I had one of those bad dreams last night where something was wrong with the baby. I woke up fretting, thinking that I had not felt him move in too long. I drifted in and out of sleep, willing the baby to give me a kick or a flutter or something.
At 6 a.m. Ken's alarm went off. It's a clock radio, and somehow the volume got turned up really high. It startled me awake--and apparently the baby, too. He jumped so hard I almost fell out of bed! Apparently nothing is wrong with baby's hearing--or his reflexes.
:)
24 January 2011
20 January 2011
Looking forward
Every New Years I come up with a theme or a motto for the upcoming 365 days...and then I try to live by it. Previous themes have included:
I was just looking through some recent tweets and I saw the one I posted on January 1 of this year. "And if our God is for us..." I had copied it off someone's FB status. Since I've already forgotten my 2011 theme, I think I will change it to this.
2010 was a roller coaster year with many challenges. It was awesome to get married to my bestest and start a new life with him. It was thrilling to get pregnant after I had all but given up hope of ever having a family of my own. But we faced many tough times together...the suffering of my mom from cancer and strokes and her passing in June, several months of morning sickness, thousands of dollars of vet bills for our sweet little dog, a car accident, insurance squabbles, job changes, a tick-infested home(!), and many financial difficulties.
I'm not expecting 2011 to be any less roller-coaster-ish; after all, we are having a baby in 33 or so days! But I am confident of this: Our God is for us, so who can stand against us? We have personally witnessed God's faithfulness in the past year. He has been by our side every step of the way. He has blessed us with a love beyond limits. He has taught us new things about love--real love--not the kind that feels warm and fuzzy but the kind that sticks with a person no matter what. He has restored health to our pup and positive integers to our bank account. He has blessed us with family that has supported us financially and emotionally. He has given us countless friends who have cried both tears of joy and sorrow with us.
And most of all, He has given us hope for a life yet to come. A life where there will be no more tears (of sadness), no more death, no more breast cancer, no more strokes, no more long days and nights in hospital rooms, no more feelings of helplessness, no more wondering how we will pay the mortgage.
Instead we will enjoy endless delight. Reunion with loved ones. Joy. Mansions with no mortgage. Abundant health. New bodies. Unlimited hope. Seeing our Savior face to face.
All because of the Great Exchange...I was accepted because He was condemned. I am loved because He was rejected. I am alive because He died and rose again.
So we face 2011 with much anticipation. A new baby is on the way. We both have jobs. We are in love and happy. We are healthy.
But even if we lose all that... and our house is infested with nasty ticks and the dog is vomiting blood and the bill collector won't stop calling...our God is for us. Who can stand against us?
- Shut up and pray (in response to talking about prayer more than actually praying)
- Simplify
- Go through the door (2004--a year when I took many leaps of faith)
I was just looking through some recent tweets and I saw the one I posted on January 1 of this year. "And if our God is for us..." I had copied it off someone's FB status. Since I've already forgotten my 2011 theme, I think I will change it to this.
2010 was a roller coaster year with many challenges. It was awesome to get married to my bestest and start a new life with him. It was thrilling to get pregnant after I had all but given up hope of ever having a family of my own. But we faced many tough times together...the suffering of my mom from cancer and strokes and her passing in June, several months of morning sickness, thousands of dollars of vet bills for our sweet little dog, a car accident, insurance squabbles, job changes, a tick-infested home(!), and many financial difficulties.
I'm not expecting 2011 to be any less roller-coaster-ish; after all, we are having a baby in 33 or so days! But I am confident of this: Our God is for us, so who can stand against us? We have personally witnessed God's faithfulness in the past year. He has been by our side every step of the way. He has blessed us with a love beyond limits. He has taught us new things about love--real love--not the kind that feels warm and fuzzy but the kind that sticks with a person no matter what. He has restored health to our pup and positive integers to our bank account. He has blessed us with family that has supported us financially and emotionally. He has given us countless friends who have cried both tears of joy and sorrow with us.
And most of all, He has given us hope for a life yet to come. A life where there will be no more tears (of sadness), no more death, no more breast cancer, no more strokes, no more long days and nights in hospital rooms, no more feelings of helplessness, no more wondering how we will pay the mortgage.
Instead we will enjoy endless delight. Reunion with loved ones. Joy. Mansions with no mortgage. Abundant health. New bodies. Unlimited hope. Seeing our Savior face to face.
All because of the Great Exchange...I was accepted because He was condemned. I am loved because He was rejected. I am alive because He died and rose again.
So we face 2011 with much anticipation. A new baby is on the way. We both have jobs. We are in love and happy. We are healthy.
But even if we lose all that... and our house is infested with nasty ticks and the dog is vomiting blood and the bill collector won't stop calling...our God is for us. Who can stand against us?
18 January 2011
Getting Organized
I woke up at 2:30 am this morning and realized I had dropped the ball on a project that was supposed to have been edited by 9 am yesterday morning. It was just a tiny one, but nonetheless, it somehow fell off the radar screen.
So at 2:30 am, I was contemplating how to get better organized. I know life is only going to get busier in the days ahead, and I need a system. Being your own boss is great, but when you have multiple clients you have a lot of balls in the air. And unfortunately, one of the first things to go when I get stressed is my memory. So I need to get better about making lists, charts, and such, and sticking to a schedule.
