Cali Chambers

Cali, aka "her Highness" (our pet) complained that I made fun of her in an earlier post and didn't even have the decency to allow you the opportunity to get to know her. So here's a photo - one of the few good ones she's granted us - and a quick bio.

Favorite word - "Moww"
Favorite past times - sleeping, eating, watching creatures out the window
Favorite parent - Mom (Valerie)
Favorite time of day - Tough choice...the auto feeder drops meals three times daily, so we'll just go with all three
Favorite day of the week - Wednesdays and Fridays, because Mom (Valerie) is up early for work and provides early-morning cuddles
Favorite conversationalist - bugs; just let one loose in front of her and she'll talk at it forever
Favorite toy - rubber bands (though she eats them and throws them up on the rug, so they're off limits now)
Favorite treat - anything you'll give her...seriously, she'll even accept people food

And there you have it, my lovable kitty. She'd invite you over to play, but she's busy sleeping. ^_^

Love in Christ ~Valerie

Birthday trip and "fat pants"

Here I went from actually making two posts in one day to forgetting to update for almost 2 weeks. And I thought I was getting good at this blog thing. Couple big things have happened since you last joined us. J.Paul and I took a long weekend trip to New Mexico - Albuquerque and Santa Fe - the weekend after my birthday. It was so nice to get away from Phoenix (land of 90 degree sunshine right now) and from schoolwork; and we got to "discover" a new part of the country. And, best of all, baby C got to be in his/her first US capitol picture. For those who don't know, J.Paul and I are on a mission to take a picture with each US capitol building. We've probably got 15 or so, but this is the first to somehow include our offspring. (yikes, did I just say that about myself?? offspring??) Though we've decided to train the kiddo early on how to work a camera, so don't expect to see many with him/her actually included in the picture. ^_^ Just kidding...mostly. Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed a weekend of beautiful weather, GREAT food, and lots of exercise. I had no idea Santa Fe was such a walkable city - you can get just about anywhere by walking a mile or two. Very nice. And it's fortunate for me that I didn't develop a craving for good Mexican food after that trip, because nothing here in Phoenix compares. Strange, but sad and true. Maybe I'll try my hand at sopapillas, since I need even more of an excuse to wear bigger clothes.

Which brings me to my next big event. *Drum roll* I wore my maternity pants for the first time today. AHH, the inevitable has happened; I've given in to the bulge. Or more like, the bulge is taking over. Though I've got to say, they were actually quite comfortable. Except for all the fabric over my stomach, it felt a little like wearing fitted PJs. Make no mistake, I plan to ditch them as soon as possible post-baby-weight-shedding, but I think I might be able to handle 'em for the next 9 mos or so. I spend some time each morning looking sadly at my nice pre-baby wardrobe and take a few moments of silence to mourn it's uselessness for this summer season. *Sigh* Then I tell the shirts not to worry, it'll be no time at all before I'm wearing them again and they'll be covered in spit-up. Ah, what a perk to look forward to.

Mother's Day is coming up and, while we won't be celebrating the occasion until baby C actually makes his or her arrival, I'll get to start my Mom's Day with a picture of my baby (however gray and blob-like it is) and will be able to call him/her by the name we've chosen for either a boy or a girl. Yay - I'm so excited for our ultrasound on Friday. Say a prayer that baby C won't make it impossible to see the gender (though maybe I should be grateful for modesty?) and that I won't wet my pants from all the water they're making me drink beforehand. In all seriousness, pray for J.Paul and I as we learn a bit more about this little one that we're going to be adding to our family. It's scary if you start to dwell on all the things that could go "wrong" with a baby (although we know nothing is outside our Heavenly Father's control, so it's not really wrong) and I guess the technician could see something that will drastically change how we anticipate the arrival of our firstborn. While we know that whatever happens is completely in the perfect will of the One knitting our child together this very minute, we humans can be so faithless sometimes in panicking when all isn't as we expect. So this is my prayer - that no matter what happens in the ultrasound on Friday, during the rest of this pregnancy, or after delivery, we will consistently take every opportunity to glorify God, the Creator of all life.

