Ordination

The elders at our church have all agreed to ordain Jeramy before the congregation this coming Sunday! We're very excited! Jeramy's parents, grandmother and cousin hope to be in attendance as well as my mother (and our three girls, of course).

Jeramy became a believer around age 18 while attending the Air Force Academy and has been steadily increasing in the love and the glory of God. He has led various Bible studies, been student president of the USAFA BSU, preached, evangelized and lately found a great need among the metro-Atlanta Nepali refugees. He's been able to meet some of their more pressing needs for English as a Second Language as well as their need to hear the gospel. His chief passion is for missions/evangelism and cultivation of community within the local church which includes nouthetic (truly Biblically based) counseling.

Yay!

A Nursing Proverb

You can bring a baby to breast

but you can't make her eat.

Studio News: August Invoices

Mid-year Invoices for the 2010 calendar year will be mailed out for each student this week.

I understand that you may need such documentation for homeschooling/voucher purposes. If any other information is necessary to receive such credit, please do not hesitate to make me aware of additional requirements from me.

Invoices that cover all of the 2010 calendar year will be mailed out by January 31, 2011.

Thank you.

Shiphrah's Birth Story

A False Alarm

About two weeks before my third trimester began, Braxton-Hicks contractions had already started. Early Monday morning I began having different contractions. And because everyone (I felt that everyone) was nagging me about the possibility of having this child on the side of the road because of my previous rapid births, I decided that it would be better to be safe than sorry and head to the hospital. Jeramy and I spent about 4 hours in the hospital with no progression toward real labor. My cervix was very posterior and only about 2-3 cm dilated. We decided to go home instead of forcing labor with pitocin. After I got home and put my feet up, everything came to a halt and I slept fine that night with no interruptions.

Tuesday morning I decided to carry on with life as usual and get a few things done, like laundry and vacuuming. Once I finished with the vacuum, I didn't feel well at all. There was a dull pain in my low back and I just felt worn out. When I got into the recliner, I felt cold and started shaking with chills. Around lunchtime I had no appetite and noticed that I was having regular contractions about 3 min apart. I just felt really bad and considered that I would rather be at the hospital. I could barely get up out of the chair.

The Real Deal

When we arrived at 1 p.m., they confirmed that I had a fever and the baby's heart rate was spiking and decided to admit me. They began the antibiotics for my Group B Strep and gave me Tylenol to bring my fever down. Afterwards, the OB Dr ordered pitocin (3:30) since I was so close to the due date and I was already admitted. There was no change from the day before concerning my cervix. Even after 3 hours of pitocin, there was no change in my cervix, just more painful contractions, closer together. I considered that if labor was going to be long, I didn't want to endure this pain for 20-30 hours, especially if the baby is not any closer to coming out! Around this time (about 5 0r 6 p.m.) my OB came by and tried to convince me to get an epidural. He said something about the possibility of having a C-section. After that I more strongly considered that if it came to that, I would rather be awake for the birth than asleep under general anesthesia. Plus the anesthesiologist on-call at that time was highly recommended by my labor nurses.

The Drugs

After consenting to the epidural, I was first given a drug to help me relax, which also made me really looney. I remember having a crazy conversation with the anesthesiologist, after which he must have thought I missed the rocker by a mile. Having the epidural put in (7 p.m. or so) wasn't painful really and much less stressful than I thought it would be. All of my anxiety about getting an epidural really didn't amount to anything. Eventually the craziness of the first numbing drug wore off and my lower body was relaxed and I easily dozed in and out of sleep. Now I know why women get the epidural! It takes the Fall right out of childbirth! At 8:30 p.m. my water broke on it's own and when the nurse checked me I was already 4 cm with my cervix in the correct position! Each half hour my cervix progressed another cm and by 10:15 p.m. I was fully dilated and ready to push. The nurse called the doctor at about 10:30.

