The Hope Of Childbirth

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." --Romans 8:22

All this talk about childbirth made me think of this passage in Romans. Paul wrote 2000 years ago that creation was in the pains of childbirth. Now that's a long labor! Erica is currently 2 days overdue and is sooooo ready to have our baby. A lot of things come with being overdue: aches, pains, nausea, cramps, contractions, etc. But the suffering is all worth it, because we have such a glorious hope of what is to come. In the same way, Paul goes on to write this in Romans 8:23-25:
"Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

So many times we have this assumption as Christians that once we are (re)born, it's all smooth sailing. But Paul compares his spiritual walk to the labor and pains of childbirth. I can definitely relate. And yet, he goes on to write that though we groan and suffer, we eagerly await what is to come because we have such a glorious hope.

God has such good in store for those who have put their faith and trust in him. My wife would tell you that she would gladly undergo all the suffering of pregnancy and labor all for the hope of a beautiful new life. That's a fresh perspective for me in my spiritual walk with God, and when I think about it that way, I will consider these present troubles as blessing if they allow me to inherit a new life with God. The beautiful part is that God allows us to experience the "firstfruits" of our faith here and now as we place our trust in Him on this earth.

Jesus said, "in this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world." This life is hard, but I can't wait for what is to come. My wife is 2 days overdue, and with each day comes more suffering, but I can't wait for what is to come.
APK

At peace and waiting

Well, d-day has come and gone and still no baby. But I am very thankful for the extra time I've had at home to savor my husband and daughter and finish up a few projects. For the last few weeks we have been praying for God's perfect timing in the arrival of our son. I am confident He knows just what He is doing...although it would be nice to be let in on his plan as the anticipation is really killing us!

Aron & I are usually in conversation several times throughout the day . Today around lunch we were discussing our afternoon plans...which included a trip to JoAnn Fabric for us both. He needed to pick up felt for a drum cage he's building at work, and I needed supplies for Belle's birthday fairy princess dress. Since Starbucks is right next door, we decided coordinating our trips and a moment shared together over a cup of coffee was a must! Aron shared how awesome it was to have me home and not working...and I agreed. Nothing better than a mid-day coffee with your loves.

I feel so incredibly blessed at the close of this day. A pregnancy completed (there something in me that feels like "I did it!" now that my due date has come and gone). There was a time around the end of the 2nd trimester that I wondered if I could really carry this baby to term because I started contracting so early. But God has truly seen us through and protected this little one from the craziness of life outside the womb.

And now tonight, this is the view from my blogging chair (soon to be nursing chair):
I sit listening to the acoustic folk originals of this amazing man I have the privilege of calling 'husband', and there is nowhere else in the world I'd rather be. He is such a good man, and so good to Belle and I. God has sheltered us and loved on us in ways we cannot even explain.

And as I said earlier, the last few days at home have allowed me to prepare for Belle's upcoming FairyPrincess enchanted birthday party. She really LOVES the color blue, and when I asked about what kind of Fairy Dress she'd like to wear, she just wanted a blue one. I've had trouble finding one in her size, so we had to get creative...

This princess dress (which she has worn so faithfully, the beautiful white tulle was really beginning to look oh so shabby - and not in a chic way).

Became this FairyPrincess dress:
With the help of some fabric dye, new tulle, and some embellishments.


Now, I am by no means a seamstress...just resourceful. Infact, I wouldn't let someone who really knows how to sew come within 10 feet of it for fear they'd break into tears over the poor craftsmanship. But its together, and it will certainly make a little girl very happy for her birthday.

Well, Aron has packed up his guitar, and declared it is time for bed. I am right behind him.

much love

ejk

my 'pregnant' husband

***disclaimer...the story and photo below is posted with the expressed permission of the party involved***

I am not kidding you, the last few days Aron has been completely having 'sympathy' issues, i guess you could call them. You know this stuff really happens...when husbands start to have all the symptoms their wives have during pregnancy.

I took this picture a few months ago when he and Belle were mocking mommy, but now who's laughing?!?! (he he)

Anyway, so Aron has been totally exhausted this weekend, and even though he sleeps he just cannot conquer this fatigue. He has been telling me about it all day. He naps after church, but the nap doesn't ease the tiredness. Then later in the afternoon his lower back is just killing him and feels that he may need a hot bath and a massage. By 6:00 its dinnertime and I offer 3-4 choices of what I can cook. He says to me, "I am just craving Chinese so bad, I don't think anything else will do." I offer a few alternatives, but he can't quit thinking about Chinese. Then he looks at me as serious as can be and says, "Hun, you're only pregnant a few times in your life. You've got to enjoy these things while you can."  To which I reply, "I agree, but I'm the pregnant one, and I'm not craving Chinese!" 

We went anyway, cause the boy was needing some Chinese. As we made our way up and down the aisles of the buffet, he kept exclaiming how he was so glad he had thought of this idea to eat Chinese, and how awesome the food was tasting. 

