Toddlers and Minivans

Jacob has officially dove into the "terrible two's", even though he is not even 20 months old. He mostly throws his tantrums for me and gives me all the headaches. I've always heard that kids are the worst for their own parents. Why is that? We're the ones that love them the most in this world. Anyhow, being almost 9 months pregnant doesn't help in dealing with a toddler. Jacob doesn't understand that he can't crawl and lay on top of mommy, because it hurts really bad, so that of course makes him upset. He also has his own way of talking back to us, which we are trying really hard to nip sooner rather than later. He's also been waking up in the middle of the night screaming lately. At times, we've had to tend to him, other times, he goes back to sleep on his own, but needless to say, I'm being re-introduced to the world of sleepless nights and the new baby is not even here yet. I do have to say, however, his new "long, slobbery kisses" right on the mouth sure melt my heart and make it hard to stay mad at him. He can be just as sweet as he can sour.

On an exciting note, we broke down last Friday afternoon and got the ever dreaded minivan that all families are destined to at some point in time! The salesman came out to introduce himself as we were peeking in the windows and his first words to us were "you two look too young to be buying a minivan". What can I say? We're about to have child number 2 and if we're going to have a big, non fuel-efficient vehicle, gosh darnit, I want to have plenty of room inside for all the crap we're going to have to haul around. Anyhow, we're really happy with the new vehicle! It should serve us greatly over the next several years. On a side note: It's an 06 Chevy Uplander (supposedly the crossover, so it has kind of an SUV feel to it, which of course, makes us feel better as twenty-somethings.)

Some Heavy Stuff

Today, I need to post about some heaviness on my heart. Over the last couple of months, a common theme keeps coming up in my mind and in my prayers and weighing heavily on my heart. Now, most of you know that I'm not much of a "preacher" on my blog, and I don't really intend to preach, but I do need to express my thoughts and concerns on this subject. Unfortunately, the subject has to do with infidelity and failed marriages among seemingly "strong christian people". It is easy to fall into the line of thinking that Christians should be more guarded or protected when it comes to this kind of sin, but the truth is that none of us are immune.

About 6 years ago, close family friends experienced this with their oldest son, a 30 year old youth pastor, who just shortly after his wife became pregnant, began an affair with one of his youth. She also became pregnant. He left his wife, and now, has two children with this other girl. We got to witness firsthand how this kind of sin affects everyone involved with these people. His family was attacked, and his parents and two sisters persevered, keeping their faith solid, praying continuously that their son/brother would repent, and return to his wife, who by the way, has demonstrated an unbelievable amount of grace through this whole ordeal.

Even now, six years later, the ramifications of this sin still affects this family, including his 5 year old son, who doesn't get to have his daddy come home to him every night, but he goes to another house with his other kids. This hurt still lingers.

About a month ago or so, our pastor blogged and asked for prayer for a fellow pastor in California who stepped down from his position, and left his wife and two daughters for another woman in the church. I've been thinking about and praying for this situation as well, as it really weighed on me.

Over the last several months, we have been praying for a close friend of my sister-in-law who is battling breast cancer. She and her husband have 2 daughters, and her husband has been sending out emails faithfully, updating everyone on her progress and treatments. From reading these updates, you would think there is not a more devoted husband out there. Last night, my sister-in-law found out that this husband has been cheating on his wife for a year and has now left her, with two daughters, still battling breast cancer.

I can't help but ask this question in my mind, "what is going on with these marriages?" It is so scary to think that we could fall prey to this deceit by Satan. The common thread between each of these situations is they were all strong Christian men of the faith, and now there is no one that has been able to talk any sense into any of them. They have somehow justified these actions in their minds, and it is unfathomable to me how they could be going through life, not feeling overwhelming conviction for their actions.

My heart goes out to these wives and children who are the closest victims of this sin. I know this doesn't just happen with men, women are guilty of it too.

If we learn nothing else from this, let us make sure we are protecting our marriages in every way possible-prayer, arming our hearts and minds with scripture, maintaining strong lines of communication. Proverbs 6: 20-35, Hebrews 13:4

If you think about it, pray for these men - Jeff, Dave and David, and also for these wives and their children - Kathy, Laura and Robyn. I can't imagine the pain and suffering they are experiencing.

A Quick Update and Some New Pics

Here are some new pictures of Jacob that I've been asked about by several of you. I finally took some time, downloaded about 60, reformatted them, and now they are posted for your enjoyment. I do have to explain the one with Jacob curled up on our rocker footrest. He has been doing this lately in the evenings while watching TV, when he starts to get tired. It's almost like he's discovered his own way to rock himself to sleep :-). Not much else happening here. We've been enjoying the spring weather the last couple of weeks, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby Choate. Nothing much more to report.

A Sigh of Relief

These past couple of weeks have been exceptionally difficult concerning my pregnancy. I've had lots more contractions and severe pressure, enough to warrant an extra trip to the doctor yesterday. Much to my relief and surprise, the doctor says I'm ok and the baby is ok, but just to avoid anymore pre-term labor symptoms, I need to cut back my work hours. I wanted to hug her when she told me that, but then my feelings mixed as I was afraid going to part time would affect my insurance eligibility. After spending most of the evening agonizing over what would happen the next day when I told this to my employer (this is what I do), I went into work this morning, laid everything out for my boss and the HR department and they basically said "ok". They are doing exactly what the doctor recommended and letting me keep my benefits. Praise Jesus! The paycut is going to be a little bit of a challenge, but my (and my child's) health and sanity are my first concerns right now. I'm looking forward to working half the hours and taking daily afternoon naps :-)

On the Jacob note, today he spent the morning playing with his buddies, Jackson and Eli. Just like Jacob, he didn't care when I left, and barely noticed when I came to pick him up. I'm so glad he has little friends his age to play with. Also, for some reason, he likes Miss Stephanie's cooking much better than Mommy's, as he eats her out of house and home whenever he is there, while I constantly fight with him to eat at home. Go figure! Little boys are so unpredictable.

