Christmas Break

What a good break this has been. Thankful to still have 3 days left, although, Josh has to go back to work tomorrow. Not in the mood to do a long post, so here are the highlights from my break so far, in no particular order.

Baking

Brake Christmas

Christmas Eve Service at Crossroads

Starbucks and Ritzy's Fantasy of Lights with my parents

First Christmas morning as a family of 3.

 Christmas Eve with my family

Kerkhof Christmas day

 Bowman Christmas

 Seeing my Bolen family- some of them met Eden for the first time.

Seeing Eden open presents and play with her new toys.

 Newport mini-vacation- dinner at Hofbrauhaus, aquarium, lunch at Tom+Chee, Cincinatti Natural History Museum

Being home

 Eden giving kisses

Looking forward to spending time with Katie & Eli, lunch with Heather, New Years Eve, and 3 more days spent at home with my little girl.

Best time of the year.

I love this time of the year. Every  single little thing about it. I love making memories with my family, snow days (even though I will not enjoy extra school days in the spring), Christmas movies, celebrating with my class, finding out what adventures our class elf, Elvis has gone on each day,  Christmas parties with friends, Christmas devotionals, Christmas music on K love on the way to school, Donut Bank Peppermint Mocha coffee,  holiday decorations, Christmas lights, and taking the time to give to those less fortunate. I also love picking out the perfect gift for each of my family members, best friends, support staff at school, and students. It is so much fun thinking about what to get each person, and finding cute/creative ideas on Etsy.

On giving--This year, Bethel Manor chose to bless a family of four students at Evans with gifts for Christmas that they otherwise would not have been able to have, through a program that our school counselor started at Evans. It was so much fun seeing all the things that they had bought for the family, buying some things ourselves, and them wrapping all of the gifts to take to school.  The mom contacted me and let me know how grateful she was for everything Evans had done for her kids over the year and how excited they would be to receive their gifts on Christmas morning. She has promised to send pictures of the kids opening their gifts. I can't wait to see the excitement on their sweet little faces. I think that the Christmas season is so magical for kids, and I am so thankful that we were able to play a part in blessing some of our sweet Evans' kids.

On snow days-- I was a little stressed/bummed about missing school for three days, just because there is already so much to do and teach and so little time, but I decided to enjoy every minute of the days at home with my sweet little girl. We spent time playing and cuddling, shopping, and baking. Eden saw snow for the first time, and she kept wanting to touch it and put her face in it. It was sweet.  We spent two of the days shopping with my mom and we were able to get most of our  Christmas shopping done.

On  Elvis the Elf- Our class Elf showed up to school last week, and the kiddos named him Elvis. So far, he has climbed into our Christmas tree, hung from the top of the promethean board, tp'd the Christmas tree, dove into the skittles jar, and brought us donut bank airbrushed holiday cookies. The kids get so excited each day looking for Elvis. It is so much fun!

Today, I am trying to be productive--cleaning, finishing up wrapping, and getting things ready for the Christmas party with Erin and Cassie tonight. Sure will miss the other 3, who aren't able to make it this year. Eden is in Santa Claus. My brother picked her up to take her in the Santa Claus parade on the Holiday World trolley, but then it ended up being too cold, so she is at my parents' house spending some time with them, until they bring her back later this evening. Tomorrow Miss E will meet Santa for the first time, we are going to the St. Peter's church Christmas dinner, and we are going to the light show at Lake Rudolph.

Feeling very blessed each day for so many reasons, and trying my best not to take a single second of it for granted.

'Tis the Season

My last post was over 5 months ago. Boy how time has flown. I have been enjoying every little moment with my sweet little girl who is growing and gaining more and more personality each day, it seems. The holidays are quickly upon us, and this year they hold an even more special meaning for me, because I get to experience it all through Eden's eyes. I get to experience the awe as she reaches for the twinkle lights on the Christmas tree in her room, the excitement over shiny paper, boxes, and toys, her intent listening as we read her the Christmas story for the first time, her peaceful snoring after she has fallen asleep to the sound of her new Christmas lullaby cd. I can't wait to make her a part of all of our Christmas traditions.

 They also seem even more special this year, because of trials that my family has gone through in the past few months, and will continue to go through over the years, and the tragedy and sadness that seems to be never ending in the world around us. I am realizing now just how precious and special family is, and I treasure every moment that I get to spend with them.  This world is a broken world, that will not be restored or renewed until Christ comes back for us, but I believe that that special feeling that only comes around Christmastime is a teeny tiny sliver of what heaven will be like.