On the way home he was pretty insistent on getting Erma's, but I told him I would explode if we even went near there...the rice must have expanded in my tummy and there was NO ROOM for anything else (that's real pregnancy for ya!) "Besides," I reminded him, "You had to have not one but 2 cartons of Chocolate Moose Tracks at the grocery yesterday...there's plenty of that at home!"

Oh, and here's the kicker. (All of you women who have birthed children will probably come after aron with a club after you read this, but please resist...I do love him very much! Just roll your eyes and chalk it up to "Men...they'll never understand!".)  So we are almost home from our Chinese run, and he says to me as innocently as can be, "Oh man, I really need to go number 2. There's so much pressure down there and my back is killing me. That must be what labor is like...you think so hun?" Right, exactly like that. 

So all of that to say...I hope all of these sympathy pains mean the baby is almost here!! There just isn't room for 2 pregnant people in this household!

ejk

ps...on a positive note...my husband did volunteer to spend the rest of the afternoon with me (after his nap) shopping for all the supplies I needed for Belle's birthday. This is definately a torture task for a man, but he did it anyway so we could spend it together. He chased Belle through aisle after aisle of the Flower Factory, and didn't complain once. This is how I know he loves me!

it is for freedom you have been set free...

I woke up with this verse repeating in my head, and I'm still not sure the implications. But I went first thing to www.biblegateway.com to find the reference and read on. The truth of this passage in Galations was so beautifully paraphrased by Eugene Peterson's Message (I like to read a passage in several versions when I have time..) I thought I'd just let it speak for itself...check it out:

Galatians 5

The Life of Freedom

 ¹ Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

**Paul takes a few paragraphs to specifically address the legalism involved in circumsion...but I wanted to get to the part that really spoke to me for the sake of length...so we'll skip to verse 13

 ^13-15It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

 ^16-18My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

 ^19-21It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. 

   This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.

 ^22-23But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

 ^23-24Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.

 ^25-26Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.

be free...ejk

Plan B

As I said above, Plan A (hospital with bundle of joy in our arms) didn't come to fruition...so we activated plan B: 

Family Night featuring homemade Calzones and Chocolate Chip Cookies with a little movie action to go along.

The calzones were Aron's brainchild, and he wanted to take control of the kitchen...I gladly handed over the reigns. He fried up some sausage and also some peppers and onions. We took a little advise from our buddy, Mike...a New York native and resident calzone expert. Pizza sauce, ricotta & mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and banana peppers along with the sausage/peppers/onions combo...ummmm. They were goooooood.
apk made belle her own personal cheese pizza; she was in heaven...

after washing it down with a little of dad's diet pepsi.

We spread out the picnic blanket and watched "WaterHorse"...still a kids movie, but far better than Barbie Mariposa...again!

Then we finished the evening with a party at 'Belle's house'. Here she is pulling the freshly baked cookies out of the oven for us.
She used her teapot and poured us each a glass of milk after serving us cookies.
A delicious evening indeed. It was nothing special, but the house was filled with excitement simply because we were concentrating on the joy of being together.
Maybe next weekend we'll do it again with another little Love to join in the fun!

ejk

all about my girl

The last few days I've really been soaking in time with my girl...

I'm feeling slightly anxious about having my time divided between two babies very soon, but Isabelle is sooooo excited to have a brother, so that helps ease my worries a bit.

Wednesday I took her shopping for a little mommy-daughter time. She picked out an adorable pair of purple shoes from H&M for only $9.00.  But her favorite find was a pack of 7 little girl rings...if you look closely in the picture you can see she has one on. She just LOVES these rings!

Today we took her to the beach, and she had an absolute BLAST! When we got home she stripped down completely naked and ran around the house for the next two hours pretending to be "NakedGirl"...a self contrived superhero (she did have a small white dishtowel Cape flapping behind). And that dirty little stuffed animal in every pic is her "Serafina"... named after a cat in a Barbie Princess movie. That poor stuffed animal is her BESTEST, pal, her sidekick, her beloved. I am trying to sneek it from her so I can wash it because it is now grungy.

I had the hardest time getting her to sit still for a picture...finally she started giving me these faces. Nice.

There may be a reason little brother has decided to stay inside of Momma as long as possible...
I have a feeling he'll be giving little Miss Personality a run for her money if he's anything like his dad, though.

ejk

the baby dance

Due date: August 24

Today's Date August 19

We are ready & waiting for you...

We weren't sure where or how we could squeeze a baby in our current condo, but we found the space. You are already in our hearts...just had to make a little room for you in our bedroom.

I couldn't find any crib bedding that did anything for me. So baby's bed turned into a hodge podge of fabrics and designs from all over, but I am so happy how it turned out. I found the plush Pottery Barn bumper pad brand-new on ebay for a fraction of its current cost, and a few weeks ago I grabbed a Carter's sheet that went just perfect with it here locally. I have been looking for months for the blue cable knit blanket, and finally snagged one on ebay as well. They were limited edition Amy Coe in Target stores when Belle was born. We had a pink one for her, and I absolutely LOVED it. It took me forever to find one within our price-range (people really cranked up the price on ebay...and they are all used!), but alas we did.

