Josh attended a week long leadership training course at JAARS in Waxhaw, North Carolina. During that week, Kate and I experienced many "firsts". It was her first time to ever be away from Josh overnight. The first night was very hard for her and there were many tears (from both of us) throughout the week. Every day she would ask about where daddy was, even if she knew the answer. Eventually the cries for daddy only came when she was getting in trouble for something she had done, which is usually when the tears came from this momma too! Another first was a trip to the urgent care for Kate due to an ear infection, which also explained some of the tears. She had her first round of antibiotics, which thankfully she enjoyed the taste of and gladly took her medicine over the course of ten days. That sickness passed through everyone in our house. I was the last one on the home front to get sick- sore throat, cough, congestion. We were hoping Josh would be able to avoid it.
He returned home on a Saturday, and his sister arrived on the following Tuesday. Wednesday they started their road trip back to Washington state. A week later Kate and I would fly to Seattle. During the week Josh and Jenn were on the road, Josh got sick with a sinus infection that turned into pink eye somewhere in Oregon. Thankfully, his sister was with him, they still had a good time, and so far Jenn has been healthy.
This was the first time for me to fly alone with Kate. I'm pregnant, traveling with a 3 year old, a car seat, stroller, and 2 backpacks. I'm sure it was a sight to see. Kate was amazing! She sat in her stroller and enjoyed the ride. She loves planes. She watched about 10 minutes of 30 different movies, had some snacks, and took a nap. I even got to read- yes, you read that correctly!
We left Texas and its 80 degree weather and arrived on a sunny day in Seattle.
Two days later it snowed!
We had a wonderful time in Texas. It was so encouraging to reconnect with so many of you. We had the opportunity to share about our Wycliffe ministry and felt refreshed. We're looking forward to a time of "nesting" before our little one arrives late March.
One part of settling in has been meeting with midwives for my pre-natal care. Our last few weeks in Texas I took my glucose tolerance test. I failed both the initial test and the re-test. Now I have to closely monitor my diet (no Dr. Pepper and no flour tortillas) and check my blood 4-5 times daily until the baby is born and maybe even a little after. I *thought* that would be it, just monitoring diet. However, my doctor put me on a low dose of diabetes medicine to help get my fasting numbers lower. I *thought* that would be it. Then my Washington midwife referred me to the "Maternal Fetal Medicine" clinic where I will go 2-3 times a week for 2 different types of test (a non-stress test and a fluid test) plus my regular pre-natal appointments, as well as one appointment with a diabetes counselor. The clinic is about 45 minutes away from where we live. Those who know me know I always try to find the "bright side" of situations.
So here are a couple:
-This is temporary. The baby's due date is around 6 weeks from now.
-The fluid test is actually an ultrasound, so we get to see our baby once a week until her arrival.
-God is reminding me daily of the sacrifices parents make for their children's well-being and how He sacrificed everything for His children's eternal well-being.
Will you pray for us?
-Will you pray that I will find joy in forfeiting self for the well-being of the baby?
-Pray that we will have peace and confidence that the Lord will meet all of our needs, both physically and financially.
-Pray for that the remainder of the pregnancy will be healthy and the delivery will be healthy with no complications.
-Ultimately pray that the Lord would receive the maximum amount of glory from our lives.
