Baby Crazy

So I am writing this feeling a little under the weather. I have a soar throat and a stuffy nose. Hopefully I will feel better in a couple of days. But I do have news in our house. We are praising God all the way over here for what He has done on the Chastain's behalf today. Also we are now spending spare time trying to get the nursery ready. We are attempting to put together a crib, find a changing table, receiving and organizing our baby stuff that will come via Indy and find a glider. (Not much left, he) We are at 32 weeks and have less than two months to go. Ryan and I are both getting excited. He may be upset if I share this but I am going to anyway. I can tell that Ryan is getting more and more excited for Charlie to come into our world. Yesterday we were doing our Bible study when he went to go get a package from my in-laws. Amongst the goodies was a hooded terry cloth robe/suit for after bath time. After we were done with our study he held the outfit up by the hood and said, "did I mention how cute this is?" I smiled my full toothy grin and we talked about baby things for like 20 minutes which for a man is an eternity. When we go to a store we always stop to look at baby clothes and things and now there is no further objections no matter how much time we don't have to be there. He will even pick things up and show me to see if I like something. Needless to say we are both excited.
I did come to the reality today that my sister will not be joining my parents to come visit at Thanksgiving to see our baby. (She is the only one I really wanted there, no offense mom and dad. PS this isn't a guilt trip Cari) As I talked to her, she acknowledged that it wasn't fair and that she was just as upset as I was. My natural instinct was for me to throw a pity party because our birth will not be what I pictured it, but she tried to cheer me up with the good things that it will be. I have already told Ryan that if no one comes to visit us in the hospital that he will have to make a very big deal time and time again, like maybe every hour. He asked me if I realized how out of character that is for him but he promised he would. Our people will arrive just a couple of days later and Ryan and I will have our daughter all to ourselves until then. But in this conversation I have realized how much my sister and I have grown up over the years. And I not only appreciated her Godly advice but will be putting it into action. So for all the people who we will miss, our siblings, grandparents, cousins, and friends who are family (grandma barb) we would love to have you all there but we understand that it won't be, so save time around Christmas or Jan (we don't know when yet) to hold and dote and make the biggest late deal over our little girl. We can't wait to meet her and will be faithful to post pics for all of you till you see her in person. God is helping us to be content where we are for now. May we grow in trusting His Sovereignty and plan for us.

it's coming along

I must say our apartment is coming along. This weekend we spent a lot of time getting things into a livable condition. We are still working on it but it is coming. We now have a couch to sit on, a vacuum cleaner for our carpets along with a shower curtain. I know these aren't spectacular things but they are great for us. We made some makeshift curtains to block out the light both at night and during the day in our bedroom as well as cover the exposed windows. They aren't perfect but they were cheap and work just fine. It's amazing what fabric, safety pins and a water pipe can do for a room. Tonight our task is to finish a makeshift cabinet that Ryan made in MI that will be used as storage for some things we don't have room for in our kitchen. Then once that is done we will be able to make room for a television. We will have to buy a table/place to put it, then our living room will almost be complete minus a few finishing touches like a table cloth, throw pillows and pictures on the walls. Ryan doesn't think they are necessary but I am going to nest, even if its just for a short time. My tasks ahead of me are my looming closet, going through what fits and what doesn't. The what doesn't pile is quite large. I will be expanding my fall/winter wardrobe soon but the house comes first. Once things are the way I want them I will post pics for you to see our humble abode.
Pregnancy alert: My feet are now to big for my shoes both in width and length. My flip flops will soon be out of season. And I am swelling a lot in my legs and feet. So I do some things, then put them up... We may ask my doc for compression socks if it doesn't get any better. Ryan promised he would help me put them on everyday before he went to work, as he giggled to himself thinking about what a task that will be. We are also looking for a photographer in the area to take some maternity photos of us. Hopefully that will be soon.
In other news we seem to have been planted into an unlikely ministry on Sunday afternoons. Ryan was playing tennis with his dad in a local park when his strings broke, and they couldn't play any longer. There was a softball game going on and they were ushered into the game. These players are all members of a 12 step program for drugs and know each other through meetings. Some neighborhood kids come down to play as well. They meet for fun and play ball for a few hours. They love Ryan because he hits homers over the fence. Each team fights for who gets him. They are open and told us about who they are. I sit and watch while they play. We are hoping to share Christ with these people, through our actions. A little salt and light could go a long way. We hope to build relationships with a few people on the teams and maybe have their families over for dinner some time. It is our prayer that we will foster these relationships before the weather stops the games. It is becoming fall here with hints of summer lingering but they are just blips in the weather. Another ministry we have is eating at an Indian Restaurant. They just opened up about 3 miles away from home. They are so friendly and we talk about India. They love having customers who have been there. Last night we went for dinner and realized it was a new ministry. We will go every couple of weeks and talk about India, my missions work there and anything else. It doesn't seem like much but it is an open door for us. Also next week starts our church activities that we are hoping will bring us friends. Hope things are well with you all. Feel free to post something. Not sure who reads or follows our blog. But I will be more faithful in posting. Three in a week is something for me. I do believe I am now out posting my sister if I continue at this rate. Let the battle of the blogs begin, dear Cari

