The Accidental Pastor's Wife

If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll know how much I love celebrating the Reformation and last year my posts dealt with the fun ways we've tried to celebrate in the past. There really are lots of great resources out there, so be sure to click the links from my previous Reformation Day posts.

But, you can only swim upstream for so long.

This year I have a ninja, a race car driver, and a butterfly.

We'll go to the neighboring church's harvest festival, drive to some church member's houses to get candy, take some pictures.

*sigh*

Quick update: Monday begins the official checking to see if I'm dialating or not and marks 37 weeks, which is when I delivered baby #3. I'm as big as a house, can hardly put on my socks, and not sleeping so much. This is our last day of homeschooling for a while and we'll focus on playing games, reading books, hanging out...So if I disappear again, you'll know why. :)

I have not fallen off the face of the earth...but here's what I have been doing:

My dear husband broke and dislocated his ankle in September so I've been, uh, pretty busy caring for him, the third grader, the kindergartener, the toddler, and the 34 week old baby still baking in my tummy.

He has about a week and a half more of his Aircast boot thingie then he can attempt to put some weight on it.

I've delivered all my babies around 37/38 weeks. So the question of the hour is: Will he be able to drive me two hours to the hospital to deliver this baby?

I try not to think about it.

But I did want to share a hilarious conversation I had yesterday with my 5 1/2 year old:

Little boy: Are you for that Rock Obama guy?

Me: Well, I'm voting for the other guy, John McCain, I guess.

Little boy: Yeah. That's who I'm for, too. That other guy doesn't want you to have your own money. He wants to give it away.

Maybe we've been watching a little too much Fox News???

TV Reviews

I saw this over at Christie's blog and thought it was funny. All you have to do is type in your blog address and it computes it for you. Maybe I haven't lost as many brain cells as I suspected since college... ha ha!

Or more accurately, the P has left with the "precious" (read:Macbook), for the Together for the Gospel conference.

So it shall be silent in these parts for a bit. And if you know the APW personally you can make some snarky comment about her being silent.. Ha ha. See me laughing? :)

One word: BUSY.

Pregnancy, kids, church commitments, schooling--I'm excited we're nearing the end of the school year!

I've had a touch of queasiness but nothing like previous pregnancies so I'm very thankful for that. I'm still not feeling totally NORMAL. I usually feel like I have some kind of virus during my entire pregnancy then suddenly, once I have the baby, I feel completely back to myself. It's so strange.

But it's made me feel not so eloquent on the blog front.

I'm hoping for some inspiration today--from somewhere...out there...

I've added a few new ladies to my blog roll--since I'm the worst computer person in the world and can't get any hyperlinks right with blogger, be sure to click on over there, 'kay?

I read Jubal Sackett by Louis L'Amour in three days. Once I get hooked into a book, I can't stop! So now I need to wait for some interlibrary loans to come in before I plunge into a new book for the new year. I'm thinking of maybe having a goal of two books a month.

L'Amour is considered the best storyteller of the West, and since I live in the West, I found this book much more interesting than I would have, say, three years ago. I thought maybe L'Amour would be a niche author, but this particular book has a much broader appeal. He is a fantastic writer!

www.louislamour.com

Have you checked out Average Girl's blog? If not, you should. She's got such a sweet spirit about her. Well, when she heard it was my 30th birthday, she sent me the most BEAUTIFUL purple and blue bag that she made. I've not even had the chance to meet her in person, but maybe some day! You wouldn't have to twist my arm to go back up to the Northwest for a visit.

When hubby comes home I'm going to get him to take my picture with it and I'll post it. I've already used it a couple time since I got it the other day. It looks like something you'd pay big bucks for in a fancy boutique!

sooooo-THANK YOU AVERAGE GIRL!!!!

My sister-in-law has a beautiful home. Not only is it huge and adorably decorated, it's organized. So each year when I return from her house over the holiday, I am inspired to DO BETTER in my own home. So today I'm on a mission. A mission to make every nook and cranny orderly and my home more livable. I'm tossing stuff I never use or wear.

I'm also unpacking our disaster-area of a van. My trip to the Amish bulk foods store near some family resulted in certain little boys squashing a few bags of baking cocoa, poppy seeds, and brown flax meal in the car. Hubby's been a huge help today, and I hope he's as inspired as I am to make our lives more organized!

