Hello...echo...echo...

I am assuming someone may still be reading this, but I have not gotten a comment in a long time and that gets a girl down. Two post ago I wrote a little bit about my friend Kim and her family who are working on adopting a three-year-old from the Ukraine. They have officially been matched with her, which gives them the go-ahead to start fund raising. The first fund raiser they are doing is through jewelry sales at a friend's store. Please, PLEASE, check it out. You can find all the information on their blog, as well as the detailed story about how this adoption came to be and what is entailed. Go there...and comment on my blog because I am getting lonely in here talking to myself.

http://adoption.adeanthing.com/

Time marches on

These last few weeks I have been acutely aware of the passage of time. Interestingly, time has seemed to both fly by and drag, a fact to which I am sure many women in their third trimester can attest. I am in my 35th week of this pregnancy, which means if I go right up to my due date I have five more weeks. Five looooonngg weeks....and five very, very SHORT weeks. At this point Tabitha's room does not have a floor, I have yet to go sort through all of the baby girl clothes in storage, and although we know we have a crib (thank you Stacey), it does not live at our house yet. Also, I am trying to get some stuff at my job wrapped up so that I am not frantically sorting out paperwork in-between contractions. At this point it does not matter too much, though, because my boss cannot seem to find any extra OT to cover my kids, which makes me sad. I also just celebrated a birthday, the last of my twenties. I am feeling particularly old right now, which has more to do with shortness of breath and overwhelming fatigue than an actual number. I figured since time, it's passage, and usefulness has been on my mind, now would be a good opportunity to take a moment to re-assess where I am stand at this turning point. The very first post on The Land of the Living was dedicated to some things that I wanted to accomplish in 2010...and since we are a QUARTER (holy cow!) of the way through this year...here is my self-assessment:

This year I want to:

• Make real friends - I have to admit, I have done a bang up job on this one, there is a reason I listed it first. I have made a conscience effort to open myself up and get out there, and it has really paid off. I have three awesome, Godly women that I feel I have made a true connection. We have had people over to our home several times, including some great play-dates for Camille. I joined a meet-up group for mothers of toddlers in the area and Camille and I try to go to something fun at least once a week. We have started going to Sunday morning class and Wednesday night fellowship and I feel like a full-fledged community member in my church. I am not bragging, this has been the hardest thing for me. I would really (REALLY) like to just sit in my house and miss the soul-mates that I LOVE, but Camille needs friends, and I need support, and so that just is not going to happen. Although he does not have the social insecurity hang-ups that I do, Matt has also gotten really involved with the guys at our church, and it makes me happy to see him form new relationships too.
• Have a healthy baby - Obviously still working on this one, so far so good.
• Take more pictures - Hhhmm...I have actually TAKEN more pictures, but have not shared them very well. I guess I should have been more specific with my goal.
• Blog (!!!) - I think I have done okay...my goal was once per week, and I think, with a few exceptions, that has been the case.
• Take control of my health for me with no more excuses - *sigh* I totally fell off the exercise wagon when we moved into our new house. I really wanted to stay fit during this pregnancy, because I did such an awful job during my pregnancy with Camille and am still paying the price. I keep saying that I am going to start walking after work now that there is more light, but have yet to just get outside and walk. So here is my commitment in print...I will walk at least three times per week until this baby comes, the end!
• Get organized - This goal was way to broad, I realize. I had several things in my mind that I wanted to be more organized in, but now they are gone. I need to write down some specific areas that I want to organize, and start there.
• Move into our new house - GLORY TO JESUS, we did it!! I think it was the first week in March, although it seems like it has been a lot longer. I was amazed at how fast this place started to feel like home. Pictures soon, I promise.
• Wake up earlier - I started doing this, then I realized, I am about to have a baby and will not get the chance to sleep late for many months, so I take advantage of every moment I can until Tabitha arrives.
• Cook more, but easier and better planned meals - nope, if anything I would say less. Been too busy with moving.
• Get a half a cow in my freezer from a local farmer - Just last week my mom let me know that we are going to be splitting half a cow from the guy who rents their land! I am super excited. We also started getting farm-fresh eggs from our raw milk lady. Now if I could only find a way to get local, free-range chickens.
• Plant a super awesome garden and not neglect it too much - Due to the crazy weather we got a late start. I am not doing much of the physical labor, but have been doing most of the planning. I bought some seeds today, which I hope to at least help plant. I have to say that our garden is showing soooooo much progress. Last year we started a compost pile, and had a pile of cow poo composting in a field, which all went into the soil during tilling. It is the most luscious, black dirt I have ever laid my eyes on.
• Play more with Camille - some days yes, some days no. Today we are going to hunt Easter eggs in the yard when she wakes up from her nap.
• Walk the dogs - Not even once. Poor, sad puppies.
• Create a nice outdoor space for my family - we are working on it. That yard was a jungle. Camille and I spent last Saturday planting flowers in containers, partly because the ground is too over-run with weeds to even get a flower bed out of, and partly because Camille LOVES to pick flowers and I just thought it would be easier on us both if they were allowed to grow safely out of reach. I am looking for some used patio furniture, that stuff is expensive!
• Send more things in the mail - Hhhmmm...I set my sights too high.
• Read my Bible - I am sad that this is at the end of the list, and that I have to admit that I cannot even remember the last time I opened my Bible.
• Keep my car cleaner - *laugh*

