The past couple of months update

Because of a lovely post at The Beehive, I have been thinking that I really need to get back in to the swing of the blogging thing.

I need to dust off the parts of my brain where I store my limited vocabulary, start paying attention to blog-worthy happenings and comments, and just do it.  As I stare at a pile of bills that need to be paid, laundry that needs to be folded, and children that are working on school work at the kitchen table (well, one of them is doing schoolwork and the other is mostly just trying my patience today), I have to wonder why it's necessary to blog again.  But, there are so many wonderful people, especially grandparents, who have given me encouragement, cheered on the kids, and prayed for us because of this bloggy thing.  So, I'll get back to it.  Or, at least I will give it more of an effort than I have been the past coupla months.

So, what has the Zoo been up to lately?  Well, we made it through the craziness of the holiday season.  We've begun potty training in earnest with Tooter.  Going so-so...  he's a bit lazy about it all, to be honest.  Poodle has really found her groove with school stuff and I am discovering odd things like she can do the +9's with barely a thought, but the +2's trip her up in math.  We survived another season of Junior Miss, having a lovely representative picked for our local program from a group of equally lovely girls.  Jmk and I celebrated 7 years together, although we have put off actually going somewhere fun until after Junior Miss was over and we could enjoy a restaurant more fully.  Poodle has learned how to tie her shoes, and prefers to always have them in "double knots".  We buried a dear grandmother and have made a subsequent trip to her home to clear out some of the more sentimental "valuables" so they wouldn't be cleared out by someone who didn't belong there.  We have been gestating for about 14 weeks.  And we have been dealing with the stir crazy that comes with super cold weather.

Yeah...  that was my not-all-that-clever way of letting you know that Tooter has begun potty training.  Oh, and that we're expecting.  :-)
I realize that I'm not exactly shouting from the rooftops with glee and joy, and I hope that it doesn't come off as being ungrateful or as our being unaware of our blessings.  It's just that after 2008, which will forever be the "year of the miscarriages", it has been hard to be more joyful than apprehensive.  This is the farthest we have gotten than at any of the other times last year.  And I have been much more sick and much more tired than during any other time last year.  All the signs point towards this remaining a "successful" pregnancy.  But, we are very much aware now of how much we do NOT know what God's will is for us.  And we know that whatever we think is quite irrelevant, because it is only God's plan and His will that matters.  So, while we may think that everything is going well for now, we can't know that we're meant to have this baby on earth until we are actually holding him or her in our arms.

I will say that being pregnant has been extremely difficult this time.  Not just the normal physical frustrations of being in early pregnancy.  But the emotional toll that it has taken.  It is difficult to wake up each day and wonder what that day will hold - life or death?  It sounds terribly morbid and just typing the words makes me see just how unfocused I have been on the blessings and mercy of God.  But for the life of me, I have no idea how to quench those feelings.

However, we have made it to 14 weeks.  And while we hadn't said anything to Poodle (we didn't want to inadvertently rekindle the memories of the first miscarriage last year that was so hard on her), she actually figured it out on Tuesday.  I'm quite obviously pregnant now, and she looked at my tummy and said "I think you have a baby in your tummy".  We teased her for awhile saying things like "you think so?"  and "Hmmmm....  I don't know!....."  But we finally let her know she was right.  She is thrilled and thinks that waiting until August is just the most frustrating thing that could ever have been put upon her little 5 year old sensibilities.

We are very grateful for every single prayer that has been said on our behalf over the past year and into this one.  And we'll remain grateful for every entreaty that is made on our behalf to the Father.

So, those are the biggest highlights of the past two'ish months.  At least, those are the biggest highlights that I can actually recall at the moment.  :-)  And fingers crossed that I will get those Zoo doors open a little wider from here on out.