Celebrating with the girls

Two nights ago I got to celebrate my birthday with some the most beautiful ladies in my life. I think I say this to pople a lot and I probably blog about it quite often too, but man, I am richly, richly blessed in the friends department. Most of these ladies have been with me for more than fifteen years and their value in my life only increases. 

We went to Basil because I loved it so much on my actual birthday and I sure did order the exact same stuff for my dinner! It was a small group of just seven of us (and baby PJ) for the meal, but afterwards we headed to Mandy's for snacks and drinks and our numbers increased by two. I laughed so much and so hard there my face was hurting, my eyes burned from all the tears and my heart felt so full from gratitude and joy I thought I might burst from any one of my many seams. 

These girls make turning older so worth it and they remind me about the precious things in life that really matter. Thanks, friends. You sure know how to make a girl feel loved. 

Heather, Lindsay, Bekah and Kristina aren't pictured, but with the exception of Linds who was sick, all of those girls did hang out with me that night and it made for a glorious night to remember!

The first taste of spring

Clear, blue skies. 

Hardly any wind. 

Warm sunshine. 

Temperature in the mid-60's. 

Bliss.

Yesterday was such a gift. But also a tease. 

Its only the beginning of March so I know there's quite a bit of cold left, probably a couple more snow showers too. But yesterday we left all that behind and soaked up the first taste of spring. 

Goodale Park with Lianne, Heather, Mandy and Erin Flannigan. Ruby was in school, but between us mamas we had eight little ones to watch and they all got along so well together. The four older ones, all girls, played wonderfully for a couple of hours and Lianne snapped a couple pictures of them and sheer innocent cuteness. They wanted to pose - how cute are they in the third photo?!

Completely unprompted sweetness

After a while at the park we walked over to the North Market for lunch. The kids ate packed lunches, some of the moms bought lunch at the market. We took over a big table upstairs and enjoyed a fun lunch date out of the house. After lunch we headed back to the park for about an hour and left because as is usual with a bunch of kids, everyone seemed to start melting down at the same time. It was a wonderful morning. 

We rode home with all the windows down and the sunroof open. We didn't wear coats. We soaked up the sun with sunglasses and big smiles on our faces. We got home for quiet time and because dinner we doing its thing in the crock pot, we went to another park afterwards! This time Selby in Worthington. We were there for about 45 minutes and Jonathan discovered the tire swing. We sat on it while I held him up and Z moved it a bit, but he was really more interested in standing beside it and pushing it around. He got knocked over a few times, but found his way back up and tried again and again. Z ran crazily in the field that's part of the park and J and I watched her with delight. The setting sun made things get slightly chilly, but we didn't care. Still no coats, still riding home with the windows open, still a touch of spring that was so desperately needed for the soul. 

When Papa called to say he was on his way home, we headed out to the front porch/yard, like we do all summer long. We waited for him to pull up, to play outside with us for just a few minutes before going inside to eat his dinner. We walked along the neighborhood sidewalks and rejoiced over such a beautiful day. 

Today was gray and cold again, the rest of the week is up and down. Whatever. Ohio weather is ridiculous and unpredictable. Yesterday though, it was a gift and I am so thankful that I got to experience it! 

An old house and thoughts on friendship

More thoughts from Niequist's book, Cold Tangerines. Its chock full of goodness, I tell ya.


"...I thought of myself as an old-house-person, a person who appreciates character over perfection, who likes the bumps and bruises of an old home...

And then I went over to a friend's house - a new house. I was overcome with jealousy over her new house, not because it was fancy or big, but because the toilets didn't run and none of the windows were painted shut, and none of the doorknobs get stuck... 

I was so jealous of my friend's new house that when I got back to my house, all I could see were the imperfections, the fixer-upper things that were not yet fixed up...

I want to be all shiny and new, all put together, and I just can't get there. The things I try to forget don't go away, and the mistakes I've made don't go away, and I'm a lot like my old house, cracked and mismatched and patched over. 

On my worst days, I start to believe that what God wants is perfection. That God is a new-house God. That everything has to work just right, with no cracks in the plaster and no loose tiles. That I need to be completely fixed up. I always think that God's kind of people are squeaky-clean people whose garages don't leak, but really a lot of the people God uses to do amazing things are people who don't necessarily have it all together. A lot of the best stories in the Bible, the ones where God does sacred, magical things through people, have a cast of characters with kind of shady pasts, some serious fixer-uppers.

