Sweet times - 40wks 2days

Yesterday was an amazing sabbath for me. Church was full of my favorite worship songs and people stopping us to pray for our baby and wish us well as we bring her into the world. Our close friends were all around us, the sermon was uplifting, the communion sweet, and the praise felt like a gift from me to God, the way it should be. I'm so full of hope that I might be able to bring our little girl with us next week--outside of my body! I've felt very let down the last week or so to not have already given birth, and yesterday was full of God bringing me back to the point of trusting Him. I really needed a swift kick in the pants in this regard, and I feel duly reminded :) The bottom line is that the Maker of this universe is more than able for largest catastrophe that can hit my little life. More than that, He has promised that He actually cares what happens in my life. "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 remains one of my favorites. How easy it is to forget that God is in control and actually has a plan that He is executing in this world...

Dan surprised me with a fun date for the afternoon. We went out to lunch at Chevy's, which always seems to be the best place for us to connect. Something about sitting in the booth devouring chips and salsa seems to make the conversation flow. He's so excited for this little girl to arrive, and it thrills me to see how his emotions unfold through all of this. Trust comes so much easier for him, it sometimes seems, and he was very encouraging. I joke that I'm not really pregnant, just bloated and PMSing, and he grins at me and talks about what it will be like "in just a few days" to have this tiny little new person in our lives. We went shopping after lunch and picked out a couple of books for her, and talked about what it will be like to be reading bedtime stories.

Later, we got a surprise visit from Eric and Chris G., and a little impromptu jam session as they had just returned from a traditional music festival in West Virginia. It sounded like tons of fun, and I can't wait to try it out next year. The rest of the evening we spent relaxing at home on the couch together. One of the cool things about being married to someone you grew up with is that reminiscent conversations can go on for hours and you remember things together from as far back as the Gingerbread house. We talked about classmates from elementary school, and the awkwardness of middle school and high school when it came to the opposite sex, and who we wanted to "go with." Back then, you didn't date. You went together. Anyway, it's fun to look back on those crushes and remember what our relationship was like all those years ago.

So, today I'm still high from my day of rest and I'm getting the guest room ready for guests, since it's going to be busy for the next month or so. Eric has requested a niece for his birthday present (he and Pat turn 29 tomorrow!) so I'm going to head to bed and see what I can do about that =)

G'night!