Tis the Season?

It's so exciting to see signs of summer outside! A few more sunny days, not needing a jacket (most days), rolling the windows down in the car, birds singing, the garden blooming and flourishing, even one beautiful day of 70 degrees! Now if only we could get the temperature up more often...

Maybe it's just that I'm pregnant and I notice it more, but I have seen so many pregnant women lately! Last weekend Ross and I were at Ikea and I'm sure 1 in every 3 women was pregnant. I think this is the season to be pregnant!

My bump is getting more and more obvious and I'm beginning to feel the effects more. The picture is me at 17 weeks, and tomorrow I'll be 18. Baby is big enough now that I'm feeling movement. It's so exciting when I realize that it is definitely the baby, not any of the other crazy things going on in my body. My little girls at work ask me every day if they will be able to feel it yet. Not yet, but I promise them that when the baby is big enough, I will make sure and let them feel when he/she is moving. Of course, they put their hands on my belly and check to make sure anyway. :)

Soon, so soon, Ross and I will be watching our little one grow up. It's so strange to think of the future for this baby. I look at parents and children around me every day and think, "Wow! I hope my kids aren't like that," or "I need to learn from that mom/dad because they did something right!" But it seems like all we can do to get ready for this is to pray and seek God's guidance. I'm sure that nothing will go like we planned, but God is great at taking our plans, tossing them out the window, and doing something much better than we could have come up with on our own!

Tuesday I'm heading home to Midland to be with my family. In the last few weeks, my Papaw's health and mental state have seriously deteriorated and it seems that he may not be here much longer. Most of my family is now spending their time caring for him and my grandmom and just being near them. Grandmomma has dementia and doesn't know most of her family anymore, but Lani says she's just as sweet and compliant as ever. Papaw has really struggled with her state and has just been depressed for quite a while. I can't help but think his failing health is a result. It's hard to imagine what it must be like for the person you've spent your life with, raised a family with, and made memories with for 60 years, to forget your name and forget all of those memories you've made in a lifetime. Who wouldn't want to go home and be with their Lord at that point? If you're reading this, please pray for peace for him and especially for my mother and aunts. Even though they believe that "to live is Christ, but to die is gain," it's still hard for them to see their dad like this.