I could feel that I was having contractions by the pressure of the baby's head downward and tightness around my ribcage. It was definitely not painful at all, so I decided to wait for the OB Dr to arrive before pushing. Dr. Wiist came and shortly after 11 p.m. I pushed, without drama, and gave birth to a little piece of red velvet cake covered with white cream cheese frosting. Her skin was almost as red as a beet with black hair and eyebrows. She looks a lot like Moriah did when she was born, but her skin complexion is different.

Newborn Pictures: Our365 link

Presenting . . .

Shiphrah Elizabeth Anderson

Born Tuesday, August 17th at 11:11 p.m.

Length: 19 1/4 inches

Weight: 7 lbs. 0 oz.

Birth story to follow.

Sorry to keep you all in suspense.

Saturday Strings: Violin Sizes

Mr. Huthmaker and I had an informative discussion at my last visit to Huthmaker Violin Shop. For every century that the violin as we know it has been crafted, it has standardly come in one size up until the early 1900's. Japan was the first country to begin making violins in smaller sizes so that children could play. They used Manchurian Maple for the construction and would label the inside with "Nppo". Mr. Shinichi Suzuki began teaching his method around the 1940's to children as young as 3 years old.

Although the Japanese were the first to begin making violins of smaller sizes, the Germans and French also caught on at a later date. Each of these three countries would make these smaller violins respective of their own standards. A violin considered to be 1/2 size would be different in Japan, France and Germany! Some violins are made even to 1/32 size! So from smallest to largest you could reference 1/32, 1/16, 1/10, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 4/4 (or full) size. And because each of these countries measure the smaller sizes differently, there is the potential for up to 21 sizes for smaller violins! Amazing!

See Wikipedia for a little more explanation.

A Give-Away Is Coming!

I'm very excited to have my first give-away! Not yet, but in honor of my 500th post, only a few more to go. I can't really keep it a secret! :-D I'll try though, but I will give you a hint, in the form of a song.

"In Christ Alone"

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music

In Christ alone my hope is found;

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all—

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save.

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine—

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—

This is the pow'r of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home—

Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Tedd Tripp on Discipline with Anger

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-21

If you allow unholy anger to muddy the correction process, you are wrong. You need to ask for forgiveness. Your right to discipline your children is tied to what God has called you to do, not to your own agenda.

Unholy anger -- anger over the fact that you are not getting what you want from your child -- will muddy the waters of discipline. Anger that your child is not doing what you want frames discipline as a problem between parent and child, not as a problem between the child and God. It is God who is not being obeyed when you are disobeyed. It is God who is not being honored when you are not honored. The issue is not an interpersonal contest, it is rather your insistence that your child obey God, because obeying God is good and right.

We know that there is such a thing as righteous indignation, but righteous indignation responds to an affront to God rather than an affront to us. It is easy for a parent to say, "I am right and I am angry, therefore my anger is righteous anger." It may be that we are just angry because we are not getting what we want.

No Place for Anger

I have spoken to countless parents who genuinely thought their unholy anger had a legitimate place in correction and discipline. They reasoned that they could bring their children to a sober fear of disobeying if they showed anger. So discipline became the time when Mom or Dad manipulated their children through raw displays of anger. What the child learns is the fear of man, not the fear of God.

James 1 demonstrates the falsehood of the idea that parents should underscore correction with personal rage:

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

(James 1:19-20)

The Apostle James could not be more clear. The righteous life that God desires is never the product of uncontrolled anger. Unholy human anger may teach your children to fear you. They may even behave better, but it will not bring about biblical righteousness.

Any change in behavior that is produced by such anger is not going to move your children toward God. It moves them away from God. It moves them in the direction of the idolatry of fearing man. No wonder James add emphasis by saying, "Dear brothers, take note of this . . . "

If you correct and discipline your children because God mandates it, then you need not clutter up the task with your anger. Correction is not displaying your anger at their offenses; it is rather reminding them that their sinful behavior offends God. It is bringing his censure of sin to these subjects of his realm. He is the King. They must obey.

