Whisked Away

One more great detail about President's Day this year, was that Bert completely surprised me.  In the morning while we were navigating our snow day plans, he said he had something to tell me.  I couldn't imagine what it would be.  He then told me that we were going to Stillwater to stay at our favorite B&B for a night!

I never expected that on a Monday night!  I figured we wouldn't be able to do a getaway (or "babymoon" as some say) because all our weekends are full until Baby Ike's due date.  It was so, so kind.

We got to stay in the top floor of the dreamy Ann Bean Mansion.  I loved the sloped ceilings and perfectly situated reading chair in one of the nooks.  It was like living in a Victorian-era fort. :)

We ate Fusion food for dinner at Marx, and had the most incredible dessert, possibly of my life.  Dark chocolate creme brulee topped with fresh fruit.  (And I didn't get sick!  Thank you God!)

Bert had taken Tuesday off work, and I got the day off from my usual laundry and groceries to enjoy with him!  We went to a couple favorite Stillwater shops: Mara Mi and an antique mall.  (I will take a picture of my sweet find at the antique mall and show you later.)  Then we hit up National Camera for camera-buying research, and went to IKEA for baby/house/kitchen stuff.  The fun level was off the charts.  What a gift!

Visual delights at Mara Mi

Marx Restaurant and the Antique Mall

Just dreaming of future kid possibilities at IKEA

Snow and Birthdays

Did you know that President's Day is to celebrate George Washington's birthday?

This year, we had a fresh 14 inches of snow to celebrate.  Bert was allowed to work from home since he couldn't get his car out of the alley.  His work day included a lot of shoveling and snow blowing.  Not only our house, but Ben and Anji's too.  They were busy at the hospital having a baby.

 We got to meet our wonderful new niece a few hours after her debut!  Welcome to the world Ivy!

 We also got to hang out with our favorite kids while Grandma and Grandpa Eikum got a turn at the hospital.

Book Corner: The Silver Chair

Book Corner: The Silver Chair
By C.S. Lewis

What kind of read is it?

Easy and adventurous.  (I needed a break from baby preparation books!)

What insights did I gain from this book?

There are a few profound treasures that C.S. Lewis tucked inside the story, as usual with him.  One that I was particularly struck by was towards the end.  It's when the evil queen of Underland is smoothly speaking lies to  the main characters.  She is convincing them to believe that there is no Overworld (the real world above her underground kingdom), no sky, no sun, no Aslan.  Her crafty words and ways are so persuasive, that it is the most intense moment of the book for the characters just to believe the truth about who they are, where they came from, and their true purpose in being there.  And all of them fail before they succeed in believing the truth.

Lewis tucks in lots of insight about how the world deceives us into thinking that this is it - there's nothing else.  But we MUST remember the truth that this is our temporary world, and home is heaven with our amazing, powerful, and good God.  If we forget, we are in big trouble.  And there's deception at work here to woo us into forgetting.

What did the author do well?

The characters are really fun in this one.  Different and a good change of pace from the previous Pevensie kids.  I loved Puddleglum.

What is lacking in writing style or story?

The thing I liked least was that I got tired of being underground for so much of the plot.  But, it served the story well and the insights within.

What will I remember most about this book?

Baby Room Status Update

Thanks to the kindness and teamwork of my savvy-stud-finding-husband, there are a few new updates to share in the baby room:

crib assembled (take two)

curtain pulls hung

bassinet washed

picture hung

 mirror hung over future changing area

two paper lanterns hung

and furniture rearranged

My plan is to use the space to the right of the dresser and mirror as changing and diaper central.  It will include a diaper pail, a small shelf full of diapers/wipes/creams, and a hamper for dirty clothes.

 We are both so happy with how the crib turned out.  It's lovely.

 I am amazed at the generosity of hand-me-downs already.  Baby Ike even received a few special gifts around Christmas time, including that ducky hooded towel among others.  One drawer is already full of loot and I haven't had any showers yet! :)

It's so fun to prepare this space and know that in the next 7 weeks, we will be adding other baby gear to the mix.  It feels like a blank slate.  So exciting.  And eventually... a baby will live here!

my valentine morning

This note was stuck to the camera on our kitchen table.

(He said later that it took her two minutes to get into that space head-first, and then another 3 minutes just to turn around and settle in.) 

dynamic duo

Bert had an extra amount of moral support while wiring the new outlets.

sneak peak at painted walls

Since I want to save the really dramatic "after" pictures for when the trim is up, here are some sneak peak pictures that give you an idea of what the freshly painted walls look like.  I am so thankful for Bert's hard work.  Since our weekends are so full, he took a day of PTO last week so he could get all the painting done.

ceiling tile

This is what was happening in our home a week ago...

Book Corner: Shepherding a Child's Heart

Book Corner: Shepherding a Child's Heart

By Ted Tripp

What kind of read is it?

This is a parenting book from a biblical perspective.  It reads quickly and easily because the chapters are organized and simple.  

What insights did I gain from this book?

