rain, rain, go away!

I have yet to see more than two days in a row of good weather here in Missoula.  We keep getting teased with little glimpses of Spring but I'm fairly certain Summer will be here before Spring truly arrives.  This had better not be any indication of how Missoula's summer is going to go.  I want three solid months of temps in the 80's and 90's...and if I'm still huge and pregnant when the hot weather rolls in, so be it!

This Memorial Day weekend was rainy.  And cold.  BUT, we were able to have a fantastic few days together as a family despite the icky weather.  We painted the baby's room and kept the kids busy with various activities such as the carousel, a baseball game, lots of umbrella time, movies, and driving Cale's and Riley's motorized Jeep around up at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  The kids were very sad to watch Dad leave for work this morning and we are slowly trying to adjust to our normal weekly routine.  Wish me luck on that one.  So far I have battled a tantrum or sibling rivalry every half hour.

In other news, I am slowly but surely getting back into taking pictures.  In the month of May I took over 1,300 photos, however I'm sure I only kept about 100 of those.  I'm proud to say that not one of those  photos was shot in automatic mode.  I am loving playing around in manual mode and the more I do it the more comfortable I am getting.  Alex bought me a new photo editing software for Mother's Day and even though it will probably take years of practice before I ever figure it out, I am having a blast playing around with pictures and making them unique.  I have a feeling this is going to be a very time-consuming hobby. :)  My dream is to get good enough with photography that I can make a name for myself by becoming a photographer for Community Medical Center and specializing in taking pictures for families who either know they are going to lose their baby at birth, or being called in at all hours to photograph a baby who died unexpectedly during birth.  I'm also becoming more and more interested in possibly photographing hospice patients.  We'll see where my dream takes me.  All I know is I love photography and the challenge of getting that perfect shot keeps me coming back for more.  I suppose it's a lot like the game of golf in that way.  It doesn't matter if the first seventeen and a half holes were complete and total disasters if you have that perfect last shot on the eighteenth hole...chances are you'll be back at it again the next day to find just one more.  


In pregnancy news, I had a routine doctor's appointment this morning and apparently my body is already preparing itself for labor.  I'm starting to efface and my doctor wants to start seeing me every week from here on out.  To even begin to think about finally meeting this baby has me completely high strung for a couple of reasons.  The first one being that I am only 34 weeks pregnant and it's still far too early for this baby to make his grande debut.  Second, we have yet to agree on a name and there is no way I am delivering this baby without a name picked out for him!

I cannot believe I will soon be a mother of three.

laugh lines

I have newly formed wrinkles upon returning from my weekend retreat, and yet I could not care less about them or the fact that at eight months pregnant I was forced to sleep on a half-inch thick mattress on top of a piece of plywood.  Yes, the weekend retreat was just that - a retreat!

I had the extreme pleasure of spending two nights away from my daily life and responsibilities and surrounding myself around sixty wonderful ladies.  We spent the weekend laughing, eating, experiencing God, laughing, doing girly things, eating, and laughing.  I don't think I have laughed so hard since I found my son covered from head to toe in poop.  Oh wait, I didn't laugh then.  I cried...and then yelled.  So truly I don't remember the last time I was able to laugh that hard.  It was a perfect weekend to cap off this pregnancy before life takes another wild turn.

In between meals, getting a sunburn with some pretty awesome sunglass lines, taking pictures, learning how to make fantastic tablescapes, and devouring an entire chocolate buffet, we also got to hear from an incredible speaker speak on the book of Esther.  I had no prior knowledge of anything to do with Esther and this short book in the Bible turns out to be rather sweet!  I also got to talk with some of my best girl friends, all of whom have kids, without the interruption of kids needing to go potty or throwing a fit because someone took the toy they were playing with.  We were able to be completely selfish in our time and it was fabulous!  I stayed up until nearly one o'clock each night, which is highly uncharacteristic of me, but it was so worth it.  I think the whole purpose of the retreat was to feel rested and recharged when we came home, but since I only averaged about six hours of pregnancy sleep I definitely didn't come home rested but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

I am so thankful for my friends who relentlessly encouraged me to go.  As you might remember, I initially said no way to the thought of being three hours away from medical care, but as more time passed I started to feel a peace about going.  A lot of my friends don't mind that I'm a hypochondriac and they even offered to listen to me if I needed to vent my worries to someone.  Many times throughout the weekend I would have someone come up to me and ask me how my stress level was doing, which further proves the fact that I have awesome friends. :)  AND, I came back still pregnant so all of my worries were for not.

I must say, though, sleeping in my own bed on top of my own mattress is priceless.

happenings

I apologize for letting nearly a month go by without posting.  Truth is, I haven't really had anything to say.  We've been chugging along, impatiently waiting for the day when Spring finally decides to arrive in Missoula.  I am SO ready for warm weather and sunshine!

I am 32 weeks pregnant now and getting more and more excited to meet this little guy.  Alex and I have yet to settle on a name and I have a feeling we won't have a final answer until he is born.  We are both set on a name but neither one of us seems willing to budge, yet I have a feeling I will be victorious in the end. :)  This little guy never seems to stop moving and his jabs and pokes are becoming more and more uncomfortable as he gets bigger.  Every now and then I can feel a perfectly formed foot trying to explode from my stomach and even though this is the third time feeling a baby move inside of me, it never gets any less amazing.  The only part of pregnancy I will miss is feeling the baby move.  Thank goodness, if all goes according to planned, this is the last time my body will be subject to such torture.  I used to be a firm believer that pregnancy was a beautiful, joyful, and amazing one-of-a-kind experience, but this baby has proven to me that not all pregnancies should be treated equally.  I am extremely grateful to be carrying this child but it certainly has not been easy or enjoyable.  

In other news, I am headed out of town in a few hours to spend the weekend at a women's retreat through our church.  Its theme for the weekend is called "Pampered for a Purpose" and can I just tell you that that could not sound more heavenly right now.  I will be surrounded by a wonderful group of ladies, including a group of my closest girl friends, and the rumor has it that there will be delicious food and lattes every morning.  Hello!?  Could you appeal to a pregnant woman more if you tried?  I think not.  It took a lot of convincing from both my husband and my friends to get me to go because I'm the type of person that does not want to be more than ten minutes away from immediate medical care while I'm pregnant, and the place we are headed to is over three hours away from Missoula.  I initially said no way but I'm trusting that this weekend will give me some much needed relaxation and that God will keep this baby happy and healthy inside my belly for another month and a half.  

Alright, I suppose that is enough tidbits for now.  I will update soon with events from the retreat.  Have a great weekend everyone!!!