Tedd Tripp. Shepherding a Child's Heart. Second Edition. Wapwallopen: Shepherd Press. 2005. pg 29 and 34. ISBN 0-9663786-0-1

Baby Projects

There are several things we've been doing around the house to get ready for the new baby. And I've not been very good at being specific in sharing them. :-(

One of the main things was to convert the guest bedroom closet from the previous office storage space back to a functional closet. Unfortunately I don't have a before picture, but use your imagination. The existing shelves were removed. The holes were spackled, sanded and painted. The hanging clothes rod and the doors had to be installed. Jeramy did an excellent job. Don't you think?

An unexpected repair was made to the ceiling fan. This is another testimony of God's grace and provision. One night Jeramy went into the room and pulled the cord to turn on the light then he proceeded into the closet to resume some work. Suddenly the ceiling fan crashed down to the floor while Jeramy was standing in the closet!! However the previous owners had it installed was incorrect. It was one of those where the motor hangs down from the ceiling mount and swayed while the fan turned. Imagine all the horrible scenarios had it happened at any other time!!!! God is good and He is sovereign and merciful!! Pictured below is the new ceiling fan, mini blind and the new location of the guest bed.

We really needed a new changing table. The one we have been using was used from Jeramy's cousin and we've put it to really good use. But it's been falling apart. The repairs could easily be made by hand, but some aspects of the design could be improved upon. For instance, the two shelves underneath have been unusable for most things because the girls pull items off or climb on it and the particle board pieces have finally broken. So, I designed a sketch for a new changing table that would be more stable, safe and enduring. Here are some pictures of its construction and the last photo shows that it has been coated twice with stain and once with gloss. It may be ready by the due date for functional use. It looks great, yeah?! And it's real wood. Notice that the side guard rails are removable so that one day it could be used as another dresser or furniture piece. Cool feature, huh?!

To go with the new changing table, Jeramy suggested I make a pad instead of buying one. I purchased another piece of polyurethane foam, this time 2" thick, and covered it over with a waterproof fabric. It came out much nicer, I think, than the hearth cover. It's 18" x 34". Normal retail price is in the $30-$40 range. I got the foam on 50% sale at Jo-Ann Fabrics and the fabric was discounted too, but I don't remember by how much. The total cost was probably around $20.

Afterwards, I considered that the baby might not like lying on some plastic waterproof fabric. So I decided to make some pad covers. I chose fleece because it's soft and doesn't fray at the edges. I turned the sides and corners, sewed them down and inserted some soft stretch elastic. Boom, there you go. I chose to use the elastic because simply laying a blanket on top of the slick pad won't keep it in place when the child is active or when lowering/lifting the child up and down. The covers were only a 2-hour project. When I saw how easy they were to make, I made some more for other friends of mine who just had babies. For them I made it easy to remove the elastic if they desired to use it like a regular blanket and I think they liked it. :-) It's not expensive (I got the fabric on sale at Hobby Lobby), not difficult and personal. If you bought a changing pad cover at Walmart it's $9.50. All the elastic and fabric together cost about $21 for 3 covers!! Here are the cute prints I chose for our new baby girl.

Leveling the Field

When we talk about people, in general, do we feel that some are superior to others? When people give pro-life and pro-choice debates, the essential issue can sometimes be whether the desires of the mother are more important than the life of the growing child. Does the growing child have to sacrifice his or her life to make the mother's dreams come true? Pro-life argues that they are equal while pro-choice argues that they are not.

We know that in God's eyes, all people are created equally in His image and for His glory. We know that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory and are equally deserving of an eternal punishment in Hell. We know that all people everywhere are called to repent and believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. We know that at some point, all people die. And we know that in the new heavens and the new earth, all nations, tribes, tongues and people groups will be represented, worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ around His throne. So, in some sense all are equal without regard to any divisive factor.

Is it different when you're a parent?

When the child is growing inside your body, after birth and later, it's easy to consider their life as equal or even more important than our own. We change our diet, our lifestyles, our driving habits, our media preferences, we stop smoking, we lose weight, and all sorts of stuff.

