Welcome October! I've never been so glad to see you!

Prayer

You ever feel like your faith in prayer has been rocked?

I've been there.

I've been on both sides of the line when it comes to prayer. I've experienced times of complete dependence on God, physical humility before God, and have been in absolute amazement of what the Lord has done through the prayers of His people. I've experienced a time when "I'm not sure what I think about prayer right now". It seemed to me that I had done everything I should have done: prayed, with faith, with no doubting; left it in the Lord's hands, trusting that it could be done, but no matter what, everything would be OK. Then I got the "wrong" answer and I didn't know what difference my prayer had made. I struggle with change and injustice, so to get the "wrong" answer is so hard to come to terms with.

The truth is prayer always makes a difference.

I joined a women's Bible study at church two weeks ago. I'm taking a break from meeting with them for now, but I'm still participating in the study, and I believe what it has to teach me has been very timely. We're going through a book called A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George. She's a little old fashioned and silly, but God has used His scripture to teach me anyway. The first two weeks have talked about developing a heart and passion for prayer. We have discovered 10 different ways the Lord blesses us when we pray. What great things to learn at any time, but especially for me right now when I have more than enough time to be in prayer. So, here is my offering to you today...here are ten great answers to the question: "Why do I even need to pray?" ....good question...

When you pray you will experience the blessings of:

• Greater peace (a peace that passes all understanding)
  
• Greater purity (opens our eyes to our sin; confession)
• Greater confidence in decision making
• Greater ministry (we can win battles when we pray for other people)
• A joyful spirit
• A humble heart
• Improved relationships (hard to hate someone who you're praying for!)
• Greater dependence on God
• Contentment
• Greater faith (our faith increases as we see the Lord's answers to our prayers; "right" or "wrong")

I really do enjoy praying with other people, and yes, I will sometimes pray long enough for you to catch a nap. To be honest, I still have an inward struggle every time I read a verse that says something to the effect of, "just pray and the Lord will heal all your diseases..." I know that doesn't always happen. People die despite fervent prayer. So, it is my ever present quest to sort out those verses in my heart and mind. I know it will involve understanding who the verses are written to, taking into consideration the time period, and many other things.

But, thanks be to God who commands us to pray, who listens to our prayers, who cares about what we're saying even more than our own mothers, who takes the time to answer every prayer, who gave us scripture with examples of how to pray/people who prayed and received/people who prayed for change in circumstance, but no change came (Jesus). Thanks for a God who's not afraid of our questions and doubts, who gives and takes away and we still bless His name because His is Good.

That's what I'm thinking about. I am taking all concerns and requests of my own, and of those I love, before the Lord many times a day. He is so good to listen.


UPDATE

Thank you for your prayers, all who are praying! There is ministry in prayer, and it lifts my burden and spirits to know there are so many who are praying for our strength and well being!
Things here are steady. I'm still having contractions every time I stand up and walk, even some when I'm just laying still. However, there have been no signs of further dilation. Praise God! It's hard to tell if the hormone booster shot helped, but I guess that's a little like prayer, huh? What if I weren't getting it (what if I weren't praying)? I'm thankful for that shot and I want to get it four more times. The baby's heart beat is very strong, and so are her kicks. Praise God! I feel the best when I'm laying down (lying down? where's my mom when I need her?). I'm sleeping pretty well at night. I have some angels (family and friends) who are starting to bring food and help out with cleaning. It literally brings me to tears to think of all the goodness the Lord is showering us with through the prayers and help of His people. Luke is doing well. He may feel a little overwhelmed, but he's rising to the challenge. He's been preparing some special breakfasts for me since cereal and milk is no longer an option. (Makes my blood sugars too high.) He's been working hard at WIT despite a lot of congestion and coughing--no fever. I have not caught that bug. I've also not caught his cold sore. That is a blessing. He still has nightly commitments on Wednesdays, maybe Mondays, and will need to work at our old school one night soon. He's working hard. I prepare my lunch, being careful to be gentle with myself. Sometimes I prepare supper too, but most of the time Luke does. The cats keep me company, but annoy me sometimes with their meowing to go outside. I've told them I'm not getting up just to let them out. Every night we say thank you for another day, and every morning we say thank you for another night. And, one very important thing: we remember all those out there who are suffering more than us, who also need prayers, who are committing their lives to serving. My observant retired neighbor is now aware of my bed rest, and I'm sure he'll do things like take the trash/recycling to the curb, and he brings me the newspaper every day.

Again, thank you for your prayers and for loving us. We love you all, too!

Quick update and prayer request!

Please pray with us as you think of it.

I've started to feel some contractions, and can just tell that things don't feel as normal as they were just a few days ago. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and the doctor said my cervix has started to dilate a little bit already, so please pray with us that the progression would stop and that we would make it to at least 36 weeks. That's my goal. Right now I'm at 31 weeks, 3 days. Please pray that I would experience God's incredible peace and wisdom, and for the health and wellness of the baby! We're just taking it day by day, and we're trusting that it's all in the Lord's timing.

Thanks for helping us pray! I'll keep this updated if anything should happen.

New discoveries:

• I got back the lab results from some blood work that was done in order for us to get some new life insurance. I was appalled to see that my cholesterol was elevated, and even considered high risk for heart disease. I looked at Luke's results and his were normal. No way! This can't be! For almost a week I've been wondering if I'm a heart attack waiting to happen. Then I thought to look up if cholesterol is higher when you're pregnant. It turns out it is. *sigh of relief* Now Luke can't call me cholesterol girl anymore.
• If you're going to be a new mom, talk about your discomforts and concerns with other expectant new moms. It was therapeutic this weekend when Luke and I took a child birth class and there was time for just the ladies to chat. The men went off to "Daddy Boot Camp", and that was quite awkward Luke tells me. When you're in this like-minded company all your thoughts are validated, no matter how naive you may sound.
  
