Some thoughts

First is a bit of a prayer request for me and the girls.

For a while now Brandon and I have known that he would be going on a business trip with his boss. The purpose of the trip is to check on the newest machine being built. Brandon and his boss need to look it over, make sure everything is the way it is supposed to be, and give it a test run (?) before it is shipped down to the nursery.

It looks like this business trip will not be in the next two weeks but sometime right after. That means that Brandon could very well have to leave for his trip about the time I am due.
He will only be about 2 1/2 - 3 hours away, so not terribly far. His boss might have to be up there for about two weeks, we are not sure how much of that Brandon will be up for (planning for a week though).

I haven't decided what would be better...
1. Brandon being gone when I am due/overdue and having to call him to say I'm in labor
or
2. Having Brandon leave for a week pretty soon after I get home from the hospital.

I think I like the 1st one the best. The second one is stress x 10. You can be in a lot of pain, you are tired, and you have two other kids to look after. Yes, definitely number situation #1.

I guess there could be a third scenario...the baby could come like this week and then we would be a bit settled by the time 3 weeks passes. I am very doubtful of this seeing as though the girls were 8 and 10 days late.

So I guess you could pray that it would all work out. I am thankful that Brandon actually has this job still. About a month ago we were not sure if this could be the last machine he and his boss would be designing or not. That of course meant B would be looking for a job in the next month. Thankfully that is not the case and the nursery is still wanting B and his boss to keep designing.

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Some other news that we haven't mentioned is that Brandon was nominated to take the elder training class as church a few months ago. I have hesitated mentioning this b/c I don't want it to sound boastful or like we are trying to show off. This is an important happening so I feel like we should mention it at this time for those of you who are friends and family back home.

Brandon and five (I think, but can't remember at the moment) other men are going through the class to learn about what it means to be an elder (time commitment/spiritual requirements/ other requirements/ etc.). On Sept. 6 they will have their last class and then be interviewed by the session. At that point a few (not sure of the number) of the men will Lord willing be elected as new elders to our church.

We are processing all of this in our heads. I think Brandon is really trying to figure out if this is something he is being led to do or not. What I mean by that is, Brandon is trying to sort out if this is the appropriate time for him to go up for election (if the session were to approve) or if it is something that he should wait on for a few years. There are many things we have discussed concerning all of this, one of which being the time commitment it requires. Of course in the end it is the congregation that decides.

You could pray for this, that the Lord's will would be clear and that we would consider it very carefully. I suppose in general pray for wisdom within the congregation when the time for electing new elders comes.

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One last thought that isn't very serious at all.

Watching the Olympics has made me wonder when records will stop being broken? I mean it seems to me that at some point the 400m time, the high jump height, the 100m butterfly time, etc. will no longer be able to be broken.

I guess what I am wondering is when will the body's natural limitations be reached and when will technology no longer be able to squeeze out another second or centimeter?

Will the sport continue or will people get tired of it if a record hasn't been broken in 25, 50, or even 100 years?

Not sure of the answer but I enjoyed thinking about it.

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In closing an image of street graffiti that I enjoy. I believe it is by Banksy but am not 100% on that.

Getting Ready

Down to the last two weeks.

I am starting to feel the end. The joints are popping, the lost ability to bend over, the lost ability to get up from the couch :-) Jolene likes to say I have a ball in my belly.

The name is pretty much decided upon...well maybe not the middle name yet.

We have a bed set up, borrowed from a friend, in our room.

The dresser that my dad, Abby, Pete (Abby's boyfriend), and I restored is in the girls room. The baby's clothes/blankets/etc. are going in there

We bought the dresser from the tip (junk yard) a couple years ago but was in need of a new coat of paint.

When Brandon's parents come over in November we will put up bunk beds (from Freecycle) in the girls room and then move the baby in with them. Lord willing they will all sleep well together.

Thankfully their room is big enough to get bunk beds, a cot, their clothes, and all their toys into. I am trying to always keep bedroom three open for guests and also as a school room. I am not sure how long that will work but for now it is good.

Here are some pics

Jolene and Adele's door (need to get a new letter)

Their room with the new dresser

The painting Aunt Abby made for Jolene

The "new" dresser (missing a handle)

The baby's bed in our room

The Magic Hundred

Just a quick fitness-related post: I did the hundred! I took up the challenge with some friends and have been working towards the goal for the past six weeks. Today was the final test and I cranked out 106 pushups. I actually felt pretty good all the way through and got to the magic hundred without too much pain. I'm happy to be done with strictly push-up work-outs. Week six was crazy. Here are my results:

