I love him because he...

• makes me giggle even when I'm upset
• tenderly wakes me up in the morning
• talks to our son through my belly
• prays for us
• makes money so we can eat and stay warm
• loves music and its intricacies
• always sings and whistles
• is slow to anger
• wears the same things all the time 
• reads and studies perpetually 
• doesn't care much about material things
• bounces when he walks
• is consistently passionate for the true God 
• loves my family and friends
• is angered at injustice
• and is really darn handsome. 

NILD Conference

I just got home from the National Institute for Learning Development's winter conference in Orlando.  NILD created the program of educational therapy that my center uses.  Every time I'm able to attend these conferences, I'm consistently revived and rejuvenated in what I do.  I truly feel called to these amazing students. 

What's more, NILD's foundations are Christ-centered.  The program began in Norfolk, Virginia's Christian schools.  I felt so blessed and encouraged to open the conference by singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and to close with "Oh, For 1,000 Tongues to Sing" in a cappella voices.  Click here to learn more about the NILD's educational therapy.  It's truly an amazing intervention for students that struggle every day in school.   

(That's the Crowne Plaza where I lived for a few days :)

I'm Anti-Almanac

"April and May will be warmer than normal, on average, with a wet April, followed by a dry May.  Summer will be cooler than normal, on average, despite a warm June.  The hottest periods of the summer will be early and mid-June and early July.  Rainfall will be well above normal in the south."

If you'll notice the bold selections from the Farmer's Almanac above, you'll see that the weather will be conveniently BLAZING when I'm in the last weeks of my pregnancy (due date is June 22).  Jim and I have already had a serious discussion of how I behave when I'm hot.  It's not pretty.  Every crabby, whiney, and cranky shred of Sara surfaces almost uncontrollably when I get hot and sticky.  I'm not proud of it.

I'm pretty sure we're going to need to invest in a three-foot blow up pool in order to avoid unnecessary marriage counseling. 

Sara, Weight Gain Extraordinaire

Everything looked pretty good at my prenatal appointment yesterday.  James' heart rate was about the same, nice and strong.  He kept kicking/karate chopping the doppler wand so we would hear, "Heartbeat, heartbeat, heartbeat, KAPOW!, heartbeat, KAPOW!..."  Jim likes to think he was appreciating the rhythmic and percussive qualities that it created.

My blood pressure was up a little bit, but nothing to be alarmed about, they said.  I've also gained about 14 pounds from the beginning until now.  6 lbs. between the first two visits and 8 this last time.  I never thought I'd hear this, but the nurse ACTUALLY said, "Now, your weight is just fine and healthy, especially since you started our thin... but let's not make 8 pounds per visit a habit".  

Ex-squeeze me??  Did you just tell me to watch my weight??  Since my teenage years doctors have always told me to, "put on a few pounds if I can...".  She has no idea, but it completely made my life.  

Dr. Stafford also gave my the orange-flavored glucose ick to drink an hour before my next visit.  It's currently in the refrigerator chilling and looking oh-so-much like a Sunkist calling my name.  Can't wait for that little treat...

My face has also currently EXPLODED into a beautiful rosacea hue, dappled with some lovely zit-ious maximus that make me feel like I'm in seventh grade again.  Such bliss :)  

p.s.  that's not a picture of me... just some Google lady 

Happily Married People Look Like This...

I heard this on the radio the other day and thought it was pretty interesting.  It was more than just the broad, "cultivate intimacy, have a sense of humor, etc."  

These are some daily behaviors that were observed in couples that had been happily married for 25 years or more:

• Kissed (pecks count) at least 4x day
• Hugged at least 2x day
• Said "I love you" at least 2x day
• Sat within a foot of one another for longer than 5 minutes (watching TV, reading, etc.) each day
• Were intimate at least 3x week

I feel like these behaviors are more results of good communication, forgiveness, transparency, and daily prayer for each other.  But by the same token, just doing them feels pretty good too.

Pregnacy Update!

I am no stranger to heartburn.  But, wow.  In the last two days it's been "radiating from my knee caps".  I've been drinking lots of water and *trying* to avoid all those lovely, delicious foods that tend to cause it.  But, as I told my friend Sarah last night, "I think my stomach is starting to lose the battle for room in there."  Not a lot you can do about that.

James is also moving so much.  Yesterday some part of him slid entirely from one side of my belly to the other.  It stopped me in my tracks and actually sort of frightened me.  It's one thing to feel little flutters, but this was so other-worldly and so clearly separate from my own body... I couldn't help but be floored.  

Jim and I are almost halfway through our 12 Bradley Method birth classes.  We have both been so pleased and with each class I feel a little more confident and even excited about labor and delivery.  Not unrealistic, mind you, but I just feel more and more educated about the whole process.  I would definitely recommend this method to anyone that wants to go for a natural birth.  It's so in depth, yet still simple, straight forward, and logical.  

If you didn't know how to swim and someone told you that in 9 months you would be thrown into deep water, you would want to prepare, right?  While nothing besides actually learning to swim in water could get you ready, you would want to do something to prepare.  That's what I feel like this class is.  We learn the how, the why, the mechanics and "normal" processes of birth so that we can be as in control as possible when the event actually takes place.  Nothing can truly and completely prepare us, but darn it if I'm just going to sit back and pretend like it's going to be a breeze.  

Anyway, that's pretty much what's going on in this little life-o-mine.                  

This almost put me into premature labor