'Tis the season to remember all that we have to be thankful for, to focus on the gifts God has given us and to give to others less fortunate than us, and to thank him for his Son Jesus. 'Tis the season for get togethers with family and friends, egg nog, and cheese balls, laughter, and stories. 'Tis the season for decorating the house, drinking hot chocolate, watching Christmas movies. 'Tis the season for peppermint mochas, cookie baking, and Christmas cards. 'Tis the season for elf on the shelf and Santa's first visit to the Bowman house. 'Tis the season that truly is the best time of the year.

Puppy love

I chose Riley from the Spencer County Humane Society about a week before Josh and I got married.  There were four puppies bounding and leaping through the grass. One puppy even followed me around the yard playfully licking at my heels. That is not the puppy that I chose though. I chose the shy little guy, keeping his distance, and hiding behind the others. The one that would have been easy to miss, easy to overlook and leave behind. He walked clumsily, cautiously, taking in everything around him. He is the one that I chose. Riley. Long legs. Chocolate colored fur. White markings on his neck. Skeptical. Slow. He rested his head on my lap on the way home. I knew that I had made the right choice.

I kept that in mind when he chewed up the remote control, dug in the landscaping time and time again, helped himself to my chocolate and my gum, and our leftover rotisserie chicken from dinner. I remembered that when he did his business in the living room  on the shaggy brown carpet after eating that chicken. Yuck. I kept that in mind later when he chewed up baby clothes and got sick on the rug that I had spent hours upon hours working on for the nursery. He was still the right choice for us.

When I was pregnant, he was my constant bed rest companion, resting his head on my belly. He never left my side and he loved Eden even before she was born.

When we brought her home from the hospital, he stood like a guard at her pack n play, watching, wondering about the tiny little creature that we had brought home. He was curious and skeptical, but it was love at first sight. When she cried, he looked at us, as if to say, "Help her!"

As she has become more interactive, he has become more interested in her, and she in him. Luckily she enjoys it, smiles and laughs even, when he sneaks in a lick.  :)





 

As I was writing this blog today, Riley was laying his head on the edge of her activity mat, watching her play. Eden was reaching for him and trying to get closer to him, and she happened to have her first back to belly roll over, trying to get closer to her puppy, her best friend. How perfect!

 

 

 

June 28th

Today was such a great day. Holly, Robin, and I walked 7 miles at the mall. Then Eden and I went and visited Cassie, Edie, and Tucker. It was good to catch up. After that, Eden ate at home and played a while, and then we went to visit Kelly and Miss Harper in the hospital. She is such a doll! This is definitely the season for babies, and I love it!!

This evening, Josh and I had pizza casserole for dinner, and then went to orange leaf to celebrate me teaching my pre-baby weight/post pregnancy goal weight. . What a treat! We also did our grocery shopping and Eden was a happy girl most of the time.

Today was just a good day.

Baby Harper and me.

My treat for reaching my pre-pregnancy weight. Peanut butter and brownie batter with brownie pieces, chocolate chips, reese pieces, and hot fudge. DELICIOUS!

Anniversary Date

Josh and I celebrated our three year wedding anniversary yesterday. It was also our first evening leaving Eden for a date night. We had a great time and she was in good hands. We had dinner reservations at Angelo's, one of our favorite little Italian restaurants on Main Street. It's also the place we went to dinner the night that Josh proposed, so there's just something special about going there. I had shrimp scampi and Josh had chicken Alfredo. Both were delicious. Everything is wonderful there, as it is all made from scratch and specially prepared.

After dinner, we got a bottle of Summer Sangria for home, and then went to see Man of Steel, the new Superman movie. It was pretty good, and I surprisingly stayed awake. :) We had a great date night, and I feel so blessed. Each year with him just keeps getting better. I look forward to our next year together and walking with Josh not only as a married couple, but also as parents to the sweetest little girl. Sweetest little girl, who by the way was sound asleep in her crib when we got  home. We are definitely blessed. :) (Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Bowman for watching her!)

Josh and I before heading out for our date.

My amazing Shrimp Scampi. YUM!

