Wow that doesn’t sound long at all to me! To Tim it does though, but I so don’t feel ready to have a little one around the house to take care of. I like that it doesn’t take me any longer to get around and go somewhere with Baby Schmoyer. I have lost count of how many books I’ve read on pregnancy, labor and delivery and now what to do when the baby is here. I feel like I still have tons to learn in these next 10 weeks, and am okay with waiting that long before seeing our bundle of joy. Don’t get me wrong, I am really excited about Baby Schmoyer joining us. I love to day-dream about what life will be like with the little one around. I just don’t feel ready.

I wanted to do a quick update on how I’m doing besides the anxiety of not feeling ready for Baby Schmoyer to make his/her presence.

1. The reality that there is only 10 weeks left has not hit yet, nor the fact that May is almost over. Time has flown!
2. Baby Schmoyer seems to be very active lately, or now that s/he is 3lbs I can just feel every movement.
3. My belly has apparently been growing with Tim saying it’s bigger and me getting reactions about it from others. I haven’t noticed a difference in size, and think it’s strange that others can tell, but I can’t. Oh well.
4. Getting out of bed has become more of a struggle with the extra weight in the front, so I guess everyone is right with saying my belly has grown.
5. I laugh every time Baby Schmoyer really starts moving. It cracks me up to see my belly move so much, and kinda tickles.
6. I still check our baby registries every day. It’s not as exciting as it was in the beginning, but it’s become a habit.
7. I keep my eye out on craigslist for things that Tim and I could find cheaper and don’t mind getting used.
8. I’m trying to get myself in the habit of keeping the house clean by keeping things in their places. It’s a struggle, but I’m slowly getting there. This is probably the number one thing I want to get down before Baby Schmoyer arrives.
9. I am now going to the doctor every 2 weeks, which just seems crazy and makes it feel like Baby will be here before we know it.
10. I only have 2 more visit with my current doctor before he is done at the office, and I switch to a new doctor for the rest of my pregnancy. I’m bummed about it, but am handling it okay.
11. I have moved most of my stuff out of the office, which will be the nursery for Baby Schmoyer. Now we just have to get Tim’s stuff out sometime this summer. I don’t really see the need to do all the moving until we get a crib, but am not sure if we’ll get that before Baby is here, so at the latest I figure sometime in mid July would be good to move everything. So we’re not doing it after Baby Schmoyer arrives.
12. My hands are swollen most mornings when I wake up which puts me in panic that I wont be able to wear my wedding rings much longer. In the afternoon they return to normal though and I start to calm down. I really don’t want to be a swollen pregnant lady.
13. Emotions are high.
14. Tuesday starts our 4 weeks of birthing classes.
15. I have really enjoyed watching Tim talk to Baby Schmoyer, I can’t wait to see him interact in person with our baby.

That was a longer list than I expected to type out, but I don’t feel like I’ve blogged too much about Baby Schmoyer. When we first got pregnant I figured everything I wrote would be about Baby. I’m sure I still left out some stuff, but that’s all I could think of at the moment.

I admire Tim so much for his ministry and how well he works with and deals with people. He has way more grace and patience than I do, and it is very good for me to see. I am so glad that he is the youth pastor, and I am not.

The part that I struggle with the most is when people criticize Tim’s ministry, and him personally. I keep up with Tim’s blog off and on. I am interested in youth ministry and try to be as supportive as I can, and keeping up with his blog helps me do that. I struggle though when I see people disagree with him in a harsh manner. The last week there have been people jumping to conclusions about him and his ministry without reading or re-reading his posts, and Tim handles these people so well, but I don’t. So I guess that is part of the reason why I go in seasons of being a dedicated reader of Life in Student Ministry and seasons of not visiting it at all.

Yesterday I think was the hardest for me with someone going as far as twisting the title of one of his posts and totally attacking Tim personally as far as jumping to the conclusion that Tim doesn’t spend any time praying or in the Word except during the summer. As rediculous as I know this person was being, it is still hard to not want to be over protective and emotional about it. I was steamed when reading this person’s post that he put out on facebook to totally bash Tim. I really wanted to lash out on him and give it all back. Luckily I’ve been dealing with people online since Jr. High and have learned to think about things before I start typing, and then even after typing up a response to let it sit for a while, come back to it, look it over, and then my last step is to send my responses to Tim to look over for another means of accountability. I use Microsoft Word a lot when online so I don’t make the mistake to send something before really reviewing it if I am not in a good mood while writing.