But what happens when our children begin to rebel and manifest every form of the sin nature and constant, consistent discipline is required? Do we then see our children as underneath us as we assume and assert authority, making it evident that his or her obedience is required? Do we consider every act of defiance an affront to our authority as parents? Are we fighting for preeminence? Even after this rebellious stage is over and our children freely and joyfully obey us (or is that just a figment of my imagination), will we then see them more as equals?

When does a child stop being a child? Sometimes even when they reach adulthood, parents still assume authority over them - giving orders or manipulative wishes, disrespectfully looking down upon them and their decisions, nagging, etc. Even once the child/adult gets married and begins their own family, do the parents still assume some kind of attitude as if they are superior to you because they're older and wiser? Are we as children of our parents still seeking their approval for the choices we make?

Parents and their children are equals. We were both created in God's image. Both of us are created to worship God by glorifying Him and enjoying Him forever. We are both sinners. We both are required to joyfully obey God. The roles are different, but each of us are equal in personhood. Our responsibilities differ, but we are still equally required to honor and obey God with our respective stewardships. I am to obey God by bringing my children up into His admonition, assuming authority over them by administering discipline according to the present need and through daily living and speech, preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching them to fear and obey God. They, as children, are required to obey God and their parents as His agents. It's not so important that they disobey me (although that is very important) as it is that they are disobeying God. I cannot be nearly as offended at their rebellion as God is. I am just a finite being, as they are, but God is holy and infinite. I am acting as God's agent. My administration of discipline is on His behalf.

Here's the quote for further emphasis and clarity:

Ephesians 6:4 commands you to bring your children up in the training and instruction of the Lord. This is a command to provide the training and instruction of the Lord; to function on God's behalf. Understanding this simple principle enables you to think clearly about your task. If you are God's agent in this task of providing essential training and instruction in the Lord, then you, too, are a person under authority. You and your child are in the same boat. You are both under God's authority. You have differing roles, but the same Master.

. . .

Called to Obedience

You do not come to your child demanding, for your own purposes, that he knuckle under you and obey. No! You come with the corrections of discipline that are the way of life (Proverbs 6:23). You engage your son on behalf of God because God has first engaged you.

I recall many conversations that went like this:

FATHER: You didn't obey Daddy, did you?

CHILD: No.

FATHER: Do you remember what God says Daddy must do if you disobey?

CHILD: Spank me?

FATHER: That's right. I must spank you. If I don't, then I would be disobeying God. You and I would both be wrong. That would not be good for you or for me, would it?

CHILD: No. [a reluctant reply]

What is this dialog communicating to the child? You are not spanking him because you are mean. You are not trying to force him to submit to you only because you hate insolence. You are not mad at him. You, like him, are under God's rule and authority. God called you to a task you cannot shirk or shrug off. You are acting under God's rule. You are requiring obedience because God says you must. (pp 28-30)

This is just one of the lessons explained in Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp, which is my current read. It is highly recommended and there is a lot for the new (or seasoned rookie) parent to learn. One of the major emphasis of his book is guiding the heart of the child, because it is out of the heart that he or she learns to worship God or worship idols. It is the Christian parent's role to show the beauty of worshipping a satisfying God.

Saturday Strings: How It's Made

Dressed & Ready to Go

Here we see Moriah with black boots, purse, be bop skirt, a black baseball cap and a winner's smile, of course. :-)

Key Lime Pie

Mom gave me a packet of Wind & Willow mix and I just followed the directions. It only took about 5 to 10 minutes to prepare. This recipe produces a flavor that is not too bitter or too sweet and the texture is medium thickness (cream cheese and whipped cream). This is a great dessert to make if you're pressed for time and/or don't want to spend a lot of money on special ingredients. But for the future, I think making a pie with more scratch ingredients won't be too much more trouble and might produce the texture and flavor I prefer.

I made it for us (my pregnancy cravings) and Jeramy thought it looked so good, he insisted I take a picture.