That being said, I know that blogs sometimes work their way around the internet to people who have no clue who I, J.Paul, or baby C are. But one thing I hope all readers know is how much we treasure our relationship with our Heavenly Father and are so grateful for the perfect example He has given us in how to be a good parent. If anyone has any questions about where our faith in this invisible God comes from or just wants to know more about this Father, I definitely welcome any comments. This is more than just an expectant mother forum - this is about a family's real life with real questions and issues and about the total sovereignty of the One who makes it all happen. So, we're not perfect, but we know Someone who is!

Love in Christ ~ Valerie

Mover and a shaker

Had my third (fourth? can't keep track) doctor's appointment today. I gotta say, the Central Phoenix Women's Health Clinic is awesome. I went straight there from school and, since we got out way early, I was about an hour early for my appointment. But they took me in after only 30 minutes of flipping through the latest Pregnancy magazine. Love those ladies.

And I got to hear baby C moving! Dr. Hahn tried to find the best place to hear the heartbeat, but first had some noise interference that she said was the little guy/gal moving around. Heartbeat was up around 150, so he/she was definitely doing a happy dance at the moment. So exciting to know that there's a joyful life developing. Hope this means that it'll be happy once it hits the outside too. Though maybe I won't appreciate such activity when it gets to 2 years old...

AND I got my order to call and schedule our first ultrasound for the week after next. Can't wait to find out what gender the baby is...seems so impersonal to just say "the baby", "it", or "he/she". No promises that we'll share name ideas immediately, but I look forward to having an identifiable person to talk to. Yes, I do already talk to it. I know, I'm weird.

Sorry no pictures yet. Truthfully, there's not much to see. We haven't quite developed the cute "baby bump" that makes you suspect someone's pregnant. I'm afraid I might still be in the stage where someone's afraid to ask for fear that I've just been hitting the desserts a little too hard. Not that I haven't...but hey, it was my birthday last weekend. Can you blame me?

Love in Christ ~ Valerie

Birthdays

Well, yesterday was our family's last no-kid birthday. Have to admit, it was a little hard to think that the lazy mornings with day trips to wander around the city whenever we feel like it are over. Birthdays will take more planning in the future. Come to think of it, everything will take a lot more planning once there's a kiddo to tote around! You'd think J.Paul and I would be good at that, both of us being very analytically minded. However, we've actually become pretty spur-of-the-moment people. Or maybe we're just a lot more flexible. Yeah, I like that better. Makes it sound like we won't have as much difficulty being flexible with our kid(s). But the selfish part of me knows that I will. Though sometimes kids give you an excuse to do things most adults wouldn't do on their own. Like take a Disney World vacation and ride all the non-coaster rides. We're looking forward to that. ^_^

I've felt a few little shifts that I wonder if they're baby C rattling around inside. I mean, how hard is it to be stealthy when you're an avocado? Not very subtle, I wouldn't think. But it's hard to know what's what right now. Maybe next week it'll be a little more obvious. I'm sure there will be a day very soon that I long to not have so much movement going on, but right now, I just want to know my little guy/girl is alive and kicking.

Looking forward to another week full of adventures in school-dome. It's midterms for J.Paul and another project for me. But fortunately I'm on the downside. Yes!!

Love in Christ ~ Valerie

Parenting

Yes, I know you already read a post from me today. Is that OK - am I allowed two in one day? Well, guess it's my blog and I'll post if I want to.

Talk about adjustments, I just received a Parenting magazine in the mail. Me, Valerie Chambers, a parent. Yikes! Most people reading this are already parents and have thought about this. Been there, done that. But WHOA, it's huge for me to think now of the responsibility that goes with that one word. Parent. A song came on the radio on my way home this evening that I've heard before but it hasn't meant anything like what it does now. If you have a few minutes, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSx98jbt37Y. Song name is Watching You by Rodney Atkins. And that's what kids do, watch their parents for an example of what to do and say. Pretty strong stuff. I imagine I'll be spending a lot of time praying for wisdom and forgiveness, as well as learning how to be humble enough to admit to my own child when I'm wrong. Please already start praying for J.Paul and I as we use the next 6 months as a time of preparation to be the parents God calls us to be.

