Catching up

I don't know how so much time has gone by since the last post. I will give a few details about what has happened and changed as briefly as I can.

My mom came out to visit for a few days. We had such a wonderful time together that I think I avoided posting about it because I knew I wouldn't be able to come up with the words to express how I felt! I could tell you about all that we did together, but the best part was the warmth it gave me heart to have her here with me, simply enjoying life together. Here is a link to a Facebook album of some pictures. Most of them ended up being of Cora, of course!

While Mom was here, Brad left for the SERVE trip with the high school students. They went to Alberta, Canada, to Camp Rehoboth and worked with kids and teens who have mental or physical disabilities. Everyone had a great time, and was immensely challenged by the experience. They were gone 11 days. It was a very long time for Cora and I to be home with out Brad.

Toward the end of the time Brad was gone Cora started saying things like "I miss my daddy. Tell my dad I love him." And once while she was playing with a doll she told me "Dolly sad. Dolly lost her daddy." This made me cry because I thought to myself, "She's not talking about her dolly! Cora thinks she lost her daddy!" I realized then that it was a good thing I hadn't gone along on the trip. Last fall I had debated whether or not I should figure out a way for me to go also. But now with being this pregnant I don't think I would have had the energy for the intensity of camp or traveling that far; and I think it would have been even harder on Cora if both of us were gone from home for so long. I wonder how military families do it, with dads or moms being gone, out of the country, for months at a time! I'm thankful we haven't had to be apart that long!

A few things that I need write here more for myself than anyone else: Reminders for the next time Brad is gone for a long period of time:
1) Don't overbusy myself. Make sure to have enough downtime at home for my sake and Cora's sake. Going, going, going wore us both out and made each of us impatient and crabby.
2) Use the TV for sanity time. Every day.
3) Be proactive about taking time for myself before I start feeling a "snap" coming. Take people up on offers for watching Cora and spread out the help throughout the week. No need to be the "do-it-all-myself-single-mom" and end up paying for it in the end.

When Brad came back we put our energy into moving Cora into the 3rd bedroom and making it her "big girl bedroom", and restoring the nursery to a baby room. This involved moving around a lot of furniture in the whole house since the third bedroom had previously been the family room/office area. We are in a long-term-non-permanent situation right now. In other words, we can't leave everything the way it is currently forever, but it will work for at least a few months until we figure a few more things out. One thing I've concluded is that we just have too much furniture for the size of our house so we either need to part with some things, store some things or down-size some things. But we're good and comfortable for now.

We also have lots of excitement going on at church. Our new pastor and his family arrived in town last week and will be installed this Sunday. Our previous pastor and his family were also in town on vacation last weekend and preached at the worship service. I think everyone enjoyed seeing them again. It was a Sunday where the warmth of the old and familiar mingled with the spark of anticipation and hope for the new and fresh that is coming. What a beautiful day!

Cora is our little chatterbox. She comes up with new combinations of phrases and sentences that are all her own and most of the time I find myself laughing out of surprise at what she says to me! I do enjoy all her chattering, but at times I find myself getting tired of it as it seems never-ending. I try to remind myself that in a few short years I may be doing all I can to get her to talk to me, so enjoy it and encourage it now...I wish I could remember some of the things that she says that make me laugh so I could share them with you.

Baby Brother is still growing. I'm at 35 weeks now and everything seems to be right on "schedule" and looking good as far as we know. I feel good and really don't have much discomfort. I just have the common "annoying-large-pregnant-belly-in-the-way" problem, but that will only last a few more weeks. I'm very optimistic that the last 5 weeks or so will go smoothly (and seemingly quickly) and we will soon have our baby boy with us to hold in our arms. Cora sometimes asks to "feel baby brother move" and seems excited when we talk about her baby brother. I think she understands as much as she can at her age that this baby is part of our family. Maybe she even believes there is a baby in mommy's tummy, even though she can't see it. Child-like faith? In a couple weeks I'll start talking to her more about how mommy and daddy are going to bring baby brother to our house and where he'll sleep and play and all of that. But if I start telling her too early, she'll ask about it non-stop and I'll start going nuts! The last thing I need is her getting impatient for the baby to be born!

How did you prepare your children for the arrival of a new sibling? I'd love to hear your thoughts and advice. Keep in mind she is only 2!