Pregnant brain is real.

At night, when insomnia comes, and you decide to post, you can go in 2 directions - serious or funny. I have plenty of serious thoughts swirling around in my busy mind right now, as the ticker on the side of this blog says 9 more days to go (and God's ticker might be less than that perhaps).

But instead of rattling on and pouring out my soul to cyberspace (not always a smooth move perhaps), I choose funny. I have already read for awhile. Had a snack. I'm awake, but not super alert, so I'll be safer choosing funny, I think.

I just wanted to give you a few reflections on "pregnant brain." Ever heard of it? It's REAL. And, if you think it's not, don't tell me, because if you do, you're just saying I'm stupid, basically.

Here are my examples over the last few weeks. And here's an article, just for kicks.

-I go to ValuMarket, our neighborhood grocery store that's mighty handy. Armed with about 15 thank-you cards and no stamps, I go in to the customer service area and pull out my wallet.
"Hello! I'd like to buy a thing of stamps. What are they called? A book? How many are in a book, I can't remember?" (Not too shabby so far, but random you can tell.) She helps me. I buy the stamps. Then -
"Thanks! Now, can you tell me where a... er, um... where I could send... where is the nearest, I need to send these letters, do you have a..."
I could NOT for the life of me remember the word mailbox.

-I go to Costco, where I'm the Thursday pizza-go-getter for an international lunch each Thursday that our church helps with on the U of L campus. I do this every week. They know me there. I say the same thing every week. This time, it didn't come out right, but I thought it did. I was CERTAIN it did. I rattled out my usual order while mentally thinking about baby or how I can't wait to be rid of my dumb maternity jeans... or something. I'm not sure WHAT I was thinking.
"Hi again! I need 5 whole pizzas - 3 combos, 2 pepperonis and 1 cheese. I'll be back." As I walk off, he says, "That's 6." I turn around, thinking he hadn't heard me right, but try to be kind to the poor guy and start over. I think I changed up the order. "Of course, sorry. 5 pizzas. 2 pepperonis, 1 cheese and 3 combos. Thanks!" "That's 6." I hate to add this part, but we honestly went through it one more time before I realized my mistake. My husband asked me later if I mentioned I taught Math for the last 3 years. Thanks a lot, Dustin. :)

-I completely missed the exit for CAL on my way to tutoring the other day, while engrossed in other thoughts. I was late.

And finally, this isn't about pregnant brain, but just pregnancy in general. A confession. You know how pregnant women get really sleepy? And they need to use the restroom a lot? I have fallen asleep twice on the toilet. Leaned up against the wall in the middle of the night. Twice.

Craziness.

Uno mas!

One more from the wedding! These are our friends Nathan and Ashley, who recently moved to Ohio. We miss them. It was fun to see them at the wedding, even if just for a bit!

Pictures from last weekend...

Here we have some pictures of some of our friends here in Louisville - Sam and Lindsay, and a picture of Dustin, Sam and another good friend, Riley (who just had a baby). Next up - Nick and Laura, also sweet friends of ours from church. Then, Dustin and I had a little practice during the reception with both genders, so hopefully we're that much more ready for caring for a boy or a girl. :) We had fun playing with these 2 kiddos from our church. There are always lots of babies to love on at Third. And, the last picture was the lovely couple as they danced together. Chris and Lisa are really special to us. We have done several double dates with them and kind of saw their whole relationship grow. We count them both as dear friends, and I definitely shed lots of tears (not just because I'm pregnant, I think) at their wedding, which was so God-honoring and beautiful. Dustin and I could not be more happy for them!

Random

Random pictures here. Let's see... There is Dustin and our good friend Keith being ushers at last week's wedding. Slade and Laura in action; what a team! :) Dustin comforting sweet Wyatt who was not feeling too hot, but being mighty sweet and cuddly in this pic! Kari and Laura catching up in the 'Ville. And our little buddy Jameson who came over to visit me with his mom the other day. I held him in the hospital and now look how big he is! I thought we didn't have very many kid toys, until we turned on the keyboard. He was a big fan!

Cozarts!!

