What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Friday, September 26, 2008

Bun(ny)kin


Eight months...

Every now and again I am totally and utterly surprised by the vastness of the world that has been opened up to me through this blog, and I am often touched by the fingertips of friendship as I read encouraging thoughts and realize that no, I am not alone. At times, I am particularly touched when friendship extends the bounds of a screen, and tickles the moments of real life, as it did yesterday.

Morgan, a blog visitor and friend, extended of her heart by putting aside moments for me and my children for one purpose alone: to be gracious and kind. For no other reason.

Life moments, finger work, happy thoughts and cheer filled a brown box and greeted us at our door yesterday. Presents wrapped in tissue- for ALL, even the unborn! Receiving mail for me is gift alone-but tucked in paper was a beautifully sewn reversible apron with little blue butterflies sipping away the nectar of flowers, and pink gingham. (Though not colored accurately, that is me in it in the above photo...) It is spacious enough to comfortably fit even my now incredibly bulging belly (which says quite alot, really!) and most especially of all: it doesn't tie about the neck (which for some odd reason gives me headaches!) How DID you know, Morgan? The moments of cutting and sewing, creating on my behalf, and thinking of me all the while make even the loveliness of the apron pale in comparison. What a special gift!

The gifts for the children were incredibly special and it would be the understatement of the century to say "it made their day." Even little Bunnykin awaits our Bunkin, protecting his/her bed until the moment when our wee one arrives.

Thank you so much for your kindness.



I have been mourning lately the fact that I have not had time to complete all the wonderful projects and preparations I had planned in anticipation of Bunkin's arrival. Only a few more weeks to go-and it seems it will take those weeks to get the house 'just so' before s/he arrives so I don't anticipate even getting them completed in time (and in some cases, even started!).

Even worse, though, it seems that my head and heart have been so full and busy with the simple day-to-day tasks, that even opportunity to enjoy and focus on my bellybaby has been nonexistent. I find myself lying in bed at the end of the day, laughing at the squirms and kicks of my little one, and realizing this is the first time this day that I have really spent cherishing him/her.

What a shame it is, that I have devoted so little time to this wee one! I want to eagerly anticipate Bunkin's arrival in more than just a thoughtful way-but in a REAL way! Bring on the baby clothes! Take a gander at the receiving blankets! I want to look at BABY things, smell the clothes my "once babies" wore! I want to be utterly astonished at how small the diapers need to be in order to fit! I want to imagine how small these little fingers and toes are going to be-and how they will feel as my fingertips feel their warmth! I want to think about the loveliness of the shallow breaths of a newlyborn resting on my chest.

And: I want to prepare a place for this dearling in our lives. Not next month. Not next week. NOW!

I found all the cradle pieces and washed away the dust of its idleness. With each stroke I painted of warm water, I remembered the hours that I sat in the garage, nearly six years ago, watching Mattie working, sanding, creating, and celebrating life. He wanted to create me an heirloom, something that all of our children could be rocked in (and even grandchildren!), something that made evidence his joy in their creation and his thankfulness in the gift of them.

I tucked in the mattress I made out of foam and plastic tablecloth, chuckling at the memory of Matt's old boss' wife ( a retired nurse) coming and inspecting the thing to be sure it was 'safe' after I told her I made it. Her raised eyebrows upon hearing of a "homemade" mattress make me laugh even today, and her shock and surprise at how "professional looking" it was still makes my day.

I found the cradle veil, with cracked holder and tousled tulle. Even in it's sorry state, it is beautiful. I notice a small hole in the tulle and it makes me smile. That small hole! The veil was an afterthought; an impulse, when we returned from the hospital with our delicious little girl. We had a party planned for just a week or so afterward and I was determined to have it finished by then. How vain I was! My vanity led to many tears and hurried stitching-even until the night before the party when I swore it would be FINISHED. Eventually, the darkness of night forced me to bed with a few stitches to go. But the next morning, when I awoke, I realized my haste had stitched the tulle in a spot that ought not have been stitched-and my pulling on it created a rip. That rip and the frustration of it all caused me so many tears! Yet now, three children later, I laugh and smile as I fondly recall how silly I really was.

