Baby Erskine

Active

We had our September doctor's appointment today for Baby Erskine. Among other things, our doctor attempted to listen to the baby's heart rate with her dopplar instrument. She tried for several minutes, indicating a lot of static and trouble hearing the heartbeat. "There it is!...Oh...Hmm...," she'd say. We heard maybe a beat or two. Then she said, "The baby is rolling around, I can hear that!" Then after several more minutes, "Okay, those bumps are the baby kicking the dopplar." Finally, she said, "Okay, a baby who keeps kicking obviously has a heartbeat. I'm just going to write 'active baby.'" Active baby. That apple isn't going to fall far from the tree. ;)

In other news, our big ultrasound is tomorrow. We're not going to find out the gender. Natasha actually thinks she's okay with that, so we're just going to see our baby tomorrow and wait for the surprise. Sorry to Ang and all you other blog-reading, gender-interested friends.

LRE

Preganacy Insanity

I am currently reading a book a friend lent me from church called, "My Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy". Needless to say, I don't think I will ever be the same again :)

This afternoon I was reading a chapter called, Pregnancy Insanity. It starts off by saying that some pregnant women may read that title and assume it does not refer to them. They are the exception because they still feel rather normal. It continues, however, to reassure the pregnant women of one very simple truth: Crazy people are always the last people to find out that they're crazy.

When people ask me if I've had any cravings, I typically respond, "Well, no, not really. Other than some aversions, I eat about the same things I did before. I have this diet, you see, and well... I can only eat certain foods anyway so I guess that's why I'm not really having cravings."

When women ask me about the nausea, and whether or not it is subsiding, I typically respond, "Well, its hanging on, but its manageable. I just keep eating little snacks throughout the day and I'm just fine."

Then, some women pull me aside with that knowing and concerned look on their faces asking, "How ARE you?" as though I should instantly burst into tears. In these situations, I have typically responded, a little perplexed about their concern, "Well, I'm doing really well. I'm very tired; but for the most part doing great!"

I am discovering, however, that some people are asking these very same questions to my husband ...and he seems to have completely different answers!!!

Am I having cravings they ask... "Yes!" He exclaims. Apparently I am craving spicy foods, things like nachos with salsa (never without), this pasta dish with homemade, spicy marinara sauce we make, etc. I guess things are a little clearer from his perspective :)

With the nausea and emotional stability, I am a little up and down, but thankfully, we both agree that I am doing fine :)

(Insert note from Lynn: I do think Natasha's doing fine, really, particularly considering the horror stories that everyone feels will encourage our pregnancy. Compared to the majority of the people who talk about their pregnancies, Natasha's is great! However, it's little things like her "non-" cravings and when she lays in bed talking to me with a sparkle in her eye saying, "I'm really exhausted and need sleep!" that leave me puzzled. That and how worked up she gets about things. She said earlier today, "I feel like I'm on speed." All I could say was, "Mm-hmm.")

I guess I am to some degree experiencing what "the Girlfriends" call Pregnancy Insanity. I suppose my emotions and likes or dislikes have been a little extreme... I do sometimes feel like I'm wearing fuzzy glasses and have to squint to see the room clearly... Or I feel like I'm frozen in place due to all the anxieties of the rest of my life hitting me all at once... I also feel like somebody stole my body in the night and replaced it with something dramatically different that plays nasty tricks on me and always keeps me guessing about whats coming next...

Anyway, Pregnancy Insanity...

Sweetly Scheming.

Technically... we're not able to find out the gender of the baby in Nova Scotia. However, I am determined to be shrewd as a serpent and innocent as a dove :) I really want to find out!!! I'll be scheduled for the ultrasound in a couple of weeks, around September 20th.

So we shall see!

Natasha

A few pics.

Here is me, bare-foot and pregnant in the kitchen :).



Here is a closer-view belly shot, though I'm not showing enough for it to be super obvious:



And here is my handsome husband tearing apart the overgrown trees and bushes in our overwhelmingly "gardened" yard:





It sounds like we're from the 1950's, fulfilling our perfectly appropriate marital roles... no such luck :)

Too Tired.

One of my hidden quirks is that I sometimes find myself hysterically funny. I know you would never guess it; but really, my sense of humor (that rarely leaves the inside of my brain) is one of my favorite things about myself :)

This quirk in particular seems to intensify under serious lack of sleep... This makes my future in motherhood look very interesting. It is only under serious lack of sleep or highly effective drugs that I would probably ever post a blog such as this! But I am just deliriously delighting in myself for no other reason than because.

This has come to my attention today because I just wrote something in an e-mail that cracked me up... Yes, I am laughing at myself. Even worse, you may not find it the least bit funny :) But, in my current state, I am perfectly comfortable with that.

