3 1/2

Oh, elusive 4 centimeters...where are you? I'd sure like to see you by the time I go into the hospital Friday morning. It would make lots of things easier if you showed up by then...things like epidural timing decisions. I'd like that. For now, I am happy to have heard the doctor say a number other than "3" though. Cause 3 1/2 is soooo much better.

Anyway....

This has been a good week. I'm just trying to clean the house - but not too fast that it all gets messed up again before I go to the hospital at the end of the week. I'm trying to go slow enough to avoid that but still get the task completed in time. It's a delicate balance. One that I haven't mastered yet. Ever. But I'm still trying. And I'm loving the sweet time I've been able to have with Jonah this last week. He's been so much fun, and I feel so blessed by the great time we've had to share. We're going to try to squeeze in one last zoo trip before Parker arrives, amidst all the crazy schoolchildren there on their crazy field trips. Unless, of course, those are your kids, in which case....they are not the crazy ones. I'm talking about different crazy schoolchildren at the zoo. Yours are nice. But most of the schoolchildren taking over the town during the month of May scare me. It's a little much for a 9-month-pregnant mama and a toddler to handle. So I'm bringing in the local grandmother as back-up for this zoo trip. Should be fun times. Then, the rest of the week includes running a few last-minute errands and trying to rest up as much as possible. I already feel pretty checked out of a lot. Someone asked me at church on Sunday what my original due date is, and I had to refer to a friend next to me because I couldn't remember and I knew she would know since she had the same due date with her daughter last year. That's bad. That date has been constantly on my brain for the last 8 months until last week when I received an induction date. In less than a week, I had already forgotten the date I had pondered every single day throughout my pregnancy. I wonder...if my brain comes back, will I even recognize it? It's been so long. Oh no...what if it doesn't return but I am under the impression that it has? Will you tell me? Or let me go on living under the assumption that I'm normal? I'm not entirely convinced which would be a better way. You decide.

I'm sleepy, so I must now make the announcement I got on here to make. I don't know how I got so off-track. Anyway...in an effort to make things simpler for the friends who will kindly be communicating to people our baby delivery news when it happens on Friday, we'll just post info and pictures on the blog as soon after Parker's birth as possible. A secondhand mass email will not go out to everyone...I figured that those of you who are semi-regular readers of this blog will be able to check in here to find the news at your convenience. Sound like a plan? I knew I could count on you.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing in this journey. You have played a sweet role in this time of anticipation of our little girl - through your encouraging comments, excitement, wisdom, and prayers! I treasure it.