A great thing that has come from this post yesterday though was tons of people sticking up for and encouraging Tim and correcting the person who bashed him. Tim responded kindly to the guy and even gave him a phone number for him to call Tim and them to discuss if this guy really wanted to learn and not just start a heated argument. I’m still waiting for the guy to call. What was cool though was that a couple other people called Tim to encourage him with what he is doing and show appreciation for the way he responded to the nonsense.

I haven’t dealt with such harsh criticism as much in person with people. Criticism does come, but most of the time in love, especially if someone does it the right way and goes to Tim about something instead of talking to everyone else about what they are unhappy with, which is the same as gossiping. Another reason why I deal with this better than blatant criticism done infront of everyone is because Tim is great about protecting me. He knows that I will take things personally, and have a hard time around the person if I know who it is, so he will keep me out of the loop, which I really appreciate. It is still difficult for me to hear about people upset with something he has done or said, especially if time hasn’t been taken to talk to Tim personally. We have a long journey ahead of us, and I’m glad God will continue to teach us. I can just imagine what kind of criticism we’ll get when Baby Schmoyer is born and people are watching the way we’ll choose to raise our kid, especially when he/she is a teen.

Tim, you are doing an amazing job with the youth God has trusted you with. I love watching you in action and admire you for the passion you have for youth ministry. I am so proud to be your wife and blessed to have such an amazing husband to watch as an example for my own life. I love you.

We’ve had some great weather lately. Tim and I spent a few days doing a little bit of yard work each day, going on walks, and simply enjoying the outdoors. Today I went out and trimmed one of our apple trees again. It was the first one I pruned, so I was very cautious and not wanting to prune too much. But after seeing how well the other trees have been doing, I needed to get after it. I wanted to do it before today, but the bees have been hard at work, and I did not want to get around them. Today has been very windy, so it was the perfect time to get back in the tree.

Yesterday was our first Sunday without our normal school year programming. Which meant we didn’t have Sunday School or Sr. High youth group. It was kind of weird not having a busy Sunday, and it took us a little while to figure out what to do instead. Tim and I decided to go to Inspiration Peak, that we’ve heard so many people talk about in town. Mainly I’ve heard of people going in the Fall to enjoy the trees, and now I know why. It’s a short and steep hike up to the peak, only a quarter mile from the parking, and then a short quarter mile back down. We didn’t stay too long, which was a disappointment. I was expecting a longer hike and being very hungry, thirsty and tired at the top, but that didn’t happen. We even brought a sack dinner with us to eat at the top of the peak, but neither of us worked up an appetite. I would still like to go back in the Fall though and see all the trees different colors, and at that time Baby Schmoyer will get to see the trees too! With leaving early we were able to hang out for the evening at a youth’s house, whose family did a cook out. So we enjoyed the evening in their back yard around a fire eating smores. That was a great first Sunday of our “summer.”

Baby Schmoyer has been very active lately. And apparently I’ve grown quite a bit ’cause that’s all I’ve been hearing lately, and that Baby is sitting really high. I’ve noticed that Baby likes to settle somewhere above my belly button, which is fine when I’m up and around, but when sitting it’s not too comfortable. Yesterday I was trying to push Baby Schmoyer away from my ribs while Tim and I were watching TV, and Baby was kicking back. It just made me laugh and forget that my ribs weren’t too comfortable. And, last night was the first time that I felt a distinct motion of something moving across my belly. So far I’ve only felt quick kicks, so I was surprised when I felt something different last night while lying in bed. It was a weird feeling that I can’t quite describe. I thought the kicks felt weird when those started, and now I’ve got something else to enjoy!

Yesterday was wonderful, and tiring. Tim and I relaxed for the evening on the couch watching tv, well at least he did. I ended up falling asleep. Today I was planning on relaxing and doing some work around the house, but ended up getting a call from a school practically begging for me to come in for the afternoon. For the most part the day was good. But the very end of the day tough.

