Something(s) old, something new

I'm resisting the urge to nap in favor of a quick blog post. Should this post be as quick as I'm imagining, I may be lucky enough to squeeze in the nap, too.

Feeling generally uncomfortable and simply getting through our days seems to have kept me from posting many updates. Little things, like just now when I found my ear phones in my bedside table drawer so that I didn't have to actually get up and search for them, make me happy. Lately, it really is the little things.

It has even been the little things, and some big things, that seem to set off my emotions lately. I think it's a combination of the dwindling of days until we meet our girl and the surfacing of a lot of other things. In the midst of this, plenty has been happening in our little household. Mostly the every day things, but also the busyness that comes with ministry, parenting and baby preparing.

Baby preparing. My last doctor's appointment was pretty routine - strong heartbeat, measuring on target and baby still head up. I'll go in for another appointment next week. People keep asking if I think she will come early and I honestly don't know. She is moving quite a bit these days and at times, quite uncomfortably. I can't get over how often she gets the hiccups and there is part of me that thinks she's going to be bigger than her sister but again, I have no inkling as to whether I will make it to July 27 or if she'll need to come early. Long story short, if she turns and I go in to labor on my own, I can attempt the VBAC. If this doesn't happen, we'll schedule a C section. With Addie they let me go to my due date before we scheduled, so we'll see what they say this time around. No matter what, we're always praying God's hand over all of it and most of all, our sweet girl.

So here I am, 34 weeks. Tomorrow I roll over to 35 weeks. Really only five to go? At times I see the light and other days it feels like an eternity!

This past weekend we had a quick visit from Sabian's mom and the two oldest nephews from his side of the family. It's unfortunate that a funeral for one of my mother-in-law's friends brought them down south, but fortunate in that they continued on further south to pay us a visit. It was fast - arrived Sunday afternoon and left Monday morning, but Addie really enjoyed having Grandma Cheryl here and playing with her cousins. Arriving on Father's Day, we were able to have lunch, rest, pay the beach a late afternoon/early evening visit and then went on to dinner.

Speaking of Father's Day, we had fun celebrating Sabian. I had a gift in mind for him but wanted to make sure Addie got in on the fun, too. Some of the photos I haven't yet downloaded, but here are some grainy iPod pictures:

Painting her hand print (and getting bit by mosquitoes in the process.)

Sabian's eyes are closed but I love Addie's pose/expression.

Showing Daddy her "I love you this much" card.

I hope and pray Sabian knows how much we love and appreciate him. I'm not always the best at expressing or showing it, and I am trying to be better, but he sure is good to us.

Sabian challenges me. Often those challenges come in the form of him simply being him. He is so sacrificial in his love, in his giving, in how he treats other people. These traits often stir conviction in my heart and I know God is only using him to reveal things to me, about me.

This brings me to the "something new" part of this post. 

Carving out time in my days for Bible reading/devotions has not been an easy task for me. These days I find myself praying throughout the day while getting other things done but actually sitting down to read and study doesn't come easy. I'm not letting myself off the hook - it's not because I'm unable to find time. There's certainly time, I just don't make it. Ouch. I'm a firm believer in that we make time for what we want to make time for. That can go for anything.

I have intentions and books I want to order to aid in my study but have yet to fulfill those intentions and have not yet ordered the books. It will happen, I do have confidence in that, but I haven't done it. There are plenty of reasons - laziness, busyness, desire for and lack of accountability, lack of budgeting for aforementioned books and many others.

Recently I've been reading a lot of buzz around #SheReadsTruth. I've been seeing it on Instagram and peppered throughout a few of the blogs I follow. Until today I hadn't done any research about it, but what I gathered from what I was reading was that it had something to do with daily devotions, journaling, reading a study along with others.

Today as I was catching up on some of those blogs it came up again. I clicked on some of the links that lead back to what it's all about and ended up reading about how it got started, what it's about, who is involved, etc.

Now, I tend to be a little skeptical when it comes to things like this, and maybe overly so. I'm positive that is why I initially dismissed it when I first came across photos and blog posts about it. I think it has something to do with the popularity and seeming trendiness of things like this and making sure that it is solid and not just some christian/Bible/Jesus fad. I know, shame on me, but even in the blogs I read that are written by christian women I just want to make sure I'm feeding my mind and heart with things that are true.

