A successful move is almost complete! We moved in to my mom's house this weekend. Thank you Mom and Paul for taking the three of us in - what a blessing to have such a wonderful place provided for us during this season of life. We are truly grateful.
Also, a giant thank you to my sissy Bri for helping me pack books, and to Nic's parents and my dad and his cousin Shaun for helping us pack and haul everything else. We hired movers to get the big furniture out on Friday, we hauled our clothes that night, then between the 5 of us had the rest of our stuff packed and moved in just 5 hours on Saturday. Wow!
We have unpacked all but a few things that we'll finish up this week. Nic is a work horse when it comes to unpacking - a trait I've always greatly appreciated, but even more so now while I'm 34 weeks pregnant and not too helpful in the lifting, bending, and all-around stamina categories. At several points over the last two days you would have found me "helping" Nic unpack by sitting down somewhere, watching and pointing, designating what goes where and approving throw-aways. If it weren't for him and it were all up to me, whether I were pregnant or not, I'm pretty confident that I would NEVER get fully unpacked. He keeps me truckin'. He's a good match!
Speaking of working - Nic has been at Starbucks since the beginning of the year. He's doing a great job and got placed with a manager who is eager to help him develop within the company. He's very thankful for the opportunity to work, acknowledging that before being unemployed, he took for granted to some degree what a privilege it is to get up in the morning (sometimes middle of the night) and go to work and be able to provide for his family with a little sweat and some coffee stains to show for it. I'm thankful too, and proud of him.
As for me, I'm slowing down in the working world - just filling in according to need at a couple dental/orthodontic offices in Vancouver. We are humbly grateful to be receiving help from the state via the Oregon Health Plan and WIC since the timing aligned with my pregnancy and Nic's season of unemployment. Between that and being able to live with my mom and Paul for a while, we hope to be able to pay off some debt, save up some cash, and not have to sacrifice what we both value so much - my ability to be a full-time mom and wife and focus my energies at home. I'm falling more and more in love with the little one growing inside me as he kicks and rolls and stretches, even though sometimes I yelp from a sharp jab to my hip as he seems to think he can stretch his legs out all the way. Hiccups occur multiple times a day, his, not mine, and in fact he's got them right now. Feels similar to a muscle twitch you get in your butt or thigh or eye-lash. I just love it! :-) On the downside, sleep is getting more difficult to find and hang on to, the acid reflux has intensified, and back-ache sets in off and on throughout the day and night. Thankfully, I am allowed to take pepcid twice a day now which takes the edge off the reflux. Back-ache I can hope will subside once he's born. As for trouble sleeping - I'm trying to just accept it since I'll never again resume the sleep habits I have been allowed to in the pre-parent era of my life, right? At least I'll for sure not be able to any time soon after the baby's born...
The baby, as we call him in public, -might- have a name. One name seems to have made it's way to the top of our list based on our criteria in no particular order: sound, rhythm, popularity (preferably less rather than more), association (does the name remind you of that kid who ate his boogers in the 2nd grade?), and meaning. But we're still keeping it top secret because it's fun for us, so you'll just have to wait and see! :-). Baby showers are coming up and the nesting urge is kicking in. Before we know it he'll be here and our lives will never be the same. Wow.
Until next time,
Sarah
for the Sirianni Family
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, December 23, 2010
May We Gather All That Is Good
Just an update on our circumstances for those who wonder...
Baby News:
Just started the third trimester. He (the ultrasound tech was 100% sure it's a boy, we saw "it" too, but you really never know!) is kicking and stretching and rolling around all the time now. I can interact with him and push back on his little feet when he stretches his legs. Coolest... thing... ever! I passed my initial glucose test which means I'm off the hook and don't have to take the second one that's a big hassle and would have interfered with my enjoyment of Christmas feasts. Very happy about that. The second trimester was a breeze - it went by super fast and I felt great! I still feel mostly great... just running into a little more difficulty finding comfortable ways to sleep, managing the acid reflux/heartburn with daily pepcid and watching what I eat, and feeling a little fatigue lately, but that could be due to low iron levels I just learned I had --- it's no wonder beans and peas and raisin bran have all sounded so good lately! (Baby just kicked the laptop to say hello) This is all going by so fast. I'm looking forward to this next week off of work to slow down and take it all in - Christmas, the New Year, and the fact that I'm just a college quarter away from giving birth if all goes well. Wow.