• Walks are good, but hills are not. Also, keep them short.
• Bending over is not easy.
• This baby is so loved already. Thank you Jesus for your favor and grace. There are so many people who want to love on this little one. We trust that we'll get to share her with all who love her!
• I might have gestational diabetes. I did a three hour diabetes test, but have not received any news on the results yet. I think if it were positive, I would have heard something by now. So, I'm not too concerned.
  
• Six more weeks until the stitch is removed! Who knows how long it will be after that until baby girl makes her way into this world.
  
• I sometimes get more done when Luke is home with me.
  
• Picross. I'm addicted to it.
• Beatles Rock Band. Amazing.
• My husband is Grrrrrreat! I already knew that.

Here are some pictures of my walking path at Bacon Creek. I took some pictures of the hills that were killer.

There's also a picture at the bottom of me at 30 weeks. Getting closer!

Getting Ready!

Just wanted to post a few pictures of what we've been up to in the last couple of weeks concerning baby Demarest.

Here are the colors that I am using in the nursery:

A pale pink, a pale green, and brown. The walls are blue, so I think this will go along pretty well.

Here is what we have done on the crib so far. It's barely going to fit!






Here are the windows that I need valences or curtains for. How dark should the nursery be during the day so the baby can sleep? I would prefer valences, but if the room should be darker, then I will need to get a full curtain I think. I'm thinking about making my own, but I'm not sure yet.



Here are some pictures of us at the zoo this last weekend. We had a great time in Omaha celebrating 5 years!

P.S. My old neighbor told me it was good that I was going to help my grandparents-in-law at the nursing home with a slide show presentation from our trip to Europe because apparently I need to "get out and get some exercise". uhhhh... thanks for that. Give me some time and I won't be so concerned about over exerting myself. Oh, Ken. haha.

Happy fifth, Luke!

Luke and I will be celebrating five years tomorrow. I'm so pumped about it! It feels so special and exciting! Maybe b/c so many things are changing. Our time together will look so different when we celebrate six years, so to me, that makes this celebration all the more special. I'll write more later on what the weekend will hold, but I want to post a few pictures of his surprise for me today.

A while back a bunch of us discussed what the five year gift is according to Hallmark, or whoever made up the list of gifts for anniversaries. We all made guesses, and eventually found out that the five year gift is wood. I told Luke later that night that he didn't have to get me something with wood. It was the last thing I said before I went to sleep. He patted my head as if to say, "That's sweet. Go to sleep."
Today he called telling me he had to work late in the city (which was true) and that I should meet him for dinner at 7. So I did. Neither one of us were real hungry so we ate for under $5 at McDonalds. Then we took care of some errands Luke needed to run. I was informed from the beginning that the last thing we would do was to remain a surprise. I didn't push it to find out more. I never do b/c I love surprises. He directed me to HOM furniture where I was to pick out my own jewelry armoire. I've been wanting one for so long, it's made of wood (appropriate for year five), and it's the perfect gift---so thoughtful! He was such a smart shopper about it too! Regularly priced at about $200, it was on sale for $77. Way to go Luke!
Here's a picture or two.

Happy anniversary, Luke! I love you more and more! (He doesn't read this blog. Oh well.)

All that hard work...

OK, well it wasn't that hard, but I was emotionally invested! You wouldn't believe how often I've had dreams lately about my tomato plants dying, being sabotaged, generally being no more. It's plagued my dreams! By the way, the dreams of a pregnant woman are CRAZY!!! I've never had more vivid dreams than when I've been pregnant. I've dreamed new song lyrics, poems, prayers, and lots of oddities! I thought it was particularly absurd when I dreamed that my neighbor came and uprooted all the tomatoes and planted them in a different spot. I cried and cried in my dream. I also dreamed that my cat Pumpkin was watering my tomatoes WAY too much with a little red bucket she carried in her mouth. She filled it up in the sea that was in our backyard. She didn't like the tomatoes.



Well, today I knew something had to be done about my tomato plants. They've been getting worse and worse. Last night I looked up "brown spots on tomato vines" and I then knew that my plants had been infected with "late blight". From what I can tell it's due to the crazy amounts of rain we've received. I also think it spread so quickly b/c last Saturday I cut away some of the infected branches, not really knowing what was wrong with them, and the more I cut, the more I spread the disease. I've learned to disinfect the shears between each cut. Experience is the best teacher! I also think it has something to do with the lilac bush that is close by. I noticed today that my lilac bush's leaves are curling, and it looks like they have a white powder on the leaves. Uh oh! Not good! Apparently this is considered awful for a lilac bush, so I'll be trying to combat this fungal disease too this weekend. I hope the lilac bush doesn't die. I love that bush, and I want it to thrive and bloom next spring. We'll see what happens. My theory is that the lilac bush didn't like all the water this season (they don't need that much water at all!), there wasn't proper drainage for it, it didn't like sharing the soil with other plants. So maybe the bush got the fungus first, and then spread it to the tomato plants? Or maybe the tomatoes got it first and passed it to the lilacs? It's hard to tell, but next year I will either not be planting, or I will plant in a totally different spot. I hope I don't have to uproot the lilac bush by the end of this season.

Here are some pictures of what I found when I entered my little garden plot this morning. The blight spreads soooo quickly!