random thoughts on a wednesday

last year in February I decided to leave Facebook
and I never had a twitter account (although I will admit that I do read some twitter accounts since you can do that without having one, and in particular I find some of the jet's players quite funny!)
so technically my blog and my pinterest are my only "social media" outlets

I haven't missed Facebook, but every now and then I think "hmm if I had a Facebook, I would put this random thought as my status" - and every now and then I miss regaling the world with my random thoughts. so.. on this Wednesday I decided to just post some random tidbits. I'm sure you're all thrilled.. right? :)

*this summer Michael finally got a bike! and we have been loving going on bike rides together on summery days.

*this morning I made the worst smoothie of all time. It tasted like water & bran flakes. But looked like raspberry. Since I'm always running late in the morning, I had no time to make a new one.

*I have never been more in love with air conditioning as I am this summer. it is a life saver!

*my cat, Chips, has started using my pillow as her bed at night.

*my sister, Phoebe, is currently at her "white coat ceremony" on her second day of med-school. I'm watching the live stream at work - look how cute she is in purple :)

 

*I think my baby was inspired by all the trampolining and gymnastics I watched during the olympics, because it never sits still. This has become my favorite thing to experience!

*I have decided that my favorite 2 things to eat are: licorice (of any kind) and spring rolls from Empress of China. Pregnancy has made this very apparent!

*This past Monday was the day Michael & I started dating, 6 years ago! Which was quickly followed by a lot of 'drama' and 'scandal' as some believed at the time.. I'm so glad we are past all that!!

*Tomorrow I will be 29 weeks pregnant - and I'm getting bigger (although I always imagined I'd have a bigger pregnant belly earlier) and right now (well technically this picture was taken yesterday) I look like this:

*I really enjoy summer TV, although most people probably wouldn't claim to like all of these shows, I really enjoy reality tv! (my summer favorites: big brother, bachelor pad, hell's kitchen, master chef, and I even happen to enjoy the glass house.)

*I actually enjoy going to the dentist - and I am going today! I love having clean teeth.

*I have come to realize that when you are pregnant, people love to tell you pregnancy "horror stories" - mostly about ripping/tearing extremely bad, and pooping. Not sure why anyone thinks this is helpful...?

*I'm convinced mosquitoes are in love with me. The other day I was covered, head to toe in clothes (even socks - and I almost NEVER wear socks) and I even had some bug spray on.. and I got a bite on my hip, my pregnant belly, the palm of my hand and the bottom of my foot. Really?!

*My brother is currently in New York and I am SO JEALOUS. He's been sending me pictures, and it makes me want to go so badly. I'm hoping that maybe Michael & I (and our wee baby) can make a trip to New York this winter.. we shall see. Doesn't it sound so dreamy to be walking in central park, with cozy mittens & scarves, with a sweet baby bundled up in a bjorn snuggled close to mom or dad, drinking a chai latte and taking in the sights?? I will dream..

I am sure there are many more random tidbits I can share.. but it's getting a little lengthy! Hope you enjoyed catching up on my random thoughts, I know you've all been missing hearing them on facebook, right? :)

enjoy your day!

hold on to me as a we go...

I'm not sure how many other people still watch American Idol, but I do even though after Taylor Hicks won I swore I would NEVER watch again...
This past season was probably my favorite of all the seasons. The judges are more positive and give more constructive criticism as opposed to just being grumpy (aka simon cowell). It was also my favorite season because I was so happy with who won.. a guy named Phillip Phillips (maybe I'll name our baby Thiesse Thiessen, since the double name seemed to work for Phillip). He was my favorite because it was so obvious that he was there because he loved making music, he loved performing because it meant he got lost in the music - he wasn't there to be "adored" or praised for what he did (although that's a nice bonus I'm sure). He was there to just be who he was, and express himself through this creative outlet of music. And he had one of the most attractive qualities a person can have (in my opinion) - a humble spirit. When they announced that he won, he had to sing his new single - Home - and it was emotional to watch (and apparently something I get emotional talking about.. pregnant much?) because he was just so humbled at the support for who he truly is, that he couldn't even make it through singing the whole song and he ended up walking off the stage to cry with his family.
By far my favorite TV moment of 2012.

Anyway, this song has become one of my favorites and it came on this morning when I was watching the weather channel as I was getting ready for the day, and has been playing in my mind since then. I'm  in the process of making a mix CD of songs that make me think about our little baby, and this journey of preparing to be parents and just these months of anticipation and fun. I intend to listen to it in the car during the last few weeks before my due date, and if I decide to listen to music when I'm in labour (I'm undecided as to whether I'll find music enjoyable or annoying when I'm in pain.. time will tell) then it will be part of that mixture of songs. I decided this morning that this song, Home, is going on that mix - partially because I just love it and how it sounds, but also because of a lot of the words.