Studio Recording

Suzuki Violin School, Volume 1, Violin Part

for violin home practice and listening

is available HERE.

If you have any trouble, here is the url:

http://www.box.net/shared/9znaguxoix

Somehow Number 8: Allegro was lost or deleted. When I am able, I will make that available also.

Pregnancy Update: Any Day Now

Now we're at 39 weeks gestation and it could be any day now that a new little one will grace us with her presence! Physically and mentally, I'm more than ready. There are one or two things that need to get done, but if they don't, it's not a big deal. I'm content with that.

I do covet your prayers though. Being this big and uncomfortable makes me more prone to being grumpy. Please pray that God would give me grace to show grace to my husband and little girls.

Last week I only went to the gym once. That particular day I was worn out by dinner time and had no desire to be on my feet at all. I think my gym days are over until the baby comes. When I go, I don't have enough energy to serve my family - which is more necessary by far. I've gained 30 pounds so far. I don't know how much of that is water weight from swelling, but I suppose it doesn't really matter at this point. I'm pleased with the amount of discipline during this pregnancy

Wednesday I go for my OB check-up and find out what, if anything, is going on. I sure hope so. I'm praying that God will be merciful and allow the baby to come early and that labor will start with the breaking of my water. I'm getting a lot of *reminders* (read "nagging") about when to head to the hospital. I trust that God will take care of that. It's too much stress for me to count the minutes between every Braxton-Hicks contraction. Even if I don't make it to the hospital for the birth, there's always an EMT and ambulance that can come catch the baby, right?! I'll just fill the tub with water and let her go. :-)

Multitude Monday

I am thankful for

501. The recliner.

502. The recliner.

503. The recliner.

504. The glider/rocker.

505. Another day to prepare for the baby.

506. Whatever strength is given to care for my family.

507. Any number of hours of uninterrupted sleep, even if only 5.

508. To live only 4 miles from the hospital.

509. The grace for peace and patience to wait for God's timing for this next baby.

510. Godly feminine examples from whom we can choose names with meaning.

What are you thankful for today?

Studio News: August 2010

New neon pens to help with advertising and as a thank you. I'll be more than happy to give them away if you would like some. They write great! If you're interested in ordering personalized pens, here's the name drop: Richard Taylor @ G3 Graphics Inc. Phone: 877-574-8292 X230

New recordings of Suzuki Volume 1 will be available soon. This recording is for practice only. There is no piano accompaniment and the recording is not professionally made. I plan to make it available for download in the right sidebar section under The Anderson Music Studio. And I also plan to copy it to a CD-R for my students.

I'm planning on taking a baby break once the baby comes and hope to resume lessons the first week in September. If this should change, each student will be notified. Any August lessons missed will be credited to September.

Saturday Strings: Suzuki Principles

Principles of Study and Guidance

Four Essential Points for Teachers and Parents

1. The child should listen to the reference recordings every day at home to develop musical sensitivity. Rapid progress depends on this listening.
2. Tonalization, or the production of a beautiful tone, should be stressed in the lesson and at home.
3. Constant attention should be given to accurate intonation, correct posture, and the proper bow hold.
4. Parents and teachers should strive to motivate the child so he will enjoy practicing correctly at home.

Through the experience I have gained in teaching young children for over thirty years, I am thoroughly convinced that musical ability can be fully cultivated in every child if the above four points are faithfully observed.

Musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability that can be developed. Any child who is properly trained can develop musical ability just as all children develop the ability to speak their mother tongue. For the happiness of children, I hope these four essential points will be carefully observed and put to continual use in the home and studio.

Guidance for music reading will begin in Vol. 4. Just as the alphabet is not taught when children first learn their mother language, so music reading should not be included in violin study until children have sufficiently developed their musical sensitivity, playing skill, and memory. In the Suzuki Violin School this should occur by the end of Vol. 3. Even after acquiring the ability to read music, however, the children should, as a rule, play from memory during lessons.

