it's E-Day

This is it, the day is here! Sarah is getting admitted to the hospital as I type this. Today is Elijah's birthday unless he decides to make his mama stick it out for 12+ hours of labor (wouldn't recommend that, little buddy). I'm working right now (or at least attempting to) and as soon as my 5:00 whistle blows, I'm outty! Going straight to the maternity ward to see Sar, and I've told her that she'd better have her epidural by then (you wouldn't want to see Sar in labor without that blessed drug) or I wouldn't be sticking around for very long! I plan on spending the night at St. Francis, either keeping awake with my family awaiting the arrival (it's a tradition that sometimes involves endless games of Uno) or sleeping on the couch/cot thingey (it doesn't dare to be called a "bed" in my presence) in Sar's room with her (again, another tradition). Thank the Lord I got great sleep last night and the slight touch of allergies/cold I've had isn't so bad this morning. It's gonna be a long one, kids!

If you're reading this today, please say a prayer for my sissy and her baby. Sarah told me this morning that she's nervous. I guess even after 3 other babies, there's still nothing routine about giving birth! Early this morning, I sat in my rocking chair in my bedroom, watching the rain pour, sipping coffee, and having a good talk with God...I asked for courage for all. And the thought occurred to me that it's 1 body becoming 2 bodies, and how it truly is a MIRACLE, the way humans reproduce. How can a person doubt the marvels of God's creative genius when you really think about how conception and birth happen? I praise the Lord for His wonders and I beseech His grace and mercies on mama and baby today, and I give thanks for that incredible first moment when they will get to finally meet each other after all these months.

take a deep breath

Ahh...Autumn.

The weather in Indiana has certainly made its official turn toward cooler. We have been sleeping with the windows wide open at night and I always sleep very deeply and peaceful when breathing in cool fresh air. The best part? The horrid humidity has taken its annual hike outta dodge and I couldn't be happier about that!

I pasted this print image here not just cuz it's purdy, but to be an inspiration to me and Adam...we are going to buy a couple of canvases and PAINT together, either this weekend or next. I'm beyond frustration with trying to find lovely and inexpensive wall art for our house, so we're resorting to making our own. I'll let you all know how it goes!

Baby Watch '06 UPDATE: Sarah has been given an official date for delivery! She is scheduled for Tuesday morning at 11 to get hooked up to a big bag of Pitocin and get this little man Eli here! That is, if it doesn't happen spontaneously this weekend (which I'm still thinking is more likely)!!! I'm so excited...Tuesday is my normal day off and then I'll take Wednesday off to hang out with the recovering mama and hog...er, hold my nephew! I'm sure Sar feels like a prisoner about to be freed (NOT that being pregnant is some form of punishment; not saying that AT ALL). It's just that this is her last baby, and she'll have 4 kids aged 4 and under after Tuesday, so you can easily do the math and figure out she's been pregnant for almost 5 years straight. I can't wait for her to feel the relief that I know she'll feel! And me too!

Anyway, just really looking forward to all the wonderful things that this month has in store: a new baby in our family, cool weather, leaves turning, fun stuff!

Baby Watch '06

Yeah, you guessed it alright. My sis has still not gone into labor. I can't believe tomorrow is September 7th, and she is due September 20th, and the baby isn't here! And believe me, she is enormously pregnant. I'm not saying that in a bad way at all...she is just very very round and just watching her walk makes onlookers uncomfortable, she is that obviously miserable. I just hope this baby is not a whopper like his big brother was...Sarah doesn't NEED a longer recovery time (from an extended labor/delivery) with 3 other kids at home waiting for her to bounce back!

She has a doctor's appt. on Friday and I have a very good feeling that Dr. Ensley will send her to the hospital if there is even just an inkling of "action" going on...and put her on a Pitocin drip to get this show on the road! But Sarah is -- believe it or not -- not quite amenable to that. Ada's first dance class is on Saturday morning and she refuses to miss it. Even to have a baby and all the relief that will come with his arrival. Heck, I will be relieved when her little one is on the outside of her big ole belly!!!