Nic's Job News
Thanks to connections from past employment, and thanks to our Good Dad for opening doors, my guy will once again find himself fashioning delicately balanced and heartwarmingly delicious libations at Starbucks! The formal interview process is out of the way. We are just waiting for word on where and when to start, as well as what official position he will hold - whether Barista or Shift Supervisor. And what the heck, I went ahead and asked the Lord if they would just say to themselves, "You know what? We already know Nic is awesome, let's just go head and make him an assistant manager and start the management training process!" It's a long shot, but God's been known to answer prayers like that for us before, like the time we were buying a car and I asked if I could have a car just like the one I used to drive but in awesome condition. What do you know, one turned up just in time and just in line with our budget. He said yes. :-) Nic is pleased to start working at the 'Bucks again. The current plan is to do his best there and work his way up while going back to school with a focus in business (perhaps finance and/or management?) starting next Fall or soon after. We had talked about starting school sooner but figured it probably wouldn't be the greatest idea to heap several big life changes into a couple of short months - i.e. I stop working, Nic starts new job, we move, Nic starts school, AND we have a baby? Yikes. How about one thing at a time --- ish.
All in all, we feel a lot of peace, like maybe right now is a calm before the storm, a time to walk slowly and breathe deeply before we have to pick up the pace to keep up with all of the changes coming our way. May we gather all that is good during this season (and the next)! And there is so much good...
Blessings,
Sarah
for both of us
Baby News:
Just started the third trimester. He (the ultrasound tech was 100% sure it's a boy, we saw "it" too, but you really never know!) is kicking and stretching and rolling around all the time now. I can interact with him and push back on his little feet when he stretches his legs. Coolest... thing... ever! I passed my initial glucose test which means I'm off the hook and don't have to take the second one that's a big hassle and would have interfered with my enjoyment of Christmas feasts. Very happy about that. The second trimester was a breeze - it went by super fast and I felt great! I still feel mostly great... just running into a little more difficulty finding comfortable ways to sleep, managing the acid reflux/heartburn with daily pepcid and watching what I eat, and feeling a little fatigue lately, but that could be due to low iron levels I just learned I had --- it's no wonder beans and peas and raisin bran have all sounded so good lately! (Baby just kicked the laptop to say hello) This is all going by so fast. I'm looking forward to this next week off of work to slow down and take it all in - Christmas, the New Year, and the fact that I'm just a college quarter away from giving birth if all goes well. Wow.
Nic's Job News
Thanks to connections from past employment, and thanks to our Good Dad for opening doors, my guy will once again find himself fashioning delicately balanced and heartwarmingly delicious libations at Starbucks! The formal interview process is out of the way. We are just waiting for word on where and when to start, as well as what official position he will hold - whether Barista or Shift Supervisor. And what the heck, I went ahead and asked the Lord if they would just say to themselves, "You know what? We already know Nic is awesome, let's just go head and make him an assistant manager and start the management training process!" It's a long shot, but God's been known to answer prayers like that for us before, like the time we were buying a car and I asked if I could have a car just like the one I used to drive but in awesome condition. What do you know, one turned up just in time and just in line with our budget. He said yes. :-) Nic is pleased to start working at the 'Bucks again. The current plan is to do his best there and work his way up while going back to school with a focus in business (perhaps finance and/or management?) starting next Fall or soon after. We had talked about starting school sooner but figured it probably wouldn't be the greatest idea to heap several big life changes into a couple of short months - i.e. I stop working, Nic starts new job, we move, Nic starts school, AND we have a baby? Yikes. How about one thing at a time --- ish.
All in all, we feel a lot of peace, like maybe right now is a calm before the storm, a time to walk slowly and breathe deeply before we have to pick up the pace to keep up with all of the changes coming our way. May we gather all that is good during this season (and the next)! And there is so much good...
Blessings,
Sarah
for both of us
Monday, October 18, 2010
Pregnancy, Parenting, Job Hunt, and God's Hand In All Things
19 weeks pregnant today! Next week we'll be half way and we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl. I've been feeling little kicks and twitches, it's amazing. When I imagine what it will be like to meet this little creature growing in there, I pretty much burst into tears. So far enjoying every minute of the process - even when I'm annoyed that I have to go pee again, I think "it's because I'm pregnant," and it makes me smile.
We have conversations about the kind of parents we want to be. We want to apologize to our kids for the ways we'll fail them. My own healing of childhood wounds has been greatly helped by my parents' participation. It's wonderfully freeing to have them understand and acknowledge ways that their brokenness affected me. And our brokenness will affect our kids. I'm terrified to find out how, but comforted knowing the Redeemer can make beauty out of it all.
