Well, only two weeks of school left. Then I can be with Gracie all the time.

You know, you’d think that leaving her every morning would get easier, but it doesn’t. In fact it gets harder. But the good news is that I will survive. Plus, this is a four day weekend! Woohoo!

Before Grace was born friend Hal told us that whatever you imagine parenthood being like, it’s way more. And he was right. Unfortunately that means the rough times are really rough, but it also means the great parts are REALLY great. Included in this are the funny parts – and there are many let me tell you.

All in all, I have learned a lot in my nearly 11 weeks as a parent. Let me share with you a few of my lessons:

1. When the package of diapers says 8 – 12 lbs., that is ALL those things will hold! (just kidding, I stole that from Jeff Foxworthy LOL)
2. Always squeeze the nose-sucky thing BEFORE putting it in baby’s nose.
3. A wet baby = a slippery baby
4. Be sure to know the number of steps from place to place in the house so as not to run into things in the dark (over and over and over again…)
5. An ice pack and elevation for a broken toe.
6. The optimum time for ripping off a bandaid is when baby is already hopping mad. Then there is very little else to lose.
7. Sleep is a luxury of the past.
8. …as is a clean house
9. Never pick baby up without a burp rag and binky.
10. A kiss and a game of “Where’s Gracie” or “This Little Piggy” can cover a multitude of ailments.

So there you have it.

I’ve gone back to work. It’s strange, because I knew beforehand it would be the hardest thing I’ve ever done to leave my baby and return to work, but in the end it has proven much harder than I imagined. I have to really control my thoughts to not become envious of those mothers who are able to stay home with their children, but sometimes it just doesn’t seem fair. And, yes, I know in the grand scheme of things there are many more important things to worry about in the world. But not in my world.

In her seven weeks of life, Grace has managed to collect my heart, wrap me around her finger and, in short, become the very center of my universe. Which makes it very difficult to sit at work with her picture staring at me saying, “Why you want to leave me, Mommy?” She’s growing so fast and I already feel like I’m missing it.

I guess in the back of my mind I just always assumed that at the last minute there would be some great miracle and I would be able to quit work and stay with her. But that didn’t happen.

And now I’m left contemplating my own faith in God. Is it a lack of faith when you know God CAN do something but you’re just not sure if he WILL? Don’t worry, I’m not "falling away" – just going through a few growing pains, spiritually speaking. And it’s possible that I’m even a little disappointed in God for not doing what I wanted Him to do. Wow, did I just actually admit that outloud? Sounds rather childish, doesn’t it?

It would, of course, help immensely if I went back and reread that passage where the it says, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him.” But this doesn’t mean we always know what it is that’s “good” for us. Like in the story of Joseph and the story of …. Well, practically everyone in the Bible – what’s good for us is many times is what we least expect.

It feels like God has left me alone even though I know he really hasn’t. But, for whatever reason, He does seem to have chosen to remain silent for now. So for now I will wait in His silent, holy presence. I will be still and find comfort in knowing that He is my God and I am His child.

And hard as it is to imagine, no matter how much I love Grace, He loves her more. So I am having to learn to be at peace knowing He is present with her, even if I can’t be.

Well Grace is one month old today. As it turns out, one really can survive the first few weeks with a newborn. LOL

Mostly all she does is eat, sleep and poop. But occasionally she'll entertain us with funny faces and noises...

So we were eating at a restaraunt after church yesterday and something smelled a little peculiar so I went to change the little peanut and guess what happen. As I laid her on the changing table something fell out of her dress. At first I thought it might have been a little turdling, but as it turns out it was her umbilical cord. Crazy huh? Actually it was a little gross, I'll be honest. But anyway it'll make a cute memory that she finally lost her cord right in the middle of the Wooden Nickel Cafe. LOL

Did you know there's nothing on tv during the day? It also happens that there's nothing on tv during the evening either. Why do we even have a tv?

I only have about two and a half weeks left of my maternity leave and that makes me sad. I really don't want to go back to work and leave Gracie. But at least there'll only be about 6 weeks left of school. Six weeks. Six looong weeks. *sigh*

So B1 text messaged me from Australia yesterday. How cool is that? I answered him back and only afterward wondered what kind of charge might apply to texting another continent... woops. Anywho, now that he's over there we can talk more often. That'll be fun.

Well, there's not much else to report so I guess I'll leave you with this thought:

Wherever you go, there you are.

Good day.

Okay, so we are just two days shy of being 3 weeks old. We survived! Can you believe it?!

Grace went to church on Easter Sunday – wearing her very cute Easter dress. Her Nana bought her first Bible so she would have it for the first time she went to church… except we forgot it and left it at home… woops. At any rate, she met her Sunday School teachers and did fairly well for her first day in the nursery… Her momma handled it pretty good too. LOL

Toby went back to work this past week so I was on my own during the days. It went remarkably well. I didn’t lose her or drop her or anything – and that’s always a plus.

Okay, so we’ve of course been taking a ridiculous amount of pictures, because we think everything she does is the funniest, cutest, most adorable thing ever. Below are some of the funnier ones:

I call this one "Ball of Grace"

I don't think these pants fit just yet...

Cross-eyed Cowgirl

Sorry, for anyone who might have been worried. It has been a whirlwind week!

