Speaking of dreams

I've been having a lot of dreams lately about the baby coming early and us not having anything we need for her. Then in childbirth class last night, a lady on the video was talking about how she had a dream that she gave birth to five rabbits. So I guess mine isn't too weird.

We just hit week 30, if you can believe it. Only ten more to go. It sounds crazy, but I'm going to miss being pregnant. I know that having the baby on the outside will be even more amazing, but these last few weeks have just been so much fun. Seeing her move inside of me and feeling her kick, and even getting woken up at all hours of the night. It's pretty amazing. Plus, we don't have to deal with the crying or the pooping right now, which is always a plus.

I've been getting to know one of our townhouse neighbors, which has been a lot of fun. She's also pregnant and is due about a month after I am. She's home during the day as well, so we've been taking our dogs to the park together and meeting up for lunch and such. It's nice to have someone to talk to and to eat with.

I think we've also found the church that we're going to commit to. It's in our neighborhood and just feels right for us. There are a lot of babies and young families, but plenty of older people as well. They do a lot of outreach and community stuff, which we really want to get involved in. We're going out of town this weekend, but when we get back we're going to give it another Sunday or two and then maybe pop in to one of the small groups.

So since I've been so bad at the picture posting thing, I figured I should post some to let you all see how fat I'm getting. It's pretty much all in my tummy and boobs, which is starting to really make me feel a little top-heavy. But as long as my butt doesn't get any bigger, I'm okay with that. These aren't the most flattering pictures in the world, but I didn't have time to Photoshop out my double-chin.

Love you girls!

Secret Agent Akers!

I dreamt last night that Chris and I were secret agents! We were on a mission in a foreign country that took place in an airport. We had to do a "trade" of documents, or money, or something... that our connecting contact (let's call him Alfie because he didn't have a name in my dream)didn't know about. It was my job to switch the documents from our bag to Alfie's. Chris and I met up with Alfie in the airport for coffee. When Alfie got up to pay, I quickly made the switch. We knew that once we made the switch, there would be only a short period of time before he would discover the switch, so then we had to get away (without him being suspicious of course). So the rest of the dream was Chris and I getting out of the airport, and away from Alfie (who discovered the switch before we were able to get out of the airport). It was all very exciting, and we were having fun!
I told Chris about the dream this morning and he replied "You weren't supposed to remember that. Now I have to get rid of you." I love Chris, he's so hilarious. And, i'm thankful for a husband who adores the fact that I'm a little bit loco!

prayer

Angie, I think it's great that you are developing your sense of urgency and commitment to pray for other people. You're becoming an intercessor. That's an awesome role in the body of Christ. It's something we all need to develop if we haven't already. I'll keep your uncle and friends in my prayers too. I know they're all going through a lot. Hope all of you girls are doing well. Liz, how's the pregnancy going thus far? How are you feeling? Kim, you're rounding the corner on that last trimester. Violet will be here before you know it! Steph, how's life in Tulsa? Jamie, I saw you guys got snow in Colorado this week. yuk! How are you guys doing? And Jenn, we need an update on you too. Love you girls!

The power of prayer...

I have been challenged in my prayer life in the past couple of weeks. Not necessarily to pray on my own behalf, but more on the behalf of others - those close to me. I've known for a long time that I need to be challenged in this area and I'm thankful to see some real, evident answers to my prayers and the prayers of others.

An update on my uncle Glenn...
He is doing very well. He has made a lot of progress this week and they were able to move him out of trauma and into ICU over the weekend. His lungs are healing well, in fact, as of yesterday evening he was breathing on his own for a 24 hour period (that may be longer now, I haven't heard an update today). Once he is able to breath on his own for 48 hours they will move him into rehab. The doctors say he is "out of the woods" now, but the healing process is not fun. The contusion on his brain needs time to heal, and in the mean time he needs to be tied down most of the time so he doesn't do anything that would hinder the process. This is probably the hardest time for the family. Reality has sunk in and now its just a waiting game. He is not himself and they have to limit their visits so not to over stimulate him. He gets very frustrated with his current position and is very irritable most of the time. The bone doctor said yesterday that his bones are healing very well, especially his collar bone, so they are very happy to hear that. The family is so thankful for the progress he has made and continue to believe for a "miraculously speedy, full recovery"
Specific prayer at this point as per the family:
1. Continual healing throughout his body, specifically the contusion on his brain.
2. A calming peace for my dad as he goes through this process and enters rehab.
And I would add to that list, overwhelming peace, patience and strength for the family as they go through the healing process with Glenn.
Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. The family is overwhelmed with the miracles God has performed in the life of their husband/dad. The power of prayer is so evident in this situation and they are so thankful for all the support they have received.

