Misc. Monday!

***Updated*** Can you pray with me for an urgent request involving a young Pastor and his wife?  I just learned of them through a friend, Matt and Anna, are their names.  They are expecting their 2nd child and just found out that Anna has life-threatening blood clots in her lung and arm.  She is in critical condition and only 5 months along.  It's a very serious situation for both her and the baby, and it may result in some very difficult decisions.  Will you join me and pray for them?  They have one other child as well.  I don't know all the details, but I do know enough to know that they are facing a medical crisis and are in desperate need of prayers on their behalf.  Will you pray for them before you read this post??  Thank you!

I'm home from a great weekend!!  Scrapbooking was lots of fun and just what I needed.  I am having problems getting my pictures up on blogger today, so I'm proceeding without them for now.  I'll try again later.  I did not get sick and I even slept really well while I was there!!!  It was great to get away for a couple of days and just do something that I love, without the distractions of laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. :)   Who doesn't love a little escape from reality every now and then??

Anyway, on to my list of random Monday thoughts...

1.  It's warm here!!  When I say warm, I mean above freezing.  At this very minute, it is 37 outside!  That's like paradise in February.  It makes me long for Spring, but I have to remember that we aren't out of the woods yet.  Last year it snowed in May.  And I'm not kidding. 

2.  While I was gone this weekend, Travis did something that I absolutely love.  He shopped and purchased an outfit for Ava to wear home from the hospital.  By himself!  Don't you know I wished I could have been a fly on the wall in Baby Gap??  And what he chose is so sweet.  I love it.  I was dying all weekend to know what he was going to get, but he wouldn't tell me over the phone :)  I can't show you now, but I will be thrilled to show you when she's wearing it!  I will also be thrilled to tell her someday that her daddy picked that out just for her.  And she will forever think that is special.  How do I know that?  Because that's exactly what my Dad did for me and now that I'm watching my husband do it for our daughter, it makes me want to cry and it makes me love my Dad more.  It's almost more than this emotional preggo girl can take...

3.  Speaking of being preggo, I am now 31 weeks.  I have officially had a few rounds of braxton hicks contractions, which is totally surreal.  So far they are nothing more than a few moments long and very random, so nothing to worry about, but they do kind of freak me out a little bit.  Not because they hurt but because I still can't believe I'm pregnant some days!  I don't know why I think that.  I'm doing all kinds of stupid things, I dissolve into tears very easily, and I am bursting out of my clothes.  This third trimester is all kinds of fun so far.  

4.  I am totally not in the mood to cook dinner tonight.  I have a pound of hamburger that I thawed this morning, but no inspiration to do anything with it.  I think in all my "domesticity" lately, I may have burned myself out on cooking.  That and I absolutely ate WAY TOO MUCH FOOD this weekend.  Seriously, it was pure indulgence.  And not in a satifsfying/deserving kind of way.  I'm feeling the need to fast just to recover.  

5.  I need to vacuum in a big way right now.  I'm sitting in my living room and I can see tufts of Ryley's hair all over the place.  The only problem is that I don't want to.  I have managed to get two loads of laundry done and the dishwasher loaded, but I need to up my productivity and get my act together this afternoon.  

6.  I spent some much needed time just reading the word and reflecting this morning.  I really needed that.  Did I mention I am a bit of an emotional wreck these days?  I had a total meltdown with Travis last night and this morning, over nothing, but involving everything.  I have some big things brewing in my head that I just needed to see in light of truth.  We are walking through the book of James in church right now, verse by verse and sometimes word by word.  It's been so good for me.  I listened to the sermon I missed yesterday and just like the Lord, He answered me so clearly through it and through His word.  I feel a little bit like I'm in a battlefield of the mind these days.  So much anxiety and worry can well up in me so quickly.  I have to force myself to quiet my mind and seek the Lord in every part of my day.  He is so faithful to bring truth to my mind and calm me...but somedays it takes me so long to remember that.  I feel refreshed from being reminded that He is not absent, but very active in my life right now... Just asking Him to help me make these times with Him a priority everyday.  

7.  We had a package delivered this weekend from Babies 'R Us.  It was full of some great things for the baby and from our registry.  Thanks Cherie for blessing us!  What a great surprise!  

8.  I loved the office last week!  I am totally hoping that they draw Holly back in the story line somehow.  She and Michael were the source of many laughs and I have missed her on the show.

9.  I'm excited about Valentine's Day this week.  Travis and I are celebrating on Friday, with a day that I've planned and that he knows nothing about.  It's killing him to not know, but I love to surprise him and I think he's going to love all that we're doing.  We haven't always made a big deal out of this day, but I think we need to this year.  It's already happening, our lives are beginning to revolve around this baby and she's not even here yet!  Obviously she's going to change so much of what we're used to, but I want to be so careful that "we" don't get lost in the shuffle.  I have been tender to that in the last few days....feeling like he needs my attention and a day for us not to be all about Ava :)  So this year we're going big for Valentines Day!  

10.  It's almost 2:00pm and I haven't showered yet.  Time to be done with misc. Monday....

Have a great day!!!