I was supposed to be induced in Tuesday, but little Grace decided to foil that plan by arriving Monday morning. She was born at 9:26 AM. She was 8lbs. 2oz. and 21in. long. She had a lot of amniotic fluid in her lungs that they couldn't seem to get out right away so she wound up having to spend about a day and half in NICU. It was a little disappointing to not be able to spend that first day with her, but it all worked out for the best because they took very good care of her. We couldn't hold her until Tuesday, when her bellybutton IV was removed.

 Here are some pictures we took in the NICU. I think she's gorgeous, but then I'm probably a little biased. LOL

 

...and we have not slept since. LOL

Well, I just logged on to report that… there is nothing to report. LOL

No Gracie yet. (sigh). But we do go to the doctor today so maybe we’ll find out if we’ve made any progress. (fingers crossed)

The good news is my due date is a week from tomorrow so we know it won’t be too much longer even at the worst. I’ve decided to go ahead and start my maternity leave on Monday. Mostly because I’m more than just a little terrified of going into labor at school… And it wouldn’t happen during a class where I have lots of understanding and responsible, well-behaved students… Murphy’s Law would ensure that…

Speaking of students, my choir kids came by my room during my conference on Friday and gave me a surprise baby shower. They had juice and cookies and had all gone in together on a package of diapers. Isn’t that sweet?!

I will be sure to tell Toby (or somebody who has computer access) to come here and post when she’s born, which I hope will be today. Today is a good day to have a baby.

Well tomorrow we turn 38 weeks. Which means we have two weeks and one day left. Of course you won't hear me complaining if it happens sooner than that. Today for instance. Today is always a good day to have a baby. LOL

So I've been trying various home "remedies" that might help move things along a little faster. I've been walking a LOT. Yesterday I tried eating some really spicy food... Yah, I would not recommend that to a friend. And the friend who recommended it to me is no longer going to be my friend. All it did was make me feel like I was dying a slow and painful death from the inside out... and no antacid was strong enough. I think I'm still burping up jalopenos...

I don't think any of those techniques work for anyone. It's just a great big mean joke on pregnant people.

Well, I do have hope in knowing that, to date, no pregnancy has ever lasted forever. So the likelihood that mine will be neverending is rather slim. That said, I hope to be seeing an end to this pregnancy in the near future. Even if I go a little late, it's just a few weeks. That never killed anyone, right?

It's been a fun ride. But I'm ready to get off now, and see the peanut.

Did Adam and Eve have belly buttons?

In the grand scheme of things, how necessary was it to create mosquitoes?

How did you pass the time for all those eternal millennia before you created the world?

Why do flamingoes have backwards kneecaps?

Why can’t everyone in the world just give me $1?

Just how many hairs DO I have on my head?

Will that get me into the Guiness Book of World Records?

Was the giraffe a joke, or were you serious?

What exactly is a Nephilim?


This inquiring mind would like to know some day…

Well, it is Monday. Blah. Although I must admit, as far as Mondays go it’s an okay one I guess.

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve updated. I’m now 34 weeks – almost 35. So we’ve got about 5 or 6 weeks left. Toby and I finished our Baby classes and we took the tour of the hospital, so we are officially experts on all things baby… yah right… LOL

I’ve had two showers and I’m having a difficult time finding a place to put everything. That’s a very good problem to have, of course. But right now it looks like a Babies-R-Us store exploded in Grace’s room. My project this week is to find a place for everything. I have to admit, I do have fun though going through all of the stuff and arranging it, then going back and rearranging it all. It’s hard to imagine a little body fitting in some of those tiny outfits. Especially when, in my dreams, she’s like toddler size at birth…. Aren’t dreams funny?

Well Danny is home again and that’s nice. Eventually he’ll be off to the great Outback. Crazy, huh? I’m excited for him. I hope he has a blast and brings me back an aborigine. Okay, okay, I’m just kidding. I’d settle for a wallaby.

Do you ever have those weekends where it seems to have lasted a year and by the end you find yourself welcoming your return to work on Monday? Well, if you haven’t, such a weekend goes something like this:

Friday night as we were leaving for Pickin’ and Grinnin’ at church we realized that Quincie was really sick. It was too late at that point to call a vet, so all we could do was make her comfortable till morning.

I suppose of all the ways for your pet to go, you would like for them to die in their sleep. And that’s what she did. We were pretty sure we’d have to call the vet to put her down by morning anyway, so at least we didn’t have to make that call.

Poor Dizzy has been spent the two nights crying and whining all night.

After we found Quincie and called our vet friend to tell her, we had to go to our childbirth class. The class was a very nice gift from a friend so we went ahead and went. It was actually a very good class and was a welcome diversion.

The rest of the weekend was filled with other time-consuming, but less dramatic things.

On the plus side we learned everything we never wanted to know about childbirth. You know, all the stuff they DON’T put on “A Baby Story”. Did ya’ll know the stork doesn’t really deliver your baby to your doorstep??!! I’ll be honest, there was a moment or two when I got that feeling like when you’ve gotten onto a roller coaster and your strapped in and you head up that first hill and then think to yourself, “I wonder… is it too late to get off??”

The house seems really lonely without Quincie there. Who’d have thought that a dog who sleeps 23.5 hours out of the day would be so sorely missed?? Well, she had a long life and I suppose soon enough our house will be so busy with the excitement of taking care of the Peanut that we’ll hardly notice anymore. That seems a little sad to admit, but I suppose that’s just the way life goes sometimes.