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?

Catching up...

Wow, I didn't realize just how long it's been since I posted anything. My short engagement to Steven seems very long ago now.
We were married, as planned, in a beautiful ceremony in the Spangle Church. I should post pictures sometime....
We honeymooned on the Olympic Peninsula (after spending the weekend between Spangle and Walla Walla so Steven could play in the WWU graduation brass ensemble--it was worth the $150 we got out of it!) in a beautiful cabin on Lake Cushman. We drove around the peninsula and spent two nights camping near Forks, WA, where my family likes to vacation.

Work restarted for me on June 25, so we hurried to get moved into our little house near the University. We were very fortunate to get it, too! It is small and VERY old, with a bathroom the size of the shower in a hotel I visited recently, but just right for us. It has a good-sized backyard, too, and Campus Housing said we could plant a garden, which we did. We had a late start, so didn't get much out of some of our produce, but we got lots of zucchini and summer squash, some tomatoes, lots of carrots, two pumpkins, several cucumbers, kale and mustard greens, and some herbs. This year we have a much more intense garden planned, and I am eager to get planting.

We took Labor-Day weekend to do some long-postponed backpacking. Steven and I drove up past Sandpoint, ID, to the trailhead of Harrison Lake. Our favorite place in the world to backpack is a little cat's-paw lake two ridges over from Harrison (we call it Little Harrison). We had a rough time getting in, because the last 2 miles of the hike are cross-country (no trails) and we struck out a little too low, resulting in the necessary navigation of many rock fields and woods that we would not otherwise have encountered. We were supposed to hike back out later in the evening to help some friends in who were going to join us, but decided against this as we were both completely exhausted and it was too dark to safely navigate. We were pretty sure that our friends would make camp at Harrison or thereabouts after waiting a while.
Steven woke us early so he could hike out to find our friends. I stayed behind in camp to get breakfast ready and such. I took my sleeping bag and mat down to one of the large rock slabs that surrounds the lake (it is essentially a basin of rock) and enjoyed the sunshine and breeze. I even took a bath in the water, after figuring out how to chase away all the insects that were floating on the surface (some kind of flying ant covered the surface of the lake, for what reason we never learned; I don't remember seeing them in the air). After seeing the bugs I decided just to sponge bathe, but found when I rinsed my soapy washcloth that the detergent made the ants "magically" flow away from the edge. I spent a wonderful couple of hours enjoying the sun and spending time with God in nature.
Steven returned with the others about 5 hours after he left. It turns out that they had way more stuff than would have been wise to haul over that track, so they ended up just taking a day-hike in to where we were and we visited for a little while before they went back to their camp.
On Sunday we had an interesting adventure. It was very cold when we got up in the morning, and by the time we got around to making breakfast it was raining "hail flakes" as I decided to call them. The same stuff is referred to as "corn snow" or even "hail" by others, but I thought hail flakes was a good term, and fit better. We had a hard time finding a good place to make our food as it was so windy and precipitating heavily. We managed with breakfast and decided to hike out that day instead of waiting until Monday. By the time we were packed it was about 12:30, and still raining/snowing. We dressed warmly and hiked out in the wetness. It turned out to be a wonderful trip, as the cold was just enough to keep us from overheating with all the strenuous hiking, and the slightly snow-covered mountains were incredibly beautiful. We found an easier way out than we had found in and had a wonderful time.
We headed back to Spangle and spent Steven's birthday with his parents, then went home.

Steven started school in late September, and it's been a challenge to balance school, work, and house cleaning, but we are getting along fine. Christmas was a different adventure, with two families to visit now, but we had a good time with that as well. We took a trip to Canada with my family to visit my great-aunt Alyce, and had an exciting time on our way back, as there was snow on the roads and we didn't have snow tires yet. We went off the road at one point and nosed into the ditch, but my dad was able to pull us out again and we had no further mishap. We got our snow tires fitted that evening on our way into Spokane. :)

Here's our most exciting and wonderful news for the year: We are expecting our first baby in July. He is growing like a weed (and so am I!) and it is so exciting to feel the changes in myself and also feel his little body exercising! He is kicking and boxing pretty frequently these days. The most wonderful movements, though, are the movements of his daily life: rolling around, feeling the walls surrounding him, and fluttering his little limbs. These make me feel that I am truly getting to know him.

