17 minutes...to California

We're learning some lessons about traveling with an infant... we're still not experts after our first airplane trip, but all in all, our trip has been so, so wonderful! Sebastian has been a champ! He essentially slept for our entire first flight from Harrisburg to Atlanta, which was a total blessing. Our flight took off late from Harrisburg, which meant that we only had SEVENTEEN minutes to catch our connecting flight from Atlanta to LA. If you've ever been to Atlanta, or travelled some, you might know that it's the. busiest. airport. in the world. Yes, in the world. And we only had 17 minutes. With an infant, two backpacks, a diaper bag and a stroller. While Seb was still sleeping, I put him in the sling, knowing that we were going to have to bolt through the airport... although I was pretty resigned to spending the night in Atlanta already. Tim told me to run, and that he would catch up to me. So I had a small backpack and a baby in a sling and I went running. Meanwhile, Tim had everything else and trucked on behind me. When I got to the tram, I decided that I'd rather wait for Tim to catch up than to be at the gate two or three terminals away without a husband OR a diaper bag. So I waited. And he caught up. And then we ran again, together. I was in total and utter disbelief when I got to the gate, and there was a gentleman smiling and greeting me. He asked how I was, and I was essentially too out of breath to answer. Then he took our tickets and let us on the plane!

The worst part about it all was that I was dying to go to the bathroom, for what seemed like hours. On the first flight I had Sebastian on my lap asleep (directly on top of bladder). In the airport, I had no business even thinking of going to the bathroom. And on our next flight, we got on too late to consider it before take-off, then we flew right into turbulence, so it seemed like FOREVER til they turned off the fasten seat belt sign. But finally the opportunity came... and I was so thankful!

We had a happy baby on the flight - he was laughing, smiling, and flirting with the woman behind us. He loved to look out the windows at the clouds. We learned to be thankful for puffs. They kept him occupied and quiet. He wasn't bothered by the pressure change. He did great! Didn't cry once. I missed out on the diaper changing experience of the year, because Tim pulled the short straw. Not really... he just loves changing diapers, so changing one on the plane didn't seem out of the ordinary. Til he got back into the tiny bathroom. And had a poopy diaper. Plus a squirmy baby (who loves to get his hands into anything and everything, including that which can be found in the diaper). There was nowhere to lay him down, so he changed him on top of the toilet. Plus he had a baby in need of a change of clothes after spitting up all over the place. He told me later he was hoping I would have gotten the telepathic message he was sending to have me get up out of my seat and go help him out, but I missed it. It went straight to voice mail!

Once we arrived in LA, we weren't surprised at all to find that our luggage wasn't around. We had to go through the process of registering our bags. Tim took care of that, while I fed Sebastian in his stroller. Our bags were expected to arrive in Santa Barbara the next morning. We eventually headed out to get our rental car. Once we got that taken care of, we were on our way into the LA traffic - essentially a stand-still parking lot that took us about an hour to go 15 miles.

We made some stops along the way - a jaunt into Target for toothbrushes, underwear and other essentials that we didn't have packed in our carry-on, because we were too busy worrying about packing for Sebastian - and some dinner. We were thankful and excited to finally pull into the driveway at my cousin's house about 4 or 5 hours after landing. Hooray! Not bad for our first airplane trip. Not bad at all. Sure, there were some bumps and bruises... nevermind the fact that our baby was picking things up off the airplane bathroom floor and putting them in his mouth... but we made it! No luggage, but all in one piece and so, so, so happy to be in Santa Barbara with folks we love to hang out with.

And it's not everyday you get to see a sign like this:

Gosh, I love California. My cousins have about 4 avocado trees in their yard, along with grapefruit, oranges, lemons and limes. Note: this sign was not found in their yard, but rather at a house down the street. Made me laugh, though. Especially because, except for mangos, avocados are probably the only other fruit I would consider ripping off someone else's tree. He he. I have a bit of an avocado addiction...:) And no, I've never ripped an avocado off of someone's tree. Just thought about it, that's all.

I intended to get some pictures of Seb on his first plane ride, but that didn't happen...so maybe on the flight home. I did get a couple of pics from our trip to the playground. Seb had his first ride down the slide with Tim, and I got a cutie shot of his little second cousin. So fun!

