Book Group

I posted a few weeks ago about joining the Women's Club of IUP. Since then, I have gone to Craft Night, Game Night and Book Group. All of the events have been really fun and I've met a lot of women of all ages. Today I went to Book Group for the first time. We discussed The Memory-Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Here's a brief synopsis:

It's 1964 and a young woman is giving birth for the first time. Because of a blizzard, she gives birth at her husband's clinic (he's a doctor) with only themselves and a nurse present. A healthy baby boy is born, then an unexpected twin girl is born. The husband recognizes that the baby has Down's Syndrome. While his wife is recovering from the sedative she was given during the birth, he tells the nurse to take the baby girl to an institution for the mentally disabled. When his wife wakes up, he suddenly decides to tell her that the girl died at birth. Once away from the clinic, the nurse decides to take the baby and raise her as her own daughter.

The book follows all of these characters' lives over the next 24 years. Maybe this book captured my attention so much because I'm expecting my own child and can somewhat put myself in the mother's shoes, but I think I would have found it compelling even before. It describes so well the tragedy that comes from a relationship based on lies, but you sense throughout the book that there is hope if only the truth could come out. Plus, for someone my age, it is really thought-provoking to read about how children with Down's were treated only a few decades ago.

If you're looking for something to read over the holidays, you might want to give this one a try.

Merry TubaChristmas!

TubaChristmas took place in Indiana last night. If you've never experienced TubaChristmas before, it is a national event that takes place in cities all across the country. Tuba and euphonium players of all ages get together and play Christmas songs for the public to enjoy. In Indiana, it takes place at the Indiana Mall. Zach has participated in TubaChristmas before but this year was his first time coordinating the event. Yesterday was a very busy day for Zach but everything went smoothly and we had a huge turnout. Here are some pictures of the fun!

Registering

Zach and I went to Monroeville today, the 40-miles-away location of our nearest Babies R Us, to set up our baby registry. Wow--what an experience! I don't think I have ever made so many choices in one day before. It certainly added to my "I don't know what I'm doing" feelings as a mom-to-be. I mean, a fifteen foot long aisle with nothing but bottles and pacifiers! How in the world are you supposed to choose what is right for the child you haven't met yet?

But...we had fun, despite the sometimes overwhelming nature of this task. It was nice to do something parent-ish with Zach--I was blessed (and am blessed every day) by his enthusiasm towards being a dad. I realized all over again today just how well we complement each other.

So our registry is complete, for better or worse, although not necessarily in final form. Thank goodness for the online accessibility that Babies R Us offers. Zach and I have already made several changes since this morning as we came home and read reviews of some of the products.

The news we've been waiting for

Baby Collins is a BOY! Nobody in the family was too surprised about that--we are just adding to the large number of Collins men! Zach and I are thrilled to know his gender, though, and to see him for the first time. Our ultrasound (my first) was a truly amazing experience. Our little one waved at us a few times and we saw his little mouth open and close. I'm not sure how long he is but he's measuring almost 20 weeks. (I'm almost 19 weeks along.) God truly works a miracle every time a baby is conceived!

As many of you know, we have been planning to name our boy Austin Zachary. Here are a few of Austin's first baby pictures!

Here he's on his back, looking up, with a little hand in front of his chest.

And here, as the ultrasound tech put it, he's "showing his stuff" so we know who he is!

Here I Grow

After my last post several friends requested a current picture of me and my preggo belly. Here you go! This is the first week I've felt like I'm actually "showing." I finally feel pregnant and it's pretty exciting.

Only 5 Days...

...until we find out if Baby Collins is a boy or a girl! I went to my 18-week checkup yesterday and we scheduled the big ultrasound for next Tuesday morning at 8:30. Zach and I can hardly wait! We will be thrilled whether it's a boy or a girl, but boys are abundant in the Collins family so we are sort of expecting that. Now is the time to make your predictions, though. Anyone have a premonition?

Go Tigers!

So you were all watching the MU-KU game tonight, right? After all, it's the second oldest rivalry in college football. (Thanks for telling me, ABC.) It was a little close at the end, but Mizzou pulled out a victory. My family is so excited that after years of faithfully cheering on the Tigers, they are finally having a great season!

Thanksgiving Part 2

Why Part 2? Well, my grocery store gave away free turkeys this month if you earned enough points. Although we ate Thanksgiving dinner with the McBrides yesterday (we ate Ashley's free turkey, as a matter of fact), I just couldn't pass up 15 pounds of free meat. That's a big help to my grocery budget, you know? So this afternoon I cooked my own turkey, with lots of help from Zach. And of course you can't just eat turkey by itself, so we also made gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, and stuffing for dinner. Needless to say, we have lots of leftovers!

