been a while

considering my last blog update was Aug. 20, i think i can safely say "it's been a while." so here goes:

i've had all these grand ideas of things i wanted to blog about--and some things not so grand, just wanted to get out there or even just record for the sake of remembering emma's cuteness b/c let's face it it's been about a year since i've added anything to her baby book... oops.

well, this is where we are, for now...

john is still working at Belcan Engineering, a job we've definitely appreciated over the past 5 months or so. it's so nice that he comes home from work smelling like office rather than moldy nastiness :)... and did i mention that he generally is home by 4 most days??? Four o'clock, people!! Amazing! I have officially been employed with McGood Medical as a medical transcriptionist for a year now! I'm tempted to ask for a raise--even just a half a cent (in the MT world, that can add up!)--but i've been super happy with the company and the flexibility that they've allowed me while still being considered a statutory employee (they withhold state/fed taxes). when i first started, i was making roughly minimum wage, but now i consistently make over $13/hr... a few days this week i even made $17/hr... so i'm getting better!

emerson is now 20, almost 21, months and getting cuter and cuter EVERYDAY! she is catching on to and repeating so many phrases its ridiculous. the other day i sneezed a couple times and she looked at me with a super concerned face and said while nodding, "ya, ok?" she likes to ride her bike around the house, draw, count to 9 (apparently 10 doesn't exist anymore), we're working on ABCs, she can do some signs along with songs like 'Jesus loves me', putting on daddy's dirty socks, after bathtime she asks to be wrapped like a baby and rocked (which is quite the task trying to hold her up over my belly to accomplish!) and then when she has had enough of the rocking, she says "nakey?" and proceeds to run around the second floor of our house in the buff. you know, the usual. ;)

we are set to close on the sale of our home on Oct 16. for some reason, our realtor didn't allow/advise us to include in the contract giving us a few days after the official sale to transition out of our house and into an apartment. this means that we are required to arrive at closing with an empty home for the buyers to do with what they please. this set up is great for the buyer, but not super ideal for the seller b/c if something falls through with the paperwork and the sale doesn't officially happen, then we are kind of stuck with all of our things sitting in a moving truck in the driveway. needless to say, we're praying everything goes smoothly!

our apartment search is pretty much coming to an end. the actual apartment and complex we like the best is actually like 1 mile up the road from where we currently live--that's the only downside. we were hoping that with the move we would be able to find a more convenient location in relation to church, work, and john's parents. but, alas, this may not be the case. at least we're familiar with the area!

well, the last two doc appointments i've had (32 and 34 weeks) i have been measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule. granted, this can easily be off, but the doctor has mentioned talk of inducing around 39 weeks if the baby hasn't come at that point. frankly, this would be FINE with me as the past week or so i have felt absolutely horrible. i'm constantly nauseated and it's WORSE if i lie on my back for even a second. i pretty much wake up every hour of the night (at least for the first 4 or 5 hours of trying to sleep) due to having to go to the bathroom or just pain in my hips or back. eating doesn't seem to help or hinder, so i can never make a decision about IF i'm going to eat something, then if i do decide to eat, i never know WHAT i want... and did i mention i'm HUGE??? at least i feel that way. sometimes john will just look at my abdominal region and just chuckle. eh, what can ya do? for the past couple weeks i've gotten quite a few comments about how i must be ready to deliver "any day now".... *sigh* if only... i think i make the ushers at church nervous when i get up to use the restroom or get a drink during the service... i'm not sure if they would know what to do in the even that i ACTUALLY went in to labor at the church. let's hope that they don't have to figure it out.

we've also been members at Calvary Baptist Church for almost 2 years and really feel like this is our home church. for a LONG time, it was hard for John and i (especially me) to get used to the idea that we didn't go to Willow Creek Baptist Church in West Des Moines anymore. sometimes i still shed a few tears about the fact that we aren't actively engaged with that ministry, but at the same time we know that, for now, Indiana is where God would have us. we know that He will use the people and leadership at Calvary to shape us into the people we need to be in order to have an effective ministry while in China. we have started getting more involved with things like missions committee and the youth group--very excited about both. we are still living with the aim to get to China--at least for a short term (2 yr) mission trip. at that point, we will see where God is leading us.

i'm sure that there is plenty more that i could catch you up on, but for now this is where my brain stops working as the nausea has completely taken over and i NEED to head to bed... hopefully my posts will be updated a little more frequently, although no promises with the little one on the way!