A Time...

I have been a bundle of varying emotions today and this evening. Amidst my tears of frustration I remembered the following words:

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

SLK

BELLY ART!!!

First off, TOMORROW is my last official day of work! wooooot! As i've expressed before, ending my service is bittersweet. I'm sad to leave such great co-workers (and the bit of money I did bring in) but exciting to know I will be entering Mommyland soon!

Today marks 38 weeks. For 38 weeks I have carried this little one around inside of me. I'm still feeling pretty well - just nauseous at times, out of breath often, and tired all the time. I had the normal weekly baby appointment today. Marshall was unable to go with me (he was getting a crown on his tooth, how fun!) and of course, today was the one day were something abnormal came up! I saw a new midwife today, and when she measured my belly (for baby growth) and compared my current weight to the last measurement taken...she was a bit concerned. EEEEK! So I was sent off to the ultrasound technician to take a look at Baby Kole. But after about 2 minutes of looking at Baby Kole, the ultrasound technician informed me everything looked great! Whew! I was more than relieved and ended up getting a good picture of Baby Kole's face!

And one more baby piece I wanted to share - BELLY ART! Marshall and I bought some plaster and made a belly cast of Baby Kole about 3 weeks ago. After letting the cast harden, I decided to paint the "Tree of Life" on it. I'm not typically superb at painting, but I am pretty satisfied with how the project turned out. At some point, we plan to hang the cast in Baby Kole's room. I'm so glad we completed this project - I know later on in life it will be so meaningful to have something like this from my first (maybe only?) pregnancy!

Futuristic

Sarah and I got new cell phones yesterday. We had to renew our plan and wanted to update/upgrade our phones. It made sense for us to get new phones but keep our old phones as backups in order to be able to drop from our monthly bill the cost of insuring our new phones. We both ended up choosing to go with the Motorola Krave.



Motorola Krave

While LG has generally been our brand of choice, the lack of availability of LG phones and their relatively high cost deterred us this time. After rebates and renewal refunds we only ended up spending about $50 on these new phones. Can't complain about that, you know?

Anyway, these phones are pretty outstanding. While we opted not to get any of the higher-end options (the data package, essentially - internet, TV, email, etc), I'm quite pleased with how the phone will serve it's most basic functions of 1). helping me to talk and text with people quickly and easily, and 2). making me look totally "with it," "hip," and "trend savvy." The touch screen interface took some adjusting to, but also seems to be quite intuitive and fun to use. The phone itself is just very pretty, too. I feel quite futuristic with it in my hands.

Having a new cell phone means having to make new ringtones. I've got some Bohemian Rhapsody, Tenacious D, and Smash-era Offspring so far. I'm sure that there will be plenty more in the future.

Today has been Easter. We had some friends over and I cooked a 10 pound ham. We also woke up at 5:30am to go to an outdoor sunrise worship service at the landing next to the Oyster River in Durham. Two people were baptised in the sub-40 degree water of the river. It was as perfect an Easter celebration as I've seen; not a lot of fanfare or ornamentation about the holiday itself, but instead the simple dedication of two hearts to the humble and lasting Savior. There were no lilies, no purple robes, no banners, no flags. Our pastor wore a wetsuit. It was simultaneously very anti-climactic and overwhelmingly powerful.

But waking up at 5:30am has left me quite tired and without much else to say. So, I'm off.

Stay Gold, people.

MMK

adorable! 36ish weeks

Papa with Baby Kole...cute. MK hates this picture. I enjoy it.


Ahhh, love.


MK says, "Babies are delicious". I'll take his word for it.

SLK

...and accumulating more baby stuff!

Life in the 'shire. I love it! I laughed slightly when I found out snow was falling back home this past weekend. If I do not see snow again this season, I will surely not be a sad lady. We had a few nice days last week but have had a rather dark and rainy weekend. I actually enjoy rain most of the time...as long as I can curl up on the coach and not have to venture outside. Plus, the grass is starting to turn green and that can only mean spring will be here soon!

Last Thursday we had a baby appointment. We will also have a baby appointment this Thursday - we are down to weekly appointments. Can you believe it? Where does the time go?! Anyways, the appointment last a whole 5 or 10 minutes. Everything appears to be normal - heartbeat, BP, position, growth, etc. I will be 37 weeks on Thursday which is technically considered full-term...so realistically little Baby Kole could appear in a few days or a few weeks. Oh, the waiting!

A couple of our dear friends (Marshall's co-workers) threw us a baby shower on Saturday. We had such a good time. Everyone was so generous and more than excited to share their happiness for us. I am so thankful to everyone who has helped us with this new stage of life - I don't know how we would do it on our own...both financially and emotionally! We are so blessed.

Welp, the hubby just called me...time for LUNCH! And this Momma does not miss ANY meals!
Hope all is well. Love and hugs. New pictures to post later!!!
SLK