A different kind of belly shot!

So, I'm in Florida for a continuing medical education conference, and this evening I went to the beach to watch the sunset (more photos to come later). I realized it's been 10 weeks (!) since I posted a belly picture, so I took one tonight - it's a bit of a different perspective then previous shots. I'll have to post a side profile shot soon, but for now, here's me, attempting to still see my feet.

I'm 33 weeks today! Wow, how time flies! I'm incredibly blessed to feel healthy, happy and without complications. And yes, my dear husband, I did my exercises today (Julia made me :))!

Family Weekend Getaway...to a cabin in the woods!

Tim's parents arranged for a family weekend getaway to a Cabin "up north," and we were all able to make it, except for Jill & Daniel, who live in Florida. Although we missed their presence, we all had a great time - the weather cooperated for the most part, we rested and played, we hiked and skipped stones across small ponds, we climbed trees (well, not all of us! :)), and we enjoyed good food, family time and most of all... being together. This was the first time I had joined in on a family trip since we're married. It was quite a successful weekend, in that no children (there were 7!) got injured, the cousins all played very well together, I was just shy of 31 weeks pregnant and did just fine, and our newest family member, Ryan, did very well for his first trip away at 5 weeks old.

Dear Baby

Dear Baby,

I figured it was due time to write you your first "letter." I've been thinking about doing it for a long time, and have decided that the time has finally come. Your daddy is out playing basketball, so I'm enjoying a quiet night, resting with my feet up, and enjoying some time alone with you.

It's a truly amazing feeling to carry you in my womb. With each new day, I feel more and more of your kicks, punches and rolls... it is such an awesome sensation - sometimes it makes me giggle, at times I just saw "whoa!" and occasionally it brings a tear or two to my eyes. I can't wait to meet you, but at the same time I love knowing (and feeling) that you're safely inside of me. I certainly don't want to rush this process, but I'm sure we'll be ready to warmly welcome you anytime after April 20th (when I turn 37 weeks). My belly continues to grow, and each week it seems to "pop" a little more. I find it interesting, however, that most of my patients tell me how small my belly looks when they find out how far along I am. Just in case you were wondering, I'm measuring right on, and when I had my last ultrasound, your growth was perfect.

This is a picture of my belly today, when I'm 23 weeks and 1 day!

Your papa and I have decided to take one last vacation before you join us and change our world forever. We're going to one of the more special places I've ever visited. We'll be in Nicaragua for 9 days in a just a little over a month. Your daddy has never been to Nicaragua, and I'm very excited to take him there and share the people, history, food (gallo pinto, of course!), culture, language, beauty, geography, and so much more with him. During our time there, we plan to rest up in expectation of your arrival, but we also want to do some sightseeing with some mountains, beach and volcano time. We're also planning to spend a few days working with some missionary friends doing some volunteer work. My prayer for you is that you develop a similar heart for missions and a passion for culture, travel and language, like both your father and I have had for many years.

People have often joked that my mom (one of your grandmothers) must have been pregnant with me when she first went to Nicaragua in the early 1980s. This actually is impossible, because her first trip was when I was already in elementary school. But nonetheless, I have learned to love Nicaragua (and many other countries in Latin America and around the world), and I hope to share that with you as you grow up and are nurtured in our home, similar to the way it was modeled for me growing up with Grandma and Grandpa Johnsen.

One thing that your papa and I are thinking and praying about right now is whether or not to take malaria prophylaxis while we travel. We have consulted my doctor as well as many other doctor friends, and are confident that we'll be led to make the right decision. We still don't have our definite itinerary planned, and that may affect our decision, but we desire more than anything to do the best to keep you (and your mama) healthy and happy. Dear friends and family, we welcome you to partner in prayer regarding this matter!

The one thing I lament in preparation for this trip to Nicaragua is visiting coffee plantations and not having the opportunity to drink and taste some of the best coffee in the world, like I have done in the past. I have been caffeine-free for several months - even before I became pregnant with you - in anticipation of your conception. I guess I'll have to live vicariously through your daddy, who will have ample opportunity to enjoy the delicious nectar!