A matter of trust

Before you read any further know that what is to come is the ramblings of a nervous mother. There is no reason to panic but I would like to share a couple thoughts I have been having. I went to the doctor yesterday and she asked me how the baby was. I told her I haven't felt her move for a couple of days. So I was whisked away for a 30 minute time out on the baby monitor. I did feel her move some but not enough. So then we went for an ultrasound. The tech said she passed and all is well. We had to do a few things to get her to move, ( I noticed her breathing was slow). But the doctor said she is 100% healthy. Now why is it when she was cleared my worrying didn't stop, it just began. I know I am just entering the stage where I should feel her move consistently but it wasn't a huge worry until we failed the test. Now it seems to consume my thoughts. I push and massage my belly all the time, waiting for a hint of movement. My next appointment is Sept 30. Can I wait that long to make sure she is ok again? Am I turning into someone I don't want to be? I pride myself on the fact that I don't and refuse to be a nervous mother, but right now I can't help myself. It has been a long time since I have had to leave something this big in the hands of the Lord. My salvation was the first, my health, my life in other countries, but this by far seems the most difficult. My baby. Perhaps the death of my niece makes this more of a reality. I don't know. Perhaps I just have NEVER really given up total control of my life, just in parts that were easier. I am leaning towards the latter if I answer honestly. And sadly if I am even more honest, am not ready or in the position to do it. If I were where I should be spiritually I would say a prayer and attend to the piles and piles of boxes that are scattered about my house waiting to be unpacked. But all I want to do, is eat something sugary, lay on my side and wait for confirmation that she is moving. I thought throughout this pregnancy that I was holding Charlie loosely so that God could do what He wanted with all three of our lives. I guess that was easy when I knew everything was great. Now it isn't when there is doubt (by me not the doctor). So I guess in response to my ramblings I come to a request. Please pray that Charlie is 100% healthy. Also please pray that I would fully trust my God, and that I would lay my worries down once and for all. Or at least for today, and then I will tackle it again tomorrow.
On a lighter note, we have a bed again. I know that sleeping on an air-mattress for 3 days isn't so bad but my pregnant belly and sore arms and back say otherwise. The movers saved our air-mattress' life today. Death by safety pin would have been a slow and miserable way to go. But it seems only fair for the misery it caused me. Anywho it lives another day for out of town guests. Yay for beds and pillows, ooh and shower curtains as well.

Chchchchanges

We have had so many changes in our lives recently I thought I would write and inform you of some. First we are not living in a hotel for the first time in five months. We moved into the apartment today! We are sleeping on air mattresses and using paper plates until our stuff comes Friday. We bought a couch and a crib. Things are moving right along, until Friday and our life and home becomes a wreck with tons and tons of boxes to be unpacked.
A pleasant change was we got to see family. My in-laws came out for a week and we had a great time. They were troopers in helping us go shopping for things and adjusting to moving. We did take them to a beach in RI for a few hours, it was our last visit before fall and baby and more madness.
In regards to physical changes, I have only half a belly button now. In the last week I have popped a bit. Everyone is still shocked at how "small" I am but my new maternity pant size says differently. Thankfully it was just one size up, anything else would have devastated me. I also chopped all my hair off. They cut 8 inches. I think the last straw was taking hours of brushing through beach hair. So cut it I did. Ryan says, "I got a whole new wife". He has never seen me with short hair before and lots of bangs but he likes it. It was theraputic to lose all that, I feel like a new person. Maybe a little more ready to take on the upcoming changes. And looking a little more chic while I go. This Thursday I have a doctor's appt and we will be at 29 weeks. I am hoping these last 11 or less, knock on wood will pass by quickly. I am ready to see our little girl. In my daydreams I picture her to have Ryan's tan skin tone, dark curly hair and hopefully blue or green eyes. She will be average size but will look so small in her big daddy's arms. We are both so excited and can't wait. I can tell Ryan is looking forward to her arrival as much as I am. He even comments on how cute her clothes are that we receive. I finally found the perfect first outfit for her. I had been searching diligently but with no luck. Then last night at Target with my mother in law I found it. It brought tears to my eyes so we bought it. $6 of adorableness. Now may the rest of her wardrobe for years to come be as cheap as this. Charlie's bedding has been ordered but the nursery will take a back seat while we settle in our apartment.
Our last change that I will write about is we have made a friend. The Damdars have come to our rescue. Ray and his wife (who just had a baby) go to the same church we do. We are going to their house on Saturday for dinner and games. Oh to have friends and something to do with people other than ourselves. I don't know Ray except for a short wedding weekend of his sister-in-law and my friend Julie but I do know Ray's twin, Sherwin and I am sure we will have a blast.
Pics will come later. Sorry for the lateness. My new self will be posting more often.
Love and blessings