Birthday Fun

So Nathan finally turned the big 25 last Sunday! We had a nice quiet day up at my mom's house, where she cooked a big meal for us including grilled steak! Per Nathan's request. He was well-fed that day: homemade belgium waffles with fresh fruit and real whipped cream on them and bacon for breakfast, the steak dinner and homemade french silk pie for dessert. It was definitely a yummy day!

Also to celebrate, my mom's boyfriend took some pregnancy photos for us! It was a lot of fun, and after seeing them hard to believe I was only 32 weeks when these were taken. I'm up to 33 weeks now and am already bigger than when these were taken, but it's all worth it... and though uncomfortable, still fun. :-)

Enjoy the photos!

The Schnauzer of Steel

So apparently, a week or so ago, our miniature schnauzer puppy was out on our deck and decided to or slipped and made the plunge to the ground below when I wasn't home. Now, I have no idea how far down the deck is but the deck is really the roof of the lower level of the house, just fenced off. It's a very nice deck! Just so you can get some perspective, he essentially fell off the roof.

Now my dear husband, who knew in my rather large and pregnant state that I would promptly freak out if he told me right away didn't tell me until a week later when he was sure he was okay. Apparently, Nathan was downstairs and he'd left Asher out on the deck. When he came back up he couldn't find him, went out on the deck and saw him sniffing around downstairs. He said when he went down there to get him he wasn't hurt... not even scratched, just really scared and freaked out. Understandably so!

So it's been at least a week since he took the plunge and I've not noticed ANY difference in him whatsoever... which is very hard to believe. In fact, had Nathan not told me I never would've known. I don't know if he's made of steel or what, but I do NOT know how he could've survived that fall let alone not be hurt in the slightest. Our vet told us when we brought him in for his first appointment that schnauzers were "sturdy" animals. Guess, I didn't really fathom the degree to which she meant!!

Spanish Praises!

Well, thankfully (for all parties involved) I'm feeling much better since my last blog post. Boy was that frustrating though. We did finally get through to the unemployment office and get his file reopened, but only after I used some of the spanish I still remember and went through the spanish line! Boy, they were NOT happy with us, but they did help us. They told us it was like cutting in line, and given how upset they were I didn't argue with them, but I was thinking, "Line? What line? We weren't even given the chance to get IN a line on the english speaking side to begin with." I actually would've been happier if either Nathan or I got the chance to sit on hold on the other line, but that was never an option. On the spanish line, there was actually an option that said, "If you'd like to speak with a representative, press number 3." Not an option on the other line. Once I did that, I heard "the wait time is approximately 30 minutes." And it was! Craziness. So while we're thankful that mess is at least temporarily behind us, we might have to deal with it again, but for a very good reason!!

Nathan signed up with a temp agency this weekend that was was looking for electricians, and he was called in on Monday to fill out paperwork to start work on Tuesday! We are SO thankful!! The work is supposed to be through this Friday, but they could call him off the job at any time (temp work), and it might go through next week too, but they never really know until sometimes the day of. But nevertheless, we are SO thankful for this little bit of relief, no matter how much he actually gets to work. AND the work is at the main army post out here so he gets what's called Davis Bacon wages (dumbed-down version, they're equalized wages that workers get on government institutions like military bases and posts) which are BIG bucks, so he'll make nearly an entire two week pay check from his previous job in less than one week's time!! Truly manna from heaven right now. :-) So, while we still hope that his previous company will call him back, we are thankful that he has this temp job for both the money and for the ease it would be to transition back into his old job if they can call him back to it! But most importantly, we want whatever God may have because that is always better.... and we're completely out of our own ideas at this point anyway... so overall, I suppose we're in a very good place. :-)

In other news, we completed our last Bradley class last night, and now are "officially" trained in the ways of natural childbirth. :-) Nathan even has an "official" coaches card. Of which he is very proud of too. One of the couples in our class already had their baby so it was fun for the last lesson (which was on newborns and postpartum care) to have a live newborn there. :-) And the other other couple is due any day now. So it will be fun to get together again probably in early June or so to show off all of our babies and share our birth stories. We're very excited. Time to start taking a tally of all that we have and will need for both the birth and our little Annabella. Which will be very fun!

So anyway, back to my day of subduing my home so I can begin to think more seriously about all things baby, and to learning to trust God with the troubles of today, because tomorrow most certainly has enough of it's own to worry about without any help from me.

We're Sorry. All Circuits Are Busy. We're Sorry....

Never in my life have I been more angry at an institution than I am right now. And I worked with major medical insurance for 2 and half years! The unemployment office, in their oh so "infinite wisdom" decided that once you've filed an initial claim the ONLY way (and yes, it is the only way, I've called the workforce office in Colorado Springs and talked to an actual homosapien who concurred with my own research on the website that indeed this is the only way) to reopen an existing claim is to call this ONE stinking phone number that, by the way, has been so busy literally ALL week long (Nathan was laid off again on Tuesday morning... and it's now Friday morning) that we're not even getting a standard busy signal, we're getting "We're sorry, all circuits are busy, please try your call again later."