We had the talented, godly and good-looking Cozarts come and stay with us this past weekend. They were in town to take pictures for our other good friends' wedding. We loved every minute of their visit, and we can't believe how fast it went. More pics later. We miss you already, Cozarts!

Pray for Baby Butts! Won't be too long now, Lord willing! :)

Picture Catch Up - Part 5

Saturday night was my church baby shower. It was so fun! My sweet friend Erin Wheeler hosted it at her house and her 3 girls helped out. She and Eliza are in the first picture. Cindy planned some really great games. I'm horrible at putting on baby clothes while blindfolded, but it was really super fun. I guess I'll have to practice some more before changing diapers in the dark! There were lots of women there, and we had a wonderful time of fun and fellowhip. I have been so blessed by the friendship and example of the women at our church. The devotion was really encouraging too, based on 2 Corinthians 4. Erin typed it up for me, so here's a quote for you to ponder:

The image of clay is to point us towards God and away from ourselves. We are just vessels for His use. The mundane things of toilet scrubbling and cleaning spit up can all be done for His glory... As a mother you have the distinct opportunity to be a clay pot for the kingdom of God in your parenting. What you care most about will eitehr strengthen your gospel witness or distract from it. There is no in between. You will either live your life as a clay pot mom, or a china vase mom.

 
 
 
 

Picture Catch Up - Part 4

In Jeffersonville, just down the street from where we stayed, we discovered a delightful little Candy Shop/Old Fashioned Soda Pop Shop/deli. If you are local, you need to take your kids (and your husbands) there. You can even watch how they make candy. It's been open since 1858! It's called Schimpff's Confectionary and it might have been the highlight of the weekend for my sweet-toothed-husband. We got some yummy candy and even came back later in the day to eat at the deli. We each chose a small Potato Soup, since we were full from a big breakfast. Over lunch, we updated (finally) our Anniversary Book with memories from Year 3, striving to follow advice from friends Mary Row and Pat Horner and "record the history of God's gracious dealings" in our lives. We also added a few things to our baby book. :) We also went to Huber's Farm on Saturday, but we didn't take any pictures there. Oh, and I'm back-tracking now, but on Friday, we went to Rocky's on the River for dinner, one of our favorite Italian spots around. Anyway, we were grateful for a fun and relaxing weekend. It was fun to look back, look ahead and just hang out! Next time we get away, we'll be bringing a sweet little bundle or calling a babysitter. :)

 

 

 

Picture Catch Up - Part 3

On Saturday, we explored some in downtown Jeffersonville. We even ran into some pretty famous people! And, we spent some time wondering if baby is a boy or a girl! 
 
 
 

Picture Catch Up - Part 2

So, with the nesting instincts so strong, I thought I'd makeover our bathroom while I was at it... Just kidding. More "Babymoon" pics...

 

 

 

 

Picture Catch Up - Part 1

A few weeks back, I visited our dear friends in Atlanta, the Menikoffs. (The little boy on the left of the first picture is not a Menikoff. He just snuck in the picture.) It was great to visit with them. I had a super visit, from great conversations, to the Sandy Springs Festival, to my 1st trip to Trader Joe's, to outlet shopping, to seeking Deana's counsel on all-things-baby and baby registry, to great theology chats with Aaron and Deana, to hearing a terrific sermon on Ruth by Dr. Menikoff. :) No pics of Aaron, sorry.    

And here are the first pics from our "Babymoon/3rd Anniversary Celebration." We went to a Bed and Breakfast just over the river in Indiana, so we could enjoy a longer time "away" without Dustin having to take off any work. Our room was the Bridal Suite, which was quite a splurge for our frugal/Priceline souls, but we thought it was well worth it. The room was very purple and very nice, and we had a wonderful time. I happened to be wearing purple, but it wasn't planned. Breakfast was amazing, too!

Upcoming!

