Warming Up

Well, it’s almost been a week since we found out that I’m 99.9% pregnant.  We have an appointment on June 11^th with Dr. Bob to take a pregnancy test to confirm what we already know.  We ended up telling our parents on Friday night.   We had Josiah wear a shirt that said, “Big Brother—Ready or not here I come!”  I was more anxious about telling our parents than anything else.  They are all very excited and know that this wasn’t our plan, but God has a reason for this little one to come now.  I’m really starting to warm up to the idea of having a second child this early---I still worry about being able to handle a newborn and a toddler at the same time.  Chris has been very encouraging about my worries and reminds me how great of a mom I already am.  I’m so thankful to have a wonderful husband. 

I’ve been pretty tired in the afternoons, but Chris takes care of Josiah if I hadn’t taken a nap by the time he gets home.  I am remembering the fabulous sleep that I got when I was pregnant with Josiah.  I still believe that they need to bottle up these hormones and sell them!  Josiah has been sleeping 10-12 hours at night now that he is getting better, so I’m getting some good sleep.  If he does get up, then Chris has been getting up with him.  Again, I’ve got such a wonderful husband! 

We are heading to NC a week from today to spend a week with Papa T & Lin-Lin.  Josiah will also get to meet his Great-Granny Kay, Great-Pa Potter and Great-Aunt Sue.  Chris and I are looking forward to hanging out with the family and just relaxing.  I’m looking forward to the beach and taking some pictures.  Hopefully, Josiah will get used to the sand. 

Well, I should get going.  Today is the day that I head to the church for a few hours.  We are kicking off our summer program, so I need to make sure that I have everything ready.  Again, we ask that you continue to pray for us and for our new addition, Baby G2. 

Shock

Well, I think I have finally picked myself up off the floor---No, I think I’m still there.  Yesterday was Josiah’s 11 month birthday and what a present he got!  After being quite a few days late, I decided to share with Chris that I was having some concerns.  Chris said that he would go pick up a pregnancy test, so I would have a peace of mind that I wasn’t pregnant.  We have been so intentional about not having a second child yet, so it was a test to just show that I wasn’t pregnant and I was skipping my period for the month.  I know my body is still a little out of whack from having Josiah.  Well, I took the first test and it came back ‘positive’ in my eyes and an ‘invalid result’ in Chris’ eyes---one of the lines was a little faint.  So off to the store he went again to pick up some more pregnancy tests—this time he got a three pack instead of single one.  I went and took another test and couldn’t believe the results—it was a clear ‘positive.’  I stayed in shock most of the evening and didn’t sleep most of the night.  This morning I got up and took one more test hoping that the other two were wrong, but it came back ‘positive’ again. 

All I can say is God sure does have a sense of humor.  Chris and I both agreed that we wouldn’t be having Baby G #2 until he had a full time position at a church.  I guess what we wanted really didn’t matter.  I am definitely scared and anxious.  I’ve always wanted to be a mom and have quite a few children.  I just wasn’t expecting it this soon.  We’re still trying to figure Josiah out.  I know that God has a plan and doesn’t give us more than we can bear---I was just hoping we would have a little say in the matter.  I know after the shock wears off, I will be just as excited about this baby as I was about Josiah.  I guess yesterday when I wrote about continuing to pray for us, God knew I needed to write that request. 

I will be posting this entry after we go to the doctor to confirm that the HPTs are accurate.  We are going to try to make an appointment with Dr. Bob, while we are in NC in June.  He gave us the test for Josiah, so we couldn’t think of a better person to do it again. 

Well, that is all for now.  I have a feeling that I will be clinging to Jeremiah 29:11-13a over the next few days.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me.”

Mother's Day 2009

Well, I had my first official Mother's Day and it was great.  Chris called my first official Out-of-the-Womb Mother's Day.   

Chris took Josiah to church, so I could get ready all by myself.  It's amazing something as small as getting ready by yourself could mean so much!  At church we honored all the spiritual mothers who have been serving the children at the church.  I gave a little speech and then handed out some potted flowers.  Josiah and I came home after the announcement in the second service while Chris stayed to serve in the nursery.  He got home, and we had some lunch.  Josiah and I took a couple of pictures together while we were all dressed up (in the album).  We played for a little bit, then it was nap time.  Josiah took an extra long nap yesterday.  I think that was his gift to me!    After our nap, we went to Target so I could get some summer tops.  When we got back home, Chris ordered some dinner for us and then got Josiah ready for bed.

