A couple nights ago, I had a dream about bagels and cream cheese. While normally, I would simply wake up and move on with my day, being pregnant is a whole other story. I craved bagels and cream cheese all day! However, since there are no bagels at the local grocery store here (like so many things I crave unfortunately), I naturally turned to the internet to learn how to make bagels. And that night, I actually made a batch of homemade bagels! Today, in order to completely fulfill my craving, I lugged myself over to the import store and got me two packages of cream cheese to go with the bagels (if only I could get my hands on some asiago cheese!) I have never felt so food saavy! In fact, since being pregnant, I have attempted more things in the kitchen than ever before, all in order to fulfill those crazy cravings. Let's just hope I don't start having dreams about a roasted turkey!
We are now at 21 weeks! It's been so much fun feeling our little baby kick. Even Curt has now gotten a taste of her kicking as they are enough to be felt from the outside. She's not kicking very regularly yet, but she sure starts kicking a bit more whenever I have tea, milk, or juice. It's so much fun! Here's how the bump is growing. I'm finally being offered up seats on the public bus thanks to the size of my belly. Just one of the perks I'm discovering with pregnancy!
Last week, I started worrying because I had yet to feel the baby kick. Was it ok in there? Should I pay more attention? Well, this week, she's definitely kicking. Not only am I feeling the little bumps in there, but recently I actually got to see it from the outside! It was one morning when I had a rare cup of chai tea. I'm guessing it was the caffeine that got to her, but she started kicking like crazy! At one point, I felt repeated hard kicks on the left side of my tummy. I lifted up my shirt and at that moment, she kicked again, allowing me to see the little spastic movement on my tummy. As simple as it sounds, it was the most amazing thing to me! Now I just can't wait til I can feel (and maybe see) her kick again. It just brings so much joy to my heart! Who knew being kicked was this much fun?!!!
We got to take a peek at our little one last week, and found out that she's a girl! We're super excited and feel extremely blessed that she's healthy and normal. I've been feeling her kick a lot more lately (which makes sense since we saw the evidence of her activeness when we saw the ultrasound). Here's the first glimpse at our daughter!
Going into marriage, both of us had an idea of what we thought marriage should look like. When we finally got in, however, it became apparent to us that there was still so much to be figured out, so much bending and compromise on both our parts (which can be extremely challenging for two stubborn and independent people like ourselves). Although we are given a Biblical view of marriage, a lot of times, our own selfishness and pride get in the way. There are a lot of dating and marriage books out there, offering pictures of what relationships should look like. For us, it comes down to a daily "laying down" of ourselves for the other person, and that has been challenging and refining at the same time.
I (Michelle) write about this today because I came across a couple of articles online about marriage, some good and some not so great. The divorce rate in the Church and the secular world show little difference in our marriages, with 50% of marriages ending in divorce. More and more, it's becoming more acceptable to say, "Oh, well the marriage just wasn't working". What that essentially means is that the marriage wasn't working the way that you thought it should. I can't say anything about those who don't know Jesus, but for those of us who do, the pitfall isn't in simple selfishness or lack of family values. The pitfall in marriage (as in any part of our lives) comes when we have placed something else as an idol above God (ie- my happiness, my career, my ideals about marriage). As I write these thoughts, I hope I am doing so humbly, knowing that we are all human and prone to selfishness and pride. I genuinely enjoy my marriage right now, but there have been times (and will continue to be) when it just seems difficult to be married. That is why it is so essential that we continue to pray and grow together spiritually, asking for His grace in our marriage as it grows.
I did also today come across an encouraging video by Matt and Sarah Hammit (Matt is the lead singer of the band, Sanctus Real) regarding a song he wrote named "Lead Me". The first time Curt and I heard this song, we were only months into our marriage, but we really appreciated how the song wasn't just about a man leading his family, but about God leading the marriage and family. Isn't HE what ultimately makes marriage and family beautiful?
This week we're in week 19 of the pregnancy. Almost half way there! The baby's the size of a large tomato, and although I haven't felt it move yet (I don't think), I can sure track its growth with the growth of my rounding belly. Here's a recent photo:
Next week we're having an ultrasound to find of the gender of the little tomato!
Since becoming pregnant, I've been dealing with a whole new set of fears over the safety our unborn baby. In the midst of an already challenging year, at times, this fear has been unbearable. Today, however, during my reading time I listened to a song called "Safe", a song that I take much comforts me with the reminder of who our God is. Some people probably thought we were crazy to start a family in the midst of being burnt out and living in a new city (Heck, WE thought we were crazy). But as I look back, to have a child come into our lives at this time has really been the Father's gift to us and to our baby.
As I listened to this song this afternoon, I sang along as a reminder to myself and found myself singing this song to our unborn baby. No matter what happens, he or she IS safe in the arms of their Creator, the only truly safe place to be. And I thought, this is what I want to teach our children - not to fear the unknowns that come our way, but to cling to Him and trust Him when (and not if) the deep darkness comes our way. As parents, I really hope that this is the message of faith that we pass on through our daily lives. It's certainly been the lesson we've been learning over and over again as we've hit the bumps that filled the road this last year. Life is not always going to be protected and free of hardship. And as much as we will do our best to care for our children, there is SO much that is out of our control. BUT His are the Hands that hold the world, and we are promised that if we are His, He will never leave us. The more we get to know Him, there's no where else we'd rather be, and there's nowhere else I'd rather place my child, than in His loving arms.
Managing people in another culture is much harder than I (Curt) expected. We've had several staff members quit or be fired for different reasons. Here's the latest.
A waiter, who had worked for us for 2 months, started showing up late a lot, about 8 days out of 10 to be exact. His job upon arriving at the restaurant is to mop the floor before we open the doors. One day, he was late again, and so I was mopping the floor in his place. He showed up 20 minutes late, sat down at a table, and started eating some bread he brought in, while I continued mopping the floor. Wow. Watching your boss mop because you're late? Big mistake.
So I calmly said to him, "Hey, are you going to do your job today? Because if not, you may as well just go home." He got mad and said, "What? I can't have some breakfast before I start work?" I said, "Of course you can, before you arrive, at 10:30 like you are supposed to. If I have to do your job, then I don't need you working here. You can choose, do the job you agreed to do, or go home."
So really I didn't fire him, because he chose to go home. Haven't seen him since. Did he really expect to show up late 8 days out of 10, and then watch his boss mop the floor in his place while he sits and chills? I remember in high school when I worked at a restaurant, and I can't imagine doing that- my boss would've shown me the door in a heartbeat, and he was a pretty nice guy. Do your job or hit the road!
Earlier this week, I (Curt), had the privilege of attending the local university baseball practice. Baseball here is like rugby in the States: not too popular, but some universities have the equivalent of a club team.
I met the coach a couple months ago, and he was thrilled to hear I could download some major league games and show them at the Cafe. The whole team came and watched last year's World Series. And now that spring has arrived, I got to attend their practice!
I was pleasantly surprised that some of them had some pretty good fundamentals. I think a few guys could throw in the 70s, and it was clear that some experienced baseball people had coached some of them in the past. I haven't really played baseball in about 10 years, so I had a blast just playing catch and fielding some grounders. I took about 7 grounders and only one went through the legs, so not too shabby! I could probably make the Royals' team. I didn't get a chance to hit, because that day they were practicing on the outdoor basketball court with lots of people playing basketball and soccer nearby. But hopefully soon I'll be able to go again and take some swings!