Now, Nathan did get through a couple times, and here's how those lovely occasions transpired. The first one, he got all the way through the automated "give the computer your information so we can waste your time and make you THINK you're going to get helped until we can get you to an actual person who will only ask you for all of this information again" business, only to get to the end of that rigamarole, to hear "You need to speak with a representative. We are currently experiencing an unusually high volume of calls right now. Please try back later." CLICK!!!!!! No, go ahead and stay on the line for an hour or two, or four or five, just a nice friendly CLICK! The second time Nathan got through, it was right at 7:30 in the morning (when the mysterious and seemingly unmanned office supposedly opens) so we're thinking, "alright, we can get this thing reopened and move on with our lives,".... oh, no...no, nnnno, no, NO! He gets all the way through the automated ridiculousness (see description above) only to hear, "Please call back during regular business hours to reach a representative. Office hours are Monday through Friday 7:30am to 4:30pm Mountain time." CLICK! IT WAS FREAKING 7:40AM WHEN HE GOT THROUGH! We proceeded to call back again, and from that point on haven't gotten anything but "we're sorry, all circuits are busy... we're sorry, all circuits are busy..... we're sorry, all circuits are busy........................."

Somehow, at this point.... the whole, saying "We're sorry" to try to soften peoples nerves who have heard that a gagillion times is just patronizing and I wish the happy little recording would just keep it to itself. The least it could do is to cycle through some different recordings, like "Ha! Guess what?? All circuits are busy. Talk to you in a few seconds." Or, "You're STILL trying? Good luck getting through. All circuits are busy." Or just ANYTHING other than the insincere "We're sorry."

Oh, and there's not even an office that we can walk into in person (refer back to the conversation with the homosapien in the Colorado Springs office) to resolve this that way. Isn't that "convenient." I don't know if they're "smart," to try to protect themselves from people like me who also FEEL like me right now, or if it's just plain cowardice. Ask me later and I may feel differently, but right now, I'm voting for just plain cowardice.... IF there's even anyone working in that office at all.

So here we are, me trying to get my frustrations out in a supposedly healthy way and my husband sitting on the phone hitting redial repeatedly. We'd really appreciate your prayers if you're a praying person. I sure am thankful in times like this for what Jesus said in the tail end of the book of John, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world it would love you as it's own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." Now, granted I understand fully that this is not the main focus and interpretation of this passage, or perhaps a better phrase is that its not the intended application of this verse. I'm not being persecuted specifically for my faith by any means, but I certainly do feel "hated" by the world and the way that it functions. I know my personality is wired to look at things and see how they could be better, but my faith also wires me to know that the way things are is not how it was meant to be, nor will it remain this way forever. I do take some solace in that during times like this. But it sure doesn't help the frustration I experience in the moment at stupidly organized programs and plans. Not that anything I would come up with would make all parties involved happy... someone always gets the shaft in any sort of plan, you can't please everyone. But, gee... one would think that there has GOT to be a better way of planning something like unemployment, especially in times like this.

But anyway.... God has faithfully taken care of His people through many droughts, famines, and desserts. And to that I will cling as we try to navigate this messed up world right now. I guess I'll go out back and look for some manna while I'm hitting redial over and over again. :-)

So what's my point with all of this..... while I suppose there's many, I guess my heart's cry right now is just.... on many levels, for many things in this world, poverty, starvation, forgotten people right in our own neighborhoods, war torn nations, and the list goes on.... this stupid and petty unemployment thing aside....

I just think things could be better.

Puppy Update & Other News

So we have now experienced three nights in a row of uninterrupted sleep! Other than the one potty time a night which was standard at our other house too. It appears that the heated dog bed, fluffy rug and sweater have done the trick! We are very thankful that Asher is more settled here now, as it was a bit stressful at first, but it looks like we have our happy puppy back. :-)

In other news, I am now officially in my third trimester!!! In some ways, it seems crazy to think that we only have roughly 3 more months until she's here, and then in other ways it's hard to believe it's taken this long. But we're both very excited, and things are progressing very nicely. She's DEFINITELY getting bigger as her movements are much more noticeable... especially at night when she tries to do somersaults. :-) It's funny how God designed it for women (or at least me I suppose who used to be known for sleeping through an earthquake I used to sleep so soundly) to begin to sleep MUCH less soundly in the third trimester. Between multiple potty breaks, hearing every little sound that exists in and around a house at night, Annabella's evening acrobatics, and having to roll over a lot, I'm just not sleeping all that well any more. At least, this time around I get to take naps as needed. :-) Probably won't be so fortunate for kiddo number 2 and on.

