Preparing for Baby Naomi's arrival

I keep stalling actually posting anything, thinking that "maybe tomorrow" I'll have time to get pictures organized to post with the news, but that's not happening so I'm just going to say something. :-)

There continues to be a lot of activity in our lives - more than I anticipated for this time period! Matthew (and others) would probably say that's just because I overestimate how much I can get done without feeling busy.

Before I go on, what you're all wanting to know: Due date is 12 days away (9/25), and doctor says she's probably not coming early. There are more contractions now, but I don't think she's really dropped yet. (A blessing - so far I have not been very uncomfortable so the waiting isn't so bad yet.)

For actual events, we go back to late August: My dad and I went out to breakfast for my birthday (family tradition) and a couple days later mom and I went shopping for my birthday - she got our family a Pack N Play and then we went to La Bou and I had soup in a bread bowl and a frappuchino-like thing. Yumm! Thanks for the lunch, Mom! And the place for Naomi to sleep.

The next day was Sunday and we were in for a surprise when we visited Grace Valley, our Davis church family. They offered the overwhelming blessing of having an 'in-lieu-of-baby-shower' donation, and we are just humbled and blessed by their support, both in prayer and in this show of their care for us. As a result, our health expenses related to the birth will be minimal. Thank you, Grace Valley!

Next, on that Thursday my Davis friends threw an actual shower and afterwards we felt like we had the practical stuff! Thermometer and nail clippers, changing pad, clothes for when she's older, sippy cups and toddler silverware/dishes, and many families' favorite books. Anna did a beautiful job decorating her backyard and we sat outside in the evening breeze - then ate rich cake! Thank you, ladies!

The next day we moved to Aunt Miriam's house to housesit for the six kitties and to have a place with more space and privacy for the time directly surrounding Naomi's birth. We have now thoroughly invaded Miriam's space. We just feel blessed - what a privilege and provision for us! It makes it even nicer that Aunt Miriam feels the same way since it means she's free to visit her daughter's family for the first time in quite a while. Thank you, Miriam!

And the next day (so far we've only gotten to last Saturday!) our home church, Hillcrest Alliance, blessed us with a baby shower. The decorations all had animals all over them - it was a happy rainbow Noah's Ark theme. Many of them got together on a group gift and supplied a beautiful, comfortable glider, a stroller, and an activity mat. Again, the women were insightful about the practical things we really need! We now have a car seat, bathtub, diapers, Boppy, etc. Thank you, Hillcrest!

That afternoon we met with our doula (=professional labor coach) and got to know each other and talk through things. My friend Angela (who got all those great Noah's Ark decorations!!) was over to look at baby stuff and catch up a little bit before she needed to get back home, as well.

Since then, I've just been doing the last shopping trips and trying to get things more organized. On Wednesday I cooked about 10 meals and put them all in the freezer so we'll have instant food when we're most sleep-deprived. My mom and I went to Babies R Us yesterday to get some of the last needed things (and a few splurge things from gift cards :-) ). Last night I packed our hospital bag and diaper bag. Today I finished making one of those Bebe Au Lait-style nursing covers (supplies: ~$6; blanket sold online: $35). If I were to make another one, I'd make a couple small changes, but overall I'm very pleased.

So, the main thing I want to say is that God is amazingly good. We have all that we need and more. Secondly, we are starting to actually feel ready for Naomi to let us see her!

One prayer request:
We got some information this week that means our insurance situation is not as straightforward as we originally thought. The insurance company is working with us (partly because I received mis-information from one of their employees), but we ask you to pray that we will have insurance that covers the end of the pregnancy and the delivery, and that it would cost less than $900/month (what they're quoting us now). Thank you!

P.S. Quick update on the job search:
Matthew continues to send out lots of resumes, and has follow up steps with a few churches right now. Overall, we are both doing well emotionally and have found that in general we are able to rest in God and enjoy the time we have here in Roseville. However, there are good days and bad days (today we got discouraging news).

Work at Health Net is going well. Matthew put in a request for a 4 10-hour day schedule and was accepted, so he'll have Thursdays off starting this week. Also, Matthew asked if they would be willing to hire him on as a permanent employee (right now he's going through a temp agency), and they said he should apply when the position is posted again. So again, we are being provided for and blessed beyond what we need. Thank you, God!

Whew! Congratulations if you read all this... sorry I'm so exuberant! May God provide for you as well in your times of struggle.

Birthday Celebrations

So August 16th we celebrated my birthday (which was actually on the 4th). My sister, Krista, was in charge of the decorations (with some help from Mom), and she did an awesome job. We ended up with leis and a flip flop "door curtain", a palm tree centerpiece and more.

After people had arrived, all the kids and many of the adults jumped in the pool. Here's me with nephew Koen.

Later, I got to hang out with his big sister, Emmaleigh and help her get warm after her dips in the pool.

My dad very kindly agreed to be grill-master for the evening, and the chicken breasts and beef shishkabobs came out great!

Our friends Edward and Mollie came, too, and their son Ben got a turn with his feet (legs?) in the water.

