Baby Girl

Okay Baby Girl, it may be time to join the real world. I know I am a pretty entertaining person and I am sure it is nice to be carried around and enjoy life in a bubble (I actually wouldn't mind floating in a bubble myself at times) but this bubble wants to pop. Plus, I think you really will enjoy the world from the outside perspective! It is even sunny today and the flowers smell amazing. I think perhaps you have sucked up enough of my energy and now it is time to start stealing from other people:) Your Dad is super tall and has lots of energy to spare, and when he gives you rides you will be high up in the sky and able to see so much more than the dark unpleasantness that I can only imagine describes my insides. I like to be lazy and usually wouldn't complain about a few extra minutes on the couch, but feeling forced to stay on the couch out of shear exhaustion is different than out of pure pleasure because I have nothing else to do. So feel free to come join me on the couch, but instead of on the inside, I will make a nice nest with lots of blankets and toys you can lay on. It will be right next to me I promise, so if you start to miss my constant touch, I will grab you up in a second and reassure you I am still at your beck and call for 24 hour service. But you never know, you may enjoy the nest of blankets more than you think!

Peace

The other day I realized that my life has entered a very peaceful phase. I was looking at a picture on the wall at work and the incredible feeling overcame me that the picture was how I felt about life. It was a beautiful lake with water like a mirror. All around the lake were green trees and bushes with the occasional burst of color from different flowers. As I continued to stare at the picture I began to feel grateful that my life resembled this scene. It has been a long time since I could take a deep breath and not feel stress invade my muscles or mind. Of course no life is free from the small everyday stresses but I am talking about the major life stressers, such as illness, job insecurity, and others that fall into that category. I am content with where God has placed me, the job he has given me, for my husband who constantly goes out of his way to take care of me and the million other small things that makes life not just bearable but enjoyable. I know the peaceful phases in life can not last forever, and really should not or we would loose our appreciation for them, but for now I will revel in the quiet beauty I have been given. I will keep taking deep breaths like I can really smell the trees, flowers and water of my life. But mostly I will be thankful for this time and try not to forget how it felt when life turns to the next phase and stress creeps back in.

The Larger Baby Bump

The Small Baby Bump

38 Weeks

Today is the 38th week mark. As most people in my state would probably agree, this week felt like it would never come and now that it is here I wouldn't be a bit sad to see it disappear quickly. For all the warnings about how miserable you are supposed to feel at this point, I must say I don't actually feel that bad. I am still averaging a good night (actually day) sleep and I am not that swollen or stiff or running to the bathroom every few seconds. I keep waiting to turn the corner and become completely miserable and ready to make everyone around me miserable in retaliation. Hopefully, the corner never appears! I am however ready to welcome the pink bundle that will be handed to me after hours of pure misery. I am interested to meet this person who kicks and squirms like crazy at all hours of day and night. I am ready to stop bruising my stomach every time I try to squeeze through a small space that my mind says I can fit through even though my body disagrees. I finally took a picture of what my stomach looks like. So many people kept asking for pictures and although I feel like pregnancy pictures are slightly odd, the more I thought about it the more I wish I could see what my Mom looked like when she was pregnant with each of her kids. So now my baby will know that she really was inside my tummy and how silly she will look if she ever has a baby inside her tummy. Overall, I am thankful that God has brought us this far with few complications and I pray that he continues to protect us and especially this baby girl that He has created. Meeting her sooner than later would be great!