Patience

This past week, I have learned much about patience. Waiting for this baby, time seemed to freeze completely. I felt totally obsessed as I hoped and dreamed that he would arrive--immediately. :) We were so excited to have Uncle Ben and Aunt Christy come and visit, yet I felt disappointed when they had to leave without meeting their nephew. The obsession only got worse this weekend when my parents drove out from Omaha to visit. I wanted little Jasper to come so badly while they were here! There were so many good reasons--we'd have childcare already arranged, my Dad could visit our little guy in the hospital, and my Mom could stick around instead of driving all the way back to Omaha to work. NomiAnn was so hopeful that she could avoid making the long trek twice that she even packed extra clothes in anticipation!

Up until the moment my parents left this afternoon, I kept dreaming about labor twinges on Labor Day. But alas, no such luck. Amazingly, however, I've felt much more at peace since. With all the company gone, the pressure to perform has also disappeared. I'm learning to accept that everything is not going to run according to my my time frame, and that's okay. Our baby boy will show up when the time is right, be it tomorrow, Friday, or even next week. In the meantime, I should cherish our final moments as a family of four.

And so, here are a few favorite pictures of what we've been doing lately:

Strolling around Meadowbrook Park with Ben and Christy

Enjoying the hammerhead sculptures

Exploring the prairie wilderness right behind our own place

Celebrating birthdays with a fabulous family that just moved here from Sweden

Watching grown men officially cut the cheese at the Arthur Cheese Festival

Saying "cheese" while being photographed with the fromage

Hanging out with the acrobats from the Joey Kelly Circus

Taking time to smell the flowers

Napping in the Wheeler wagon

And last but not least, picnicking at Clinton Lake with our friends the Hills and Richards. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, the water was refreshing, and of course the company was fabulous. I'm so glad I got to spend Labor Day there instead of in the hospital laboring.