It was nice to be able to just spend some time with each other, since life has been pretty crazy for The Greenwoods.  I enjoyed reflecting on my thankfulness to God for Josiah.  The Lord has truly blessed us with a great baby!  I am so thankful for the opportunity to stay home with Josiah each day and to invest in him.  I have waited years to be able to stay at home to support and encourage my family.  I can say it is well worth the wait!

I am also very thankful for God's blessing in a great husband.  Even before we had Josiah, he would celebrate Mother's Day.  He would let me know that he looked forward to the day when we had children of our own and how proud he was of me for investing in the lives of my students.  I have to admit this Mother's Day was even better because I have finally started my ministry of raising a family with a godly husband.

VT Trip

Well, Josiah and I have made it back to VA after spending a few days in VT.  We flew to VT for my cousin's baby shower.  She didn't know we were coming, so it was a nice to surprise her.  We had a VERY busy few days and Josiah met LOTS of people while he was there!

My mom was flying up from GA and happened to have a lay over here at Dulles.  She did some research and was able to find a decent ticket for me and Josiah that was on her same flight.  She only had a 40 minute layover, which turned out to be way shorter than that.  She rounded the corner as we were getting ready to board.  While we were waiting for Mimi, he ate his lunch.  Once we boarded the plane, he nursed until he fell asleep.  Yet again, Josiah was AMAZING on the flight!  We arrived in VT Friday afternoon.  My cousin picked us up from the airport and brought her back to her mom's house.  After getting settled at Auntie Doris', we went to see Big Grammy at the nursing home.  She said that she recognized my mom and I, but she didn't know who the baby was.  She thought Josiah was a cute baby, but didn't think he looked like me.  I asked her if she was saying I was ugly and she told me she wasn't the one to say it! 

On Saturday Josiah rose pretty early--which would be the pattern of our time in VT.  The sun rises a lot earlier, so he would wake up between 5:30am and 5:45am. Saturday afternoon was the baby shower, so we spent most of the morning helping get ready.  Josiah had LOTS of aunts who were willing to take care of him.  The shower was a lot of fun.  It is always exciting to celebrate a new life and to be a part of that.  Josiah started running a little bit of a fever--his two top, middle teeth were cutting through--so we stayed home while Mimi went to visit Big Gram at the nursing home.  We did manage to go for a little bit of a walk to get some fresh air.  He really seemed to enjoy his time outside.  I enjoyed the fact that I had some big hills to walk up and enjoyed all the beautiful scenery.  God really speaks to me through His creation, and I enjoyed soaking it all up!  We ate dinner, then hung out for awhile.  After Josiah went to bed, we watched a little hockey on TV--another thing that I miss---HOCKEY!

On Sunday, we celebrate Mother's Day with my gram at the nursing home.  We had a nice brunch with all my aunts and a few of my cousins.  Again, Josiah was surrounded by his aunts who wanted to love on him.  I was nursing Josiah in hopes he would fall asleep.  My gram looked over at me and asked, "What's he doin' under there, suckin'?"  Her comment tickled me so much that if Josiah was trying to go to sleep, my laughter probably stopped it!   We laid low on Sunday afternoon, then went back to the nursing home on Sunday night.  We got her ready for bed and changed her sheets so she would have a nice clean bed.  It was then home to watch some more hockey on TV.

On Monday, I spent the morning with my Auntie Ellen, while Josiah spent some time with his Mimi.  They went to visit his Great-great Aunt Hilda, while we went shopping.  We all got home shortly after lunch and just visited.  Then we went to Bragg Farm to get a maple creeme.  It was absolutely fabulous!  We had a nice dinner that night which Auntie Doris made.  Most of the family came over to visit and to say their good-byes.  After dinner, we went to see Baby V's nursery.  My cousin has an absolutely beautiful view of the VT mountains.  The view of Camel's Hump is so breathtaking.  While we were there, Josiah was able to feed some fish in the pond.  He enjoyed watching the fish splash to the surface to get their food.  He was so taken by the action.   We played a trick on Jonny V.  He was holding Josiah, and we all got in the car to leave.  We had been saying good-bye, but he was in such conversation with Uncle Jimmy that he didn't even realize we were in the car.  When he did, he got a little panicked and started walking pretty fast toward the car stuttering, "I think you forgot something!  I think you forgot something!"  We all busted out laughing.  The pregnant one and the recently pregnant one were crossing our legs so we wouldn't pee our pants!  Once we got Josiah to bed, it was time for some more hockey!

