Hope...Ancient Word Wednesday

Today the word has been hope. This whole week actually. My brother started it with his amazing example of hope in the Lord despite the Red River's rising waters. Last week I called to check in with him, and he sounded so weary from hours of sandbagging and working. At that point they hadn't even started to pack up their house. But there was hope in his voice. He was the one who reminded me to wrap my theology around the situation. God knew about the flood long, long ago. He knew exactly what would happen when and to whom. Jeff had hope in Romans 8:28...that God causes all things to work for the good of those He calls.

"McMama" is another amazing example of hoping in the Lord as she watches her son fight for his 5 month old life - check out her blog. Her hope is not in the doctors, her hope is in the Lord.

Hope in God rises above all the other stuff...it's like a warm comforting blanket that settles and quiets. Or an umbrella offering protection from life's torents. It brings peace. It's not hope for hope's sake. It's hope in Who God is. The sovereign God of all the universe. The God of Job 38-40.

"And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You." Psalm 39:7

Ready to Welcome Him Home...

You asked...and I'm finally answering. This weekend's snowstorm was very good for finishing IB's room. Here's his crib complete with Grandma's farm bumper and quilt!

And here's his dresser. I know you've already seen it, but this weekend we switched out the handles with a fun find at an antique store...old outdoor faucet handles! Randy rigged them up to work as perfect handles!

I was planning on painting a few pictures for his room, but I honestly didn't think it was going to happen until after he came. These paintings are Snow Day Project 1 and 2. I finished Projects 3 and 4 too, but those pictures will come soon. The sheep is the same one on the quilt and bumper. And yes, you can all laugh at the Meal Times schedule...I know I will in a couple weeks!

And this is our prayer for IB...that he would really know who God is and know Him personally to serve Him faithfully. The unimog (truck) is also repeated from the quilt and bumper.

There are a few things left to do. I need to finish his lamp shade and once he's born and we know for sure what his name is, I'll paint the letters and hang them on the wall.

***********************

Yesterday we had our 36 week appointment. IB is making progress...only a little, but he's making some. I'm dilated 1 1/2 cm, so the process is started! YAY!

March Brings Snow Showers?

It. is still. snowing. It hasn't stopped snowing since 11 AM yesterday. We have 18" of snow in our town, and we may get another 5-8" today. So much for the 6-10" they predicted! I've never seen that much here before (not in a whole winter's worth of snow!), and Randy can't remember a blizzard like this here. There's a town west of us that has gotten 28"! Thankfully, it's just been snow and sleet though. Not far east of us, they're getting a lot of freezing rain, which means they'll be in for plenty of power outages.

****************************
Yep, we were the adventuresome ones who left our house today around 9:30. Us and a few other big trucks testing out their snow strength. I don't have pictures of it, but we did get stuck...in the Hastings parking lot. Hastings was open, of all things! We got four movies just in case we're inside all day tomorrow, too, and then headed straight home. What a mess!

The sun came out this afternoon and the temperature is 38 degrees and really windy. The melting has started already. But with this much snow, it's going to take a few days! In case you can't tell, that's the bench, table, and Adirondack chair on our back patio. Snowman anyone?

Normally, I'd love to be out playing in this at least for a little while. Today? Let's just say that if I fell down I don't think I'd get back up and that just sounds like way too much energy to waste!

Last week it was almost 80 degree here. My peonies are coming up. Thankfully, my peas and lettuce still have their baby heads tucked in the soil. This is what my hubby is doing right now. This is only the second or third time I've heard the scrape scrape of the shovel on the driveway this winter! Oh, and the entire town shut down at 1:00. The clinic even shut down. So we're home, and I'm ready to tackle a whole list of little odd jobs while chili cooks away in the crock pot.

But all this is nothing compared to what's going on up in Fargo/Moorhead. Check out Our Lives in a Nutshell to see what my brother and his family are dealing with now. Our prayers are definitely with them!

Showers of Fun

Two Saturdays ago (I know, I'm a slacker!) some dear friends from our couples small group at church through me a shower. This party planning team has had plenty of practice in the past year. By August this group will have thrown seven showers in less than 18 months. We're so blessed to have such wonderful friends going through this time of life together! And special thanks to Monique who hosted the shower in her family room. This room has plenty of special memories for us. It's the place Randy and I met and the place we've spent many Thursday nights with the small group.

We were blessed with so many fun things for IB. He got lots of books, which I'm so excited to read to him. Books and blankies and cute outfits and a bumbo and bath toys and the list went on. Thanks to all who celebrated with us!

