My Ebenezer

Seth is a month old already!  I'm a couple days late with this video, but oh well.  I've been saying that about a lot of things lately.  My Christmas letter hasn't been written yet.  Oh well.  There are dishes piled up in the kitchen and the dishwasher needs to be run.  Oh well.  There is laundry in baskets waiting to be put away. Oh well.  I've never seen my house look worse.  Oh well.  Those two little words are actually quite liberating!  Anyway, here's the video, and then I'm going to take a nap because these days, a nap trumps my endless to-do list.  I'm learning that it must if I'm to maintain my sanity.

Can I be honest?  (So much of what you read on blogs--including this one--are the rose colored highlights that people want to document, rather than the realities of life. This is a glimpse of reality right now:)  I really don't like who I am these days.  Postpartum hormones have collided with weeks of very little sleep to create a very on-edge me.  I'm mean, I'm weepy, I'm irrational, and I hate it.  I'm in a fog, which I know will lift in time, like all fogs do. (My fog after Noah was born lasted about 6 weeks.)  But in the meantime, I'm praying that the Lord will help me be spirit-filled, because the flesh sure is ugly! I knew it was bad when, after I had snapped at him for the umpteenth time in a single afternoon, Noah looked at me with a quivering chin and asked, "When's Daddy coming home?"  Poor guy. What I want to know is, "When is Mommy coming back?"  Because I really miss her.

One thing about life with a baby: some part of them is always leaking.  If you want a laugh and can handle a little spit-up, this one's for you!  (Sorry, the video is sideways. He didn't have his V8 that day.)

Everyone wants to know how Noah is handling being a big brother.  The transition seems to be going seamlessly.  Of course, it could be that I'm too sleep deprived to notice much of anything, but Noah seems to be his same old self with the addition of a new brother.  We haven't seen him exhibit any jealousy, but instead he seems to love helping.  This is such a blessing!

This post is for my mom, who has of yet hasn't seen Seth!  We tried to Skype on Thanksgiving Day, but the picture was blurry. So here are two videos that I took in the hospital this past week.  For you, Mom! :)

He's finally here! Our little boy Seth Marshall was born on November 19 at 6:37a.m.  And praise the Lord for c-sections, is all I can say. :). A brief birth story: We came home from church Sunday night and began our routine; showers for Josh and Noah, and a little computer time for me. About 9:30pm I was  scanning my Facebook updates, when all of a sudden my water broke. (Boy does that ever make a mess! I was so thankful I was in the privacy of my own home and not still at church.) Joel and Hannah happened to be visiting on their way further south,which turned out to be an even bigger blessing because we knew we could leave Noah with them.  I began doing all the things on my list (pack my suitcase, take a shower, etc) and timing contractions.  Everyone went to bed, and I lay down too, though sleep was out of the question with contractions every 5 minutes. By 3;45am I couldn't stand it anymore--contractions were every 3 minutes and extremely painful.  I woke J

39 weeks.  We went in for an ultrasound today, and they estimate the baby is currently 9lbs 13oz and not interested in coming out anytime soon!  (The margin of error is about 15% in either direction, so the baby could be smaller or bigger than that: probably between 8.3lbs and 11.2lbs right now.)  I am 1cm dilated, but not effaced a bit, and his head is still very much "floating" and not engaged at all. So. The plan for now is to wait it out another week (please, Lord, let him come this week!!!), and if there's still nothing happening at my next appointment on my due date, we'll probably go ahead and schedule a c-section for sometime after that.  If you could pray that I go into labor on my own, and--miracle of miracles--be able to deliver on my own, I would greatly appreciate it! P.S. We got to see his little face!  I cried. :)

Have you noticed my blog isn't very political?  I don't talk politics on here much at all.  That's on purpose, and so I almost let this election slip by unmentioned, but I just couldn't do it without commenting (1) that it happened and (2) how I feel about it. So a week ago now Barack Obama was re-elected to a second term as President.  Not by me, and not by most of my friends and family, but it happened.  The Lord allowed it.  We praise the Lord anyway and move on... I got the following quote from a friend's Facebook post, and I find that it sums up exactly what happened in this election.  And because of it, I am even more determined to keep praying for America over the next four years. " “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from t

