2 cm and walking

Well, we are just getting back from the doctor and running some errands. Josiah has been working hard this past week. I am now 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced with his head down. The doctor went ahead and removed my membrane in hopes that this will help with labor. We have an appointment for Tuesday, but he said that the chances of me making it until then will not be very likely. He says if I do come back on Tuesday, they will probably help the process along. I will probably be doing lots more walking with the encouragement of my husband and mom--they've had me out and about for the last two days. We will keep you posted. Thanks for the continued prayers and please continue to pray as we wait and prepare for Josiah's arrival.

A little sweet nothing

Well, nothing has been happening over the last week as far as Baby Josiah is concerned. The doctor said that I haven't dilated and that my cervix is still back. So all those Braxton Hicks were for nothing! : ( That's okay though because Josiah isn't ready to make his entrance. If he needs more time to grow and prepare, then we will try to wait patiently for him. The doctor did say that he is head down still, so that is a relief. Josiah didn't really like the doctor checking me out today because he was doing quite a bit of kicking! My blood sugar was a little high today. A bit of advice--don't treat yourself to a sweet tea before going for a doctor's appointment! The doctor wasn't concerned about it, but I will remember that for the next visit.

Well, that is it for now. Chris can go to SC with little fear of me going into labor this weekend. We'll keep you posted if anything changes.

A word from dad

It's late, and I just finished watching "The Great Debaters" with my dad. I would recommend the movie to anyone who wants to experience the pain and hope of the 1930's. I was most struck by the role Forest Whitaker played in the movie. He played a father figure which I must say I greatly admired. He was firm and tough on his son at times, yet was not to proud to humble himself for the sake of his family. He defended the right for his son to walk a walk of integrity and did so by modeling that life throughout the movie.
I hope to be that kind of father. I hope my son sees me as a father who is firm and tough, yet loves him with all that is in me. I pray that I can teach him what it is to walk humbly before the Lord. To love justice and defend the weak and downtrodden. I hope to teach him that "an unjust law is no law at all." - St. Augustine.

I am not a perfect man, and those of you that know me at all have probably seen my imperfections in one way or another, but I often wonder is the mark of a Godly man perfection or the willingness to never give up seeking to follow the One who was perfect? I feel unprepared to be a father, and yet I feel I was made to be one. I can't wait to see my son for the first time within the next few weeks (I have him penciled in for next Monday...we'll see HAHA). I wish I could maintain an ongoing to see Jesus with the same intensity I long to see my son. Alas, the world is so enticing and deceitful it is hard to keep the main thing the main thing.

Well, I suppose I have rambled enough. I would like to close this posting with a prayer for Josiah. I would encourage any of you to pray this with me over the next few days until he joins us out here where the air is, but if you have your own words by all means pray away.

God of Abraham, Isacc, and Jacob
will you on this day please be with Baby Josiah.

Will you please nurture him, protect him, and
strengthen him for the trials that await him in this world.

Will you so surround him with your presence
that even in his sinfulness he might know true peace.

Will you place in his spirit a sense of longing
to know you in your fullness and glory.

Will you guide him towards all that
brings you glory as he lives in this world.

Will you lead him away from all glory
that distracts him from seeking you.

Will you give him the wisdom to
look past his parent's faults and see your face.

Will you grant him a ministry that will usher in the
coming of your Son and the declaring of your Name.

I ask that you do all of this for one sole reason:
The magnification of your name throughout the earth.

In the name which is above all other names
The name of the Hope of the world, Jesus Christ

Amen.

Almost 39 Weeks

Tomorrow we go to the doctor's, and he will do our first internal exam to see if the process of having Josiah has started. It looks and feels like he has started dropping, and I have been having some mild "cramping" the last week. I am hoping the doctor gives us some good news even though Daddy says Josiah can't come until after this weekend because it's not a good time for him! : ) The reason Daddy doesn't want him to come until after this weekend is because he will be going to SC on Saturday to preach at a church that is a good possibility for a position. My mom will be coming into town on Friday and staying with my cousins just in case Josiah decides to not listen to his daddy. We will be planning a trip to VA after Josiah arrives to visit another church that is interested in Chris. There is still a church in MI, but they won't be meeting for a couple of weeks due to committee members being out of town. Doors seem to be opening up, and we continue to pray that God will give us a clear picture on where we need to go.

We had a great, long weekend. Corey and Simon flew in from England on Friday, and we have had lots of fun catching up. We had a baby shower for Baby Girl Gildener on Monday. It was so nice to be able to celebrate this new life while they were here. We can't wait for Baby Gildener to arrive--but not too soon because she needs to grown some more in her mommy's tummy. Corey and Simon are talking about coming home in January. We will make sure to come back for a visit then so the cousins can meet.

Not much else is going on here. Just anxiously waiting for Josiah to arrive. We will post any information we find out tomorrow after we get home from the doctor's office. Make sure to check out the new photo album to see all the pictures from the "family visit." Keep us in your prayers as Chris travels this weekend and we prepare for Josiah to come.

