Outside my window...
Gorgeous. I really need to get Elijah outside to enjoy this weather...but after the mosquito buffet he provided a week and a half ago, I'm a little wary. Hoping they're gone finally, or will be soon...This weather is also just perfect for long walks, but unfortunately my hips can't take long walks anymore.
I am thinking...
that writing this post has taken me way too long and I need to get back at the to-do list (I jump all around and am answering this question last :)
I am thankful for...
husband, doula, friends who will hold their shields of faith for me when I am full of fear. Imagery from last Sunday's sermon that has stuck with me all week. A high priest who can sympathize with my weaknesses and promises mercy and grace in my time of need.
From the kitchen...
Pepsi Pot Roast in the crockpot for tonight's dinner. The leftovers will turn into vegetable beef soup for us and for my friend Lydia who just had her baby on Tuesday! I've also got apple stuff going on everywhere, now that they are finally in season. Slices in the dehydrator for apple chips; raw applesauce in the fridge (love my BlendTec for that!) and more applesauce in another crockpot cooking down for apple butter. Planning on making some pumpkin bread later today--hopefully Elijah will be in the mood to help. We won't talk about the state of my kitchen after all that :)
I am wearing...
sweatpants, and a bright yellow t-shirt from Buckeye Girls' State. Which is about 11 years old. The only t-shirts I can wear these days are a few leftover from when I was in high school and used to wear my t-shirts about three sizes too big :)
I am creating...
a clean environment for my homebirth. Washing linens, gathering supplies, scrubbing floors...fun times.
I am going...
to get up and scrub the bathroom floor as soon as I finish this blog post. Unpleasant tasks don't get any more pleasant the longer you put them off; crossing them off the list is so much more satisfying!
I am reading...
nothing much at the moment. I recently finished Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest (and loved it). I've dipped into Birthing from Within just a little, and have read a few chapters of Childbirth Without Fear but mostly just end up annoyed that Grantly Dick-Read is full of it.
I am hoping...
to sense the presence, comfort and grace of God very powerfully throughout labor and delivery of this baby.
I am hearing...
quiet: Elijah's white noise machine over the monitor; cars buzzing by outside; the click-clack of the keyboard as I type.
Around the house...
signs that a baby is on the way. Co-sleeper sits in our bedroom, waiting to be set up; newborn diapers are stacked under the changing table. Homebirth supplies are piled and organized in the dining room; my doula is bringing the birth tub tonight, and Steve has built a support beam in the basement (the house is 75 years old--better safe than sorry). And, we can finally have a few windows open (all of them were painted shut when we bought the house)!
One of my favorite things...
frozen pizza. So wrong, so unhealthy...so tasty.
A few plans for the rest of the week...
my doula is coming over tonight for one last prenatal meeting. Tomorrow I have a prenatal appointment with my midwife and will be taking food over to Lydia. Then on Saturday I am looking forward to University School of Nashville's annual Fall Book Frenzy. We need more books like I need a hole in the head...but what can I say, I'm a sucker for a good used book sale :)
I *wish* my weekend plans included a trip up to Marion, Indiana...Indiana Wesleyan University, my alma mater, has assembled an alumni chorale (which would be enough fun in and of itself) who will be singing with the Gaither Vocal Band for homecoming. So many of my chorale friends are going...I hate to miss it, but at 38 1/2 weeks pregnant, going was not exactly a realistic possibility.
A picture thought I am sharing...
Elijah and his lion--I've been taking this picture semi-regularly since he was three months old. This one is over a month old, but here's the 3-year-old shot:
3-6-9-12 and 15 months
2 1/2 years