It'll Mess You Up!

Recently a certain book crossed my radar so many times that I felt God was urging me to read it. It's called The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns, president of World Vision, one of the largest humanitarian relief organizations in the United States. I'm only a few chapters into the book, but it's helping me see the gospel as more than just a way to get to Heaven. It's also an invitation to have my heart broken for the things that break the heart of God. In other words, the gospel is also about using my life to serve the least, last and lost, just like Jesus did.

This is something that has long been a challenge for me as I live quite comfortably in my Christian bubble. I have long considered myself a pretty good Christian: I married a Christian, we are active in our church, we have a beautiful family and wonderful Christian friends, we tithe, and occasionally when needs arise outside of that, we are happy to write a check. But is that all that God expects of me? That's the question that Stearns attempts to answer in this book. A phrase I heard often when I was on the Covenant staff, when someone encountered a book, experience, etc. that was really life-changing was, "It'll mess you up!" This book is messin' me up! I can't wait to read more!

Gender Angst

I'm obsessing about the gender of this baby. I have dreams about it. I look up "gender prediction methods" online. I try to focus really hard and see if I can "figure it out." Our ultrasound is in a week and a half, but our gender party isn't until 2 days later. I know I should wait until the party to find out like we planned, but can I? Jamie and are both thinking we might want to know before the big unveiling.

I had a dream last night that we were having a boy, and I was disappointed. Then when I woke up, I was disappointed at being disappointed. I wouldn't take any little girl in the world for Micah, and yet, I think most moms dream of having a daughter. I also think if Micah had been a girl, I would be just as hopeful that this new baby was a boy. We know this is our last child, and if we had one of each, then I would really KNOW this was our last child. But it is regardless, we've decided. For us it wasn't a financial decision (not that we can afford 10), but knowing our personalities, we both feel like we can handle two. We're people who love order, routine, schedules, etc., and I think more than two would feel overwhelming to us. Heck, sometimes one is overwhelming!

So my prediction? I think it's a boy. And if it is, I know I will fall in love with him just like I have with his brother.

On a totally unrelated and very random note, I'm always joking with Jamie about traveling the country in an RV once our kids are grown. Except I'm not joking. I really want to do this. He seems somewhat interested. He offers to take me to the RV show when it comes to town. MckMama is doing this with her family of seven...I'm way jealous, in an "I wish I had the balls to do that" kind of way.

Better Late Than Never

People had always told me that you tend to do less documentation with your second child than you did with the first. I thought I would be different, but I'm not. No belly pictures this time. No weekly updates. I think I'm just too busy cleaning up poop and vomit with #1!

Speaking of poop and vomit, we've been plagued by sickness this winter. For some reason, I thought that breastfeeding would keep Micah from ever getting anything. Not so. He catches anything and everything and then shares it with Mom (Dad has somehow managed to avoid it all). Tubes are in Micah's future if he gets one more ear infection. I had tubes 3 times as a child, so he gets it honestly.

I'm 16 weeks pregnant Sunday, and the baby seems to be doing well. The heartbeat was strong - 160 - at our last appointment many weeks ago. I borrowed a pocket fetal Doppler from a friend so that I can check the heartbeat anytime, and it continues to be strong. We have our ultrasound in early April followed by our "Gender Party" two days later. No names yet. I'm still sickly, but it's manageable.

Micah is such a joy lately. He loves to be outside. He now gives me kisses when I ask him, which I love. He is all boy - his caregivers in the church nursery have told me "there's a cast with his name on it waiting for him in the ER" and "he only has one speed: full throttle." He is not afraid of anything, which scares me.

We are back in Kindermusik this semester, and sometimes I feel like I'm paying for me to take the class instead of him. He absolutely loves going, squealing when we pull into the parking lot, but he rarely follows the "order" of the class and instead walks around doing his own thing. He enjoys it though, so it's worth it.

As for Jamie and me, we've been very busy (thankfully) with spring races and getting my former office cleaned out so the new baby will have a nursery. And taking care of sick boy. Praying for wellness as we move into the spring!

A Pity Party and A Gender Party

The first eight weeks have not been particularly pleasant. I'm pretty much nauseous all the time, and my really gross spittle problem has returned. Some of you may remember that when I was pregnant with Micah, I produced about twice as much saliva than is normal. This very annoying problem leaves me with an urge to spit constantly. I finally got up the nerve tonight to look back at my last pregnancy journal to see how long this lasted, and I stopped writing about it at 22 weeks. AHHHHHHH! My favorite times of day right now are when I'm eating (no spittle) and when I'm sleeping (no nausea or spittle). I'm still trying to be a decent wife and mommy, but wow it's rough sometimes. I know it's all worth it...I tell myself this often on the really rough days...

