God is Good

Well-- you know that my life is getting back to normal when I no longer post to the blog every day!!! :) It actually is WONDERFUL to be busy again! I am getting out and about just like before, and I have to say that I feel completely normal again. I am SO thankful that I am able to have this time to readjust to normal life before Caroline arrives. I have been able to get so much done that I wouldn't have been able to do if I was still on strict bedrest.

Her nursery is finished! It looks so cute! I basically kept the walls and everything the same, I just added new bedding and pink accents-- and changed the wall letters to her name instead of Luke's. I am very pleased. I will post photos soon.

Luke's big boy bed transition has gone really well, too! Yippee! On Sunday I sat him down and explained to him that he did not need to get up during the night anymore. I told him that he couldn't get out of bed until the sun came up in the morning. For some reason that clicked with him, and he has slept through the night for 5 days straight! We are praying that he has officially made the transition now. When he would get up, he wouldn't make a sound-- he would just fling our door open and come in. Then I would just lead him back down to his room and he would climb back into bed and quickly go back to sleep. This really didn't bother me-- in fact, I enjoyed it in some ways. I never had to rock him or soothe him to get him to go to sleep. We would just lay him down and he would go to sleep on his on... So, I really don't mind tucking him into bed and patting his back now-- even at 3:00 am!! It is rather sweet to sit by his bed and watch him sleep. It reminds me of how blessed we are, and how I will be up at all hours of the night anyway soon with Caroline!!

Scott celebrated his birthday on the 12th. Luke helped me make him a cake. He LOVES to "help" now with anything and everything. He's pretty good at following directions.

We went to the doctor on the 17th and we now have an official birthday for Caroline-- Tuesday, February 28th, 7:30 am. I had initially wanted her to arrive in March, and we could have scheduled the c-section for the next day, March 1st. But, when it comes right down to it, I just feel blessed to be at this point. After all we have been through, I don't dare get concerned about what day she's born-- I am just SO happy that she will be born happy and healthy and at an appropriate time. I will be 33 weeks next week which is a GREAT place to be. Tonight Scott and I were talking about what a blessing my being on bed rest actually was. We both were able to spend such quality time with Luke that we never would have had if we had just kept living life as usual. All the drama surrounding my cervix made us stop and appreciate each day-- literally. It allowed Scott to be at home much more than he would have and to assume a much larger role in Luke's day-to-day life. It allowed me to spend great amounts of focused time with Luke instead of just running around from place to place with him each day. I will always treasure the times we had curled up together on the couch playing games on the computer, reading books, and watching Charlie and Lola-- and Thomas. God really worked good out of the entire situation on SO many levels. Although I would never want Caroline's very life to be at risk in any way again, I would gladly go through the bed rest experience again if necessary.

So, life is back to "normal" as we await Caroline's arrival. I still can't really grasp what it will be like to have an infant in the house again. I am praying Luke will adapt just fine and not be jealous or bothered by the chaos she will surely bring. I am looking forward to many things-- Knowing what I am doing and not being afraid that I am going to mess up or do something wrong; Not being anemic, sick, and traumatized from the whole delivery process this time around (please, God!!); Savoring the times I have with her because I now fully understand just how quickly it passes; Watching Luke interact with her and being able to see her respond to him.... Can't believe all of this is just 5 weeks from Tuesday!!! WOW!

Luke's 2nd birthday is also coming up on Feb. 3rd. We are doing a casual family party on Saturday the 5th. I am also so excited to be having a baby blessing shower for Caroline with close friends and family earlier that day. It will be SO nice to celebrate with all of them-- they have been our support, encouragement, sanity, and strength through all of this.

Still on track with my Bible reading-- we are in Matthew now.

Life is good. Life is good. God is good. God is good.