We were very excited to finally welcome your new cousin, Ryan, to the world on Sunday afternoon. Your aunt waited a l-o-n-g time to have him, and he came over two weeks late! But he's a beautiful, healthy boy, and we're sure you'll love playing with him. You'll only be four months apart, so we hope you'll grow up together and be great friends. He weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces - he is a big boy! We only hope that you won't be as big, for your mama's sake! :) I keep rubbing my belly and telling you "6 pounds, 6 pounds, 6 pounds!" We'll see how well my tactics work - if you could at least stay under 7 pounds, I'll be eternally grateful!

Last night we took a tour of Babies"R"Us. We were given a parent's checklist. Eek! Mostly we just wanted to walk through out of curiosity - if I'm honest, it was me who wanted to do such a thing, not your papa. We've been working on a registry of sorts (our Wishpot), picking out things that we think will be helpful to have around when you arrive, but we're trying very hard to not get sucked in to the overwhelming baby craze culture that's out there. Your dad put it well when he said that just because it's on the checklist, doesn't mean we need to have it. Amen! We want your needs to be met (and our needs for caring for you), but we don't want things to get out of hand. We also are very interested in having items that are not harmful for you or for our environment. And we also would rather have fewer things that are of better quality with less of a carbon footprint than lots of "stuff" taking up space. We're thankful for those who have gone before us, who can help to guide us through this process. Thanks, Rachel and others, for the items you're sharing with us. We certainly appreciate it.

We are excited to prepare for your arrival, and are thankful for how fortunate we are to be able to gather things to raise you comfortably. Both of us have seen poverty and have lived among and worked with other children who are significantly much less fortunate than you will be. Our desire is to share with others some of the blessings that we have received. Your daddy came up with the idea of contributing a certain percentage of any money we spend on purchases for you to an organization that specifically works with children's ministries. We'd like other children to have a better chance at food, shelter, education, health, and daily necessities. We know there will always be much more that one can do, but we hope that we'll be able to make a small impact by sharing this gift with other children. We also pray that you will have a similar heart, and that we do our best as your parents to model giving and missions.

Just today, we received our first gift from our Wishpot! Audrey and Duane (cousins you'll adore) sent us a belly casting kit, so we can make a long-lasting impression of what you and I looked like together while you were growing inside of me! Thanks so much, Audrey & Duane - we're excited to tackle our belly project!

We have been thinking of several different options for names for you, and have a long list to narrow down and from which to choose. We have both girl names and boy names on the list, and hope that whichever name we choose will be one that you enjoy and that honors you (and that others can pronounce without too much struggle!). We'll welcome any suggestions - it would be fun to see if any of the suggestions are actually on our list (which we won't reveal at this time).

We want you to know how much we love you already, and that we can't wait to meet you. We're new at this parenting thing, so we ask for your patience and understanding in advance. :) We'll learn and grow together. What a gift from God you are and will continue to be! We're so thankful for you and for the opportunity to be your parents. Counting the days 'til your arrival!

Love, mommy (and daddy, too!)

Sea Bands saved my life and much, much more - an update!

