What I Learned Today

You would think that by the third child, the first ultrasound image and the first sound of their heartbeat would start getting old or loose a bit of its wonder. It doesn't.

From a Three-Year Old

Shepherd's verbal skills keep expanding with each passing day. Sentences are getting longer and more complex. However, the most stunning part of a conversation with Shepherd is usually not the vocabulary or sentence structure. It's the logical conclusions he draws about the situations all around him. Here are three examples from the last couple of weeks.

1. Two weeks ago, the whole family got stomach bugs at the exact same time. Four people, one bathroom. It wasn't pretty. Thankfully, it was a swift bug, and we soon all recovered. After reflecting on how much better he was feeling, Shepherd thoughtfully posed the following question to BJ and me: "Did the stomach bug go into the potty and go for a swim?" Something like that.

2. I made a quick weekend trip mid-January to Menard with the kids to give BJ some much needed homework time after the holidays. As soon as we got there, Shepherd wanted to tell Mamm and Pap about the baby in my tummy. Here's how that story went: "Mommy has a baby in her tummy, and she is going to get bigger and bigger and bigger (making hand gestures that denote a growth in height) like the giant and the bean stalk." Soon after, I clarified what part of mommies get bigger as babies grow.

3. After lunch today, Shepherd was poking BJ's slightly (oh-so-slightly) rotund stomach. He then observed, "Daddy, you've got too much water in your tummy." BJ burst out laughing and said, "I've got too much of something in there."

On Baby Number Three

Well, I haven't really put it out into internet land yet, but I am pregnant with baby number three.  I'm 11 weeks, nauseous every moment of every day, and absolutely exhausted. So, a typical pregnancy for me.

However, there is one thing about this pregnancy that isn't typical. Shepherd and Lydia were both planned, and those pregnancies were at least somewhat expected. Number three, though, is an oops baby.  We weren't trying. In fact, we were actively trying not to get pregnant.

On December 10, I took a pregnancy test feeling foolish for even taking it, certain I couldn't possibly be pregnant. However, I couldn't ignore the little voice in my head saying, "Are you sure?" When I saw the result, I immediately started shaking from head to toe.  Happiness kept trying to creep into my emotions, but I was much too overwhelmed with shock to allow it any residence. So I did what any girl in total shock should do; I called my mother. In tears, I told her what had just happened. She laughed hysterically. It sort of put things in perspective. Oh yeah, babies are good things.

So I spent the rest of my afternoon frantically trying to put everything in our house and our life in perfect order so that the shocking news could be delivered with as much peace and tranquility as possible. By the time 5:00 rolled around, our house was immaculately clean, a hot dinner was on the table, I had a new budget plan typed and ready, and I had research printed out for different doctor/midwife options we could use for this pregnancy.

By what I am convinced was the grace of God, Shepherd and Lydia were cheerful and well behaved the entire evening. By the time we put them to bed, I was prepared to tell BJ. So I took my stack of research into our very clean bedroom, sat down on our neatly made-up bed, and told BJ I needed to talk to him for a minute. He took one look at me and said, "You're pregnant, aren't you?"

The next morning, BJ crawled out of bed and trudged into the kitchen in his characteristic surly-morning mood. I paused my breakfast preparations, looked up at him, and asked, "Well, how are you doing this morning?" Perhaps it is because BJ gets paid to be profound on a weekly basis, but in that moment, he said the exact thing I needed to hear as I sat in my personal little boat, rocking from terrified to happy and back again. He didn't say "I'm so happy" or "I'm so ready for number 3" or "This was the best news ever." Instead, he gave an answer as honest and to-the-point as I have come to expect from him: "I'm not happy about it yet, but I'm grateful." And we are.

Sundays at the First Christian Church of Ardmore

I'm usually so good about blogging once a week, but the holiday season got me horribly off my schedule the past few weeks.  I still haven't caught up on house chores and getting the kids back into a somewhat normal schedule. Also, there is the nausea and fatigue of growing a new baby, but I'll save that for a blog post later this week :).

For now, I just want to take a moment to list my favorite things about Sundays:

1. My teen class. About seven months ago, I started teaching the teen class at our church. I was a bit intimidated by the challenge, but I decided to jump in a give it a try. What I didn't expect was that I would fall in love with my girls. It was supposed to be a three month stretch, but obviously, I haven't felt compelled to stop yet.

2. Hearing Rev. BJ Gensic preach. I know I'm biased, but he really does always deliver a great sermon. And he isn't the type of preacher you zone out on while listening.  I'm always glued to the message from beginning to end.

3. Taking the Eucharist. When I have to miss a Sunday morning service for whatever reason, I always miss having this meal with my family. And yes, my church is family to me.

4. Watching Shepherd eat his donut before class. He always sits at the men's table in the parlor with several men ages 50 and over.

5. Smelling Lydia's hair for the rest of the day after church. She always smells like the perfumes of all the ladies who held her that morning.

6. Last but not least, singing. We seriously have the best worship leader and accompanists.