Ready or not

Thanks for all the wonderful encouragement you sent in response to my prego pic from Friday--you all are the best and I wish I could carry your voices around with me throughout the day for pick-me-ups!! It's one thing to be pregnant and another to feel like one's body is contorting into a shape beyond its resiliency... All mothers out there understand.

Side note: I remember learning the word "resilient" in school. The teacher described a rubber band as having ultimate resiliency in that after being stretched, it would return to its original shape. A rubber band pushed beyond resilience would hang limply, without shape. What an image for a pregnant gal! lol. :)

In addition to bolstering my prego self-esteem, you all have definitely gotten the wheels turning on the baby front--in other words, this baby is going to be here before I know it! Some days it is very easy to slip into the mindset that this little guy will arrive "in the future" and that "we'll get there eventually". Amazingly, though, that day is quickly approaching and I need to be ready! :)

A friend recently asked if I had read any labor and delivery books before the birth of our first, M. I felt sheepish admitting, "No" but then paused to realize part of the reasoning was his month-early arrival! I had to be induced last-minute to accommodate a rapidly elevating bp! If the same scenario happens again (no indicators yet, thank goodness), baby J will be here in 2 weeks!! CRAZY thoughts. More reasons to GET READY!

And then thoughts shift to the reality of having a *new* baby in the house and all the changes his arrival will bring. I will head back into being an on-call nursing mama again for the next year (hopefully). How quickly I've grown accustomed to my and T-baby's independence! Makes me wonder how mothers do it when children are spaced even further apart. Baby-dom already feels so foreign and its been less than 2 years! :)

Despite all the worries and "what-if's", I know it will be very blessed. I know the boys will *love* being big brothers. T-baby already heads into J's nursery and points to all the pieces of furniture, saying "baby". Too cute. In his excitment, M has also been assured and reassured that he will be able to hold Baby J and sit next to him in the van. Also very adorable. I presume part of the pleasure of having child #3 will be watching his brothers (who we already love so much) dote on him and shower him with affection. Blessed thoughts, indeed.

Ready or not, Baby J is on his way and we couldn't be more excited.

Hope you have enjoyed an uplifting weekend.
Tomorrow I will include pics of some new arrangements I'm putting together for our hallway cut-out coves. I saved a bundle today at a big sale at Pier One. I have to say, few things make this mama happier than saving... :) (Saving and cherries--the dark red ones, extremely tasty and in season! lol.)

Hugs and prayers tonight. God bless.