Pain

We're down to five weeks until this baby arrives.  I'm 34 weeks tomorrow and my doctor promises to induce me the week after Christmas if this little one hasn't arrived yet.  It feels like forever and not enough time all at once!  I'm not ready to bring a baby home.  My house is a disaster and I have nothing organized here.  But there is hope on the horizon...  My sister Danielle arrives tomorrow night for Thanksgiving and she is going to magically get this place in order over the weekend.  I don't know how she'll do it; she has special organizing powers that I can't understand.  She is the master.  I have total confidence in her.  Especially since I'm basically going to be sitting around being huge and watching her.

All three kids are including a new phrase in their prayers these days:  "Please bless Mom will be able to to survive the pain when the baby comes."  Isn't that lovely?  They are so thoughtful.  Every time I hear it, I want to scream.   I swear my ears start to bleed.  I'm ready to start banning prayers.  Doesn't it feel like we're praying a little too much anyway?  Somebody has to put a stop to this.  I can't start thinking about pain all the time.  I'll have an anxiety attack.


 
"The pain of the mind is worse than the pain of the body."
~Publilius Syrus, 1st Century Roman author

Blessings of a Blog

My kids love to hear stories from when they were babies or very small.  Emma pesters me every day for more of her and the boys.  It's gotten so bad I'm running out of stories.  And I've come to the realization that I have a horrible black hole in my memory for most of Emma's younger (baby) years.  Every time I tell her I need more time to think of another story, she looks at me with such disappointment and sadness that I can't bear it!  I know there are stories out there, I just need to locate them in my mind!  Maybe its the pregnancy or maybe its the sleep deprivation from the last 10 years of motherhood.  Whatever the reason, I've lost something precious.  I hope I find them again.

Last night, Emma and Tyler were both begging for a story or two - or twelve.  I got desperate so I looked up this blog and started reading old posts, both published and not.  And we had a great time reminiscing together and laughing at their silliness.  What a relief and a blessing! 

And now...you can guess what I'm feeling.  Guilt!  Horrible, guilty worry because I haven't kept up posting all these months and life has carried on with no new stories recorded in a place I can reach them whenever they are demanded. 

And so, I am going to try again.  And again.  And again.  I'm going to edit some of my unpublished posts and post them.  I'm going to share some of the "fun" of this pregnancy and what I can remember of our year so far.  And maybe I'll get back in the habit one day soon.  After all, baby number four will be arriving soon and in a few short years will begin demanding stories of her own. 


"No one is commonplace, and I doubt if you can ever read a biography from which you cannot learn something from the difficulties overcome and the struggles made to succeed. These are the measuring rods for the progress of humanity.  As we read the stories of great men, we discover that they did not become famous overnight nor were they born professionals or skilled craftsmen. The story of how they became what they are may be helpful to us all.  Your own journal, like most others, will tell of problems as old as the world and how you dealt with them."
~Spencer W. Kimball, 1975


"Memory... is the diary that we all carry about with us."
~Oscar Wilde, from The Importance of Being Earnest

Jibber Jabber

A conversation with Emma about her school friends Kevin and Summer:

Emma:  "Kevin's my friend.  But Summer keeps pushing me away at the playground."
Mom:  "Is she playing?  What do you mean?"
Emma:  "Well, I started all this and she keeps pushing me."
Mom:  "Started what?"
Emma:  "All this.....romance!"
Mom:  "Romance?  With Kevin?"
Emma:  "Yes!  I like Kevin."
Mom:  "Why do you like Kevin?"
Emma:  "I don't know...."
Mom:  "Is he nice?  Fun?  Smart?"
Emma:  "Yes, yes, yes....He gave me a candy bar."
Mom:  "He gave you a candy bar?  That's why you like him?"
Emma:  "Yes!"  (spoken in a "DUH!" tone)
Mom:  "I see."

Ordering McDonald's Drive Thru:

Tyler & Noah:  "I want a cheeseburger with only ketchup.  No mustard!"
Emma:  "Well, I want a cheeseburger with ketchup AND mustard.  Why don't you want mustard?  Can't you guys handle the mustard?"
Tyler & Noah:  "Yuck!  Mustard is gross!"
Emma:  "Haha!  You guys CAN'T HANDLE the mustard!"


During bedtime madness the boys got into trouble for talking instead of sleeping...

Noah:  "I wasn't talking to Tyler.  I was talking to .... my blanket."