The Openings & Closings of Many Chapters

Gorgeous tulips blossoming on our street!

David is now officially done with his spring semester as of last Friday! Only one semester and a couple of classes stand between him and his Moody graduation!!! Woohoo! This summer he is going to be busy working full-time at his valet job and also studying for a CLEP exam scheduled sometime this summer. So far, he works a lot of nights, which does make our schedule pretty odd when he comes home so late. Our breakfast/lunch/dinner schedules are pretty whacky! But I DO really enjoy having the days together.Today was one of the rare occasions where David and I had about 5 minutes together in between jobs since I babysit during the day, and he goes off to valet at night. However, I was instructed by my thoughtful husband that I was not allowed to do any chores or work around the house like I usually do when he is away, and instead RELAX. He even washed the dishes and tidied up the house to make sure I would take it easy. What a guy…
Well, the first time that David left for his new job, I was really dreading it. Most of you don’t know this, but I have huge separation anxiety issues! You can ask David, it’s pretty bad! For the most part I like to tell myself that this anxiety is due to the fact that David and I were long distance for such a long time that saying “goodbye” in any type of setting has scarred me for life. But then I think back to when I was about five and remember crying at the window every time my mom had errands or ladies’ nights (much to my mother’s chagrin)…and realize that apparently I have always had separation issues.
Like I was saying, I was really dreading this new chapter where David finishes up with school and goes off to be the working man God intended him to be. Many people think that getting married during school equals no time spent together, but as I've mentioned in previous blog posts, this was definitely not the case for us. We have been blessed with SO much time together. It has been a wonderful way to start our marriage! A huge part of the reason that we have so much time together is because David is incredible at managing his homework/study time on a week-by-week basis. He makes the most of any time that he has – doing work on the bus on the way to school, in between classes, and after classes. Since the beginning, he has really taken it upon himself to consider school as his “job” and to work very hard at it. And I am so proud of him.
Well, as the end of the school year approached and we began nearing the time that Baby Graef will be making an appearance, it became extremely pertinent that David find a job-job to continue to provide for our family since once we have our daughter, I am going to be a full-time mommy (YAY!) and will no longer be working. So, beginning a few weeks ago, David began pouring himself into applying for jobs that would take us through the summer and into the next school year. As you know, God provided a job for him as a valet parking attendant! We are so excited about this, and it is definitely from the Lord because it is something that pays well AND gives David the hours that he needs.
So, as David was getting ready to head off to his first day of work, I could feel myself becoming overwhelmed once again with the thought of saying goodbye. Yes, it is pathetic, but that is what people who are very in love are like, I suppose. He was all dressed up in his parking attendant uniform and ready to go and about to say goodbye, when all the worry and anxiety that I tend to feel when I know I’m not going to see David for a certain length of time disappeared! You see, there was something so happy in his face that I simply could not ruin that by selfishly wanting him to stay with me. It was really a cool moment for me because I could actually see written all over David’s face that he was genuinely excited to be taking on the role of bread-winner and providing for his family. Yes, he works late hours now and most weekends, but we still have all day together and guess what, he still comes HOME to me at the end of every day! And it brings me such peace and joy knowing that David enjoys going to work and working hard for his family.
Something else that I’ve learned is that I LOVE being a homemaker. You’d think that that would be something I’d have discovered sooner since we’ve been married for a good 9 months now, but I actually haven’t had all that much time to be home alone. Now that David is a working man though, I find that I have a LOT of time to myself, which means that I have a LOT of time to get things done around the house! I suppose it could mean a lot of time to slack off too, but I really can’t justify slacking off while David is away working so hard – even if I AM pregnant. It’s been so enjoyable for me to have time at home to put things in order, organize, get baby stuff ready, write endless thank you cards to all the generous people in our lives, clean, do laundry, wash dishes, work in the kitchen, talk to family on the phone, and so much more! I enjoy keeping busy while David is away, and it is so rewarding to have a husband who loves to come home to his wife and clean house at the end of the day!
I also realize that this is a precious time for me before Baby Graef comes along! Right now is kind of like the calm before the storm, and I am definitely making the most of it! But I really can’t wait for my time to be occupied with her too. I am sure she is going to keep me quite busy!
Anyway, I know this update is pretty different from others in the past, but I just want to acknowledge once again what a sovereign God we have. I’m always so apprehensive about new chapters in life, being so afraid of the unknown, but God never ceases to amaze me at just how perfect His plan always is.
In other news, this next week is my last week with Amelia :( It makes me so sad to think of not seeing her anymore! I was planning to work up til the baby was born, but last week Amelia’s mother told me that her son was going to be on summer break starting in June and that she wouldn’t want me to have to watch both of them in my last month of pregnancy. Again, I know that God’s plans are always better, and who knows? Maybe this last month will be so miserable with end-of-pregnancy aches and pains, that it’ll be a relief not to be working on top of it all! I can only trust that God knows best since He has never failed me before.

The feat of the week was getting our hospital
bags all packed up and installing the car seat
base into Jack, our car! Now we're just waitin'
on you, baby!

As far as “end-of-pregnancy aches and pains” go, here, at nearly 35 weeks, there really isn’t much to complain about. For the most part, things have been going on normally. I haven’t even experienced the elusive Braxton-Hicks contractions yet! I HAVE been exceedingly tired lately, and have found that my appetite has started to wane. Occasionally baby Graef will get herself into the oddest positions with her head up by my rib cage and her feet down below and kick me so hard that I could swear she would fall out! But of course, she doesn’t. Instead she just makes me look like a crazy woman, flinching and gasping whenever she kicks me. On Saturday night she thought it would be a fun idea to do this little tap dance all night so Mommy could only sleep for a few hours…notttttt fun. Thankfully, Daddy had no problem sleeping, which won't always be the case once she's out! But honestly, that is about it. There is nothing I can really complain about. For the most part, being pregnant has been a beautiful experience! Even as I type this she is hiccupping, reminding me that she is alive and well and getting ready to start breathing in the real world! And her mom and dad are VERY excited for her to get here too!

The latest belly pic at 34 weeks

Thanks for checking in on what’s going on with the Graefs! May our lives never cease to glorify God & exalt His goodness to us!
Love,
Randie Megan & David

SO thankful for the colors that God puts into
the world! Spring is BEAUTIFUL!

 Prayer Requests:
-          Praise! David and I have been blessed with the opportunity to go on a married couples’ retreat in Michigan this next weekend! We are going with our Sunday school class from The Moody Church, and are so excited to have a weekend focused on learning and growing together - especially before Baby Graef gets here! I’ll be 36 weeks by then, so please pray that Baby Graef doesn’t decide to come early! Although, if she did, I’m sure we would be in good hands since there are PLENTY of moms and even a couple of doctors in the group!
-          On that note, please keep baby Graef and me in prayer as we near labor day! I am mentally at the point where I’m just so excited for her to come that I don’t care about whatever pain lies in the way. BUT I know that once that time actually is here, it will probably be both very scary and very exciting! Pray that I will remember just what I've been talking about in this blog update (God’s sovereignty and perfect plan!) as that time approaches! He will still be in control.
  

Baby Graef
34 weeks
37 days to go!
Size of a Cantaloupe