Enjoying a visitor...

Today I have been enjoying the company of my mother! She flew in yesterday and will be staying with me until Sunday. 

We've had a fun day (complete with sandwiches from Great Harvest...thanks Grandma!) talking about gardening, reading, watching the occasional cooking show,  & looking at pictures of my kiddos.  She also took me in a wheelchair ride outside! Glorious!!!  Breeze in my hair and sun on my face...doesn't get any better than that. :o)
We plan on having some chai tea this evening, along with good conversation.  

What a fun way to pass the time...and the time is passing!  We are aiming for the week of the 15th and so far, so good.  I do have contractions daily, but still nothing consistent. We are waiting patiently, expectantly and joyfully...and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel!  

The journey continues and we are thankful...

Blessings,
Sharon

Sweet gifts, updates and a good book...

Four (fun) things to report today:

1. A thank you to my friends who gifted us with some really cute gift baskets today! And of course, they both made them all by themselves...I am sure they could do it for a profit. :o) See for yourselves...

Thank you my friends...it was so fun to see your smiling faces, your cute children, and just "chat" about life.  I am waiting to open these until Josh & I have date night tonight...it'll be a fun part of our evening together.

2. Speaking of date night...yea!!! Josh will
be coming tonight for a little while.  Hopefully we will have some yummy food, some wonderful conversation and maybe another discussion about her name.  Well, the name discussion, that might be asking alot. :o)

3. And speaking of asking a lot...we keep hoping and praying that our little girl will continue to stay inside.  I have had contractions today, but not as frequent.  They are pretty "strong" (that's such a relative term) and show up quite nicely on the monitor.  So far, my count today is about 8.  That's been since 9:40am this morning.  And it's 4pm.  So that averages out to about 1 every hour or so.  Not too bad...

4. And speaking of praying...(ok, that was a bit of a stretch)...I have been so enjoying my "Prayers of an Excellent Wife".  And I know I have already mentioned it before, but it has been so good, that I am mentioning it again!  What a wonderful way for me to pray the scriptures over my Love.  In fact, because of it's format, I have begun to see ways to use other scriptures I read in my quiet time & turn them into prayers for my family & friends. How exciting!

One of the most enjoyable things I have been doing with these prayers, is writing them on cards or putting them in an email and sending them to Josh at least once a week.  Most of the time, I get so excited about the prayers that I send them more often!  This way, he gets to enjoy them along with me and know what I am praying over him every day. 

So, not to sound like a broken record...but I am saying women, this is a fabulous resource & tool to add to your library.  And men, there's one for you too.  It's called Water of the Word and is also a Bible-saturated, theologically sound resource for prayer and intercession for your bride.  Both books are downloadable for free at the author's website...or order a copy so you can mark the days and record the prayers answered!

Blessings,
Sharon

Did I say we have a plan?

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."  Proverbs 16:9

As I updated last night, we have a plan to keep this little one inside until the 37th week.  And so my mind was at ease at the thought of something so concrete.  Hmmmm...guess the Lord wants me to trust Him and not a plan.

Let me explain...

This morning, my nurse came in at 5:45am to put me on the monitor.  She asked how I slept and I said that my night had been quite fitful.  I had been up at least 5 times and my back was really sore.  She started the monitor, which records our little girl's heart rate and movements, as well as any contractions I might have.  Our girl started wiggling and "performing" right away.  The nurses all laugh because she starts to "dance" as soon as they hook it up.  :o)  

I dozed off & on, as I was quite tired from my night.  My nurse returned 20 minutes later, looked at the strip and said, "Ummm, are you feeling any of these contractions?"  She showed me the strip and much to my surprise, I had had 6 contractions in about 25 minutes.  

I said I didn't think I'd felt them, but that my back was still quite sore.  (Sharon, can you say "back labor?")  So we called my doctor who said this could go on for days or weeks, or it could be the start of true labor, and we could have this girl before we know it! 

But, as the day has progressed, the contractions have disappeared again. So, we are back on track with the plan.  I think. :o) 

We'll keep you posted and in the meantime, I am loosely holding on to the plan...but am holding tightly to & trusting our Lord.  That's better than our plans anyway.

P.S. on posting...please sign your name with your comment, that way I know who you are!!! :o)