How To Wait for A Baby

In June,  my youngest daughter, Rebekah,

 and I hopped a plane to Orange County, CA

to visit my oldest daughter, Jana,

who was expecting her third child.

Because we had plenty of time at the airport,

we "rode" the sidewalk a few times.

For those of you who are used to the Fargo airport

with four terminals and about 32 stairs,

 the Seattle airport has

this cool sidewalk thingy that moves so you can get

to your destination more quickly.

I knew you'd be impressed.

To further enlighten my daughter,

I told tales of riding the only escalator in Montana

during a shopping trip to Great Falls.

It's still one of my prized childhood memories.

Small things thrill people from small towns.

Beka wasn't as thrilled with the retelling.

Jana looking beautiful with her baby bubble.

When the Lord described Mary as "heavy with child"

in the Scriptures, He once again validated in my mind

the accuracy and inerrancy of the Bible.

Little Brookie in her Pwincess finery helping with luggage.

This waiting for the baby business is a lot easier when

you are NOT the one who is pregnant.

It also goes better when you drink a lot of coffee

and a lot of lattes.

Luv me some coffee.

I loved drinkin' coffee with my first baby who is ready to have her third baby.

We sat and sipped and talked and enjoyed our adult relationship.

But I also marveled at our lives.

Where did the years go?

How can she be old enough to be a Mommy?

How can I be old enough to be a Gwamma?

Don't get me wrong, I love this stage of life,

 it's just that my baby stage went by way too quickly.

One day I had a house full of toddlers,

the next day my child has a house full of toddlers.

Back to the waiting...

Daily splashing definately passes time. 

Just so ya' know, this pool easily holds three kids

AND

one adult.

Tea parties in the backyard can eat up minutes.

Time is also wisely spent "fixing" things.

Little Bubba,

(doesn't every Red Neck Minnesota family have a Bubba?)

fixed every broken thing he could find.

Sitting outside in the Cali sunshine makes

waiting just a little more pleasant,

as long as you aren't the one with the beach ball sized bouncing baby

on your lap. 

Taking a lot of pictures is also a wise use of time.

A child who has grown up with digital photography,

Brayden kept looking at the back of the disposal camera asking,

"Where picture go?"

Enjoying friends is a wonderful way to pass those waiting moments.

Mark and Kirsti, dear friends of ours from Minnesota,

were in the area on vacation and joined us for a day.

When the heat is unbearable,

and people are starting to get cranky,

a trip to the play area at the mall always works.

 

Auntie Rebekah loves playing with the kids.

And if you're still waiting for a baby,

a trip to the Bounce House can eat up almost a half a day.

This probably would be strenuous enough to make a pregnant

woman go into labor, but Jana stayed firmly on the ground.

And yet, after days of playing and splashing and

waiting...

the baby still hadn't come.

Since my pregnancies were overdue,

I  remembered the feeling that

glaciers could melt,

mountains could be moved,

and I would

still

be pregnant.

I had to remind Jana a few times

that she would actually have the baby.

Nobody stays pregnant forever.

Although you know this factually,

it's hard to live when you are

heavy with child,

waiting, waiting, waiting...

 

(stay tuned....I know you want to hear how this ends)