Forgetful me!

I am a bad, bad pregnant mommy.

During pregnancy, I tend to indulge cravings, and have had a very hard time sticking to tofu, as it has been making me sick these early months of pregnancy. So, I have been going along with a "regular" diet I guess you could say, of eating meat and drinking milk and having dairy while I am pregnant and unable to stomach soy and tofu :(

However, just like my last pregnancy, I forget things! I was making cookies and took a bite of raw cookie dough, and I've been making deli sandwiches every now and then. Last pregnancy I ate deli meat fairly often before I realized that is a pregnancy food they tell you to consume in moderation. lol...

Well, nothing happened with my first, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be cautious!

On top of that, last week I had a patient all weekend that doctors decided to isolate for tuberculosis (at the very end of my last shift). Of course the odds of this man giving me TB are slim, the possibility is still there, and it made me very frustrated.

Still, when I do things with ignorance, I can only pray that God take care of this little life inside of me. I am trying to eat right, drink water, I exercise (lightly), I don't take medications, I haven't been putting on lots of weight, and when I realize I am about to eat something possibly bad for the babes, I run away! There is only so much protection I can have at the hospital though...

*sigh*

This pregnancy just feels so different than my first. Other than the morning sickness (which was worse with the first), and the bloating, I wouldn't know that I was pregnant...Hopeing all is well!

Comments...

I was reading a news article that had spurned on many reader comments online, and began reading something that upset me. Well, actually, a lot of the comments people write can be a bit disturbing, because the comments are ignorant, mean, and or derogatory half of the time.

On this particular comment, the write wrote something particularly nasty about Christianity and I felt it my duty to defend my belief in the respect to which this write commented.

Well, what he wrote and what I wrote is not the point of this blog session. The point is, a lot of times critics of Jesus and the Bible really need to be educated as to what the Bible actually SAYS and to whom it was written, when it was written (i.e taking things in better context).

Half the time I don't think non-Christians believe the Bible applies to today's world because even Christians sort of treat the Bible like it is a book of the past. What I mean by that is that Christians don't always seem to adapt Jesus' teachings to our changing world. The world is allowed to change without the word of God being perverted or altered. Sometimes we see this with (and no offense if you belong to a congregation such as these, but), sometimes we see this in churches that don't allow women to wear pants, or don't allow women to preach. Some congregations think everybody should be poor. Some congregations believe that any music with rhythm leads to sin. If these people have a genuine love of Jesus and the word of God, that's great! The only problem with this is that there is not much of a base in scripture half the time to base these "rules" on, and it turns people outside the church, off.

As a Christian, general rules apply. Believe it or not, those Old Testament Ten Commandments still apply. Modesty should be upheld. No, homosexuality is not compatible with a Christian lifestyle (sorry, but there isn't skirting this one, even though I definitely don't believe people who are attracted to the same sex should be condemned or ostracized by the Christian community). etcetc...

I am not the all knowing Bible genius. Very far from it actually. I like reading the Bible, and I have taken classes and have obtained tools for reading the Bible more effectively over the past few years, however, from people who have made studying the Bible high priority in life.

We definitely make it out to be too difficult, really. Jesus is somebody for everybody. He revealed himself to lawyers and fishermen alike - to women and homeless and the sick and lame.

Another thing I've been realizing lately is that really, I as as Christian can't set myself out on a mission to "save" everybody with the word of God. We pray, but the Holy Spirit is the one who prepares the way. I  do believe in evangelism, because there ARE inquisitive people out there who are ready to hear more about the Lord and who WANT Him, but may not know how to "get" Him. I've evangelized to random people many times in my 27 years of existence and have found that generally, people are very receptive. Of course there are people who may want to argue or who are turned off, but if they don't want it, we can't really push it because there is no way to change the mind right then and there - but rest assured a seed has been planted, and who knows? Maybe some other Christian down the road will reap the harvest :)

I love being a Christian. Also throughout my 27 years, I have thought about other faiths. The thing is, no other faith seems to have a LIVING God. I've also been fortunate enough to travel in 3rd world countries where you really see God "moving" in a way that isn't seen here in the states. I think that this is because of the way our country (and hemisphere) operates, personally. We as a people (even Christians) have very different life priorities than those in 3rd world countries, and we need that HUNGER and THIRST and ACHE for God again!

Of course, if our country keeps headed in the direction in which it's heading, we might be headed back to times like those soon enough! =O

I just want more Jesus myself. That's another way I know that He's alive...The more I get to know Him, through His word and prayer, the more I WANT to know Him. God knows I myself am very westernized, and probably don't even realize the extent to which I've been so, but the fact remains that I want that burning ache deep down constantly. It's there, but I want to break out of my complacency and really chase after God with the type of reckless abandon that's difficult to think about. Actually, to say we want to "chase" God would imply that He's running, though he isn't. I think that phrase more accurately could be interpreted that I want this God that I can't see with my own two eyes so much, that I will run as fast and as far as I possibly have to, in order to be with Him. That is passion. 

