Oh The Beauty of Good Friends

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything new.  That could be good...or it could be bad.  And, to be quite frank, it's been a little bit of both. 

The reality of this impending birth is hitting home a wee bit too soon and too hard.  The bills associated with this baby have begun to come in - and it's basically just the co-pays!!! Plus, I've been experiencing frequent and stronger-than-usual contractions (usually every 15-20 minutes) for the last week or so.  Understand,

I still have 5 WEEKS TO GO!!!! 

I'm sure that when I have to report to my Dr. on Friday on the frequency of my contractions he'll be none too excited about those contractions.  And I worry that I may be sent to bed for the rest of the pregnancy - something I CANNOT afford to do right now.  I'm just not ready!  I don't have the baby's room painted, I don't have meals prepared and frozen in the freezer, my taxes aren't done, I don't have candy bouquets pre-made, NOTHING!  Please, don't send me to my bed this week!

On the upside though, KC and I got to spend the evening with a couple from our ward who have a son with Down's Syndrome.  And what a great experience it was.  It was so comforting to know that the world will not end when Jacob is born.  They explained to us all of the great experiences they've had with the process of raising a child with Downs and taught me not to sweat the things I cannot anticipate or expect.  Just go with the flow and enjoy the process and all of the unexpected (good) surprises that come along with this experience.  It's a shame that it took Jacob having Downs Syndrome for us to discover what a great family they are.  But I have a feeling that this is a friendship that will grow and blossom as the months and years go by.  How lucky are we!

Then, to top off what has already been a great evening, my friend Tawni e-mailed me and asked if she could have a 'frozen dinner' baby shower for me.  In essence, instead of having people give me oodles of baby clothes that Jacob may only be able to wear a few times, our friends would instead donate a casserole, etc for us to put in our freezer.  This would enable us to pull out a meal from the freezer each night when we're at the hospital while Jacob is in NICU or during those crazy nights when everything else came first and dinner was last on my priority list.  Oh, how blessed I am to have such a thoughtful friend to figure out what I needed most and to do it for me!  Over the course of the last 2 years she has been my angel on Earth.  I could spend the rest of my life trying to pay her back for all of the many many many MANY things she's done for me and I'd never be done! 

It's days like this when I realize that now matter how hard it gets, I have friends and family who love me and that it'll all be OK.  What an extraordinarily beautiful life I live!