(I have to summarize this all in an
hour's time! Ahh!)
Baby Poucher, our littlest Pumpkin, is
due May 15th, 2013. Fetal morphology was perfect and we
are waiting to find out the gender till the birth! Yay!
Halloween: Wow! I wasn't allowed to Trick or
Treat growing up(I respect my parents' decision for it, but Kerry and
I have chosen something else for our own kids) so this was only my
second time going. We had Buzz and Woody as tag-alongs for the
night. It was a blast, especially south of Grand with Mimi and Papa
Jack!
Baby “Izzybetta” is born!:
Emerson and Oakley call their very
first cousin, my littlest brother Zach, and his wife, Molly's baby Isabella, “Izzybetta.” She was born just before
Thanksgiving and they sang happy birthday to her about every hour for
the first few weeks she was alive. Isabella is about the most
perfect little girl you could imagine: she never cries and sleeps
very well. I'm praying she has a good influence on our little one...
Thanksgiving in Wisconsin:
My grandpa Larry got to see the boys
for the second time ever, and of course, they loved going down to the
lake... to throw rocks! :) We also got to meet my cousin, Nicholas' little guy, Connor, for the first time! I wish we lived closer to him... the boys talk about him all the time now. My brother Jacob couldn't be home for
Christmas so he gave the boys their presents then. Guitars!!!! Our
hosue is a constant chorus of “Bwess the Lord, oh my soul!
Ooooooooooh my soul! Worship His Hoooooooolyyy name!”
And the beginning of our 21 (yes, you
read correctly-- twenty-one day vacation in December) and the MAJOR
lesson I learned during that time:
Day 1:
Minnesota- I threw a baby/bridal shower
for my sisters-in-law. Emily and Richard are having their first baby
in February and Alyssa married Paul on January 5th.
Day 2:
Arrive in Exuma, Bahamas with Kerry's
parents, siblings, et al. High temp: 82F and perfect! I've been to
the Caribbean a number of times before but have never seen such
gorgeous, turquoise water as on the beaches of this small island.
The photos don't even come close. Highlights of the trip-- the boys
enjoyed the water each and every day, but particularly the day we
rented a motorboat and toured the ocean. We kayaked, swam in the
beachside pool, rented scooters for the day-- it was glorious. We
were at an “End of the World Party” on Dec 21 when all of the
sudden, the lights in the ENTIRE city go out for well over a few
minutes. Let's just say, we all thought for a moment the Mayans may
have been on to something.
Day 6:
Leave Exuma, Bahamas.
Day 7:
Drive to Wisconsin. High temp: 23F and
perfect! We went on a horse drawn sleigh ride with my mom's side of
the family (who came from as far as Arizona and Texas) over the river
and through the woods in the beautiful snow! It was absolutely one
of the most glorious transitions ever-- sandy white beaches to snow
white fields.
Day 9:
Christmas day!
Day 12:
Kerry and I leave the boys with my
parents to drive to Omaha, Nebraska for our annual Faithwalkers
conference. Emerson was diagnosed the day before with a double ear
infection, so I had a really hard time saying goodbye. We prayed
he'd sleep through the night. My mom called the next day to say he
slept from 9pm-7am straight. I nearly cried I was so relieved.
Day 15:
Kerry and I drive back to Minnesota,
where my parents had dropped off E&O with my in-laws before they
watched the Vikings whoop the Packers in the Metrodome. We stayed
the whole week with Jack and Julie and tried to help (slash, not
hinder) the wedding prep process for their eldest by going to the Mall of America for some Toddler Tuesday ride deals. :)
Day 20:
Auntie Alyssa marries the incredible
Uncle Paul. Let me just say, the boys have been calling him “Unko
Paw” since they started dating, so we were pretty satisfied it
worked out. ;) Paul is the exact kind of man Kerry had been praying
for his big sister to marry for the last 7 years at least, so it was
very special to see everyone's dreams come true. The Lord provides!
The ceremony was very special, and I cried most of the way through
it. Best part by far: Paul and Alyssa wrote letters to their
parents, which the pastor read aloud, thanking them for their
faithfulness to each other over the years and for not giving up on
their marriages. In a country where 50% of marriages end in divorce,
it was a very true sentiment that had the whole house in tears.
Day 21:
Drive to Des Moines. As we pull up to
our house, Oakley, my ever-social little guy, starts bawling: “But
I don't WANNA go HOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!!!!!!”
And now, for my MAJOR LIFE LESSON
LEARNED:
If you've followed my blog (this one
and my old one which has disappeared into the abyss), you know I have
a bit of an anger problem. It is shameful, and I hate it.
But, you know what? I went 21 DAYS
without YELLING!
Why?
I knew I was being watched. For 21
days, I was around people, people I wasn't willing to disappoint. I
knew I'd be held accountable for my actions, so I behaved well.
The FIRST DAY WE WERE HOME, I yelled.
Ugh!!!! That made me more mad than whatever I was mad at.
While explaining this to my husband, I
said, “I clearly don't take seriously the fact that God sees
everything I do and that I WILL be held accountable for it when I
stand before Him someday. If I viewed Him like I did everyone else
we were around, I wouldn't yell. It's like I don't actually believe
He's there.”
Kerry replied, “Maybe memorizing
Matthew 12:33-37 would help.”
“Make
a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its
fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood
of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the
overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good
things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil
things out of the evil stored up in him. But
I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment
for every careless word they have spoken.
For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will
be condemned.” (emphasis added)
I have been on
another no-yelling streak ever since. That's not to say I haven't
shown frustration, but Kerry has been very helpful to encourage me
that God is pleased with progress and doesn't expect perfection.
Thank you, Jesus!
And, with that,
I end this update. [sigh of relief]