I had a student rip another student’s homework for no reason at all (the other student wasn’t even in the room) and assumed that the other student would just keep the ripped page. Instead I used natural consequences for his actions and had him keep the ripped homework and gave the other student the whole page. The student who ripped the homework did not like that idea at all, but didn’t have a choice. The natural consequence didn’t go over well, and I had to get another teacher in on it. But it was nice to be backed up with the natural consequence.

I feel like I still have a lot to learn with classroom discipline, but was glad I was able to use part of the Love and Logic philosphy today. Yesterday went so well teaching all day, and then today in a different classroom for only the afternoon didn’t. I felt much more drained walking out of the school today than I did yesterday. It’s so hit or miss with subbing. Some days I get classes that are very well behaved, and some days I don’t. And some days I get the class that should’ve been rowdy, but is perfect, and surprises the rest of the school. There’s only 11 more days of school left and I’m not eager to get subbing jobs this late in the school year ’cause students are ready for the summer and behaviors aren’t the best. But on the other hand I feel guilty if I pass up a chance to work and make money.

While living in Texas, Fall was my favorite season because I always enjoyed it when the long hot summer was coming to an end. Now with living in Minnesota, Spring is my favorite season because after such a long cold winter I am ready for a little warmth.

Tim and I went down to see our neice, Addison Kate last weekend and everything only an hour and a half away from us was in full bloom Spring. It looked like a whole other part of the country ’cause we hadn’t had anything start to bloom in our town. Today though, I got to see blossoms on trees, and that made me very happy! Yesterday actually got up to the 80s which was nice and hot after our winter. Tim and I got to watch 2 softball games in the sun. We knew girls on both teams from our youth group, so we didn’t cheer for anyone, but sat back and enjoyed watching the girls play. Today was another gorgeous day. After subbing all day Tim had dinner planned and then we went on a walk. It was so nice outside and I was so excited about our blossoms on the trees that I grabbed our pruning shears and went to work on our four apple trees. Half way through Tim ended up joining me after he realized I was missing from the house. It was so nice to be outside and feel productive. I noticed the plum bushes on our rental property need some work too, so maybe I’ll tackle that tomorrow. I really wanted to get our apple trees done though because last year we didn’t make out too well on the apples, only one tree did okay, and the rest weren’t worth picking except to keep the bees away.

God has really blessed us with gorgeous weather lately. It was supposed to thunderstorm yesterday during the softball game, then they backed it up to storming today, which didn’t happen again. Now the forcast says tomorrow will get the storms. We’ll see what happens.

Yesterday I had to go in to take the 3 hour glucose test ’cause earlier this week my one hour turned out a slight bit positive. I went in at 7:30 since I had to fast before it, and then got the test started a little before 8, and was done around 11 and I was eating soon after! It was not fun at all. I’ve had Tim come to all my baby appointments, but since I’d only be sitting in the waiting room for 3 hours with getting my blood drawn every hour I figured he didn’t need to wake up early too and sit through it with me.

The first hour of the test was the worst after drinking the sugary fruit punch drink. I felt pretty queasy for the first hour and was not happy at all. I was also really tired going in as early as possible to get it started and over with, which wasn’t fun. I brought 5 books with me to read so I wouldn’t get bored, but I was so tired I couldn’t concentrate on what I was reading to make it worth the time. Instead I ended up playing on my ipod the whole time with and listening to the tv on in the background.

I called today to see if I could get the results of the test. My doctor is out of town for a few days so I got passed around a little bit until they got me to another doctor that could tell me the results. I’m glad they were able to tell me, and very happy to hear that I passed and do not have gestational diabetes.

