Ready or not

I'm going to try my best not to compare my children - this is something I've thought a lot about, and though I know I won't perfectly accomplish this goal (esp. in my head), it's something I'm going to strive for, still.  

That said, it's been interesting to me to generally compare pregnancies, so that's what this is about.  At this time during my pregnancy with Jacob, he was already born!  (If you don't remember his birth story, you can read about it here.)  So, baby sister has already waited longer to come out than her big brother, and I expect the rest of her birth story to be very different, as well.  We'll see!

Then and now.

Don't tell her, but thanks to COVID-19 (and my husband, parents, friends, etc.) I've crossed everything off the pre-baby to-do list I made many months ago!  Of course, that means I immediately made new lists and continue to take advantage of the extra time I've been given (hence this blog post), but it sure does feel good to feel so settled/prepared.

We even crossed off one of our initial quarantine goals: making homemade Girl Scout cookies! 
They photographed ok, but certainly didn't turn out as expected - haha. 
Still very tasty, though, which is really all that matters!

People often ask if we're "ready," and though I don't know that I'll ever fully be ready (much like I've felt with marriage, first-time-parenthood, etc.), I do feel increasingly excited and anxious for her to arrive.  Though we've been through it before, the newborn phase seems daunting.  I know how fast it goes, but I also know how long it feels and how all-consuming it is, so I think that's why I don't know that I can say I'm "ready" for it.  Having so much squared away around the house, though, makes this easier - it helps to know just how much time and mental space I'll be able to devote to her (and Jacob) during the transition.  The house is cleaned, lawn mowed, garden watered, freezer stocked a bit, fall decorations up, laundry done (though this is never reallllly done), car seat installed, etc., etc.!  Plus, those new to-do lists are short and fairly non-essential.

The world still seems so crazy and out of control.  The unknowns (COVID-related do's and don't's, politics, job stuff, any potential travel/gathering plans) seem to outweigh the "knowns."  Those "known" things (God's love/grace/control, the imminent arrival of a sweet baby girl, the pure joy of a toddler), however, sure make the unknown ones less scary and more bearable.  So, for now, we're just truly enjoying some quality time together - our last few days as a family of three.

We'll be as close to "ready" as we can be whenever this little girl wants to join us on the outside.  In the meantime, we're making memories, making the most of our time, and making sure to be thankful for the many blessings and silver linings this life continues to offer.

Readily,
Kensy

Favorites of the day:

how excited J was to put up fall decorations

perfect pool days

good customer service

9-10-11 & Waiting

What a beautiful weekend...again!  I hope you all have been able to enjoy it, to some extent.

I was able to spend Saturday afternoon with my roomie's family watching the Lincoln Air Show, chatting, eating, and playing Cornhole (a.k.a. Bean Bag Toss).  The highlight of the afternoon was the Blue Angels: 

Then, we decided it was too nice out to pass up the Husker game, so we spontaneously went downtown, bought tickets from a guy on a street corner, and enjoyed a pretty exciting game with 85,099 of our closest friends.  : )  Highlights of the experience included being 50 ft. from the tunnel when Bo and the players came out, listening to and watching the alumni marching band, and seeing a man pick his nose the whole time he was unknowingly on the big screen. 

To top off the weekend, our single women's Bible study officially started this morning.  We're going to be doing a study on God's timing, but the books haven't come in, yet, so we did a mini-study on "waiting" to preface our semester together.  I don't remember exactly how the analogy was made, but we painted the picture of sitting in God's waiting room.  This really struck a chord with me.  It's interesting to think about the fact that our whole life on Earth could be considered time spent "sitting in God's waiting room."  Of course, there are also individual seasons of our life we might consider waiting periods, too.  What we need to think about, however, is how we spend our time in the hypothetical waiting room.  Are we trying to find the most comfortable chair, talking to others there, reading a magazine, staring at the clock wondering when it will be our turn, greeting people as they come in the door, reading the information pamphlet related to our reason for being there...the list of analogies goes on and on.  Are we waiting patiently, expectantly, hopefully...or the opposites?

Additionally, part of the scripture we read was from Psalm 37.  Here's an excerpt:

 ³ Trust in the LORD, and do good;
         Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
 ⁴ Delight yourself also in the LORD,
         And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
 ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD,
         Trust also in Him,
         And He shall bring it to pass.
 ⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
         And your justice as the noonday. 

Verse 4 is quoted quite a bit to give hope to those waiting and wishing for something.  I think this verse is too often taken out of context, though, and is often used to justify going to God with unrealistic/unnecessary "desires."  We shouldn't forget the commands in the verses surrounding this one, though.  "Delight" should accompany "trust" and "commitment."  We also talked about the fact that delighting ourselves in the Lord will also allow Him to change our hearts and make the things we need most the things we desire most.    

Food for thought, huh?

I'll leave you with that.  Hope you have a great week!

Patiently,

Kensy

P.S.  Today is Grandparent's Day.  I'm so thankful for my grandparents and the role they've played in my life, thus far!

Favorites of the day:

"Fools Rush In"

the "Pumpkin Patch" candle we had burning earlier

leaving the windows open

caramelized butternut squash