She fell asleep WHERE?

I can hardly believe that I am taking time to write a fun post. The days are going by so quickly and I feel like I am missing/forgetting so much of my precious daughter's life.

This past week L has really made me laugh on several occasions.

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The first was last Thursday, I think. My days run together, so I am not sure. I picked her up from "school" and the afternoon helper told me she fell asleep just before nap -- are you ready for this? ON the toilet! They have been letting her be the last one to use the restroom lately to try and help with making it through nap. Her teacher said that she had been in there awhile and thought she better go check on her. She was asleep sitting on their toddler-sized toilet! Her feet can reach the floor, so I suppose she got REAL comfortable. I told her on the way home that she will NEVER live that down. L said, "Uh-uh. Yes I will." Regardless, we will talk about that day long after she has her own children, Lord-willing!

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We have been trying to make adoption language and being born in China a part of our everyday language. Obviously, by this incident, we haven't done a very successful job!I was asking her if she was from China. L kept say, "No, I'm from ksadjfdklsjf. Baby is from China (her Asian doll)." I asked her to repeat to several times, but just couldn't decipher it. She was starting to get exasperated with me, as she often does when I can't understand her. I asked one last time and I heard, "sdfsdf-burg." The light came on.

I said, "Lynchburg?" She smiled SO big and nodded a BIG yes! I have never told her that she is from Lynchburg or that we live in Lynchburg, but we do use the name a bit. Especially, since I work in another town and G-ma G-pa R live in another town. Now, I am not one of those dreamy moms who think their child is THE genius . . . But I was so proud of her figuring that one out on her own!

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Lately, she has take to using some words/phrases that just melt my heart. She saw me with a new shirt on this morning and told me, "That's cute." Much is cute these days. She also started telling me more about how she is feeling. She has verbalized for awhile when she is mad or sad, but lately it is - "I'm happy" or "You make me happy" or "You make me laugh."

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One the baby front, I am 18 weeks tomorrow starting into my 5th - can you believe it - 5th month. That is half way! Right now, time seems to be flying! There are days when I forget that I am pregnant. I remember when I lift something that is a little too heavy or a couple days after a melt down. I think - oh yeah - I am pregnant. Just the other day, I read that generally most expectant moms have felt their baby for the first time by the end of the fifth month. My mom asked me just a couple hours after I read that if I had felt the baby yet. I told her that I hadn't and wasn't expecting to for several more weeks at the earliest.

I received quite the surprise this morning in church! I truly believe that I felt him/her. I have heard that it feels like a "quickening" or "butterflies." Not really knowing what "quickening" meant - I just thought it would be quite some time before I felt the baby. I felt it and thought - wait a minute. Then I started asking myself questions. Was I bloated? Nope - quite comfy actually. Was I hungry? Nope - GREAT snacks in Sunday school/life group! Then I started doubting myself and started to put it out of my mind. Then it happened several more times. All in all 4-5 times. I am sure that is what it was!

BTW, did you know the baby is beginning to react to sound now. Pastor Stephen was preaching on fasting. Maybe he/she wanted me to know he/she was there, so I wouldn't attempt that right now!

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Not to leave anything out . . . God really blessed us with something really special today. Someone from church randomly brought us a casserole for me to put in the oven! We really didn't NEED it, but I was just thinking this morning that I needed to head to the store YET AGAIN for something to finish the cooking for the week. More cooking yet to be done and I was just tired. It wasn't even a complaint - really. Just a sigh of - oh well. Here we go again. Thank you God and church and friends for listening to the Lord's nudges! It MADE my day and I think maybe my week!

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I finally got the battery charged for the camera, so here a couple from - I think - yesterday morning. Lily had gotten into the lotion in the bathroom. I love her smile in the more clear one, but the one that is slightly out of focus shows more of the lotion! The pictures don't do the situation justice. She had it all over her legs too!

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Gotta run! I wish I could keep track of all the amazing and funny things that Lily does. She is growing and changing so much! Just about the time I thought I might be close to being done with diapers for awhile . . .