Nic is still job hunting and purpose hunting. A deep desire of his is to find a niche. We pray for direction and for courage and for faith in God's sovereign goodness. Stu Weber's message at Good Shepherd this weekend hit right at home! Thanks, Stu! For now the plan is to find any job that can provide for our basic needs for the immediate future, and to make a decision about a direction for school. He's arranging some informational interviews with people who work in fields that match his personality and strengths to get some perspective. Thankfully, unemployment is providing a time cushion for this process. I'm eager to see how it'll all unfold - and we're prayerful and hopeful that we will continue to find ways to say thanks for many things in the midst of this (particularly on difficult days), and that we'll especially say thanks down the road when we look back and see the rich blessings of fruit that are now being produced (not without painful pruning). I'm fully convinced that all pains in life, whether great or small, can be pathways through and to the sweetest joys.
Cheers to life's ups and downs and God's hand over them all!
We have conversations about the kind of parents we want to be. We want to apologize to our kids for the ways we'll fail them. My own healing of childhood wounds has been greatly helped by my parents' participation. It's wonderfully freeing to have them understand and acknowledge ways that their brokenness affected me. And our brokenness will affect our kids. I'm terrified to find out how, but comforted knowing the Redeemer can make beauty out of it all.
Nic is still job hunting and purpose hunting. A deep desire of his is to find a niche. We pray for direction and for courage and for faith in God's sovereign goodness. Stu Weber's message at Good Shepherd this weekend hit right at home! Thanks, Stu! For now the plan is to find any job that can provide for our basic needs for the immediate future, and to make a decision about a direction for school. He's arranging some informational interviews with people who work in fields that match his personality and strengths to get some perspective. Thankfully, unemployment is providing a time cushion for this process. I'm eager to see how it'll all unfold - and we're prayerful and hopeful that we will continue to find ways to say thanks for many things in the midst of this (particularly on difficult days), and that we'll especially say thanks down the road when we look back and see the rich blessings of fruit that are now being produced (not without painful pruning). I'm fully convinced that all pains in life, whether great or small, can be pathways through and to the sweetest joys.
Cheers to life's ups and downs and God's hand over them all!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
A Snapshot of the Process. One week down, ___ to go?
Some of the process today
- acknowledging how different each of our experiences of these circumstances are from the other's, and how that has contributed to some of the tension we have felt but haven't been able to place over the last couple of days
- acknowledging my fear of the circumstances straining our relationship
- nic acknowledging and helping me understand how much his career and ability to provide is a central part of his sense of identity, and how he's struggling with feeling like a failure
- a cherished friend giving us encouragement both from her own life example and with specific words and prayers for our situation
- distinguishing between well meaning but empty platitudes vs. God's promises, and seeing how having hope in Him, even though it doesn't fix everything, actually does help/feel better/make things a little and sometimes a lot easier (what if we had nothing to hope in but ourselves? Good luck...)
At the end of the day we feel peace and thankfulness. One day at a time...
-Sarah
- acknowledging how different each of our experiences of these circumstances are from the other's, and how that has contributed to some of the tension we have felt but haven't been able to place over the last couple of days
- acknowledging my fear of the circumstances straining our relationship
- nic acknowledging and helping me understand how much his career and ability to provide is a central part of his sense of identity, and how he's struggling with feeling like a failure
- a cherished friend giving us encouragement both from her own life example and with specific words and prayers for our situation
- distinguishing between well meaning but empty platitudes vs. God's promises, and seeing how having hope in Him, even though it doesn't fix everything, actually does help/feel better/make things a little and sometimes a lot easier (what if we had nothing to hope in but ourselves? Good luck...)
At the end of the day we feel peace and thankfulness. One day at a time...
-Sarah
Monday, August 30, 2010
Small Piece of the Big Picture
Good process yesterday. After a bout of feeling discouraged and a good process from there, here's a quote (close paraphrase) from Nic: "I don't want this to just be about getting better circumstances, like a job I like better or making more money. I want this to be about growing my faith and assurance that God is good... And good to me, not just to other people or 'better' people than me..."
-Sarah
-Sarah
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
DAY 1
First off, I wish to let it be known that I stand in abject opposition to the titling of this blog.
My wife is smarter than I am, and can piece together concepts of thought in a more coherent fashion than I, but I utilize punctuation better than her. That is all you need to know about us.
The ensuing chaos will include random musings, rants, soap boxes, missives, and the occasional spark of esoteric genius that will catapult this meager and unassuming little blog into the far reaches of opined preeminence. Actually, we'll probably just talk about regular stuff, and if we throw in gummy-bear-ultrasound-baby pictures, we might get my parents to read.
Nic
My wife is smarter than I am, and can piece together concepts of thought in a more coherent fashion than I, but I utilize punctuation better than her. That is all you need to know about us.
The ensuing chaos will include random musings, rants, soap boxes, missives, and the occasional spark of esoteric genius that will catapult this meager and unassuming little blog into the far reaches of opined preeminence. Actually, we'll probably just talk about regular stuff, and if we throw in gummy-bear-ultrasound-baby pictures, we might get my parents to read.
Nic
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