This past week on Nov 6 (Election Day!) our church closed on the purchase of a property, to be used as our future meeting place!  This was many months in the coming, and many prayers later.  There were times we were confused as to how the Lord was working, and then times of little miracles and unmistakable answers to prayer.  We rejoice in the Lord's debt-free provision of a larger, more-classroomed building (spell checker is telling me "classroomed" is not a word.  Oh well.) and can't wait to get moved over there!  But first there are quite a few renovations to be made to turn this office strip building into a functioning church.  We're excited to work on this and see the progress! Front of building.  There are 3 office units side-by-side.  The plan is to work on the far left one first (which will eventually be a fellowship hall), and then begin meeting there while work on the other 2 units takes place. Pastor Matt working on the duct system and air han

Today was Noah's last soccer game of the season.  We fully intend to sign him up for next season on the same team, because the team dynamics were just excellent this year.  Loved the families, loved the coaches, loved it! (yes, that is Noah's arm around teammate Faith.  I suspect a crush!  He talks about Faith all the time.)

Last night all the Jacksonville Rowleys had an early supper and went to the Fair together.  It's been a couple years since we did this, and each time it gets more fun as the kids become more able to enjoy it. P.S.  Though I really want to, I have yet to ride the Ferris Wheel at the Fair!  Noah has never been tall enough to go on until this year, so we've skipped it.  Now, the year he's finally able to ride, I had to sit out due to how pregnant I am.  I thought the video Josh took was hysterical, because Noah has been begging to ride this ride for 3 years, and when he finally got the chance, he spent the ride on the floor in the center of the basket.

Today I am 37 weeks; officially full-term.  It could be any time now, folks...  Except for the fact that I went to the doctor today and he said everything is still closed up tight and the baby hasn't dropped deep into my pelvis yet.  ("Oh really?  Tell that to my bladder!" I wanted to say)  So it looks like it will be a few more weeks still.  Here are some fun facts while we wait: So far I have gained...drumroll please... 23 pounds!  And I know exactly where each and every one of those pounds resides. :) I still crave ice to no end. Almost everyone I see these days says something like, "Oh it won't be long now!" or "Any day, huh?"  It's like my identity has changed from "Joanna" to "Big Belly."  They're shocked when they hear I have 3 weeks left. I have had 3 different strangers say, "You're having a boy, aren't you?"  How can they tell? It is hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact t

Before his nap today, Noah picked out a book for me to read to him, but by the time I waddled my way into the living room, he was already reading it.  I had him continue, thinking I would have to take over after a couple of words and a load of frustration, but no!  I. had. no. idea. he could read this well.  He read that whole book to me, and Josh and I were able to take a couple of pictures and videos to document his progress.  (The pictures and video that included me will just remain private, because I can't believe I really look like that. :)   Here is a short video of Noah reading "Just Saving My Money" by Mercer Mayer:

If you've never read it before, The Gunniwolf by Wilhelmina Harper is a great children's story!  You get fantastic onomatopoeia ( what?!   that means words that sound like the noises they describe), beautiful illustrations, and an object lesson in obedience to boot.  PLUS, the kids I know seem to love it.  Bonus. Noah's school put on a literacy parade today, in which the children could dress up as a character from a favorite book. (If you ask me, it was just a chance to let the kids try out their Halloween costumes early. But still.)  Noah immediately wanted to be the Gunniwolf.  Knowing that any wolf costume I could find in the stores would come with a horrible scary face and be at least $10, we made his out of felt and glue for $3.25 with a much friendlier face. So, I have a little wolf on my hands.  And next Wednesday, our church's Patch the Pirate Club will be hosting a Noah's Ark party, where the kids can come dressed as any animal they want.  Gues

As I mentioned in my last post, Josh and Noah have been increasingly working on projects together.  Josh has been trying to teach Noah the value of hard work, and now that Noah's attention span is getting longer, they actually have fun doing these projects together. Here's the trailer that Josh purchased last Saturday: Impressive, huh?  Not.  At least not now, but wait til you see it all done!  I can't wait! :)  The plan is to grind off all the rust, and then paint the metal white.

It's been a while since I wrote a post just about Noah.  Sometimes it seems that there isn't much new to write about him because the milestones and changes are becoming much more gradual as he gets older. And with him in school, our evenings and times together have become busier, which makes it harder for me to document life.  We've transitioned into the world of homework and soccer practice, birthday parties and field trips, chores and responsibilities.  Every now and then I watch Noah closely and can't believe what a big boy he's turning into and how far he's come in just 5 years. 4 days a week Noah has homework assignments.  We work on them together and (for the most part) enjoy them.  I am astounded at how quickly Noah is learning to read this year.   With our earlier sunsets, we have taken to playing Monopoly as a family a few evenings a week.  One game lasts all week long, is really fun, and has the added bonus of reinforcing math and reasoning

