My Ebenezer

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