Ready as we'll ever be

I was remembering today "the talk" Aaron & I had the end of last summer/early fall. We were on a walk around the neighborhood with Alyssa in the stroller and I brought up the whole idea of having a second child. I think I took him by surprise, but he knew me. I'd been thinking about it a while if I'd brought it up seriously with him and if I had it all planned out. We either had the baby in May or June or we waited at least another year as I didn't want to go on maternity leave during the first year of a new job. We talked about the financial side of things, the physical demand the pregnancy would place on me while finishing my last year of school and looking for a job, and all the unknowns of where we were going to be in a year. But we decided to put our faith in God and trust that if we were meant to have a second baby now that He would make it happen. And happen it did.

Since then we've gone back to that conversation several times, wondering what we were thinking. But then one of us would remind the other that God wouldn't give us more than we could handle. Every time we'd say that, I'd think of a quote I read somewhere, I think it came from Mother Theresa. It goes something like this: "I know God won't give more than I can handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much." It would make me laugh each and every time.

And now here we are, the day before the scheduled c-section, and I'm thinking how true it is. Despite the many moments when we felt overwhelmed or when we felt there was no way everything was going to get done, here we are - ready for this baby to arrive, with everything taken care of (I think!).

In a lot of ways, I feel very differently going into the birth tomorrow than I did 19 months ago when we headed to the hospital to have Alyssa. I've been trying to figure out whether it's because this is the second baby or whether there's been so much going on, I just haven't had the time to really get excited or prepare mentally. Don't get me wrong, I am excited to meet this little one, find out if it's a boy or girl, shower him/her with love, and introduce him/her to his family, especially his big sister! And I am definitely ready to not get up three times over night to go to the bathroom and to have my hip stop bothering me, and maybe in a few weeks wear some normal clothes. But really, that's just an added bonus.

We do finally have all the physical things ready though - the car seat is in the car, newborn diapers are bought, the bag is packed, arrangements are made for Alyssa, my parents have their airline tickets bought, and the names are picked out. Now it's just a matter of waiting. It still seems weird to think that tomorrow our lives are going to change - again. And as much as I've been wanting to know when this baby will arrive, it's kind of weird to know that it's going to be tomorrow. And there's something strange about just hopping in a car and a few hours later having a baby. I think my fears and worries are different than last time, but the anxiousness is definitely still there.

We look forward to updating you all on the birth and introducing you to baby as soon as we're able. You'll probably get some of the info through word of mouth before we're actually able to update the blog, but we will update this with pictures and details as soon as possible. In the meantime, we covet your prayers and are thankful for them and your well wishes.