So off I go after chomping on an apple and getting a lot done. I'd better get busy before I get distracted by all you bloggers I like to read!

Thanks for the sweet comments, too, while I was away!

Like a lot of bloggers, I'm gonna take the next week or so off, mostly because I'm out of town for the holidays and don't have a lot to say. Of course, now that I say that I'll get inspired...anyway...ta ta for now.

Sweet Mummy and Caroline both have given me my first awards recently! Once I figure out what I should do now, as in pass them along? I will. Blogging etiquette on that? Anyway, thanks!

sometime after church today. I haven't fallen off the face of the blogsosphere--just been busy, like everyone else. I've been mulling over a few somethings for quite a while now and maybe I'll blog abot it. Don't give up on me!

Reading this. WOW. All other things have totally slacked off as I've been absorbed in this book.

I think I find Islam so fascinating because I have a friend from high school (who is now a neurologist) whose a Muslim. And I see Islam as our future.

Have you heard the statistics (I should probably just find them.) about what percentage of Europe will be Muslim by the middle of this century? It's astounding. I feel like I need to understand Islamic fundamentalism. Of course, my friend doesn't fall into this category--she's not the type whose trying to murder the infidels and force conversion by the sword.

Unfortunately, no one else around my little town is interested in stuff like this so I read alone. Or blog about it!

I have family coming in today so I need to get ready and get this house in order.

Sorry for the lack of posts! I have about 100 pages left--then I'll be back. :)

It took me a while to find a template I like. I've just been changing colors for fun for a while now. I think I'll be sticking with this one-finally. I'm slowly learning more about this whole blogging thing!

I've been reading about more and more moms who have decided that blogging is taking up too much of their time and they want to focus more on family stuff. I totally admire and respect these ladies for making the choice that's right for their family at that particular season of their lives.

But I can't do it. Blogging has become for me an outlet. As a pastor's wife, there are few people I can confide in or just call up and chew the fat. I feel like blogging serves an essential purpose in my life: to vent, to be creative, to be myself. I don't want my identity so wrapped up in my role as wife, mother, and pastor's wife that I forget who I am. I'm still ME. I still love to read, to learn, to write, to create. For me to enjoy my children more, I need some time to just reflect and think about things OTHER than them sometimes. (I realize a LOT of my posts do deal with these hats I wear.)

I will make time for blogging, gardening, reading. I want to have interests that will continue for my entire life so that when my children are gone and grown, I won't be wringing my hands wondering, "What do I do NOW?" I am a firm believer in raising your own children. I homeschool by default and don't think that EVERY SINGLE Christian family has a biblical mandate to homeschool. I'm not about trying to turn my children into "little mes".

I don't want to fall into the trap, that many homeschooling families fall into, and begin to make my famiy my god. As with everything I think there is a healthy balance between spiritual things, family, housework, and hobbies. All things in moderation.

Alida over at blackpurlsknitpickings tagged me and I'm not sure who I'll tag yet! But here are my 5 things, which came at a perfect time for me to ponder.

Here are the rules:

1. those tagged will share 5 things they dig about Jesus…
2. those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers…
3. those tagged will post a comment here with their name and a link to their “dig” Jesus list…


1. He is faithful-even when I am distracted by His good gifts, He continues to love me and draw me to Himself.
2. He is mighty-all powerful, totally sovereign over all. When the world seems to spin out of control into darkness, I know that He does indeed hold the whole world in His hands.
3. He has spoken-through His word. I love the hymn "How Firm A Foundation" which goes, "What more can He say than to you He has said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled." What extra revelation do I need? NONE!
4. He will welcome me into heaven-Another song that reminds me of this is called "I Will Glory in My Redeemer": "I will glory in my Redeemer who waits for me at gates of gold. And when He calls me, it will be paradise. His face forever to behold, His face forever to behold."
5. He loves little children. So often, I fall into the trappings of the culture around me and see children as a nuisance, when Jesus presents the opposite example. In a time when children who were unwanted were just abandoned in the desert (hmmm...now they're murdered in utero, has much changed??), Jesus welcomed them.

