This is a year of changes!

2009 is truly proving to be a year of big changes and new things. I rung in the New Year by marrying a truly fantastic man. Of course, marrying meant moving as well. I finished Washburn and am hopefully leaving college behind for quite sometime, if I even go back.

Now more changes are on the way! Nick and I found out last week that our first child is on the way! Needless to say, we are very excited. The new addition to our little family is to arrive in the middle of November, and we are already eagerly anticipating this new phase in our lives.

Needless to say, though, the changes are already starting! My body is struggling to adjust to all the hormones necessary to growing a baby. Plus, we have begun updating our condo in earnest (not that a great deal needs to be done) so that we can put it up for sale. We're going to need a bigger place so we can have a nursery. (As well, I'm sure my parents would love to get rid of my excess furniture stored in their basement!) I hope we will be able to move by the summer or certainly before the summer is over! By then, we hope to know what we're having, boy or girl, and can start preparing the nursery and have a place to store all the things that are incumbent with babies: crib, changing table, diapers, bottles, onesies, bibs, toys, books, towels.....

As excited as we are, we do indeed ask for prayer, just that the baby and I will be healthy and safe throughout pregnancy and labor. And of course, that the Lord will help us to be the best parents possible!

Jimmy

I have to confess: my nephew Jimmy is one of my favorite people. He and I have been very close since he was born: I held him for about six hours uninterrupted and it was love from then on. We've stayed pretty close through long hours of playing, reading, and watching movies together, and I always enjoy listening to him chat (even though he can be a tad long-winded). He's also proven to be a kid after my own heart. Case in point (and the impetus for this entry): the day of this posting I have been watching the boys as their baby-sitter is on vacation. I brought myself a little chai mix to make myself a drink. Jim passes me from time to time and spots my cup.

"What is that?" he asks, a devilish little grin spreading across his face.

"What do you think it is?" I ask as I take a sip.

"I know what it is."

"No, you don't."

"Can I have a sip?" By this time he is grinning from ear to ear.

"How do you know you want a sip?" I ask. "You don't even know what it is."

"Yes, I do! It's chai!" All this from a brief glance into my cup at a non-descript, muddy brown liquid. And he continues to cajole a sip from me.

Of course, I can refuse him nothing (at least on this scale). So I dutifully give him a sip. He has come back repeatedly for more. And though it's a wrencher to share my only cup of chai, it's made worth it by two things. One, he sighs contentedly (though rather dramatically) every time I grant him a sip. Secondly, he continually asks to sip off a spoon because he thinks "it sounds like a helicopter." Thankfully, I have only the one cup today!