Update

Christmas Resolutions checklist:

Menu plan - doing o.k., could do better.  I think if I did my shopping the same day I did my planning I'd be in better shape.  Finding the recipes isn't the problems, it's making sure I have all the ingredients for those recipes on hand that takes the most time.

Getting up early and reading my Bible: this one hit a snag.  I love getting up early and reading my Bible but I was finding that I was too tired to move by noon.  Getting up at 6:30 doesn't give me enough time in the morning to really sit and read for any good amount of time but reading my bible at night is almost pointless ... hmmm.... 

Addressing people by name: I'm not very good at using people's names but I've tried to be more personable and that is going well.  It is surprising how contagious a smile is - and then there's the rebound effect of getting  hit in the face with another person's smile, nice.

Oh, darn, I forgot the last one.  It will come to me I'm sure.  In other news I'm pretty sure the baby is head down now.  It's gone from dancing on my bladder to kicking me in the ribs!

Still no baby names although I've been chuckling about these ones:

Padmanabha: the lotus-naveled
Pankaja: mud-born; lotus
Pasua: born by cesarean
Ping: fair ... duckweed
portia: pig
Pollard: large head
Branden: broom hill
Brijmohan: universally attractive
Brody: muddly place
vaimiki: born of an anthill
vance : bog dweller

Pregnant women - unite!!

First pregnancy

craved only hot dogs - never ate one

Second pregnancy

donuts and double cheeseburgers - indulged frequently

Third pregnancy

junk food, didn't eat too much

Fourth pregnancy

stuffed jalapenos

patent leather pointy toed yellow stilettos (not to eat)

Who says we have to stick to crazy food?  I'm upgrading to a more multi faceted approach to self-indulgence.  It will make things more fun!  Anybody with me?

What's the diff. between ...

A pregnant lady and a drunk? they both:

1.) walk funny

2.) pee often

3.) tend to puke unexpectedly

4.) are moody

5.) can be irrational

6.) can't put a coherent sentence together

7.) pass out on the couch for hours

8.) burst into tears for no reason

9.) "beer belly"

but the one difference I have noticed is that after a period of experiencing extreme symptoms while both may enter a medical treatment facility only one will walk out with a baby ... (hopefully).

What's in a name?

The naming process for me is a deeply spiritual experience.  Zak, Eliot and Eliannah have special stories as to why their name was picked and each name has a special meaning.  I can tell you exactly what book of the Bible I was studying when I was pregnant as their names are based on something I was learning from that specific passage.  

But.. it's not all about me, Phillip still has a say.  He likes "normal" names that don't necessarily mean anything special but fly under the radar of bizarre.  I like names that have a special meaning but in some cases are off the beaten track so to speak.  Here is a list of our most recent "rejects"

1. Zandaleigh: (no meaning) 
2. Rachael : ewe
3. Semeicha:happy, joyfull
4. Favianne:hopeful
5. Ushriya:blessed by Jehovah
6. Ahuviya: loved by God
7. Ranen: to sing, to be joyful
8. Rebeccah: to tie

9. Nadim: drinking partner 

10. Girard: strength of the spear

Can you guess which pick are mine?

Happy Belated Zakmus

Dear Zak, 

You have grown a lot this year.  You have had to deal with some bitter disappointment and my hope and prayer is that you have learned to cherish Christ above any good thing you have been denied.  

Your birthday hymn is a very special one to me written by a woman who experienced great pain and sorrow in her life and yet grew in grace and godliness - clinging to her Savior for strength, joy and hope.  I learned this song last year and after finding a different tune for it I sung it for weeks on end as we took care of Daddy when he spent all those weeks in bed recovering from his knee injury.

Father, whate’er of earthly bliss 

by Anne Steele
Father, whate’er of earthly bliss
Thy sovereign will denies,
Accepted at Thy throne, let this
My humble prayer, arise:

Give me a calm and thankful heart,
From every murmur free;
The blessing of Thy grace impart,
And make me live to Thee.

Let the sweet hope that Thou art mine
My life and death attend,
Thy presence through my journey shine,
And crown my journey’s end.

Your special verses that we will learn together come from Psalm 16:1,2  and 2 Peter 3:17,18

"Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.  I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”

"You therefore, beloved, ... be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."

HB3

(This post is from December 20th ... oops! thought I hit the "publish" button)
Happy Birthday Eliannah!

You are truely a princess.  You are learning how to be gentle, how to use quiet voices, how to ask nicely for what you want, how to be a good hostess and how to look out for the needs of others (at least we're working on these things to varying degrees of sucess.)

My birthday wish (verse) for you this year is Psalm 16:11

"You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever."

And our special song that we will work on together is since I taught it to the boys when I was pregnant with you and you've never had a chance to "catch up"

For the Beauty of the Earth
1. For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

2. For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

3. For the joy of ear and eye,
for the heart and mind's delight,
for the mystic harmony,
linking sense to sound and sight;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

4. For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

5. For thy church, that evermore
lifteth holy hands above,
offering up on every shore
her pure sacrifice of love;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

6. For thyself, best Gift Divine,
to the world so freely given,
for that great, great love of thine,
peace on earth, and joy in heaven:
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

Last but not least ...

The gifts that keep on giving a.k.a. my Christmas resolutions:

1.) Wake up to a clean living room and have a consistent early quiet time
2.) Address cashiers, anyone in the service industries with a name tag on by name and make an effort to be friendly
3.) Read a good book a month (I'm half way through Prodigal God. If he can do one a week I can find time to do one a month.)
4.) Menu plan!!

Yes, I have been married for 8 years and have never consistently sat down and made a menu plan for the week. This results in way too many trips to the store and time wasted looking through cookbooks and recipe websites. It's actually quiet easy.

Monday: I have a form that I fill out, I bring some recipe magazines (from the library) to the park, I sit and write down my menu and my shopping list.
Tuesday: I go shopping after Zak is off to school and spend the morning prepping meals and doing laundry (this is the only day in the week that I have time to get a bunch of stuff done around the house).

next stop Valentines Day!

This little article caught my eye today. Don't know how to feel about it since it is such a small percentage of couples tested. I totally believe that selfless marriages are happier and last longer. The funny thing is that Phillip and I have been scouring the Internet for good love duets and haven't found many. Why are all the good love songs solos? That doesn't make sense! Most of what we have found is either cheesy or musically uninteresting or way overdone. What are your favorite love songs and why?

This is my favorite right now (and yes I know he also sings it with Sarah Brightman but I like it better when he sings it by himself)