Boredom Buster!

It was a boring Saturday night. We've been home a lot lately, and we'd already played, painted, and goofed around all day. We watched a movie at rest time and were at a loss as to what to do after dinner.

Lee and I stared blankly at each other, knowing that if we didn't think of something, the kids might destroy the house... or each other.

So I came up with an idea to fill a good hour. We played a "10 Minute Game." Here are the rules:

1. Put the names of all family members in a hat.
2. When someone has their name drawn, they get to choose what the family does for 10 minutes.
3. Set a timer, and go at it! Everyone must participate in some way. They then draw who goes next.

So an hour later, we had gone through everyone, and we had a lot of fun! What did we choose to do?

Abby: Color
Katie: Pretend to be dogs (which included puppy wrestling piles)
Nathan: Wrestle
Daddy: Marco Polo
Mommy: Eat Ice Cream :)

So, we'll probably pull that idea out again... hope it helps the next time you're at home and wondering how to fill the time, without just throwing in a movie.

41 Weeks

What else do you do when 41 weeks pregnant to pass the time? You play in Photoshop! At least I do...



This is for you, Jenna! You can see more on FB.

A Time To Be Born...

I am 41 weeks pregnant today, and so I’m caught in yet another round of waiting. I started blogging about waiting a couple of years ago, and since then, I’ve realized that it’s just a normal part of life. The good news is that I’m getting better at it! It’s not always easy, especially if I have to find something that fits to wear to church one more time… and I can’t help but feel a little like a watched pot by all the people I know and love… but God is faithful and I’ve been really encouraged by praise songs such as “In the Waiting” and “Everlasting God.”

“There is a time for everything… a time to be born.” Ecclesiastes 3:2.

So while I wait, I play with my kids, get together with friends, organize my home, go on extra dates with Lee, get small projects done I wouldn’t make time for ordinarily, and enjoy the feeling of a baby growing inside of me. It really is a miracle, and I’m so thankful to be blessed to be a part of it.

“Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him.” Ps 37:7a

Baby Names

We are having a really tough time with a boy's name. I know he'll be here soon, and usually we have a short list we're working off of by now, but we keep shooting down every name we sort of like. We like it for a few days, and then instead of growing on us, it becomes worse and worse in our minds.

Of course I'm hearing a lot of names of girls that I really like, and I could have a really long list of options, but perhaps because it's not a girl I'm more open to the girl names... since I know I won't really need one.

This is the first time we've found out if it's a boy or girl, and it's been the hardest name discussion ever. I wonder if that's connected somehow? Or it could be that it's the 4th child. Or that we're just being really picky.

We went to a baby name genie online (a cute app) and it kept spitting out the "perfect" name. It was funny, because every time we pushed "try again" it would say something funny like, "That was a good one. You are incredibly hard to please!"

We either don't like the way the name sounds w/ our last name, or it isn't strong enough, or you can't make a nick name out of it, or we don't like the potential nick name, or we've known too many people with that name, or it doesn't match the other kids' names... on and on it goes.

I feel bad, because when friends and family suggest possible names, my immediate reaction is almost always to scrunch up my nose and say "Nah...." Everything from classic strong names like Michael and William to more trendy ones like Parker and Harrison... names always on my short list in the past that I really like.

So... we might have a baby named "boy" for awhile. I didn't think of Abby's until the day I went into labor. My devotions that morning were about Abigail in the story of David and I thought, "Abby! That's cute!" So maybe we'll see what my Bible Reading brings me that day.

Time will tell! :)