Ozark Beauty

Signs of Spring

Belly update - 16 weeks

Things that made me smile in the past week...

Abigail spontaneously running up and giving me big kisses on both cheeks.

Singing as a sub on two sets in the prayer room.

Thinking that maybe I felt the baby moving when I poked my belly.

The beautiful orchid that is blooming in my kitchen.

Weather that involved sunshine, and temperatures like this:

Driving a Bobcat for the first time. (I received only brief operating instructions over the phone, but managed to re-park the thing without hurting anything or anyone. Did I mention that I was wearing flip-flops? I'm sure that's a safety violation of some kind.)

Seeing the most beautiful rainbow while driving to the store. It was a supernumerary rainbow, with the whole arc visible, along with a vibrant secondary rainbow. I couldn't get a picture that really captured its beauty, but it was stunning.



Showing Abigail her first rainbow, and teaching her that a rainbow is a sign of God's promise and faithfulness; then hearing her say rainbow (maimbo) over and over for the next hour or so.

Family hugs and spending time with Aaron when he comes home from work.

Giving Abigail's head lots of kisses while she snuggled in my lap before her nap.

Abigail reaching up after those kisses and saying "pretty" while pointing to my cheek. She doesn't really know how to say "I love you" very well yet, but calling me "pretty" is close enough to melt my heart.

There's a baby in there!

12.5 weeks

 

Smells Like Holy Spirit?

If you asked me what kind of laundry detergent my grandparents used, I would not have been able to tell you. Until today. When I opened up a box of Tide powder (which I don't usually buy), it was like I was instantly transported to the basement of their house in California. Mmmmmm...the smell was like a warm hug from the past, bringing forgotten memories and sensory surprises.

Isn't there something about the sense of smell that's just mysterious? To my knowledge we have yet to create a recording device for aromas. There is no camera or tape recorder for odor. Smells are elusive, yet pervasive. They can be blissfully pleasing, or tearfully unpleasant. Most of all I am amazed at the ability of smell to immerse us in a memory of a specific time, place, or person.

So all this has me thinking...I wonder what the throne room smells like?

FYI/Update/Yadda, Yadda

B-A-B-Y
1. I'm pregnant. Due Aug. 28. We're very excited.
2. I feel nauseous about 80% of the time, and on the verge of...well, I don't think I can type the word without getting sick, but it rhymes with "Gromit"... about once every couple of days.
2b. I have to eat about once an hour to keep the tummy grumbling to a dull roar, but if I eat too much, I have that awful over-full feeling for about 2 hours, until I can't decide if I'm still full, or if I need to eat again.
2c. I'm pretty much always tired. No more night owl 'round here.
2d. Other than the sleepiness and yucky tummy, I'm doing pretty good for a preggo.
3. I'm not quite 8 weeks along yet, and I already started wearing maternity pants.
4. The maternity pants are on not only because I'm already feeling a little full around the midsection, but also because I have yet to climb out from under the pile of dirty laundry that assaulted me soon after we returned from our 3-week vacation.
5. Visiting family for 3 weeks is fun, but coming home to a huge to-do list that wasn't finished before leaving is....not fun.

B-L-O-G-G-Y
1. All my old posts disappeared for a few days.
2. I didn't delete them - I just set them all to "draft". All 92 of them.
3. I've been having a little bloggy identity-crisis since around Thanksgiving (hence the lack of posting). "Clearing the slate" was one step short of deleting the whole blog...which I almost did a number of times.
4. I still can't quite decide - To blog, or not to blog? What to blog? How to blog? Blah, blah, blah.
5. I republished most of the old posts, and now I've edited this post, like, 3 times...so I guess that means I'm back to blogging.