On my very best days, as an act of solidarity with my house, since we're both kind of odd, mismatched, screwed-up things, I practice letting it be an old not-fixed-up house, while I practice being a not-fixed-up person. I wear my ugly pants, the saggy yellow terry-cloth ones with the permanently dirty hems, and I walk around my house, looking at all the things that I should fix someday, but I don't fix them just yet, and I imagine God noticing all the things about me that should get fixed up one day, and loving me anyway and being okay with the mess for the time being...

In my best moments, when I calm down and listen closely, God says 'I didn't ask you to become new and improved today. That wasn't the goal. You were broken down and strange yesterday, and you still are today, and the only one freaked out about it is you. 
I sometimes hate this house for not being what I want is to be, and I sometimes hate myself for not being that either. But little by little, my funny old broken down house is teaching me that good enough is good enough. Maybe in six months we'll take the home-improvement next step, whatever that might be, and maybe we won't, but my house will keep me warm and dry until then, and I'll try to be kind and gentle to my house and to myself in the meantime."


On friendship
"...Friendship is acting out God's love for people in tangible ways. We were made to represent the love of God in each other's lives, so that each person we walk through life with has a more profound sense of God's love for them. Friendship is an opportunity to act on God's behalf in the lives of the people that we're close to, reminding each other who God is. When we do the hard, intimate work of friendship, we bring a little more of the divine into daily life. We get to remind one another about the bigger, more beautiful picture that we can't always see from where we are. 

True friendship is a sacred, important thing, and it happens when we drop down into that deeper level of who we are, when we cross over into the broken, fragile parts of ourselves. We have to give something up in order to get friendship like that. We have to give up our need to be perceived as perfect. We have to give up our ability to control what people think of us. We have to overcome the fear that when they see the depths of who we are, they'll leave. But what we give up is nothing in comparison to what this kind of friendship gives to us. Friendship is about risk. Love is about risk. If we can control it and manage it and manufacture it, then its something else, but if it's really love, really friendship, it's a little scary around the edges."

Jacquemin Farms

Today we went to Jacquemin Farms in Plain City. Lindsay and Jonah met us there as a surprise for Zachari and together we all had a great fall morning!

A day at the Wharton farm

Yesterday we got out of town for the day and spent time in Knox County which holds a special place in my heart for more than one reason. Lately its been special because its where Molly lives and I always love my time with her. This post is a story of our day in pictures. The weather was perfectly beautiful, the setting was serene and refreshing and the company was just what the doctor ordered. I'm already planning another visit back in the weeks to come!

I always wish I had more pictures of me nursing my children so I'm thankful that Molly snapped these two candids. The first one cracks me up. I bet Z looks on like that more times than I realize. Oh, sweet girlie!

Silly Shep and the massive sunflower he proceeded to demolish over the course of our time outside.

Chickens. So many chickens. My strange fear of too many birds all together at the same time is also true for too many chickens. I stayed near the coop long enough to capture a few photos and then I was out of there. I'm such a city girl sometimes!

Yeah, the day was as perfect as it looks here. 

Adorable two.

His eyes... Really? I am struck by them all the frickin' time!

Feeding the four hogs.

A big, beautiful garden full of life.

Aggressive, large and in charge Tom. He was caged for a reason.

More birthday celebrations

On the 18th I was fortunate enough to get to celebrate my birthday - again - with some very dear friends. In what's becoming a tradition, I feasted on the deliciousness at Haiku on their beautiful patio. 

This year after dinner the girls and I headed back home where my amaze-balls husband had created a dreamy scene for us. White lights hanging in the bushes and the trees, white tealights hanging in mason jars all around the yard, colorful handmade bunting, a beautifully set table complete with a cheesecake sampler (a secret fave of mine!), smoked gouda with crackers, Oreos (!), and kettle chips. All things I love, all things I don't allow myself to get very often, all things my husband chose and then displayed with such care. 

And as if that wasn't enough, last night was my 25th birthday date with Dad. Wha??? We sat on the Patio at Tucci's and I enjoyed a divine glass of riesling with my scallops, salad and sides. It was a touch muggy, but that's August for ya. It was a nice evening for sure.

I love birthdays and I especially love the chance to celebrate mine multiple times. I am one very blessed woman!