Shinichi Suzuki

Suzuki Violin School, Violin Part, Vol. 1. Summy-Birchard Inc. Warner Bros. Publications Inc. Miami. 1978. ISBN 0-87487-144-1

God's Grace on a Tuesday

Last Tuesday, Mom planned to drive back up to Virginia for one more visit before beginning work at her new job. All the preparations were made and she set out early in the morning. As she was driving up the highway, not more than 50 miles, she began to feel dizzy and noticed some kind of visible fumes coming out of her air conditioning vents. She also realized that she had been following a carbon monoxide truck for quite some time.

After turning the A/C off and opening the windows, she decided that she needed to pull over when she could no longer read the writing on the road signs. She pulled off at an exit near Jefferson into a Waffle House parking lot. After resting a few minutes in the car she realized that her condition was not improving and she needed an ambulance. She was able to step out of the vehicle and enter the Waffle House before collapsing on the floor with a fully conscious seizure.

The employees called an ambulance which came and took her to the hospital. We met her in the ER and she appeared, in all respects, to be normal. The EMT personnel did not give her any medication and she seemed to recover on her own. After only a few hours of collecting blood work and performing other tests, the ER discharged her and we took her home.

The next day the mechanic found nothing wrong with her vehicle and concluded that it was safe to drive. The day after, Friday, Mom's follow-up appointment with the doctor indicated that her episode was consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning and should not produce any long-term side effects.

Praise the Lord!

So many other things could have happened! This situation could have ended much, much worse than it did! God's grace is great and amazing! We know that He still has some work for my Mom to do, more time to learn, be sanctified and to glorify our God in heaven! He is sovereign, even if the circumstances were drastically different. Let us trust in Him.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."

James 4:13-15

Book Review: Attitudes of a Transformed Heart

Martha Peace presents a true Scriptural approach to different attitudes that should characterize the believer in Christ. She doesn't beat around the bush or allow excuses when we adopt other ungodly attitudes, although she does show compassion, guidance and truth in love to steer the reader towards repentance of ungodly attitudes. Martha Peace provides the perspective of a High and Holy, Lofty and Exalted God and we as His children who are called to obey, love, honor and take joy in our Creator, Redeemer God. It juxtaposes faulty views that secular and evangelical psychological models provide with that which the Scriptures provide for counseling towards better attitudes .

This book has really been helpful in that it connects the Scripture which we read daily with the application of how it should be manifest in our daily thoughts and actions, much like a sermon or a personal counseling session. It is written from a woman's perspective with the intent of a female audience. Although any man would greatly benefit from such a read, he might be forced to create personal examples to which he can relate.

This book would be a great small group study because of the broad volume of Scripture all throughout the text. Within each chapter there are charts to help show the opposing views between the negative and positive attitudes. At the end of every chapter there are study/reflective questions that could foster group discussion. Also at the end of the book there are Salvation Worksheets that cover the Person and Work of Christ, the Doctrine of Sin, the Assurance of Salvation and the dynamic of Putting Off and Putting On.

My only criticism of this book would be that perhaps it did not pass through the editing process as finely as most other modern works. There are quite a few grammar mistakes, although the intent is not lost in the process.

Overall, I give this book an enthusiastic two thumbs up. And commend it to any other women who seem to struggle with applying the Scripture to a specific area of habitual sin with which they battle daily.

Click HERE for a few quotes from this book.

Her more popular books include: The Excellent Wife and Becoming a Titus 2 Woman.

Pregnancy Update

We're getting ready for this new addition to grace our home! Things have been washed, bought, sanded & painted, installed and rearranged.

My body is getting ready with lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions, some more powerful than others, but nothing regular or serious. I tend to have them the more physically active I am. Every time I climb the stairs, walk a lot (running errands or elsewhere), bend down, shift my weight and even while reclining to sleep.

Weight gain has been more than I've hoped for, but not above the normal range for pregnancy. I've gained 30 pounds thus far with two weeks left to go. I really hope not to gain more than 5 more pounds, but we'll see what happens. It's all baby at this point, right?!