As an expression of how I feel today, I wrote:
I sometimes feel like a huge boulder the size of the sky is coming toward me ready to swallow me whole... That's an exaggerated expression of how I feel about all of this change in my life all at once :)

Blessings!
Natasha

Some of August 2007

Here are some pictures from August.

-We spent a weekend with some friends in "The Valley", explored Cape Split (absolutely gorgeous!), and randomly visited a goat and llama farm.
-We also received a visit from our dear friends, Adam and Heather Durkee. They came all the way from Virginia just to spend a day with us :) (jk!).
-We received a long awaited visit from my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew, who are fabulously wonderful.
-Our good friend Shannon Skafte took some beauitful pictures of us at the Tangled Gardens in Grand Pre, NS, on our way home from Convention last weekend.

Enjoy!

Cool Slideshows!

The Conquer.

I just wanted to let you know that, after much scheming and strategizing against the enemy, we have conquered the fruit flies!

Many of you offered wonderful advice, but the war tactic that has proved most effective is this:

Take out a glass. Half-fill it with apple cider vinegar. The strong smell will attract the fruit flies. Put some dish soap on your finger and just swoosh it around in the vinegar. This (obviously, as my husband says) breaks the surface tension of the vinegar. That means that the fruit flies can no longer land on it. So... they drown! We have plastic wrap over the top with fruit-fly-size holes in it. This is so they fly in and then can't get out. They fly around for a while until they have to land, and then... they drown!!!

Happy hunting all you fellow fruit-fly-haters!

Natasha

Things you may or may not want to know!

Wow, I'm really pregnant!!!!!

So, I know I haven't posted pictures yet; it's because I feel a lot like my house right now... unkempt. I promise they will come.

But I am totally showing!!! My belly feels huge and I love it!!! I officially don't fit in any of my old clothes and the few middle-ground WalMart options we purchased are no longer satisfactory. (They still fit, but they're not enough. Really I desperately need preggo pants.)

So while Lynn and I were in Halifax for the Leadership Summit (which is a whole other topic and was amazing!), we went shopping for a Maternity store. I was so overcome by how cute everything was!

I tried on several options and fell in love with a number of different outfits. While I was trying them on, though, the store clerk said, "You should try them on while wearing the belly pillow." Then I realized that the strangely shaped white thing I had vaguely noticed on the chair in the corner of the change room was a makeshift belly so I could see how well the clothes would fit until the end of my term. (Captain obvious here.) Lynn agreed that I should try the outfits with the belly pillow. I felt a little silly, but thought, "Yes, that would be a very wise thing to do."

The problem, though, is that I am a very slow processor... I was just adjusting to the idea of having a growing belly, in a maternity store trying on real maternity clothes. When I strapped the belly on... well it kind of shocked my system...

I took one look at myself in the mirror and burst into hysteric bubbles of laughter and tears. I'm not sure how loud I was, but Lynn began laughing from outside the change room. I couldn't come out... I felt nervous and embarrassed, while feeling excited and anxious. Lynn finally peeked in which made the convulsions worse. I tried to go to him to lean in on him the way I tend to do when I feel embarrassed or shy, but then... I bounced!!! The carefully crafted pillow snugly tucked beneath my maternity outfit hit his midsection just as my forehead reached his chest... and I bounced back!!! This of course increased the bursts of spasmic laughter as it shocked me even further...

This was quite a fun experience. I had to take out the belly to calm down again and remind myself that I don't have to jump to month number eight, but the Lord allotted time for people like me who desperately need it for adjusting during periods of drastic change.

So I am thrilled to be showing, and love being pregnant! But I am also thankful that further growth will come gradually. It is a scary thought that one day in the not too distant future this child is going to be too big and need to come out of my little body!

Just in case you were wondering, though... I may be small, but have good birthing hips! :) (Okay, so it's not the hips so much; but I don't know how awkward it is to write about personal body parts on a public web log... The term "hips" seemed the safest at the time.)

God bless!
Natasha

Help Wanted.

Okay, what's the deal?

How do you get rid of fruit flies???!!!

I'd really like to know.

Natasha

Update.

I am working as receptionist at the church this week, covering for Pastor Peter and Lottie's vacation. No one is in the office except for me and Lynn (though his is down the hall), and, in the context of being very professional, we're having a blast :).

Little Erskine and mommy are growing very well. I am 11 weeks along, and looking forward to fitting into my new clothes. Right now everything is either too small or too big for my little tummy :)

Lynn and I spent Friday and Saturday as guests at Fox Harbour. It was so peaceful and relaxing. Saturday afternoon, several families from the church came over for a worship team party. We BBQ'd and went swimming in the SPA, and then Doris and I walked the beach along the coast of the Northumberland Straight, just across from where my family live on PEI.

