Sunday, February 26, 2012

rob is MY favorite fruit

I just cannot let this place languish any longer. SO much has happened in the last month that it's impossible to do it all justice. Bullet points, here we come!
  • Audrey Claire Perrine was born! She is lovely and petite, but looks like a giant compared to...
  • Gunner George Schuyler, who came four weeks early! He is fine now, praise God, but it was a scary time, including a flight to the Missoula NICU (better resources to care for his troubled breathing). Everyone is home now and adjusting to the new normal in both families.
  • I have promised my mother to hang onto THIS baby for as long as possible so that she doesn't have to be away from home any more during the winter (she was here for about a week and a half and is now living for a week with the Perrines in Couer d'Alene during their move). I'm 25 weeks along and finally have a baby belly worth showing off in a photo post to follow... uh... soon.
  • I read something funny about the phrase "We're expecting." As in, "We're expecting a baby. But it could be a velociraptor," and now I giggle about it whenever I get to say it.
  • I get to be a bridesmaid in a dear, dear friend's wedding! Less than two months after I have a baby! I keep reminding myself that it's not about me, but I'm a bit nervous about both my body shape and the ability to nurse while in a bridesmaids dress. Should be fun or at least quite funny!
  • Blake and Rob pooled their birthday money to buy a very nice remote control car. The bonding and laughter and mud-bogging (it's water resistant and about two feet long) have been fun to watch, right up until the thing has to be washed off in what I stubbornly refer to as "my" utility sink.
  • Unpacking is commencing again, as I count up 15 weeks left IF this baby is on time, which seems like not very much time to do, well, everything. Three and a half months, however, seems like FOREVER. I'm never gonna make it.
  • Projects abound, and I have a coffee table to sand and paint, a magnet board to sand, prime, and spray with chalkboard paint, laundry shelving to paint and hang (with Rob), prints to frame and hang, and a yard to plan out (with help from whomever will design a sprinkler system).
  • Both Blake and Rob have felt the baby kick, and since Reese had a little boy, I've largely stopped calling the baby "Marilla." I will err on the side of safety with "Biscuit," which is weird, because that's also what we call our bums around here. Guess I've never shied away from being weird before, so why start now? The look on Blake's face when he was kicked by his little brother/sister was priceless. He told me he wants a brother and then two sisters (because, as he put it, "my sister needs a sister too."). I told him I didn't want to be pregnant that much. 
  • I'd all but given up on Rob for baby kicks, because despite being kicked A LOT, he couldn't feel any of it. I think he may not have any sensitivity in his palms. After several sessions of "That," to which he kept responding, "Nope," in the last few weeks (That. Nope. That. Nope. That. That! THAT! ... Nope.), the little bean finally kicked hard enough for him to feel.
And finally, a few quotes to round out the day:

(during the move)
A2: Master bedroom? This has all the "toys" in it, doesn't it?
A: Yes, don't open it or you'll be sorry!
R: Oh, sweetheart that reminds me: I am SO GLAD I moved the garage stuff by myself. Slapped up against the side of one of the plastic bins was one of the gag gifts from Molly and JR.
A: Uh-oh. Which one?
R: "My First Bondage Kit."

*****
(also during the move)

A2: Let me get that. You're not supposed to lift anything.
A: Well...
A2: No, you're pregnant, you're not supposed to lift more than 25 pounds, right?
A: YES! Yes, that's right. Aw, I love that you said that. Give me a hug.

*****
B: Are you done with your cocoa?
A: Yes. It was delicious.
B: I'm not. (sip) I'm enjoying mine.
A: I enjoyed mine! I just enjoyed it faster.
B: Well I'm enjoying mine longer. Sort of.

*****
R: Every time (a certain friend) calls, he just says "Hey, fucker," when I answer.
A: (shocked) Oh! So is he your mission field then?
R: Oh no, he's a believer. He just curses like you do.

*****
A: You can watch one more short episode.
B: While I eat my Lit'l Smokies? Because I LOVE them, even though they're a little bit SPICY for me, I still LOVE them.
A: Sure. How many more do you want?
B: Ten. No... twelve, please.

*****
A: So pear is your favorite fruit (after watching him inhale one)?
B: Nope, mango.
A: Then pear?
B: Nope. Strawberry's second. Pear is third. Kiwi is not on the list.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

i'm either a heartburn or a hatchet kind of girl

I grew up in a moderately charismatic church, and for those of you who don't know what that means, in practice it meant that many in the congregation felt comfortable raising their hands to some degree during the singing part of the service. That's really it: no dancing, snake handling, interrupting the service with loud proclamations of agreement, or flag-waving. Folks would just lift a hand to God while singing.

I now attend a Reformed church, and for those of you who don't know what that means, in practice it means that we take wine with communion every Sunday, and the singing part of the service is about as lively as most funerals. There's more to it than that, of course, but for the purpose of this post, that is the difference between the two churches I've called home.

So I sent an email with the following attachment to my two pastors, the worship director, and the worship coordinator, offering to teach a class to the congregation. It took a great deal of self-control not to send it out to the entire worship team, but look at me: practicing restraint! I'm incredible these days, just on fire.
Click to enlarge.