It seems like it's been forever since I last wrote any blog entries... Certainly some updates are long overdue, but I'm happy to announce that I'm finally at a point where I can sit down and share some words.
Right after we were in NYC visiting our friends Jennifer and Seth, I started to feel super sick - not only was I plagued with a bad upper respiratory infection and sinus infection, but I also had a new sense of nausea and extreme fatigue overtake my body. As it turns out, growing a baby inside your body takes a lot of energy and sucks a lot of life out the momma in the beginning of the process. That's right! We're growing our family, and I'm pregnant!
I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow, and I finally am starting to feel a little more like myself - able to stay awake past 8 o'clock, able to eat some foods other than carbohydrates, able to not wear my Sea Bands (which saved my life over the past two months - literally - highly recommended) and still function on a day to day basis and able to sit down and write a blog entry. This past week has been a good week all in all. I still tire more easily than previously, but I feel like life is coming back to me bit by bit. I ate salad every day last week, which was a beautiful thing!
I'm reading a book that my friend let me borrow when she knew we where thinking about starting a family - it's called Twice Alive, and it's about spirituality of pregnancy and mothering during the 1st year. I haven't gotten very far, but what I've read so far has been real and 'right on.' The author talks about how the first trimester causes many women to resent this beautiful new life growing inside of them, because you feel so tired, often sick, and not yourself, that it's extremely difficult to enjoy the amazing miracle that's occurring inside your body. I can't say that I've reached resentment, or even close to it, but I have often been incredibly impressed by this process and how it has affected me - in ways I never could have expected, both bad and good. I have to admit, though, that I'm very anxious to experience the second trimester, when I hope to have an energy burst, feel the movement of a new life inside of me, watch my belly grow, and much, much more!
It's a very interesting process to finally be in the shoes of my patients that I've taken care of for so many years. Now the experiences that I spoke to them about with a certain 'voice of authority' as their doctor is taking on a whole new meaning for me. Now if only I can heed all of my own advice, I'll be doing quite well!
So the pregnancy is certainly the biggest news around here these days, but lots of other things have been happening. My grandmother's death was hard and painful, yet incredibly beautiful all at the same time. I had the honor of sitting with her and my mom when she died, and also got to tell her about her future 7th great grandchild before she died. Watching my mother cradle her mom and sing to her in her last moments was one of the most special experiences I've had. I see people die all the time in my line of work, but this was the first time that I was with a family member when they died. It will not soon be forgotten.
In the middle of October, I travelled to Arizona for a conference with my partner, Rachel. It was a conference on colposcopy, which basically is the procedure that women have to go through if they have an abnormal Pap smear. Rachel's husband said it best when he asked "So, you're going to a conference all about cervices?" And that's just what we did - 3 days chock full of cervices. I have to admit that it seemed to be a bit much by the end. We did have a little diversion, however, when we escaped down to Nogales, Mexico for an afternoon and evening. It was just a little over an hour from Tucson. Interestingly, we just walked straight through the gate to get to Mexico, but had to wait 1 hr and 23 minutes in line to get back into the USA. We got some great pieces of pottery, though, so it was all worth the trip. Not to mention that I have an on-going love affair with Mexico, and feel right at home whenever I'm on Mexican soil!
Tim and I also are on a Missionary Support Team for our friends Ralph & Deb, who are planning to serve with YWAM in Germany starting in the Spring of 2009. We just had their big kick-off fundraising event last weekend, ARToberfest - check out www.ralphdeb.blogspot.com - which was a lot of fun, but a lot of work. I think we're still recovering from the weekend! But it was all worth it. We're blessed to share in the vision and ministry that God has laid on the hearts of Ralph and Deb. I've also transitioned to supporting Deb & Ralph with all of my jewelry sales from ZiZi Designs. Jewelry making has definitely slowed down as has the rest of life with my pregnant state, but I'm hoping to be able to pick up the pace a bit over the next several weeks, since we have two shows this month.
I'm sure that many other things worth sharing have occurred since my last post, but it's hard to re-cap all of that now. I often thought to myself, "oh, I should write about that on the blog," but couldn't get myself off the big cushiony chair to do so.
Oh yeah! It hasn't helped that both my laptop and desktop computers have had their hard drives crash in the past couple of weeks AND my computer at work went bizerk. Fortunately, Tim's is still working, and he's kind enough to share with me when he's home from work. I was almost afraid to touch his computer, but that might be superstitious, and I certainly wouldn't want to succumb to that! But seriously, how can one person have three computers go bad on them in two weeks? Sure is a good reminder of how dependent I have become on technology - I'm nearly paralyzed without all my computer stuff! And, a lesson in needing to regularly back up my stuff on a regular basis.
Anyways, enough of an update for now. As we approach this new season of life, we're thrilled and can't wait to see how the story unfolds. Looking forward to exciting times in the days to come! Blessings to all!

Maureen and Saif are married!

A wedding celebration at Felicita Gardens in Harrisburg - Maureen and Saif are now married! We had another excursion weekend, as we headed to a little paradise just outside of Harrisburg - who knew?!?! We were honored to bear witness to the ceremony on Friday night and to join in big time bbq fun on Saturday! The gardens where the ceremony was held were gorgeous, and the weather perfect. Maureen was a beautiful bride, and the two families united cultures, languages and religions across many miles and bodies of water.