There we have it. That may have been more for me than for blogging purposes, but who says that is not the point. I may make modifications to my list and re-post it, or I may just make mental notes. This seems like a really good way to foster self-improvement, which I need. I end with some of the pictures I took, but never posted :)

God has a big house

I want you to read this. This is my best friend Kim and her family following God's leading even though it seems like all out craziness. I cannot even type these words without getting tears in my eyes at just the sheer blessing of knowing them. Kim and I have talked about how much we both want to adopt, how it hurts us to know that there are kids out there that need homes. This is her (and Phil!) putting her money and heart and family and everything where her mouth is. So, I am asking that you pray for her and her family. That you pray about supporting their effort financially. That you consider her example and go and do likewise, I know that is what I am working towards.

http://adoption.adeanthing.com/

God Makes a Point

For the last week God has been gently bringing to my realization how I totally lack contentment. My eyes are constantly seeking out things to be jealous over. I want the following: a new car, a showroom house, nice clothes for myself, nice clothes for Camille, a stylish haircut, a faster laptop, name brand shoes, a European vacation, an espresso bedroom suite, matching baby furniture, an expensive elliptical machine, outdoor furniture, overpriced nursery decor....do you get my drift.

Also, my wantings are not by any means limited to physical objects. I regularly pray for a new career for my husband, a healthy family, an easy delivery, a well behaved toddler, success at my job, protection from struggle....I ask for a LOT of things. So, like I said, God has been gently (which I appreciate because sometimes He is not so gentle) admonishing me to BE CONTENT. My car runs, my bedroom furniture is very functional, Matt's job pays bills, I have way too many shoes.

On the way to pick up Camille this afternoon I was praying about just that. Lord please help me to be content, please let me love my car and not lust after every car on the highway that is nicer than mine (which to be fair, is most of them). Please help me to be happy with my new, HUGE house without being prideful. Please help me to have and easy delivery, please, please, please on that one :) I got to my parents loaded up Camille and we headed for home....the 15 minute trip sounded something like this....

"Water please mommy, please mommy, wateeeeerr. Ice cream please, Ice cream, Ice cream. Song please, SOOOOOOOONGGG, song, song, song, SSOOOOOOOOONNNNGGG!!!. " Silence. "French fries, FRENCH FRIES, FRENCH FRIIIEEES please." I start to laugh. "Bottle, bottle, please, TOOOOY, TOY PLEASE. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. " Crying.

I had given Camille her cup of water, which she immediately threw on the floor, she has had ice cream maybe three times in her entire life so I have no idea where that came from. She has just been turned to face forward in the car and now is DEMANDING her music CDs by asking for songs, and french fries...that is just genetic. For the 15 between my parents house and my home I got to hear what I must sound like to God. Some of my demands make sense, like asking for water, but maybe He just gave me water and I threw it down and then changed my mind at a time when He could not just turn around a give it to me again. Maybe my demands come from left field, like asking for ice cream, where did she get that?? Maybe my demands are logical and He is in a position to give me what I ask, like turning on Camille's CD, but the way I ask is so ridiculous that He makes me wait anyway. Maybe I just start shooting things that I want off to heaven because I am so in the asking mode, demanding mode. Maybe He laughs at me, today I laughed at me. Kids are excellent glimpses into the heart of God.

Until that time

I am fully intending to write a (not-so)fabulous post today, but until that happens I want you to read this.

http://www.coffeestainedclarity.com/2010/03/carpe-defibrillator/

Because I have had a conversation about this very topic with THREE different mothers this very week. Why does the mothering instinct play out inside of us is like a neurotic, unrelenting and imaginative horror movie script?

Also I wanted to bring some attention to this blog:

http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2010/03/overcoming-scheduling-challenges-bringing-more-peace-to-my-day.html

Because she is super cool, the information on there inspires me, and we all seem to be heading down a path of more natural, less pre-packaged living. Go Us!

Until later.

Becoming the parent I always rolled my eyes at....

Am I bragging...yes, yes I am. However, I do acknowledge that we are creating a monster. Every time Camille sees a camera or a phone she wants to (insist with crying) to see the "cute baby." We watched this video approximately 36 times before I finally had to say the cute baby had gone bye-bye.

Also, the quality of the video may leave something to be desired, but we were in a dark room with our old camera.

Out of Pocket

I have been trying really hard to keep my once a week blogging pledge, but for the next couple of weeks I will be taking a break because....drum roll please....WE MOVED!!! After four months of painstaking work we are finally living in our house! I am so excited, but also completely overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do in order to get things put away. I have to say that this is the first time we have moved, out of seven moves, where we had a church family to lend a hand, and it was AWESOME. We (five guys from church, Matt, my parents, the pastor's wife, my cousin and her daughter) got everything packed up and then unpacked in less than three hours. It brings tears to my eyes to think about how much help everyone was, and how happy they were to come and toil so that we could make this happen. That, people, is what church community is all about. Not only did they help, but I have a house-warming apple pie and banana bread in my kitchen. Of course we also had wonderful help from my real (as in non-church) family, too, and that was also greatly appreciated.

So, hopefully I can get some pictures up soon. I will not even have Internet service at the new address until Tuesday, so we will see what happens.