Wasted Time and More

Last night I was wiped and wanted to just veg at the computer for a little bit. Haven't done that in a little bit. Blogging about our life isn't vegging - too much thinking involved. I read a few blogs and sites, but this was just after dinner. Lily kept asking to go outside.

When we finally made it outside, I felt really guilty. It was a beautiful evening and I missed most of it! I let her stay up a little later than normal. We played outside, I pushed her in the swing, we had a tad bit of ice cream on the front porch (me rocking in my chair and L in hers), and sang a few songs while I rocked her.

Thank you God for redeeming my wasted evening and giving me a few special moments with my daughter who is growing up WAY too quickly.

We slept in about 45 minutes, watched some Kai-lan, and made french toast for breakfast. I had a family friend come over to watch Lily during my accountability group this morning. L and Kelly had a great time. That was yet another amazingly refreshing good morning. Kelly, I cannot thank you enough for your generous use of your time!

This afternoon when she wakes, we drive to H-burg to have dinner with Steve, and get a pumpkin with said Daddy(according to L this is the most important part of the trip). All to return to L-burg this evening.

No pics yet. I have misplaced our battery charger for the camera battery. I know ti is here somewhere, but haven't the time to find it.

Pregnancy is going well/normally according to doc. We find out the gender of the baby on October 9th! I am enjoying having Steve in the midst of his Women's Health class. I know he would rather be done with class, but it's fun to watch/listen to his excitement (as excited as he gets) as he is learning about what I/we are going through! One night he called me back after we talked just to ask me about what the docs had said about pain relievers. He was relieved himself to hear that the dos had told told me NO aspirin/No NSAIDS for pain. Here is why he was so concerned.

School is starting out much better than last year. Lots of reasons, I guess. Lots of changes for the school, new kids, etc. BUT, I am convinced evermore that GOD knows how much I can handle an he is giving me grace for this season. God is indeed in control. I am NOT and the sooner, I learn to live my life with that in mind - the better!

Okay this is WAY longer than I intended, so I guess I will close and rest before L decides to wake and we head to H-burg. Continue your prayers that are felt and valued!

Word of God Speak!

I really shouldn't be doing this, BUT I really HAVE to! Every spare moment (literally) since my last post has been spent getting ready for school, lesson plans, etc. On that front just PRAY!

We are being required to use a format that takes me anywhere from 10-15 hours a week just to type up my plans to turn in (writing them in the same format would take even longer). I have 25-28 pages of lesson plans EVERY week. That doesn't count taking the time to actually prepare and gather materials, etc. Gone are the days of the plan book where you can see all of your plans for the week in two facing pages!

Enough of that, because that is not what this post is about. This morning things were going relatively well for a morning around this house. Lily was finishing up breakfast and we were ahead of schedule by about 10 minutes - Can you believe it? I have started playing our local Christian radio station, Spirit FM, constantly in the last few days. I was checking my e-mail quickly while Lily finished up and "Word of God Speak" came on the radio.

I thought Lily started talking and started to fuss at her for not eating when she said this: "I'm singing mommy!" I checked my spirit and breathed out and thought - school can wait. THIS is TOO important! We "sang" the rest of the song together. I asked her if she liked that song. She smiled and grinned while nodding her head.

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

[CHORUS]
Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

[REPEAT CHORUS 2x]

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay

Thank you God for a sweet beginning to my day (especially after last evening's pity party)!

Sorry for the lack of pictures. I haven't taken any since Steve left for Canada. IF you happen to read this tonight, pray especially hard. It is nearly 9:30 and I could work until midnight and still not be done with plans. Pray for focus, perseverance, and wisdom (on when to stop) considering my alarm will be going on before 6 AM.

Rest of the story - part 2

If you haven't read "The rest of the story - part 1" scroll down.

Well what do you know? God certainly has a sense of humor. I should have learned by now that you do NOT tell God what YOU want or do not want to do. Less than a month later we were pregnant. I have never followed my cycle much since we got the news in 2004 and especially not since Steve started school and we are hardly are in the same city for more than 12-24 hours at a time 2-3 times a month.

