Pondering A "New Normal"

Although another "new normal" is just around the corner, (I'm 29 weeks along today... wow) the current "new normal" has been surprisingly interesting. I am used to rising at 5 (at least attempting to) and heading to school around 6:45 to return home again between 5-6 perhaps. The school season meant rushing home to a quick dinner, MAYBE dishes, some grading, reading for school, laundry or whatnot, talking to Dustin or running an errand together, maybe home group, and then hitting the hay. My days of teaching were pretty full. I have been surprised that there are some of those things that I miss, but overall, I've really enjoyed being home. I tutor 2 days a week, and tutoring kind of "scratches the itch" I may have for teaching. And, it's good money and flexible. :) Overall though, I've enjoyed this big change of life/season. But with it, I find myself thinking a lot. Maybe too much sometimes. Lots of introspection. Lots of time. Some questions (below...)

Dustin has a "new normal" now too, going from the seminary life to being Mr. Butts, high school Geometry/Algebra teacher. He's a busy guy, that one. He's enjoying his classes so far though! I'm really trying to figure out how to best help him, especially since I have the time to do so. I'm trying to be a better iron-er, lunch make-er, e-mail encourager and help with things like finances or even grading. And, sometimes I feel like I'm just waiting for that "nesting" instinct to kick in. I mean, I want to clean sometimes, but nothing like what you hear about pregnant women doing. Ha! Either I'm just lazy or it hasn't kicked in yet. So, I'm hoping to get organized and get some projects going.

What does it mean to prepare for your first baby, I wonder? Does it mean cleaning everything spic and span? (It's hard for me to want to scrub floors or tubs with my new belly, but I guess that's what we pregnant women are supposed to do pre-baby? Kick in, oh nesting instinct!) Does it mean stocking your freezer and pantry? Does it mean reading a lot of books? Always hanging out with people? Addressing your Christmas cards months early?

I wonder if it's kind of like a wedding. You can get so distracted with planning the wedding, you forget you are stepping into a marriage. Similarly, you can get so distracted with baby, you can forget you are stepping into a ministry - namely, motherhood! So, I'd like to prepare for the latter and not lose sight of that in all of the hustle and bustle (or sometimes in the quiet solitude) of all of the other things.

So, what do I do to get ready to be a mom? To parent? To discipline? To sacrifice? To share? To be home? To be sleepless? Stretched? To love well? To not neglect Dustin even though the baby requires so much attention? Maybe I'm thinking too hard. :)

I guess my big question is... and I'm not sure who I'm asking it to. What does this season look like pre-baby? Especially with your first baby, when your hands aren't full with other kiddos. I know certain tasks I need and want to do each week - whether it's schedule a few things with friends, some hospitality, laundry, some chores, some house things, some church things, ministry to others. But, what else can I do with this huge chunk of time? I could schedule to do so much that I miss a special season to grow spiritually or prepare practically. I could schedule to do so little that I grow selfish with my time, lazy, etc. I guess it's all about balance once again...

Any suggestions are welcome! :)

As requested...

There are a few more old ones on facebook as well. Enjoy, all of you far-away moms, sisters and friends. Sorry it took me so long! Oh, and I didn't really dress up for any of the pics, so just look at the belly. The baby is the cute one! :)

Take a listen...

This is an old song, but I never tire of it. I don't hear it very much, but when I do, I realize it's one of my favorites.

The Woods :)

Ah... you know how it is with a move. Where are my oven mitts? Where is my phone charger? Well, I just found the cord that goes with our camera to upload pics. So, I'll try to be better about sharing photos, but no promises. Due to lots of requests from sweet friends (I think the vibe was, "You're making us wait to find out the gender of the baby and now we can't even seen the nursery?"), I thought I'd start with sharing a few pictures of our sweet baby's sweet room. We hope he/she loves it! Granna (mom-in-law) painted the tree! We love it. She also said that if the baby is a girl, she can add some flowers next to the tree when she visits to help girly it up a little! Great idea! The animals around the room are wall decals that go with our bedding. The crib is from Dustin's parents; it's the crib Dustin and his sister slept in as babies! We bought the dresser at IKEA that will eventually double as a changing table. And, the glider was an anniversary present from Dustin. I dropped serious hints. Glad he took them! I really like it!

Now we just need the baby to arrive (well, and things on the wall, a mattress, diapers...okay, I'm glad there are 13ish more weeks of nesting).