The house is almost completely unpacked. Nathan was sick this weekend, still is with a nasty cold, but was REALLY sick and lethargic over the weekend, so he didn't get anything done on "his" pile (the things that I have deemed as his to deal with at least :-)), but we might... just might, be totally unpacked by the end of this coming weekend... we shall see! Then it's on to figuring out what all we need to fit Annabella's things when she comes and as we begin to accumulate things. Rubbermaids are great inventions! :-)

Pupsicle

So I *never* thought in a million years that I would be one of those people who puts sweaters and coats on their little dog. I believe now though, that God in his truly infinite wisdom and some times interesting sense of humor has found yet another way of both humbling me and keeping my judgmental side in check.

Our year and a half year old miniature schnauzer, Asher, who has slept in his own bed since the day we brought him home from the Humane Society at 4 months old, has now, since moving, digressed to jumping up into our bed and not curling up at the foot of the bed mind you... no. Curling up right in the between Nathan and I, and taking all of my blankets with him. Now, if he were doing this just to be cute or something, I would quickly kick him off the bed... but softy me can't bring myself to kick him out of bed when he curls up between us while shivering to the point of practically convulsing. I mean, he shakes the entire bed with his shivers. So I know, he's just trying to get warm.

The house we just moved from was all carpeted and our bedroom was on the top floor, so even when we turned the furnace way down for the night, our room still stayed fairly warm, so we never had a problem with him being cold. Occasionally, when we'd have those arctic blasts of negative degree weather he would get cold, but he would just wake Nathan up, he'd see that Asher was shivering, and we'd tuck a towel in his bed and that seemed to be enough to warm him up. But here... he shivers constantly! We have no carpet, and the bedroom at our cottage is downstairs and made up entirely of stone tile. Beautiful stone tile mind you, but if I were a scrawny little miniature schnauzer with barely any hair (just had him groomed), I don't think I'd want to sleep on that floor either.

So... as I eat my humble pie and begin to look differently at some of the little dogs with sweaters walking around (as long as they're not wearing sunglasses and boas too), I too shall succumb to buying a sweater for our pupsicle, at least for the night, and will continue to hope and pray that between the sweater, the heated dog bed I ordered for him, the rug we're getting for our bedroom, and potentially the use of a hot waterbottle for him to snuggle with... he will once again be warm and cozy and I will be able to sleep without fighting for the covers with a shivering schnauzer.

Who'da thunk that a German dog would need a sweater... oh well. Wish me luck!

Beautiful Mornings

One of these days I'm going to take a picture from our deck of the view we have of Pikes Peak. It's gorgeous! In fact, if I leave the blinds open on one of the windows in our bedroom (and I wake up after daylight) I can see the peak of the mountain from my bed! Too, too cool. Manitou is a very cool town. One of the things I love is driving down the hill and seeing a guy with thick dreads sitting on his porch playing his guitar and stopping long enough to wave to us! Maybe I'll bring my guitar out on the deck and join in the neighborhood melody. :-) Just minus the dreads.

On another less exciting note. We're getting a washer and dryer installed tomorrow and I'm actually EXCITED to do laundry. I'm sure that will last all of two *maybe* three loads... but hey, I'll take the motivation while I can. :-)

We have our first prenatal appointment with our midwife tonight! We're looking forward to it. We always like getting to hear our little girl's heartbeat and learning more about how she's doing in there.

And one final thought... I am amazed at how much my husband knows about things. Is random knowledge about all sorts of things stereotypically "man" related just embedded in certain guy's genetic make-up? My dad was the same way, so maybe it's just something in our family, but man... Nathan just continues to astound me every day. Yesterday, he installed a dryer vent, and knew exactly what to ask for at Home Depot, knew how to run it and even anchor it to the ceiling. He changed out an outlet in preparation for the new washer and dryer (something I knew he knew how to do being an electrician and all), and he's done a whole slew of other things around the house too. But beyond that... he know things about new cars we see on the road though he doesn't read car magazines, and he knows what teams are playing for seemingly any given sport event on nearly any given weekend... I just don't get it, because we don't get tv reception where we're living now, he's RARELY on the computer, and we don't get sports OR car magazines.... my dad was totally the same way. Their food tastes are even the same... Nathan's favorite meals are stir-fry (my dad's recipe) and breakfast burritos (my dad's recipe) and his favorite hot sauce is Tapatio (my dad's discovery and favorite). They both put it on everything that can/could.

While we were moving, Nathan found a briefcase hidden in our garage of a BUNCH of tools my mom gave him as they were my dad's and most hadn't even been opened. He'd forgotten about them, and I tell you when he opened that thing it was like a kid in a candy store!!!! He was in tool heaven. :-) Needless to say it's in a place where it's readily accessible and I believe several of the tools have already been used. When I saw his reaction to the tools, I just laughed and said... "One of these days you and my dad are going to have a very long conversation full of lots of laughs and guffawing in heaven." It's fun to watch. And I truly am the most blessed woman in the world. Nathan never ceases to amaze me.... can't wait to see him hold Bella.