 'Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be taken up and thrown into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.'” It was really challenging. I cried. I was humbled by Andrew's heart as he preached and reminded again how blessed I am to be married to a man who loves the Lord and His Word. If you'd like to hear his message, check it out here.
Alice is waking up from her 2.5 hour nap... "DA DA DA DA DA DA DA.......BUH BYE! BUH BYE!" She's been doing so well lately. It feels a little like the calm before the storm. An Alice Christmas video is in process, though it's long and is taking quite a while to upload.... 29% complete with approximately 184 minutes remaining. Yikes. I'll be sure to post when it's ready. Off to get the girl.
On Sunday Andrew preached on Mark 11:20-25 "As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.' And Jesus answered them, 'Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be taken up and thrown into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.'” It was really challenging. I cried. I was humbled by Andrew's heart as he preached and reminded again how blessed I am to be married to a man who loves the Lord and His Word. If you'd like to hear his message, check it out here.
Alice is waking up from her 2.5 hour nap... "
1.07.2012
2011 Book List
Below is my 2011 reading list. The titles in bold were my favorites. Feel free to comment or ask questions.
Reading List 2011
Goal: 60 books
1. Decision Points by George W. Bush
2. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
3. Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn
4. Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor
5. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
6. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament by John Walton
7. The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God by D.A. Carson
8. Church Planting is for Wimps by Mike McKinley
9. American Assassin by Vince Flynn
10 Cyndere’s Midnight by Jeffrey Overstreet
11. Raven’s Ladder by Jeffrey Overstreet
12. The Unexpected Journey by Thom Rainer
13. Upside Down by Stacy Rinehart
14. Evangelism: A Biblical Approach by G. Michael Cocoris
15. The Ale Boy’s Feast by Jeffrey Overstreet
16. Becoming a Contagious Christian by Bill Hybels
17. Business As Usual in the Missions Enterprise? by Tom Steffen
18. The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
19. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
20. Ministering Cross-Culturally by Sherwood Lingenfelter
21. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement ed. by Ralph Winter and Steven Hawthorne
22. The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands
23. John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock by Iain Murray
24. Serving with Eyes Wide Open by David Livermore
25. Golf’s Sacred Journey by David L. Cook
26. The Searchers by Alan LeMay
27. Slave by John MacArthur
28. Erasing Hell by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle
29. The Purity Principle by Randy Alcorn
30. Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church by Michael Lawrence
31. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
32. I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris
33. The Next Story by Tim Challies
34. Teach as Jesus Taught by Roy Zuck
35. A God-Sized Vision by Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge
36. Don’t Call It a Comeback ed. by Kevin DeYoung
37. The Mission of the Church by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert
38. Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas
39. Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris
40. Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism
41. The Cross of Christ by John Stott
42. Did Adam and Eve Really Exist? by C. John Collins
Fiction: 13
Non-fiction: 29
Reading List 2011
Goal: 60 books
1. Decision Points by George W. Bush
2. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
3. Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn
4. Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor
5. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
6. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament by John Walton
7. The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God by D.A. Carson
8. Church Planting is for Wimps by Mike McKinley
9. American Assassin by Vince Flynn
10 Cyndere’s Midnight by Jeffrey Overstreet
11. Raven’s Ladder by Jeffrey Overstreet
12. The Unexpected Journey by Thom Rainer
13. Upside Down by Stacy Rinehart
14. Evangelism: A Biblical Approach by G. Michael Cocoris
15. The Ale Boy’s Feast by Jeffrey Overstreet
16. Becoming a Contagious Christian by Bill Hybels
17. Business As Usual in the Missions Enterprise? by Tom Steffen
18. The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
19. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
20. Ministering Cross-Culturally by Sherwood Lingenfelter
21. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement ed. by Ralph Winter and Steven Hawthorne
22. The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands
23. John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock by Iain Murray
24. Serving with Eyes Wide Open by David Livermore
25. Golf’s Sacred Journey by David L. Cook
26. The Searchers by Alan LeMay
27. Slave by John MacArthur
28. Erasing Hell by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle
29. The Purity Principle by Randy Alcorn
30. Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church by Michael Lawrence
31. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
32. I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris
33. The Next Story by Tim Challies
34. Teach as Jesus Taught by Roy Zuck
35. A God-Sized Vision by Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge
36. Don’t Call It a Comeback ed. by Kevin DeYoung
37. The Mission of the Church by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert
38. Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas
39. Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris
40. Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism
41. The Cross of Christ by John Stott
42. Did Adam and Eve Really Exist? by C. John Collins
Fiction: 13
Non-fiction: 29
1.05.2012
Phew...
