Over the Hump!!!!

I distinctly remember when I was little and my mom would come to wake us up for school (alarm clocks never seemed to work so well), she would try and give us specific motivation for getting up on a particular day.  Wednesdays were "Over the Hump Day."  We were 1/2 way through the week.  We could soon sleep in during the weekend (except somehow it was never difficult to get up early for cartoons on Saturday).

Yesterday marked "Over the Hump Day" for this pregnancy!  Baby Girl Leach turned minus five months.  (I figure if she's zero when she's born, she would be in negative numbers now.  I keep trying to explain this to her.  It's never too early to learn about integers, I always say.) :-) In some ways it feels like, "I can't believe that I'm already 5 months pregnant!"  And, in a lot of ways it feels like, "I can't believe that I'm only 5 months pregnant!"  

Regardless, I'm really trying to enjoy this season for what it's worth instead of just wanting it to be over.  I certainly have my moments (and the more people bless me with Little Girl clothes the more I want her to be here right now!) but I really do appreciate this season that Brad and I have to pray for our little girl, dream about her, and prepare for the special day when she will join us.  

AND . . . for those of you back in Pittsburgh who have been asking for pictures of the tummy, I finally broke down and took some.  Looks like it was a literal "Over the Hump Day" as well. :-)

Whew!!!!

What a week!  It's hard to even comprehend all the amazing gifts that God's blessed me with this week.  A quick recap:

• 1 Year Anniversary - Brad planned a surprise getaway to Chicago right after church on Sunday.  He planned out all the little details (i.e. staying in a Hyatt b/c that's where we stayed on our honeymoon), fun presents, and made sure that we left in enough time so that we could still watch the Steeler game on Sunday night.  I felt so loved, honored, special and undeserving of the man God has given to me as my husband.  I would have found it hard to imagine how I could love him more now than I did on January 19, 2008, but somehow, it's true!
• One For the Other Thumb? - The Steelers won.  Do I even need to say more?  Somehow, though, it seems like people in Detroit think that it's more important to cover a new President's inauguration rather than pre-Superbowl coverage.  Crazy Detroiters.
  
• New Teaching Position - I have the opportunity through my job as an instructor with Kaplan, to work in one of the Detroit Public High Schools through the end of February to help prepare their students to take the ACT.  I didn't realize until this week that it would be 8 hrs. a day, 3 days a week, so it's been somewhat of a mind-shift to get back into that schedule in addition to the other teaching jobs I've been doing.  I really enjoy the challenge and opportunity, but find myself exhausted (and obviously behind on my blogging).  And, after the first day, I remembered why teachers don't often wear heels to school. :-)
• Boppli's a SHE!!! - Early Thursday morning, Brad and I got to go and see some of the most recent pictures of little Boppli.  What an incredible experience and what an incredible surprise when we discovered she's a girl!!!!  For some reason, we were both pretty certain that Boppli was a boy.  The last few days have been filled with such delight as I imagine holding our baby girl in a few months and I even got our first little baby girl clothes last night.  So cute!  You can read Brad's thoughts here.
• So rich . . . - Last night, we ended our exciting week with such a special and memorable time of celebration.  Brad had planned a night to bring back the members of our wedding party and ask them for wisdom, advice, and accountability as we journey into Year 2 of our marriage and larger family. :-) We enjoyed a time of prayer, worship, and beautiful insights as each person had something unique and special to share that God had given to them.  I truly felt so rich as I sat there last night surrounded by such tangible examples of God's faithfulness.  It's almost too much to comprehend.

So sorry for the delayed post to those of you who have been waiting to hear the Boppli news.  I'm going to try and scan some of her pictures and get them up soon!  She's beautiful. :-)

Sophomore Year

I've been catching up on a lot of blogs and have found so many great insights as January seems to be the natural time for reflection on the previous year and dreaming about the next.  I confess that I have been doing a lot of the same.

One of the somewhat obvious realities that I acknowledged was just how much much life changed in the short timeframe of about 12-18 months.  I had realized this before, certainly, but what I didn't take time to recognize were some of the more subtle changes that have occurred.

