Small Corners

There is a small corner in our bedroom that has been repurposed time and time again throughout our marriage. Dresser for me, armoire that no longer fits in the kid’s room, extra storage, an extra chair with the idea that mommy may have a quiet space to read or do quiet times in the morning, exercise machine, co-sleeper with baby #1, exercise machine repurposed to a “clothes hanger”, work desk where I started 1derfully Made and put vinyl on just about anything that wouldn’t move, back to just an armoire and extra storage and finally….a “nursery” for baby #3.

Once we started telling friends and family that we were expecting the unexpected, many reactions were similar:

 “Where will you put her?”

“Are you going to move?”

Their concerns were valid and were ones that we had already played out in our own heads. However, if I am learning anything during this pregnancy, it’s that small corners return big blessings.

I have often prayed for burning bushes and larger than life events when really it is in the quiet moments and small corners that God speaks to us the most. Today I was not expecting fireworks or burning bushes but rather just a regular standard ultrasound to check the baby and measure the fluid around her body. I was lying on the table trying desperately to make out anything I could on the large screen in front of me and wishing I could see more. I have felt her move and have watched my ever expanding waistline grow over these very short months. I have now even sat through more ultrasounds than I had with my first 2 children and yet I still can’t wrap my brain around the idea that any of this is really happening, especially in a matter of 2 weeks or less!

But then in a quiet moment while watching the blurred gray and white figure on the screen, it all instantly changed. There she was staring back at me! It was as if she appeared out of nowhere.

The ultrasound tech switched the image from the regular view to the 4D (something I never had done with either of my first 2 children). I am still in awe of her image and her chubby little cheeks. Where did she come from and how did she get there and what on earth was God thinking when he gave us this crazy, overwhelming, immeasurable blessing?

The small corner in my heart that always felt like my dinner table was missing someone will now have an extra chair. The small corner of our room that always seemed to be the catch all with no real purpose has been given its sole purpose. The small corners of our home that we thought couldn’t fit anymore into has now grown by leaps and bounds to accommodate another blessing. The small corner of my heart that I thought could never make room to love another one as much as I love my first 2 children has been proven wrong. The flood gates were broken and have been overflowing since the sight of her face.

So do I blame my friends for their concerns and questions? Absolutely not. Would grand gestures and a large home be the natural next step for many to assume that we would make in order to create space for this new little one? Possibly, but instead I like to think that God is working on filling the small and simple corners that are already right in front of us.

Thank you Jesus for taking the small corners of our lives and filling each of them with your presence. We know that even our smallest corners do not go unnoticed from your sight and your plan is so much greater than anything we could want for ourselves!

Kelly

xoxo

Joys & The Ugly Truths of Pregnancy

I am finally coming to grips that I can either cry or laugh my way through this pregnancy. There are highs and lows and some that most of us would care not to discuss. But how else do we survive this amazing and miraculous experience of carrying a child with an ever expanding waist line, swollen feet, mood swings that even scare us, and more exhaustion than any of us would like to admit without crying?

Here are my confessions of being a raging lunatic….I mean a pregnant woman…

1.      Coughing, sneezing and laughing requires an all hands on deck type of position or it will inevitably require a fresh pair of underwear every time.

2.     Who knew the non chaffing bar I purchased last fall while training for my   ½ marathon would also come in so handy for my pregnant thighs.  Not necessarily a marathon but it might as well be.

3.     I have finally just learned to agree with every stranger’s guess:

Stranger: Wow! Must be a boy because you are hanging so low!

Me: Yup!

Stranger: Twins right?

Me: You betcha!

Stranger: How many more weeks to go?

Me: 4

Stranger: But you’re so big. How can you grow anymore?

Me: Trying to ignore my 8 year old daughter’s looks of wonder and worry waiting to see how I will respond.

4.     The doctor requires that you pee in a cup at each visit. After about the 6^th month there is no “proper placement of the cup” but rather a conscious circular motion around the bowl as you hold your breath waiting to hear just the right sound to know you’ve hit the mark.

5.     My new best friend is my son’s “grab nabber” toy (as he so affectionately calls it) to help pick up everything on the floor level.

6.    Drying my body from the waist down is no longer an option.

7.     Normally getting out of bed (or an armchair in my case) is quite a feet each morning; however, the leg cramps in the middle of the night are enough to take you from lying down to a standing position and then right to the floor on your knees in a matter of seconds. I had no idea I still had it in me!

8.     While snuggling with my daughter, she saw my cleavage and commented, “Mommy your belly has gotten so big that it’s spilling out your top”.

9.     Any woman able to shave their legs from 8 months and beyond should be given a gold medal when they exit the shower or even a fun bumper sticker to go on the back of their mini vans. Girls, I’m thinking it’s time to replace the 13.1 and 26.2 stickers with a picture of a razor.

10. God bless the woman who created pregnancy Spanx (helps with #2). Who knew, right?

11.   The nursery for our first born was completed months in advance. The nursery for our 3^rd consists of a pile of baby items in the corner of our bedroom with only 4 weeks to go.

12.  Having to take your 5 year old son with you to an OB appointment especially while performing #4.  Need I say more?

I’m sure many of you have some fun ones of your own that you could add to the list. Isn’t it good to know that we have all been there, done that and we are all still here to talk, no wait….laugh about it. On that note, time for a fresh pair!

Kelly

xoxo