We had our very first shower...a diaper shower hosted by some dear friends of Clayton's family. We had such a wonderful time and got TONS of diapers!! (I apologize for the poor quality of all the pictures in this post. They were all taken with my phone.)
Monday and Tuesday weren't terribly interesting, so I'll share this cute picture of Tucker instead.
Wednesday was a wonderful/sad day. How can a day be wonderful and sad all at the same time you ask? Well, let me tell you. Our precious family friend, my mom's best friend Lynne, fought a very valiant battle with cancer for 9 months. She went home to be with Jesus on Wednesday evening. The selfish part of me was sad because I can't imagine her not being here. The Christian part of me was praising God because she is sitting on his lap living the good life in Heaven. She was one of the most phenomenal women I have ever known. She wanted more than anything for everyone to know how much Jesus loved them and how much SHE loved them. My brain is going crazy with all of the things I want to tell you about her. She was kind, genuine, funny, loving, supportive, a great listener and the last to pass judgement. My precious mom spent every one of Lynne's last days by her side. We were talking Saturday night and mom said "You know, one of the hardest things for me is that she won't get to know Knox." I held it together then, but as soon as I got in the car to drive home I just lost it. That has been the hardest part for me, but I've felt so selfish about it. I can't imagine her not being a part of my son's life, as she has been such a huge part of mine. I want to be sure we always tell him about her and I can't wait for him to meet her in Heaven one day. Lynne's husband, Robert, passed away unexpectedly five years ago. They were such a great example of a Godly marriage. They loved each other so very much, but most importantly they put God at the center of their marriage. They were such a fun-loving couple, and I can't help but smile knowing that Lynne is up there dancing with Robert. It's so bittersweet for us left on earth, but Lynne WON her battle! She received the ultimate healing and is celebrating with her groom, her heavenly Daddy and all of those who have gone before her! And as my mom put it, she is enjoying the best party of them all. (:
Jessica was reading Heaven is for Real a couple of weeks before Lynne passed away. She was talking about how it made such a difference in her view of Heaven and how personal it really is. So of course I had to read it. Oh how right she was! If you haven't read it, you definitely need to. It is a short, easy read and I finished it in 2 nights. It gave me such an appreciation for what is truly means to have child-like faith. I've always known that as I've gotten older I've been more and more jaded by the things of the world, but to see Heaven through a child's eyes makes me realize just how jaded I am. One of my very favorite parts of the book is when the dad asks his son if he knows why Jesus died on the cross. The dad was surprised when his son nodded his head and said "Well, Jesus told me he died on the cross so we could go see his Dad." How simple is that? All God wants is to have a relationship with us and for us to join him in Heaven when our time comes. Why do we add so much to that? After I finished reading it I was laughing and talking to Jessica about it and I was telling her how funny I think it is that we think of Heaven as this very proper majestic place where God sits on his throne and we stand in front of Him and have a very serious conversation. In reality, Heaven will be the most beautiful, amazing place we have ever seen and God wants nothing more than for us to run and jump in his lap and tell Him how happy we are to see him! I definitely read this at the right time and I know Lynne is sitting up there in God's lap laughing and asking Him if her outfit is the cutest one in Heaven (which I'm sure it is).
Jess and I have also talked a lot about the difference in sadness about death between believers and non-believers. How do you explain to someone who doesn't know Jesus that you are thrilled for your brothers and sisters in Christ when they leave their earthly bodies without sounding hard-hearted? Believers are sad that they are without their friend. Non-believers are sad because the person has died. I've thought so much about this over the past week, and I still haven't come up with an answer. I want people to know God and be able to rejoice with me when someone goes to Heaven! It's a GOOD thing! In fact, it is the BEST thing! My mom has shared a verse from 2 Corinthians a lot over the course of the last few weeks. It says this:
For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 2 Corinthians 5:1-5
How amazing is that?! God has our perfect body waiting for us when we die. I want everyone to be able to celebrate a friend getting their perfect heavenly body! Okay, are my thoughts scattered enough for you yet? I have so many things running through my head and my ADD is making it so hard to write out!
Moving on now.
