Hi friends,
We are 19 days away from our due date. All Gordon-related projects are done and we are in the waiting game... when will our little lad arrive? Instead of focusing on the waiting I am trying to soak up every moment I can as we are family of 4 and work ahead a bit on a few mommy/Sarah-made gifts (December holds quite a bit of celebrating!).
I'll post later this week with the preparing for Gordon goodies! And I'm hoping to get some house pictures up so you guys can see where we are living.
We have settled into a basic routine and while it is never executed the way it's (ideally) laid out on paper - it's helpful for the kids and I to have a sort of expectation for each day. Brad has been working hard - crunching data, reading books and meeting with all sorts of people as we try to decide where to church plant. He's thriving in the environment and training provided at Riv, learning a ton and enjoying the some of the more nerdy aspects of his job (he's a spreadsheet-lover). :) We still don't know where we are going to live in a year, but are trusting the Lord to open doors and direct our desires.
Our house in Pampa is still on the market, the offer we received back in August fell through. (Although the initial closing date was set for the day after the government ended up shutting-down... so we still would not have closed on it even if the plans had continued... can't help but wonder if all this was orchestrated by God to remove some stress from our lives.) Please continue to pray with us that it will sell soon? We've struggled through a wide range of emotions in reg to the house-situation, but we are praying that the Lord will increase our trust in him and reminding ourselves that He will be faithful to take care of us.
Lucy is still as talkative and social as ever! It is rare for her not to dress up at least once a day. She is c.o.n.s.t.a.n.t.l.y chatting and LOVES to be a helper (she put on Michael's shoes for me the other day and then "read" him a book!). She has been making up the best songs about every day things (i.e.: "The Girl and the Bandaid") and is very imaginative in her activities she plans for us to do as a family - she made up a game we've started calling "Pumpkin Pumpkin." The rules are simple: While driving in the car, if you see a pumpkin point to it and say "Pumpkin Pumpkin!" It has been the source of much laughter as we've been out and about lately. :) Lucy asks "why?" all the time and is, at-times, slow to be obedient (very normal for a 3 year old, but still frustrating sometimes). She is working on asking for help nicely and not being bossy or whiney. She memorizes songs and verses so easily and will tell us if she got along with everyone in Sunday School - we've been encouraging her to remember kid's names so she doesn't have to refer to them as "the boy in the green shirt" or "the purple girl" ("Lucy, they won't be wearing those same clothes next time you see them so you need to remember their name.") Haha.
Michael is on-the-go! He loves being outside, in the backyard or at the park you can find him climbing and exploring. He loves roughhousing with his daddy. He also loves helping and if you ask him, he will happily carry trash to the trashcan for you or laundry to the hamper. He knows where the kids shoes go and will take off his shoes and put them away (in the right place!). He is learning new words (Most recently: "Bath" "Done," "More," and "Lu") and beams with pride when he accomplishes a new one! Our current, Michael-struggle is this: he will wake up between 6:30-7:00, drag a chair from his room to the light switch and wake up his sister by turning on and off the light. This is not something his mom and dad appreciate. Thankfully we can usually hear the chair scraping on the floor through the monitor and intercept him soon after the light has been switched on to remind him that it is still dark out (it is still very dark at 6:30) and that he needs to stay in bed. This morning we got another hour of kid-free time after our quick "reset!" Other mornings it's only 15 minutes, but we try to encourage the kids to stay in their beds until the sun comes up. :) (I know all that all too soon our schedule will be thrown to the wind - but for now.... it's nice to remain consistent).
I have been trying to live in the moment lately, not focused on what life will look like for us in a month or even what it has looked like in the past, but focusing on the now. I've enjoyed the grocery store trips when I can still fit all my kids into one shopping cart, along with a few groceries. I've cherished the all-through-the-night sleep I've been having. I've revisited the "to cloth diaper or not to cloth diaper" question (no answer yet... just thinking). I've sang along with my sweet family as daddy plays his guitar with no fear of "waking the baby." I've practiced lullabies and gentle touch with Lucy and Michael for when little brother arrives. I've been thankful, in the moments I feel "AHHH I can't do this with TWO, let alone THREE children!" that I am not alone in this parenting thing but have a fantastic husband who is super helpful and such an encouragement to me. I've enjoyed a longer than 3 hr date-night with said-husband, realizing that our alone time will soon be happening in smaller windows of time as there will be a hungry baby in the picture.
Our lives are going to change forever in a few weeks and I'm trying to have a good perspective on how long it will take for us to find a new "normal." So far, so good - not that that means I think it's going to be easy, but I think I've settled into a place of contentment and "Okayness" about all the unknowns in life right now - I'm growing in my ability to rest in trust.
Well, I'm going to make myself a cup of decaf coffee and take advantage of what nap-time I have left to do some reading. :) Scratch that! Brad just brought me a latte! Another reason to be thankful. :)
Happy Monday!
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