Clearly external things like my schedule, my job, my name, my city, my church, my home, and my family have changed, and what wonderful changes they were!  What I realized, however, were the effects of these changes that influenced even some of my very simple "likes" and "dislikes."  Things like my choice of reading material (used to be 95% non-fiction and this year has been almost 100% fiction), my desire to write (even journaling has felt more like a chore over this past year), and other preferences have evolved without me quite understanding why.  (A post-graduate burn-out, perhaps?)

I suppose God gave me some perspective during my prayer times, looking back on other seasons of transition . . . going to high school, college, coming out of college, starting grad school.  Each time, that first year was a roller coaster of emotions and physical, mental, and spiritual changes.  I began to see this year as entering a "sophomore year" of sorts, and praying about how God would continue to meld both new and old dreams as I settle into this season of "new normal."

And yes, I realize that I'll be entering an entirely new "freshman year" in a few months when little Boppli decides to grace us with his/her presence, but in the meantime, I really want to press into all that God has for me in this season and enjoy new discoveries as a sophomore.

Homesick

I love my new home.  Really.  Detroit is a great place and I have enjoyed getting acquainted with my new city.  But there are a few moments when I find myself longing for some time in my city of old, and this is definitely one of those seasons.

I confess that when I was living in Pittsburgh, even I could get weary of the constant Steelers-mania that would pervade every aspect of life.  It would take a few weeks, but even I realized that it was a sickness at a certain point.

But living here, would you believe that when they have their news broadcasts, that they don't take 17  out of 26 minutes to talk about the Steelers?!? They talk about things like Auto Shows and Presidential Inaugurations and other incidental world events that may be happening around the Steeler play-off.  They never even mention stories like this one about Pittsburgh's Mayor, Luke Ravenstahl, which really captures the full sickness of Steelers mania in one brilliant story.

I suppose it's healthy to recognize that there's more important things in the world than Steeler football, but it would be nice to indulge in the sickness just a little bit more. :-)

Baby Steeler!

You know that passage in Luke that talks about John the Baptist leaping in Elizabeth's womb when Mary came into her house?  

I'm pretty sure that's what was happening last night during the Steelers game.

No, I didn't officially feel my baby yet, but I know my baby and I know that Boppli was leaping and cheering for the Steelers.

Brad says that I'm exploiting an unfair advantage over this child and to be quite honest, I won't try and argue that point.  I'm trying to persuade Boppli, however, that this child can cheer for both teams.  They only play each other maybe once every 3 years or so, and cheering for both teams will really help Boppli to be well-rounded, learning what it's like to be a good winner and what it might feel like if another team perhaps loses every once in a while.

If ever there was a hope for a Lions fan, it's gotta be the Arizona Cardinals.  And, I'd also like to claim Steelers victory for that team thanks to the leadership of Ken Wisenhut.  It always comes back to the Steelers. :-)

Good Things Come in Small Packages

Brad sent me this video in an e-mail a few weeks ago and I continue to think it is one of the most astounding things I've ever seen.  I can't imagine what kind of mind, patience, and personality that you have to be able to pursue this line of art as your life's work.  I still chuckle just about every time I hear him talk about Alice in Wonderland.

As astounded as I am thinking about a Charlie Chaplain sculpture on the end of an eyelash, however, I have found myself even more astounded recently learning about the life and growth of little Boppli. 

Today is Friday and every Friday I receive an e-mail from Babycenter.com and they tell me what is happening with our little baby and how big Boppli is each week.  Last week, (Boppli's minus 6 month birthday (calculating back from age zero when the baby is born)) Boppli was the size of an avocado and was growing toenails (which ordinarily I would find repulsive, but I can't help but think they're kind of cute).  I'm still waiting on what week 17 will bring.

It's interesting to me to read each week that the baby is growing lungs or fingers or kidneys and yes even toenails, but somehow, my head pictures it all happening like it looks on a newborn baby, when they are 7-9 pounds and a good 18-20 inches long.  When I stop and realize all this is happening when the baby is the size of a shrimp or olive or even a little poppyseed (way back at the beginning), I have an entirely new appreciation for the greatest Artist I have ever known.  God's creativity and genius is simply beyond comprehension and I find myself "pondering all these things in my heart" even more often now.

I thank God for this little masterpiece that He has taken the time to uniquely create and pray that somehow the awe of it all remains even when "new normal" has become "normal."