Now we are planning a garden and getting ready for the spring. It is so much more exciting to see the growing things around me now that I am feeling another little thing growing inside me.
I will do my best to keep you all posted on how things are going.

Old News... :)

I haven't had much time to blog lately. The time has finally come to announce to my blogger friends that I am engaged (in case you hadn't managed to hear from a more personal source yet. :)

On 6 March 2010 my long-time best friend and short-time "boyfriend" Steven Williams asked me to marry him, and I agreed, of course. :)  Our wedding will be 11 June 2010 in Spangle, Washington. So, I probably won't be doing too much on here between now and then--I'm much too busy with all the planning, in addition to job searching and working at the UCA cafeteria.

For those of you who just heard this news, I will tell a short synopsis of the story.

The weekend of the 6th was a UCA music tour, so my parents were both gone, and Steven couldn't come home for the weekend due to music engagements, so I decided to take a trip down to  Walla Walla for the weekend.
After the concert on Sabbath afternoon, Steven took me for a drive in his little Beetle. We drove rather aimlessly around Walla Walla, then decided to find a place to stargaze. This took us a very long time, since there are many houses in the Walla Walla Valley, but finally we found a place that was sufficiently dark and not too dirty to sit in. We stayed there and talked for almost an hour, then got cold and decided to head back.

Steven helped me into the car, and I got settled in my seat. I was turned away, buckling my seatbelt, when Steven knelt down by the car and when I had turned back, said, "Alice Elizabeth Kravig, will you marry me?"  And, of course, I agreed. I didn't stay in the car for very long, either! :)

God is so good to us. We have been pursuing our relationship for almost four years, and there have been many obstacles we have encountered. Yet He has given us the strength to withstand the frustrations and come out stronger than we were before. By God's grace we have come through the seasons of friendship and courtship unscathed and more in love than ever. We have learned what it is to love and to hold on even when it is tough.

Thank you to each of you who have helped us through the past few years. I have talked with many of you, cried on your shoulders, poured out my heart, and I am so thankful to each of you, my friends. Please pray for us as we finish out the last couple of months before our wedding.

Missing Southern

Yesterday afternoon I spent an hour or so reading all the blogs of my dear Southern friends. I savored all your wisdom and drank in the spiritual water shared, drank deeply until my heart ached. As it does now.
Don't laugh at me for filling my blogs with more apologies. I am a dyed-in-the-wool apologiser and it's not likely to change anytime soon. Words do not come as easily to me as they do to some of you, but I want to try to let each of you, my dear friends, know how I feel right now.

I am sorry that, when I had the opportunity to spend time playing games with friends of a Sabbath evening, I chose to stay in  my room and waste time on my computer instead. Thank you, Joel, Ivan, and Kristin, for inviting me to share life with you. I regret that I did not join in.

I am sorry that I counted my sleep more dear than fellowship with hymnsingers. Every hymn-sing I attended was pure joy, and I attended too few.

I am sorry for all the times I ate my meals alone in my room instead of joining in with the friendly tables or taking time to share a table with a lonely stranger. I'm sure that my digestion suffered as a result.

I am sorry for all the times I sat on my bed and watched videos on YouTube instead of talking with my precious roommate. Christy, thank you for bearing with me all semester. When God arranged for us to be roommates He gave me an incredible gift; I regret that I did not appreciate it as I should have. Thank you for your friendship and love. I miss you.

For my self-imposed solitary confinement I apologise to each of you, my dear friends. Rich blessings of fellowship were daily offered me, and I chose instead to fill my time with empty pleasures. Thank you for not giving up on me, but continuing to issue invitations I was likely to refuse.
Now I am done at Southern, and not planning on returning to the East anytime soon, and my heart aches with regret for all the missed opportunities. A wealth of friends were offered me, and I chose not to fully enjoy them. God is restoring my heart, and as He does His work I see more clearly what I have missed.