There are two other situations that I have been praying for that I haven't told you all about.
1. One of my very close friends is going through a lot of serious marital problems and is contemplating divorce. I have been praying strongly that God would intervene in their relationship and give them both an overwhelming strength to forgive each other. God has brought good things about in this situation over the past week, but she is still wavering. Please pray that God would open up her heart to forgiveness and open up her eyes to the reasons why she loves him. This has been one of the most challenging situations for me. I want to be a friend to her and the more I talk to her about this situation, the more I realize her stance on marriage is not as strong as it should be. There isn't much I can do, but pray and ask God to give me the words of encouragement that she needs, however hard that may be to hear.
2. Another good friend of mine is dealing with a very rough pregnancy. She is now about 4 months along and is still not able to keep a stitch of food or water down. For the past couple of weeks she has been on an IV at home that provides nourishment for her and her baby. I believe she is being recommended to a specialist this week. They have a 2 1/2 year old as well and are dealing with some other challenging situations in their life - change of job, trying to sell their condo and get into a better situation financially. This pregnancy was not planned and makes it that much harder.

So yea, pray for me, that I would be able to grow in my prayer life. Thanks so much for any and all prayer support you can and have given. I love you girls and am so thankful to have you in my life.

It's official...I'm an Auntie!

My very first niece was born on 10/10/07 at 6:09 PM. She was 9lbs 6oz (BIG baby!) and 21 inches long. Shay had to have a c-section, but everyone is doing very well - happy and healthy!

Update.

My uncle made some real progress over the weekend, but according to the doctors he is not "out of the woods" yet. In was in to visit on Sunday and we are so thankful for the good reports over the past few days. They have his breathing machine down to 40%, which means his lungs are providing for 60% of his breathing, which is huge progress. His oxygen counts were a little lower, but the doctors said that is normal in his case. He's been responding to the doctors as well. He can open his eyes when asked, as well as squeeze hands, follow commands, and respond to yes and no questions by shaking his head. They had him sitting up for therapy the other day and he seemed to do well with that as well.

The family is very pleased with the progress, but there is still a lot of recovery ahead of him. They are asking for people to continue to pray for his lungs and recovery, and also for wisdom as they make decisions to go back to work this week.

Thanks for your prayers, it really means a lot. Praise God for all that he is doing and continues to do in Glenn. We are looking forward to his full recovery.

Pray, pray, pray...

I don't usually ask people to pray for people they don't know, but this is a really serious situation and requires a lot of prayer.

My uncle Glenn was in a cycle accident last weekend. Somehow (the details of the accident are not clear) he lost control of his bike and went sideways into a fence. The whole one side of his body is pretty beat up. He had ruptured spleen (which was removed right away) swelling on his brain (luckily no blood), a major concussion, a broken nose and jaw, a fractured vertebrae in his neck and several in his back, a broken shoulder, broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and ligaments torn in his knee. He has been in the ICU all week and has developed ARDS disease due to the trauma his body went through. Basically ARDS causes the lungs to tighten or stiffen.

The family has been through a lot of ups and downs this week. Currently Glenn is stable, but still in a comma. They have reduced his drugs to monitor his response and they are a bit concerned he is not responding more. However, the major concern right now is that his lungs will continue to respond favorably and his oxygen levels will continue to rise. Overall the outlook is hopeful that Glenn will come out of this, not only that, but come out of it will little to no major lasting effects.

Please pray that Glenn's lungs would continue to strengthen and that he would have a quicker-than-expected recovery. Also pray for his family. His daughter Shawna is our age and pregnant with the first grandchild. Pray that they would continue to have strength and hope. There are a lot of people praying for him, and we all believe he will be healed and whole in the end.

