Anxiety

Sorry, no fun pictures today.  This week I have been having some anxiety over the next few weeks, months (years?).  How am I ever going to get everything ready for another baby?  How will the house ever be ready to put on the market for real (there's lots of painting to be done, and that's just for starters)?  If we do list it, will we even get enough out of it for it to make sense to sell?  And if we did happen to sell, where will we go?  How can I manage that with a toddler and a newborn?  How in the world is Emma going to react to a baby?  Will she hate her?  Will she hate me?  We discovered that the car Nick drives has transmission trouble, but don't know the extent of it yet.  A new transmission will cost more than the car is worth.  Why is it that new babies and cars and life in general is so expensive?  Ugh, these thoughts keep me up at night.  That and the baby who never sleeps (the one in my tummy, not Emma...though we've been having some sleep issues with her too lately).

I know that God will provide for us and take care of all these things in his time, but you see, I have a need to control everything.  To try to get God to cooperate with me and my plan, which is of course, awesome.  But as it turns out, I can't control everything and my plan has some holes in it.  I know in my heart that I need to trust God and completely submit all of my worries and plans and desires to Him.  But in my head, I need to know what is going to happen.  If God could just toss me down a little Excel sheet, I'd be much more relaxed.

PHILLIPPIANS 4:6-7 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Fun Weekend

We had a great weekend.  On Saturday, Nick and I took Emma to the Louisville Zoo.  She's at a really fun age where she loves animals, and she was really excited and talking a lot about all the animals she'd get to see.  She did really well, especially considering that she skipped her nap.  We really liked this zoo better than the others we've been to; the animals seem closer to you.  Emma's favorite part was the splash park.  She played there for over an hour and would have stayed all day.  I can't believe how much she loves water.  At the beginning of the summer, she was scared to run through our tiny sprinkler, and now she loves anything water.  It was a pretty hot day and we were all tired by the time we got home, but it was a fun day.

Sunday afternoon we decided to take Emma swimming at Nick's parents' house.  It's a little harder because their pool is all the same depth (that depth being above Emma's head), and little Miss Independent hates being held or being in her float now.  We took lots of toys and tried to keep her entertained.  She did enjoy trying to jump in.  She had fun but was wound up.  She got to bed just 15 minutes late or so, but ended up not falling asleep until 9:00pm.  Lucky me!  Ha, she's been ok today but will definitely be going to bed early tonight.

Our week is shaping up to be busy, as always.  I do think we're going to get our nursery painted this week.  We (I) finally decided on a color.  Our crib is in and ready to be picked up, and I just need to wash the bedding.  Hopefully I'll have some pictures by next week.  Our church is having a parenting seminar this weekend, and I'm excited if for no other reason than that it will be some "alone" time for me and Nick.  It will be as close to a date as we have had in a few months.

Here are some pictures from our fun weekend:

Soaking it up

Emma and I have been trying to soak up these last couple of months of just us.  Emma obviously still doesn't really know what's coming, so mostly I am trying to plan lots of fun activities for us.  And sometimes, we just plan to stay home and be silly together.  I cannot believe how fast Emma is developing right now.  It makes me super grateful to be at home with her, where I can see it daily.  She speaks in full sentences, and we can hold actual conversations now.  They're usually very random conversations, and I'm probably the only person who can understand all of it, but it makes the day so much more entertaining to have someone to talk and listen to.  She also loves to talk to the dogs, which is hilarious.  She tells them when she'll be right back, says bye before we leave, and I can hear her saying things to them just like I do (mostly no, which is making me just how aware of how often I say that).  Here are some pictures of some of the fun times we've had lately.

Chasing Daddy at the playground

Her new favorite activity: feeding the ducks

Moving all of her diapers to the baby's room!

Playing dress up

Checking out the water at a Concert in the Park

Wearing her tutu on her head...she thought this was hilarious

Our "J" activities

Turning into such a good helper

"I" week...the colored ice was a big hit