Proverbs 30:5

Working on some verses round here...

I love it!

And the verdict is...

(See that beautiful profile? Nose toward the middle of the picture)

Today, at long last, we had our ultrasound! And today (on the 86th month that Daddy and I have been married), we discovered that God is giving us another beautiful boy!

To quote another mother, of the most special little Boy ever to be born:

My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant.

For behold, from now on

all generations will call me blessed,

for He who is mighty 

has done great things for me,

and holy is His name. (Luke 1:46b-49) 

We are so excited to add a 3rd little musketeer to our family! 

I love to be a mommy of boys, with this wonderful daddy!

My prayers, for you, our sweet son to come:

• May the Lord give you a tender heart to see your need for a Savior and to put your trust in Jesus at a very early age.
• May God give you strength to guard and help the vulnerable and courage to stand for truth.
• May you be an oak of righteousness and may your roots go down deep in the Word of God.
• May you and your brothers be comrades, encouragers, and friends for all your days.
• May you reflect Jesus, who was the most fearless, the most tender, the most gentle, the most honorable, the most insightful, the most valiant, and the most holy Man there has ever been.
• May your name be written in the Lamb's book of life, and may you bring many others to love and follow Him as well.

We are so excited to meet you and add you to the adventures in this Katterson clan!

So thankful for God's gift,
Your momma

*Sigh* Delayed

So... today was the long-awaited ultrasound! Originally, it was scheduled for this Tuesday, but that was our staff Christmas party, so we delayed until Friday.

Everything was right on schedule, and I pulled into the parking lot 10 minutes early. And then, just as I shifted into park, I had a horrible realization. I wasn't supposed to be at the Burnsville clinic, I was supposed to be at the Edina clinic. When we rescheduled, we had to switch locations too...

I pulled out again and jumped on 35W, calling Ben as I drove.

"Okay, I just realized that we need to be at Edina, not Burnsville," I said.

"Well, actually, I'm already in the waiting room here in Burnsville," he told me.

"Alright, then just ask the receptionist, and she can give you the Edina address, and you can meet me there. Oh, and can you have them call the Edina office and let them know I'm on my way and I'll just be a couple minutes late?"

In vexing fashion, I could not get Siri to locate the Edina address for directions, but I knew I could get very close, and when I hit a stoplight I'd figure it out.

Halfway down 35W, Ben called back.

"Um, they said that you won't be able to do the ultrasound late at Edina, so you should come back here, and maybe they can squeeze you in here," he said.

"Really? I'm only going to be like 5 minutes late," I said.

"That's what they said."

With a sinking feeling, I took the next exit and headed back south on 35W.

Ben called again. "So, they aren't going to be able to fit you in because it's an extra long ultrasound."

The internal wrestling match of frustration and disbelief and disappointment commenced. I ungraciously agreed to go to a coffee shop with Ben for an unplanned date (since we had just left our boys with the babysitter a mere 15 minutes earlier or so) and nursed a cup of ice water without talking much.

But, after time to cool down and look at things reasonably, I can see that this unforeseen delay is really not a big deal. I got a nice long conversation with Ben (a rare opportunity, of late!), and in a week, we can try this all again.

Thankful for kicks in my belly and the surprise that still awaits.

Pregnancy Update

20 weeks today!
(Okay, 20 weeks plus one day, since I ran out of energy to finish this post yesterday...)

- Feeling lots of kicks. Such a joy and comfort. My first normal prenatal appointment, it took the doctor 2-3 min to find a heartbeat (he/she was hiding way low), so it's a happy reassurance every time I feel movement.

- Have only puked once (Friday), but only because I gagged on junk in my throat from a head cold.

- No. Energy. Seriously depleted, and it's a bit unnerving not to have strength for just the normal work of life. But God provides grace for each day.

- Ultrasound on Friday to see a little more about who this small person is!

What's Been Happening: October

I have a blog? Oh yeah. So that I can remember the things that go on in our lives and such.

Well, totally failing in that of late, I will just provide a general dump of things that I can remember right now.

In October...

We went to the local firehouse open house!

Victor climbed in the fire truck, Josiah loved the ambulance, 

and everybody loved the free Culvers custard with sprinkles. :)

Grammy and Grandad came for a visit. It was a delightful, albeit short time.

 

With Grammy and Grandad, we visited Country Sun Farm, with animals to feed and pet (a favorite of Josiah's) and lots of pumpkins to admire. It was a beautiful day to be outside!

Grandad, playing balls with Victor and Josiah at Pizza Ranch and reading books.

Josiah has developed a very funny scrunched-nose grin. 

