PREGGOSAURUS FREX

In September, Chris and I found out that we were pregnant, and he quickly tagged me with the nickname, Preggosaurus Frex. (Pregnant with freckles.) I must admit that at 4 weeks along in my pregnancy, when my washboard abs were still present (just kidding, I've never had them in my life), I found this name to be quite endearing. Chis would come home from work and say, "What up Preggosaurus Frex?", and I would smile and laugh like a little school girl. Well...fast forward to 13 weeks pregnant, when my body is growing and stretching in awkward ways, and suddenly being compared to T-Rex isn't quite so cute. I can only imagine how endearing it will be when I am 40 weeks pregnant and can no longer see my feet!

I must admit that being pregnant isn't exactly what I thought it would be. I thought it was all about having that "pregnancy glow" and resting your hand on your growing belly. They fail to tell you that the "glow" is really just an oily, flushed face. Or that I wouldn't know the difference between being hungry and being nauseous. Or that the movies and tv shows that used to make this emotional girl's eyes water, would now embarrassingly send her to the bathroom to try to muffle her sobs. I'm also pretty sure that if you put me in the field with Cody (our Labrador retriever), I could probably sniff out the duck before he could.

With all that being said, Chris and I are very excited about the whole thing. We tried to pray for our little one, but in the beginning found this to be very difficult. How do you pray for something that you can't see or feel, and truthfully have trouble believing even exists. But then I found a weekly pregnancy devotional/prayer book called "Expecting" by Marla Taviano, and read the following...

"... I pray for my soon to be child. I so want her to get off to a beautiful start in life. I want her to be strong and independent and unique and glowing. I want her to know love and hope and faith. I want her to be everything she dreams of being-everything YOU dream for her..."

"God, please bless my child with discernment and wisdom. May he know the difference between good and evil, truth and falsehood. And may he never be separated-divided-from Your love."

"May our home be the place she runs to when she needs shelter from the storms of life. May our home be a place she feels comfortable bringing her friends. May our home be a place where she learns about Jesus and feels His presence."

Brain: "Help him to use his mind in hundreds of positive ways. Although IQ doesn't matter, bless him with intelligence so that he might use it to be a blessing to others. Help him to love you, Lord, not just with his heart but with his mind."

Heart: "I so want my child to be tender-hearted, never calloused or uncaring. I want his heart to be pliable-easily squeezed with joy and even easily constricted with pain. I hate to think of his heart being broken, but a hard heart lacks the capacity to know true love. Lord, will you give him a soft heart, yet protect it as well? May he have a heart for the things you love."

Ears: "Lord, may she use her ears to listen to you. You speak to us in that still, small voice, and if we're not ready and listening, we can miss it. Help her not to miss your voice, Lord. Help her to hear your call on her heart and life-and heed it."

Eyelids: "I so want my child to fix his eyes on good and healthy things. Help me to fill his little corner of the world with beauty and brilliance. And help me to point out your hand at work in the world at every opportunity."

Neck muscles: "God, I pray that he will be able to hold his head high, to be confident in who he is. And may that same neck that holds his head up also help him bow his head low in worship to you, his Creator."

Hands: "May she be less worried about keeping her hands physically beautiful and more concerned about attending to the needs of others. Bless those little hands, God. May they not be idle, but may they always be reaching out and touching the lives of every person she meets."

And then I ran to the bathroom to muffle my sobs! :)

Sharing

I am WAY behind in the world of blogging, but I happen to have a few things brewing that will be coming your way shortly. In the meantime, I wanted to share a blog post from a friend.

A few years ago I traveled with a few friends from college to Zambia, Africa. Jacob Schwertfeger was one of those friends. After Jacob graduated, he married an awesome girl, Jessi, and they headed back to Zambia as missionaries. It has been four years since the Schwertfegers began their journey, and with Sunda (their 4 year old daughter they adopted) and baby Kya (their most recent addition to the family) in tow, they continue to spread the gospel through Overland Missions.

If you've ever let your circumstances and emotions run your day, Jessi's latest post is for you... "Today I decided"


Enjoy!

To all you MAMAS

When my mom was younger, she dreamt of having a house full of six wild and crazy boys. But what she got instead was this...

...three sweet rotten, well-behaved orinary, girls. Aren't we cute? and weird because we let our mother dress us up like grandmas for a photo shoot.