I must sound an awfully gloomy person. Really I am not! As I take more time to know my God and He restores the joy to my heart, regrets over lost time creep to the surface. By the grace of God, from this point on I will endeavor to live life to the fullest and embrace all the joys and sorrows alike as a blessing of life from my Creator. I thank Him for the richness I can glean from reading my friends' words, and I thank each of my friends for continuing to share life with me, even from thousands of miles away. I love you all.

Smile, make them think you're happy;
Lie and say that things are fine
And hide that empty longing that you feel,
Don't ever show it
Just keep your heart concealed.

Why are the days so lonely?
You wonder when, where can the heart go free?
And who will dry the tears that no one sees?
There must be someone to share your silent dreams.

Caught like a leaf in the wind,
Looking for a friend,
Where can you turn?
Whisper the words of a prayer
And you'll find Him there,
Arms open wide, love in His eyes.

Jesus, He meets you where you are,
Oh Jesus, He heals your secret scars.
All the love you're longing for is Jesus,
The friend of a wounded heart.

Joy comes like the morning,
Hope deepens as you grow,
And peace beyond the reaches of your soul
Comes flowing through you,
For love has made you whole.

Once like a leaf in the wind,
Looking for a friend, where could you turn?
You spoke the words of a prayer,
And you found Him there,
Arms open wide, love in His eyes.

Jesus, He meets you where you are,
Oh Jesus, He heals your secret scars.
All the love you're longing for,
All the love that you need,
Oh is Jesus, the friend of a wounded heart.

~Wayne Watson

Please - Kill the Liar! Part II

I have been needing to write this for weeks but have not been able to. Every time I think of sitting down to begin, I shrink back and put it off another week. 


Why is this so difficult for me?


Because I am a liar.
Confessing this makes me feel very vulnerable, and I am afraid. 

Now don't get me wrong: I'm honest most of the time. I don't tell tall tales or excessively embellish my stories. I answer questions with the truth as I know it and don't tell people I do not know something that I actually know...but I might tell them I don't know even though I have a pretty good suspicion.



When I was young I was spanked for lying more often than for anything else - usually the scenario went something like this: 
       "Alice, did you get into that canteloupe?"
       "What do you mean?"
       "There's a hole poked in the side of the canteloupe. Do you know how it got there?"
       "...mmm...Nooo...I don't know how that got there....That's strange."


My parents could usually see right through me, of course, and I was punished for my untruths.


As I got older, I became better at owning up to my mistakes, but still, if the situation seemed particularly embarrassing or shameful I would hesitate to confess. When I was young, I feared punishment; as I grew older, I feared loss of reputation. I feared disappointing those I loved. So I learned to put on the best front possible so I never appeared to be doing anything wrong. I started to hide things from my friends and my family. To this day I don't know why I was so ashamed to be known. If I had curiosities, why could I not dispel them by asking questions of my parents and teachers? How did I come to believe that I was not really worth knowing? I wish I knew the root of all this so I could somehow remedy it even now.


In moments of introspection I have always thought it ironic that my name is Alice, which means 'truthful' and 'noble', when I am so often neither truthful nor noble. Though I do not often struggle now with outright lying, I still hide. I hide my less-pleasant habits, tendencies, and traits from those who are close to me, and this has caused tension in more than one relationship. I am so afraid that others will think ill of me that I will try to keep them from seeing the real me. I am indebted to those who call me up short on this, because I know that I would be much worse if it were not for friends who care.



But how can I improve? How do I learn to let people see all of me, even the parts I am not proud of? How can I live up to my name and be a noble woman whose word no one has occasion to doubt?



Friends, please forgive me for hiding myself and my flaws, for failing to be entirely open with each of you. I need help. I am a perverse and flawed person, and it is only by the grace of my God that I am able to stand at all. Thank you for loving me in spite of my rottenness.


"I know that I deserve to die / For the murder in my heart, / So be gentle with me, Jesus, / As you tear me apart. // Please, kill the liar, / Kill the thief in me, / You know that I am tired of their cruelty."


Father God, only You can free me from this disease. Teach me to care only for what You think of me and forget the opinions of the world. Show me how to live a life hidden in You so I can stop trying to hide myself. Give me a true love for others, such that I will not dream of hurting them by deception.


Please...kill the liar!