I unpacked random pieces of the bedding that I worked on tirelessly so long ago, right up until the days Corynn was born. The pieces didn't get packed away together, so I am pleasantly surprised to find a piece of bumperpad covering, or a quiltlet as I unpack other, unrelated boxes. A few pieces are still missing in action-but the discovered ones are folded nicely in the cradle, awaiting the day they can be freshly washed and put on to wrap our baby in his/her Mama's love.

It is good to recall these days-good for my soul. It is also good to remember that when Bunkin comes, even now, our baby will be wrapped in the love of his/her Mama and Papa. Each stitch was stitched with love. Each piece of wood, shaped with admiration. Each moment of it's creation was filled with Thanksgiving for the greatness of God to bestow His gifts upon us, however many they are. Each one is a blessing. Each one is a vision, and each one holds a piece of us.

It is very good to think on these things.

15 comments:

Mrs. MK said...

Beautiful....you and your bunnykin! (does that mean it's a girl???)

Tracy said...

Eight months? Aren't you due in December?

I moved when I was pregnant with my third baby as well. And my other littles were three and nearly two. Ahhh... not much time for relaxing and contemplating the impending arrival. Enjoy the nights before you drift off to sleep! On the other hand, it does help to pass the pregnancy time quickly!

Morgan said...

Rebecca, I am so glad you like it. I am so happy for you and your family. I just love reading your blog because I think you are a wonderful family but in a real way! I miss having babies in the house but there is talk of adding another here Lord willing. Of course we have to jump over some hurdles to get to that point But I am excited. I look forward to continuing our friendship.
Love,
Morgan

Anonymous said...

Isn't it fun to be getting ready for another baby blessing! :) I'm a little confused, though. I'm 3 weeks ahead of you and won't be 8 months until October 5th (EDD is November 5th). You must be calculating by lunar months (4 weeks per month) and getting 8 months that way, correct? In that case, you'll be 10 months by your EDD.

Grace & Peace,
Leah ~ www.reformedfarmerswife.christianagrarian.com

Rebecca said...

Yep-that's how it is done. A nine month pregnancy is actually a FULL nine months (so due date is 10th month) lunarly. OR so my midwife explains.

31 weeks is considered the start of the 8th month.

I am 32 weeks along now-and my due date is the week of Thanksgiving.

Anonymous said...

If you're at the start of the 8th month then you're technically only 7 months + however many weeks. ;) You'll complete the 8th month at about 35.5 weeks. :)

Rebecca said...

tell that to my midwife!

Ha!

Rebecca said...

PS...

Not that it matters, since the 9 month/10 month is as silly as pronouncing tomato/tomAto...

but

http://baby2see.com/pregnancylength.html

Ashley said...

Wow, so soon! What pretty things!

I am a lurker, have been for some time. I enjoy reading your blog!

Ashley

Anonymous said...

Not to be picky but if you're going to go by lunar months then you should calculate each month as being 4 weeks long. In this case, the 8th month would begin at 32 weeks (8 X 4 = 32). The ninth month would begin at 36 weeks and you'd be full term (10 months) at 40 weeks. Sometimes I really wish I wasn't such a numbers person. And so does my husband. Haha! :D

Rebecca said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mom2fur said...

A Thanksgiving baby would be cool, but I hope you have time to eat your turkey first, LOL!
You are such a beautiful lady, but even more so in that photo. I hope these last weeks go easily for you. Can't wait to see the first photos of your precious new one!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful picture of you and your little one. :):):) The precious moment will be here before you know it. :) Blessings, stephanie

Grandma Bibby said...

Maybe you will get to be like me with Joe. I came home from the hospital to my folks house and ate Thanksgiving dinner. I didn't have to lift a finger. It was so wonderful.

Abigail said...

Another beautiful belly picture...sigh.

So how far along are you now?!

KIDDING!!!