In between feeling really sick, sorta sick and mildly sick, we've planned a cool way to learn the gender of our new baby. When we have our ultrasound around 17 weeks, we'll ask the technician to write down the gender and put that information into an envelope that we'll then give to my friend, Jenny, who bakes the most amazing cakes. She's going to make a special cake for us, with the batter being either pink or blue to match the gender of our baby. We'll then have our family over for a barbecue a few days after the ultrasound and find out over dessert what we're having! I will be super shocked if that cake is not blue!

A Birthday Surprise

I told Jamie that I wanted a surprise for my birthday on January 11, but neither of us had any idea that we'd be getting one! We recently discovered, to our shock and delight, that we are expecting again! Our new little baby is due September 11, 2011, just 6 days after Micah's 2nd birthday.

I was a few days late in January, but I didn't really panic...it happens sometimes. But then on Friday, January 7, Micah and I were at the Marbles museum with some friends, and I was not feeling my best. I also had a gnawing hunger that, if not quickly satisfied, made me nauseas. I finally decided to take a pregnancy test the next morning. I was sure that I was wasting a perfectly good test...organized, scheduled planners like myself don't have unplanned pregnancies...but when Micah and I checked the results, there was no doubt!

Jamie and I walked around in a state of shock all day, but by that evening, we had decided to tell my family. I know a lot of people wait awhile, but we didn't with Micah and decided not to this time. Besides, we were going to the Japanese steakhouse for my birthday dinner, and when I ordered my steak well done instead of my usual medium rare, my family figured it out.

We are very excited, and we know how blessed we are to get pregnant so easily. We also see the benefits now of the timing of this pregnancy: my maternity clothes will match up perfectly as will our baby clothes if we have another boy (I think we will). Micah and the new baby will also be close in age, which hopefully means they'll be close in other ways.

My prayers for my family right now are: that the baby would be healthy; that he would grow to know God in a personal, intimate way; that I would not be as sick as last time (so far it's worse); and that Micah would continue to know how very loved and special that he is.

The Funnies Just Kept Coming

...That night continued to get better ;-) Jamie's parents offered to babysit Micah so that he and I could have a date night. Jamie is always telling me how dangerous the city is, so when we had to stop for gas after dark, I got a little nervous. We found a well-lit station in a good part of town and pulled in. Jamie had just stepped out of the car when four teenage girls ran up. From inside the car I couldn't hear what was being said, but I distinctly remember thinking, "Crap, we are being robbed by Taylor Swift fans." A few seconds later, one of the girls was pumping our gas! I kept trying to catch Jamie's eye, but he wouldn't look my way. After pumping our gas for a few minutes, the girl and her friends left. Jamie was smirking when he got back into the car, so I knew everything was cool. He said the girls were on a scavenger hunt, and one of the items on their list was to pump a stranger's gas. Random.

So next we headed to a restaurant recommended by Jamie's dad. The wait was about 30 minutes, so we found a spot to sit up near the hostess stand. Soon after, a black woman and her mother came in to inquire about the wait time. They were not satisfied with what they heard and began to debate whether it was worth staying. At that point, the younger black woman claimed she heard someone back in the kitchen say to her, "Well then take your @$$ back to the city!" This was all happening right in front of us, and we did not hear this comment, but both the woman and her mother claimed they did. They asked to speak to a manager, but it turned out the person they accused of making this comment was the manager. So they waited around to speak to his manager. Awkward. They got a bunch of apologies but no free meal. Our food was good though.

A Funny Thing Happened in Baltimore

This is a funny story that I just have to share. We are in Baltimore this weekend visiting Jamie's dad and stepmom ( having a great time so far ;-). Earlier tonight, I decided to wash some of our clothes. The (senior) Orrs have a very fancy washing machine, so I asked if they would show me how to use it. Michelle patiently walks me through all the steps, and when it's time to pour in the detergent, she reaches for a bottle of Snuggle. "Oh, we don't use fabric softener on our clothes," I told her. She said, "We don't either." I'm a little puzzled, but I let her continue to load the detergent dispenser with whatever is in this Snuggle bottle. It sure looks like Snuggle. Smells like it too. After she finishes and leaves the room, I examine the bottle closely. It's definitely Snuggle fabric softener. They have several bottles. And absolutely no real detergent to speak of.

As soon as Jamie and I are alone, I tell him this story. We both get a good laugh. We decide that one of us needs to tell them that their clothes really aren't clean. Haha. So right now I'm drying dirty clothes that I'll just wash again when we return home. Good times :-)