Catching Up on #Thankful November

You'd think a stay at home WIFE {with no baby yet} would have more time to keep up with this sort of thing, but believe it or not, we stay pretty busy! So, here I am, already behind on Thankful November. That's ok, I've had my ideas in mind. So:

Monday, November 4: 
I'm grateful for the conveniences of living in America! I've had so many opportunities to travel and visit other, less "convenienced" cultures and let me tell you: We are SPOILED! Today I whipped out my crock pot, threw in a few ingredients out of my handy dandy refrigerator, and came home 8 hours later to amazing {Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers}. Then I drug out a few salad items and put together a beautiful salad with hardly any chopping or washing: washed & ready greens, shredded carrots, crumbled feta, slivered almonds, and then tomato & avocado I actually had to slice myself (gasp!).

Tuesday, November 5:
I'm thankful for social media & women everywhere. I know that may sound silly, but social media (Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, & Blogs) have been SO encouraging as I experience my first pregnancy. If you've had a child, you know how many WEIRD, concerning, awkward, embarrassing experiences your body provides over the course of nine months. Seriously, girls should have a special course on this stuff before they have the chance to get pregnant. And every time I've experienced something that was just TOO WEIRD for words or when I needed a little bit of encouragement, I'd google it, or ask my Facebook friends, and VOILA! I'm not alone! For first time mommies, even the simplest things can be overwhelming.

Wednesday, November 6:
I'm grateful for my baby brother, Devin. He's seriously is someone to look up to. He is the SWEETEST, most laid back, loving kid I know. (And by kid, I mean 25 year old baby bro of mine). He's hard working and passionate and WHIT.TY. I looooove his humor. He always makes me laugh. Today, I received this gem as he checked on whether or not Beckett had arrived:

Plus he's a firefighter. I mean, common. Awesome kid. He picked a rockin wife, so props to that, and is he adorable, or what? {That's important.} Love you, Jack!

Thursday, November 7:

Today I'm grateful God knows what he's doing. I mean, I'm always grateful for that, but on SO MANY occasions recently, I've been OVERWHELMED with how Awesome He is and how incredible it is that he knows what he's doing, so I don't need to worry about it. There are many examples of why this particular thought has come to mind - some more serious than others - but the little emotion that brought on the thought today was, "I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET BECKETT!!" 

You know, I haven't always felt that way! So I'm grateful God planned this whole 40 week adventure, and obviously knew I would need the whole time to process the emotions. Here's a basic timeline of how I've felt.

Week 9 [ish]: No concept of "I'm going to raise a human." And every excitement over baby belly, showers, and choosing a name. 

Week 20 [ish]: Still no concept of the KID part. More excited about baby bump. Loving being pregnant, especially since the exhaustion and other first trimester symptoms have subsided and life is pain-free and easy. I could just stay pregnant forever.

Week 32 [ish]: Feeling fat and ugly. Freaking out a little about the baby part. I wanna stay pregnant forever. I'm not ready for a kid. Don't remind me where this is going.

Week 36 [ish]: GET THIS BABY OUT. I don't care how. I'm not thinking about what I'll do with him when he gets here. I'm not ready for a child, but I'm SO READY to not be pregnant.

Today. Week 38.5: I CANNOT WAIT to meet this baby. And snuggle him and love him and snuggle him. And it's worth it. The pain and the discomfort and then many nights where I won't sleep or a screaming toddler will want to make me just leave. It's worth it. (You can remind me that I said that later).