This Friday, my husband and I are going away for a night for two celebrations. We are (finally) celebrating our 3rd anniversary, which was back in July. And, we are celebrating what is to come, taking a "babymoon" of sorts. I delegated myself as the sneaky planner of the trip, since he's been busy with school. So, he let me put that in my court (yippee), and I have had fun getting it all planned and ready. I'm now to the week of "torture Dustin with clues in his lunch." His guesses are quite comical.
We are both looking forward to it. Marriage is a wonderful and sanctifying thing, as a friend told me when I was engaged. She said it was "just as wonderful as it was sanctifying and just as sanctifying as it was wonderful." I'm sure parenting can be described about the same way! Great words! And speaking of marriage, these 2 quotes, which I read within a few days of each other, have really been on my mind. They are on the post just prior to this one. The second one is especially helpful.

When we get back, on Saturday, I'll have my Church Baby Shower that night with sweet friends. So, there is a lot to look forward to this week. We are humbled by His mercies, of which we constantly know ourselves to be undeserving.

Marriage Quotes

Richard Baxter, on marriage (taken from The Christian Lover edited by Michael A.G. Haykin):

It is a mercy to have a faithful friend, that loveth you entirely, and is as true to you as yourself, to whom you may open your mind and communicate your affairs, and who would be ready to strengthen you, and divide the care of your affairs and family with you, and help you to bear your burdens, and comfort you in your sorrows, and be the daily companion of your lives, and partaker of your joys and sorrows. And it is a mercy to have so near a friend to be a helper to your soul; to join with you in prayer and other holy exercises; to watch over you and tell you of your sins and dangers, and to stir up in you the grace of God, and remember to you of the life to come, and cheerfully accompany you in the ways of holiness.

And C.S. Lewis (taken from Relationships: A Mess Worth Making, by Lane and Tripp:

When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now. In so far as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving towards the state in which I shall not love my earthly dearest at all. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased.

Prayer

Prayer is something I always struggle with, and I suppose I always will. It sometimes flows freely in praise and talking and pouring out my soul to my Father. But, to pray faithfully and specifically to intercede for others takes so much discipline. My flesh fights against it. My mind wanders. My to-do list beckons. My heart is unmoved. Far. Too. Often.

And, while the problem is sin overall, there is the real issue of just being overwhelmed by what to pray for. It's a long list - thinking of the prayer needs at church, home group, women's group, in your friends' lives, in your families and when you think of missionaries, nonbelievers, neighbors... not to mention your own kids, spouse and the biggest sinner you know - yourself!

Anyway, I recently went to visit a dear friend of mine. I was sitting on the couch one day, and saw her prayer calendar sticking out of her Bible. Without trying to be too nosy, I did glance at it, remembering awhile back when I made one. I admired the way hers seemed simpler than my former one. And usually when you shoot for some kind of daily routine (be it cleaning or something more like this) that is very complex, it eventually fizzles out.

So, I asked her for her categories. And, I'm slowly working on a new one today.

It's basically a table (Sunday-Saturday at the top, categories on the side, requests in the proper cells). She folds it up in her Bible and pulls it out each morning.

I have tweaked hers some, and may keep tweaking, but this is what I'm considering at this point, and there is a point forthcoming for me sharing this with you...

-Me
-Dustin
-"Baby Butts"
-Family
-Friends
-Missionaries
-Churches/Ministries/Major Leaders
-Elders/Families and Deacons
-3ABC (our church)/Ministries
-Nonbelievers

So, for example on Monday for family, I might be praying for my dad and mom, my friend Mindy and our friends the Riedls, the President, Children's Ministries at Third Avenue, etc.

Here's where I'm stuck. I also have lists of prayer requests from our church prayer meetings, home group and our women's book study group. I have prayer requests that I aim to lift up continuously like some friends who are adopting and we are longing for God to bring their boys home. Dustin's co-teacher's son has leukemia. The 8 or so friends I know who are having a baby soon.

Prayer should not be a burden, and I don't want to over-organize it. I know that many things I should just be praying about spontaneously, as people or situations come to mind.

But, my question remains... if you are a believer, how do you discipline your prayer life to consistently lift up so many various needs? Do you have a similar calendar? Do you have any suggestions? Do you have one main prayer time a day? Do you carve out one big time a week to pray in a more focused way? I don't know. I would like to learn what others do. I hate to say it in this way, but what works for you? What have you found helpful?

I'd love to hear from you on this one.