Baby blessings

On Saturday dear old friends blessed me and Little One with a sweet little brunch to love and support us in these final weeks of pregnancy. It was fantastic and now five days later, I still feel so loved from those couple of hours together. Holly Rae came in from WV, Molly came in from Bladensburg, all of us girls (and little Edmund and Baby Boy Redcay) together made for a most enjoyable Saturday morning.

As has become tradition in our circle of friends, a beaded bracelet was created for me to wear from now through labor and delivery. The words of strength and encouragement they wrote on cards and read to me as their beads were strung on the wire have given me a boost to press on. I so value this tiny bracelet and the significance it represents. Women who have gone before me either in motherhood, significant physical trials and tribulations, or their own personal valleys. We are united in a special way. I'm so richly blessed when it comes to good friends. 

This looks a little fuzzy. Clicking to enlarge should make it a bit better.

The Grand Illumination!

Last night was The Grand Illumination down at Bicentennial Park and along the Scioto Mile and it was so fun to participate in the fun with good friends!

The weather was insane. Barely a breeze in the air with the temperature in the 50s... on November 30th! It was wonderful! Lindsay, Chelsea and I piled into a Honda Pilot with our kiddos and braved the craziness that was the illumination scene and thought we almost lost our kids a couple of time, it was all worth it!

This was the beautiful view as we walked across the bridge towards all the action. 

Z's (self-proclaimed) future husband. I wouldn't mind at all if he
(and his 'rents) were in our family!

The lovely CV girls (and their boys) that I see the most often.
We had a great time together! 

Their cuteness is sort of ridiculous sometimes.

Borrowed words

Suz's post today resonates with me. So much so, that I'm just gonna let her speak for me instead of trying to reword what she said. 

I'm a blessed woman and the child the grows inside me is a gift. Let me never, ever forget those two things.

Do not be anxious for anything

Today we met with the specialist again and for the most part, the visit went wonderfully! As the date of our visit approached, I grew more curious about how LIttle One was progressing and if Dr. Amburgey would suggest weekly or twice-weekly NSTs as she'd originally thought would be necessary at the beginning of the pregnancy. Of course I was leaning towards a whopping NO in response to those inquiries, but only time would tell. And this morning... time did tell. 

The thing I need to be mindful of is that Little One is alive, well, growing and looking beautiful. I'm healthy, the pregnancy is moving along well and I continue to be offered the most precious gift of all: to carry a new life to fruition and experience one of God's miracles first hand every single day. 

However, there was a little bit of concern in today's scan. Baby is growing well over all, but her or his abdomen area is about eight days behind the rest of the body, for some reason. I don't fully understand how something like this can be, but apparently, it is. Because of this, the docs in the office suggest twice-weekly NSTs and in addition to the every other week biophysical scans, they'll add in another less detailed scan of the babe. Lovely. Exactly what I was hoping we could avoid, but it will be okay. I don't need to worry or stress or break down... but what's sad is I already have today. 

I'm surprised (and disappointed) by how easily my faith in the Father has been shaken today. In almost an instant, the confidence and joy that I walked into the sonogram room with flew out the window at the tiniest hiccup in what I thought was the perfect plan. For months now I've been praying that Jesus would bring this child in His timing and not at the timing of doctors or Pitocin or anything else artificial. I've prayed that Little One would arrive in January and when I first began those prayers they were more like pleas. Lately though, they've felt more like speaking Truth over the child in my womb and speaking with confidence from God. So what happened today? Why did I let a doctor's change of plan sway me so easily? Why did my mind automatically shift to negative mode? Perhaps its my history of carrying babies. Perhaps its my human nature. Perhaps I'm weak. I don't know. I don't like it though and so I will continue to pray fervently throughout this day especially and seek first the Kingdom of God, not focusing on the ways of man.

Once I was home from the appointment I sent a text to Holly, Mandy and Kristina with a very brief update and a request for prayers because I was feeling so uneasy. I got encouragement and love right away which was wonderful. But it was Kristina's series of texts quoting Scripture and sharing from her heart that struck a chord and brought on the tears. Messy sobbing. For five whole minutes. And what a release! It was as though I needed to let out the tears so I could receive God's Word and His peace. I'm thankful for it.

Babe had the hiccups during the scan and we got to see him/her swallowing and sticking out their little tongue. Absolutely amazing! Hopefully the two videos below will work. 

"Do not be anxious for anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, by thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds by Christ Jesus... Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent ore praiseworthy  - think about such things."  Philippians 4:6-8