April 25th- World Malaria Day

You can give $20 to provide a family with a malaria prevention kit (bed nets and education on the disease) at World Vision.

You can look at more facts and a map at http://www.rollbackmalaria.org/worldmalariaday/

Why should we try to prevent this disease? Well, firstly, it would really not be fun to catch. I knew a person who had it and barely survived. It really sounded like it sucks. So, if I was at risk for Malaria and couldn't afford something basic to help prevent it, I would really appreciate a rich American (yes, you live off of more than one dollar, two dollars, five dollars, or one hundred dollars a day . . . you are rich) sharing a little of what they have (forgoing a few Starbucks drinks or big macs) to help save my life. Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you, right?

But really, although I often am disgusted by rich americans (mainly, myself), I think we have a better reason to help someone than just for the sake of helping them. As a follower of Jesus, I represent Him on earth. He didn't command much (love God; love people)- but one thing He did say to do was to love people. Although the greatest needs people have are spiritual (and for me to best love people would be to help them find spiritual fulfillment in God), their physical and emotional needs are right in front of them. Our "felt" needs totally feel more important than our spiritual. So, sometimes helping people meet these needs helps them be open to meeting their spiritual needs. Jesus understood this, going out of His way to be an example of loving people by meeting their felt needs. Therefore, I should do what I can to help people know they are loved by God by acting on His behalf to feed, cloth, and comfort others. Especially when its in my means, I have no excuse whatsoever to not help others with their felt needs. Because in that case, the only thing I am giving up is having a different standard of life. Less Coldstone ice creams, less new sets of curtains, less new cell phones. All the stuff I think will make me happy. And it doesn't in comparison to seeing someone else smile because they now have a chance to live.

Earth Day for Evolutionists

I think this blog post is pretty interesting. Its really short, and presents a pretty valid (and therefore humorous) point about how celebrating Earth Day goes against the Darwinistic worldview, rather it only makes sense if you are trying to protect something you are given. Which, would be a theistic worldview. Anyways.

(Scroll down until you get to the post dated April 22nd):
http://www.str.org/site/PageServer?pagename=blog_iframe





"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

Avi at Twenty Months

Avilynne is now 20 months old. Whats new with her?

Avi can point to her:
-nose
-eye
-ear
-mouth
-hands
-feet
-belly (or baby)

Avi can say (That I can recognize):
-Nose
-Eye
-No
-Tractor
-Three, two, one! (she tries at least)
-Juice
-Hi
-All done
-Ball
-Book
-Balloon
-Strawberry
-More
-Mama/mommy
-Dada/daddy
-Jill
-DebDeb
-Repeats other names we
say (joyjoy, faith, stacy, grandma)
-Say her vowels in Spanish from the rhyme "a, e, i, o, u el burro sabe mas que tu"

Avi can sign:
-All done
-Yes
-Thank you
-More
-Food/eat
-Drink
-Hi/bye

Avi makes noises for these animals when she sees them:
-doggies
-kitties
-pigs (sounding semi demonic)
-cows
(And repeats our noises for these when we point to pictures of them):
-ducks
-birds
-snakes
-bears
-lions/tigers
-bees
-horses


Avi can:
-Blow her nose
-Smell things (candles, flowers, candy).
-Follow many of our commands (picking things up, handing things to us, throwing things away, going up or down the stairs, "Be gentle," etc...)
-Is aware of her bodily functions (Which she acknowledges verbally)
-Try to wash her hair/body, brush her teeth/hair, and put clips in her hair
-Understand a whole lot more that I give her credit for!
-Dance and move to the music pretty decently.
-Run like a girl.....wagging her hips and putting her arms out funny- oh my.
-Try to work it!

