Bloch's Law of the Search

You always find something in the first place you look, but you never find it the first time you look there.

(Doesn't it drive you crazy when this is true!)

Sarah's addition:

And it's usually someone else who finds it in the first place you had looked!!

=)

Adventures in Kerrville, part 2

It's a jungle out here.

One of my weekly activities in Kerrville is going grocery shopping at HEB. Now, I am really glad we have an HEB. It's a great store. Apparently I'm not the only one who think so. It is always crowded. Some times of the day are worse than others, but the parking lot is always full and the store is crowded.

Going grocery shopping has become an adventure.

I am writing today to let you know that you do not need to feel sorry for the old people in Kerrville I write about. They know the laws of the jungle. It's about survival. Especially in HEB.

I used to feel bad for complaining about the traffic jams they caused in the aisles. I used to try to romanticize it all and think about how lovely it will be to still be grocery shopping with Josh at that age.

Today I almost got run down by a senior citizen and his shopping cart. We were at the end of an aisle, trying to move into the rows of cashier aisles. There were herds of people pushing carts across the way and they were not budging to let anyone out. I was trying to be kind and patient. An elderly man pulled up next to me, completely blocking the aisle to anyone who might want to enter, and began heading me off. I turned and looked directly at him, thinking that maybe then he would recognize me as a fellow shopper and not a product display. This was to no avail. He was going to get out into the main thoroughfare even if it meant running over my "great with child" body.

I actually am proud to say that I beat him out. I can play by jungle rules when necessary. I don't know what happened to the man...in the jungle you can't look back.

HEB. It's a jungle. But don't worry, I can hang.

Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed by generosity and giving and love.

Wednesday the ladies of the ministry my parents-in-law used to work with had a luncheon for Jo Ann and me to celebrate Kate. I was honored by the fact that they wanted to see me and celebrate with us. I did not expect gifts at all. But we were showered with necessities and soft things for Kate - mostly pink and all adorable.

Wednesday night Josh and I went to our family bible study with the church we have been attending for almost a month. This was the first time the other families were there and we had a pot-luck dinner to enjoy getting to know each other. Completely unexpected we were given a box full of baby gifts. I am so amazed at the giving and generosity after being at this church for only a month.

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35

Prayers Needed

Please pray for my friend Shelley and her husband Mike. Shelley is about 23 weeks pregnant and has been put in the hospital on bedrest and monitoring for the rest of her pregnancy. This will be their first baby, a little girl. Shelley is of course very worried. This has been a hard road so far for them to have a baby. Please pray for the baby Ava, for her to grow and continue developing. Please pray for Shelley that she would be able to rest and not worry. Pray for Mike to be able to be her support and to keep everything else together. Pray that Shelley's body would be able to carry this baby until she can survive well on her own. Pray that God would be the strength and comfort that they need right now as they try to trust and wait.
Thank you

waiting for his buddy

Sammy is ready to meet Kate

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tulips from Josh

This year for Valentine's Day I really wanted to find a different way to share the love we have been so generously and freely given by God. We got a couple boxes of cute valentines at the grocery store...

...and visited a couple of nursing homes in Kerrville. At the first one we were able to actually visit the residents. The nurses made a list of the residents on their halls who normally don't get many visitors and who might like a visit from a random couple and we set out. A couple of the rooms we went to were sad as the resident was barely there and just seemed so sad and lonely. Other people were more talkative and eager to meet us. At the second home we just had to drop off the valentines to be distributed at dinner or something.

We had such a good time spreading love to the people we met and the nurses there at the homes. Many of the residents asked us where we were from or straight up asking why we had come. It's sad to know that they don't get random visitors very often and wonder why anyone would come see them.

It was good for us to get out and stop looking at ourselves and look after those around us.

34 weeks

We had another doctor's appointment today. She said everything looks good and Kate is measuring a good size. We are going to start weekly appointments now, which really makes it seem like we are moving along.

Kate still moves like crazy! She stays head-down, but she still moves from side to side, flipping over so she can kick my right side and then later my left. It will be interesting to see if this activity is any indication of her personality once she's born.