We had some time to meander through the gardens and get some great photos, dance a little, and even get in a game of bocce ball!

Here's a sampling of a few pictures; a slide show will follow later!

The Best Chinese Tradition

So I said I'd blog about my experience with my back rub in Chinatown when I was visiting my friend in NYC a couple of weeks ago... so here goes!

My friend had to attend a lecture over the lunch hour, which was located near Chinatown, so I meandered over to the streets full of markets with fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, spices, bright red colors, seafood stands, tea shops and much, much more. There were many small hole-in-the-wall stores that offered massage, reflexology, herbal medicine, accupuncture, etc. I wandered and wandered til I found the place that my friend had told me about that offered good "back rubs."

I walked down the steps, through what seemed like a Bilco door, to the basement where this shop (The Best Chinese Tradition) was located. Inside was a man and three woman, none of whom asked me what I was looking for or how they could help me. One of the women simply said "come," so I obediently followed her... into a very large, dark room with the lights dimmed and soft music playing. It was full of massage tables - rows of them! And there were other customers on the massage tables getting their back rubs. I was escorted to a table in the back corner, where I was shown a hook for my coat and my purse. I didn't know if I was supposed to undress or not, so I asked (my previous massage experiences have not been quite so modest, or public!). The woman looked terrified that I would ask such a thing and said "No! Lay down here." She showed me a sign that gave options for the number of minutes of massage, and I chose 31! Not 30, but 31! She set a timer and I got on the table as she had requested. She put a towel over me and went to town, giving me the best Chinese tradition, a back rub. At first it was hard not to be distracted by the others in the room with their sighs, oohs and ahs, but I got over that and thoroughly enjoyed my public, clothed, Chinese backrub.

The experience cost me just 20 bucks, which I'd definitely pay again. I even got a gift certificate for my friend, so she, too, could experience the "Qi Gong for Both Men and Women!"

I wonder why we don't have the Best Chinese Tradition in Lancaster... or maybe we do, and I have yet to discover it!

25 Hours in New York

I made a trip to NYC this past week - not for it's glamour or to sightsee, but rather to spend some time with a very close friend who's grieving the loss of a friend who just committed suicide. I was only in New York for about 25 hours, and despite the fact that I didn't go with any intentions of sightseeing, we certainly managed to chalk up some interesting experiences, just by the nature of being in the "Big Apple."
Shortly after I arrived, we went to visit a local falafel restaurant, where one can get a super yummy falafel sandwich for just $2.50. This place has a signature hot sauce which is one of their 'claims-to-fame,' which we accidentally used a little too generously. Ooops! Heartburn...
My friend lives in a communal Quaker home in Manhattan, and I met some interesting housemates of hers. They are teachers, dancers, potters, business folk, models, international exchange students learning English, writers for Japanese newspapers and much, much more. They live together, sharing chores and housework. Thursday night is my friend's night to clean up after dinner, so after a delicious organic, gourmet meal in the house's dining room, we went to work on washing and sterilizing all the plates and utensils and cleaning up the kitchen. I have a whole new appreciation for industrial sized sinks and water sprayers - and so do my clothes that ended up wet!
In times of such terrible sadness and lack of understanding about life, there wasn't much I could say to my friend that would ease her pain or help her to understand why someone would take their own life. Mostly I was just there to love her and be with her, listen to her recount the stories of her friend's life, cry, laugh, or just be silent. Life seems so fragile... And so many people are broken, yet we aren't even aware of the pain and suffering they're experiencing inside.
Our time together was spent walking the streets of NYC, hopping on the subway, walking past homeless people who were asking for money (and my friend always gave them the loose change she had in her change purse), stopping by coffee shops, or looking at old photos of her friend who just died. I took some snapshots of some of the images of New York that I experienced in my 25 hours there, which you can see above. I'll have to share my experience with "The Best Back Rub" in Chinatown in another entry... coming soon!
My prayer for my friend is that she would feel God's love and PEACE surround her in these difficult times, that she would be able to REST in the assurance that God is GOOD and MERCIFUL. May she know how to process her thoughts and her grief, and may she know how to interact with other friends and family members who are suffering as well.
Romans 8:35-39: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.