For Ali & Rose- Lauren's Eight

8 things I'm looking forward to:
1. God's continued sanctification in my life
2. Giving birth to Bump!
3. Learning to breastfeed & be a Mom
4. Watching Tim become a father!
5. Baby shower on Saturday
6. Lake Mead trip in July, Catalina in August, Yosemite & Lake Powell in September
7. Starting to run & pratice yoga again
8. Getting a boat

8 things I did yesterday:
1. Made room for the bassinet in our bedroom (Tim did most of the work)
2. Made it to 38 weeks pregnant
3. Paid bills online
4. Went on a walk with Tim & the pups- Bump! came too
5. Cleaned the entire house with help from Tim
6. Weeded the front planter
7. Enjoyed a Trader Joe's sublime ice cream sandwich while watching The Office with Tim
8. Took a nap (yes, I actually take naps now that I am pregnant!)

8 things I wish I could do:
1. Stop sinning forever
2. Lead climb on 5.12 routes
3. Journal consistently
4. Get to know my brothers more
5. Play guitar
6. Finish these stupid credential classes
7. Make all the bad people disappear forever
8. Not be scared on my wakeboard

(I'm changing the TV shows to books b/c most of us don't like/watch that much)

8 books I have read/would like to read:
1. Finish Isaiah
2. People of the Book- Brooks
3. When Sinners Say "I Do"-Harvey
4. Babywise- Ezzo
5. What to Expect When You're Expecting- Murkoff
6. Humility- Mahaney
7. Feminine Appeal- Mahaney
8. Sheparding A Child's Heart- Tripp

8 friends to tag (good luck):
1. Sharon Valencia
2. Sarah McGaugh
3. Erica Durham
4. Keegan Osinski
5. Tim Bergon
6. Vanessa Contopulos
7. Emily Tingley
8. Erin Thomas

Baby Update #8

We are now 18 days from Bump's due date. I'm feeling good, sleeping is uncomfortable, but otherwise no issues. I'm getting more and more excited to meet our daughter and more and more prepared for birth. 

I uploaded some pics and will briefly explain them all, even though the captions are pretty self-explanatory.  

We don't really have a decked-out "nursery" because Bump doesn't need one yet. My mom is working on the jungle babies material to create the nursery, but she also made a beautiful pink layette for my bassinet. Bump will sleep in this for a few months and then transfer to the crib. The layette has a blanket that my mom finished with little pink embroidered hearts. It has lace edges and a dark pink sheet, it is so cute. We also put a dresser in the closet and it is filling with blankets and onesies and tiny socks. One day, about 6 months ago, Tim brought home a little pink corduroy overall outfit for Bump. It has an embroidered squirrel coming out of the pocket and so I wanted to show you that. For Christmas, my dad and mom gave me a rocking chair, now it is almost time to use it and it has our Boppy and the lion rug we bought in the nursery. 

Sometimes I forget to talk about them, but we honestly have four demi-children already. Mac and Lucy are the cats and they don't need too much; but our dogs, Sima and Roscoe are with us throughout the day. I used to take them running, but now they go to the meadow with us to get their energy out.  Roscoe lays in our lap and I run errands with them in the car. They are basically our children, except they don't develop past the age of 2 and they don't throw tantrums or talk back. Recently, Sima has been troubled by her paw and we think a foxtail got up in it. We have been keeping a poultice on it and under the sock her foot is all wrapped up. She's been pretty good about it, but when we take the bandage off she just licks and licks in her paw. Hopefully it clears up soon. They are best buddies and I don't know that my life would be as  happy (though it would be so much easier) if I didn't have them. I also included some pictures Tim took out in the meadow- they are 37 week photos. 

So, now it's just a waiting game until the baby comes. I was walking the other day and was thinking about my concerns and I think God brought up the fact that the one thing on my mind that casts a shadow over everything is not having my credential cleared. So, I am going back to diligently working on my classes. I have two to finish and then I will truly be free with no rain clouds to darken my mental days. Of course, I don't really want to do these classes, but it doesn't make sense to not complete them. You can pray that I continue to work on them with energy and efficiency.

Love, Lauren