I'm still feeling good...just big. I remember a friend writing on her blog when she was pregnant with her third baby that you should not say "You look big" to a pregnant woman - you just say "You look great." (Now this was coming from a woman with a healthy self-image.) I remember at the time (long before I was pregnant) not really understanding that because I always thought it was cool and amazing how the body changes growing a baby. Now I understand. Even though I have not minded gaining weight or getting bigger, being pregnant you just FEEL big all the time. I can't fit between the cars parked in the garage unless they are as far apart as possible. I can't fit between the exercise machines to get to my machine unless I can use one on the end. I just feel big. And happy to be big if it means a healthy happy baby. But it's still nice when someone says "You look great."

Disclaimer: I'm not fishing for a compliment. Just a word of advice for anyone talking to pregnant women. =)

Expecting...Love

Absent

I know I've been absent from blogworld. It's been an interesting time for me. In some ways a dry time, in some ways a wondering time, in many ways a restless time.

The transition has been a hard one for me. I've gone from being in school, working part-time, doing 2 counseling internship, and being involved in our church (all at the same time) to no school, no job, no counseling, no home church, no friends. Very abruptly it all ended. And then I was in a new place with a new house to organize and a new town to learn. Not to mention a new baby on the way.

Talk about culture shock. It's a blessing to be able to stay home while my husband provides for us. And yet I haven't been able to fully rest in it because my spirit has been so restless. Not that I haven't had fun or been happy - I have. There just have been a lot of sudden changes.

I'm now involved in a bible study and we have found a church. I have started making friends. Our house is basically set up and the nursery is on the way to being finished. I'm finding my way around town and do enjoy free time. But it hasn't been easy.

The lack of human interaction has been the most difficult thing for me. I found myself without motivation to do the tasks I had set for myself that day. I found myself discouraged and irritable. I found myself wondering Who am I and What is my life to look like now?

And that's why I've been more absent these days. I've also been absent from my own reflections on what's going on. I think it's changing - I reached a break-point and I think it's changing. I've wanted to write posts and had imagined what I could with more free time. And then nothing came. But I think that's changing.

So for those of you who still check this blog and are still interested in hearing from us, thanks. I'd like to say that I'm learning all these things that I'll share with you soon. But really I'm just looking forward to being restful and peaceful instead of restless and anxious. It's coming.

Fighting Monsters

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster."
-Nietzsche

I ran across this quote in a book I'm reading. I've been thinking about how relevant that could be to our politics today. I think it can be easy in the process to lose sight of what the fight is really about. If we are not careful, we can become the very thing we should struggle against.

Bombing an abortion clinic in the name of pro-life is becoming a monster. Extreme example. What about slandering a president because he does not demonstrate the moral values you support? What does that say about the state of the heart? (Matthew 15:18-20)

We can disagree and we can be angry. We don't have to become monsters in the process.

I think that it is important to let our voices be heard on political and social issues. And I think that when we disagree, we need to remember that we are not fighting against people. As Christians, our war is not against people but against forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). We need to pray for people, pray for our nation, and not become monsters ourselves.

Make use of every opportunity to demonstrate that those who are redeemed do not conform to the standards of the world.

A Visit

Yay for visitors in Kerrville! My brother, who is still fundraising for the Young Life club in Puerto Rico that he is going to start, has been traveling around doing leadership training and meeting with folks. While in Austin, he took a trip out to K-town to see us. It was so great to see him and hear what is going on in this grand new adventure preparing for Puerto Rico. He really has a passion and a vision.

Also while he was here we took some time to get him to take some maternity pictures for us. I'll post those when I get them!

Super Bowl

When moving to a new town at the beginning of the year, there is always the concern about having to spend the Super Bowl, a time usually enjoyed with friends or family, alone. Fortunately we were invited to a party with other young families. I have to say this was our first Super Bowl event where there were almost as many kids as adults. Babies propped up on Daddy's lap as they watched the game, moms down on the floor playing or checking on the toddlers getting into stuff. Next year for the Super Bowl Kate will have the best seat in the house on Josh's lap. =)

We tried to get festive with the dessert we took to the party. We made two Jello Cheesecakes and decorated one for the Steelers and one for the Cardinals. The Steelers one got eaten - which is fine because it didn't look as cool. The Steelers logo is kind of lame for a cake.

We had a fun night and only made the babies cry once at one of the really exciting times when everyone was cheering and making a ruckus. Haha, good times!