Upon my further investigation of #SheReadsTruth I found that it is based on studies that are already established via an app (and can be followed on their website), YouVersion. I decided to check it out but as I searched for it in the iTunes app store my search kept bringing up a Bible app I already had installed on my iPod. I was frustrated and a little confused until I discovered that this app I'd had all along was the same app #SheReadsTruth was referring to - it's not just a Bible app like I'd originally thought, but includes a whole host of other features, including devotional plans. These plans are the plans #SheReadsTruth uses and has used to build a community of Bible reading, studying women.

In a nutshell, a couple of women who are friends and were desiring to read their Bibles more and looking for accountability started doing one of these studies together, blogging and tweeting about it, journaling about it and launching a website to house the concept.


They've started a new study today, "Living the Surrendered Life," and I've decided to try it. I'm not sure I'll Instagram/Facebook about it, but I'd like to give the reading and journaling aspect of it a try. I've done all of the preliminaries - creating my account, subscribing to the study, updating my profile, all of that fun stuff. But now comes the hardest part - actually doing it.


If you're reading this and have heard about #SheReadsTruth or you launch your own investigation into it and start it, let me know. I'd be interested in hearing what you think.


I am thankful for much - five weeks to go in our baby countdown, a husband and father in Sabian that I wouldn't want to live life without and a God who offers me grace.

A little Chaney business & 31 weeks

Phew. It's been a busy, but good week ending in a more relaxing weekend. 

Rewind to last weekend. After my last post we had a couple of days left in the weekend, one of which was spent at the beach. Well, a couple of hours anyway. Living this close to the beach, it is certainly a luxury to be able to steal away to the white sands for just a couple of hours or so.

It was nice to have an extended weekend with the Memorial Day holiday, so on Monday we took off to do a little shopping and strolling and eating, just the three of us. We also stopped off at the hospital to visit a woman we know from church. She and her husband are very special to us and are the kind of couple you want in your corner when you need good sounding boards for a variety of topcis, including marriage-related things. They're good...they're really good.

Tuesday was a routine visit for me to the doctor, this time including an ultrasound. We got a good look at baby sister. Well, everything except her face. Like Addie when we were hoping to see her sweet face in my belly, our yet-to-be-named sweet girl was hiding from us. Hands and feet blocked our view. Yes, I said feet. Once again, just like Addie, this girl is also heads up, butt down, hands and feet up by her face. In fact, at one point during the ultrasound she had one of her feet resting on top of her head. My acrobatic girls.

I hit 32 weeks yesterday but here's a 31 week photo from our beach jaunt last week:

Still tired, still feeling some back pain, but nothing out of the ordinary. Hard to believe it is June and next month we will finally get a look at this girl.

Her current position didn't come as a total surprise to us, although I went in thinking she might be head down. Maybe still not quite in the right position, but her movements have been different than Addie's so it made me think she might be turned differently. Either way, we were just happy to hear that she looked good and is measuring well. There's still time for her to turn, but I have to say, I'm comfortable with whatever happens this time around. Last time I really struggled with coming to terms with having to have a C-section, but in the end, everything went so smoothly that I really couldn't have asked for it to go better. This time,  we're open to a VBAC with the understanding that the circumstances pretty much have to be ideal for that to happen. If they're not, it will be back into the OR for us, hopefully with the same team we had last time. We just want a strong, healthy girl and a safe arrival.

Wednesday we were able to take a break from the trip between Wewa and Panama City (now made longer due to road construction on that never ending two lane road) but Thursday brought a fun trip to the beach, meeting up with friends Lee Ann and Jason and their kiddos and Betty Jo and Buddy and their boys. The occasion was a belated celebration for Micah's (first in line on the "dinosaur") second birthday. We spent the day chatting and playing and sunning - the kids did great and lasted much longer than we expected. The Chaneys have the tan lines to prove it! It was a good day spent with great friends.

This time with sweet baby Korban.

Our weekend has consisted more of domestic duties, some of which were done by my wonderful husband while Addie and I were out of the house for a couple of hours this morning. It was a pleasant surprise to come home to clean, crumb-free floors and empty trash cans. I sure do love him.

I am thankful for a good week, a good baby report and a relaxing weekend. 