We arrived home late and woke up early (though not early enough) for church Sunday morning, during which I was leading worship and Lynn was preaching. After church, we had a BBQ at our house with 4 young couples, 10 people in all! It was a blast, though the heat was scorching.

Around 3:00, my parents and two brothers arrived, one looking very much like a cave man (Joel - he works at Cape n' Rage). Much to my delight, they brought with them my aunt's crib and set it up in the baby's nursery! Yay!

We all watched the old Hugh Grant movie, Nine Months, and laughed hysterically. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend watching it for some light humor regarding pregnancy and delivery.

This last coming month of summer is a busy one and exciting one. We hope to post some updated pictures soon, though I'm waiting as long as possible until our house looks somewhat put together for you to see :)

Lots of love!
Natasha

Showing

We are at Fox Harb'r (www.foxharbr.com) with the Faheys. Ralph showed me around the resort after meeting a few of his friends, and now we're showing Ralph and Doris around the web. So, if you're online tonight, make sure you say hello! (We're hosting, after all. Make our friends feel comfortable!) :)

LE

Our Little Erskine!

We just saw our baby!!!!!!

We had an ultrasound today to confirm that we have a live pregnancy and to discover how far along we are. We don't find out the details until my doctor's apt this Friday, but we still got to see the baby and it was so amazing!!!!! He/she is sooooo cute and was dancing around and has a strong heartbeat!

It was so beautiful!

After the ultrasound, Lynn and I both pretty emotional (though I have been on the verge of tears all day!), we had to get cash out and then go to a change machine in order to pay the $2 parking fee. Of course we had to take out a twenty from the ATM so sure enough, we won the lottery and had twenty loonies flying at us from the change machine. So we decided to get a late lunch together at Tims.

At Tims, we were enjoying each other's company and delighting in our little Erskine when a lady from a nearby table approached us. She said, "You don't know me, but you are the Erskine's right? Well I heard on the radio this morning that you're expecting! Congratulations!"

Can you believe it? A man in our worship department runs the Christian radio station here in Truro called HopeFM. He had teased us that he would announce it, but sure enough he did!

So little Erskine is already famous :) The poor thing... a PK and musicians' child...

Yeah for cute, adorable, precious little Erskine!!!

(Natasha)

Biggest Post Yet

Well, it's time you all knew: I'm going to be a DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Natasha is going to be a MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Imagine: just a few weeks ago I told Natasha I wasn't ready at all to think about parenting. She went away on a short trip that week. While she was gone, I was overwhelmed with baby fever out of nowhere! I prayed about how to talk to Natasha about my new hopes, but she came home and told me she thought she was expecting. A doctor confirmed it, and now we're excited to report Baby Erskine will be born some time in mid-February!!!!! (We'll keep you posted on more details.) PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LE

Hope for Anyone

It often seems odd how quickly we who claim Christian faith can discredit one another. I live in an area in which many Christians (including many pastors!) give each other very little time becaues of "faith" differences. There are some Christians I've met who are so busy trying to save people from other churches that they've neglected legitimately hurting people who could meet Jesus. A Wesleyan (which I am) might look at a Baptist (which I also am) and wonder about their salvation based on doctrinal issues. A non-denominational (some of my roots) might look at a Presbyterian (also in my roots) and wonder about their salvation based on their lack of outward charismatic expression in worship. We look around and judge one another's faith based on our interpretive doctrine. Is doctrine important? Yes, it is, but doctrinal variance does not necessarily lead a person away from the Lord.

It's remarkable, too, that we can quickly judge and label someone outside the faith as hopless. For the latter, I think of people that we Christians consider "beyond hope." I think of the "good lady" at my sister's junior high school who called her "evil" because of behavioral problems. I think of the homosexual people gathered in the city today, against whom many church-goers around here have railed. I think of the poor treatment a community near my hometown gave to a convicted child molestor who moved into town. I think of the villains of world history and how our perceptions paint that education. There was no talk about whether my sister was beyond hope (which she was not, as we all see today). There was no question about whether the molestor had been rehabilitated. There is rarely effort made to looking at historical villains as whole people. Rather, we write people off, beginning with their minor behavioral infractions, all the way to some people's insatiable thirst for destruction. Is evil hopeless? Yes, but not that hopless.

The two paragraphs above are like me thinking out loud about something intriguing I read today. We read in 2 Kings 21:25: "But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord." Read that again: "...sold himself to do wickedness...." We would have written him off as hopeless, evil. What about the Lord? Read verses 28-29: "And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbed himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days....'" Interestingly enough, the Lord - against whom all Ahab's sins, all the "hopeless sins" above, all the doctrinal "sins" above, and all our very real sins have been committed - the Lord looked at someone who sold himself to wickedness and gives him life and hope. NO ONE is beyond hope.

Our Neighbors.

