Friday, September 1, 2017

Seven Quick Takes // Happy Fri-yay!

1. My sweet girl is down for her nap and went to sleep relatively quietly. I hope our next baby is a better sleeper, but I wouldn't trade our G for anything. Just now I had one of those heart-melt moments when I looked at her asleep in her crib. She's just so beautiful and I can't believe she's ours. Yeah, all the heart eyes. :)

2. It's been a stressful week with a lot of pregnancy symptoms and some bad lab results. I had low levels of progesterone with G but mine are currently even lower than they were with her despite me being on maximum treatment. That's always discouraging and I can only hope baby is still alive and well and safe in there. My ultrasound is next week and that will (hopefully) be an encouragement that all is well. I was telling my husband how I understand the reality (and beauty!) that our children are gifts from God and His first, that He loves them more than we do, and that the goal for all of them is to be with Him in heaven someday...but when the fear of miscarriage taps at my heart, I realize how desperately I want to meet and know our baby here on earth first.

3. We have two missionaries coming for dinner and staying overnight with us while they make their way out East to a conference. They are from the Culture Project (check them out if you've never heard of it! SO fabulous!) and it will be fun to meet them and talk with them tonight! It's also been awhile since we hosted people for either dinner or overnight, so even that sounds fun. I'm busy getting fresh towels and little chocolates to put on their beds. :) #bedandbreakfastwannabe

4. I went to the dentist today for the first time in 2.5 years! That is the LONGEST I think I've ever waited between appointments-- my poor hygienist!! ;) No excuses, but it just took me that long from getting married and moving to finding a new local dentist. They were so great, though! Being a nurse, I always have high expectations for healthcare workers and they did not disappoint!! From the receptionist to the dentist, everyone was SO nice and caring and thorough. I think that's somewhat rare these days so I was so delighted. Plus my teeth are squeaky clean...time to start taking better care of them. On that note, do you have a favorite toothpaste? I prefer the natural stuff, but I just think baking soda and coconut oil might be too hard on my teeth for daily use...

5. I'm in JEANS today!! It is September 1st and feeling like FALL!! We didn't even hit 70 degrees today and there's a brisk wind. It's kinda crazy! I'm ready to make all the soups and brew all the tea and light all the candles now! But a part of me is sentimental and not quite ready to say farewell to summer. I didn't even make it to the new community pool!

6. So I've been reading this book and it's been very inspirational!! It's occasionally intimidating (the authors lived abroad a lot and seem to have endless money for projects/hosting/etc.) but I LOVE their emphasis on creating a warm and inviting home for your family and guests, and creating memories and moments for your children that will nurture them into a healthy adulthood. Have you ever heard of Sally Clarkson? She reminds me of Emilie Barnes. Quaintly old-fashioned yet full of some good wisdom.



7. I've been invited to several book clubs this fall in addition to hosting my usual one. Two of them are moms' groups and it's SO tempting to join because you can never have enough fellowship (plus one has free childcare!), but they're also 30 minutes away and I'm afraid of overcommitment this fall, especially since I'll still be in the first trimester. I'd be part of a total of four book club/Bible studies. ha. How do you balance stepping out for opportunities without overcommitting to stuff? 

Have a happy weekend, friends, and enjoy the holiday!! Oh, and I haven't forgotten about that salsa recipe...coming soon! ;)

9 comments:

  1. Prayers for the ultrasound and progesterone levels!!

    For toothpaste, I really like Tom's of Maine! I use the peppermint kind. :-)

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    1. Ooh, good recommendation! I forgot about Tom's...I think our Kroger sells it and that's one thing I don't mind splurging on since it takes forever to use it up. ;)

      Thanks for the prayers!

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  2. Prayers and hugs! I have had progesterone treatments with each of my three pregnancies and my most recent one required the most intervention. St. Catherine of Siena has always been my go to. My levels went lower and lower until I was waiting to hear the news of miscarriage. On the feast day of St. Catherine of Siena we received a call letting us know my numbers had unexpectedly quadrupled.

    Here's a prayer that we have prayed every day of our three pregnancies...

    Humble virgin and Doctor of the Church, in thirty-three years you achieved great perfection and became the counselor of Popes. You know the temptations of mothers today as well as the dangers that await unborn infants. Intercede for me that I may avoid miscarriage and bring forth a healthy baby who will become a true child of God. Also pray for all mothers, that they may not resort to abortion but help bring a new life into the world. Amen.

    Cheers to jeans! And that book sounds awesome

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    1. That prayer brought me to tears. Thank you SO much for sharing. Our saints for our daughter were St. Anne and St. Gerard. I love the idea of getting to know St. Catherine better for this new baby. I am going to print that prayer, thank you again.

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  3. That book looks really awesome! I'll have to add it to my list :)
    Wow, that's a lot of book clubs-it's neat that you have those opportunities! I was just thinking about the whole balance of committing and over-committing yesterday. I got together with a friend of mine who is pretty much a retreat junkie, and she was inviting me to different retreats and talking about all these retreats she's going on soon, and I realized that 1. This is a tough season of life for me with retreat-y type things, since my lil' guy still nurses a lot (so I can't leave him for a weekend) and he's too active to take with me and 2. I have to pull back from stuff so that I still have life and energy to give to my husband and son. Prior to marriage, I would commit to tons of cool groups and activities, but since getting married, I've been trying to make a conscious effort to make open times on the calendar to just "be." It's definitely a challenge to find that balance!

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    1. Yes, it's so interesting how marriage and motherhood changes your availability-- yet it's still easy to become over-committed and settle for less than your best in your home. A challenge for sure.

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  4. Happy Fri-yay! That's so neat that you're hosting Culture Project missionaries - they're such a neat group. How great that the dentist went well! I know that can be stressful for a lot of people. I'm cracking up that you're in jeans because we're breaking heat records over here. My car said it was 109 earlier today, and this weekend will be HOT too. I've seen people recommend that book, and I love the idea of creating an inviting home. I think it's good to just be honest about how much you can commit to. 30 minutes it far with a toddler! If you really want to, maybe you could just try it out and let them know you might have to drop if it's too much. How great to have those opportunities though!

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    1. The CP missionaries were fabulous! I'm so happy they'll be with us for the school year!!

      Yes, I decided to try the book club and see how it goes. :)

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