Retraction

Although it is a bit disappointing, I am writing to retract my post on modeling in a fashion show next week. After coming down with a cold and dealing with other late pregnancy discomforts and exahustion, I decided not to participate in the show. My decision also was based on some conversations I had with the show coordinator, which made me hesitant to go forward with it. One thing being that I would have to go to a specific store, find 3 outfits that meet their criteria for the show, buy them MYSELF, then turn around and essentially offer free advertising for the retailer. I DON'T THINK SO! Now I understand why they have had a hard time getting volunteers for this. Maybe if I was hard up for maternity clothes and not scheduled to deliver in 7 weeks, I would feel differently, but there is no way I'm spending my money on more maternity clothes that I won't even wear in another couple of months. Anyway, at least it will keep my Saturday free next week, which I really treasure these days. Peace out!

My Modeling Debut

Hey All, Yesterday was one of those really weird work days, you know, the days when you are really swamped, but the weirdest stuff keeps happening that just disrupts everything you've laid out in your planner. Well, one of those things was a phone call from my husband who, as you know works at the OBGYN office. Well, being the OBGYN means they are involved in all of the community "baby" events, one being a Baby Fair happening at The Fairways of North Canton Country Club on 4/19. (Andrea, if you're not busy, you might check this out. If nothing else, you can get free samples of stuff). So, the nurse supervisor decided to nominate me to be a maternity model for the Baby Fair Fashion Show. Frank called and told me this at about 12:30 p.m., by 1:30 p.m. I received a call from the coordinator of the show confirming that I would participate and wanting to schedule a fitting. Now, hopefully they won't take one look at me and change their minds, but as it stands, I'll be modelling maternity clothes from Motherhood and some other store I haven't heard of, in two fashion shows on 4/19. This will be the closest thing I'll ever do to a real catwalk, so I figured I'd live a little and strut my baby belly. If you're free next Saturday morning, come check it out.

The Precious Bundle in my Belly

Today, I was pleasantly surprised to get a call from my husband telling me to come down to the Obgyn office to get a 3D ultrasound for free! Of course, I jumped at the chance (How often does that stuff happen?) They squeezed me in as the last appointment of the day, and they said my pictures turned out the best of any scans they had done during the day. Wow! Technology is amazing. I already know that my second son has my mouth, my husband's nose and bears a very striking resemblance to his older brother Jacob, and he's not even due to arrive for several more weeks. During most of the scan, his little hands covered his face, and he was sleeping, but he did some moving around and we got some cool shots of the face and profile. What a really cool way to end my work day! I thought I'd share this with you all.

A Day to Myself

We had a really nice weather weekend and spent much of it outdoors, which is now Jacob's favorite place to be In fact, he prettymuch throws a tantrum every time he has to come back inside. I can just anticipate how it will be this summer, when I'll have a infant to take care of and Jacob wanting to play outside constantly. Geesh!

Today, I took a sick day. I started feeling nauseous and very tired on Sunday afternoon and it continued into the evening. I ended up sleeping only a few hours Sunday night, struggling to keep my stomach calm and find some comfort with my growing belly. Once 6:30 a.m. rolled around, I decided to bite the bullet and call off (something I very rarely do, because I always make myself feel so guilty for doing so), since my husband talked me into it. My parents kept Jacob last night as they usually do on Sundays, since my mom babysits on Mondays, so I didn't have a little boy to take care of, and Frank was off to work by 7:30, so it was just me. Wow, I've forgotten how different life is without a little one and when you have a lot of alone time on your hands. I was able to catch up on some rest, do some long overdue reading and even take a bubble bath, before my mom returned my son. I feel much more rejuvenated this evening. My husband teases me because I feel so guilty about calling off work. I know it is just my own brain and no one is faulting me for it, especially being pregnant, but I finally came to realize that sometimes you just need a day off. It can do wonders for your energy level when you just don't do anything for a solid block of time...especially when you are pregnant. That's about it for now. Hope you all have a relaxing week!

Just A Quick Update on The Choates

Lately, we have been really busy with family in town and a whirlwind of activity that goes along with that. I was able to take a couple days of vacation time, which was really nice, although not so relaxing cause we were on the go pretty consisitently.

Frank started his new position this week, so he's stressing about that a little, which is to be expected with anything new and challenging. We're very happy about this change, but like anything else, it will take a period of adjustment.

I've been feeling a lot more sluggish lately, with my growing belly and decreasing energy levels. I had a weird feeling my blood pressure might be elevated, and sure enough, when I saw the doctor today, he confirmed it. It's not too high that they are concerned right now. It just needs to be monitored, so it doesn't skyrocket or anything. This happened towards the end of my pregnancy with Jacob, but he wasn't affected and it never reached a level where I needed hospitalization or anything, so hopefully this is just one of those things that will pass without causing any concern for myself or the baby. My strategy at this point is to just slow myself down a bit more, so I don't get too worked up about things.

We're hoping to get the 3rd bedroom painted this weekend, so we can move Jacob in and get him adjusted before the baby arrives...only 8 weeks until he's due!