And I got one of Monique's specialty cakes. She does great ones for her three little ones, and I felt blessed to get a great farm cake!

A pic with Grandma (Yoder on the left) and Grammie (Regehr on the right).
Margie cooked up some good fun and games, including one where everyone had to guess how big around I am by tying a knot in a string (yes, Margie did okay this with me first!). The really funny part is that the four foot strings were about two inches from being too short! It's a good thing we didn't wait a week or two to play this game. My mom was the big winner, and we had a couple of comedians who tied two strings together to show "how I must feel and not how I look." LOL.

Just a peek at how IB might look in a few years! This was Grammie's box of goodies. IB now has a couple of wonderful farm blankies and lots of big bibs along with some books and toys.


And this was Grandma's hard work for the past few months. Her gift to all the first grandchildren in each family is to make the entire nursery set. I must say this is by far the most complicated one she's done...good thing there are only three of us kids! We found a great idea for the nursery at Babies R Us and put our own twist on it. For example, our template had a blue cow. According to Randy, cows are not blue. Ours is a holstein, I believe (yeah, not a farm girl). Our template also had tractor pulling a trailer full of hay. Ours has a unimog (the big red truck). A unimog is a German-made military type vehicle that has the ability to climb big rocks. (If my hubby ever has an extra $60,000, I know what he's buying.) Randy found a picture of one online and helped us trace it out, so IB's farm has a big truck...no tractors here!

This was such a fun project from the beginning. Randy and I found the example we liked. Then Grandma and Grammie and I spent a Saturday finding all sorts of fun fabric. I sketched out each picture block and then Mom transferred them to fabric and did an amazing job sewing it all together! She also made a bumper with each picture repeated on it, along with sheets, two diaper changing covers, and a crib skirt. I made a valance to match. Pictures of the completed nursery coming soon.

Ancient Word Wednesday

Yep, I've been a slacker. The past couple of weeks I feel like we're either running or completely crashed on the couch. Between the virus/allergies Randy's been fighting and my 3rd trimester watermelon, we've been taking every bit of rest we can get!

Today I'm challenged by 1 Chronicles 28:9 "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever."

In my study I've gotten as far as "know the God of your father." David called for his son to know God...not just about God but to know God Himself. Then he added the words that really challenged me...of your father. In other words, "Solomon, know the God I know as I've known Him." This coming from David "the man after God's own heart"! Even a quick look at the Psalms shows the deep intimacy David had with God.

When I first read the line "know God" the first thing that ran through my mind was "and how do you know God? Through His Word, of course!" But David didn't say "Know the God of the Bible" although that is of course absolutely true. He said "know the God of your father." The first way our children are going to know God is by watching us and our relationships with God. Randy and I can show our children an intimate God who is deeply involved in our lives, who is the God of love and joy and answered prayer and the God of holy wrath and perfect righteousness (crazy how all those things really do work together perfectly in God Himself!). Or we can show them a god who is disconnected, irrelevant to our lives, a religion we just do.

I must confess I've found my heart growing cold the last couple of weeks. My times with God have been hurried and have lacked intimacy. And then today He reminded me, as I studied how to pray for my children, that those same children are going to keep me accountable, starting in just a few weeks. Their perception of God will be shaped by my daily walk with Him. That is humbling!

Cafe Preggers

I broke a record last night - SIX middle of the night bathroom breaks! By number three I decided this must be practice for "super fussy baby night."

And for all you moms and moms-to-be out there - having now experienced each of these menus, they gave me a good laugh!

First Trimester Menu

Appetizer
Tums Compote

Entree
Fresh Saltines on a bed of Saltine, lightly seasoned with Saltines

Beverage
Ginger Ale ( IV drip available upon request)

Dessert
Ten minutes in a dim room with an ice bag on your head

Second Trimester Menu

Appetizer
Half a roast chicken, extra crispy

Entree
A succulent leg of lamb smother in pork chops, served iwth BBQ ribs and garnished iwth cheeseburgers (all burnt beyond recognition for your safety)

Beverage
Toll House-pie smoothie, prepared with 1/2 pint heavy cream

Dessert
9x16 pan of double-fudge brownies

Third Trimester Menu
(Each course followed by 15-minute neck massage and/or bathroom break)

Appetizer
Three bits of tossed salad

Entree
Two bites of lasagna

Beverage
None-so you'll have room for dessert

Dessert
A Tic Tac