The week in review

I have such wonderful friends who write all of the random things that have been happening in their lives and stirring in their minds. Here's what's been going on in the world of Laura Beth this week...

1) Hannah decided to get sick this week. Of course it was the week Jeremy had to work 6:30am-8:30pm every day. She even threw up on me--it was lovely.

2) Jeremy and I have watched started watching 24 and got hooked. In three weeks time we have watched all of season two and season three while simultaneously watching season six when it came on TV. In all, we've watched close to SIXTY episodes of Jack Bauer fighting terrorists in three weeks time. I think I know enough about counter-terrism to be hired by the FBI.

3) I've realized that I don't know much about serving other stay-at-home moms. I knew how to bless my co-workers at the office I worked out. But, I'm still just learning this whole SAHM thing and it has been a bit humbling that I just don't quite know how to love on my friends like I want to. I suppose that is the step toward competence, right?

4) Hannah has learned how to pronounce the "k" in "milk." Just this week she looked at me and said "milk" instead of "mil" with an emphasis on the k. One small step toward intellectual conversation...

5) My movers come in just two months to pack up the worldly goods I have in Korea. Two months. That's not a lot of time!

6) Because of #5, I went through my clothes to see what I could get rid of. In the process, I counted over THIRTY FIVE pair of pants and capris in my closet. Why? Pregnancy. I gain and lose FOUR sizes of clothes in addition to the maternity clothes that I wear when I get pregnant. By the time I'm 10 weeks pregnant I can't fit my normal pants because of my hips. It's such a lovely problem. I can't wait to be finished making babies so that I can get rid of most of those clothes!!

7) I was greatly encouraged to read Susie's blog and find out that life with three little girls isn't always tea parties and scrapbooking. I love when my friends are honest about their need to cry and call their moms--thank you for being real, Susie!

8) I read the book "Daughter of China" and I actually cried outloud. I recommend it to anyone who needs a fresh prespective on how spoiled we are as Americans and how blessed we are as Christians! It made me want to give money to Voice of the Martyrs and adopt from China all at the same time.

pictures

I have a fun life :)

The latest and greatest

After spending over a month prepping for Jeremy to be gone to Alabama for five weeks, the Air Force pulled a very typical Air Force maneuver and told him, less than two weeks out, that he isn't going in February. Definitely an event that made my heart leap for joy--I don't have to go through the six week "fussy" week without back-up!! It does make our summer quite a bit more complicated, and our first ever family vacation has to be cancelled, which we are very bummed about. (We are praying that they give us our money back when we tell them we have to cancel!) I had been praying that God would send Jeremy at a time best for our family, and it truly looks like that prayer is being answered. And for some reason, this particular situation speaks so intimately to my heart from my God. Sometimes you just need those answered prayers that sound like God's voice saying "Yes, I do deeply care for you and your family."

In unrelated news, I'm proud to announce that Hannah is no longer in the bottom 10% for height! She had her 18 month well-baby appointment and she is now over 50% for height. But, because she has jumped from 50% to 75% for weight, she still looks proportionately the same. :) Benjamin had his two week well-baby appointment and is a whopping 10 lbs 12.5 oz! Yes folks, the boy has jumped over two pounds from his birth weight in just two weeks. Needless to say, nursing is going well!

With each week I feel more "normal" in my new life. The transition, so far, hasn't been nearly as bad as I was prepping myself for. Maybe I actually learned something the first time I made a baby transition and I'm not having to learn things the hard way? Cutting back three ministries I was involved in has definitely proven to be one of the wisest decisions I've made while at Osan. I don't wear a Superwoman cape, and I don't want one in my closet to tempt me to put it on!

Off to get Hannah's breakfast ready!

How about a picture?

I have been trying to stay off the computer until the end of the day. I get too tempted to read and respond to emails, read blogs and post to them. When that happens, I get irritated when I get interrupted, and the interruptions have just doubled (really?). So, until I can get around to telling the labor story, here are a few pictures...Enjoy!

PS--Here's a funny little tidbit. The morning Benjamin was born I opened my Bible to have a quiet time and it opened to this verse in the Message: "I'm ready, God, so ready, ready from head to toe." Psalm 108:1. God heard my cry :)