tying up some loose ends

I’ve mentioned several things in passing but haven’t circled back to address them, so here is my attempt at tying up some loose ends:

• I think we’re settled on our baby’s name… we just need to make sure there are no major familial objections, and then we’ll be 100% sure. I’m excited to start calling her by her name. Maybe. Sometimes I get choked up when I say her name, so maybe calling her by name is not a great idea...
• My glucose test came back great—in fact, in the nurse’s words, I passed “with flying colors.” I was so thankful to hear that! I even told the nurse on the phone that she made my day. Ha. Oh well… I’m sure she’s used to talking to crazy pregnant folk.
• We had a very busy December (with several wonderful Christmas celebrations) and are facing an equally busy January, but we are way too blessed to be cranky about that.
• We went to our birthing class, which was very informative. We didn’t stay to watch the delivery videos, as we had both seen them before at some point in life… plus the class ran long, and we had plans that night, so we had to head out. One cool thing is that one of the nurses who taught the class is one of my doctor’s nurses, so it was neat to hear her go on and on about my doctor and how wonderful he is.
• Sweet Lance painted the nursery (and the once-yellow closet!), and we set up the crib yesterday. We are hoping to get Baby’s room all set up this weekend! I feel 100% certain that I will cry. However, I am so excited to have a space for her… plus I think it will help me feel less panicked about how close we are getting to her arrival… and just to help me process a little bit more that she will actually come live with us and have a room and her own stuff. I hope to have pictures to post soon!
• We had a shower at my parents’ church on December 4^th and felt SO blessed by the love we received there. My sister got some great pictures, so I will post those soon. It was surreal to actually be the one opening stuff for a baby though (after hostessing more baby showers that I can count on my fingers… and maybe toes). I kept getting a big lump in my throat as I opened things. It kind of feels like a dream…
• On a more serious note, I had mentioned my sweet friend Erin and her baby, Emma, in a previous post. Things are not looking great for little Emma right now… and after three rounds of genetic amniocentesis testing, they have not yet been able to diagnose the root of Emma’s problems, and it is EXTREMELY rare to go that many rounds without any answers. We are still praying fervently for a miracle for baby Emma. I ask that you take a moment whenever you think of it to lift her up as well.