Add to all that great family some delicious cake and my favorite potato chips, and it was quite an affair. :-)

Just this past Monday Krista, her friend Emily, and I went to the California State Fair! For Krista's birthday (back in July), Matthew and I gave Krista a coupon to take a friend somewhere, and she chose the fair. :-) The guy at the water preservation booth convinced us to wear trout hats.

We had fun looking at all the expensive "You need this to make your life better!" sales booths, the county exhibits, the cattle and goats, and the quilting and youth art exhibits. Krista and Emily also did a few things at the Midway carnival.

And today is Matthew's mom's birthday! It's been a great two weeks.

Hallsten Family Reunion

So, last weekend (the 8th through the 10th) was the Hallsten Family Reunion (31st annual, or something crazy like that). Matthew and I hadn't gotten to attend since we were engaged, so it was fun to catch up. I think I know the family relationships better than ever after attending this year. Basically, my Grandpa Hallsten and his five siblings (four still living) and all of their children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren are invited. We gather in Kingsburg, CA, the center of all things Swedish in the state, and, they like to think, in the country. My grandpa's family came over from Sweden to Kingsburg (after living in Chicago for a little while) in 1912 (?) in a modified Model T Ford. Grandpa wasn't born yet - he's number 5 of the 6 siblings.
It was nice to get to catch up with my Uncle Mark and Aunt Kathy who live in Orlando. The two youngest of their clan of 6 kids were in attendance as well.

The next day we gathered at the family farm (the original property, now operated by one of my dad's cousins) and a traditional sibling line-up picture was taken. They are, oldest to youngest (counter-clockwise from bottom right) Eileen, Bertil (passed away), Milton, Ted, Harold (my grandpa), and Ruth.

The Harold Hallsten cousins who were in attendance also had a group photo. (Two are in Spain this summer, four more stayed in Orlando.)

After the reunion, Matthew and I got together with some of our closest friends from Portland, Luke and Virginia. We all like Starbucks. :-) Luke is a teacher and the head football coach at Emmanuel, a Christian high school in Reedley. (Reedley and Kingsburg are both outside of Fresno.)

And, on our way home, we stopped in Turlock to visit Great-grandma Jessie. She played her harmonica for us, and we dined with her (at 4:30pm!) She's doing very well physically for a 95-year-old -- her hearing and sight have gotten worse in recent years, but she still walks as fast as I can!

P.S. A special thank-you to Nick and Jody who hosted us in Fresno on this weekend! Apparently we enjoyed their company and their daughter Ashlyn's antics so much that we didn't take a single picture while we were there! We did, however, play Cranium on their Wii, watch Kiwi (the dog) and Ashlyn play tug-of-war, and sleep very soundly.

Em's Birthday, etc.

This past Monday we went to Emily's parents' house to celebrate her birthday. Krista made super yummy brownies. Mom tried to put some candles in the whole pan, but the brownies were still warm so the candles started to melt. So I had an individual brownie with a candle in it. (I'm having the last one tonight for dessert).

On the same evening, we took our first "family portrait". I'm officially 33 weeks pregnant now. Baby Naomi's latest tricks involve putting pressure on my ribs and lungs. Her movements are more like pressure being increased and released than real "kicks". Tonight was the first night I could clearly identify a foot - that was fun!

This Wednesday we started childbirthing classes - we had mixed feelings about that. I have not been sleeping as well since then - my brain is turning different tasks and pieces of knowledge over and over in my head. For example: Oh yeah, my kid needs a pediatrician before she's even born! Oh shoot, how do I find a pediatrician? And they gave us more reading material - because all I need is more pages to feel guilty about not reading.

Matthew also finished training at work this week, and he's looking forward to really being on the job starting Monday. He's struggling to figure out how to balance working full time with a long commute, working hard to find a "real" job, contribute to ministry, and participate in all the family events we're surrounded by. It's a challenge! We're feeling blessed by God to have to provision we do, and that we have so much family around us. One of the main reasons we decided to move to Roseville instead of waiting it out in Portland was to have the proximity to family that we have here - we're soaking it up!

All of our nieces and nephews (except the 1-week-old) know who we are and like hanging out with us now that we've been here a month. That's been special to us.

After this weekend we're going to post some pictures of the giant Hallsten reunion. We're in the Central Valley, with friends (Nick and Jody) right now... tomorrow the whole clan gets together to celebrate being Swedish and a descendant of my great-grandpa Richard (who I never met). My grandpa and his four siblings, and all their kids, spouses, etc, meet in Kingsburg, the Swedish center of California every year. We haven't gone for four years, so I'm a little nervous about knowing everyone's names... It will be nice to see my grandparents and some of my cousins and aunts and uncles who I haven't seen for a long time!

Good night! Enjoy the Olympics. :-)

The Search Continues

On Thursday Matthew had a very positive phone interview with the search team at Peter's Creek Baptist Church for their Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries position. This morning the Sr. Pastor called to let us know that they had reached their final decision. He said that everyone was really impressed with Matthew's application, sermon samples and interviews but that ultimately they had decided to go with another candidate who had some significant experience in a similar position. He said Matthew was their 2nd choice out of 45 candidates and that the only thing that set their first choice apart was his experience which they thought would be helpful in getting up to speed quickly.

