Chilly Day at the Zoo

Dream

Dear Benjamin,

Last night I had a dream that for our 15th wedding anniversary, we were having a "recommitment" ceremony, complete with bridesmaids, up-dos, and wedding guests.

My wedding dress still fit, but I did forget to take off the long-sleeve blue shirt underneath it. My hair was going a little crazy. The microphones were not working, so we had to stand in the very corner of the stage and say our words of commitment really loud.

And I was so, so happy to be next to you.

I love you.

4 Years Old!

4 years old!

3 years old

2 years old

18 months

One year old

11 months

10 months

9 months

 
8 months

7 months

6 months

5 months old

4 months old

3 months old

2 months old

1 month old

2 weeks old

Dear Victor,


You are 4 years old, wow! This year has been full of growing and learning.


- Some of your favorite activities are riding your Strider bike, reading stories with Dad, playing "precipice," and playing with your best buddy Josiah.

- You are a great helper in our home! You are the designated "silverware-putter-away-er" whenever we run the dishwasher, and you help with all kinds of other jobs too.

- Your mind is active and sharp. You ask many questions and put together ideas in amazing ways! We are going to start doing some school activities next week, and you are VERY excited!

- You are a good big brother, often teaching Josiah new things, chasing him, showing him things, and playing with him. You are also excited about a new baby coming to our home in a few months!

- You love visiting other people and having company come to our home for a visit. You are a good host, showing people around and helping other children find toys to play with.

- You continue to love trucks and construction machines, and your normal request for what to watch during neb treatments is Mighty Machines.

- You enjoy going to church, sitting with Mom and Dad for the whole service, and then going to your special Preschool class. You are also memorizing many verses in your class, and have your own blue book bag to carry your special Bible to church with you!

- You love music and singing. When we visited Grammy and Grandad's house, several times you requested Grammy to play the piano so that you could sing together.

- Favorite toy: Fire truck

- Favorite author: Richard Scarry

- Favorite foods: Chocolate chips, chicken, applesauce

Our verse for you is 1 Corinthians 15:54-57:

But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

May you always prove to be a trophy of grace, as Jesus' victory is seen in you! We love you, big man!

Mom and Dad

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!