Avi likes to:
-Say hi to almost everyone.
-Flirt with men (and women too, but especially men).
-Kiss pictures of people. Most notably the construction workers, emergency workers, and babies in a books we have.
-Stick her fingers in her ear and sing when she is done eating at the table.
-Whine or yell when she doesn't get her way.
-Answer most questions with"no" (Ex."Do you like to obey daddy and mommy?" "no!")
-Sing notes (and now we are starting to recognize songs)
-To eat chocolate, but not too many other deserts. She likes chips.
-Be tickled!
-Play with her ball and look at her books with us.
-Go outside to explore and observe the world.
-Take baths and in general, just to play in water.
-Say "cheese" when she sees a camera while making a silly grin.
-Play with the neighbor kids and kids at church.
-Make a lot of noise and yell in the car (especially if its been more than 20 minutes).
-Try to get away with touching the computer and climbing on the couch arms/back.
-Play with the metal dish scrubbers for whatever reason.
-Run REALLY far away in stores. She doesn't have qualms about being far away from me.
-Have anything to do with shoes. She likes to find them, put on hers, put on yours (on you and her), chew on them, move them . . . She is pretty much obsessed with shoes. Oh no.

Preggo Update

I am still pregnant. I am trying not to be jealous, as my friend had her baby a week early today. Yesterday, a woman I know had her baby three weeks early (she was due after me). And, another friend of mine might get to have her's early too even though she is due a week after me (although, that is because she might have to get a c-section of which I am really NOT jealous of). I am out! Or probably not, as I will have this baby by the 11th of May at the utmost latest (according to my Doctor). And, it is much more likely I will go before May 5th, as this is my second baby. Really, if I am jealous, I am jealous of possibly two weeks less of being able to sleep through the night. There is no reason I should hurry away my sleep- I love sleep! So thank you God I still haven't had this baby because that means one more night of peace!

I have been feeling very out of sorts all weekend: jittery, heart-pounding, somewhat nauseous, trouble focusing with my eyes (And my mind!), extremely swollen feet/legs (which went away as I laid down a lot), and a slight to extremely bad headache. In case you don't know, these all happen to be the most common symptoms for preclampsia, a high blood pressure issue that happens in pregnancy which is very dangerous. I get symptoms like these with my migraines, too, though, which makes me skeptical I actually have a problem going on. Generally, though, my migraines follow a pattern that is pretty distinguished, unlike how I felt this weekend. So, as to avoid being sent to the hospital to get checked out (which I knew would happen if I called the Dr.), I took my blood pressure at those little booths in the pharmacy sections at grocery stores. It said my blood pressure was higher than typical, but it wasn't crazy. Hence, I continued sleeping or laying down very pathetically most of the weekend.

So, this morning I called the Dr. when the office opened. Sure enough, they wanted to see me. They did the typical tests, the blood pressure, pee-test, checked the baby's heart rate, etc... For the most part, it was all well. But, of course, little did I know but you can still have preclampsia and it only show up in blood work. And besides, I shouldn't be feeling this way, so they should monitor the baby. Hence, despite all my work to avoid the hospital, guess where they sent me? Yep! So, after calling around, finding someone to watch Avi (thank you Becky!) I got to be tested all over again in the hospital the rest of the morning and early afternoon. And, nope, nothing amiss with my blood work and the baby happily kicked its way through an hour of being monitored. Actually, it was somewhat relaxing, which was good because otherwise I surely would have been chasing Avi wishing I could go back to bed. I am not complaining. I am just slightly annoyed I had to go through that for nothing. Conclusion: my blood pressure is a little higher than normal, yet I do not have preclampsia. Take Tylenol and if my headache persists, please call the Doctor again (yey, so we can do the whole process one more time!).

I am still one centimeter dilated and the baby's head is still "whoa! Its right down there, I can feel it!" (according to my nurse practitioner). So, at 38 weeks, I am the same as I was last week, minus the extreme energy and feeling mostly crappy.

Surprise Baby Shower

I must say, I was extremely impressed with the baby shower that was thrown for me this Saturday. I don't think I ever have had a surprise party, so it was a new experience along with just being totally fun. I kept thinking that morning that life was just too good, and that I should appreciate all the goodness I had been blessed with while things still are "good." And that was before the shower!

