We talk a lot around here about when the baby is going to come. And, we still call this little one "the baby" since the gender is a surprise. It's a surprise to everyone, I think. I'm pretty sure even the doctors haven't looked during ultrasounds. I'll tell you now that I think it's a girl. I'll also tell you that I thought Malachi was a girl before we found out that he was a boy. And, I thought Silas was a girl until the moment I delivered him (since we didn't find out his gender, either). So, I have no motherly intuition when it comes to this. I save that for other things.
I stayed up late last night trying to brainstorm more about baby names. It isn't that we put this off until the last minute. It's just that we want to be sure about what we choose. I read in a baby book that so many parents name their child something and then regret their decision. Luckily, I've never had that experience, and I don't want to have it now. So, we'll probably just keep thinking until after the baby is born, and we'll figure something out before they force us to write something down. We do have some ideas, but we are still not quite satisfied and done, especially when it comes to the boy's name. Nothing has been convincingly perfect yet. After going to bed late, I was dreaming about baby names. And, I was awake in the middle of the night after a trip to the bathroom, thinking more. I thought for quite awhile about who it was that Paul mentioned in Colossians who wrestled in prayer for those in Colosse. It took me a long time to remember. Epaphras. After all that time thinking, I'm not even that fond of that name. That's just how this process works for me.
As with Silas and Malachi, this baby has hiccups - a lot. I think lately the average is six times or more a day. There is less movement now since the baby is bigger. Well, the movements are just different since the baby has less room. But, the hiccuping is consistent. It's hard to believe I still have three weeks until the due date because in a lot of ways, I feel like it could happen tomorrow. Thankfully, I usually feel fine. I'm still able to tie my own shoes with no problem. The thing that keeps me from walking longer than a couple of miles when I exercise is the crazy 100 degree weather. I still haven't grown into some of the maternity clothes I have. Overall, I'm blessed with much easier pregnancies than some women have.
Malachi and Silas are very excited about the baby. Silas still wants to name the baby Silas. He knows what a great name it is. Malachi is always coming up with suggestions - silly things, of course, like names of objects. They both usually think it will be a girl. Sometimes they say it could be an animal. They'd probably like that in some ways.
The boys are doing well. Though both shy at times when we take them to Bible class here, they also really look forward to it. They love to just walk outside here and get to play - though we only do that during the cooler parts of the day, which aren't all that cool. People have blessed us with many toys to use while we are here, and so their days are filled with Power Rangers and monster trucks. And, my mom brought us a ton of books, which has been so great. They are more advanced books that we had previously, and it's so engaging for them. Malachi has been reading about how a blue whale can weigh as much as 24 elephants and about how a helicopter rescued a horse that fell into a canyon or something like that. Silas is still very much into Thomas the Tank Engine and wants to read a book about Thomas' birthday over and over. Well, come to think of it, he's really into birthday parties as well, so it is the perfect book for him.
I'm really grateful for this time. I'm grateful that we seem to have all the necessities lined up already. We have a doctor and a hospital, I've already had one shower at my family reunion that supplied us with some extra money to buy baby things, we have so many things given to us to use, and the boys are pretty much set up here with all the things little boys need to play. The Legacy church of Christ here has really welcomed us and we have made some new friends quickly. Rob is working on support, and we have some other projects lined up to help various ministries while we are here. It will not only be helpful to others, but it will help us feel like we are still being somewhat productive while we are away from our work in Kharkov. So, I think the baby name might be the only thing the baby is waiting on. That decision probably won't be made tonight, but I'll still probably dream about it.