On Tuesday, we got up and got ready for the day.  After we were all packed, we went to see Gram one last time before we headed to the airport.  We had a little tea party with her.  Again she  thought Josiah was cute and I was ugly!   She even mentioned that his Mimi was ugly, too!  : )  We had a great flight home.  Josiah was great on the plane--even the stewardess mentioned how good he was.  Josiah was definitely happy to be home and to see his Daddy.  Mommy was glad to see Daddy, too!

We had lots of fun visiting our family.  I know Josiah won't remember it, but it was nice to be able to take pictures of him with his family.

Need Me a Little Country

Well, Josiah and I went to NC for a few days.  We left Thursday morning around 8:30 and didn't get to Goldsboro until 3:00.  It took us 1 hour to go 10 miles--guess it was still rush hour!  Josiah feel asleep after we started picking up some speed and slept until lunch time.  We took a nice long lunch break.  We got back in the car and he played for a little bit before falling back asleep.  He slept for almost 2 hours.  I had wonder baby traveling with me!  We stopped at Papa T's office to say hi and then went to my old school to see if there were any teachers still around. Most of them had already left for the day.  We headed to the house to be greeted by Lin-Lin.  After visiting for a little while, we decided to go for a walk.  It was nice to have some fresh air and enjoy the warm weather.  Josiah enjoyed spending time with Papa T when he got home from work.  They were both pretty captivated with each other. 

On Friday, we took our car to the Toyota mechanic because the check engine light came on our way down.  After spending most of the morning at the shop and shelling out some money, it is as good as new!  Lin-Lin was nice enough to let us use her car so we could go visit our friends.  We went to the school to see some of my friends.  Then we meet Lin-Lin and Linda Meyer for lunch.  After lunch, I got my hair cut.  We came home for a nap.  Picked up my" new" and improved car.  Then we met Auntie Coco for a visit--we're still waiting for someone to come and take our order!   Then we went to the soccer field to hang out with the Rasmussen family.  That was our last visit for the day.  Josiah was super, wonderful baby again!  He hung out with Lin-Lin and Papa T some more before he headed to bed. 

On Saturday, we went to visit Nana Pat before heading home.  Again, we took our time coming home.  Josiah slept until lunch.  We stopped to eat and play for a little bit.  Then we got back in the car, and he fell asleep  shortly after we got back on the road.  He slept almost the rest of the way home.  He was so excited to be back home and have his toys again.   He was even more excited when Chris got home.  It was around Josiah's bed time when he finally got home, but he was too excited that we let him stay up and play with Daddy.  After Josiah went to bed, Chris and I had a "date night."  We cooked dinner and had some sparkling cider and tried to watch a movie to find out that our TV died on us!    We don't have cable, so it won't that much of a lose.  I won't be able to do Wii Fit though so that makes me a little  .

While in Goldsboro, I decided that I'm much more of a country girl than I realized.  It was so nice to see some trees and fields with farm animals.  God has always spoken to me through His creation.  I didn't realize how much I missed it until I spent some time in the country.  Today, we are going on a walk using some nature trails, so hopefully we will see some naturey things.

