Babymoon #2

While pregnant with Noah, Josh and I went on a "babymoon" cruise to celebrate (the easiest form of travel with baby). It was such fun, we did it again this time! We dropped Noah off at my brother and sister-in-law's (the baby boy experts with built-in playmates for Noah) and headed south.

We chose a 4-night weekend cruise because it was:
1. All-inclusive - tons of good food, activities and entertainment
2. Warm and wet - pools, beaches, and views of the ocean, not to mention a little steel-drum serenade
3. Short but long - 5 days away from Noah was plenty
4. Domestic - visited our favorite Mexican port (Cozumel) while still eating US-regulated food

We left FLL Thursday on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas, spent Saturday on Cozumel (my favorite beach - and I've seen a lot) and used the rest of the time to read, eat, sleep, swim, attend shows, and return Monday.

Meanwhile, Noah was having a blast with his aunt, uncle, and cousins at the park, zoo, restaurants, and just playing with a fabulous supply of trains and trucks.

Apparently Josh enjoyed the getaway, too. He emailed me last night to see if I'd want to go with him to South Africa in 2010. One step at a time... ;)

Separation Anxiety

Go Cards

UofL has won the Big East Conference, and is the overall #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. This is big news in our household. We've been trying for the last year to become Vandy fans. It shouldn't be so hard, considering their our hometown team, we've both attended undergrad and grad school at Vandy, and we (or our parents) have paid them more money than we make in a year - times two. But ultimately, Josh is the sports fan in our family, and there's no getting around the fact that he bleeds red. Which is why Noah is already prepping for Card victories...

(Granted he's a little off-season in his choice of equipment, but until we find a basketball that's this easy to handle, it'll be football season around here.)

Chosen

"He rescued me because he delighted in me." -2 Samuel 22:20b

I have never doubted my parents' unconditional love for me. That's a huge statement about their faithfulness and amazing parenting skills. But I haven't always fully appreciated that.

As a teenager, I remember thinking, "Of course they love me - they have to - they're my parents." At a deep level, their love grounded me. At a superficial level, I totally took it for granted.

Then one day, my mother figured this out. She sat me down and told me how much she enjoyed being with me. That she would have wanted to be my friend even if we weren't related. That she liked me.

I shouldn't have needed to hear that. This truth was implied everyday by her attitude and actions. But I can't tell you how much it surprised me. She knew me so well. Better than anyone. She saw my flaws. She was one of the few people who could tell me when I needed correction. And I treated her worse than some strangers. Maybe she had to love me, but how could she still like me?

In Bible study on Tuesday, we talked about how God knows us intimately, and I felt that same adolescent bristling that I used to feel with my mother. Of course he knows me. He's God. He knows everything.

Then our small group leader reminded me that He would do anything to be with me. That he did everything to be with me. That he loves and delights in me.

Suddenly I was sixteen again, scorning love as if it were easy, automatic. Forgetting its cost and the value it implies. God knows me. He loves me. He chose me. And he wants to be with me. It goes against my grain to hear it, to think it. Some rebellious pride says it's not true, or if it is, it's somehow not enough. Even though he's shown me the opposite over and over and over and over again.

How is it that 25 years after becoming a Christian--through 25 years of experiencing his faithfulness--I still forget?

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8

"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." -Zephaniah 3:17

"If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?...I'm absolutely convinced that nothing--nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable--absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love..." -Romans 8:32, 38-39, The Message

"He rescued me because he delighted in me." -2 Samuel 22:20b

Tuckered Out

Hormone Havoc

I actually cried last night. I never cry about my own life. I can cry at beautiful music or a tragic movie, or even just because someone else is crying, but I never cry on my own. I remember crying once in small group about 8 years ago and everyone being so shocked (myself included) that they gave me a group hug. It's not a neurosis or anything - I cried plenty as a kid and my parents were very encouraging. I just don't tend to express my emotions that way as an adult. And I haven't had much to cry about in my life.

Until last night, apparently (not). I'd been looking forward to this particular Moms-and-More event for months, and then yesterday Noah started coughing up a lung. No fever. Clear snot. Happy kid. But a ridiculously dramatic-sounding cough. And no babysitters available. I tried everything, but how many people could possibly want to babysit a semi-sick kid on a weekday morning with about 12 hours notice?

So at 8pm last night, I sat across the table from Josh and cried. He laughed, it was soooo not like me. And the reason (sticking out of my midsection) was SO obvious. And the supposed cause SO not worthy of the effect. But there you have it. I'm a blubbering mass of hormones who's upset she's going to miss a party.

Which is when my prince charming saved the day. He canceled his very important work meetings to stay home while I went out and partied (i.e. discussed meal planning with preschool moms). It was wonderful. And so is he. Now I'm just hoping we can make it another twenty weeks without another ludicrous display of my 5-year-old self.

(Picture caption: Noah was not quite as happy about me going to my party, though it took him a whole 10 seconds to get over it: vacuuming with Daddy did the trick.)

Taking a Bath

Noah loves his bath before bed, and now that he can say "bath," he starts asking for it around 4pm. If only he were as enthusiastic about Mommy taking a shower...

It's a...

After much deliberation, we finally decided to find out the gender of our growing baby. There were three main reasons:
1) Decorating and stocking the new nursery
2) Mentally preparing everyone (Noah included) for the newest family member
3) Another 21 weeks just felt way too long to wait.

Which means, we now know that it is...

a...

BOY! We had our 19-week ultrasound Friday and saw the evidence, attached to a healthy 10-ounce baby boy. It was very exciting.

I just love ultrasounds. Since I can't meet the little guy for another 4.5 months, at least I got to see him squirming, yawning, and sucking on his fingers.

I also get to feel him move now, and I love that, too. Last pregnancy, I didn't know I had felt Noah move until we were at least 22 weeks. This time, even Josh could feel the movement by 18 weeks. I also recognize the braxton hicks contractions that will follow me till July: painless but startling in their clarity...All signs that we're comfortably in the 2nd trimester, and it is such a joy.