I had NO suspicions until I was already at least 6 weeks pregnant and then I started to wonder. I was in denial putting off getting a home test for 4-5 days. At one point a few weeks before, I thought maye I was PMSing (if that is a word), but alas I was not! I was not even the least bit sick until the day after the home test!

To be perfectly honest and transparent, I was NOT a happy camper at first! I have always and will always be adamently PRO-life and PRO-child. But . . . Those first two weeks, I had to deal with all of the emotions that come with an unplanned, poorly timed (I thought) pregnancy. There are upsides to the timing that I can see now.

Baby will be born when I am 34 1/2. Had the baby been born a year later (after Steve was done with school), the docs would have considered me high-risk soley due to my age. "JMU" is being very sympathetic at this point. He has been told that he will be allowed to set-up up to 3 rotations here in Lynchburg in addition to his research month which can also be done here. That means he could be "working" locally for 4 of his 11 months! They are even giving the students a 10-day break in July!

In case you didn't catch the due date, it is Feb. 22, 2010. I am hoping to take 9 weeks off give or take some. Fortunately, Spring Break is one of those weeks (yet another timing plus). I will have to take 5 of those weeks without pay as I don't have much sick time saved up yet. We both feel for my health and baby's health that I need to take more than 6 wks, but 12 wks doesn't seem wise financially.

Well, I think that wraps things up for now. I continue to feel pretty good - at least compared to the horror stories I have heard. We will be finding out the sex of the baby when possible. There are too many other unknowns for me at this point! Here is list of things that you can specifically be praying for (in no particular order of importance - my pregnancy brain is definitely not that organized):

1. Easy pregnancy (no :) time off before birth)
2. Endurance for Steve (last semester of class)
3. Preparation for Lily
4. Trusting God (financial provision)
5. Healthy baby
6. Rest (I am waking up 2-3 times a night)
7. Endurance for me (start school today)
8. Wisdom
9. Peace
10. People will see and accept and know God's power, love, and provision through us

The rest of the story - part 1

I had this all typed out and realized how incredibly long it was, so you are getting it in two installments. Check back later tomorrow for the rest! If you haven't seen "Somethin' to talk about Saturday," scroll down for the pics!

I thought I would give people the surprise yesterday without any explanation, but wanted to share a little more today. Many people are aware of why this was such a surprise, but others are not. Especially those who have met us recently.

Before Steve and I were ever at the place of beginning a family, we talked about infertility and adoption. Neither one of us had any issues that we were aware of. I think it was just a God thing. We decided as a couple that if it came to that, we would only pursue infertility treatments as far as insurance would pay. At that point, we would pursue adoption.

We (I more so that Steve initally) felt a calling to adopt a little girl from China. We had a attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert in the fall of 2002. Wow, has it really been nearly 7 years since that concert? I just knew at that very moment that we would have a daughter from China. Then came the following debate:

Do we adopt first when "we can afford it" before we have a biological family? or Do we "try" first? The answer came in early June 2004. It was harder for Steve to process than me, but we worked through the news relatively smoothly. I believe that God prompted us to have that conversation about infertility early in our marriage to prepare us for that moment.

Fast forward to May 2009! I was watching a birth on TLC at Steve's apartment. I made it very clear in no uncertain terms that a baby was gross at birth and that if I ever (Ha Ha Ha) gave birth they would have to clean it up before I would hold it. On this particular episode, they put the baby immediately on the mother's abdomen (BTW, I still think that is still a little yucky).

Steve had just finished up his second semester of Pathophysiology, so that launched us into a discussion about my higher risks with certain cancers due to not ever being pregnant - let alone carrying a child to term. We also talked about how we enjoyed our family and we were VERY settled into being a transracially adoptive family. I was adament that I was happy with our life and that I had NO, NONE, NADA desire to EVER be pregnant!

Somethin' to talk about Saturday

Stay Tuned!

Heads up for those who actually read our blog. Look for an update Saturday morning. If you haven't registered your e-mail address with blogger, you may want to re-visit my post here on how to leave a comment.

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