June 25th

Today has been a good and productive day so far. Eden was still asleep when it was time to go walk. I woke her up at 7:15 and she woke up happy, but I am thinking that we need to start putting her to bed a little earlier so she can wake up on her own before our walks in the morning. We walked 6.5 miles at the riverfront with Robin and Holly and it was hot, hot, hot! I wore a short-sleeved cotton shirt and the sweat was just pouring off of me. Yuck, but it felt good to know that I had worked hard. We have added an extra leg to our walk, as well as additional inclines, and it is a great walk. Eden has a fan that I hook to her car seat handle, so she seems to stay cool enough, and she usually naps on our walks, at least some of the time.

Speaking of naps, Eden has been so much happier since I started putting her in her crib several times a day for naps. She usually takes a long one in the morning and in the afternoon and a few smaller ones in between. Glad we finally figured out that more sleep was what she needed. I was hesitant at first about putting her down for extra naps, because she sleeps so good at night, and I didn't want to mess that up, however, she has been so much happier since we started the regular naps. She is rarely fussy now. AND, I have tons of time to get things done throughout the day, and a happy girl most of the time. It's a win for both of us!

Today when we got home from our walk, we played on Eden's activity mat for a while. She is so close to rolling over. It is surely going to happen any day now! After we played, I did some cleaning up around the house and laundry. I also gave the dog a bath, and baked a loaf of healthy blueberry zucchini bread. I plan to go on another walk this afternoon, and I am hoping for 5 miles, but I am not so sure that the heat is going to allow that, so we will see. I'm also going to do some grocery shopping. Tonight we are grilling. I am looking forward to that. Love these summer days/evenings.

Rainy Summer Day

Today is a rainy June day. Eden and I started our morning out with a six mile walk at the mall. I decided to run by the Fresh Market to get some Tomato Basil Soup and then I stopped at Starbucks and got a Tall Hazlenut Machiato. Perfect for this dreary, rainy day. It doesn't even feel like summer. Eden has been quite the little napper lately. She had a bottle, played on her activity mat, and now she is taking a nap in her crib. It is the perfect day for a nap! I am thinking about curling up on the couch with a book and relaxing myself. They do say to sleep when the baby sleeps...Is that still true when the little one is such a good and frequent sleeper? I somehow think not. I could begin to put away Eden's 0-3 month clothes. *tear.* I put her in the first 3-6 month sleeper last night. Our little baby is growing up so fast. OR I could put away my "big" clothes, now that I am almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight (woo hoo!) I have chicken tacos in the crockpot and I am going to boot camp tonight. I am really enjoying every minute of my time being at home with Eden.

On Sleep

We are very blessed when it comes to Eden's sleep schedule. We loosely adopted the Baby Wise philosophy after hearing success stories from friends and reading the book. Basically, Eden was put on a non-strict schedule where she ate, played, then slept, from the time that we came home from the hospital. Babywise is a parent directed feeding concept, where there is enough structure to bring security and order to a baby's word, but offers enough flexibility where we could still respond to Eden's differing needs at any given time. This works for us. I have never felt like I am on a rigid schedule with Eden, but I also do not feel like she is the one completely running the show, and let me tell you, Miss Eden is a good little sleeper! Around six weeks, she began sleeping through the night from around 9pm-6am. She has consistently slept through the night ever since. When she first came home, she slept in a pack-n-play in our bedroom, but we soon learned that she preferred to sleep inclined, so we bought a rock-n-play sleeper, and it made sleep better for her and for us. It was nice being able to lay in bed and rock her while still being half asleep. She was happy and mommy was happy too. Around 2 and a half months, we moved Eden from our room to her crib. She sleeps in a sleep sack, because she startles herself when she isn't swaddled. She also has a night light, and a noise machine, and she sleeps soundly all night. She is such a morning girl too. I love seeing her smiling face wen I go to get her out of her crib in the morning. I also love being rested enough to enjoy the smiling face. :) God sure has blessed us with her.

On Recovery

On recovery..
My C-section was surprisingly easy. I was barely in any pain (except when I laughed...or bent over to tie my shoes, which Josh helped me with most of the time.) I really don't feel like I was that "out of it" either, as I feel like I can remember most things from the hours following the surgery. The Morphine made me feel sick, and I did throw up a couple of times. Since Eden went to the newborn nursery for observation, and then from there was taken to the NICU, I  was thankful that the nurses wheeled me down to the NICU to see Eden for the first time outside of the operating room. I was up and walking around within 24 hours, and probably would have been sooner, had I not been hooked up to all sorts of machines. I started walking down to the NICU to visit Eden multiple times a day, as soon as I was able to.  My incision also healed perfectly and had no problems whatsoever. It wasn't until 3 days after the surgery, that I began to get a terrible headache. I have never felt anything like it. It was pounding in the back of the head, down into my neck and back. No medicine would even begin to dull the pain. The only thing that brought any relief was laying down, so I laid down often, and barely made it down to the NICU. I was miserable. I was given caffeine which is supposed to help a spinal headache, migraine medicine, and other painkillers. None of it worked. Finally, the headache slowly began to fade after coming home, and after a few days it was gone completely. I was just excited to begin adjusting to life with our precious little one.