There is an infamous story that still gets told now and again around the Erenrich household that exemplifies how at times being a mother can be quite frustrating. It was dinner time at the Erenrich's, and my mom came home from a long day at work to slave away in the kitchen making her yummy spaghetti. (Abby, Rachel, and I were probably about the ages we are in the picture above.) My mom hands us each a plate so that she can fill it up for us, and asks us to carefully take it outside to the back porch, where we happily ate most of our meals in the summertime. Abby went first, and she was about to the back door that opens out onto the porch when she spilled her entire plate of spaghetti everywhere. Flustered, my mom decided to get Rachel and I outside before she dealt with the mess and could get Abby another helping of spaghetti. She filled Rachel's plate and sent her through the living room, out the front door and in through the gate to the back yard. Well, Rachel almost made it all that way, but at the gate she toppled her spaghetti all over the metal fence. My poor mom! I don't even remember if we ended up dividing up the remaining spaghetti among us, or if we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...but I know it must have been impossible to work all day, then come home and cook dinner for a few clumsy kids.

(I realize this looks bad because I just told a story that makes me look like an angel because I didn't spill my spaghetti. But don't be fooled. I was the most misbehaved child of the three and just so happen to at times have the benefit of going last and watching and learning from my older sisters.)

Anyhow, my mom, who lost her own mother when she was just 13 years old, raised each of us like a pro...and I like to think we turned out okay...

So whether you are a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) working hard like June Cleaver who always looks beautiful in her pearls while she cleans who makes moms everywhere feel inadequate.

...or a mom who is balancing a full-time job, a house, and kids ...like her...

...or a mom who is dealing with a husband who is at times more work than the children...like this one...

...whoever you are, and whatever crazy thing motherhood has thrown at you, this weekend is your weekend to enjoy. Briefly, while you carry on with the working, cooking, cleaning, and mothering.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a couple other mamas that are special to me this year. The first one is my mother-in-law...

Without her there would never have been this little guy...

...who turned into this handsome man...

And the last two mamas are two of my best friends. Stephanie is a mother to Noah, who is almost 2, and she just gave birth to Gwen about a week ago...
And miss Danielle will be a first-time-mama to a little boy this fall...

In the comments section I would LOVE to hear the best OR the most ridiculous present you've ever received or been given for mother's day...it gives me something to look forward to in the years to come. :)

***HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!***

Politics, Tiaras, and Tim Tebow

I have never been one to get deep into politics. In fact, there are times when I don't even allow my toes to touch the water. (Please, no lectures on the importance of voting.) Nevertheless, there is one political subject I do dare to dive into from time to time...and it just so happens to have a little to do with Mr. Tim Tebow and tiaras.

I'm sure most of you caught the Superbowl commercial that showcased Tim Tebow's mother telling her story of how the doctors suggested she abort her baby due to negative risks and circumstances surrounding her pregnancy. She chose life and now that little baby is a good-looking, smart, nationally-recognized athlete, who does mission work in the Phillipines in his spare time. Pretty impressive...and a pretty clever way for Focus on the Family to slip a pro-life message into one of the most watched television events of the year. And while I am a fan of Tim Tebow and his obedience in representing God on such a large stage, I happen to be pro-life for other reasons...God? Absolutely. But furthermore...my sister, Abby.

Not much was recognized as out of the ordinary with Abby until she was about 3 years old. She has multiple diagnoses with mild mental retardation, mild OCD, and mild cerebral palsy all being within the mix. We have often wondered if Abby had been born in this decade if she would have been given a more accurate diagnosis. And there is also the question as to whether my parents would have been given the option to abort if anything odd had been detected on ultrasound or blood and fluid tests.

Even if they had, my parents would never have considered it, because I know that they believed with all their heart that God had given them this child for a reason...or as I like to believe...for multiple reasons.

I believe one of those multiple reasons Abby is here is to make people laugh. Abby calls my dad her "old man", my mom her "moo moo", Rachel is "Roach" and I am "Matika"...and I can bet you that atleast 10 others of you reading this have been nicknamed by her, as well. She has a few famous quotes floating around out there...one being from the night she was laying in a hospital bed. She had a nurse holding each of her arms out trying to get an IV started and she exclaimed, "Now I know what God felt like." And about the time the movie "Dead Man Walking" came out, our elderly dog was walking in circles and falling down stairs...every time we heard a boom you would probably hear Abby say, "Dead dog...dead dog walking."

In addition to Abby's humor, she also has a softer side. I remember taking her to see "Herbie Fully-loaded". There is a scene in the movie when Herbie is trapped in a monster truck rally show and they are all trying to run him over. Abby turned to me and on the verge of tears said, "I wanna go home." She cares a lot about other people and is always asking how you are doing...her facebook wall-post of the century goes a little something like, "Hi (insert your name here), hows your day?"(repeat :) ) She supports an orphan in the Dominican Republic through Compassion International, has donated her hair to Locks of Love more than once, and has aspirations of teaching inner-city kids in New York how to dance. (Warms your heart, doesn't it?)

