Learning to be thankful

As I count down the days till the babies are "supposed" to arrive, I am having to think of reasons to be thankful for many things I could just as well do without.

1.) Swollen feet and ankles: at least I have feet! And the pain from the swelling tells me that my nerves are working, too.
2.) In spite of having swollen feet, my blood pressure is still in the normal range, which means I am one of those lucky first-time moms (of twins, no less) who does not suffer from preeclampsia.
3.) My very large belly indicates that my precious babies are alive and growing.
4.) The frequent and sometimes painful movement they love so much affirms #3 and helps me to remember that my belly is so large because it is holding little lives inside who are almost as eager to get out as we are to have them out.
5.) Every day the babies are still not born is another day I get to enjoy with just my wonderful husband--something we won't have for a long time once they are born.
6.) Babywearing will never be more effortless and convenient than it is right now (though the clothing options are limited at the moment).

There are so many more things for me to be thankful for. I have been blessed with an incredible husband who is working long hours as well as finishing up summer classes so I do not have to work. I have a beautiful (if somewhat cluttered) home and flourishing garden that is helping us meet our food budget goals. Steven has several work possibilities for this fall and we know that God will lead us to the right one.

God is so good to us. Even when things are not as I would like them, I know that He is in control and is working hard to give us His best, if only we will reach out to accept it.
Thank  you, Lord, for teaching me to be patient and to be thankful for every day.

Still pregnant...

Well, I know I said I would post periodic updates on how the pregnancy was progressing, but no news is good news...right?

About 30 weeks along Steven and I were doing some poking around in my belly and realized there were more body parts than one baby usually gets. We have not had any ultrasounds done, so there was no suspicion up to this point, though maybe there should have been--I felt movement very early (around 13 weeks--highly unusual in a first pregnancy), and was showing a lot earlier than would be expected. But it is my first time, so who knew what was normal for me?
Anyway, this is all to say that we are expecting....TWINS! I am getting much larger than I would like to admit, but it's all for a good cause, right? And they say that nursing brings it all off again pretty quickly.....

So, with that news in mind, we were not surprised when at 36 weeks minus one day I started having strong, regular contractions. This was a Sabbath, so instead of Steven having to skip classes we just skipped church and got everything ready (we're planning on having a homebirth). We didn't really call anyone right off because we wanted to be sure. Well, to shorten a long story, after several hours of regular, strong contractions we went to bed, hoping to get some rest because we were sure the babies would arrive that night, or at the latest early the next morning. Come morning...no babies...no contractions...nothing.

This pretty much sums up what the last three weeks have been like. I've had strong, convincing practice labor every couple of days that just dissipates into nothing after several hours. Last weekend it was really frustrating--contractions 2-4 minutes apart for 7 hours, only to disappear altogether by evening. God is trying to teach me patience.

I am very ready for these precious babies to be born. I can feel their little feet in outline on my belly, and their little bodies pressing against the sides (there's not much room left!). I want so badly to hold those precious bodies in my arms and play with those little feet. But "His ways are higher than [my] ways and His thoughts than [my] thoughts...". I know that He who created these tiny lives within me will bring them out in His own time.

What is God trying to teach you right now?