Nesting

What is nesting? Every time someone asks me what I have been doing lately and I tell them that I have been cleaning and preparing our house for Preston's arrival, I hear the classic phrase, "Oh, you are nesting". I often ask myself what this means or why are they saying this? I took the time to read about this 'nesting' thing and found an interesting article. Check it out: http://www.parentingweekly.com/pregnancy/pregnancy_information/nesting_instinct.htm

Wow, it seems as though some pregnant women use the tern 'nesting' to hide some major Obsessive Compulsive tendencies (OCD). Come on, cleaning your house with a toothbrush or folding clothes in a drawer multiple times is a bit out there if you ask me. Also, the part in the article that talked about killing ants one at a time seemed a bit crazy to me. I wonder if some women need to see a psychiatrist alongside their OB.

Anyway, after reading this article, I have some thoughts I would like to share:

First, I don't believe that the term 'nesting' should apply too literarlly to me or only to pregnant women. Personally, I have a natural desire to clean and organize - not just because I am pregnant. (I work as an administrative assistant. Its my job to keep things organized and working effeciently). I thrive in beautiful, clean, and warm environments. When the house is clean (it doesn't have to be perfect) then I am better able to relax and enjoy life. Why should my personality type or natural tendencies get labled as a temporary pregnancy symptom?

Second, I am getting ready for someone to move in my home! Come on -wouldn't you want a clean/organized house if someone was going to move in your home? Wouldn't you want to get things ready for that person - perhaps have things on hand that they may need or want? My in-laws have had multiple people live in their home while they were doing graduate work. They prepared a space or place for this person to live and prepared their home to welcome their guest. Do people say they are 'nesting'? NO. I think preparing our home for a new arrival is a beautiful picture of the art of caring for people. I love my son and care about making his arrival and entrance into our home as easy as possible. If there is trash lying around the house, or he doesn't have any clothes to wear - that would be a problem.

In conclusion, I am sure you will continue to find Steven and I doing updates in our home after Preston arrives. I am sure you will also hear about me cleaning the closet or organizing the sock drawer. I have been an organization minded person most of my life - not just since I have been pregnant. Perhaps we can all think differently about this whole 'nesting' idea and beging to view it more as a means of caring for people (including ourselves) and their individual needs.

The Grand Canyon

In the Valley of the Shadow of Death: Psalm 23

A year ago yesterday, Steven and I spent the night on a small beach on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. We had just completed day 3 of a 7 day river float/camping trip. Steven and I will never forget day 3 because that is the day we lost our baby to a miscarriage. The morning of day 4 was filled with mixed emotions for both of us. We were not only emotionally exhausted from the loss, but physically tired from the long days on the river and still had 3 full days to go. I remember saying to Steven that I didn't know if I could keep going. At that point, I remember looking at the river and the large canyon above taking in the majestic beauty of this place. I was experienceing the ambivolence of pain and beauty. As I thought about not going any farther, there was something that kept me going. I knew I had to finish the journy through the canyon - I couldn't leave.

The Grand Canyon holds a special place in our relationship. Firstly, in 2003 Steven asked me to marry him in the bottom of the Grand Canyon while standing on the silver bridge above the Colorado River. Secondly, Steven and I love the Canyon, not only because of it's vastness and mystery, but for it's beauty and complexity as well. Thirdly, the Canyon will always be the place where we remember our baby that was lost. To us, The Grand Canyon now represents a picture of God's faithfulness to us and is a part of our story that has been skillfully woven into the very fabric of our lives.

July 25, 2007 was equivocal to litterally walking in the valley of the shadow of death. Whenever we hear or read the 23rd Psalm it now jumps off the pages of Scripture with new life, primairly due to our Grand Canyon experience. The Grand Canyon has come to remind us of a few of the attributes of the God of the Bible, they are: This place is a visible reminder that represents the timelessness of God and His mighty hand, His awesome power, His continuing faithfullness, His enduring presence, His unfailing provision and His undying love for His people. It is quite moving to know that he even cares for the small and weak, the broken and wounded, including the brief life of the nameless little one that we never got to meet at just 8 weeks old last July. Our story matters to Him, and even though we are small and the Grand Canyon is great, we matter to Christ. Our hurt and confussion matter to Him. Our pain and sorrow matter to Him. Better yet, he knows these emotions and has experienced them. In fact, He came to make all things new. The Story does not end with our miscarriage, saddness and brokenness. Christ is comming again and has been victorious over sin and death. This gives us great hope, and enables us to look to the future in anticipation of the second comming of our Lord. We look forward to seeing our child someday and celebrating once again the faithfullness of the Lord our God. Our trip began full of anticipation of beauty, new life, and excitement.