In the last few years, Abby's development has sky-rocketed. God is the ultimate reason Abby is who she is today, but He has definitely used multiple vessels along the way to ensure her progress. First and foremost, my parents...God could not have picked a more compassionate and patient father or a more fun and disciplined mother to be her best friend. Secondly, I'd love to mention names of others of you that have been there and are still there, but I'm pretty sure this post would turn into one of those genealogy chapters in the Bible that most people skip over...there are just so many people, and you know who you are. Whether you gave her a hug in public and made her smile that bashful grin we all know and love, or dressed up with her on Halloween, took her to the movies, had a frozen frappe-whatever with her, baked cookies with her, or danced around in her room doing one of her crazy workout dances...know that my family is so thankful.

(I know this is the never-ending post, but please bear with me, i'm almost done...)

For years Abby sat back and watched as Rachel and I received awards and recognitions for different things...but one night last May, Abby got her shot to outshine us all. My family, aunts, uncles, and friends filled up a whole row at the Miss Ability Pageant 2009...a pageant put on for young people with disabilities that allows them to sing, dance, interview, wear frilly gowns...the whole bit. Now, maybe she wasn't up there saving children in the Phillipines, making the Dean's list at the University of Florida, or winning the Heisman trophy...but I will tell you that when they announced Abby as the winner and put that tiara on her head, there wasn't a dry eye in our entire row, and I'm betting you couldn't have shoved even one more ounce of pride in our hearts. It was truly one of the most amazing feelings I have ever felt in my entire life. Look at her poise...

I would not be who I am today without this girl in my life...and I know many people out there are in similar situations with children/siblings/friends, etc. and know exactly what I'm talking about.

Am I pro-life...you betcha...

**If anyone wants to, feel free to share a funny moment you've had with Abby, or something hilarious you've heard her say...Rachel and I have always said we were going to keep an Abby's Quote's Book, but we are quickly forgetting things...help us!! :)

Married Life

It's been months since I've blogged...and although I have multiple things running through my head that I'd like to write about, I feel it would be most appropriate to write briefly about being married. I cannot tell you how many times I've been asked about it....on facebook, through text message, phone calls...everyone wants to know how "married life is treating me". So here it is...

Even through the stench of morning breath, and the awkwardness of having to relieve yourself with the one you love in ear shot (yuck), we are thrilled to be married to eachother. Chris and I feel like we have just walked right into one answered prayer after another this past year, and are enjoying every second of it. After many months of praying for a job, I finally starting working in February. It is not necessarily the job of my dreams, but I am working, enjoying it, and loving my self-determined schedule even more. :)

Chris, on the other hand, is within a few months of finishing his first year of Cardiology fellowship. (1st of 5!!! oh dear) His hours are crazy to say the least. We went through a stretch of 21 days (Saturday and Sunday included, no days off) of getting up at 4am...some days he didn't make it home till 8 or 9pm. He was exhausted, I was impatient...we joked that we felt like Bill Murray in the movie "Goundhog Day". The monotony was suffocating! But on the bad days, I would spent a little extra time with the Lord and He would gently reassure me that this is all part of His plan. He is SO faithful. One day in particular, Chris came home after having an awful day; his confidence had been trampled and I could see the doubts creeping into his head about everything he was doing. I tried to reassure him about his talent, instinct, and intelligence (and if u know Chris at all, you know I'm not saying that just because he's my husband...its so true) but he wouldn't hear any of it. The very next day the wife of one of Chris's patients presented him with a book entitled, "Here's to You...thank you for being you" with a handwritten note inside thanking Chris for"giving her husband back to her", calling him one of those "golden people", and acknowledging the care with which Chris took with her husband. God's timing is perfect, isn't it?

When Chris and I were in Kenya, one weekend a big group of us American students went to a resort for a safari. A bunch of the group was swimming in the pool, Chris included, and I was reading in a lawn chair, but I had left my flip flops on the edge of the pool. Well, Chris was throwing the frisbee, splashing all around, and just simply was getting my flip flops all wet. Annoyed, I got up and retrieved my sandals...

"What? Don't you trust me?" he asked, throwing his arms in the air.
"I trust you with my heart." Was my sarcastic reply...meaning that I only trusted him with my physiologic heart due to his work with cardiology, and implying that I didn't trust him with my sandals, let alone anything else.
"Aww. Hey guys, did you hear that? Leah said she trusts me with her heart." He patronizingly said to everyone there, embarrassing the crap out of me.

Little did I know how ironic that short conversation was with this acquaintence I had just met. Now I can say without a doubt that I trust Chris completely with my life, my love, and of course, my heart. Even when he works a thousand hours, Chris makes sure I feel loved a million times more. Many moments I utter a quiet prayer..."Really, God? You picked him for me?"

Whether Chris and I feel we deserve eachother or not, one thing is for sure...we feel called to eachother and to God. God has laid hopes and dreams on both of our hearts and we pray everyday that we are moving together in God's direction to fulfill those plans, and hopefully bringing glory to Him in the process....

...and that is how married life is so far... :)