I hate it.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Only it's January 16th.

If this had happened around Christmastime I would be happy - ecstatic, even. But now?

Notsomuch.

Not even a little bit.

In fact, I'm hating the snow.

Why?

Because tomorrow is OUR DAY. You know what day I'm talking about... The day that every pregnant woman looks forward to almost as much as the day her freshly baked baby is born...

**The day we find out the gender!**

What does this have to do with the snow?

Well, given that we live an hour and 10 minutes away from my doctor's office and our ultrasound appointment is at 8:15am (I was trying to help out my husband's work schedule when I made the appointment a month ago) and there's no sign of the weather getting any better (super slick roads this morning and we wouldn't exactly be leaving at the ideal time of day for that kind of road travel) - I'm getting a little (seriously, I need a paper bag!) worried either we aren't going to make the appointment or that we're going to show up and the person who has the capabilities of telling us who our baby is won't make it there on time...

Am I worrying about stuff I have no control of? YES.

Will it all work out in the end? It always does (one way or another).

Am I still going to lose most sleep tonight? Definitely.

Is all this completely legit due to the fact that I'm pregnant and therefore have a valid excuse for pretty much any irrational behavior and/or emotional antics? Y.E.S.

So there you have it.

WHY I HATE THE SNOW.

Perfect Pregnancy Pants

I finally found a comfortable pair of workout lounge pants today. I bought them straight away and even mentioned to Jack (while still in town at about 2pm in the afternoon) that I couldn't wait to get home and put them on which is precisely what I did.

Pathetic? Probably.

Realistic? Definitely.

Anyway, when I got home I took a closer look at the tag since at the store all I really cared about was that they were on sale and that even though they weren't maternity, they would probably still work (hallelujah).

Here's the tag I read:

Let me break it down for you.

"Quick Dry" - Perfect for those pregnancy moments when you either laugh too hard or unexpectedly sneeze and pee a little. I'm not gonna lie, I've been there (yes, both scenarios).

"4-Way Stretch" - This could not be better as it appears that '4' is exactly the number of directions my body is growing due to the baby my early-in-the-pregnancy eating habits.

"No Chafe Seams" - My thighs are grateful. Enough said.

"UV Protection" - Living in Oregon, the only thing this is good for is a laugh (which brings us back to the quick-dry feature, so we're all good).

So there you have it.

My perfect pregnancy pants.

Christmas Spirit? Anyone?

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I think I'm finally officially in the "Christmas Spirit."

I feel bad though, because up until now I was too stressed to really get excited about what Christmas is supposed to actually be about.

I feel horrible that it wasn't until all my gifts were purchased, wrapped, and under the tree that I could allow myself to see Jesus in this season.

This morning before I got up I gazed out the large window above our bed at the beautiful sky and the trees and fields and it made me think about Mary.

How she might have felt this day all those years ago.

Was she stressed? Was she worried about the days to come? Did she inwardly complain about the task at hand and wonder why God had chosen her? When she realized that she wouldn't be having her baby in comfort because there wasn't room for them to stay anywhere in town, did she worry that maybe she was in over her head with what God was asking of her?

Or was she calm, trusting in the Lord to supply her every need as she prepared to give birth and raise God's Son? They ended up in a barn. She gave birth to her baby next to dirty farm animals and laid Him in hay where cows and sheep fed. Did she worry then? Did she then question God's plan?

If Mary can go through all that and trust in the Lord, then I can certainly go through the holidays and simply praise Him for all He's done for me without worrying.

God is good. All the time. His goodness does not change depending on how convenient our circumstances seem to us at any given moment.

He was good and faithful to Mary while she was giving birth to the Son of God in a barn. And He will be good and faithful to all of us no matter our circumstances, too.

I pray that you find (MAKE) time to thank Him for His goodness this weekend. He is certainly deserving of all our praise. All the time.

A little emotional. (Okay, a lot.)

