Nesting

Since the move to our new house this blog has been greatly neglected. We have been diligently cleaning, unpacking, rearranging, and generally trying to set up before this little bundle of joy arrives. In the past few weeks I've been mopping, washing clothes that have been in a storage unit for over a year, restocking our medicine cabinet and trying to find homes for so many of the miscellaneous items that reside in one's home. We're getting there.

John has done remarkably well with the move - although he still loves being over at grandma and grandpa Rekowski's house. We visit often - they babysit lots (especially now that grandma is out of school for the summer). John made the transition to a toddler day bed when we moved and is loving it! He's got decorations up on his walls, toys galore, and enough books to start running his own children's library out of his bedroom.

Matt has set up his office in the basement in an attempt to find some peace and quiet from a growing family. Aside from laundry there isn't much reason for the rest of us to be in the basement. So as long as he doesn't mind hearing footsteps above his head - we're happy to let him get some work done without a toddler trying to crawl in his lap every 20 -30 minutes.

I've recently set up shop in the kitchen - call it my nesting instincts. We've got the freezer overflowing with foods that are just waiting to be tossed in the oven after the baby arrives. (I'll try to post some of our recipes/meals in a future post.) Yet, I keep finding/thinking of more recipes that I should make and store for the future. I think this is because I was spoiled with John. I had a few things in the freezer, but I had my mom at the house for a week and my mother-in-law for 3 weeks. Let's just say I didn't worry much about cooking for the first month of John's life.

We're getting there! That's the point. If baby came today, we'd be fine. Enough clothes are washed and baby items relocated that we could bring the little one home with little to no problems. Yet, as I sit here typing....I can come up with a LONG list of things that still 'need' to get done. Oh well! This is the life of a stay-at-home-mom: the chores never end......

Listing Our Firsts

You're supposed to grow a little everyday. It makes you a better person. Sometimes that growth comes emotionally, sometimes it's physical, sometimes it's mental. Our family has been on the move (literally) over the last few days and we're racking up a lists of 'firsts' pretty quickly.

So let's share our list :)

• It's the first time since we moved to IL to have all of our possessions out of storage.
• I have been moving while 8 months pregnant for the first time.
• John spent his first night since he was 4 months old in his own room; mom and dad spent their first night in their own room since he was 4 months old too now that I think about it.
• Last night we ate our first dinner in our new house.
• I got little man's silhouette cut for the first time and it's absolutely precious.
• We've gotten our first room unpacked.
• Our big boy slept in a toddler bed for the first time! (This may have been harder on mommy than John - just for the record.)

I'm sure there are plenty more, but these seem like the major accomplishments. We've got plenty more to come. And lots of unpacking to finish. We're on a timeline here - 39 days until our due date!

Oh, yeah, and we still need to buy a crib for the baby....maybe that will be an accomplishment for next week....maybe not. We'll have to see how the unpacking goes.

Yay!

Putting Things in Perspective

I've always believed that God has a plan for us. Sometimes that plan is so very crystal clear and laid out in front of us. Other times, if you are anything like me, you find yourself wandering through the darkness hoping that you are headed in the right direction. Fortunately, He often shows us some little glimpses of light along the way to help us stay on the path.

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." - Psalm 143:8

Yesterday I picked up my rental car from Enterprise so that my car could be repaired at the shop. The Enterprise staff was kind, courteous and helpful - even making sure to send someone who knew how to install a car seat out to pick me up at the house. However, a gentleman came storming into the office while we were waiting to finalize paperwork yelling and screaming about terrible customer service and being treated with a lack of respect. I don't know all the details of his complaints (mostly because I chose to focus my attention on John and staying out of this gentleman way for fear of being crushed in his wake), but I couldn't help to think that you get so much further with honey than vinegar. We left Enterprise with a Dodge Nitro, John's car seat installed, and many thank you's for being so patient and polite. It really begs the question - Do more people than not walk in hot headed and disrespectful? I didn't think we were acting particularly out of the ordinary (at least not for my family), but the Enterprise staff seemed extremely grateful.

Later in the morning we headed to an appointment over in St. Louis. As we were driving we encountered some traffic, but kept trekking along slowly and eventually saw the accident that had caused the back-up on the bridge. As we drove past there were 3 ambulances, 3 police cars, a Department of Transportation traffic vehicle, and 2 tow trucks. An SUV was smashed to smithereens and a semi-truck was jack-knifed and looked as though the cab was probably now out of commission as well. I didn't notice the driver of either vehicle as far as I could tell, but there was a police officer standing off to the side of the accident near the SUV holding a small girl who could have been more than 2 or 3 years old. All I could think was "Man, our accident could have been so much worse! Thank God for watching over us!"

So - I'm asking the few of you who read the blog on a quasi-regular basis to say prayers for the gentleman at Enterprise who was clearly in distress, the drivers involved in the accident on the bridge and little girl who looked so lost in the police officers arms. I'm sure they could all use a few extra people who believe God has a plan and eventually He'll put things in perspective for us.