That will take me a while to fully process.  The framework of the book is that as parents you want to pursue the heart of your children, and not just raising them to behave well.  Here are a few of the quotes I highlighted from different places in the book:

• Freedom is not found in autonomy, it is found in obedience.  (page 27)
• You and your child are in the same boat.  You are both under God's authority.  You have differing roles, but the same Master.  (page 29)
• From their earliest days, they must be taught that they are creatures made in the image of God --made for God.  They must learn that they will only "find themselves" as they find him. (page 46)
• You should show them repentance.  Acknowledge your joys and fears and how you find comfort in God. ... Be prepared to seek forgiveness for sinning against your children. (page 91)
• The truth is, if parents are consistent with discipline, they will find quickly that the child responds and the necessity for discipline decreases. ... authority can be settled early in childhood. (page 154)
• There may be days in which nothing much gets done because of the demands of consistent discipline. But, faithfulness will yield a good harvest. (page 154)
• You do not need to be perfect; you simply need to be people of integrity who are living life in the rich, robust truth of the Word of God. (page 192)

What did the author do well?

Tripp's argument that the Bible is the best resource in parenting children is very well thought out and persuasive.

What is lacking in writing style or story?

Nothing comes to mind.  It has helpful illustrations, which is often a weakness in an informational/spiritual book - but not so in this case.

What will I remember most about this book?

Well, this book could be mined for truths in many different stages of parenting, but since we're new to the game around here I hope to remember most the goals for training really young ones.  Tripp says the first thing to focus on is teaching authority of mom and dad.  He defines obedience as doing what he is told: without challenge, without excuse, and without delay.  I hope to keep fresh the insights offered in this section of the book, as the next few years will be full of opportunities to practice being consistent in teaching my child about authority, and ultimately helping him or her understand God's authority over our lives.

Thrilled.

Can you tell we are SO happy to have this part of the house functioning again?  That is, after an afternoon spent doing some very deep cleaning.  (I still have to tackle the drywall dust on the blinds another day.  Bummer.)

It's so wonderful to have a room accessible where the afternoon sun streams in! My favorite.

The other half of the upstairs living room is still crowded with dust, dining room table, and piano, but it's progress!

At this very moment, Bert is working on covering this freshly sheet-rocked ceiling with sheets of imitation ceiling tile.  It is the same pattern as the back splash, but in white.  Can't wait to show you the results!

We decided to keep things simple and just paint this room the same color as the living rooms.  I had hoped to lighten up the color a little while keeping it in the same color family, but that wasn't an easily done option (and I am low on paint-color-motivation among the other things going on).  So we will be happy with more Wilmington Tan in our lives.  It's a color that has served us very well in the past.

Pregnancy Update, the picture is at the end. :)

Bullet points help me organize my thoughts.  It's ok if these are all boring to you.  They will be interesting to me someday, and sometimes people ask me about this stuff:

• Scheduling.  This season of pregnancy has been full of filling the calendar!  With everything from birth classes at the hospital, to registering, to meeting with a pediatrician, to an increasing volume of Dr's appointments, to showers, to coffee dates with friends I want to see pre-baby.  Whew!  We have full weeks, and my non-work days are never lacking in events and errands.  Now we've started to schedule lists of goals for baby room and house projects.  Even though it sounds crazy, being really scheduled is the most helpful thing for us to get it all together.  But I feel like my calendar is the other half of my brain sometimes.
• Sleeping.  Thankfully, I am still sleeping, though it is getting more difficult.  I wake up hurting a few times each night.  At those points it's time to heave over to sleep on my other side and give my other hip/leg a chance to get sore. :)  I am not supposed to stop halfway and sleep on my back, but sometimes I fail and accidentally fall asleep on my back.  (Back-sleeping is bad for circulation of blood to baby and my body.) This is getting increasingly tricky.  If anyone has tips for me, let me know. Bert has graciously adapted to sleeping with THREE extra pillows in the bed in my attempts to cocoon my body in approved sleeping positions.  I also have a clock-like wake up at 3-4 am, and I have to work to fall back asleep after that.  Most of the time it works. *I realize I have nothing to complain about in this arena, because others have had it much, much worse.  I don't mean this to be complaining, just explaining.  It may be interesting for me to look back on someday and remember.  Or not.
• Working.  Yes, I am still working.  Our plans are for me to continue a while longer.  It's going well and I am still enjoying it.  Though at the end of a shift I am always ready for two things: sitting and fooood.  I usually spend the last 30 minutes of my shift dreaming about what I will eat after it's over.  Yum.  I love Panera food.  My co-workers are pretty great and we often have fun shifts together.  I will definitely miss them when I am home full-time with baby ike.
• Eating.  Did someone say food?  Hunger frequency is high, as usual.
• Baby Room.  Nothing much has changed on this front.  Other than the hefty list of tasks that has begun.  Oh yeah, and we got the crib!!!  My parents graciously blessed us by giving us Baby's crib and mattress!  And coming over to set it up!  We just hit a small snag in a damaged crib piece which requires another phone call to target to try and get another replacement piece that fits.  But when it's done - it will be wonderful, and I will show pictures.  The only other baby room progress is that I've finally decided how to arrange the furniture.  Which I brainstormed while I couldn't sleep the other night at 3am. :)
• Registering. I am officially registered!  Thanks to help from my wonderfully helpful sister-in-law, Jill.  Bert and I started the registries, wrote a list of questions, and then Jill helped me answer all of them while scouring the aisles at Target and Babies'R'Us.  (Both can be found with my name in the version of Beki Eikum.)  It was SO fun to plan for all the little items that Baby Eikum will be using in our new and exciting daily life that gets closer each day.  
• Gender.  People often ask if I have a feeling about if the baby is a boy or girl.  I don't think so.  I'm not sure how that works.  Sometimes I imagine the baby being a boy or girl, especially when we are talking about names or baby clothing.  But those are just imaginings, not actual hunches.  I'm trusting what my mother-in-law said at the very beginning: that as soon as you meet your baby you don't care at all whether it is a boy or a girl -- you just love it immensely.
• Another thought on gender.  I thought maybe it would get more difficult to not know the gender as the pregnancy progressed, but it's actually been the opposite.  I am so happy to not know.  I am excited for shower gifts to be non-clothing, and I love not fielding the pink world just yet - if that is a reality for us.  And my anticipation for the moment of meeting our baby keeps getting more wonderful.  Faithfully, I have seen a 70%/30% split in reactions from people.  Most people think we're crazy for not finding out, but I promise you that there is a 30% group that gets excited with me and is totally understanding.
• Baby Movements. This baby is active and I love it!  Sometimes the kicks hurt and/or tickle, but overall I love that the baby is more and more making it's presence known to me frequently during the day.  I am often reminding the baby however, that my ribs are not a xylophone.  Also, if you've ever done TaeBo, you know that punching move where your fists circle around each other?  There are times I am convinced that the baby is doing that in the womb.  Just saying.  I am also entering the phase of being able to feel specific body parts as the baby shifts to new positions.  It's so wild.
• Bonding.  I am working on a song repertoire now so the baby will be familiar with certain soothing songs later.  I regularly sing "Thy Mercy My God" because the verses are so rich, and I've been told that if I practice being relaxed now, it will be easier to relax during labor.  That's my primary relaxing and baby bonding song.  Even now, there are times when I need to occupy my mind on something instead of thinking about whatever pain may be going on.
• Visual Effects.  FINALLY.  Here is a picture of me at 30.5 weeks.  (By now, I am 31 weeks.)  That means 9 weeks to go folks!  Approximately 2 months.  What?!

A verse that has been really helpful in my pregnancy has been Psalm 28:7:

The LORD is my strength and my shield;

in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

my heart exults,

and with my song I give thanks to him.

Memorizing that verse has already been helpful in putting fears to rest, casting cares on my strong Savior, and knowing that my strength is in God, not myself.  Thank you Lord for your perfect word!

(If you've read this all the way through, you deserve an award!)

Fun Stuff in January

This is me with my sister-in-law Anjuli.  She is due 2/14/11, and this was taken a few weeks ago on 1/15/11. (Looking at it now, I feel like I've grown so much since then.  I was 28.5 weeks then.)  

Anji and Ben's little girl will be with us soon and we are all SO excited to meet her!

 Anjuli and Willa

Homemade pizza night with Bert after the Empowered Seminar at church.  Delicious!  He is the BEST at making pizza crusts from the olive oil dough recipe from this cookbook. 

 The pizza peel in action!

 Mouth. Watering.

 This is what I see when I stand over Oakley and look down. Feet well out of sight.

We took advantage of a cool Crowd Cut deal (or was it Groupon?) for tickets to this neat show!

We saw Garrison Keillor and the St Paul Chamber Orchestra performing a Winter Concert of various songs and short stories between.  It was so fun!  

The SPCO is fantastic!  This was our second time seeing them (the first was a free show in a park with the Hansels).  Garrison was great too, but I have to say they stole the show.

 Garrison Keillor is standing to the right of the conductor.  He's probably singing a lyric about Lutherans here. :)  We laughed a lot.  His lyrics were creative and heart-warming in a very Minnesotan way.

After hearing his voice for years, we both felt like we should see him in person at least once.

 I had always wanted to go to the Fitzgerald theater in St Paul.  It's a landmark around here. As expected, it was charming and made me want to go back again.  Is it normal for you to be able to drink beverages during a show in a nice theater?  Or is that a defining characteristic of this one?

 

Tomorrow: the long-awaited pregnancy update. :)

arches

This is the "before" picture, so you can take note of the 90 degree angles of the walls and ceiling in our dining room area.

 And here are the new arch inserts which Bert ordered from this website, and then put up with a drill and some screws.

 We wanted something to match the neat arch that is in our living room. Trying to rekindle some of that traditional Minneapolis home warmth. :)

 This is phase two.  The tapers started yesterday and helped to blend in the new arches.

 Oakley is obsessed with the current paper floor covering in our dining room.  Can you tell?

We are excited as we see things progress.  The main level living rooms have been out of commission since 1/1/11, and with baby prep also looming, progress is encouraging!