Thanksgiving Part 1

Zach and I celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday with our friends Ashley and Patrick and Ashley's family. Ashley is an amazing cook and we enjoyed the fruit of her labor very much. Ashley made her first-ever pecan pie (Zach's favorite) and it was so good that I plan to tweak my own recipe a bit with suggestions from hers! Zach and I have only gotten to be with family twice on Thanksgiving Day since we were married, but we were blessed to spend an afternoon in the McBrides' warm and welcoming home.

Here is Ashley's beautiful table.
Interesting anecdote: Ashley's mom predicts that we will have a baby girl, based on looking at my rear end. Don't ask me what this told her, but we'll find out if she's right in a few weeks!

Conflict at Church

A rather disturbing scene took place at our church yesterday morning. Before he started the sermon, our pastor said he needed to address some rumors that had been circulating about the recent resignation of the church's associate pastor. He explained exactly why he had decided to confront this pastor and how a mutual decision had been reached that the associate pastor should resign. Now Zach and I haven't been at the church very long, so we never knew the associate pastor at all, but we have no reason to doubt Pastor Morton's version of the story. However, it seems that some in the church have been slandering the pastor and making him out to be "the bad guy," so to speak.

So far, this wouldn't have bothered me much...I think the pastor was working within his biblical role to admonish his flock about this issue and to try to set the record straight. What bothered me was that several men in the congregation engaged in a brief verbal argument with the pastor and each other right there in the middle of the service! I wanted to cry out "This is not how the body of Christ should be behaving!"

Brothers and sisters in Christ, please pray for our church. My heart is breaking for this group of people who have a wonderful, godly man trying to lead them but seem to let their own selfish desires rule their behavior. Zach and I do believe this church is the place God would have us worship right now, but we would love to see the members of the church grow in maturity and discernment.

Getting to Know You

Zach and I went to dinner last night with our new pastor, Nathan, and his wife Heather. It was a wonderful evening of fellowship. He really shared his heart for our church and his desire to see it grow. He also told us about the challenges he has faced since being called to this pastorate. His philosophy of ministry and that of the congregation are pretty different, but he believes that with time and strong teaching the Lord will change the hearts and minds of his flock. We are thankful to have found a pastor so committed to preaching God's Word, who believes that God's Word is sufficient for all our needs and will not return empty without accomplishing what He desires (Isaiah 55:11). He is not concerned with the latest fads for growing your church, as so many Baptist churches of our experience have been, but trusts God's sovereignty.

Joining the Club

The club I'm referring to is the Women's Club of IUP. It's a group that started in the 1940s for IUP faculty spouses. Now, of course, it's open to female faculty and staff members as well as spouses. It's fair to say that I have a good amount of time on my hands these days so I decided this would be a good way to keep busy and meet some new people. The Women's Club has book discussions, craft groups, game nights, and community service opportunities: lots of fun activities.

Last night I attended my first event: a coffee in a member's home. The president graciously invited me to ride with her along with a few of her friends, so I didn't have to arrive alone. (I hate walking into situations by myself where I'm not going to know anyone.) As it turns out, I was the youngest woman at this coffee by about 25 years, but they assured me that the club really does have a variety of ages. It was nice to spend an evening in the company of women who possess so much wisdom and so many skills that I don't. And they assured me that my baby will have lots of surrogate grandmas ready to love him or her!

Need a Dinner Idea?

While Zach and I were driving home on Saturday afternoon, I had a random thought: " I wonder if I could find a good recipe for lettuce wraps?" So I looked when I got home and found a promising recipe on allrecipes.com. I made them for dinner tonight and they were a hit! Definitely a keeper. The original recipe can be found here. I tweaked the recipe a bit: I used ground pork instead of beef and added carrots (both at the suggestion of allrecipes.com reviewers) and left out pickled ginger and chile pepper sauce because they both sounded a little too zingy for my taste. I also used romaine lettuce because Bibb lettuce was tiny and expensive. Who needs to spend lots of money at PF Chang's when you can do this at home?

What is this white stuff?

It is snowing in Indiana! Just a few flurries...nothing is sticking because the temperature is about 40 degrees. Still, this is a sight I'm not used to. I dashed outside to try to get some pictures. I think you can just barely see the flakes in this one.


Like it or not, here comes winter!

Seeking Input

Zach and I are hoping to create our baby registry sometime in the next month, so it will be all ready by Christmas for Grandmas and Grandpas who are already spoiling our little one! I will be the first to admit that I'm no expert when it comes to baby equipment but I know I have a lot of friends who are! So I'm seeking input from all my mommy friends.

I'll start by asking about carseats and strollers. Please tell me if you have a brand you really love or hate, or even just a particular feature I should seek out or avoid. One thing I'm particularly interested in is whether we should get a specific infant seat or go for a convertible that will grow with our child.

Thanks in advance for the help!