So, here we are, with an official countdown of 12-ish days, and my money is on Saturday afternoon...

random September

wouldn't that make a great band name?

In any case, it's how I'm feeling these days. Slowly but surely transitioning to fall, but since it's technically not here yet, it seems like cheating somehow? And random, well, the following is random.

I've been on a cleaning and organizing frenzy. Katers came over today and helped me clean out the big closet in the master bedroom. Adam let me buy a very purdy shoe organizer from Target (where else?) last week, which I promptly filled and now stand in need of another one! We put a tall dresser in there (yes, my closet is actually a small room and not really a closet per se...there's actually scope for the imagination in there), and I also bought 2 small jewelry organizer/caddy things for drawers. So, Katie and I sorted through all my jewelry and all my clothes...even down to my socks and tights. She even worked out knots in necklaces and coolly assessed my rear end in all of my jeans (anything that made me resemble a country-line-dancin' girl had to be tossed to the give-away pile...). So, I now have a closet that is arranged a) by season (only 2 seasons in my closet: warm weather and cold weather) then b) by function (work/church, casual/play) then c) by type (shirts, trousers, you get the idea). I feel ridiculously organized now. The best part about it is I actually know what I own, how it fits, and what I can pair it with. I'll probably actually wear all of my clothes now!!!

Hmmm, what else? Oh, watched "You've Got Mail" today. It's one of autumn's must-see movies (even though it celebrates all the seasons in New York City, I've always associated it with fall...?). Are there other must-see movies for fall? Please, do tell.

Took food over to Angie's house yesterday (she is recovering quite nicely from surgery) and she was burning a cinnamon candle on her stove and I think I could have drank the wax, it smelled THAT good. Does anyone have any good-but-cheap cinnamon/pumpkin/harvest-y candle suggestions? I don't want to spend the gross national product of a third world country on a Yankee candle, much as I love 'em. (Tell you what, I'm getting miserly in my old age...)

Speaking of old age, it has really begun to sink in that I'm turning 30 in 4 months. Everyone I know who has crossed over that great divide assures me that being 30+ is quite grand and that I won't even miss my twenties. Sorry, but I remain skeptical of that. I already miss my twenties and I'm still hanging on to 29 for dear life.

...and the randomness has only just begun...

Sarah's baby is still not here. She is technically due in 17 days, but Sarah ALWAYS goes at least 10-15 days early with her kids since the 2-foot-tall, 11-pound wonder (Ethan) made his appearance back in the day. Docs just don't want a 5'5" woman delivering half-grown children for some odd reason. Sar has been having contractions, but is ignoring them because, and I quote: "I've got 2 sick kids, I have no time to deliver a baby right now." I would love it if she gave birth on Labor Day...what a fun and ironic way to celebrate a birthday! Abby has New Year's Eve as her birthday, and we always tell her that the whole world celebrates another year of her life! Anyway, who knows? Maybe I'll be blogging about a brand-new baby boy by Monday's end...

Oh yeah, one other thing. I need a book recommendation. I'm finishing up the "Mark of the Lion" series by Francine Rivers (which I simply adored and will miss), and I'm not ready to jump back into my British history non-fiction stuff (where I spend a good portion of my reading time). I need a good piece of fiction, preferably set somewhere other than the Mediterranean in the 1st century AD (where M of the L is set).

Well, I think that's it for now. Adam is in Michigan this weekend with his parents, so I have tons of time to catch up on my blog, which I've really neglected lately. So I'll probably be writing again tomorrow. And hopefully Monday, if I have a new nephew!

so much to blog about...

So much happening!

First of all and without further ado, I've been given permission to post some wondrous news...

My best friend is pregnant! Yay! Kate and Dan are expecting their first little one in late March. "Tadpole," as the baby is being referred to at this moment, gave us quite the scare there at the beginning of things, but this morning, Tadpole gave Mama and Daddy a lot of reassurance; ultrasound showed a healthy baby with a beating heart. Praise the Lord!!! When Kate reported this news to me, I had tears of joy in my eyes, for I have prayed and prayed for this baby. And I know others have, too (thanks Monday night Bible study!!!). I'm so excited to be an Auntie to another precious human being...and I can't WAIT to meet a chip off the old Timmer/DeVries block! I also am thrilled to be introduced to Kate-as-Mommy; who that person is and what she is like. I know it will be very difficult for me to be 3+ hours away...I would just cherish being near to run over for some random babysitting! As it is, I will just have to smother the poor thing with kisses and love while I'm visiting.

