New Set of Lenses

Something very interesting happened to me the other day.  When it did, I knew that I was officially entering a new season of life.  Let me try and recreate.

Brad and I were watching TV when a particular commercial came on advertising kids meals for a fast-food restaurant.  I confess, that when I first saw it, I chuckled.  I thought it was funny and bizarre and fun.  It didn't take too long, however, for me to stop mid-chuckle, and realize that this commercial was aimed at kids, and when I thought of my little girl watching this commercial, imitating the words or actions of the characters, suddenly I didn't think it was so funny anymore.  

I realized that I was now looking at the world through a new set of lenses, through the eyes of a parent.  I remember an older friend of mine telling me how she saw the checkout counters at the supermarket in a whole new way when her kids were in the cart and could start to read the magazine and tabloid headlines.  These "glasses" tend to change everything.

Over these last few months, I've spent a lot of time thinking and preparing for the whole birth process, and getting physically ready for the baby to come.  I haven't spent as much time, however, thinking about all the facets to actually parenting, probably because when I do, I become so overwhelmed with the responsibility of it all that I'm not sure even where to begin.  

Working with students and kids ministry these past few years, I've always said that the job of a parent is the most important and probably most difficult job that you can have.  I think I'm understanding that on an entirely new level now, and I'm sure that this learning curve is just beginning.  Brad and I have been praying for an increased measure of wisdom and discernment as we enter this new adventure, as I know more than ever, that we cannot do this on our own.  I'm so thankful for friends, church family, and our own family that we can very tangibly count on and talk to through this new season as well.  These new lenses are a pretty amazing gift.

I Dreamed a Dream

I realize I'm a little behind the rest of the world on this one, but my sister sent me a link to this You Tube video of Susan Boyle, a 47 year-old, unemployed, single woman who lives with her cat and has never been kissed.  She recently auditioned on Britain's huge talent show, "Britain's Got Talent."  If you haven't seen it, you must check it out here.  When I watched it this morning, it had over 12,000,000 hits since it was first posted on Saturday.  Tonight it has close to 15,000,000.

I seriously got tears in my eyes when I first watched this and I've been thinking about it all day.  It's made me think twice about why it had such an impact on me.  More than anything, I think it's such a powerful picture of someone pursuing and seeing a dream fulfilled.  Obviously, I have no idea about what kind of relationship this woman has with Jesus, but it spoke to my heart that it is never too late or impossible to have God fulfill the dreams He has placed on our hearts.  And when He does do that, it can't help but bring joy to the people with whom we come in contact.  I don't think I've ever seen Simon Cowell smile like he does in this clip.  

Enjoy the video if you haven't already seen it and continue to dream and pursue the dreams that God has placed in your heart! 

Daddy's Voice

I mentioned in my last baby update that although it's hard to compare with other babies, I've been experiencing the joys of what I think is a very active baby.  I can't quite tell which body part it is that is doing the movement, but she seems to be having lots of fun kicking, punching, and twirling around in there.

I'm also starting to notice a particular pattern to her movements.  She usually seems more active after I eat and it seems like one of her favorite times to work on her gymnastic routine is right before I want to go to sleep.  The one that's been most amazing to me, however, is the way she responds to Brad's voice.

I'm really serious about this.  I've noticed over the past few months that whenever we are sitting in church and she hears Brad's voice in a microphone, within minutes, my girl starts having a party in my tummy!  (She's probably saying, "Amen, Daddy!  Right on!  Indeed!") :-) And even though she's become more active in general over these last few weeks, there's definitely a distinction when Brad is speaking in a microphone verses when someone else is speaking.  When it's Brad, she's a lot more active versus someone else for whom she will barely move if at all.  I truly think it's quite incredible.

Two things about this that made me think:

• I can't tell you how much it delights Brad to hear about her movements.  He loves knowing that his little girl knows his voice.  It has to be just a small glimpse of how our Heavenly Father must feel when we take the time to listen and respond to His voice.
• My mother-in-law was telling me that she heard that sometimes it's hard for the baby to hear things really clearly in the midst of all the amniotic fluid and heartbeats and all those other sounds that constantly surround her.  Maybe there's something to Brad using a microphone that helps her to recognize the voice she's been hearing since she grew ears. :-)  I was thinking about all the things in our lives that can tend to drown out the voice of God from day-to-day . . . busyness, anxiety, emotions, tiredness, celebrations.  They can seem like good or bad things, but either way, they certainly seem to shout above the consistent, quiet voice of the LORD.  I think praise is really the microphone that helps us to hear God's voice in the midst of these distractions.  Inherent to praise is choosing to take our eyes off of our current situation and on to Someone much bigger.  And because He abides in the praises of His people, all competing distractions must flee.  God is always bigger.

All these things my baby is teaching me about Jesus and she hasn't even been born yet.  I can only imagine what a teacher she'll be for me when I can actually see her little ears and hear her little voice. :-)

Sham-WOW!

So do you think we should invest in one of these for Gabriella?  You can never start teaching her chores too early, right? :-)

The Quest Continues . . .

So each Easter, my quest to find the ultimate jelly bean continues.  It started at a very young age, as I can remember my dad sitting me in a vat of jellybeans at our candy factory that completely covered all of me except my head.  Pretty much a dream come true. :-)

Since then, I've gone the more commercial route and for a few years Starburst jellybeans had taken the lead.  Great flavor and I like the texture of the harder shell w/ a chewy inside.

Last year, Nerds jellybeans made a surprising jump to the top of my list as I really liked the flavor and texture combination with the bumpy & sugary outer shell even more than the Starburst.  These seem to be a bit harder to find, however.

So, last night I tried Sweet Tarts jellybeans (so new that I couldn't find a picture).  The verdict is still out on these.  They have definitely captured the Sweet Tart flavor in the jellybeans to a key.  I enjoy them, and would put them in my top 5, but probably not as #1.  

Any other votes out there for the rank of "Top Bean?"

7 Months (and 1 Week)

I tried posting this last week, but when I went to publish it, it disappeared. :-(

Last Friday marked 28 weeks.  That's 7 months and an official jump to the 3rd Trimester.  Yay! 

I'm posting a new picture (in the same outfit for comparison) and you can see that our little girl is definitely growing bigger.  In fact, last week, my BabyCenter.com e-mail said that she was the size of a Chinese Cabbage.  It's been kinda fun seeing what fruit/vegetable my baby is each week.  Brad is simply astonished that fruit and vegetables have nationalities (Chinese cabbage, English cucumber, etc.).

It's hard for me to compare, but I have to say that this little baby is pretty active.  It continually astounds me to see my stomach moving like a bubbling volcano.  I'm really trying to be intentional about "enjoying the ride" of pregnancy, not just wanting it to be over (although I'm getting more and more anxious to actually hold her in my arms).  Overall, it's been a really great pregnancy and God has blessed both of us with good health, and a great husband/daddy who supports and cares for us.  

Thanks for all your continued prayers!  We appreciate them more than you know.