I've been thinking a lot about Facebook. In my weaker moments, I blame it for all my organization problems. I can take a quick looksie on FB and suddenly I realize the looksie has turned into 45 minutes. It has been great to reconnect with old friends and network professionally, but overall, it has also been a huge time waster. I contemplate leaving FB altogether, limiting my time on it, or doing something to be more disciplined, but I'm just not sure what the answer is.
One thing I know right now: I have a doctor's appt this morning, physical therapy this afternoon, multiple freelance projects I need to get hopping on, my own dog to feed and walk, my neighbor's dog to walk, and several loads of laundry to wash. Did I mention that my hubby's alarm never went off this morning and he woke up 1 hour late? Somehow we still managed to push him out the door in time for work. We're off to a successful, albeit crazy start to the day. Let's hope that continues.
Ciao for now...
So at 2:30 am, I was contemplating how to get better organized. I know life is only going to get busier in the days ahead, and I need a system. Being your own boss is great, but when you have multiple clients you have a lot of balls in the air. And unfortunately, one of the first things to go when I get stressed is my memory. So I need to get better about making lists, charts, and such, and sticking to a schedule.
I've been thinking a lot about Facebook. In my weaker moments, I blame it for all my organization problems. I can take a quick looksie on FB and suddenly I realize the looksie has turned into 45 minutes. It has been great to reconnect with old friends and network professionally, but overall, it has also been a huge time waster. I contemplate leaving FB altogether, limiting my time on it, or doing something to be more disciplined, but I'm just not sure what the answer is.
One thing I know right now: I have a doctor's appt this morning, physical therapy this afternoon, multiple freelance projects I need to get hopping on, my own dog to feed and walk, my neighbor's dog to walk, and several loads of laundry to wash. Did I mention that my hubby's alarm never went off this morning and he woke up 1 hour late? Somehow we still managed to push him out the door in time for work. We're off to a successful, albeit crazy start to the day. Let's hope that continues.
Ciao for now...
13 January 2011
Today is the Day
The first blog in a blog series is always the hardest to write. Is background necessary? Should I explain the purpose? I don't even know the purpose for sure--only that I need an outlet to record the days of my life. I've had blogs before, but they never really encompassed all of me. So today is the day. From marriage to faith to babies to freelancing to writing to grammar to what's for dinner ... this is my life.
Today started with a somewhat stern call to the manufacturer of our baby crib. We ordered a crib online through Wal-Mart in November. We received it in December. Due to the holidays, we didn't open the box until January. May have been a mistake. It's a gorgeous crib, and I'm so happy with the way it looks.
Only problem is that the hardware was not included! After numerous emails and phone calls, I pulled the pregnant mommy card this morning. I threatened to contact the Better Business Bureau. She said the hardware will be here on Monday. Let's hope so! Our baby isn't due for another six weeks, but Ken's coworker just had her baby three weeks early...and that put the fear in me!
Speaking of baby, he is super active this morning. My belly is waving and jumping and rolling with all his movements. It's so fun to watch. The doctor says an active baby is a great sign of good health. But I have to admit, it still feels very, very strange.
Much to do today. My long-time friend Dawn and her two kids are coming to visit tomorrow from Chicago. I'm so happy they'll get relief from their ultra cold, snowy weather. We have big plans...pool, beach, drive-thru safari zoo, Billy Swamp Safari, church, Aruba's Beach Cafe...all in three days or so!
Also need to get busy on some freelance work, and do my daily reading. I'm reading through the Psalms, other Wisdom Literature, the Gospels and the Epistles this year. Reading through the entire Bible seems entirely too daunting, but this I can do. I got a daily reading plan off the internet, and so far so good. It's about two chapters a day, and truthfully, that's about all that my mind can digest in one sitting. If I read too much, I tend to lose it all; if I read a manageable amount, I can walk away with a couple truths for the day.
That's all for now...
Luann
Today started with a somewhat stern call to the manufacturer of our baby crib. We ordered a crib online through Wal-Mart in November. We received it in December. Due to the holidays, we didn't open the box until January. May have been a mistake. It's a gorgeous crib, and I'm so happy with the way it looks.
Only problem is that the hardware was not included! After numerous emails and phone calls, I pulled the pregnant mommy card this morning. I threatened to contact the Better Business Bureau. She said the hardware will be here on Monday. Let's hope so! Our baby isn't due for another six weeks, but Ken's coworker just had her baby three weeks early...and that put the fear in me!
Speaking of baby, he is super active this morning. My belly is waving and jumping and rolling with all his movements. It's so fun to watch. The doctor says an active baby is a great sign of good health. But I have to admit, it still feels very, very strange.
Much to do today. My long-time friend Dawn and her two kids are coming to visit tomorrow from Chicago. I'm so happy they'll get relief from their ultra cold, snowy weather. We have big plans...pool, beach, drive-thru safari zoo, Billy Swamp Safari, church, Aruba's Beach Cafe...all in three days or so!
Also need to get busy on some freelance work, and do my daily reading. I'm reading through the Psalms, other Wisdom Literature, the Gospels and the Epistles this year. Reading through the entire Bible seems entirely too daunting, but this I can do. I got a daily reading plan off the internet, and so far so good. It's about two chapters a day, and truthfully, that's about all that my mind can digest in one sitting. If I read too much, I tend to lose it all; if I read a manageable amount, I can walk away with a couple truths for the day.
That's all for now...
Luann
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