Thoughts as I say goodbye to work
1. I'm going to miss the daily activity/brain stimulation. It's satisfying taking a project from beginning to end, learning new things, picking up and using industry jargon without thinking anything of it. Realizing I'm going to miss this makes me thankful that I still have the freelance stuff I can do from home (when I'm ready). I plan on taking "leave" from editing until probably some time in June.

2. I'm not really going to miss anyone in particular. This is sad, I know, especially considering I've been here for 2 years. I am the only Christian in my department (of 15 people) and met very few other Christians in the company (and those I did meet weren't "buddy" material; although the male 45-year-old manager of the mail room is nice, I don't think a nice friendship was possible). And it isn't that I would have only become friends with other believers; I guess I'm just illustrating that I don't have much in common with anyone else. There are two girls I will miss, but our friendship is just surface.

3. I could have done more. Yes, my coworkers know that I'm a Christian, but I did not make enough of an effort to live that out daily or to be vocal about it. I spoke plainly and too often with those two friends about one of our fellow coworkers who frustrates us; I missed opportunities to talk about God, faith, and Christianity on general and person levels. I think I could always look back and think I could have done more, no matter the transition/life situation.

4. I am so excited! I'm right in the middle of a major life shift, moving on to something I've looked forward to for years. I never looked forward to being a proposal writer per se (though I did look forward to the idea of work in general--and I have enjoyed it). I'm excited to see what God has in store for us.

Today starts my last week of work!

Here's one of the pictures we had taken at Sears yesterday for our 3-year wedding anniversary and to celebrate the pregnancy in general (Jon is such an indulgent husband--he hates going to have his picture taken but does it for me without a word of complaint because he knows I like it):

Getting close
I feel good preparedness-wise for the baby after this weekend. Not only did I pick our pediatrician and notify both his office and my OB, but I also finished all of the pre-admission forms for the hospital and did several loads of baby-related laundry (washed all baby's clothes, blankets, and bed linens). I also wrote out a list of the other things we have left to do to be physically prepared for the baby (things left to buy, items left to set up, etc.).

Then on Saturday, after Jon put together the stroller and carseat, he and I decided to get started on the furniture rearranging we'd been planning: in order to move our computer desk from the baby's room into our bedroom, we have to move Jon's dresser to a different wall. In order to move his dresser, we have to move an antique writing desk out of our room. Instead of putting that writing desk, my favorite piece of furniture, in the garage, I wanted to work it into the living room, which was already kind of crowded in its current arrangement. Well, I had wanted to rearrange the living room anyway, because it is kind of closed off and doesn't have any room to lay down a blanket to put a baby:

(in this first picture you can also see Jon's dresser in our bedroom, which is what originally had to be moved so we could put the computer desk there)


We figured, since we were going to move around the furniture, we might as well put down the rug underlay that we never put down underneath the rug. We moved every piece of furniture out of the living room (including the bookshelf, which had to be emptied). I'm not supposed to do heavy lifting, so Jon did most all of this by himself. We put down the rug pad and the rug, vacuuming accumulated under-furniture dust along the way. Then Jon decided we needed to put new felt-bottomed feet on the couches, as the metal ones on them had been scratching the tile floors, so he went to Home Depot while I sat around feeling useless. ;) ...Do you see how this very small project of moving the computer desk into our bedroom turned into much more than we had been planning?! So, 6 hours and a Home Depot trip later, our living room is rearranged, the writing desk is out of our bedroom, and the computer desk and dresser are still in their original places. We'll do those next.
Here are the new pictures (and, yes, the dresser still in the wrong place):

I went on our church's annual women's retreat this weekend, and I loved it. Three other "younger" women went, too (by younger, I just mean that we don't have kids yet. So I guess I barely fit into this category), and we roomed together, staying up extremely late on both Friday and Saturday nights just talking. The speaker for the weekend was excellent--possibly controversial in some of her points (especially about birth control, which she believes should not be used)--but overall I really loved her main messages: the world really devalues the roles of wife and mother, telling women that being "just a wife and mother" is not enough. However, these are our God-given, God-created roles. God calls us to these roles as our primary ministry on earth. As a woman, my spheres of influence are first inside the home (husband, children, the physical house) then move outside the home (church, community). As parents, we raise children with the purpose of adding to the army of God. These ideas certainly don't jive with what most people in the world (and, frankly, in the church) believe/teach, but I really enjoyed thinking and hearing about them this weekend, and I agree with them. I am a child of God, a wife, and a mother, and that is enough.

As requested, here are some pictures...
From two weeks ago in the baby's room:


From one week ago wearing my favorite paint-covered pants:

I always used to wonder why my friends, toward the end of their pregnancies, said they wanted to be "done" with being pregnant. I'd think to myself, "But they're getting to wear such cute clothes, and their tummies look so cute, and they're getting so much more sleep right now than they will when the baby comes, and don't they want to hold on to these last weeks of being just husband and wife?" Now, I think I'm beginning to see.

The clothes: I could chuck my maternity pants out the window. I'm fine with the shirts--I still like those--but the very limited selection of pants I have to wear to work (one pair of now tight-fitting khakis, one pair black, and one pair grey that we just bought this past weekend) is getting annoying.

The tummy: Sure, I can see the cuteness factor. I like my tummy still (but ask me again when the stretch marks start forming and I may give a different answer); it's the swollen ankles/feet/hands, legs, face, and the rest of me that are getting old... not to mention the fact that carrying around ("waddling around" is more like it) an extra 30+ pounds isn't the easiest thing on one's body. :)

The sleep: I'm still of the same opinion when it comes to the sleep. I love and cherish my sleep, and even getting up two or three times a night to go to the bathroom like I'm doing now is nothing compared to what I know those first few weeks/months (years?) are going to be like with the baby.

The last few weeks of just husband and wife: Although I know I'm going to look back and reminisce with fondness about what it was like to be just the two of us--how relaxing our life was--I now understand, because of the other factors (clothes, tummy, so much anticipation) and because this baby is going to be such a blessing, the feeling of just wanting to be done!

This past Sunday after church was over, Jon found an envelope tucked into his Bible, addressed to JOHN AND KATIE VARELA. Inside was a short typed note (also in all caps) and $200 in cash!--no signature or anything. The typed note says something like, "Hope you can use this for something for the baby--maybe a crib or a glider!" We have no idea who it’s from--but it’s someone who at least knows the couple of things we still have to buy for the baby’s room. I haven't spent too much brain time trying to figure out who might be the giver(s), since they want to be anonymous, but I can't figure out if perhaps they purposely misspelled Jon's name in order to throw us off. :) But then they mentioned the crib and glider, making it obvious that they know us enough to know we need those things... Neat, huh?