Do any of you have trouble believing that I have SIX WEEKS left?  Can I get any bigger?  Can my lung capacity shrink any more?  I do love being pregnant, but I have to say things are getting a little...tight. Finding something suitable to wear has become challenging.  I am not a fan of the bulging-belly-button look, but I'm having to embrace it.  Short of clasping my hands in front of my belly and leaving them there for the next six weeks, I just can't hide it anymore.  Also, many of my maternity shirts have become too short to fit over my belly, and a couple times I have caught glimpses in a mirror of my belly peeking out from under.  Charming.  Time to pull out the tents! :) Should I even admit this next one?  True to form from my last pregnancy ***whispering now*** I have started to grow a beard!  Gasp!  I said it!  Thankfully it's blond, and thankfully if I wear my hair down next to my face I can hide it pretty well, but it's there in its peach-fuzz glory.

My desk for the last 8 years has been an ordinary card table.  Yep, a drawer-less, fold-up, blue card table.  It served its purpose in providing me work space, but left lots to be desired with storage space and aesthetic appeal.  Well, at a yard sale a couple Saturdays ago, I couldn't pass up this desk I found for $10! Underneath the workspace there are two drawers, and you can see all the cubbies in the upper part!  The tabletop even folds up should you want to hide your mess.  I was so thankful the Lord helped me find this for so cheap!! Now to do something about my chair...

The one drawback of living in Florida is that Fall is basically non-existent.  (actually so is Winter, but that's fine with me!)  I keep waiting for the day when I can pull out my jeans and socks and drink hot chocolate without breaking a sweat.  Our days have been sunny, thunderstormy, humid, and H-O-T lately.  Much more like July than October.   So for the time being I continue to stay indoors, drool over Autumn pictures on the internet, and hope that my summer maternity clothes will fit over my I-must-have-swallowed-a-pumpkin belly for just a little longer. Is it Fall where you are? P.S. I dare you to google "autumn photos" and see if the results take your breath away. 

Here are the answers to some of the questions I've been asked over the last few weeks: Q: How are you feeling? A: (There are many possible answers to this one depending on when you ask me, so I'll give them all) Great! Like I have a bowling ball strapped to me.  Beautiful.  Like a beached whale. Energetic.  Exhausted. Hungry. Stuffed.  Emotional.  Elated.  But isn't that the truth with anyone you ask that question to?  It's just pregnant people get asked a whole lot more than everyone else. Q:  How does Noah like school? A:  Noah seems to like it a lot.  I couldn't have said that in the first couple of weeks when he was adjusting to the longer schedule and when he was coming home with less-than-stellar behavior marks (thankfully we were able to correct his behavior, and he has been doing much better).  He has learned to read much more proficiently over the last few weeks, and he loves to show me that he can read something.  If you were to ask him what his favo

Every September I am bit by an urgent Decorating Bug, which compels me to get out and display all of my Autumn decorations and candles.  There's no chill in the air, but I know somewhere in this country there has to be.  If I don't decorate now and get into the fall spirit, Christmas will be pounding on my door before I can say "pumpkin." Only, sometime in the last year of sitting stagnant in our storage room--which happens to have a leaky roof and no heating or air conditioning--many of my fall pretties fell victim to mold, mildew, and voracious bug appetites (who knew there was a bug who likes to eat the enamel off of styrofoam pumpkins? Desperate much?). And immediately the scripture came to mind, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys..."  Matt 6:19-20 I'm so thankful that these

31 weeks.  That's me!  I had another OB appointment today, with less than good news.  In addition to the fact that I gained 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks (she said, as she stuffed another fun-sized Kit Kat bar into her mouth.  Really, I just did.), I was informed that I failed my one-hour glucose test by 7 points.  Do you know what that means?  Yup, three hour test, coming right up.  Unless, that is, I can come up with a way to get out of it.  The doctor also told me that I'm anemic, which comes as no surprise due to how tired I've been feeling, and how I can't get enough ice (craving ice is a sign of anemia).  Other than those things, I've been doing pretty well.  