Back Home

Well, we have made it safely back home.  We had a very busy week when we were in GA.  We got back to Valdosta around 10:30pm.   Josiah feel asleep in the van.  We were hoping that it would be an easy transfer, but he ended up waking up.  We did his bed time routine of giving him his bath and something to eat.  We were hoping that it would keep him calm, and we could put him right to bed.  Well, our plan didn't work.  Instead, it gave Josiah a second wind.  He stayed up until midnight laughing and being a ham.  We got up around 6:30am on Sunday--his normal wake up time.  We went to church and then met some friends for lunch.  Sunday night my sister and her family came over for dinner and to see Josiah--Chris and I found out that we aren't as important anymore!    On Monday, Chris drove to ATL to see his Granny for the day.  Josiah and I hung out with my parents and grandmother.  We went out to lunch and did a little shopping.  On Tuesday, we went to see Papa Tim at work, so Daddy could get his eyes checked.  Josiah spent some time with just Mimi and Papa, so Daddy and Mommy could have a date.  On Wednesday, we went to the park.  It was an interesting experience.  There was a group of moms there with their kids having a going away party.  They had their food on the picnic tables and one lady left her keys and cellphone there (not a good choice in this day and age).  A man went up took the keys and cellphone and then started eating some of their food.  She realized her belongings were missing before he left.  They stopped him and asked him if he had their stuff.  He took it out of his pocket and handed it to the lady.  He also handed back the half eaten sandwich, but she didn't want that.  One of the other ladies called the police, and the young man hung around for the longest time eating the rest of the sandwich.  I would have expected him to run off, but he didn't.  Eventually, he started strolling off, so I got my camera and took a video of him.  My dad kept his eye on him, but he eventually got out of his sight before Valdosta's Finest showed up.  While the police were talking to the women, the man comes strolling back.  He wasn't arrested, but it made for an interesting morning.  That night we went over to Granny and Papa Gig's house for dinner and spent the night.  Josiah had lots of fun with the cats there.  They hadn't been around a baby before, so they didn't know to stay far, far away.  They eventually figured it out!  My parents' cats have been around plenty of kids, so they knew to keep their distance.  Thursday morning we went to visit some friends.  Then that afternoon we went to the strawberry patch.  That night my sister and her family came over again--they were sick all week, so we didn't get to see them very much.  Tayler spent the night with us.  We played some games and hung out.  On Friday, we visited with some more friends and then had lunch with Chris' mom before we left for Jacksonville.  We spent the night in Jacksonville, since our flight was so early in the morning.  We had a nice dinner with Mimi on Friday and then we all crashed pretty early.  We flew back to Norfolk where Uncle Chuck picked us up at the airport.  We went back to the house where Aunt Melody had made lunch.  We ate lunch and then brought Josiah down to the beach for a little walk.  He loved the wind, but wasn't so fond of the sand.  We got in the car and drove 3 1/2 hours home.  He was a little fussy Saturday night and Sunday, but he is doing so much better today.  As you can see, we had a busy time while in GA.  We enjoyed hanging out with our family and friends, but it is always nice to be back home.

First Flight

Well, I've made it safely to GA to see my family.  I was a wonder baby according to Mommy and Daddy.  I cooperated with their plan by getting up on Saturday and staying awake until we left for Norfolk, VA.  I took a nice long nap for Mommy and Daddy in the car.  I'm guessing Mommy took a nap with me since she was pretty tired from working 20 hours this week plus getting us all packed and still making some meals for Daddy and me.  We stopped around lunch time, and I ate a really great lunch and was in such a good mood.  Mommy and Daddy kept praying that I would be a good traveler today.  I don't know why they were so nervous about flying.  It was as if they expected something less than wonderful from me.  We did run into some spring break travelers.  In my less than mature days, I would have started crying with the stop and go traffic.  Now that I'm 9 months old, I'm more mature, so I talked with Mommy and Daddy while we waited in traffic.  We got to the airport in plenty of time for me to stretch out and play on my blanket.  I was a little distracted by all the people, but enjoyed my play time.  We flew on Southwest, so we didn't have assigned seats, so Mommy and Daddy picked the very last row on the plane.  They figured that if we were way back there people wouldn't want to sit beside us.  Well, their plan worked, and we had three seats all to ourselves!  I enjoyed looking out the window.  I got to see all the people working--driving trucks, loading those big bags that carry our clothes and those people who wave those big sticks in the air.  It was all so fascinating!  We got ready to take off, and I didn't have any problems.  No crying from me--remember, I'm 9 months and very mature!  After we got up in the air, Mommy and Daddy fed me my dinner.  Again, I ate like a champ!  Mommy and Daddy had the great idea of spreading my blanket on the floor with my toys so I could stretch out.  Well, it turned out to not be such a good idea.  I got a little fussy, so Daddy picked me up and then I decided my stomach didnt' feel so good, and I threw up all over him...I mean ALL over him.  It was a good thing that he had double layer of shirts on because I would have been a little embarrassed to see him walking around in his undershirt.  I spared Mommy from any throw up.  I figured it was the least I could do, since I save my special diaper presents for her when Daddy is at work.  Mommy got me changed into some clean clothes and then she gave me some of her good milk that helped me fall asleep.  I slept the rest of the way--even through the landing.  So other than Mommy and Daddy's well intentioned idea of letting me play, I liked the whole flying thing.  I'm looking forward to going back home and maybe Mommy and Daddy won't be so concerned with the direct flight thing next time.  Well, I should get going.  I have lots of people to entertain while I'm here, but wanted to let you all know how my first flight went.