Bedrest (March 7th)

The lab results came back negative yesterday for Preeclampsia. Praise God. I was sent home and am now on bedrest. I am also scheduled for twice weekly Non Stress Tests until delivery. The first one is tomorrow and I am hoping to get more information from my doctor.

Josh has been great. He went to the store last night and stocked up on easy lunch meals for me, fruit, yogurt, cheese, and other healthy/easy snack foods. He also brought home some pretty pink roses for the table and cleaned the entire house. I am so blessed with him.

5 weeks old

It is so hard to believe that my sweet Eden is already 5 weeks old! These weeks have flown by! I love being a mom and everything that comes with it. The first week of Eden's life was a blur. She was in the NICU for the first seven days of life, and I was suffering from what I now think was a mild Spinal Headache. The headache was relieved when lying down, but when I stood or sat up, the pain was excruciating.  It was hard to hold Eden and I was so frustrated! For several days, my head was in so much pain that I couldn't even focus on my sweet daughter who was fighting one minor problem after another in the NICU. It started out with some breathing difficulties/fluid in the lungs, which is common for C-section babies, followed by Eden not wanting to eat and some blood sugar issues, as well as not being able to regulate her own body temperature. While in the NICU, she also had some issues with Jaudice, as well as a heart murmur and some popping in her hips that sent us to a specialist. Now, at 5 weeks old, all of the issues have resolved themselves, and our little girl is doing great. We are getting into a routine, enjoying our time at home together, and getting to know each other.

Eden Ansley Bowman

On March 15th,  I wenr to my Non Stress Test at the hospital to find out that my blood pressure was very high. After meeting with Dr. Riley (Dr. Alvey was on vacation) I was sent up to labor and delivery. We basically just hung out and waited until 8:00. At that time I was given a dose of medicine that was supposed to soften my cervix. At 11:00, I was  given another dose, and then at 3:00 Pitocin was started. When Dr. Reid came in to check me at 5:30a.m., he told me that I had not progressed at all. My cervix was still very hard and very high. He also told me that he did not believe I would have progressed enough to deliver vaginally by 40 weeks. He said, not that they would even consider waiting until 40 weeks due to my Hypertension. He scheduled a C-section for 7:30 a.m. I was so scared, and became so hot and sweaty waiting for the surgery.

When it was time to go, my wonderful nurse came to get me and wheeled me down in a wheelchair. Josh was all suited up, and he was asked to wait outside the operating room. When we went in, the anestheseologist cleaned off my back and put shots in my spine to numb it. This was the worst part for me. I could feel the needle and it burned. It also felt like it took forever. I was just trying to stay calm. After the numbing, he began to insert the spinal, but I could feel it, so he had to add more of the numbing medicine. The next time he went to add the spinal, I didn't feel a thing. I began getting tingly from my toes to the bottom of my chest, and then I was completely numb. It happened so fast. They began cutting my incision, after pinching me to make sure I didn't feel anything, and then they let Josh come back in. I was so happy to see him! He tried to keep me calm, talking about the whole process of trying to conceive, pregnancy, and now the beautiful baby girl that we were just minutes away from meeting. It worked, I was calm and excited.

It didn't seem long at all, before they told us that we had a daughter and we heard her soft cries. They kept saying how quiet she was. Ocassionally we would hear a soft cry, but she really didn't make much noise. When we heard her though, Josh and I just looked at each other with tears in our eyes. It was definitely one of the best moments of my life so far. Josh got up to see Eden and he took pictures and brought them back to show me.

The nurses told us that they felt like she was having a little bit of difficulty breathing correctly. They decided to have her sent to the nursery just to be observed for a little while. I was a little foggy during this time, but I remember at one point being in the room and everyone else watching sweet Eden in the nursery. The nursery decided to send her to the NICU.