Thursday was the Power of Pink luncheon. My mom's one year anniversary of her mastectomy was in August. It's been so difficult for her to celebrate being cancer free when her best friend was battling terminal cancer. It was a hard morning to be at a cancer luncheon with Lynne having passed away not even 24 hours before. They showed a video of so many people around town who cancer has affected. I guess the actual video isn't online anywhere, but it was to this song:
Of course our whole table just boo-hooed like babies. Jessica and I were laughing about the fact that we used our cloth napkins like snot rags before we even ate our lunch! Nasty, I know. The luncheon was great and the speaker was amazing! Her name was Mary Pierce and she has written a few books that I definitely want to read: When Did I Stop Being Barbie and Become Mrs. Potato Head?, When Did My Life Become a Game of Twister?, and Confessions of a Prayer Wimp. She was hilarious and such an inspiration!
My mom also had her seasonal furniture upstairs at the store starting Thursday. If you've never seen any of her pieces you can see her blog Beautiful Things Out of the Dust or find her on Facebook Beautiful Things.
By Friday I was totally worn out from the rest of the week and all I could think was "Dr. Moyers would kill me if she knew what all I had done this week." So, I took it easy Friday. I worked for a little while and then went home (or at least that's how I remember it...I'm sure I managed to keep myself at least a little busy somewhere in there). Friday evening was the visitation for Lynne. Her precious daughter Blaire has been such a trooper. She is such a strong young woman. She has been forced to grow up so quickly and she has done it with such grace. I had to laugh Friday night though because I hugged her and said "You doing okay?"and she said "Eh, you know." I said "Yeah, I'm sure you are so tired of people asking how you are." and she said "Well yeah. I'm not going to say fine, or good. What am I supposed to say: shitty?!" To say she has been amazing through all of this is such an understatement.
Saturday morning was the funeral. I had prepared myself for a long, emotional morning. I was quite surprised when it was anything but that! My father-in-law put it perfectly when he said "At first I felt weird saying this, but that was probably the coolest funeral I've ever been to." And it was! It makes me laugh because everyone keeps mistaking the word "wedding" for "funeral." But how fitting? Lynne was reunited with her earthly groom and got to meet her heavenly groom! The service was perfect. My mom spoke and I was ready with my tissues because I just knew she was going to lose it in the middle of talking and then I would follow suit. But she didn't! I know Lynne was so proud. Mom's words could not have been more perfect and more fitting and they honored Lynne so well. The whole service was so Christ-filled. I don't know what else to say except that it truly was perfect and exactly what Lynne wanted!
Sunday afternoon Clayton and I worked more on the nursery. It is ALMOST done! I got his quilt this weekend and I absolutely love it! I can't wait for the rest of his bedding to be done! My wonderful friend Aubree also brought me a tub FULL of clothes from when her son was younger. I am pretty sure Knox's wardrobe has now doubled in size and he has some new adorable things that I can't wait for him to be able to wear!
Aaaand that brings us to this week (finally)! I took the day off yesterday (thanks Jess) and attempted to rest a little since I have a doctors appointment this week. That didn't really happen...but it was nice to be able to get a few things done and go at my own slow pace.
Today I had another elective ultrasound at AC. I have loved getting to see my little boy so much! And by little, I mean HUGE. His head is still measuring big (ginormous). Thirty-six weeks to be exact. Yeah, I'm only 32 weeks. Oh my! He is 4lbs 7oz (give or take a little), his ears still stick out and he has even more hair! My mom and Clayton both got to go today, so that was special. My mom hasn't gotten to feel him move yet (he is so stubborn) so I was so happy she got to see him! The instructor was trying to show mom his face before she had to go back to school and she just couldn't get it. She said I am "wall to wall baby" and he had his face buried in my hip. Yikes! Their estimates show that he will arrive December 5th. Oh my!!! She did say that as you get further along those estimates aren't as accurate, but still! That is just a little over a month away! I guess that's about it (sigh of relief...my rambling is over). I have a doctors appointment Thursday. Say a little prayer that my blood pressure is still okay! Oh, and I've had to stop wearing my wedding ring. It's driving me nuts! I feel so naked. But at least I made it this long with it. Here is my 32(ish) week picture for your enjoyment!
If you made it to the end of this, congratulations! I'm impressed. (:
I absolutely loved this post! You are part of such an amazing, strong circle of Christian women and it is so uplifting to hear these words! I just finished Heaven is for Real and I completely agree that Heaven gives us hope in something that can be so heartbreaking as death. PS You are an adorable pregnant lady :) Cannot wait to meet the little mister!!
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