Thanks so much for your prayers.

motherhood

So, it's time for an update I think and I entitled this blog "Motherhood" because that is basically all that I have going on right now. I am starting to get hooked into some groups in Columbus and it's starting to feel more like a "life" here. The thing about life when you become a mom is that your whole world revolves around children and anything you can do that will allow you the cherished opportunity to relax and not have to entertain your children. Or at the very least, to take care of your children and entertain them along with other adult humans who can help preserve your sanity for a couple of brief hours. You stop even caring if you have something in common with the other women you are talking to because the very fact that they speak in full sentences and you don't have to wipe their noses is a huge improvement from your normal company of 2 year olds. So, I have been very lucky to be able to get involved in a support group for residents' wives at the hospital where Josh works. We have a playgroup activity with our children every Wednesday and we meet for food and adult conversation most Thursday nights. The extra benefit to this group is that everybody's husband is a grunt doctor like mine. So we are all equally desperate for people to hang out with and all understand what it feels like to be a single mom who actually has to maintain a healthy marriage without receiving any of the benefits of marriage (a husband who is present). We call ourselves the "widows club". I am also joining a group called MOMs. They have activities daily and it's nice because I can get out of the house pretty much every day if I want. (By the way girls, it's a National organization. So those of you who are soon to be joining me in the joys and perils of motherhood can find one in your area if you want in case you feel like you need a little support every now and then and need a fun place to go with your kids for sanity sake). So, all that to say... I am getting to know some people and that is very nice. Although, I have not yet met a single Christian woman who I could be friends with. I would really appreciate you guys' prayers for me that God would help us find a church, and that I can find at least one good Christian friend in Columbus. =)

So, Josh is doing well and staying extremely busy. He's actually on a really easy rotation this month so he's been home more than usual. He's had a lot of studying to do, but at least he's home more this month. He's only working about 70 hours a week this month. Yay! He also just had his attending evaluations done by his seniors. he got fantastic reviews and one attending even said he was "by far the most competent intern." Seth and Lilah are good. Lilah is getting teeth and is working pretty hard on standing one her own. She forgets that she needs to hold onto things and will stand for a few seconds. Someday soon we're hoping she'll realize that she doesn't actually have to hold onto things and can stand on her own quite well. Lilah is going to be my strong-willed child and is already flexing her will-power when she can. She also has a rather aggressive temper. We have no idea where that came from....

Seth has also hit a new milestone this week. He discovered that he is able to get out of his pack n play. This has been an exhausting milestone for us. Seth was up at 6:30am yesterday to ask Josh when he would be out of the shower. He refused to take a nap that afternoon because he "doesn't like it his bed." And last night we started putting him to bed at 8:30pm. He got out of bed and came out to the living room literally every 30 seconds until 11pm when we finally locked him into his room with a door knob cover. We talked to him, we sang to him, we prayed with him, we spanked him, and we put him back into bed completely ignoring him. We did everything that Dr. Phil, Super Nanny, and James Dobson all say to do to get your child to stay in bed... completely to no avail. There is no professional on child rearing that says to lock your children in their room until they fall asleep on the floor I'm pretty sure. But that is what we did. Because we had already put him back into bed at least 80 times. (I'm NOT exaggerating, every 30-60 seconds for 2 hours.) I found Seth asleep, standing up next to his bed, with his face and arms flopped across the side of his bed. He woke up at 7am today crying "Mommy! I need a hug! Please let me out!" That woke up Lilah. So I'm tired. Really tired. And I'm hoping Seth decides to start sleeping soon. I'm also just tired of diapers, and poop, and snot, and toys and messes, and of CONSTANTLY mediating fights over who had the toy first, and of picking green beans out of Lilah's thigh rolls. I'm tired of having to hide my car keys because my 2 year old son has an unnatural obsession with driving, and of having to remember to put my coffee up high every time I leave the room because Lilah will knock it over within 10 seconds. I'm tired of of digging chunks of my mail out of Lilah's mouth and of having to keep the bathroom door closed at ALL times because Lilah will eat the knobs at the bottom of the toilet while splashing in the toilet water. But now Lilah is flashing me a big snaggle-tooth grin and I admit that even though I'm tired of all the gross stuff that's part of motherhood, I really love that chubby grin and those smiles and cuddles that I get every once in a while throughout the day, or hearing Seth say that random hilarious thing. (He totally greeted my great Aunt from Texas last week who I've only seen like 3 times by saying "hi crazy mamba jamba!") Right now Josh is playing with Seth asking him about all the parts of his body. When Seth gets the answer correct, he gets tickled. Josh just asked him what his upper thigh is called and Seth just responded by pointing to his rear end and saying "it's my sugar pie!" I seriously have no idea where that came from! And even as I type and look at Lilah's single-toothed grin, I am realizing that she has a pistachio in her mouth that Seth gave her without me seeing him. I need to go dig it out of her mouth before she chokes. Love you girls! And thanks for giving me a chance to vent about my boring life with kids. =)