Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Life Lately

Tomorrow I have another ultrasound with maternal & fetal medicine. I am really looking forward to it. Not only do I get to take a peek at this little guy again, but it will also give me a bit of relief as I move forward in this pregnancy to have these frequent check ups. He's been moving around like crazy lately! Lots of kicks and jabs :) Joel finally was able to feel him move last night. Funny, with Elijah he wasn't able to feel the baby for such a long time. Elijah would stop the instant Joel put his hand on my stomach, and this baby is the same way. But Ella would move like crazy whenever Joel put his hand on me, or even when he just spoke. She was a daddy's girl already :)

Ella is currently sound asleep in her big girl bed. I am so proud of her for staying in it. I couldn't decide if I wanted to make the move before or after the baby. But, I think I prefer that I only have one crib set up at a time. We'll see how it goes. Her personality is so different then Elijah. She only got out once today and after telling her firmly she needed to stay in her bed, and she listened! Elijah snuck out time and time again, no matter what. I peeked in at her and she was sound asleep with her face in a book. So cute :) We'll see how it goes!

Elijah and Ella have separate rooms, but there is an adjoining door. We keep the door open to keep the cool air moving through it, but I stuck a baby gate up so hopefully whoever is up first doesn't go wake up the other. It's the best of both worlds. I love having my kids share a room, but there are definitely benefits to not having them together. I like the door in between :) I will decorate one room for boys, and one for Ella, but who knows...Eli and Ella may be in the same room for a bit :) They enjoy being near each other a lot!

The weather here is HOT. It wasn't even June 1st yet, and Lowes was SOLD OUT of air conditioners. Bummer. Not so fun for this pregnant woman. I am proud that I was not the first to ask for the window ac unit to be put in. Joel did that all on his own :) We've been keeping cool by the kiddie pool in our backyard, and hopefully the local pools open soon so I can spend these hot days cooling off too! A storm was supposed to move through today and bring cooler weather, but so far, nothing. Since we have been married, we have spent every summer living in the first floor of this house. We only needed one ac unit, but that is definitely NOT going to cut it this year. Ugh.

I hear a few raindrops...thank you Lord.

I have been really enjoying life lately, and it's even though it's so "normal," right now, I'm finding so much peach and fulfillment in the daily life I have been given. I was so prepared to be sick for 9 full months with this pregnancy, that I daily feel blessed and can only praise God for giving me this wonderful gift of a baby, and a healthy pregnancy! It has lifted my spirits, and I am really enjoying being able to be there almost 100% for my kids. That's not to say I don't have days where I'm totally exhausted or worn out, but I'm not sick on the couch!

Letting go of photography has been one of the best decisions as well. I am finding a lot of joy in simply being a mom and spending my days with my kiddos. I am able to spend nap times making time for me, instead of my business. There's a lot of life in it for me. I enjoy being creative and although photography is a good outlet for my creativity, it's not my first choice anymore.

Joel and I have had many, many wonderful conversations lately. He teaches me so much. I am so blessed to be married to a man who loves God, has amazing discernment, and loves to work through questions I have. A lot of debate has been stirred over this book we are reading together, and I SO appreciate Joel's perspective on it. He's one of the first people I would ever ask about almost anything. He never just responds with memorized answers, but has this awesome clarity in the way he thinks, and a gift of seeing life in such a unique way. I'm constantly amazed by him!

Recently, Joel said something to me that really hit me and it keeps coming to mind lately. I think it was something a friend and him talked about, but I found it profoundly true.

Where we are at in history, we never ask questions that don't have an answer. There's always an answer. And if there isn't, we make it up. I had to think about that for a bit, but really? When was the last time I asked a question that didn't have an answer? Not that recently.

To ask questions now days, is threatening. It's almost a form of weakness. But I don't want to follow someone or some idea blindly. I'm not speaking about trusting in faith, that's a totally different topic-but knowing that there are times to ask questions and work through ideas.

Jesus practically spoke by asking questions. He used parables and stories to express his thoughts as well, but many times he spoke in questions. I want to be better at asking questions. Questions open up the conversation. Questions are humbling. It turns a conversation from being all about "me," to the other person. It allows for thoughts to be not only said out loud, but processed-sometimes to the point of really understanding someone.

I sometimes struggle with asking lots of pointless questions. Questions that steer the conversation nowhere. But a well thought, well placed (not manipulative) question is quite an amazing thing. I am married to a man who is great at asking questions and getting to the heart of a topic, or the heart of the person he is conversing with.

Sometimes that person is me :) He's always been great at finding out what's bothering me, or why I may have done something that even I am confused about.

So all of that to say, that we have been growing closer through reading this book. It has challenged us to pick up our Bibles more often and dig for answers. It has brought a lot of life as we discuss and work through what is in the book. Discussing the heart of God and His love for humanity has filled our hearts with love for people and has truly brought us closer to God.

So much for rain, the sun is back out and blazing. Beautiful :)

2 comments:

Crystal said...

love the way you process things!

Alicia said...

Very inspiring, Kelly. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.