stop chewing on aunt katie

for some reason there are tons of school pictures of aunt katie floaing around our basement, and levi loves carrying her around with him :) and he's getting more teeth, so everything is going in the mouth again. and he's a slobber monster. and he's napping in the morning again. these teeth are really taking a lot out of him. poor goober. other than his mouth hurting, he's doing great. we survived mat being gone for 5 days in indianapolis, now we are looking forward to our seattle trip next month. :) levi has lots of new friends to meet in seattle, and we have lots of family time to look forward to! and aunt connie is visiting between now and then! yay! i'm reading a lot in this great book called "you matter more than you think" and it's really stretching me. i'm trying to get better about doing a devotional, thoughtful, just-me reading every day, but not beating myself up when it doesn't happen every day. i want to work on being more real in this blog, putting more of myself out there and seeing what i get back. trying to be a better wife, a more diligent mom, a more thoughtful friend, a more intentional child of God, a more genuine person all around. lots of growing and tugging and work, but it'll be worth it in the end. i've also been working out more, or at least trying to....and it's an interesting parallel to my relationship with Jesus. both are hard work, but both are SO worth the hard work, one obviously more so than the other. but if i make time for the crazies on my work out dvds, who don't know me from adam......why not more so should i make time for the lover of my soul?

worth it all

i'm trying really hard not to complain, but i have to vent a bit...... to get things off my chest. i take it back, not really complaining, but more observations about being pregnant.... here goes

• there are ten chubby sausages where my toes used to be
• i can no longer wear my wedding rings. last night i had to take it off and i thought my poor finger was going to explode. on the plus side, i just read this morning about women who had to have their ring cut off....at least it didn't get that bad!!
• i barely got my toe nail polish removed before i realized how uncomfortable i was, stretching and struggling. i guess i get a pedicure this weekend!
• i can't concentrate on anything for longer than 8 seconds......
• .......what was i doing again?
• very few things fit me anymore....and i don't want to spend much $$ on maternity clothes that i won't wear after december....
• i can't remember a day i didn't look up cribs, diapers, or car seats online at least once
• it takes me a month to get comfortable at night, only to wake up and either move downstairs or go to the bathroom.....

BUT, you know what? i wouldn't trade it for anything. every time this little monkey kicks, rolls, rattles, dances or punches inside of me, it still brings tears to my eyes and a smile to my face. i can't believe that i'm growing a little man....that i've been entrusted to grow and nurture this little life inside of me. really, the other stuff doesn't even matter. i'm over it. he's all worth it.

mama loves you, buckwheat