Recently I have been starting to have some thoughts (I was going to say doubts, or fears, or concerns.. but those all sound like such downers) about what it will really be like to take on the role of being a mom, and being parents, Michael & I together. No one gives you permission to become a parent, no one can really tell you what to do, or fully prepare you for this huge (and amazing) new role. I'm gathering that it is a lot of trial and error. I have been having a lot of dreams lately, and the other day the main thing in my dream was that my baby was born but I kept living life as if it wasn't. I would get up and leave for the day, and I went days without feeding or changing my baby. I woke up in a bit of a panic!

I've always known I want to be a mom, and that I think Michael will be an awesome Dad. We have wonderful examples, especially in our parents and Josh & Leah. We are so excited for this all to really start - but it is also completely new territory. So many unknowns which is both the exciting and terrifying thing about it!

I am very aware that Satan likes to take our doubts and our personal weaknesses and blow them out of proportion. He likes to make me wonder if I can even do this at all! But, I am confident in who I am, in who God made me to be, in Michael, in our support of family & friends. And well, I love this baby so much, and if I'm terrible at everything else, at least it will know it is completely and utterly loved!

So, back to the song, Home - I feel like the words play into all of this journey for me - "hold onto me as we go, as we roll down this unfamiliar road... don't pay no mind to the demons that fill you with fear... just know you're not alone, I'm going to make this place your home."

I am so looking forward to this new stage of life being home.

Hold on, to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found
Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

does this make anyone else cry? no? just me? oh well :)

heal my heart

today marks what would have been the fourth birthday of my first nephew
jay benjamin klassen

as the time has passed the grief and pain have changed, but are still always there. it will never be right or ok that he isn't here.

I love thinking of him, and imagining what the brotherly dynamic would be between him and everett, and him and roger. I wonder if he would've kept those curls that he had when he was born as his hair grew longer. I imagine that his voice would sound like Everett's does, and that his personality would be a mix of Everett's curiosity and Rogie's easy going nature.

I miss him all the time and wish I could hold him, hug him, hear him say Auntie, hear him say anything!

I will always love my first nephew, and he will always be part of our family.

we were on worship team (for the first time) at our new church this past sunday, and we sang a song that I have always found incredibly powerful. there are some songs that when I hear them, I think of heaven, being in God's presence and surrounded by angels and other believers, singing in constant worship. the words are powerful, but even the music - the drumbeat, the bass line, the guitar riffs.. all of it seems to transport me.

in the wake of the horrific colorado tragedy on Friday, and anticipating the bittersweet milestone of meeting Jay and losing Jay on July 24th, this song was extra powerful to me. we live in such a broken and imperfect world. where people turn on people, evil reigns, babies die before they are able to live, and all the other tragedies that are too numerous to even list - God remains God. And no evil power, no death or violence has the victory. One day God will return, and all will be as it should.

I look forward to seeing my sweet nephew Jay on that day.

Hosanna - Brooke Fraser

I see the King of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes
The whole earth shakes


I see His love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing
The people sing


Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

^{1 Corinthians 51-55 (The Message)}
But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I'll probably never fully understand. We're not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it's over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we'll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true: 

   Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
   Who got the last word, oh, Death?
   Oh, Death, who's afraid of you now?

this oven is overheating!

while I promise to not ALWAYS write only about my pregnancy (or eventually only about my baby)
mostly because I don't want this to become another one of the thousands of "mommy" blogs
ps. I won't be referring to myself as mommy on here either!
I am writing about my pregnancy again today.

this time - my pregnancy and the world's hottest summer.

On a regular summer day, my favorite thing to do would be something a long the lines of: going for a bike ride, sipping an iced cold lemonade or iced coffee, visiting my family or a friend, blowing bubbles with everett, read on a lawn chair in the back yard, go to the beach... you know, regular summer things.

This summer.. well, the air conditioning is my BFF.

Ever since I was a kid, I had the wonderful talent of turning bright red in the face the moment I got hot. I don't think I've met many people that share this talent with me. But really, my cheeks get very flushed, the moment I get hot, and there is no hiding that. I remember one time, a lady at my old church said to me "oh, you must have got a bad sunburn today" and I replied, "nope, that's just how my skin works." see. talent!

And, let me tell you, being pregnant.. does not help this problem at all.