 

This spontaneous head attire must be attributed to the genetics inherited from Daddy's side

(I think Uncle Nathan and Uncle Jon must be some way responsible...)

Ben, as Martin Luther, at a South Fellowship Night for a "Reformation Day Party"

One of the requirements for Ben's seminary class was a marriage retreat, 

incidentally over our 7th anniversary!

The boys got to spend time with Nana and Grandpa David, 

and Mr. Kevin and Miss Sue. 

Here they are roasting hot dogs with Mr. Kevin.

 We enjoyed a wonderful weekend with 

Auntie Lori, Auntie Betsy, Hudson, and Dell

All in all, a lovely month.

Good News in Romans 8

In Christ...

• We have no condemnation (1)
• We are free from the law of sin and death (2)
• Christ fulfilled the requirement of the Law for us (4) 
• We may set our mind on the things of the Spirit and find life and peace (5)
• We belong to Christ (9)
• Our spirit is alive because of righteousness (10)
• Life will be granted to our mortal bodies (11)
• We are not under obligation to live according to the flesh, which leads to death (12)
• We may put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, and live (13)
• We are sons of God (14)
• We have received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which we may call, "Abba! Father!" (15)
• The Spirit confirms with our spirit that we are children of God, and thus heirs with Christ (16)
• Our sufferings with Christ confirm that we will also be glorified with Christ (17)
• Great glory will be revealed to us (18)
• We eagerly wait for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body (23)
• We are saved in hope, knowing that we will see the full reality one day (24-25)
• The Spirit helps us and intercedes for us (26)
• God causes everything to work together for our good, to conform us to Christ's likeness (28-29)
• We are predestined, called, justified, and glorified (30)
• God is for us (31)
• God justifies us (33)
• Christ intercedes for us (34)
• Suffering cannot thwart Christ's love for us (36)
• We overwhelmingly conquer through Christ (37)
• We are utterly inseparable from God's love in Christ, now and forever (38-39)

Iowa Visitors

Easily the highlight of our weekend was the special visitors that came from Iowa!

Victor and Josiah reveled in the fun play time with Hudson and Dell and Auntie Betsy and Auntie Lori. It was quick but delightful!

My Best Birthday Gift

Flashback to September. Birthday wishes and kindnesses were very sweet.

But my best birthday gift came two days before my birthday, when (honestly, to my surprise) an efficient technician zoomed in the ultrasound view and detected a precious little heartbeat still fluttering away inside.

* * *

After our miscarriage in June, we were thrilled, elated, delighted, overjoyed, grateful, amazed, and humbled to find ourselves pregnant in August. Again, I suspected right away that something was stirring, but it was a gut-wrenching day-by-day wait, peppered with frequent alarm that the movement had stopped, that I would lose this little one again before we even began to know him.

Finally, a positive pregnancy test. I started feeling gross a week later. And almost three weeks later, an ultrasound, which (somewhat to my dismay) showed that I was not yet even 6 weeks pregnant. But, there was a tiny slow heartbeat, barely detectable.

Both my little boys' pregnancies were survived on Zofran, right up to heading to the hospital. So I waited nervously for the "gross" to turn to "incapacitating" ... but it stayed at just a low-grade gross, according to my earnest prayers for the past many months that God might allow me to come through this pregnancy without such intense sickness.

Day by day slowly passed. (It felt like I spent this whole summer waiting for 6-weeks-pregnant to arrive.) The daily grossness was a reassuring reminder of the reality inside.

And then Tuesday night, in the middle of dinner with company.
Blood.

A flood of memories. Reliving the painful days of June in an instant.

After we said our good-byes to our guest, I just sank into our big blue chair, too drained to move. A call to the ob office.  

Rest tonight, and come in for an ultrasound tomorrow, she said. It may not be another miscarriage.

It was a night-long wrestling match between prayers, fears, threads of hope, and the crushing reality that always, always before, blood means no baby.



I called the office twice at 8:00am, and finally at 8:01am they turned off their answering service and I could at least wait on hold. The nurse couldn't find an opening for an ultrasound and needed to call back after she talked to the techs.

I texted family and the friends who already knew about the baby and waited. An 11:00am ultrasound appointment.

I arrived 10 min early and sat in a full waiting room. Minutes passed, and the room emptied little by little. It was perhaps the longest, hardest, loneliest wait I've had in a doctor's office.

And I dreaded hearing my name called. Dreaded the finality of seeing on the screen a still small body, absent of life.

Psalm 121.
Psalm 34.
Psalm 96.
Isaiah 41:10
Jeremiah 29:11
Fragments of verses and prayers and songs.

