Sweet Escape

We went away this weekend with some friends from Lancaster. Her parents own a cabin that they graciously let us stay at. This was our fourth time going there. The first time I was just pregnant with Natalie. It is kind of a fun reminder to think back to each time we've been there and see all the changes in our family.

Shaun and Holly were such a blessing to us in Lancaster. Hans worked with Shaun and we attended the same church and eventually were involved in a small group with them. Three years after we've moved back to Chambersburg they are still a blessing to us and we are able to pick up where we left off each time.

I was a little nervous about going overnight with both girls, but it was a fun, relaxing weekend. The girls did great - I think there is something about that cabin that encourages sleep! Natalie went to bed by her request at 7:00 Saturday night and she took a nap on the couch Sunday morning - this is the girl that's been fighting bedtime and naptime for months. I'm a little embarrassed to mention that Hans and I also fell asleep in the living room around 9:00 Saturday night - sorry Shaun and Holly, it was just too relaxing!

Anyway, here are some pictures from the weekend.

To those of you that know Natalie very well - this amazed us! She was so excited to ride this four wheeler, as well as a bigger one, and a dirt bike with her Daddy!

Me with both of my girls sleeping on the couch on a Sunday morning - I love, love, love getting away!

Mandatory Break

Breaks never seem quite as good when you are forced to take them. Why is that? I guess it's human nature. Things always look better when they are out of reach. I guess that's a childish behavior that is somewhat hard to grow out of.

My day did not turn out the way I expected yesterday. Fighting expectations is hard too. Hans and I went in for an ultrasound appointment yesterday at 8:00 AM to check on baby girl's growth and ended up making our way home from the hospital at 7:00 PM. The ultrasound showed that my cervix was shorter than it should be at this stage. That led to a doctors visit where I was hooked up to a fetal monitor which revealed I was having small contractions. That led to a trip to the hospital where I was again hooked to the fetal monitor, given an IV and medication to stop the contractions. Not what I had planned.

The thing about fighting expectations is you have to learn to see the good in things. The good is that baby girl is happy and healthy. She is not small at all. In fact it looks like I may be a week ahead of where I thought I was. And let me tell you she is an active little thing.

Now, all this brings me back to breaks. Because I'm on one. A mandatory one called modified bed rest. With a two year old. Thank God for my wonderful husband and family. I'm in great hands if I can lay down my expectations. The expectation that my kitchen floor needs cleaned, and that I still have towels in the dryer to fold, and I wanted to get toilet bowl cleaner yesterday so I could scrub the downstairs toilet, and what kind of parent am I as I sit on a chair and watch my mother take care of my daughter, and what kind of wife am I when my husband comes home from working for us all day and I haven't made him dinner. Oh expectations!

Hopefully when I go to the doctor on Tuesday, things will be looking better and I will be able to return to normal for the next two months until it's time for this sweet girl to come. And hopefully I will have conquered some of my expectations and learned to enjoy a mandatory break and all the good that's surrounding me.

Randomness

I think I've probably had this title before. It is so much my thought patterns recently - I'm all over the place. It's part of the reason I haven't blogged in awhile. It's easy to blog when you have your thoughts in a pattern, but so much harder when they are all over the place. So, bear with me - or don't. I promise I won't be offended.

Thought #1 - How do you balance family and ministry. I know countless people have done it before. I also know it hasn't always been done right. I'm not willing to make that mistake. More to come on this later.

Thought #2 - How do you become intentional about spending quality time with your kids when you are always with them. I love spending time with my girl - she is in a book phase and we probably spend hours each week reading books together. I wouldn't trade this for anything. And yet there are times when I feel so torn about getting things done and/or reading another book. I know, I'm never going to regret reading that book, but I don't want to feel guilty about spending some time getting things done either. Oh, the balance of motherhood.

Thought #3 - Hans has a new job! I don't have a lot to say about that except that God is so faithful even when I, even though I've seen it before, doubt his faithfulness.

Thought #4 - A couple posts ago I wrote about winter and God's grace, and I feel like in the past couple of weeks I have begun to see Spring. Yes, in the natural but in so many other areas as well. Again, God is faithful.

Thought #5 - I'm reading the book "Bringing Up Girls" by Dr. Dobson. If you have a daughter you need to read it! More on this later also.

Thought #6 - I am going to read some of said book while my house is still quiet...

Seeing Clearly

Natalie is upstairs wrapping my Christmas presents with her Daddy, which first of all, I love! I imagine he is in for a little more than he bargained for, but these are the moments memories are built on and he was game. What Daddy could resist that lit up face and the plea of "belp" which in our world we know means "help" - it's the language we speak these days. I am so blessed to have Hans as my husband and the Daddy of my precious little girl.

Recently, I feel like I've been in somewhat of a fog. Sometimes things happen, and I don't understand them, and I get frustrated, and I try fix things, and things get built up inside of me, and I don't take time to deal, and I snap at little things, and I begin to not like who I'm becoming, and I don't take time to really love those that are most important, and I don't trust God, and that means I trust myself, and that's a really scary place to be. I know that's a major run-on sentence, but that's how things build. So anyway, it's almost Christmas, and I need to come out of this cloud because I am so blessed! I cannot deny that. The only thing I need is to learn that God knows exactly what I need. That's enough.

So, Merry Christmas. I am celebrating today with my little, beautiful family. I will delight in the smiles, and giggles, and even cries because this is what I have been given and this is what memories are built on. I hope you celebrate too.