Thankful for the Little Things

Sometimes (OK, a lot of times) I have to remind myself that I should be thankful for the little things. J.Paul would be happy to tell you that I'm a complainer. Well, maybe he wouldn't be happy to tell you, but if you threatened him with torture, you might be able to drag it out of him. Seriously though, I do complain too much.

Just before I decided to update my blog tonight, I was mentally complaining about my nausea, sore ribs, and this (extremely) wiggly little thing inside my abdomen. Tobin is a MOVER in the evenings, but it could also be that he's at the perfect size right now where he has just enough room to move around. Anyway, I have to continuously remind myself that his movement means that he's alive. I'm so blessed to have had a fairly mild pregnancy thus far, besides the greater blessing of even having made it to the beginning of my third trimester. Now that the initial wonder of pregnancy has worn off into a daily routine, I can't lose sight of the gift of life and the miracle that I get to be a part of.

And to keep reminding myself that this miracle is REALLY happening, I have to look no further than just inside my front door. With J.Paul out of town, the FedEx delivery guy was kind enough to lug both Tobin's crib and changing table boxes into the house for me. But that's as far as they go until we take down the guest bed that's hogging Tobin's room. Which may or may not happen in the near future. Though I suppose it depends on how you define "near". Tobin makes his debut in two and a half months - that's starting to sound pretty near to me!

School is done this Friday! This is cause for alternating feelings of happiness and sadness. The sadness mostly comes from not knowing when I'll get to teach another class - I really do love that job. Again, something else to be thankful for - God's provision in showing me a new career path at just the right time. Once school is out, I'll take the next few weeks to do some traveling. J.Paul and I are thinking about a short getaway either to Sedona, AZ or to Vegas for a belated anniversary trip, then I spend a few days in North Dakota with my friend Amber and her two munchkins, and then I get to hang out with my grandparents and mom in Georgia for a week! After that, I might settle down...with just a side weekend trip to San Diego in early August if Tobin's arrival doesn't appear imminent. Gotta get out of this desert heat and take advantage of what travel flexibility I still have!

All this excitement and thankfulness has worn me out. Or maybe it's the pregnancy thing again. Either way, my bed is calling very loudly and I think I should go spend some quality time with my pillows.

Love in Christ ~ Valerie