I was starting to feel woozy, my half bagel for breakfast too long past. Do you have any crackers? I asked the receptionist. I'm feeling light-headed. 

A few saltines later I felt better and ready to face the next step. Even if today is a sad day, I believe there will be happy days ahead. This is not the end of the story.

11:30am.
11:40am.

"Amy," at last the white-clad technician came for me. She did not smile or make small talk. "So, when did the bleeding start?"

"Last night."

I took a deep breath, looking at the large blank screen facing the reclining table, the screen which would soon reveal ... life or death. 

She didn't speak as she began the scan. I watched the screen, trying to pick out a little dark mass which would be our baby.


There it is. 
So still. 
There should be movement, should be a little flutter there.

My heart sank. So still.
No movement.
No movement.

Then she adjusted her instruments, zoomed in on the little mass. And like a miracle, I thought I saw something move.

She adjusted again. And there, as beautiful a sight as I have ever seen, was a quick, rhythmic flutter.

She measured the little peaks and valleys.
167 beats per minute.

My eyes full of tears, my heart full of gratitude.
167 beats per minute.

 * * *

And that, as I knew with greatest certainty, was all the birthday gift I could ask for.



 

Announcements, announcements

The Katterson boys wanted to share some news.

Praising God for another precious gift, joining the Katterson family (Lord willing) in April 2016.

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning (Ps. 30:5).

Fun in the Fall

Bedtime Bible stories with Dad

Lots of fun with friends at the zoo

Fire station open house!

Checking out the ambulance...

So many lovely days to play outside

This weekend's treat: a quick visit from Grammy and Grandad!

18 Months Old!

18 months old!

1 year old

11 months old

10 months old

9 months old

 8 months old

7 months old

6 months old

5 months old

4 months old

3 months old

2 months old

1 month old

2 weeks old

Dear Josiah,

You are a baby no more. You are an exuberant small boy! You have two speeds: running and sleeping. And you are growing and learning so much!

These days, you:

- Give wonderful commentary from the backseat while we drive along. We'll take a corner, and you'll exclaim, "Turn!" We pass the airport, and you say, "Bye, plane!"

- Your "loveys" are much beloved. Two handmade blankets and two teddy bears are your favorites, and many times a day you will bring your teddy bear to me and say, "Hi, bear!" so that I can greet him also (albeit he is generally kinda slimy and wet).

- You are definitely learning from your big brother. One day we were driving to church, and Victor had his duck on his lap. Since Duck couldn't be buckled in, Victor held onto him extra tight. He said, "Look, Duck, here are my big muscles!" (so that he would not be afraid, of course). I looked back, and there you are, Josiah, with your two little fists up too, showing your big muscles!

- You love turtles. Whether they be illustrated in a Richard Scarry book or swimming around in the fish tank at the doctor's office. Sometimes, you just think about them, and exclaim, "Turtle!"

- You are currently very into Pop-Pop. We have a recent photo book in the living room, and approximately a hundred times a day, you request to see Pop-Pop's photo. And it is only acceptable if Mom holds the book open to the appropriate page indefinitely (or until you decide to go explore something else).

- You love apples! We are so blessed to have an apple tree in the backyard, a crabapple tree in the front yard, and an apple tree in the school across the street ... all of which have been much enjoyed this fall. You can man your own apple quite skillfully, and you eat it down to the core!

- It is always a bit of a surprise if you will march over to your brother and wallop him on the head or give him a gentle, tender snuggle and a kiss. We are praying for more of the gentle kindness and less of the wallops.

- Victor has introduced the new "Katterson Amen," in which we give an exclamatory fist pump when we say A (pump) -men (pump)! Even when I tuck you in at night and give you your blessing in the dark, you'll grin and give your fist pumps at the right time.

- You're still taking 2 naps, about an hour in the morning and about 2 1/2 hours in the afternoon. Bedtime is 7:15pm, and you're generally up by 6am.

- Favorite foods include crunchies (any of a variety of cereals), pretzels, cherry tomatoes (from the bush by the school across the street), apples, and any form of "treat."

- You enjoy songs, pianos, and dancing, and find it difficult to wait quietly when there is a break for announcements during the worship time at church.

- You enjoy your Sunday school class and Bible study class and have never made any complaints about them. But you still give great whole-body-kicking snuggles when we pick you up.

- You love to give high 5s and fist bumps. If someone starts a fist bump, you will travel to all the people in the vicinity to give your own fist bump.

You're a bundle of energy and a bundle of joy.

Once again, I pray this verse for you, my son:

The eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth, that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. 2 Chronicles 16:9

May your zeal be given to Jesus and your heart follow hard after Him all the days of your life!

We love you!

Mom