36 Weeks

 Well, we are just under 4 weeks until our due date. The next few weeks should go by pretty quickly. This is my last week of school with the kids. Then I have a week of teacher work days. Corey and Simon will be here the weekend of the 13th for a few days. My mom is coming up on the 20th because Chris is going to South Carolina to preach at a church that weekend. So as you can see the month of June will be pretty busy and should go by quickly.

Chris and I finished our birthing classes last week. We had a lot of fun! Chris was pretty traumatized from watching the video on the delivery of the afterbirth. I embarrassed him on the last night when we were playing Jeopardy on the list of words our instructor gave us. My competitive side came out a little bit.

We are excited about the future and just wish it would get here soon!
:-) This whole journey has been such a blessing as we've watched and experienced the growth of a new life. We often wonder if God sits back with a smile on His face as He watches us grow and live this life He has given us. We have learned and experienced so much! From what after birth looks like (yuck!) to new exciting products that can repel "Micro-Bial" (Just ask Sara about that one!) Thanks for being a part of this journey and keep those prayers coming down the stretch as we all finish this part of the race.

Born Again

I want to take a minute to share a cute story from school yesterday. While my students were waiting for the buses to come, one little girl came up and started talking to me. She was telling me how the other day she was at church and her preacher was telling the congregation if they wanted to be born again all they needed to do was come to the front of the church. She told me a lot of people went to the front, but she didn't go because she didn't want to be a baby again because she wanted to grow up and be an adult and teach like I did. It was all I could do not to start giggling. I told her that when you are born again it doesn't mean that you go back to being a baby. I then asked her if she had another idea about what it means to be born again. She then told me she thought it means you act really bad like a baby does. I told her that it didn't mean acting bad. I asked her if she wanted me to tell her what it means to be born again, and she wanted me to. So I explained it is when you accept Jesus into your heart because you realize you are a sinner and you need Him to help you go to heaven and to do good things while here on Earth. I think she was relieved she wouldn't go back to being a baby. I feel like a seed was planted yesterday, and I realized that conversation could be the very reason why the Lord hasn't moved us on to our next place yet.

Just a little update on how Josiah is doing. I went to the doctor on Monday, and he said Josiah is head down. Hopefully, he will stay in that position between now and delivery day. His heart beat was nice and strong--I'm always so relieved when I hear the little guy's heart beat. I go back on June 3rd and get to do the fun GBS test--some abbreviation like that. He asked me if I've started feeling contractions yet, and I told him I didn't have a clue. If I had, then they aren't that bad! He said that we are at the point that if I do go into labor early Josiah should be fine lung wise, so that is a relief.

Chris has sent out some more resumes to churches in other denominations. He has heard back from six other churches who will be bringing his information to their committees. The EPC churches in PA and MI are still possibilities, but they are just taking awhile. Chris decided to send out to other churches and let God close doors on the ones He doesn't want us to go to. We've had a few doors closed, but it brings the pregnant mommy comfort in knowing there are more than two possibilities out there! : )

I only have 10 1/2 more days of school left! I know Chris is looking forward to having summer wife back, and I can't wait for Josiah to meet summer mommy. I am ready to be done as are the kids. We've gotten to the point where they are fighting like siblings. It is a sign that we need to pack up and head home for the summer. I have fun days planned for the last two weeks of school, so hopefully that will help everyone to get along. If not, there will be some who are awfully sad sitting there watching everyone else do the fun things.


PS-We found out that Josiah's cousin is going to be a girl!! We are so excited for Corey and Simon!!!

34 weeks

Tomorrow I will be 34 weeks, which means I only have 6 more weeks until my due date. Tonight will be our third birthing class. We are suppose to go visit the hospital tonight if they aren't too busy. Auntie Coco will be going with us--she is going to be another coach if for some reason Chris isn't here because of a job interview or having to start.

Chris had his graduation ceremonies this past weekend. Saturday was the hooding ceremony. Josiah and I brought his hood to be placed on him. It was very special to be a part of the ceremony. After the hooding ceremony, we had dinner with the family. Then my parents and I did a little shopping at the outlet mall.

Sunday was Mother's Day. Josiah got his mommy a nice card. It's amazing how well he can write already! : ) We had lunch with Papa T and Granny Linda. Then we hung out with my mom and dad at the hotel. We played some Wii and had lots of fun laughing. After we finished playing, we met my gram, aunt and cousins for dinner to celebrate Mother's Day with them. We went back to the hotel, and I fell asleep while the rest played the Wii.

Monday was the actual graduation ceremony. It was outside and the weather was soooo cold and windy. I haven't felt cold in weeks, but I did that day. They did have a big screen set up inside one of the buildings, so I was able to go in there. We did go out when Chris walked across the stage. My parents left from the ceremony to head back to Georgia. Chris and I stopped to have lunch in celebration of all of his accomplishments.

The rest of the week has been playing catch up on sleep and house chores. Chris has Saturday off, so we are looking forward to just relaxing and putting the glider together. We were going to wait until we moved, but since it doesn't look like it will be happening any time soon we decided to go ahead and do it.

As for the position at the church in PA, we haven't heard anything. It is getting a little frustrating. Chris and I have been discussing some other possibilities. He has tomorrow off, so he will look into them then. Keep us in your prayers as we continue to seek God's will.