short and sweet family time

The Lord has been very gracious in the last several weeks of my life! Baby Harms #3 has decided to stay put and let life settle down in our home before he/she arrives.

Last week, Rodney ended up getting the stomach flu (not fun). I am happy to report that he is fully on the mend.

And on Monday, Rodney started his PICC line treatments for Lyme Disease. I'm happy to report that he is handling the treatments so far. And aside from some discomfort from having a 42 cm line permanently in his arm (read -- not sleeping as well as one would hope), he is in good spirits and easily fitting this inconvenience into his daily schedule. Praise God!

Yesterday, Rodney finally got our tomato, pepper, cauliflower and broccoli starts planted (he took a day off!). Sickness and rain last week prevented this necessary task. It's good to have it behind us. Now we just need to pray for rain, sunshine and growth!

And yesterday we all got to spend the day with my brother and dad. I hadn't seen my brother for almost a year, as he lived and worked in a remote area in Africa. He's also getting married in June to a lovely European lady and attending graduate school in England in the Fall, so time with him is truly a treasure.

Abigail especially really enjoyed having her Uncle Dan here for a visit. And a visit from her Papa is always welcomed with great joy. We can't forget about him!I don't have any pictures of Papa this time because he was tasked to mow the lower field. Thank you, Papa for your help! Gracious Papa treated his very pregnant daughter to lunch AND dinner yesterday. I cannot begin to tell you how marvelous it was to have a break from cooking:)

In the meantime, I'm still waiting on Baby. I've been 3cm dilated over a week and 75% effaced but certainly can't guess when our little one will arrive.

Hope you enjoy all of the pictures. I keep thinking it will be the last time I post in a while. The Lord knows!

Round 1 of games -- Sequence for Kids

Uncle Dan was handedly beat in about 5 minutes! I've never witnessed such a short game of Candy Land.

My girls love their daddy's Jeep :) Rodney was gracious enough to pick me up at the house and drive me down our steep hill. No slipping and falling for this pregnant momma!

I'm delighted to see our raspberry bushes leafing out. I've been even more delighted to see several bumble bees hard at work, even though the raspberries haven't flowered yet:) Our raspberry jam reserves are dwindling.

simple pleasures...

Rodney planted several rows of potatoes, 30 tomato plants and many peppers, cauliflower and broccoli. I'm also happy to report that all of the trees we planted last year survived the deer, drought and winter! Our rhubarb is thriving, as is our asparagus!

But I'm not sure how we're going to get to the trees without getting wet. There used to be a gradual bank and a rock path that we could traverse on foot or by Jeep. The flood waters were rather destructive and completely flooded the bank. All of the rock boulders were washed away by the forceful flood waters, and the stream redirected on a new path, leaving a pebbly beach behind, where it once flowed.

 My girls both have colds :( ...hence the runny noses. Unfortunately, Rodney and I are both fighting off whatever they have, but I feel "okay".

I love this girl! Here you can see how lanky she is. I have a hard time finding pants that fit her around the waste. She even has a belt holding up her capris (barely).

the Lord's discipline

This year my husband has led a Bible study in our home over the book of Hebrews. Every week, he faithfully studies the scripture, prepares prestudy questions and pours over commentaries. I have been encouraged by our conversations before, during and after Thursday night Bible study. I am so blessed to see how my husband lets the Word of Christ dwell in him richly.

Now let me backtrack...

Over the years, I have also come to the conclusion that I am very proud and stubborn, while the Lord is extravagantly gracious and patient. When he has something to say to me, He often has to tell me twice, three times or more. For example, I've often been through two studies in John at the same time, two studies in Acts, and this year, my pastor is preaching through the life of David while CBS is also studying the life of David in its "Servants of God" study. I've studied, discussed, and then listened to lectures and sermonds over the same texts. My heart is very hard! But I'm thankful for the piercing power of the Word!