Love in Christ ~ Valerie

Adjustments

I started thinking today a little bit about how much adjustment will have to be made around our house to accommodate baby C (who now resembles an avocado, in case you were curious) and it occurred to me that perhaps none of us will have to adjust more than Cali, my sweet but spoiled kitty. I've had a big school project keeping me at school long hours the last few weeks and already she's much more needy in the mornings and evenings when I'm home. Can't imagine what it'll be like when there's a baby taking up all the attention! But as I told J.Paul, after Cali wakes the baby up too many times with incessant meowing, I'm thinking she'll become an outdoor cat. Which is hard in this neighborhood... there's a feral cat establishment that I don't think Cali is quite tough enough to run with. If any of you speak "cat" so I can figure out how to forewarn her, please let me know.

Something else that's been on my mind, really ever since a few days after finding out there even was a baby C in the works, is how incredible a Creator God is. To follow along with the weekly changes going on out of sight, changes that will eventually show themselves in an amazingly complex human being...well, it's pretty astounding. No one else can make something from nothing. And to think people still try and debate that we evolved ourselves from some primordial goop. Oh OK, it took us millions of years to figure it out on our own, but now we have it down and can replicate it all over again in 9 months? Yeah right. So hard to believe people are willing to look past the miracle of what's happening just under our noses (well, maybe a little further down than that) to make a leap of faith in our own superiority, which has time and again proven to be misplaced. Not very eloquent thoughts, but I am grateful for this time of spiritual growth that God has given me. It's special and I need to try and take advantage of it while I'm still sane and well-rested enough to remember even my name.

Love in Christ ~ Valerie

PS. Thanks to all who sent get-well-soon wishes! I'm on the downside (also known as the drippy side) of my cold and managed to tough it out, with much credit going to Sudafed, Tylenol, and J.Paul's TLC. All on my list of "approved medications"!

Sick and Tired

I had heard from friends that two of the most difficult parts of pregnancy can be when you get sick (since you can hardly take any drugs) and when you feel totally exhausted. Well, today is my double whammy. A head cold took over my body yesterday morning and I wisely responded with a sleepover for my youth group girls last night. So today I am, indeed, sick and tired. Boy, do I miss my cold medicine!! Fortunately, a very thoughtful group of girls at school gave me some hot tea in a baby gift pack and it's really working to soothe my ailments. Now if they only made such remedies for daily headaches (like homework), I'd be all set!

Another classmate and his wife are expecting their first baby about a month earlier than me, and they found out their baby's gender this past week. In some ways, it's so hard for me to believe that time is rapidly coming up for us too - and I'm so excited! Even though I hear the picture we'll see in the ultrasound looks more like an alien than a human being, just knowing whether the baby is a girl or a boy really opens up the imagination and more firmly sets the idea of "baby" in reality. As if constant morning sickness weren't real enough!

On a much more serious, and important, note - yesterday was Good Friday and tomorrow is Easter. Not yet being a parent, I know I still have much more to grasp about the measure of God's love for us in sending his child as a sacrifice for our sinfulness. But I already recoil at the thought of someone abusing MY child, even in small ways like pushing on the playground or breaking his/her heart by asking someone else to the school dance...how infinitely much more did God hurt to see His Son beaten, rejected, and killed? Especially when He had the power to make it all stop? Thus brings us back to one of the core realizations of Christianity - God loves us THAT much. Wow. I pray that this weekend, though there's much going on and some of us may be struggling with health or emotional hurdles, will be a time of great reflection about how much our God and our Savior love us.

Love in Christ ~ Valerie

Human Development for Foodies

Why is it that every week I get to read about how my baby is growing his/her way through the five food groups? This week, it's the size of an apple, last week it was a lemon (let's hope only in size). Seems a little weird to think, "Gee, I can't wait till the baby finally comes...around the time it feels like an average honeydew melon." My belief is that there's a secret lab where ultrasound technicians play with ultrasound photos and plastic food in order to determine the appropriate weight and proportions to tell expectant mothers. Wonder what the conversations sound like in there... "I have scientifically determined that 13-week babies are the size of a medium shrimp." "Well, maybe you're right, but where is that shrimp from? Pacific? Atlantic? Farm-raised? Haven't you seen the commercials? They're not the same." Hmm...sounds like you better do some more work there, labbies.

Love in Christ ~ Valerie (and baby C, the apple of my eye ^_^)