As we have reflected about that trip this week and were looking at pictures from it we remembered a very special moment as we were setting up camp on the last night of our trip after we had just exited the Canyon. We were all looking back up the Colorado river over the journey we had just made, telling stories from our adventure, when we were given a vivid and tangible reminder of the faithfullness of God. There on one of the peaks near the Canyon walls was a beatiful rainbow while the sun was setting and storm clouds were forming off in the distance. It was as if God was saying "I have not forgotten you" and "this is a reminder of my love for you." We both experienced such a mixture of feelings, yet we were filled with hope and enveloped by a great sense of God's love for us even in our hour grief and confussion there in the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Almost

Here is a picture of Katrina at 38 weeks.



I am standing in front of Preston's crib. I like to stand here and imagine what it might be like to see my son in his bed. I also use this time to just think, pray and ponder all the changes that will take place in our lives any day. I grow more excited each day and eagerly await his arrival. I don't have anything deep or insightful to say at the moment - enjoy the photo.

Updates on the house

Steven and I have been doing a lot of updates to our house. We have been trying to get as much organized and re - modled before baby Dalbey arrives. I know many of you would call this nesting - which is part of the drive - but I also feel better when my environment is clean and organized. Anyway, this past weekend was full of home projects and cleaning. Here are some fun updates for our viewers.
1. We finally have grass in our backyard!

Here is the backyard in March 2008

Here is the backyard in July 2008

2. Here is what our master bedroom looks like before and now with a fresh coat of paint and some new window shades. We got rid of the old shades that made the room feel like a cave. Ahh, it now feels so nice! (Thank you Beth Dalbey for all your hard work) I feel like I now live in a Pottery Barn picture.

I will update the blog with basement organization photo's as well as the bathroom re - modeling pictures when Steven is finished painting...keep your eyes open.

Open Mic Night

On Wednesday night, we had an 'Open Mic Night' talent show at Youth Group. It was so much fun to see the students get up on stage and perform either serious, very talented or just fun and silly acts. As you will see by the photo, the costumes made things even more creative and fun.

These girls 'love' Hannah Montana!

Steve grabbed his guitar and made up a song on the spot. The man has talent!

I think it is great to see young people (and adults) have a time where they can play. When I say play, I mean a time where they can just relax and not worry about doing something 'super serious' or 'super spiritual'. In my opinion, students are often asked to grow up too fast or to be overly responsible at such a young age. Now, I am all about teaching students responsibility and the joy of work, but when life is all about our achievements, being serious all the time and perfection, I think we miss out on so much joy that life has to offer. I think play is a necessary part of life that God created for our benefit. Some ways that I like to play: going for a walk at the Botanical Gardens, dancing around my house with my iPod or baking some really good blueberry muffins. Ah, the benefits I receive from each of these things keeps me going and brings life to my soul. I hope we all can enjoy time to play this weekend.

A good Hair Cut

Last week my friend Carolyn cut my hair - well - trimmed my hair (I am saving a fun cut for after baby Dalbey arrives). This is the 2nd time she has cut my hair the past few months and she does an AWESOME job. I wanted to do a better job of thanking her for her work and thought I would give her a brief promo on our blog. So, if anyone is interested in an inexpensive yet clean hair cut, please let me know and I would be happy to put you in contact with her. It would be nice if I had a cool photo to post, but I do not. Just trust me, she knows what she is doing.

Weekend Update

Steven and I had a busy, but exciting weekend!

Friday - we hung out with our dear friends in the morning. This is our time to connect with one another, ask each other how we are doing and just learn how we can support, pray or help one another with various aspects of life. I am very thanful for this time!

Here is a picture of Steven with Eli Warren.

Saturday - we took an all day infant care class at the Hospital. We enjoyed this class a lot because it went over some very basic, but important information about taking care of our baby when we come home from the hospital. I was thankful that the class was organized and I could take notes. This will help me later when I need to review things such as bathing an infant, feeding an infant and just taking care of an infant. I am feeling better prepared for Preston's arrival after taking this class.

Sunday - our dear friends from our Church small group (Cgroup) gave us a baby shower last night. We had such a wonderful time! Oh yes, I must note that the food was amazing. We also received some important bedding, blanket, toy and book items. Thank you so much! As you can see from the pictures, Preston's room is about 95% ready! Now we just need a baby!

My dear friend Emma made this for Preston's room!

Preston's Crib - it looks super cozy!

View of his room.

36 weeks...time to pack

Here is my updated photo of the belly at 36 weeks. Things are still going very well and Preston is growing and healthy. He currently weighs in at 6lbs 4oz (give or take a little). My due date has been changed to August 6th, but the doctor said that it is still possible that he could come early - you just can't predict these things. I am feeling good - no swollen ankles or fingers and no stretch marks. I'm tired due to the lack of sleep but very motivated to get things in the house ready. I have also started packing the things I will need when the time arrives. Its wierd to pack for something when you don't know when you are leaving. I guess my job is to be as ready as possible and then trust that everything else will be ok.

