Daybook for March 2013

As always, thanks to the Simple Woman's Daybook for providing the Daybook inspiration.

Outside my window...There is a full blanket of icy snow. Tonight we're bracing for another winter storm watch with more snow expected tomorrow. How different the month of March will be for us this year in Minnesota than last spring in North Carolina. If we can't enjoy the pleasantries of spring weather yet, at least we'll get to enjoy making a few more snowmen!

I am thankful...that Nana is here for a visit. A whole week with Nana stretches before us, and I couldn't be more thankful. The kids have already enjoyed a day at the museum, lunch at McDonald's and afternoon games of Sequence. Nana is like a warm blanket, someone you just can't wait to have around you.

In the kitchen...all is calm, quiet, clean and ready for a new week. Nana did the dishes tonight while T and I gave the kids their baths, and thanks to her, the kitchen is spotless. Maybe I'll mess it up again to make banana bread.....

I am wearing...my college sweatshirt, but it barely covers my belly! With only 7 weeks to go until the baby's due date, maternity clothes are key.

I am creating...this wonderful Stations of the Cross Egg project from Catholic Icing for the kids to enjoy during the last 14 days before Easter weekend. Each day leading up to Good Friday we'll open an egg and read a Station of the Cross from the St. Joseph Coloring Book.  These will be a wonderful way to introduce the Stations of the Cross!

I am going...to be studying a lot this week. I have scheduled my last medical board exam, and with Nana here, I'll take full advantage of the opportunity to study.

I am wondering...who this sweet baby is going to be.  There is a lot of activity in my belly these days, as this little one puts on a few pounds for the final stretch.  In true Happily Ever Johnson fashion, we have no gender suspicions and no names picked out, just great anticipation.  Buddy Bear already loves to give the baby hugs and kisses, and he routinely points out the "Baby" in my belly to me.  We can't wait to welcome this Little One.

I am reading...The Jesus Storybook Bible and By the Shores of Silver Lake with the kids.  This Laura Ingalls Wilder book is the fifth one we have read together, and we love them.  E-Bear pretends to build houses and ride horses like Pa, G-Bear can recount a chapter with impressive clarity, and I can't wait until bedtime to read another chapter.  We're all so impressed and inspired by the Ingalls family's daily discipline, intrepid resourcefulness and authentic cheerfulness despite the hardships of their life.  Hopefully, a little of the Ingalls family will rub off on each of us.

I am hoping...to pass this last board exam.  It would be a tremendous blessing to bring closure to this last testing step before Easter, the onslaught of April birthdays, and the baby's arrival.

I am looking forward to...MoMo and Papa's safe return from their trip with friends.  Sundays are not the same without them!  The kids can't wait to tell Papa about all the flowers blooming on our Spring Garden that he gave to us.  G-Bear wanted to show MoMo the lovely dress that she wore to church today.  Since we couldn't enjoy Sunday dinner together, we took GG and Nana to brunch instead.  We want you to have a wonderful time, MoMo and Papa, but we can't wait for you to get home!

I am learning...how to sit and study for an exam again.  Normally I sit so little during my day, and my attention is re-directed so frequently.  Attempting to sit and focus for a few hours at a time is a very foreign pursuit, and it takes quite a bit of discipline!  Thank goodness it is Lent and self-discipline is part of the seasonal focus.  I am thankful and amazed that the material returns to memory more quickly than I expected.  After all, it has been some time since I thought about coagulation pathways, and managing diuretic side-effects is no longer part of my daily routine.  Thanks be to God, He meets us in our weakness.

Around the house...the boys' train set out on the floor in the playroom, a make-shift puppet theater is in the living room, our prayer chain is getting longer, the bean basket is filling up, and new paintings hang on the kids' art wall.

I am pondering...our priests' exhortation during his message today:  "Are we like the fig tree, delayed in bearing fruit for Our Lord?  Let's not procrastinate any longer!  Carpe diem!  Let us seek the Lord now and bear fruit for Him."

A favorite quote for today... 

Buddy Bear (at the top of his lungs): "MOMMA!  MOMMA!"

Me: "Yes, Buddy Bear?"

Buddy Bear (holding his finger up to his mouth and pointing to my belly): 

"SHHHHHHHH!  Baby."

A few plans for the rest of the week:  We'll go to the grocery store to fill up bags of food for our food drive, attend our second-to-last ice skating lesson (what progress the Bears have made this season!), play with Nana, and hopefully, with a lot of encouragement from the Lord, press on in our Lenten disciplines.  The long march through March has begun.  May Jesus be our strength for the journey.

A peek into our days:

Buddy Bear's first attempt at skating was over President's Day Weekend.  We just couldn't keep him on the sidelines any longer.  He was thrilled.