7-Jul-2008 Initial test 78
7-Jul-2008 wk1 day1 level1 10 30 secs rest between each set
level 2 10
level 3 8
level 4 6
level 5 - max 44
9-Jul-2008 Day 2 - level 1 12 performed as burpees
level 2 12
level 3 10
level 4 10
level 5 - max 40
11-Jul-2008 Day 3 - level 1 15 performed as burpees
level 2 13
level 3 10
level 4 10
level 5 - max 45
14-Jul-2008 wk2 day1 level1 12 60 sec rest
level 2 12
level 3 9
level 4 7
level 5 - max 55
16-Jul-2008 wk2 day2 level1 16 90 sec rest
level 2 16
level 3 11
level 4 11
level 5 - max 50
18-Jul-2008 wk2 day3 level1 15 120 sec rest
level 2 15
level 3 12
level 4 12
level 5 - max 61
19-Jul-2008 Exhaustion Test 75
21-Jul-2008 wk3 day1 level1 25 60 sec rest
level 2 17
level 3 17
level 4 12
level 5 - max 41
23-Jul-2008 wk3 day2 level1 27 90 sec rest
level 2 19
level 3 19
level 4 15
level 5 - max 52
25-Jul-2008 wk3 day3 level1 30 120 sec rest
level 2 22
level 3 22
level 4 20
level 5 - max 50
28-Jul-2008 wk4 day1 level1 27 60 sec rest
level 2 20
level 3 20
level 4 17
level 5 - max 35
30-Jul-2008 wk4 day2 level1 27 90 sec rest
level 2 21
level 3 21
level 4 18
level 5 - max 51
1-Aug-2008 wk4 day3 level1 30 120 sec rest
level 2 22
level 3 22
level 4 20
level 5 - max 50
3-Aug-2008 Exhaustion Test 82
4-Aug-2008 wk5 day1 level1 40 60 sec rest
level 2 30
level 3 22
level 4 20
level 5 - max 42
6-Aug-2008 wk5 day2 level1&2 20 45 sec rest
level 3&4 18
level 5&6 15
level 7 14
level 8 - max 61
8-Aug-2008 wk5 day3 level1&2 18 30 sec rest
level 3&4 16
level 5&6 14
level 7 12
level 8 - max 70
10-Aug-2008 Exhaustion Test 95
11-Aug-2008 wk6 day1 level1 56 60 sec rest
level 2 45
level 3 42
level 4 40 90 sec rest before last set
level 5 - max 56
13-Aug-2008 wk6 day2 level1&2 30 30 sec rest
level 3&4 25
level 5&6 25
level 7&8 22 90 sec rest before last set
level 9 - max 56
15-Aug-2008 wk6 day3 level1&2 27 30 sec rest
level 3&4 23
level 5&6 23
level 7&8 20 90 sec rest before last set
level 9 - max 56
19-Aug-2008 Final Test 106

3048 total pushups

4 weeks left, Baw Baw, and Olympics

Only four weeks (tack on another 10 days on top of this b/c I'm always late) until bub number three arrives. Preparations are under way. Going to the snow last week helped me get a bag packed for the baby. I still need to throw my stuff in as well as pack bags for the girls.

Today Jolene and I set up the bassinet. She enjoyed putting all the blankets in the bed. She has said that she will help change nappies, oh how I wish she could :-) I think I will at least have her help hand me wet wipes...or something. I don't want to dampen a willing spirit.

Speaking of willing to help spirits. A few weeks ago after dinner Jolene hopped off her chair and said "I'll wash my dish". I was about to say "no, it will be too much of a mess" when I stopped myself and realized how silly it was to hinder her from helping even if it meant cleaning up a different mess after wards. She got her stool from the bathroom and washed her plate and cup. I think most of the sink water ended up on her shirt or the floor :-) She has offered to several times after this. Even though I know a flood will follow I try to remember that she is wanting to help clean and that this attitude won't always be present in the future, so try to encourage it now!

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We had a great time up at Mt. Baw Baw. Brandon was able to snowboard for about five hours on one of days. I told him that was his anniversary present :-) Jolene was our snow bunny. She thought it was great she could have a "popsicle" whenever she went outside. Jolene was constantly climbing the snowbanks and going everywhere. Now if Jolene was our snow bunny Adele was our ummmm farthest thing from it? Lets just say Adele was frowning or crying for most of the time we were outside. I think walking on the snow reminded her of learning how to walk...lots of slipping and falling. Maybe next year she will be a bit more adventurous. I had a good time even though I didn't do much. I was getting a bit restless on the last day due to everyone else being able to ski and snowboard. I haven't been snowboarding in almost three years...beginning to miss it. The problem is timing. Every other year we are in the States during the snow season here and then the years in between I have been pregnant.

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Living in another country during the Olympics is weird. They show the sports that their people are in and not what the US is in (for the most part). Why in the world would they do that? :-)

I stayed up long enough during the opening ceremonies to see the US come out...I didn't wait for AUS though. They were something like second to last due to the way it is spelled in Chinese characters.

Watching the swimming tonight. I was wondering who invented the butterfly stroke? I mean really, what is the point? It seems so much harder than freestyle or backstroke. Why make it harder than it has to be? Did someone get bored with freestyle and say to himself "how could I make this look as awkward as possible as well as physically difficult?". I would like to know.

If you want to see pics of our trip to Baw Baw go here