The NICU Dr came and talked to us and told us that she appears to possibly have fluid in her lungs. The doctor did not seem to concerned, but he is going to order a chest X-ray and some labs just to make sure that nothing more severe is wrong. He really doesn't anticipate that there is, so we are praying. I hope that she gets to come out of the NICU tomorrow.

Regardless, today has been one of the best days of my entire life. I love my daughter so much, and I couldnt have asked for a more perfect birthday for her.

35 weeks 6 days

I went to my doctor's appointment yesterday, surprised to find out that my blood pressure was rather high. 156/88, I believe. I was surprised, because I have still been monitoring it at home, and it has been pretty low. Nothing like 156/88. Of course, since things had looked so good, I had just had an appointment last week AND Bethel Manor is currently undergoing their annual state survey, I told Josh that I would be fine to go to my appointment alone so that he could stay at work. My doctor told me she was concerned about the high blood pressure and she also told me that Eden's heart rate was abnormally high. That scared me. She scheduled an ultrasound and then sent orders for me to head to labor and delivery for another 24 hour observation/ urine test to check for protein that could be a sign of preeclampsia.  I called Josh and he headed to the hospital. He made it before the ultrasound, which I was happy about.

In the ultrasound, everything looked great, and the heart rate had slowed down significantly. The ultrasound tech checked it three times, and the doctor was happy with all of heart rates. I really think that her heart rate spiked, because I was nervous/stressed about the high blood pressure. She is still growing well (She now weighs 5 lbs 13 oz), has plenty of fluid, and was practicing breathing. Everything with baby looked great. What a sigh of relief!

When I went upstairs to labor and delivery, they began monitoring my blood pressures, as well as Eden's heart rate, and contractions. My blood pressures stayed pretty high, until I laid on my left side. Then they began to lower. I got blood drawn, which all came back normal. Josh went home and got me clothes, toiletries, dinner, etc. He also stayed the night with me on the terribly uncomfortable couch. I am so  thankful for him. We played cards and watched NCIS. It was a good distraction.

 Now it's just the waiting game until 2:30 when they will collect my twenty four hour urine sample to take to the labs. My doctor is out today, because she was on call last night, so the doctor filling in for her just came in and talked with me. She told me that she expects the urine sample to come back either normal or only slightly abnormal since all of my labs looked so good. She said if it is normal, I will be sent home for bed rest and my doctor will decide what to do about induction. If it is slightly abnormal, she said that I would be sent home for bed rest and we would schedule an induction. She said if it was more than a little abnormal, we would discuss that when the results came back. Looks like bed rest is definitely in my future. We will find out soon enough though.

Thanks for your continued prayers. God has been faithful so far, and  I know he will continue to watch over this pregnancy.

On cookies, hunger, anxiety, and sleep.

Today is a gloomy day. Rainy. Cold. Blugh. As for me, I am still cuddled up in bed with my puppy and our brand new laptop. I have my 35 week appointment today, but everything has been good as far as blood pressure goes, baby has been active, and I feel good overall, so I really don't expect any surprises.  I cannot believe that Miss Eden Ansley will be here in 5 weeks (or less) (ok..or maybe a little more,) but time is ticking, and this is definitely becoming more real. Earlier in my pregnancy my doctor had said that she would induce me at 37 weeks regardless of how my blood pressure was at that time, because she said that it being high early on was an indicator that something was not normal about my pregnancy. However, my blood pressure has been wonderful for so long, that I really don't see this happening, so I am not counting on meeting our little angel in two weeks, and I know it really is best for her to stay in as long as possible. Did I mention that I praise God daily for this, because my bp going low and staying low definitely is unexpected, even by my dr.

On food...I have been ravenous lately, and I feel that I need to document this, so that I can look back and laugh later on when I am no longer pregnant. Last night was the worse, I was so hungry, and every time I ate something, I felt just as hungry.  I had two no bake cookies, then a piece of 2% Colby jack string cheese, then a piece of swiss cheese, then a cup of fat free tapioca (I don't even really like tapioca),  before feeling full. I hate going to bed hungry.

