His eye is on the...terripoo?

This weekend my dog was left outside and we couldn't find him. We searched for him everywhere we could think of, but he was gone. We tried very hard to make it OK, to make ourselves accept the fact that we would probably never see him again. Even in saying that to ourselves, there was this looming depression in our house. We missed our dog and wanted him home. The dog's name is Buddy. He is a very small terrier/poodle mix (a terripoo) who only weighs 8.8 pounds. After searching for so long, we gave up for the weekend and decided to check the animal shelters on Monday morning. Early Monday morning I received a call from a lady telling me that she and her husband had found Buddy on Saturday and had taken him home with them. Our names were not on Buddy's tags, but the couple called the vet listed on the old tag, which is the vet we still use, and were able to call and get our number from them. We had been praying all weekend for Buddy. We said "we just want our dog back, please bring him home". Our prayers were answered. He is one blessed pup. There were so many factors against him and so many reasons why he should not be alive, and certainly why he should not have been returned to us. When I think about this, about how God was watching out for my little dog, how he kept him safe when there was no logical reason why he should not have been eaten by a coyote or hit by a car, and how this family just happened to think to call the vet and get our contact information, I think about what a mighty God we serve. If he cares about my dog, who am I to think he does not care about me and will not take care of me? He loves me so much more than he loves my dog. I will never again let my doubt and fear get in the way, because I know God is going to take care of me. I thank him for this, and I thank him for bringing my dog home safely.

We're having a baby

This week marks my 37th week of pregnancy. My baby is officially considered full term, and the thought that I could give birth at any moment is constantly on my mind. This has been an interesting experience for me. The first trimester was rough. I had horrible morning sickness and lost a significant amount of weight. The second trimester I started feeling a little better, and had slightly more energy than I did at first. Now into the third trimester...I don't feel sick, but I feel heavy, like it's just difficult to stand up or lie down, or walk. My back and my hips hurt, I'm tired all of the time. I have also been having problems with my blood pressure being too high. I have a feeling when I go for my appointment this week that if it is still too high, he will want to induce. I probably shouldn't say this, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings in the least if he did. There are parts of being pregnant that I love. I love feeling my son's kicks, and rolls and pokes. It's a feeling like none other. The idea of being a mom makes me happy, and I am excited about it. I am not so excited about the whole process of giving birth. I have horrible anxiety and I have a low pain tolerance. If I have to be in pain, my anxiety goes up and I panic. I also have a fear of surgery and anything resembling surgery. I know having a baby is not surgery, but I am wanting to get an epidural, and even that scares me. I have decided that it will tremendously help with my anxiety if I don't have to feel everything, but the thought of not being able to feel the lower half of my body freaks me out. The whole process freaks me out. I wish I could just go to sleep and wake up with a baby. I know that is unrealistic and is not going to happen, but it's still nice to think about. I can't wait to meet my little guy though, so I know that no matter what, the baby and I will both be fine, and it will all be worth it.