5 and 36, The Countdowns Continue!

What an adventure we experience as we try to take care of our families in the midst of military training schedules! My father commented that we thought we planned our third child's entrance into the family with plenty of time for a move beforehand- until the training came to a halt for a couple months. I laughed and said we knew better than to think we could plan anything around the military.

Thankfully our move across the country worked out wonderfully over the Christmas holidays. It allowed us two weeks with our families here in the Carolinas and only took away a day or two from my husband's "down time" to receive the household goods in Beaufort. The hard part came after the holidays.


Sending my husband, B, back to San Diego was bad enough, but adding the post-holiday letdown, a house covered with boxes and workers' dust, no friends for the boys yet, unusually cold, rainy, gray weather and frighteningly slow progress in B's training sent some depression our way. My husband fared well until he drove by our old house in San Diego (now empty) by himself. Our four-year-old broke down at dinner a couple times over missing his Daddy, and both boys' behavior went out of control in spurts- leading me to read a book on anger to tame my own temper. Yet we made it through. How? "In everything by prayer... with thanksgiving".


B reminded me that I was trusting the Lord's timing before bad weather delayed training again in San Diego, and I should trust Him again. Trusting the Lord's timing meant, for me, accepting the possibility that it could be God's plan for me to have the baby while B was away. I called a doula to help me not be afraid of that possibility, and God made it clear that He would provide. He helped us to recognize the blessings around us. Beaufort is more beautiful than I remembered. The boys are learning about the true meaning and purpose of family and their place in it. We have benefitted from the support of our extended family and begun to connect with the church family here. Dear ones from the church, the neighborhood and even visiting from Charleston have given us friendship. Mostly, I am hopeful that the boys are growing in faith through this experience.


When we feel our need, we give Him opportunity to deliver us. The boys' interest in prayer takes off as they see the Lord provide and as they want to pray for Daddy and for their sister to "stay head down in mama's tummy". They hear me saying "I'm sorry" more, and they are receiving discipline often. When I thumped the younger today and asked him why I had to do that he replied, "Because God loves me." And we all three had a good chuckle and hug on the floor.


So now we count down: 5 more events for Daddy to complete, and 36 weeks of pregnancy that Little One has stayed safe and healthy- longer now than either of her brothers made it. As Sara Groves sings, "All I have needed, His hand will provide. He's always been faithful to me." Or, as we imitated Moses' and Miriam's dancing-praise on the other side of the Red Sea yesterday morning, "By your unfailing love you will lead/ the people you have redeemed./By your strength you will guide us to your holy dwelling./...The Lord will reign forever and ever!" Exodus 15:13 and 18 "Cha-cha-cha!"