So my big take-away this year from the study of David's life -- the biggest difference between Saul an David wasn't that one was more sinful than the other. They were both sinful men. They were both proud. They both sinned against men and God. And yet the difference - David was a man after God's own heart and was repentant. He trusted in the Lord's mercy and poured out his soul in repentance.

How encouraging for my own legalism-prone soul! The Lord does not love me because of my goodness (which isn't very impressive) but because of His grace and forgiveness. This has been a huge encouragement over the past several months.

So ever since Rodney was diagnosed with Lyme disease last summer, I've had the lingering thought in my head - "Lord, did we make a mistake? Have we sinned against you? Was it wrong to choose to move into this house? Do we measure up?" Rodney started feeling better. We carried on with life. Case closed? No.

Rodney never really felt 100%, which we didn't expect right away since his body had been so buffeted by the disease. But for the past several months, Rodney slowly started experiencing excruciating pain that started in his shoulder, traveled to his elbow and ended up in his hip. Finally, he decided to see a GP and made an appointment with his infectious disease doctor.

Long story short (Hannah just woke up from her nap...), Rodney still has Lyme disease. So on Monday, he is going to begin an aggressive antibiotic treatment that will last a month. They're going to put in a pic line and he'll have to go to the hospital everyday for treatments. He'll have lifestyle restrictions, since he'll have a pic line in. And no, it's not incredibly a convenient time, since I'm due any day with our third baby.

And since Hannah is now awake, I'll quickly bring this full circle back to Hebrews and the Lord's discipline. Last night we studied Hebrews 12, which is truly the Lord! I'm amazed at how he perfectly plans to communicate His perfect Word at the perfect time! As a result, the Lord has given me a lot of peace.

In short (I hear my toddler), sometimes the Lord disciplines us because of sin. We've prayed to God to reveal any sin issues. He hasn't. But sometimes the Lord disicplines us to reveal more of Himself. For example, after Job's succession of trials (far beyond anything I have EVER experienced or can even begin to imagine experiencing), he had a deeper understanding and revelation of God's character and person.

So my prayer for Rodney and myself the next month -- that we would see the Lord more deeply, more fully, and truly love and trust Him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. And at the same time, be sensitive to the Spirit, relying on the Lord in humility.

I'd be lying if I sat here and wrote, "I never worry about the future!" I do! But then the Spirit brings me back to him with some words from Philippians 4:4-7:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

fun on the tire swing

It's so much easier to capture two smiling, happy girls when daddy is home!

Photos - sickness and recovery

When I took this picture, both girls were on the mend, but I wanted to capture a very memorable week:) It took the girls about a week to fully bounce back to their normal selves. Since Abigail literally laid on the couch or in the bathroom for four days, they got to watch many movies (definitely not the norm!). Have I mentioned yet how thankful I am for wood floors and tile? We only have two carpeted rooms in the house, which escaped the fury of the stomach bug (praise God!!!).

I took the following pictures a couple of days before Rodney got home from China. Hannah climbed into Abigail's lap so she could read her a picture book.

Here are the girls enjoying their new bath towels.

Loved by the Lord

Confession: I am not a supermom.

Confession: I often think I'm self-sufficient.

Truth: My Lord and Savior is good and gracious, and abounding in lovingkingdness.

Truth: I am blessed beyond measure.

The past several weeks have been FULL of reminders that I'm in desperate need of the Lord's mercy in my life.

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit convicted me recently about the lack of a Bible Memory discipline in my life. And so, I started memorizing several verses and taking seriously the verses that CBS encourages us to memorize in our Bible Study.

The first verse I memorized is from Isaiah 41:10

"So do not fear, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." 

Little did I know how I much I was going to lean upon the truths found in that verse only days before I filed it away in the front of my memory.

