Lessons Learned by Week 40. (Still No Baby...)

I think we are about to embark upon an exciting time in our lives. God has definitely been using different scenarios to teach me what it means to follow Ephesians 3:12 which says:

In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

When we announced that we were expecting our third child, almost everyone on my side of the family was not very supportive. This easily led to doubts in my mind on whether or not Steve and I would be up to the challenge of raising 3 kids. 

When I was given the opportunity to help set up a mentoring program at a nearby elementary school with a baby on the way, I really doubted that I would be able to do a good job with the program and adjusting to a new life in the family. 

God has recently reminded me about how He is here for us, which makes me think about how when we play life "safely" we really don't get an opportunity to step out in faith to depend on God's power and will for our lives. Now, I'm not advocating that you jump out of a plane 7 months pregnant, but I encourage you to listen and follow God's little nudges for you to step out in faith.  

Not that God needs you to give Him opportunities to show His power, it's more like, you need to give yourself opportunities to experience the really cool things that He can do in your life. 

I am definitely disappointed that we still don't have a baby outside of the womb yet. Considering that we were expecting her to come early, as we approach the actual due date, I'm starting to get impatient. But I have to keep reminding myself that God has a plan. God has a plan.

Last night, Steve and I went on a brisk 2 mile walk around the neighborhood. Walking downhill seems to trigger more contractions, so perhaps I'll keep at it. I have an appointment tomorrow and so we'll see what the midwife has to say. So far, we have been very careful not to do anything that may break my waters because inducing is a bit dangerous for VBAC candidates.

My mom arrived on Wednesday, so we've spent some time together while the kids are at school. She leaves in about 2 weeks, so I hope the baby doesn't come that late. 

Dear Nathan and Hannah, 

As we anxiously await for the arrival of your new sister, we've been taking it easy and just going with the flow. This weekend, we were able to attend 2 birthday parties that we didn't think we would be able make it to. And I am sorry for the lack of pictures because I have not been doing a great job of being motivated to get up and get the phone to take pictures. 

I did, however, manage to snap a quick photo of the church dance party during the worship service. 

With both of you attending school Tuesday-Friday, I feel like I don't have as much time with you two to make memories. After I pick you up from school, we spend some time together, but there's also independent time that you guys have. So, usually, I've been trying to get stuff done so I can spend time with you two after school.

One thing that ended up being pretty interesting involved exploring shells. I gave each of you some playdoh and had you stamp and make impressions of different parts of the shell. You both thought it was pretty cool and really enjoyed the activity.

 We had checked out a few shell books from the library, so we were able to identify many of the shells that we have.

Nathan is continuing to go to Chinese school and is able to read some characters with the help of the bpmf system. Hannah you are working on spelling your name and identifying letters.

I have figured out that Hannah, you need naps on gymnastic days in order to make it to bed time as a pleasant human being. Ama says that Hannah has grown out of the terrible 2 phase and is a much nicer kid to be around. Nathan and I both agree.

Well, that's about it for now. Until next week,
Love,
Mommy and Baby 3