Just about 3 weeks left

(Hopefully not much longer than that!) until we bring home our 3rd baby boy. On my to-do list this week is starting my hospital bag, installing Peter's car seat, and finding a place to put his clean baby clothes. I also have a bunch of appointments this week -- an OB appointment on Tuesday, an orthopedic appointment for Thomas on Wed. to make sure his ankle healed OK from his fracture, well-child visits for both Jack and Thomas on Thursday, and an ultrasound to see how big baby Peter is on Friday! I also scheduled Jack and Thomas for their dental checkups for the last week of May -- it's cutting it kind of close to my due date, but I'm hoping to get that taken care of while I only have the 2 kids to wrangle in the waiting room,. It'll be a busy week, but I'll have some peace of mind at the end of it that Jack and Thomas are all caught up on their appointments before Peter comes.

Other than that, I'm feeling pretty good and am trying to enjoy these last few weeks of pregnancy. Although I'm eager to meet Peter, to have labor and delivery behind me, and to be not pregnant :), I'm not as eager or anxious as I think I was before having Jack and Thomas. I'm trying to enjoy it as much as I can, esepcially because I have no idea how many more kids we'll be blessed with. I'd love more kids, but I don't know what the future will hold for our family, so I'm doing my best not to rush things along and take the gift of pregnancy for granted. It's hard to explain, but for me this last part of pregnancy is also good for my spiritual life. I have to do a lot things that I don't always feel like doing, especially with 2 little kids to take care of. It's good for me to do those things despite what I feel like doing, and to do them cheerfully. I also feel like my body is not really in my control anymore -- I'm giving it up, or at least some of my bodily comforts, for the sake of the little baby inside of it. And that gives me pause when I think of what Christ endured for us. And, most dominant on mind mind now, is the whole "you know not the hour" deal. Most things in my daily life fall into one of two categories: they are either planned/organized by me (or I have significant input) or they are totally unexpected events that I have to handle as they come up (like getting sick or a kid breaking an ankle). But having baby Peter is a BIG deal that I know for certain is going to happen at some point in the next 3-5 weeks, but I have no idea and no control over when/where/how it's going to happen. It's weird for me to have foreknowledge of such a big event, and not much in the way of control :). It definitely gives me different perspective on the preparing for and "anxiously awaiting" of a much bigger event -- Christ's return to Earth, or even my own death and meeting Christ at my judgment. I *know* these events are going to happen, but I get caught up in the day-to-day stuff and they don't seem as real to me as they should. So, I am thankful for the little reminder in my tummy.

Well, that's a long way of saying that I'm feeling good and am trying to make the most out of the last few weeks before all heck breaks loose with a crazy new little boy to care for "on the outside". :). Since this week is "appointment week", I'm hoping that next week I can take the boys to the Zoo and/or the Animal Park and enjoy some quality time with them.