About those cookies...At 35 weeks pregnant, and like I said, ravenous, cookies are not a good item to have anywhere in the house. However, Josh decided to bake Snickerdoodles and no bakes to take to work, and then he decided to leave the no bakes at home. These are probably the best no-bakes I have ever had, might I add!  How sweet, huh? Not so much! It is a constant temptation and a constant battle between," I know I don't need it", and "I really do need another." It's bad. I recently started documenting my nutrition and fitness on MyFitnessPal again, because I realized that although I was trying to eat nutritiously, I was still probably taking in many more calories than I actually needed. I have also begun doing 40 minutes on the arc trainer at the gym daily. My weight gain has slowed down significantly, and I am feeling much better about myself.

On sleeping...I really haven't been sleeping well lately, and I think this is due to anxiety. I am anxious about so many things. I know that some of them are irrational, however, I just can't help it! I know my time at home has been a blessing, because I have been able to spend more time focusing on what God's word says about anxiety, worry, fear, etc. This time in the morning has been awesome non-rushed time spent journaling, in the word, reading my devotional, and in prayer. However the 10+ hours a day I spend at home, also gives me a lot of time to think about and dwell on things. My mind goes to some pretty unpleasant places. Lately, I have not been able to sleep, not only due to anxiety, but also due to not being able to get comfortable. The time after 6am when Josh is gone to work is wonderful, because I stretch out with all the pillows, and have the whole bed to myself. Throughout the night though, it is just hard to get comfortable. I think it could be much worse though.

Well, I think that's all for today . . . I am going to force myself out of this oh-so-comfy bed, make a chai tea latte, and some oatmeal with berries, and have my quiet time. Then it's off to the gym. I have a pretty busy day today!

31 weeks

Tomorrow I will go for my 31 week appointment, but things overall have been going well. Blood pressure has been low, as of this week. Last week, it was elevated, and I went to triage for some testing, just to be safe, but everything came back normal, so I was able to come home after a few hours, and didn't have to stay for a 24 hour observation. I am thankful that blood pressure is doing so much better.

I have been able to get a lot of crafty projects and organizing done around the house.

Just getting lots of things done before our little girl gets here.

34 weeks 3 days Update

Since my last post was on January 7th, I am long overdue for an update, and a lot has been going on since then. I honestly cannot believe how fast the time has passed! In that post, I was beginning to find peace about having to stay at home, and was starting to get some things done around the house to keep myself busy. I was 27 weeks at that time, and my blood pressure had become somewhat lower and more stable. I am currently 34 weeks, and am thrilled to say that my blood pressure has been low since my last post (except for one spike that sent me to St. Mary's for an observation, but it actually lowered while I was there, everything else looked great, and I was able to go home a few hours later.) My mom delievered me at 33 weeks. I am thankful to have made it past that mark with no signs of Preclampsia. All the glory goes to God and to the many prayers that have been lifted up for this. I am so thankful!

I have come to enjoy my time at home (most of the time.) I still miss my class and hate not being there with them, but I definitely see that God had a plan for my time at home, and I am thankful that I have had it. It's hard to believe that in 39 days (or less) our baby girl will be here! It's becoming even more real.

In the last few weeks, I have finished the nursery. Josh is still working on a shelf to put under the window. I can't wait to see it complete. We have had three baby showers so far and have gotten lots of wonderful things for Eden and for the nursery. I have also gotten lots of cleaning around the house and tried many new recipes.

Now we are just counting down the days and waiting anxiously for Eden's arrival.

Today I am thankful for my time spent at home to get some rest. Yes, I said it, I am thankful to be off from work (today anyway) so that I could rest. I needed to catch up after the weekend: dinner with friends at Bonefish and games at our house, lunch with my mom, church, and the bridal show. Probably a little busier than I should have been, but my blood pressure stayed low overall (Thankful for that!), and Sunday night was spent on the couch in my pjs and fuzzy socks..

Today, I stayed in bed past eight, (except for the times I had to get up to go to the bathroom and get a snack!) This never happens, which was exciting. Around six Riley even ran and jumped onto the bed about five times, but I stayed in bed! I knew I needed it.

It was nice staying in my pjs this morning, taking my time making/eating breakfast and having my quiet time. (God is still working on me---teaching me to be content, have peace, not to worry, etc...). I am feeling a difference, but it's taking time, and will continue to take more, I'm sure. It felt nice to not be rushed.

I organized the hall closet and the drawers in my bathroom, and also put another small dent in the nursery closet. That one is still going to take some work! I  also went for a slow walk (don't worry, my doctor okayed this). Then a friend came over and we lounged around. She showed me some more about "Swagbucks" and we baked/decorated cookies.

It's been a good day and a nice start to my week.