So I'm tagging:

Anita at averagegirl.wordpress.com
Music Minister's Wife at musicministerswife.blogspot.com
Helpmeet at dustandrib.blogspot.com
Finish the Race at Finishtherace.blogspot.com
Kara Guffey at karaguffey.blogspot.com

Crickl tagged me (I just love her blog-be sure it check it out to the left! Crickl's Nest), soooooo...

I am so new at this blogging thing--is meme a word I should know already? Or is it like "blog", a made up word? At any rate, I'll try to list seven things I've learned in my short life and then tag seven other people (Do I know seven other bloggers?? If I don't can I just tag less? Am I a concrete sequential or what? I need definite directions!)

1. Babies will eventually sleep. When I had my first child, I was 21 years old, in college, newly married, and none of my friends were even married yet, let alone mothers. I was so clueless, and during those first few months I would honestly think to myself, "What have I done?" Fortunately, once he started sleeping through the night (around my birthday! THANKS!) and we quit nursing (that's a whole other post!), my outlook changed to one of "I CAN do this!" So I always tell new moms: there WILL be a light at the end of the all-night vigil tunnel. I promise!

2. Nursing a baby is one of the most special times in a mom's life. I can say this from experience. After attempting to nurse my firstborn (who, by the way, appears to be the most intelligent of my children) for 6 weeks with lots of tears and frustrations from both of us, I switched to the bottle. I didn't have any support at all (my mom bottle fed me) and, like I said, clueless. But it was the right decision because it helped our relationship so much. I could get him on a schedule, anticipating his needs, and dad could take some turns feeding him, too. It was right for that time of our lives. With baby #2, I was determined to give it a go again, but this time, seek out help. So I nursed him right away after birth, then met with a lactation consultant after I went home. At her office, she worked with me for three hours one day, weighing him before he ate, weighing him after (important for my psychological wellbeing!), helping us get a correct latch (which was my problem with my first child). She did not let me go home until my little boy was eating. She called that night, called the next morning, then had me come in to train me how to pump if I needed to. I nursed him for 13 months and he had not one bottle of anything!

3. Never stay mad at your husband. A stubborn will never solves anything. I can't stay mad for very long. Neither can he. We end up trying to be mean, but end up smiling at each other, which breaks the ice for us to talk about whatever's going on. Be the first to give in...I'm convinced it works wonders.

4. Look at the components of your dinner, see how long each item takes, then start what takes the longest first. For example, if you're making spaghetti, defrost your meat for meatballs, heat your oven, form your meatballs, set your water to boil for noodles, bake your meatballs, put your pasta in the water and cook it, open your can of spaghetti sauce, drain pasta, take out meatballs, combine in a pot and heat through. You have to do things in order, so they make sense and you're not in the kitchen forever.

5. Keeping in touch with long distance friends is essential. And there's no excuse, with the internet and all. A note, a card, an email, a phone call, can bless someone at just the right time.

6. Older people just want someone to listen to their stories. There's nothing worse for an older person than to feel like they're a nuisance. Most just want to be treated like a friend, not a burden. So seek them out and listen to them.

7. Most TV is not worth watching. We've lived with it and without it, and I much prefer without it. It can be done. HONEST.

Let's see, who to tag...I've got a crying baby girl so I'll edit this later for tags!

Okey Dokey: I'm a pathetic blogger and can only think of five gals to tag (and my Mac doesn't let me post a hyperlink in my post so just click on their websites to the left, ok?)

TAG!
Caroline at Living inside (or is it outside) the Fishbowl
Helpmeet
Finish the Race
Anita at Average Girl
Young Pastor's Wife

I just recently discovered this whole blogging thing...I'm a bit slow at technological stuff anyway. Digital music? Music that you can't literally HOLD in your hands but lives somewhere out there and is on my husband's iPod? When I drive someplace, I still stick CDs in the CD player. In fact, I didn't get a CD player (was faithful to my tapes) until the summer of 1996! I digress...

I've found some AWESOME new blogs lately, ladies whose hearts are on fire for the Lord and whose posts continue to encourage me. Check them out!

(I guess I should get off the MacBook now and do some housewifely duties...) *sigh*