Secondly, and speaking of babies, Sarah's little guy Elijah will be making his appearance in the next 4 weeks or so. It's time, little man! Ready or not, here you come! Mom and Sar and Kater and I have been pulling together resources and creativity to get Sarah all set up to welcome the baby home. The nursery area is standing at the ready...clean crib sheets, mobile in place, diapers stacked, blankets piled...now if we could only keep Abby from stealing those blankets! Abby calls blankets "nunnies" or "wunnies" or "winnies" (she mixes it up from time to time, but you can always tell what she's saying). And she does NOT like the fact that there are wunnies placed out of reach and obviously not intended for her use. It will be interesting to see what she does when there's a baby wrapped up in a wunnie! We tried to explain to her that there's a baby in Mama's belly who will need wunnies, too, but that was pretty much over her head. Ethan understood, though! We asked him where Mama's baby was and he touched her belly! And then he kissed Sar's belly! It was so precious, my throat caught with tears.

Let's see. Well, there's other stuff going on but none seem so important as talking about new people coming into the world, so I'll save some goodies for another post. Coming soon!

please pray

If everyone could keep my sister Sarah and her unborn baby boy, Elijah, in your prayers, I would be so very grateful.

Sarah is going into the hospital tomorrow for some follow-up tests after some bloodwork came back showing her blood sugar is very, very high. Apparently, her thyroid gland is also not keeping up properly. Sarah is 31 weeks into her pregnancy, but Elijah keeps measuring at least 3 weeks larger than his gestational age, so he's technically measuring at nearly 35 weeks (he's over 4 pounds by now...big boy!). Specific prayer points for Sarah would be: that the doctors get Sarah's blood sugars down to normal levels, that her blood pressure doesn't spike (happened with Ethan, who was also a very large baby), and that her thyroid hormone levels would adjust appropriately. Specific prayer points for Elijah would be: that he doesn't keep growing too fast, necessitating an early arrival before his lungs are ready for oxygen, and that through Sarah's difficulties, he would be kept safe and protected. Finally, also say a prayer for Sarah's emotional well-being: she has had pretty dramatic pregnancies, labors, and deliveries with all 4 of her children. Please pray that the Lord would give her an extra measure of peace and calm right now. She is also very tired and this heat is not helping any! Please be with me and my family as we lift up Sarah and Elijah right now.

Thank you!

An addition to the family...

Well, my sister has given me official permission to post the big news on my blog: Sarah and Garrett are expecting Baby #4!!!

Although this news wasn't exactly met with cartwheels and dancing at first -- simply because they have 3 kids aged 3 and under already! -- the news has sunk in now and we're all joyfully anticipating this final installment of their family (right guys? Final installment???). I'm very excited to meet another version of this particular baby species...I've been duly impressed with the first three specimens!!! I can only imagine how much fun I'll have with all four of my nieces and nephew(s?). Ethan, Ada, and Abby are truly the pride and joy of my family, and as Katie and I often say, their antics are "better than TV."

So, if everyone who reads my blog would be faithful in sending some prayers heavenward on behalf of my sister and her family, with special mention of this wee little person in her belly, who is about 10 weeks' gestation at this point. It is a marvel to me to know that this little one already has a beating heart, and a gender (though we don't know it), and even a name (only the Lord knows for sure right now, but I've heard I'm going to have either a niece named Avery or a nephew named Elijah, and my money's on the latter!). We'll be meeting Baby sometime around September 21st, and I can't wait to get my hands on him/her. I absolutely adore them when they're brand-new...so cuddable and lovable!!!

Thank you Lord for the promise of new life!
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you"...Jeremiah 1:5

Image of a 10 weeks' gestational age baby: