Good Timbers

During Sunday School about a year ago, the teacher passed out copies of this poem to everyone in attendance. I loved the poem and decided to glue it to the front of my journal. There it stays and I read it often. I've been meaning to share it, but have gotten distracted by other things. So, here it is:

The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil to live,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow at ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees.
The further sky, the greater length,
The more the storm, the more the strength.

By sun and cold, in rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold council with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.

~Unknown Poet

By Popular Demand

So, some of you have asked for a picture of my pregnant belly. Here it is. I'm about 34 1/2 weeks along now, for those of you who aren't keeping track of how much longer I have. I'm still getting stuff organized and ready for his arrival, which will be the case until he comes I'm sure. Thankfully, our Christmas stuff will be going back into storage so we'll have a bit more room in our apartment. Not that we have really any more big stuff that we're looking to get, which is a relief because I'm not quite sure where we're going to put the stuff we already have. Nothing brings out creativity like a challenge, that's for sure.

Getting to be That Time I Guess

Well folks, I guess it's that time. It's that time of the pregnancy that everyone wants to know exactly how much longer I've got. As if I know. I should have seen it coming. I knew it would happen, but I guess I forgot or didn't think it'd happen so soon. In my mind, I've still have a few months when it reality, I have plus or minus 6 weeks. So, I was a little surprised how many people this past Sunday asked me how much longer I had. The usual question of when my due date is no longer sufficient. I did find it amusing when one sister responded to my answer with, "Really? You look like you could go now!" I have to say it was much more entertaining than the other responses of "Oh! It's getting close!" I don't feel like I'm that much bigger than I was at 28 weeks, but apparently I am at least a little. Next everyone will be saying, "You haven't had the baby yet?"

This trimester has been an interesting one. The baby still likes moving around and kicking. It's getting harder and harder to ignore. He's added a few tricks to his routine like moving to one side and somehow pushing against my belly so you can totally see where he is. I have to say that I actually like it when he gets the hiccups. I find it entertaining. I'm less amused by the discomfort of trying to sleep, especially when I try to roll over and find that happens to be the side that the baby has decided push himself against. Last night, I woke up to discover that he decided to try to be sideways in there.

Ashton also finds this trimester interesting. He's constantly amused by my lack of ability to do things like get up off the couch with ease. He also finds entertainment in me putting on my sneakers on or taking them off and tying them, or trying to get out of a pullover sweatshirt. Yes, I've had to have him help me with both. I've mastered the sneakers so I don't need his help with that anymore, at least at the moment. The sweatshirt thing is a little trickier. I think the only thing he could be disappointed about is the lack of weird cravings. I actually haven't had too many cravings this trimester, although the ones I do get amuse Ashton. Maybe it's because I'm so emphatic about it. He should be grateful though, I haven't made him go on any midnight runs for food.

Maybe I'll start.