Celebrations

Due to our lack of internet this week, I'm a little behind. I've stolen away for some time at church, just me and the computer.

First, it has been four years since we packed up and made the move to Wewa. Four years. We've spent the bulk of our marriage here so far. We've had (and are having) our babies here. We've learned so much here. Many things have changed in these four years and some things have remained the same, but either way being here has been a learning and growing experience.

Second, Sabian and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary last weekend. We celebrated quietly and simply. Each year since I've had this blog I've posted about our anniversary...here, here and here. As long as there is any record of this blog, I hope that mine and Sabian's marriage is not a reflection of perfection (because it is not by any means!), but more of God's grace and mercy and love. We are SO human and we make mistakes and there are times we could be more thoughtful and sweeter and kinder. But that's where that grace and love and mercy enter in. I am so thankful for Sabian and for the love he shows me in so many ways.

He's a son, a brother, a brother-in-law, a son-in-law, a pastor, a daddy, a husband, a friend, and much more. He may not be perfect, but he performs each of these roles to the best of his ability and he knows the source from which he receives his strength.

And I get to spend my days with him! I am thankful for that. Happy six years, Sabian!

Hormone overload & 29 weeks photo

I would say that throughout this pregnancy I haven't been nearly as emotional as I was when I was pregnant with Addie. I think this past weekend I've made up for it.

We've had some whirlwind weekends these past couple of months. This last one was no exception. Friday we celebrated the wedding of Allison and Robbie, starting early in the afternoon setting up and finishing with tearing down later that evening. It was a beautiful, fun wedding, and while I also played the role of flower mom along with my sweet little (shy) flower girl, we had a great time.

Saturday we paid a visit to Wewa's Tupelo Honey Festival, spending time with the bunnies and the goats and we fit in a pony ride, some swinging and visiting with friends along the way. After a nap, Sabian and I stole away for an anniversary dinner. We celebrated six years on Sunday. Our night out was coupled with a few errands for church, as we were preparing for a graduation banquet the next night. The work of a pastor never ends...


Sunday morning Addie and I took a leave of absence from our morning service. Saturday was a rough day for her, which meant a rough day for mom and dad, and I couldn't quite put my finger on what was going on with her. It was evident when we returned home from our date that she just wasn't feeling well. This turned into a topsy turvy night watching Curious George until about 3 a.m., so I took us off the hook for Sunday morning. That afternoon we headed to church to decorate for the banquet and then home for naps and back to church for the banquet.


In comes Monday and we were wiped. It is now Wednesday and I still feel like I'm dragging. Some of it is the busyness of the weekend, some of it is my lack of discipline to get to bed earlier. I have almost nine weeks to go...certainly it's not too late to make that change!


So many things at once - tired, back pain, missing family, realizing it will be a while before we can get home, nine more waddling weeks, simply ready to meet this little girl and really ready to have a little more energy to take care of my family the way I feel like I haven't been able to for a while. 


Oh, and did I mention our cable and internet are out and that we can't get someone out to look at it until next week? Sigh.


I'm really looking forward to my doctor's appointment next week to get another look at this little girl. She's been pretty active and I'm super curious to see how she's positioned. I think this will give us a good clue as to whether or not she's performing the same breech acrobatics as her older sister.


Before I forget, here's my Mother's Day, 29 week photo:

I had Addie just a couple of months before I celebrated my first Mother's Day as a mom, so it was fun to have her in time for that special day. This year, it was special to be able to be pregnant on Mother's Day, and next year it will be sweet to celebrate with our two little girls.

As roller coaster-ish as I feel like life has been the last few months, and while at times the hard things I mentioned above are just simply hard, I recognize what a growing time this is for our family and how it is really special.

I am thankful for the easy and the hard. I really am.

Photos of this past weekend's events will be posted later since we're camera (and internet) hamstrung these days!

Pictures retrieved

I mentioned in my last post that one of our cameras met its demise and I was hoping to at least be able to retrieve the photos from the SD card. Mission accomplished, thanks to my husband.

First, several weeks ago during some awesome weather we were having, we had a little bonfire in our backyard and our neighbors came over to join in the s'mores making fun.

 

A trip to the beach:

 

A birthday party:

Mother's Day revisited:

 So there you have it. Not quite caught up in our photos, but close.


I am thankful for the memories these pictures represent!