Israel don't give up your borders! President Obama does NOT speak for every American citizen. We DON'T want you to give up your land!

yayaya

Such a long time without a post. Need to remedy that!

I didn't write about the drama of finding a new OB/GYN, and well, it really wasn't THAT traumatizing or dramatic, but it WAS a bit of a pain in the bum.

I lived in a different county when I had had my first baby, and then we moved counties and I decided to find a new doctor closer to home.

Well, trying to find an OB/GYN in my area who took our insurance was a bother! My husband and I both work at the hospital where I had my first baby girl, and there are few places here who take the same insurance.

I had found one doctor I had thought I would like to try, only to discover that my insurance didn't cover her services. Pooie. Well, I finally found a list of doctors, and outside of groups of doctors (because I only wanted a single doctor to see me, not a group), there were very few women (it will be a very cold day in Hell before I let a man other than my husband into my business. I don't care how great a doctor he is, or how gentle and nice he is, or how many babies he's delivered. If he's not from the old school, where all there were were men doctors, then there's no need for some man to go there. I am prejudiced in this area, sorry!).

Even with my narrow options, I began research on the 2 or 3 female doctors in the area who accept my insurance. One got really great praise from many places online, and this doctor delivered one of my friend's babies and has good rapport with that friend.

SO I went for my first visit on Monday. It was nice. I liked the office, and though I didn't meet the doctor that day, I'll meet her next visit I'm sure. I have my first trimester ultrasound this Friday. I get to see my little almond shaped baby. How exciting!

I had labs drawn and my results were that they looked great. This is exciting for me, because I am always curious as to what my blood has to say (blood don't lie!)

I've definitely been having my morning sickness, and my wacky cravings. I had forgotten almost how much I hate pregnancy.

Surprised to hear a pregnant woman say that?

I'll say it again. I hate pregnancy! I absolutely LOVE the idea of it. I am growing God's little construct in my body. Me. I am a woman and this task has been appointed to me. I will take care of myself, and I will exercise and eat as well as I can (when morning sickness doesn't kick my butt and keep me from eating)!

No, it's just that last pregnancy I was sick for the first few months, and then the last few months, though I wasn't sick, I was big as a house and fatigued so easily!  Plus I was a nurse and I was on my feet for a typical 40 hour work week. Well, I am still a nurse, and though I switched to part time, I still have a little 9 monther at home keeping me very busy! Tired, tired, tired! I don't know how women who are sick the entire 9 months do it, or how mom's of multiples have more babies, because wow...

Morning sickness has kept me from gaining any real weight, but I AM bloated, and that is the third thing I hate about pregnancy. I usually have a pretty good body image, but ever since I first got pregnant, I felt fat ALL THE TIME. I feel fat right now typing this, though at my weigh in on Monday I weighed the same as before I was pregnant...the second time around, that is. It's horrible.

The only fun thing about pregnancy is that it seems to make my patients happy (especially the older ones) when I talk about expecting, or when I get far enough along that they see my bulging belly and ask when I'm due.....

I swear, when this baby comes out, the husband and I are going to sleep in separate beds ;) (other forms of birth control are not appealing to me). Seriously though...We haven't even been married two years, but we have baby number two on the way!

lol...

On the flip side, I LOVE being a mommy, and I love my little girl, and I LOVE little Jr. inside of me! I am very excited to see if this one is a "he" or a "she." I wanted a family, and the husband and I and the Lord are building one. God has definitely been gracious to my family. We are very appreciative. I am very thankful that I CAN get pregnant, and that number one came and went with absolutely zero complications, and she is healthy as a horse! We are praying for number 2, and rejoicing that there IS a number two, even though we don't feel ready for him or her yet.

*sigh*....7 more months to go
Right now it's just a pain in the bum!

  

Neat the way the world works sometimes...

Summer 2006 - flew on an airplane that was essentially on it's way to Philadelphia from Tulsa, Oklahoma with a connecting flight in Cleveland. On this flight, I sat next to a fellow named Phil Wickham, and came to find out he was/is a worship artist (I don't recall exactly, but I think we struck up a conversation because I had out a book that was by a Christian author. It's always nice when you find out your sitting by a fellow Christian on an airplane, or wherever for that matter). We chatted for a while, God knows if I remember what all about, but it wasn't until years later that I heard his name when some of us on the worship team at my old church were talking about worship music and somebody mentioned his name, and that she LOVED his worship music. I remembered his name because "Wickham" makes me think of wicker furniture or the wick of a candle (Surprisingly, it did not make me think of the famous Austen "Pride and Prejudice" villain :)

All that to say, today I downloaded my first Phil Wickham worship song on itunes, and it's good stuff. So, if you enjoy good worship, check out Mr. Wickham.

You're Beautiful Song