I've still been going to the gym, but not as religiously as I was before. I've taken to prioritizing sleep and taken those few extra hours in the morning to rest if I don't feel rested. I still make it about 3 times a week. For cardio, I'm just walking on the treadmill for about 30 minutes. Then I'll use the machines for lower body, back and chest strength training and I use the free weights for arms and shoulders. Compared to when I first started going to the gym, I feel like a wimp, but it's good to be humiliated sometimes, and it's for a really good reason. This too shall pass. I am content.

Swelling comes and goes, but it seems to be coming more than going. There are some days that I can see the ligaments and muscles in my feet and most other days, I cannot and jokingly call them my fankles. They are tender to the touch and to step, but a massage on the bottom/underside feels really good.

The baby is moving all the time. Most of the movement occurs when I'm hungry and when I'm sitting down. I would describe her movements as stretching, and beating and banging around, like someone trapped in a box trying to escape. Other times her movements are very rhythmic, like she'll be a percussionist. It really surprises me how regular her beats are. It's like she's taking her elbow or knee and gently beating out a metronomic rhythm! Yay! I know she's got rhythm. :-) Moriah had her feet in my ribs all the time. Lily had hiccups all the time.

At this point, and even before now, there has been much talk about when to go to the hospital, since my labors were so fast before and people are afraid of my stopping traffic to give birth on the highway. Well . . . if this labor starts like either of the last two, then I know when to leave and who to call. If it's completely different, then we'll just play it by ear. My water broke with Moriah. With Lily I had regular, non-serious, contractions for about 2 hours which all changed with a glass of ice water. Go HERE to read Moriah's birth story and HERE for Lily's. I'm excited to see what will happen this time, what she will look like and what her disposition will be like. It's exciting!

The doctor did not do a pelvic exam so, there is no new word on the condition of my cervix.

A Quote on Contentment

Contentment is an inward grace given by God that results in a mindset of being satisfied to stay in your circumstances for as long as God wills.

Biblical Principles on Contentment

1. We can learn to be content no matter how tough things are because God will help us. Phil 4:11-13
2. We are to be content with the necessities of life. 1 Tim 6:8
3. Be content with what you have today. Focus on seeking God and pleasing Him. Matt 6:25 and 33
4. A person who is content does not complain. 1 Cor 10:9-10 and Phil 2:14-16
5. True contentment means we do not have to sin against God. Job 1:20-22 and Job 6:10

Martha Peace. Attitudes of a Transformed Heart. pp 165-167.

Deals @ ALDI

A 2-pound tub of grapes is going for $1.38! That's $0.69 a pound, people!

One pound of strawberries, red, ripe, plump and perfect are $0.99 a pound! Mmm . . . yummy.

I went in this past Friday and found these prices and couldn't pass them up. I don't know how long they'll last, so hurry in.

Multitude Monday

The temptation to become bitter grows as my belly grows and causes more pain and discomfort, as well as impatience as I wait for relief, and discontentment as I can not do as much physically as I could before. Sometimes thankfulness is an exercise. It is definitely a commandment.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

I am thankful for

486. Any day my feet are not swollen.

487. Blackout curtains in Moriah's room.

488. Inexpensive fruit.

489. Any time Moriah and Lily take the initiative to be helpers.

490. Free entertainment in Suwanee Town Center: Footloose.

491. Small stores, like ALDI, where I can get what I need, while saving money and avoid excessive walking.

492. SAM'S Club free Click n' Pull service.

493. A new job for Mom. She starts this Thursday.

494. Mom's Tuesday ER episode wasn't any worse than it could have been.

495. Lily's sweet, soft smile.

496. Any moment there's no whining, crying, or rebellious temper tantrums.

497. Every time Moriah and Lily eat their entire meal.

498. Horse shoe neck pillows.

499. Any time I can put my feet up.

500. Watching my girls dance.

What are you thankful for today?