I have been keeping my eye on craigslist since I gave up on garage sales for finding a bassinet. I had thought about posting on freecycle to ask for one, but didn’t want to just yet. And today someone posted that they had one to give away! I was so excited I emailed them right away hoping to be the first one to respond, and then emailed them back more specifically since I didn’t quite read their whole post and asked questions and stuff. It is a pretty nice bassinet and I am so excited that we got it for free! God has really been blessing us, and I hope continues to so we can get everything we’ll need for Baby Schmoyer. I haven’t had anyone talk about doing a shower for Baby Schmoyer, which makes me anxious, but people up north I think tend to do them after the baby is born, which means I guess we’ll have to buy quite a bit of stuff before hand. And our church stopped doing baby showers, but I’ve had family say, “oh, someone will throw you a baby shower.” I just hope that everyone doesn’t think that and assumes that someone else will do one and we’ll end up without one. That is just one of the many anxious thoughts floating around in my head. I need to make myself not be nervous about things and trust that God has everything under control and that he will provide what we need for Baby Schmoyer. Having the bassinet helps to put me at ease though, because now we at least have something for Baby Schmoyer to sleep in when s/he is here.

My pictures of the bassinet didn’t turn out very well. But I already washed all the material and have it hanging up to dry. I can’t wait to put it all back together and set it up in our room. I keep on comparing the excitement of having a baby to the excitement of getting married. Each little thing that happens to help prepare for this huge event brings me that much closer to reality that we’re actually going to be parents.

Yesterday I got to hold a baby for the first time in a while. She was 9 weeks old and just adorable! I got lots of smiles and some babbling out of her. I can’t wait until I get to smile at and play with our own baby. Our church started a parenting class on Wednesday nights for 4 weeks, and yesterday was the first class. It was fun to be surrounded by other parents, and in the crowd that we’ll be joining soon when our little one is here. It was funny that our associate pastor was a little thrown off to see us there since this is a new venue for us. Tomorrow Tim and I will get to meet our brand new niece for the first time, Addison Kate. I am really excited about meeting her and getting to hold another baby!

My Aunt Karyn told me about a great website last week called Hey, It’s Free! This could potentially be my favorite website from here on out. Tim and I tightened up our budget this month and didn’t put any money aside for eating out, but last week we got to eat out for free! Last Wednesday Arby’s was giving away free fruit tea, and then we got the coupons for a free grilled 2 piece meal from KFC. So we got our drinks, and took them over to KFC for our free meal. It was so fun to be out to eat and even more fun to know that it was completely free! Hey, It’s Free! is constantly updating with free stuff and great coupons. Keep your eye on it and it could be a great tool for you too!

God’s Plan is Much Better

I have come to realize how much I really dislike garage sales. For the past couple weeks I have looked at our local newspaper to see when and where garage sales are and what kind of stuff people are selling. I would love to find a great deal on a crib and bassinet, so figured dealing with garage sales would be worth it. But now I’m starting to change my mind. I have gone to a few in the past couple weeks, but only come home frustrated feeling like I’m wasting my time.

Here’s why I don’t like garage sales in no certain order:

1. I think I am spoiled by freecycle.org and craigslist where I can ask questions about items, get pictures, and know what I am getting before I have to leave my house to get it, and I know what price I will be paying ahead of time too.

2. I like to sleep in on the weekends, and trying to wake up to get to a sale is a struggle.

3. I showed up 5 minutes after a garage sale supposedly opened, and what I was looking for was already sold, and I’m left wondering if it was a piece of junk, or if it would’ve been worth it to stake out their house early in the morning to be the first one there.

4. I don’t like driving around looking for a deal, I feel like it’s a waste of time and waste of gas money.

5. If I don’t need something I’m not going to buy it, even if it’s a great deal I’m not saving money by buying unnecessary items. And for some reason I feel awkward walking away from a garage sale empty handed, although I started to get use to it.

6. I don’t like showing up to a place to find out the item I would’ve potentially been interested in is completely dirty, not the color/style I want, and I don’t know what kind of home it’s been in. No one has a nice smelling garage to make me think it’s coming from a great place.

7. I am turned off by someone having so many things in their house that they can fill an entire garage of junk that has been sitting around collecting dust. I don’t like clutter, which is probably why I like freecycle so much. I get excited when I have something in the house that I can give away!

Obviously I’m not an expert at shopping garage sales. I know a lot of people who put time and effort into it, I would just rather sit on the computer, find a deal, and know where to get it and for what price, and not have to drive from place to place hoping to find what I’m looking for. Plus I don’t think I want to start my day off by stressing myself out trying to find something at a garage sale. I’d rather enjoy my Saturday, so this is possibly my last day of doing that…hopefully!