Bits

I have so much on my mind lately. I feel like one blog post could never do it all justice. Here's an attempt, in an abbreviated fashion.

1. At the forefront of my brain, most days, is this pregnancy and all that it entails. (16 weeks tomorrow!) Have I mentioned it's been a rough go? It has. Very rough. I won't go into all the details but it's involved a lot of doctor's appointments and ultrasounds and a fair amount of discomfort, pain and anxiety. Sweet babe looks to be doing great which I am thankful for, but his or her mama is not. It seems it might be related to my endometriosis which is both encouraging and discouraging. Most recently I have a sharp pain in my right flank sort of up under my ribs. It hurts worse when I inhale. I've been waiting it out a bit, hoping that it might relieve itself... hoping that it might be related to constipation (TMI? Sorry.. nobody ever told me about this part of pregnancy. It stinks. But not literally, of course. That's the problem.) But worrying that it might be a kidney infection or something worse but not wanting to go to the doctor again but freaking out a bit after reading that if it were a kidney infection that I would need to be in the hospital immediately. Honestly, I would really appreciate your prayers. I'm clinging to prayer these days. Hoping that I can soon move on from stress to a bit more excitement.

2. Re: baby. I think we have settled on names. But just so that we don't have the comical and ever-changing baby name fiasco we did with Xochi... I think I might wait a while to share. I'm definitely not one to wait until the baby is actually here to reveal the name - I'm far too much of a blabber mouth for that - I just want to be a little more certain first. Even though I feel very certain now but well, you understand. To build a little excitement - both names start with "W."

I found these pictures on my computer and they made me smile.

Steele on a scooter ride with our neighbor.

3. We began some new adventures in our family this fall. The first is that Steele is now a Tiger Cub! It's turning out to be the perfect activity for him and for us. This is our first official kid activity - we chose it with much prayer and thoughtfulness and are excited. Especially because Steele is so excited.

The second is that I have started teaching the middle school Sunday school class at our church. My class is made up of four home-schooled, middle school boys. What could be cooler than that?! I made the comment to someone that I'll take four home-schooled, middle school boys over four public-schooled, middle school girls any day. Last week was our first week and the only student to show up was my 12 year old brother Gabe. We took our donuts to Starbucks and hung out there for a while. Hopefully I'll get to do my prepared lesson (which includes fire and candy) tomorrow morning.

Adia and Mr. B.

4. This fall, more than ever, I am so thankful that this season has arrived. For obvious reasons, like my less-than-ideal summer, but also because we have started full-swing into schooling. Both the kids and I are loving it. Steele and Adia are doing so well. There is something uniquely special about getting to be present for each new learning milestone and insight in their lives. It is a huge blessing to me and strengthens our relationships in ways I could not have imagined. And of course, fall would not be complete without it's pumpkin spice coffees and homemade applesauce - both of which I have already partaken of.

I guess that's it for now. I'm certain there was more I wanted to share when I started but it's gone. It's raining today. I find such comfort in the rain. Justin is on his way home from work for four days off. I think I'll knit as much as I can. I'm also going to go visit a friend who is in the middle of her own first trimester misery. In life, there is always something to be thankful for. I am thankful that my own experience has allowed me to be sympathetic to others who are having challenging pregnancies. Because, sheesh! It's really surprising to me how many women are NOT sympathetic. But that's another post for another day... or maybe it's best if I just keep that rant to myself.