35 Weeks

And the countdown (and the drama) continues.  

Last Saturday I was hanging out on the lovely couch when I started to feel my first contractions pretty much ever.   I casually watched the clock.  They kept coming and coming and coming, every 5 minutes for over an hour.  I didn't tell anyone.  Finally I told Paul a little while later and he convinced me to call our friend to come over and watch Noah (who was in bed) so we could go to the hospital.  I had instructions to go in if I had more than 4 in an hour, but they weren't painful so I was blowing it off.  We drove there and I knew it wasn't labor, but they hooked me up anyway and sure enough, every 5 minutes the entire time we were there.  I wasn't dilating anymore and I was completely fine.   After watching us for 2 hours we were sent home with instructions to come back if they were every 4 minutes and/or painful.  Seriously....

So, they have been on and off ever since, but no big deal.

Today was my 35 week appointment.  I was very sick and nauseous this morning and vomited quite a bit.  Turns out I have acquired reflux through the end of this pregnancy, lovely!  So, now I am on meds for that.  The doctor checked me and I am now 3cm dilated and 75% effaced.  I am considered "near term" and no longer "pre-term."  The baby is out of danger and would likely not have complications if she was born now.   I will not be considered full term for another two weeks.  My bedrest has been modified so that I am allowed to do more and be outside and walking around.  I am not allowed to exercise, go for walks, clean, or do anything strenuous. Next week at 36 weeks all restrictions will be lifted.  I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, there's you're update!!!  I am getting so excited to meet my baby girl soon!!!!

Knowing that God has it all under control...

Yesterday there was a boating accident in the midst of a terrible storm here in PA.  Two kayakers went missing in the Brandywine Creek.  Last night when I got home from a meeting I got an email from the Presbytery that one of the kayakers was Chad Miller, a minister in our area and a dear, dear friend of mine.  He was kayaking with his brother when they went over a dam and never resurfaced.  They found his brother's body but are still searching for Chad's body.  I'm pretty upset about it all... he was such an amazing guy, someone I truly identified with and always looked forward to being with.  We definitely shared so many things in common and had a great friendship.  It is a great loss for his church and community and for all of us who knew him and loved him....

Here's a link to his last sermon... about the ascension and how tough it is when it seems as though God is leaving us, but how through prayer we can come to know that God is always faithful an always fulfills his promises.... 

http://www.wpc.org/uploads/sermons/audio/MillerMay242009.mp3

Every Woman Is Beautiful

Every Woman is Beautiful
  by: Author Unknown, Source Unknown

One of the members of Rock Church sent this to me today.  For all of the tears I've cried....   A little boy asked his mother, " Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman", she told him. " I don't understand", he said. His mum just hugged him and said, " And you never will".. Later the little boy asked his father, " Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?" " All women cry for no reason" was all his dad could say. The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry. Finally he put in a call to God; when God got on the phone, the man said, " God, why women cry so easily?" God said, "When I made women she had to be special. I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world; yet, gentle enough to give comfort. I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times come from her children. I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining. I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt them very badly. This same sensitivity helps her make a child's boo hoo feel better and shares in their teenagers' anxieties and fears. I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart. I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly. And finally I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed. The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides." Every woman is beautiful