Two weekends ago, Rodney left for China. We made it through our first weekend without him, participated in our normal weekly routines (shopping, library, Awana, and CBS). But come Thursday afternoon, as we were pulling out of the church parking lot after Bible Study, I started feeling nauseous. I figured my blood sugar was low and I needed some food, so we picked food up on the way home. But as I sipped on a milkshake, the queasiness only worsened.

Long story short, I soon started throwing up. I immediately texted friends and family asking for prayer. To keep the story short I'm going to highlight the many ways the Lord upheld me and sustained me during the next many hours.

• My girls immediately fell asleep for their naptimes, something they had not done in two weeks.
• My friend Jaclyn came and picked up the girls only a half hour after they woke up from their naps and even agreed to keep them overnight
• My friend Kari came by with Gatorade and soup and kept me company until the early evening.
• And my friend, Christy, took her place and stayed into the wee hours of the morning, even after my mom had arrived from WI.
• My mom drove down from WI in the middle of the night (and in the rain!), even though she was swamped with her PhD homework and papers to grade. She canceled all of her important Friday meetings and served me all weekend, even though she ended up getting sick and falling even farther behind in her end of the year studies.

After almost 10 hours of throwing up, my contractions were regularly 3 minutes apart, which was particularly alarming since Rodney was in China and I was only 35 weeks pregnant! I had talked to my doctor hours earlier and he wasn't convinced that I needed to go to the ER. But around 12:30am, my mom and Christy helped get me into the car for the ER.

When I arrived at the hospital, the IV fluids and anti-nausea meds quickly began to do their work. Only my contractions weren't stopping or slowing as quickly as they had hoped. I was 2-3 cm dilated and then 3-4 cm dilated, which was concerning to the physician.  Finally around 6:30am, I stopped dilating and my contractions spaced to 5-6 minutes apart. I was cleared to go home.

Throughout the whole evening, I was comforted by Isaiah 41:10, and I was blessed by the Body of Christ in ways that I couldn't have even predicted. It was such a relief to not be alone, even though my husband was in China. It was a blessing knowing that my children were safe, loved and with a close friend. Abigail is still talking about her sleep-over with her friends. I was overwhelmed by the prayer support and encouragement of the people God has placed in my life.

Because my friend Jaclyn was watching the girls, my mom and I were able to get some sleep, truly a miracle since the painful contractions and vomiting kept me awake all night. 

My mom was able to stay through the weekend, leaving only when she started to become sick herself. And friends continued to pray for me and encourage me throughout the week.

Both of the girls did end up getting the sick, and it was even a blessing that they weren't sick at the same time.

And a friend from Bible study brought me several meals from Panera right about the time I was getting tired of eating soup and crackers and knew I wouldn't be making it to the store any time soon, especially with a vomiting 4 year old!

I am relieved and overjoyed to now have my husband home. I am thankful for renewed energy and strength. But I am also thankful that the Lord helped reminded me that He is all-sufficient. He is my provider. He is my sustainer. And He has placed me in the Body of Believers to bring Him glory and praise.

just because

I am 34 weeks pregnant, my husband is traveling and gone most evenings, and my girls are adorable. I'm sure my blogging frequency will decrease in the months ahead, so enjoy the pictures while I have my evenings free!

First Ballet Recital

On Friday, Abigail performed in her first ballet recital. Every Wednesday this year, she's gone to dance classes at a Park District location close to our home. The class sizes are small - five to six girls - and the dance teachers are wonderful. She has enjoyed learning some of the fundamentals of ballet this year and often leaps about the house showing us her moves.

I wish you could have all joined us for the recital. Even Hannah sat well through all of the performances - young performers are quite entertaining! They had 2 year old performances up through grade school. 

I was a little bit nervous how Abigail was going to respond to a large crowd of people. There were about 250 very attentive people in the audience, equipped with flashing cameras and camcorders. She didn't smile at all during the performance; I think she was concentrating on all of her moves! But she did a great job and was adorable (of course). I was a very proud mommy!

Please forgive the blurry pictures. I have a little bit to learn about taking pictures in a dark audience!