The other day I had someone ask me if I was sure I wasn't having twins because I am so big.  Followed a few days later by my dental hygienist telling me I was "so tiny" and she couldn't believe I was almost seven months pregnant.  Hmmm...  Whom do I believe?  Well, regardless, I have about 2 and a half months left of this pregnancy (is that all?) and I'm enjoying it.  Here are a few of the recent developments: The baby is starting to really pack a punch when he moves. Ouch! I am getting more and more breathless.  The pregnancy exercise videos that I used to yawn at are now giving me a run for my money and making me sweat.  Singing is becoming a challenge, as is walking anywhere fast or getting up off the floor. I crave ice.  I've seriously thought about going to Sonic or Chick-Fil-A (they have the nicest ice for chewing) and just ordering a large cup of ice.  I wonder how much they would charge? Also among the cravings are ice cream--though I've

I have come to a very important decision:  I will not be blogging about the many events of August individually.  If I did (at the rate I blog), it would take me until NEXT August to finish, and then I'd be a whole year behind.  And that would overwhelm me enough to just quit blogging, which I don't intend to do.  So.  I bring you a few pictures and a little blurb about each event all in one post.  Never underestimate the power of summary. VBS Week:  What a joy to have teens and adults come from CT to run VBS again!  As always, they did a stellar job, and we have seen a little bit of fruit from that effort. The start of soccer season!  There is only one other boy on Noah's team, which should make for interesting games. :)   A Surprise baby shower for me put on by the ladies of Truth Baptist Church.  I've never been the recipient of a surprise party, so this was a first, and such a blessing. Our family trip to The Wilds.  Last year's picture came o

About six weeks ago, Daisy had six kittens.  One was stillborn, so we were left with five.  A couple weeks ago, one got out during the night and somehow died outside.  (That's still a mystery, as it didn't look like an animal got her; we just found her dead out in the yard. ?)  So then there were four.  And what a cute and cuddly bunch they were!  There is something embedded deep in me that LOVES kittens.  As a child I had kitten calendars on my wall (followed in my teen years by ballet calendars) if that tells you anything. Those adorable photos you see of kittens in teacups just do it for me. :) Here are Daisy's kittens: And, a video for those of you like me who can't get enough of kittens: A couple days ago, after the kittens displayed ability to eat kitten food (those things could EAT!) and use a litter box, we put an ad on Craigslist and gave away all four in one day.  In hindsight, I probably should have given them away one at a time over a pe

There's something about Kindergarten that makes a mom feel as though she's at a jumping-off point.  Preschool didn't feel this way.  Having my child turn five and go off to Kindergarten does.  Not that he's independent now--far from it--but there's something so Big Kid-ish about packing a lunch and kissing him goodbye for the whole day .  August 20 was Noah's first day at school, so he's completed one full week. Here are the milestones of the week: Noah learned to tie his shoes this week.  The motivation?  I bought him a pair of sneakers with laces and told him he couldn't wear them to school until he learned to tie them.  15 minutes later, he had mastered that skill.  No more velcro shoes for this boy!  He got sick at school on the second day. :(  Almost our whole family came down with some sort of nasty bug promptly upon returning from The Wilds last week.  Josh and Noah had shared a water bottle on Saturday, just a couple of hours before Jos

As of Tuesday this week, I am 27 weeks pregnant.  Two-thirds of the way there already!  I continue to feel great, praise the Lord, and I continue to crave peaches. :)  Sleeping has become more of a challenge, as is finding space for all my pillows in our bed.  I'm trying to savor every moment and document as much as I can.

My sister-in-law Andrea offered to highlight my hair for my birthday.  For a long time Josh has been wanting me to get highlights done to "keep me young" as he puts it.  I guess I should face it: as it was, my grays were beginning to look like some kind of silver highlight job.  So I said "yes" to Andrea, and then worried for days beforehand about what the "new me" would look like.  I've always been brave, you know.  *rolls eyes* So anyway, here it is: It is a subtle difference, it covers my grays, and I love it!!  For the record, Josh does too.

I realize I have probably lost all but 2 of my blog followers, and that it is my own fault.  You can't neglect a blog for a month (!) and not expect to alienate some folks.  We have had an absolutely jam-packed four weeks, and if you'll bear with me, I'd like to try to make heads or tails of recent events and then move on.  Here are a few of the highlights of the last month which I hope to expand upon in the coming days: Vacation Bible School at our church, four weeks' worth of company at our house, Daisy's five kittens (which were born the day after my last post), my baby shower, a week spent at The Wilds camp in North Carolina, my 32nd birthday, Noah starting soccer, how the pregnancy is progressing, Noah starting Kindergarten (!), and a partridge in a pear tree. Minus the partridge, these events were just a few of the things that are on my mind to blog about.  I better get cracking!      

Well, it would seem that Daisy and I have a lot in common these days--can you guess what it is? I'll give you a hint: I looked it up online, and "they" say cat gestation is about 9 weeks.  According to my estimation, we should have kitties any day now!  Exciting times. Noah can't wait! :)