Pages

Friday, August 9, 2013

Up-DATES

Awe...only two more weeks! Or AHHHH...only two more weeks! I haven't quite decided yet, but in the meantime...
  • I feel my motherly instincts have already kicked in...I have had Hayden's bag packed and (hopefully) ready for nearly two weeks now, but haven't even started packing my bag. Of course, Hayden's not currently using any of the stuff that needs to be in his bag.
  • Our doctor said he didn't want to go past our due date because of my history of high blood pressure, so if we induce before then, I'd expect we'll be heading to the hospital on August 22. Our next doctor appointment is Tuesday, so we'll see if we can set a date then, since I don't think he's coming on his own prior to the 24th.
  • August 22...That's my twin cousins' birthday. Hayden should feel honored if he happens to get the opportunity to share a birthday with Phil & Anna! :)
L-R: Phil, his wife Angie, Anna, her husband Mark
  • Also thinking of his arrival, I got to thinking about how old Hayden's mom and dad will be when he is born. Dad will be 31 and Mom will be 28. And I have no explanation for how my brain works, but this instantly made me realize that in the year 2031, we'll be celebrating an 18th & a 50th birthday party! Goodness, what a year that'll be![Phil & Anna are the same age as Matt, so if Hayden happens to share a birthday with them, that'll be a big day for all of them!]
  • Hayden's cousin, LILY KATE was born yesterday!! Such an amazing little blessing from God she is. God's timing is always perfect, even if you have to wait years for the answer you want. Congratulatons, Joe, Sylvia & Nora!! [And sticking with the dates theme...08-08 is a pretty cool birthday!]
Lily Kate arrived at 2 pm on 08-08-2013. She is 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long.

Well, I suppose I better get back to wrapping up my work projects and the other month or two's worth of stuff I need to do in the next two weeks before we have a wonderful little distraction hanging out at our house with us!

Oh, we had some maternity pictures taken this past week...naturally on the hottest, most humid day of the summer...the photographer said they look great and we should be able to get them tomorrow night at her daughter's 1st birthday party, so as long as she's not lying to me about how they look, I'll post some on my next blog update! :)

Monday, August 5, 2013

GodSTOP #1

In Beth Moore's Bible Study, "Believing God," she introduces an exercise to help each of us notice how God is at work in our lives and our surroundings. Her description of a GodStop is “any way God discloses Himself to you." I am going to try to make a weekly GodSTOP (Savoring The Observable Presence) here on my blog. Feel free to comment below with any GodSTOP you'd like to share.



GodSTOP (Week 31)

• Five hour conversation with Grandpa & Grandma Usher on Tuesday which encouraged me the rest of the day and week (Read more about that here)

• My backup support person (for labor, in case the hubby is on the road) rearranging her schedule to be sure she was available for me.

• My neighbor checking in on how I'm feeling via Facebook. (She has agreed to be my backup driver, if necessary.)

• Matt commenting on my Facebook status implying the races were almost over and saying "I love you," knowing I was missing him at home and awaiting his arrival.

• The gentleman sitting next to me at the races who saw me struggling to change the battery on the video camera and coming over with his flashlight and helping me find the "battery release" button.

• The smile on "Grandpa" Kvacik's face when he opened his "very-belated" Father's Day gift. A shirt that reads, "GRANDPA...Grand kids love me, fish fear me."

• Receiving a very heartfelt, beautiful, hand-made gift for Hayden from his grandparents.

• Watching Grandma Usher "love" on Matt as they were sitting by each other when we stopped by Sunday afternoon.

• Grandpa Usher's willingness to help glue a shelf back together for us.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Priceless Conversation

If you're still blessed enough to have grandparents living...when's the last time you stopped to visit with them?

Yesterday, after my doctor appointment, I didn't have a whole lot planned, so I decided to swing by Grandpa and Grandma's for a visit. And maybe see if they wanted to go get lunch if I was still there at noon.

Now, to give you a little background, "Grandpa and Grandma" in this case are my husband's grandparents whom I was absolutely blessed to call my own on the day I said, "I do." My husband had moved in with them before leaving for college in Minnesota, and his room was still waiting for him when he returned after college. They also gave me a room to live in, since I had made the decision to follow him back. I don't recall exactly how long it was that we stayed with them, but I know it was 18+ months. Matt joked later that he moved me in with Grandma so she could "train me." Grandma always had lunches ready for him in the morning, supper on the table when he got home, did the laundry, and anything else she could spoil him with to make my job harder as the wife-to-be. Lol. I observed, but I haven't mastered it all just yet. ;)

Anyway, grandpa and grandma are always excited to see me (us) when we stop by. They're like the dog who has been left home alone all day when they see you pull in to the driveway...that kind of excited! How does that not make someone feel special, important, and loved?!?!

When I walked in the door, Grandma excitedly said, "It's Kayla!" She immediately stopped what she had been working on, offered me a seat, and asked if there was anything she could get me. Their hospitality simply blows me away and inspires me to appreciate the people close to me in life with just simple acts of selflessness and giving of my undivided attention.

Grandma and I sat in the dining room and visited for awhile before Grandpa wandered in and joined the conversation. They're so easy to visit with, and I can talk to them about ANYTHING. We covered a very wide range of topics including my friends, their friends, family, travel experiences, jobs, finances, marriage, aging (Grandma recently got hearing aids), and even GoDaddy.com.

We ate lunch (leftovers). Visited more. And then Grandma had to leave to volunteer at the local Bible Camp in the Snack Bar. Grandpa and I continued visiting.

Five hours of PRICELESS CONVERSATION later, I decided I better go run my errands I had in town and head toward home.

Both Grandpa and Grandma thanked me more than once for stopping by to visit, and I told them I would stop again soon, sometime when both Matt and I could visit. Because the conversations are just so packed full of little nuggets of wisdom, that when I visit by myself, I feel like Matt is missing out.







Don't miss out on the amazing relationship that God intended between grandparents and grandchildren...make time to slow down and enjoy a visit with your grandparents today (if you still have the opportunity). Who knows, it may just make your day, your week, or even your month...I know it did mine!

--------------------

Excerpt from an article I read which I felt relevant to this post:
"Positive roles that grandparents play are caretaker, storyteller, family historian, mentor, wizard, confidant, negotiator between child and parent, and model for the child’s own old age. When a child has a strong emotional tie to a grandparent, he enjoys a kind of immunity—he doesn’t have to perform for grandparents the way he must for his parents, peers and teacher. The love of grandparents comes with no behavioral strings attached. The emotional conflicts that often occur naturally between children and parents do not exist between grandparents and grandchildren.