Look, a blog post!
As we were planning out our trips near the beginning of the year, I had categorized June and July in my head as being ‘the quiet months’. Everyone would be home together for 2 solid months, and I was looking forward to having routine, and togetherness. But God had different plans. Once again, it is proved that crazy IS the normal in our family.
Of course, there is the exciting development that our friends are moving a block down the street from us! Of course, that does mean that we are now needing to sell the house that they have rented from us for the last few years. Hmmm… that’s quite a project. We have been unsuccessful at selling any of the houses in our growing collection in the past. Perhaps this time it will be different.
And my sister Raquel is now being courted by Jeremy, a happy event to be sure! This has however, been the indirect contributor of my retreating to my room for sobbing fits periodically. Hey, I have pregnancy hormones!
Of course it is hard to sort out the ACTUAL reason (if any) for the crying jags, but I would have to assume that a large part of the emotional upheaval is due to the decision to leave our church family of seven years to join with another area church. I have no intention of explaining this on my blog. 
Suffice it say that James and I are in complete agreement, and I have a wonderful peace about the decision. This does not however, mean that it is easy to leave dear friends and help the children as they transition from the only church they have ever known. We are very hopeful that we will be able to maintain friendships and continue fellowship with our brothers and sisters at Redeemer.
The baby continues to grow. I looked it up last night, and at 24 weeks he is supposed to be 12 inches long. I say ‘he’, but a large contingent of the family is convinced the baby is a girl. This is because my other two girls were breech. And I am about 95 percent sure that this baby is currently breech. Now, the books say that is doesn’t matter at this stage, and the baby will continue to turn freely until 31 weeks. But sweet Elsie settled comfortably into position this early. And I haven’t felt a lick of movement above my belly button for at least two days (though he does plenty of kicking straight down)! I have been mentally reviewing my vast arsenal of previously unsuccessful baby turning techniques. There is of course, the medical version. We tried this with Moriah. One doctor pushes on the lower abdomen while another doctor pushes on the upper abdomen in the opposite direction. I don’t intend on trying this one again. There is lying upside down on the tilted ironing board. Not as easy as I thought it would be, but I would try this again in a pinch. Ditto with the playing music and shining a light on the lower abdomen. (”Look, baby, a light…move toward the pretty light…”) Then there is the Webster chiropractic technique which I had done several times in the weeks before Elsie’s birth. I credit this for her turning nearly halfway around the night before I went into labor. She slipped back into breech position, of course. James is going to ask our chiropractor if he knows this technique, just in case. Those are all the ones I tried, but I really wanted to do the handstand in the swimming pool trick. I’ve heard good things about that one turning breech babies. Definitely at the top of my list, if little engine is still kicking down low in 7 weeks. Yep. And my midwife says she’s seen acupuncture turn breech babies…
See? Crazy IS normal around here.