The changing pad is so soft, and the quilt is handmade by Great Grandma Kirk...and it couldn't be more perfect!

We cannot wait to peek over the rails and see you sleeping sweetly.

The handstitching is my absolute favorite part of this crazy quilt. We purchased fabric for Grandma to use in the quilt, and then she added some of her own - which was perfect because we wanted it to have her unique signature. This quilt will be cherished forever.

So we are 39 weeks and waiting...

This is us just before our anniversary date Saturday. If we make it to another Saturday, we're going out again, because it will certainly be awhile before we get time alone again!

Little one, Belle and Daddy are so excited to meet you they can hardly stand it. Mommy is excited too, but I feel as if I already know you...we spend every moment together. Daddy & Belle are itching to get the opportunity to cut in on our pow-wow! Here is a video of them doing 'the baby dance' ...kinda like the 'rain dance' the Indians would do...hoping it will expedite your arrival!

waiting anxiously...

ejk

ps...i thought this was so sweet...

sleeping beauty, indeed, ...fell asleep right in the middle of the floor today.

Faith vs. Faithful

Song: "Bicycle" by Queen

Scripture:

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." Romans 12:3

Truth:

I think I spend way too much time wishing I had more faith instead of just being faithful to what God has given me. Can you relate? This is a surefire way to feel "stuck" in your spiritual life, because God grows your faith when your are faithful. Kind of like learning to ride a bike: if you never get on the bike, you'll never learn to ride. If you sit around wishing you could ride (faith) instead of just trying to ride (faithful), you'll never ride.

The beautiful thing is, anyone can get on a bike--it's really quite easy. Anyone can try to ride a bike, too. Some get it their very first try (perhaps it was their overwhelming faith in their ability). Other fall (perhaps they were less sure of themselves). Still others fall a lot (not much faith in themselves). But sooner or later, if you just keep trying, you begin to have more faith in your ability; you learn from your mistakes; and before you know it your riding just like the guy who got it on the first pass. 

We've all been given a measure of faith. Perhaps you can't ride on your first try. But if you're faithful to what you can do (sit on the seat...foot on the pedal...go for it!), even if you fall, eventually you'll learn to ride. I want to quit letting my fear of falling stop me from riding. I want to quit wishing I had more faith and start being faithful to what I can do. As Freddie Mercury once sang so passionately, "I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride my bike. I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride it where I like."  

APK

4 Years, 4 Quotes

For my final "4th Anniversary" post, here are my four favorite quotes from Erica:
1. "Just be..."--whenever life's been hectic, or we feel like we've lost ourselves in trying to serve other people's expectations, Erica will say, "we need to just be..." or , "let's just be..." It's more than 'just being yourself'. It's a state of existence where Peace is the government and rest is its currency.
2. "Naguntum." (pronounced na - goon - tum) -- okay, this one's sappy. When we were young (like 16 years old young) we used to do the whole, "i love you more." "no, i love you more," "no, I love you most, infinity," thing when we were getting off the phone. We would always get to infinity, and then the banter would continue with "infinity plus one," and "infinity times infinity." We always tried to top each other to no avail, until one night we made up our own word--the aforementioned "Naguntum"-- which means love beyond infinity and forever which cannot be measured or fathomed. Whenever she pulls out the "naguntum", I know she's for real.
3. "eeeeeeeeeeee..." (falsetto-like screech used to express extreme excitement)-- She usually whips this one out whenever she finds out someone we love is pregnant or is getting married. You know, the real mushy kind of stuff that girls get excited about. It's cute, and it's my favorite to observe when she is unaware.
4. "Aron, you are the Master of my world. Ruler supreme of my existensial experience. Crown jewel of all of God's very creation-- and worthy of my undying devotion and love. Were I to recount the wonders of your love, the perfection of your physique, or the enjoyments of your personality, they would out number the sand on the seashores, etc., etc., etc." --Okay, so she's never pulled this one out VERBATIM, but there have been similar remarks made, and I see it in her eyes every time I have my shirt off drinking an ice cold diet Coke. If you doubt the truth of that, I only say this: two babies in 4 years of marriage. That's all I'm gonna say, but at this rate by the time we're 42 we'll have 10 kids.
APK

life - these are the moments

Just wanted to share a little glimpse into the personality of our little BelleRose as she is ever growing into herself. This is mostly intended for grandparents and the like who treasure getting these types of things. For the rest of ya, your welcome to watch, but you won't hurt our feelings if ya skip this one:)

But for those of you who want to watch...this was Saturday morning. Belle came into our room about 10 am to wake us up. She jumped into bed next to aron & here is what i caught...

the next scene is a surprise...and the last is about 2 minutes of her singing a song she wrote...she ends it by saying, "That's a beautiful song!"

life...these are the moments... from Aron Kirk on Vimeo.ejk