At work, I work with 2 guys, one who is currently on sabbatical and the other who handles temperature in the complete opposite way as I do. One morning I went to his office and said "are you feeling as hot & stuffy in here as I am?!" (keep in mind, I was wearing a skirt and a t-shirt) and as I said it, I looked at him and he was wearing: Jeans, a long sleeve button up shirt, a vest, and a long sleeved sweater. And he said "no, I'm cold actually." Hmm.. could be a long summer. Thankfully, pregnancy wins out on this one, and he lets me control the AC.

I feel like I'm missing out on summer, but when it is in the 40s with the humidex.. I just can't function. I try to do things, like go to the heritage museum with my family, but the same thing happens.. everyone is doing the activity and there I was, in the AC with the other little hot tamale in our family, Rogie. We were happy sitting on a couch in the AC, but I can't help but feel like I'm missing out!!

BUT - let me tell you. This little baby I am carrying... is completely worth it all! At 23 weeks, I now have less than half way to go. The baby will start gaining more weight each week, and the baby can hear my voice. I have been learning some new songs on the guitar and singing them to this babe.

I love feeling the baby kick, and hiccup. I love knowing when the baby is most likely to be moving and most likely to be sleeping. I love that when my cats lay or push on my belly, the baby kicks back (I can hardly wait for them to be able to feel it! a little taste of their own medicine). I love that the nursery is set up and I can sit in there just thinking and praying. I love that we have named our little bundle and call it by it's name around the house. I love that Michael is more excited to be a dad & meet this little baby than I ever thought he would be! I love that this baby will be born the same year as Roger, and that they will one day wait at the end of our driveway to start their first day of kindergarten together! I love it all really.

And this week, best part of my week - I got my CD in the mail of the pictures of my wonderful little bundle! Most of them are semi-blurry because this baby refuses to sit still. It's a wee bit crazy, in the best way possible! I don't even know what half of the pictures are of, but I love staring at all of them. Pure joy.

 baby thiessen

 spine

 hands

 foot

 bladder

 

the heart

a delicious cupcake

I finally loaded some pictures off the camera onto my laptop and thought I'd post a few from our baby lives these days!

we found out the gender, and decided to have a "reveal party" for our parents & siblings (we are keeping the gender a secret from everyone else as of right now!)

I found this idea on pinterest - I bought mason jars that are all the same size, then I punched a hole thru the lid to put a straw through. I used removeable labels to mark all the jars and then we used them outside for lemonade - kept the bugs out, and if the jar tips over it doesn't spill very easily!

I found the idea on pinterest to do these cute gender reveal cupcakes. i baked them in these silicone heart cupcake liners that my mom gave me, cored them, and filled them with a colored filling (either pink or blue), topped the filling with a bit of cake, then iced them with chocolate icing, sprinkled them with both pink & blue sprinkles and then iced on a white question mark. Pretty cute if I do say so myself (also, how cute is my little cupcake stand? I painted it at brushfire pottery this past winter)

 When you bite into the cupcake you discover the colored filling and then know if it's a boy or girl baby! We made our families wait till after we ate a bbq meal, and then I handed out the cupcakes and counted to 3, they all bit into the cupcake at the same time, and found out! Some people took little bites, but others took a big mouthful and then couldn't really talk or yell! everyone had their own approach :)

 All ready for the party!

 I asked my Mom to bring watermelon and/or other fruit, and she made this cute little watermelon basinett to hold a canteloup baby! too funny!

 Then I showed the nursery off (yes, I know I have 4 months to go.. but I'm already fairly deep into my nesting phase. the nursery is mostly done, and michael & i both spend time just sitting in there, letting the reality of us having a baby sink in!)

I found this whale weather vane thing at the antique store in Johnston's terminal, and my sister Phoebe bought it for me for my birthday this year! Both colors I had picked out (for a boys nursery or a girls nursery) had to match the whale!

 This is my cute change table, with some new baskets and some gifts bags from family member's gifts! My in-laws found this change table on someone's yard, to be given away for free, so they loaded it up and took it home. Dad T reinforced it so that it is super sturdy, and then gave it a good washing. It was already white, which is exactly what I wanted. I bought some drawer handles at ikea, I wanted clear ones because I thought they'd look so cute on a white change table. I already had the change mattress from my friend Lisa since her kids are definitely no longer in diapers!

 I got this figurine from my parents - called "Home: Together our family is home." I love it!

 A few little stuffies for our baby to snuggle one day!

That's all the pictures for now, we also have a beautiful crib set up in the nursery, but right now it's full of clothes! Now to wait till November!