Getting the Nursery Ready

I still suffer from "perfect nursery syndrome," though it's been put off for months now what with the fact that the room is already occupied and my partner in crime (aka the one who carries out my extravagant nursery design plans) has been busy busy busy.

Here is the half-finished nursery with my fake-sleeping helper.

He passed!

BTW

This is just for our brethren who may have thought we were in labor today due to our church absence. No, we are not; we just went up to Santa Fe to visit Christ Church and eat another celebratory birthday lunch for husband. These photos are proof. You will note in the top one that I am still very, very pregnant. Only Gramps can get photos like these of our baby!

And, BTW, husband is officially defending tomorrow. And we are officially bringing muffins and coffee. And you can officially pray if it crosses your mind. I am so proud of him and I know that he is going to rock the EE hizouse, officially.

And BTW, following the defense is a non-stress test for Elsa. I know I was expecting this, but it still drives me crazy. We had a few exciting nights this week contraction-wise, but obviously, no results. So maybe tomorrow it will happen as planned, right during the Q&A part of the defense.

AFTER!

Let's review, shall we?
Before Dissertation is complete.
AFTER!!!!!
And hopefully, the final pregnant picture, taken on my due date on the way to Carenet banquet.
And meanwhile, husband turned 30, 30! can you believe it? He is old.
Does this girl love her Nana or what?


To celebrate the birthday we drove to the top of a mountain to see what we could see. And let Heidi play in the snow. Which she mostly ate.





Oh, and I had my first studio piano recital. To see more pictures of that, go to Susie's blog. Heidi did not play in the recital, but she definitely wanted to.
Monday morning I was able to go and watch husband present his first defense to his work group. I am so incredibly proud of him and grateful to God for His kindness to us both. When we look back on the last three years it has really been one miracle after another. We know that the Lord gives and He takes according to His pleasure and we are grateful for every moment of peace and beauty and goodness. And we are very aware of it right now after a tough semester.

Now if we can just have this baby.....

And no, it hasn't happened yet.

We Miss you Chad & Jill!

More on Easter

I know that no one else is thinking about this as much as I (the mother) am. If you look at Heidi you will notice a "little match girl" kind of expression. I just want to say that she was not being punished, she was not afraid, and she was actually having a really happy, fun Resurrection Sunday. It just so happened that when the picture was taken she was having a fit of coughing and the camera caught her in between respiratory expulsions.

We had a beautiful celebration at our church and I hope everyone is as blessed as we are by the Communion of the Saints.

Easter Delights

Cookies from Nana! Cookies!

She loves eating the hard boiled easter eggs. Like for breakfast. I'm afraid she's going to start asking for a Mayonegg.

Easter Miracles

This photo was taken about this time last year. And last night, while Una was missing so dearly, it was snowing hard. We were certain that if she could have come home, she would have returned by now--she is not precipitation-loving dog. And we were also certain that if a good person had found her, surely they would have called the number on her little heart-shaped collar. So we were left with two conclusions: either she couldn't come home (injured, ditch, eaten by coyotes) or she had been picked up by shady characters (think White Fang--or worse, just read the Albuquerque News).

And we didn't realize she was missing until almost midnight, being that we had spent our evening dyeing eggs, doing taxes, and practicing piano for church. So we felt like even worse parents--though in our defense, Una spends a lot of time in here dog run outside our house, or just sleeping in the garage, so it didn't feel that unusual.

So once we discovered she was missing we were making calls to the city, the shelters, the company that microchipped her, pacing, and husband was driving through the streets looking for a body.

It was horrible.

Bedtime was the worst: she has an annoying habit of scratching about 5 times each night to be let in, then out, then back in--which has been driving us Crazy since we moved into this house--she just does it because she can. But last night, we were both listening so, so hard for just one little scratch. And of course there was lots of repentance: for every time we've been less than gracious to her antics (begging, tracking in, barking at us at 6 a.m. for walks, knocking over the baby, sitting herself right down on whatever we happen to be doing that involves floor, etc). If she could just be there to annoy us one more time, we would be forever grateful. I thought about changing Elsa's name to Una, then thought not, then wondered if this would induce labor, then hoped not.

Please, please, God, we prayed.

This morning involved more desperate phone calls and gray-dawn drives up and down Tramway to make sure we didn't see any fluff balls on the side of the road on our way to church. I don't think we'll see her again, I finally said to husband.

But it was Easter, and we are called to celebrate and be joyful, so we woke Heidi up with a smile and drove to church hoping for a miracle.

Wouldn't it be amazing if she just showed up at church? It's totally possible: we only live 3 miles away and she could have just taken the trails all the way there...and we kept praying.

We had just pulled out of the driveway and were only a few houses down when I saw that familiar tail wag in front of a neighbor's home. And there she was! Covered in mud and shell-shocked, but alive, whole, free, and in one piece! And happy to see us too. Totally Incredible Journey. Except one night instead of a year, but that one night was long enough for me!

There is a deep lesson here too: I'm sad to say that I have never grieved so intensely on an Easter weekend or rejoiced more loudly. I'm sad to say that it takes a missing dog for me to try and understand what it means to be lost and found, to be dead and resurrected. But there are always crumbs for dogs, and I am thankful for the smallest ways that God brings me to understanding.

Prayer Request

Last night Una went missing around dinner time and we have heard nothing. She wears our cell phone number around her neck, so we are very worried. Please pray for her.

Dear Father, hear and bless
Thy beasts and singing birds,
And guard with tenderness
Small things that have no words.
--Anonymous

Battle Wounds

The face of brilliance, people. Three chapters turned in last night (160 pages) with two more to follow (50 pages) by Monday. Thank you for your prayers. We think the worst is over and are trusting in God's perfect timing with everything Elsa.

Friday I'm in Love

This image speaks to me on many levels. No it is not classified. It is a tiny piece of husband's dissertation. I'm glad we have the rest of our lives together for me to ever begin to understand what the heck he is actually doing. Very soon we will put up a picture of what he looks like now: think Gitmo. Please keep him in your prayers this week--Friday he is turning in the bulk of the work with still more to do in the way of comparisons and conclusions--oh and a PPT which somehow needs to be created, finished, and practiced circa Elsa birth. This is living by faith, people. We have no idea how everything is going to shake out and all I can do is organize desk drawers and keep trying to find the bebe clothes. And pray.

Please pray with me that husband will be sustained, healthy, and able to finish strong!

Yikes!

The other night I had quite a few Braxton contractions for about an hour. And then I woke up at 3 with achy, achy legs. I laid there for about an hour imagining what we would actually do if labor started (never, never!) earlier than my due date. I so hate the thought of long, empty, boring post-due date days of waiting that I have scheduled everything in my life against it:

-a student mini-recital planned for April 18
-a defense planned for April 27
-our birthing class on April 17
-our nursery update planned for the week of the 21st ish
-a mother/child swim class that I signed Heidi and me up for during the month of April
-and several Sundays of Church piano playing, in addition to my usual studio hours)
-a garden to be mulched and planted also during the week of the21st?

I liked the idea of canceling things rather than trying to come up with things to pass the time. I also don't want to get all nesty with husband trying to wrap up the culminating work of his life around here. However, it is dawning on me that it might help to have a few items in place just in case Elsa decides to shake things up. Like her first couple outfits (at least knowing where they are). Oh, and like a place to sleep.

I really can't wait, but there's a lot to get done in the meantime.