Josh and I had a great morning together, I got to sleep in, take a shower while Avi was awake, and I just chilled out upstairs with a glass of juice and bowl of strawberries Josh brought me. He purposefully kept me upstairs, and I completely just thought he was being all nice giving me a break from Avilynne. He brought me my journal and Bible just to chill out next to the sunny window to spend time with God. He told me we were going to eat brunch together and he had arranged for Jill to watch Avi. When I eventually came downstairs, I realized we weren't eating brunch at home and kinda wished I did my hair or put on makeup. But, hey, at least I had taken a shower!

I thought it was odd that we were going to drop Avi off a few doors down together, when one of us could wait in the car. And why weren't we locking to house door? He didn't want me leave my purse on the car, even though I figured I could still see it from Jill's doorway. But, hey, I am a risk taker (often needlessly) so I brought my purse with me after all. Jill had me come in, and then I saw a cake and all this delicious food. I was like "Oh my goodness....its a surprise party for me- I think! But I'm here early as there is no one else here." I was then ushered towards the living room and I saw everybody hiding in the corner. They were all happy and I was all embarrassed for some reason while totally thrilled and happy. My initial thoughts were that they invited Abbie, a teenager who I mentor as well as girlfriends who weren't just from church, which I thought was cool. I just was impressed that whoever invited people invited people I'd want to come, not just people from one area of my life.


Anyways, I was starving by this point, and there was an amazing spread of breakfast casseroles, the most awesome sweet french toast (of which everyone was begging Tori for a recipe), strawberries and homemade whipped-cream, and all sorts of other beautiful and delicious foods. It was soooo very "ummy" (as Avi would say)! And then there were all these nice people around me who wanted to talk and be baby-showerishy-girl-like (though not awkward too dressed up baby-showerishy-girl-like). Deborah, Jill and Becky did an awesome job putting it together. There were all these games, from measuring my belly to guessing the time when an ugly plastic doll was "born" (meaning the ice defrosted around it into water), and a questionnaire about me and another one about nursery rhymes. I personally was entertained and I didn't even get to play half of the games : )

Then, of course, there was a massive plethora of presents which I was totally not expecting. Long ago I had come to the conclusion I wasn't going to have a shower, and so have just been assuming I had to get whatever we needed for a boy. It was very happy, though, to receive all these gifts, mostly the type of stuff which I won't buy myself as its not "necessary" such as extremely cute clothing or baby blankets or "rocket" stuff which I was totally impressed people found. I was really surprised by all the gifts I received, and, thankfully, I really liked them too. They were beyond tractors and footballs, to my glee!

Apparently, I had made it pretty difficult on the people putting it together. Deborah moved her car on Saturday morning because she told me she was going to be gone and wouldn't be able to hangout. That was smart on her part because I actually looked for her car to see if she was home and could hangout after all. I went with Becky to Costco on Friday, where she had to pick up the cake. She hid it in her cart, but didn't know how to get it in her car without me seeing it. So, she arranged a whole complicated pick-up with our other friend Amber which seems like it was just too much work to be worth it. That night I was really bored so I hungout at jill and stacy's. Yet, that kept Jill from being able to get anything done like she had wanted to because I was around (really, someone did say I should join them playing rockband, so it wasn't entirely a self-invite). I thought it was weird Deborah came in dropping stuff off, acting odd and freaked out that I was there. She told me she was bring stuff for the Needs Network, which later I noticed was only three pairs of socks. Um....I am pretty sure it doesn't take two trips between our houses for her three pairs of socks.

I was somewhat suspicious because of that. Almost two weeks ago Becky also made a comment to me, trying to keep me from buying diapers. I didn't get why because she was saying maybe people would give them to me. And I said, yes, maybe they would after the baby was born, but I would need diapers ASAP. I was trying to figure out why I should bother counting on someone else to give me diapers who knows when, when I really didn't want to have to stop at a store on the way home from the hospital. She thought I should wait a week before I bought some. I was kinda suspicious then that maybe she was having the other girls in our lunch group do presents or something for me, yet nothing big. But as nothing happened after her comment I had totally given up on the idea. But then on Friday night the possibility that maybe someone was trying to surprise me came up again; this was more so in a way in which I'd just keep my eyes open for other clues. It wasn't something I suspected or expected at all, especially not late Saturday morning.