I added some pictures to our web album from the Christmas season. Here's one that didn't make it onto an album yet. She's so put together. Such a classy young lady. So much potential. That's my girl!
Still There?
Just checking... I haven't been able to see them from this angle for quite a while so it seemed appropriate to take a picture to make sure. Yes, I'm still pregnant. No, there have been no signs of labor starting. At our doctor appointment on Tuesday we didn't actually get to see the doctor because he had to go deliver a baby. So, I will know if there is progress at our next appointment on Monday. Emma's heart beat still sounds great. That's the only update.Alice is napping and I'm tempted to do the same. I think my stuffy nose for the past few days has been allergies since my allergy medicine seems to help. Perhaps the warmer weather just threw my nose for a loop. Seriously, it's supposed to get to 85 degrees today! I think it was cooler during the May when Alice was born than it has been this January so far.
Uh... Now Alice is crying........ She's been asleep for 35 minutes. This is not okay.
12.22.2011
Moms, Should I Force Her to Eat?
I need opinions/experienced moms to chime in here.
Alice seems to be going through a "reverse" growth spurt... at least that's what I'm calling it. She goes through phases where she eats whatever I put in front of her without a problem. Her current phase, however, requires me to pinch/pull her ear and tell her to open her mouth... with EVERY bite, no matter what I'm feeding her. I was attempting to hold her head and that was just hard to do. She turns her head and rests it on her shoulder away from the food. The ear pinch/pull has been most effective. Occasionally I can get her to "help mommy" by holding the fork/spoon with me and getting it into her mouth. Once in a while I just need to touch her ear slightly and she'll open her mouth. Most of the time I have to get her by the ear and (attempt to) patiently tell her to open her mouth and eat her food. If I give her finger food, she eats some and then plays with it and makes a HUGE mess or throws it on the floor.
Mind you, her meals have been significantly smaller because I can only force feed her so much. PLUS, if she doesn't eat a good sized meal at breakfast/lunch/dinner, she wants to snack all day. She does have a fairly regular "snack" after she wakes up from her nap in the afternoon. A typical eating schedule for her is breakfast at 8/8:30, lunch at noon, nap time from 1-3ish, snack around 4, dinner at 6. One book I read said that you shouldn't be concerned about what your toddler eats in ONE day, but look at the content of their meals over 2-3 days. Clearly that's not intended for a pregnant mommy who can hardly remember at lunch time what SHE ate for breakfast, let alone what her daughter ate two days ago. Do I really need to keep a food journal for my 19 month old??
So.... Do I continue the route I'm going, trying to get her to eat a decent meal at "meal time"? Should I let her dictate being all done and then not feed her snacks when she wants them so she'll eat a better meal at the next meal time? Do I just go with whatever and let her snack here and there throughout the day? No one ever tells you about these kinds of things before you become a mom. I guess I wouldn't have been that interested in hearing it before I had a child. Funny how that works. But seriously, I'd love to know what others have done or even if you're going through the same thing with your toddler... What has worked for you???
Three days til Christmas! And just for fun, here's a really cute picture of my two favorite people :-D
Alice seems to be going through a "reverse" growth spurt... at least that's what I'm calling it. She goes through phases where she eats whatever I put in front of her without a problem. Her current phase, however, requires me to pinch/pull her ear and tell her to open her mouth... with EVERY bite, no matter what I'm feeding her. I was attempting to hold her head and that was just hard to do. She turns her head and rests it on her shoulder away from the food. The ear pinch/pull has been most effective. Occasionally I can get her to "help mommy" by holding the fork/spoon with me and getting it into her mouth. Once in a while I just need to touch her ear slightly and she'll open her mouth. Most of the time I have to get her by the ear and (attempt to) patiently tell her to open her mouth and eat her food. If I give her finger food, she eats some and then plays with it and makes a HUGE mess or throws it on the floor.
Mind you, her meals have been significantly smaller because I can only force feed her so much. PLUS, if she doesn't eat a good sized meal at breakfast/lunch/dinner, she wants to snack all day. She does have a fairly regular "snack" after she wakes up from her nap in the afternoon. A typical eating schedule for her is breakfast at 8/8:30, lunch at noon, nap time from 1-3ish, snack around 4, dinner at 6. One book I read said that you shouldn't be concerned about what your toddler eats in ONE day, but look at the content of their meals over 2-3 days. Clearly that's not intended for a pregnant mommy who can hardly remember at lunch time what SHE ate for breakfast, let alone what her daughter ate two days ago. Do I really need to keep a food journal for my 19 month old??
Three days til Christmas! And just for fun, here's a really cute picture of my two favorite people :-D
12.21.2011
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