Alayna's Adventures

So it's been an incredibly long time since I last posted on my blog. Like a really, really long time. It's actually been a gift from me to you, a gift of silence and reflection on my blog. It's hard to go many places and find that these days, especially with kids! I hope you enjoyed it, and are feeling refreshed!  Here's what's happened in our household since February 2015:  1. We went on vacation to Florida in April 2015 to watch my brother-in-law compete in a Half-Ironman race.  2. I found out I was expecting bundle of joy #4 (due to arrive in December 2015) on that particular trip to Florida. Note: My #3 was 6 months old at the time. Do you feel a wave of terror and insanity wash over you? I did! 3. I resigned myself to the fact that life would be crazy for a while, at least until baby #4 was six months old-ish. Knowing this, I stepped back from everything in life that I could, including blogging, volunteering, and most (not all!) homeschooling. 4. I began...

So, life has been busy for the last six or so months.  First, I was pregnant.  And miserable.  I truly hate to say that I was miserable, because a new baby is a huge blessing.  But for the sake of transparency and honesty, I was not a happy camper for the last few months of my pregnancy. Some people love to be pregnant, would be pregnant all the time if they could be...  I could not WAIT to be NOT pregnant and to hold and see my sweet baby boy.   Each of my pregnancies has been rough in its own way, but one thing that has been constant is a weird pain under my ribs toward the end.  With each subsequent pregnancy, this awful pain comes earlier.  I tend not to be a complainer when it comes to pain, as I consider myself to have a pretty high pain tolerance (I mean, I did take on a minivan with my head)...  But this pain was bad enough that I was taking Tylenol almost constantly, and my ribs were still tender about seven or eight weeks AFTER...

Passion.  It's one of those things that not everyone has, and the ones who have it may drive you crazy with it...  Especially when they are passionate about things that you are not passionate about.   I'm passionate about marriage, babies, Jesus, young children, cloth diapers, and Mint.com.  I know, a weird list.  I'll talk your ear off about any of them, if you express the least bit of interest.  I am more reserved and shy about Jesus and marriage than I should be, but I've probably already talked your ear off about cloth diapers.  But that's not where this one is heading.  I'm passionate about babies and young children.  Like I can't watch the news without crying when it contains stories about abused or abandoned babies and babies who die at the hands of those that should have loved them.  I love the little ones who can't help themselves, and sometimes I wish I could steal away all the little ones who have been hurt and taken advantage...

This is me... So, this is a picture of my baby belly.  I am 35 weeks pregnant with a little girl.  Thirty-five weeks along in a pregnancy where 40 weeks equals the end.  I'm so close to done, 5 weeks until 40 weeks, and only 32 days until my scheduled C-section.  Time is drawing to a close and in many ways, I am mortified.  I know what you are saying, I can hear it...  "What do you mean, mortified?! Isn't this a beautiful, happy place to be?!  What's wrong with you?!?"  (Cue facial expressions of horror and disgust.)  Okay, okay, let me explain.   I am mortified.  Scared.  Petrified even.  I am frightened about the future and all it holds in this moment.  Surely, I am excited to meet our little girl, curious about what she looks like, and longing to hold her in my arms.  These things are true, but it's also true that this new step in our lives brings with it a lot of fear and trepidation.  ...