While we were excited about this possibility because of the job description and what we knew about the church trying to start a new job within a few weeks of Naomi's birth would have been quite challenging and the location was not ideal for us. So getting the call this morning was a little disappointing but not devastating. Over all it was an encouraging experience. We appreciate your continued prayers as we wait for the right time and place to begin vocational ministry. We are confident that God will provide a special opportunity in his timing but not knowing where or when can be a little hard some times.

Also a quick update on our niece Elizabeth. She is home with her adopting parents Dane and Shandela Brooks (Matthew's brother and sister-in-law) and is doing great. Please pray for the adoption to go through without any problems and also for the family's housing situation, they need to find a new place to stay now that they have 3 kids and are in a tiny 2 bedroom condo with no yard. Thanks for your prayers.

Two Quick Updates

First, we would like to welcome our new niece into the world. Elizabeth Anne Brooks was born a healthy 7 pounds 13 ounces and 18 and a half inches at 1:21am this morning. We are excited to hear that Mom and baby are both healthy but invite your continued prayers over a complex family situation and ask for a speedy and hassel free adoption.

Second, on the job search front Matthew has a phone interview with Peter's Creek Baptist Church on Thursday at 12:30pm PT. He has already answered some follow up questions in writing and we've been told he is on the "short list" (though no one has told us exactly how short that list is). It is for an Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries and the job description looks great but we've yet to receive the packet with more information on the church itself (should come tomorrow). Peter's Creek is an independent Baptist church and is located in South Park, PA (about a half an hour south of Pittsburgh. Please pray for God's clear guidance and peace as we pursue/consider this opportunity.

That's it for now. Emily has had plenty of activities to fill up her days while Matthew has been working but has been getting things crossed off her to do list. Keeping this blog updated remains on that list and we hope to soon be posting some pictures from the past month and some more details about our time here in Roseville.

In transition...

Hey all,

So we've been in Roseville for over three weeks now, and as Matthew has recently started a temp job that's full time, it is now up to me to keep you up to date. I have failed! Sorry...

This past week and most of this coming week we're housesitting for Matthew's great-aunt who lives in Sun City Roseville. She has not been able to travel much recently for various reasons, so she's excited to get away to see friends. And we are quasi-homeless, so it's been kinda nice to "have our own place" for awhile. Matthew's aunt has 6 cats, so we're caring for Tommy (the people-friendly fat one), Puss (the oldest and the biggest wuss), Norman (the punk) and Ethel (the one who loves ice water), and Bonnie (who stays in her closet) and Clyde (the playful one). Matthew's aunt used to foster litters of kittens when they needed to be bottle-fed, so when not all the cats of the litter were adopted out, she ended up with the others. So Norman and Ethel are from the same litter, as are Bonnie and Clyde. As you may be able to tell, I'm enjoying having pets, even though I wouldn't choose to have 6 of my own! It's really neat to see how all of them are cats and behave like cats, but each has his/her own unique personality too. God is cool that there is so much diversity among creatures that are so easily stereotyped! I guess that's true of humans, too.

So anyway, aside from life with cats, I put together a dresser/changing table that got delivered to Matthew's parents' house this past week. If you're ever looking, I recommend going straight to WalMart or Target, and if you like what's in stock, buy there. It's cheaper than anywhere else. But if you make the "mistake" of looking online at Target first, you might get into trouble and become perfectionistic like I did. Target won't order something they have in their catalog for you to be delivered to the store, and for furniture they charge $95 for shipping. Babies R Us is about the same, but has a bigger selection and slightly higher prices. So I went with JC Penney, because they had a pretty good selection and only charged $27.50 for shipping. The whole process ended up being way more dramatic than I had anticipated, but I'm excited to have a place to put our clothes now (our armoire is in storage), and baby Naomi's stuff when she arrives.

Matthew and I have also joined a gym, and so far I've been successful in going to water aerobics classes three times a week. I can tell they're going to make a difference in my overall strength and condition by the end of the pregnancy, and it's nice to be able to work out pretty hard without my entire abdomen getting sore and tired! I went for a walk with Matthew last night, and I had to walk crazy slow so as to maintain a certain level of comfort.

Aside from all that, I spend most of my time catching up on little projects I never got done while we were in Portland, doing little projects to help out Matthew's parents (like re-attaching handles that have fallen off of various drawers), watching DVR recordings of Law and Order, and reading/napping. It's a hard life. ;-)

This weekend in particular, Matthew and I went to Roseville Sugarbears champs to watch my siblings, Peter and Krista, swim as fast as they could. Yesterday was also Krista's 12th birthday, so we went out for dinner and then returned to my parents' to eat cake while Krista opened presents. She got lots of clothes, and was very excited about that!! She must be a pre-teen. Or maybe she's just a completely different creature from me... that's highly plausible! The two of us are hanging out for a few hours each Tuesday afternoon for bonding time. This week she's starting a game of Civilization, meeting the six kitties, and we might make some cookies. :-)

Well, I'm having issues getting to a "good" ending place, so I think I'll just stop blabbering instead. (Sorry no pics this time.) Happy Sunday!