Lynn and I had wonderful company last night, who even helped us clean up the kitchen afterward. At some point in the evening, these friends asked, "Have you met any of your neighbors yet?" We responded that no, we have not yet met any of them.

Later last evening, however, we decided to go for a walk. We turned onto several streets in our quaint subdivision, and explored one that we hadn't been on before. It was a dead end street set in behind, that had lovely homes on it and several large duplexes. We were admiring the neighborhood when a man came walking by us. We said, "Hello," of course, and continued walking. After a few steps, though, he turned around and said, "You fella's look new to the neighborhood!" We were surprised that he would know, since we weren't even near our own street! We proceeded to have a very friendly conversation with Ted and admired the size and design of his duplex. He then said, "Well why don't you come in and see it?"

We went in to see the duplex, met Sherri, his wife, and then proceeded to have an hour and a half long visit with these strangers/neighbors! We looked at pictures of their grandson and scrapbooks of their trips to Europe, and family pictures from weddings and such. Finally it was 11:00 pm and they offered to drive us home. I readily accepted because I was exhausted!

We exchanged phone numbers with these beautiful people and expect to connect with them again after their weeks of vacation.

Does that seem crazy to anyone else? Have you ever lived in a neighborhood with people so friendly? I'm simply amazed!

(Natasha)

The Island

There are few places more lovely than Prince Edward Island any time of year, most particularly in the summer. Green is my favorite color, and it's one of the Island's highlights this time of year. As my father-in-law said, it's all the varying hues of green contrasted with the red clay dirt that makes everything so striking. That and Tasha's aunt's gardens. They are beautiful! I couldn't help but think the Lord is a creative genius as we drove back to the mainland today. All those greens, the red clay, and the blue Northumberland Strait that reflected a nearly cloudless sky - they were truly breathtaking! Add a good time with aunts, uncles, cousins, and Grammie Currie, and you've got yourself a fabulous day trip! We even talked to our cousin in Ghana, courtesy of Skype. That's the way to spend a Saturday!

LE

Long Vaca

This has been the longest vacation of my life. We originally took this vaca so that we could actually go to Beulah, see some people we rarely get to see, and enjoy some necessary time away from "real life." Then came Friday, 29 June. That's the afternoon it became obvious that we would indeed close on our house. That was good news, particularly because we had already requested vaca and could move without interfering with "real life." So, beginning 6 July we moved. We had a FLEET of people who were extremely generous with their time and muscles (especially with the piano and boxsprings). Everything seemed ducky the first day or two. The next several days were spent moving things around, unpacking, cleaning, mowing, etc. I kept thinking, "I've got to get out of Dodge!" By the time we did, I was so exhausted that I hardly enjoyed any of it till last night.

Now we're at the in-laws' house and I'm enjoying the time away. The only trouble is that we have to be back home by Monday. No Beulah, no Wesleyan friends, no planned vaca. This ten-day vaca has turned into what feels like an eternity, except for these few days without responsibility. These are flying by. Sometimes growing up sucks. At least we're going to the Island tomorrow.... :)

Settling In

We're settling into the new place quite nicely. It took no time for this to feel like home. The more boxes we unpack, the more we see "home" coming into place. After living such transient lives in the last year or so, this feels really good. It's encouraging to settle into a place in which we already envision life unfolding. As I write, I'm in our downstairs family/small group room, imagining the people we'll host, the transformation we'll witness, the family development we'll enjoy. When we set up the piano and music bookshelf yesterday, I envisioned the music we could write, the practice hours our future children will hopefully have, the lessons we would strive to teach. At Canadian Tire yesterday, with a set of branch cutters/pruners in my hands, I envisioned removing the vine from our chimney, allowing the chimney to breathe and look beautiful again. (Okay, so that last one wasn't sentimental. It's a personal thing between me and all the plants in our yard.) We even put on the propane woodstove in the basement last night for good measure. (We just couldn't keep it on because it's summer.) :)

Where does all this lead? It leads us to praise the Lord again! Too many people I know would chalk this up to life happening and sentimentality, and perhaps those things are present. One thing I know with certainty is that God is truly here in this home. It is the peace of Christ that pervades my soul as I reflect this morning. It is an overwhelming understanding that this is the Lord's house that gives me such confidence in what we'll see. We're still settling in and likely will be for weeks. However, these are good times. Good, good times. (It helps that we found Laura's Scripture sketches two days ago, too!)

LE

Good News

We're moving in tonight! Brian and Paula have raised an army of movers, and we're on tonight! That means we're about to have our first permanent place to call "ours" (which we all know is the Lord's anyway) since we've been married! It means finding all those things we forgot we have that have been in Ken and Lois's basement since December! It means we'll have our own kitchen again - which means, Kristi, more recipes!!!