I really like being surprised. I really enjoy being with people. I love eating good food. I don't mind getting presents in the slightest. I was very impressed by how put together and how nice the shower was, especially with me having no clue and it being put together so close to the end of my pregnancy. In generally I guess you can say I really felt loved by the whole ordeal. And who doesn't like to feel loved? Ahhh....my heart is bursting with affection! Thank you so much, guys!

Baby Registry

For those of you who have been wondering what we could use or like for baby number two, you can look on the baby registry that I have up (link below). We don't have a lot of essential items we need, as we are blessed to have many things already that we can re-use from Avilynne or that I have picked up here or there. I will continue updating it when we receive similar items that are on the registry.

Baby Registry

I can't believe I am really full-term now, at 37 weeks! It might be three, even four weeks yet before you hear from me that Mr. Baby Johnston is born. But, it could be tomorrow, too! I am pretty sure the baby dropped lower a few days ago. Although "lightening" doesn't typically occur in second pregnancies until labor, something totally changed which sure feels like it dropped, it least to an extent. He isn't in my rib cage as much, making it easier to breath. Yet he is a lot lower, pressing on my very low back and other down there areas which is sometimes very painful. Although pregnancy isn't comfortable, I am trying to have a positive view that at I can still sleep through the night without nursing, and I don't have to take care of two crying children yet!

Compliments

I received two compliments this week which have meant a lot to me. One was that a girl who teaches music went out of her way to tell me that she thought I had a very beautiful voice. That was just nice to hear as I want a beautiful voice. Sometimes I think I have one, yet other times I get stuck on the parts of my voice (or control, tone, vibrations, etc....) that aren't so good. As I am not very involved with music anymore I rarely get feedback on how I sound. So, that was just a nice unexpected compliment.

Secondly, a man who goes to our small group Bible study told me I have the ability to say the perfect thing. Let me explain a little background about why this means something to me. Our discussions within our small group sometimes aren't the best. I naturally talk more, and can easily get caught up in an unimportant discussion dealing with Biblical facts. I've been really trying hard not to do this, as we don't need more knowledge. Our goal is to know God more and connect with the people in the group. Hence, I've been trying to only say stuff which will make someone else's point or fact make more sense to others in the group who could care less. Either that, or ask questions or talk about concerns that can make whatever we are talking about make more sense in the context of our lives. I don't always do the best at this, but I try. I am always very aware of people's body language, tones, or the dynamics going on within conversations. Hence, I often find myself naturally acting as the diplomat, bridging between people from what I perceive is going on. Although I tend to do this automatically, in our small group I've been really making effort to do so in hopes that I make our group better as opposed to worse. Sometimes I wonder if there is any point to all of this, if there is any point to when I am aware of how people are. If there is any point to saying things I hope will start to bring them full circle, connecting with others, God, or understanding themselves more. So when this man spent a little less that five of his minutes to explain to me about how much it helped him when I made comments, it meant a lot to me. He told me how he felt like I understood him and could make what other people said understandable to him. He told me that when I prayed in our small group, it was real to him, it actually made sense and he could agree with it. He said I have a huge gift by being able to understand people and communicate between them. Or something to that effect :). All to say, what he said really was a confirmation to me that I was doing something purposeful. Whether I am just there for people in conversation, getting together with them, studying how people work in books I read and classes I take, and just encouraging others . . . its a good thing! As these things are a major part of my life (most of my life, actually) it was just so nice to hear confirmation that there is a point behind it. Although there is no good definition for what it is that I do, what I do is important. If nothing else, I had the privilege of making one individual more comfortable, feel more loved, and helped Him know God a little bit more.

A Few Pictures

These are pictures from my parents visit here at the beginning of March. I already miss them a lot! Many of these pictures were in Annapolis, MD. Click on the link below to see them:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=edfamly&target=ALBUM&id=5319578121050427761&authkey=Gv1sRgCPCFlK_m0ryuxQE&feat=email