Not the Jetta

"NOT THE JETTA". This sad picture gives a glimps into what happend to Steven yesterday morning. He was turning right onto Olive Blvd and was waiting till traffic cleared to enter when all of a sudden a huge, red truck crashed into him. Why the man driving this truck thought he could keep going (not yield) is quite puzzling, but what we are dealing with now is a banged up car and a very sore Steve Dalbey. Oh yes, before I go on let me clear up a few things: Katrina was not in the car - thank goodness. Steven is ok - his neck and back are sore, but there does not seem to be any major injuries. (We credit his safety to awesome German engineering). He did get checked out at the hospital just in case. So, to be clear - Steven was not at fault, both parties have insurance and we hope everything will be fixed soon. I think Steven is especially bummed because he just loves his Jetta. I mean - this car is awesome! Its a TDI and gets around 50 miles a gallon and it is nice to ride in. There are a lot of other cars with poorly designed structures, bad shocks, poor gas mileage, etc... We have owned some of those cars and don't want to own them every again! We will miss the Jetta while she is being repaired. Our hope is that it will not take too long to fix and that the car does not have any major damage. Bottom line, we are thankful that nothing more serious happend to Steven.

Remembering a year ago

I have been reflecting on my life the past couple days and will never forget the events that took place a year ago. A lot has happend the past year and I am going to share a piece of information that not many know about. A year ago today, right after the 4th of July Holiday, Steven and I found out that were were pregnant. We were so excited to share this news with our dear friends and family, but decided to wait just a few more weeks. Sadly, our pregnancy ended around week 8 during our vacation to the Grand Canyon. As some of you may know, this was a very sad and confusing time for Steven and me. We were so excited to welcome a little Dalbey in the world and when things didn't work out 'the way they were supposed to', we felt abandoned, tricked and confused. What started off as a sweet gift, seemed to be taken away before anything could be done. I take the time to share this event with you all because the 4th of July always reminds me of being with family and friends and now it reminds me of a part of our family that we will have to wait a little longer to meet. I know that I have personally learned a lot the past year about myself. I have learned to be more thankful for family. I have learned what it means to truly griev what has been lost and I have learned to be thankful for what I have. As many of you know, Steven and I are pregnant again and expect our first child in a few weeks. While we are sad for what was lost, we are so thankful and excited for what is to come and how the Lord has answered our prayers for a child. (Our child is currently giving me a good kick from inside the womb). I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday weekend with family and friends.

Here is Katrina's Angel Food Flag Cake!

Man's Best Friend

This past weekend Steven, my sister Tracey and I had some fun with our dogs. We have 2 dogs - Hershey & Bailey, and Tracey has 1 dog - Roosevelt. We took them to the Lake behind my parents house for a fun swim. Wow, they had a blast swimming. I think these dogs were made for the outdoors. Sometimes I wish we had a really big yard for them to run around but I will continue to dream! Anyway, after their swim they were very dirty and needed a nice bath. Here are some fun pictures as we gave them a bath. Enjoy!

Hershey & Roosevelt looking very dirty!

Roosevelt is just plain dirty!

Hershey is getting ready for her bath!

Roosevelt is ready for his bath!

Hershey getting clean!

Bailey is tired from all the activities. Thank goodness she is clean!

Its good to hang out with friends

On Sunday afternoon, Katrina and I had the chance to hang out with some good friends of ours. Lindon and Megan Fowler as well as Andrea Righi. We had a wonderful time over lunch eating some great food, laughing and catching up. Andrea is a good friend of mine from college at Geneva who has been living in Colorado for awhile now. Lindon and Megan are also great friends from back in PA who are attending Covenant Seminary here in St. Louis. Megan and I worked together for a year at the church doing middle school youth ministry. It was really fun to talk about the good old days of Geneva and all the humorous memories that brings, as well as seeing where the Lord has brought us. Andrea is doing Social Work and is pursuing training in counseling (just as I have done). As I think about it, there are many of my friends that have gone either into church ministry, or have been seeking to becomming therapists to do counseling (I wonder what that means...?). It is hard to believe that Katrina and I are about to have a baby, and to see where all of our friends have ended up thus far. I dont feel like college was that long ago, but each year pushes it further and further back. I don't think that life will ever slow down again like when you were a child feeling bored on a beautiful day saying "mom, I'm bored, there's nothing to do". I have decided that I must pursue making the most of the time that I have, not wishing any of it away (what ever that may bring). Oh yeah, I really look tan in these pictures, I know this great tanning salon down the road...Just kidding!! The tan is from being in Texas at Corpus Christi for our first and only vacation of the year! I will write more later, although I know this is only my second entry :)