This morning I had to change sheets on the bunk-beds for the zillionth time this month and I hit my head on the top bunk when I was climbing out from tucking in the top sheet. (There's a goose-egg on the back of my head). And I cried. Not because of the pain, but because hitting my head gave me a reason to.


I spilled my coffee all over my alarm clock this morning when I was gathering up the dirty dishes that were piled on my nightstand (don't ask). I'm not sure if I was more upset by the alarm clock getting soaked or because the inside of my coffee cup was suddenly unoccupied. Either way, I cried. Again.

I realized (as I was trying desperately to organize our space in the upstairs of my parents house) that no matter how many times I rearrange all the crap stuff in our bedrooms, we simply do not have enough space for me to not feel claustrophobic not to mention the fact that we're adding another CHILD to the mix in a few months. And I cried yet again.

Then I remembered last night when we were laying in bed and listening to our three older kids deep breathing in their sleep (in the room connected to ours by a wall that goes 3/4 of the way to the ceiling) that my husband put his head gently on my belly and whispered sweet words to our baby as he held my hand. And I cried some more.

I might be an emotional wreck lately, you guys.

(Still living vicariously through me, Jackie?)

*Might Have* Monday

I might have taken my kids out to Chinese food for lunch yesterday after church knowing that they'd get extra sleepy, hoping that they would take a nap all the way home so I could enjoy my coffee (and my music!) on the way home in peace...

I might have realized this weekend that Christmas is only two weeks away (did you know that, you guys? TWO WEEKS AWAY) and I'm no where near ready. All the presents we've purchased are still piled in the back of the closet where we've been tossing them as we've brought them home. I really have no recollection of what's in there, much less what we might still need to get. (But for the love of Dave Ramsey, don't tell anyone how bad I was this year with making things such as Christmas lists... and a budget. Ahem.)


I might have a pile of laundry that's bigger than my car (and it's a big car) waiting to be washed, but since I was up all night coughing and my throat and chest hurt pretty bad today, I'm choosing not to care. And I might have set up the DVD player so Jack could watch his favorite DVDs over and over again while I attempt to make up for some of the sleep I lost last night.
And last but not least:

I might have felt the baby move. You know, the baby that's residing inside me? Yeah, I can feel it in there. I forgot how amazing that is. So right now I don't really care that we're unprepared for Christmas, or that I could get a full-on workout just by climbing my mountain of laundry because the little person that I've been having a hard time grasping the concept of  kicks me. And I like it. A lot.

procrastination at its finest

I'm a procrastinator. Do you like how I say that as if you guys couldn't already tell that just from how amazingly well kept my blog is? Ha!

Anyway, yeah, I put stuff off. Semi-important stuff... like ordering gifts online in time.

I'm awesome at ordering stuff off the internet (I mean, I do have my debit card number memorized) but I'm not awesome at taking note that just because I order it at night doesn't mean it will be there the next day in the mail.

We had decided to get the boys new Bibles for Christmas. I went to a couple of different places to look at them but they weren't on sale so I decided to look online. Last night. I found exactly what I wanted so I quickly ordered them and was happy to be done with it.

...until I read the email they sent me after I had already placed my order and paid.

"Expected arrival date will be between December 18th and December 28th."

Uh... oops.

Also? I ordered our Christmas cards online this morning.

I knew that since we haven't done it before now there was NO way we'd have time to dress all cute and pretend to be all happy as we pose for the perfect Christmas card picture (and lets be honest, nothing can top last year's "Ugly Christmas Sweater" edition) so... I just used our pumpkin patch picture.

Is that bad?

I guess if there's anyone who would use a pumpkin patch picture as their Christmas card, it would be us. So, there you have it.

Hopefully my procrastination will make you feel better about your own Christmas progress. How's it all going for you?

It's sharing day.

It's my birthday today, but because I'm feeling generous I've decided to share something with you for my birthday. (You're welcome.)

We're due the beginning of June.

And no matter how shocked you think you are right now, I guarantee it can't top our shock (and we've known for a couple of months!).