heat of the moment

as this past weekend and the now beginning week have boasted temperatures in the 90's and humidity well above 50%, i find myself drained and nearly miserable from the heat. though the sunshine has done nothing but lift my spirits, i cannot shake this pregnancy discomfort that even a cold shower does little to quell.

but, to find the silver lining, spending the fourth of july weekend with beloved family members was something to smile about. though my parents' deck threatened us all with sunburns, even edward and i enjoyed the shade of the ever-growing oak tree in my mother's leafy garden. snacking on crackers and cheeses, fresh berries from her raspberry bushes, and the juicy hamburgers and hot dogs, accompanied by homemade pasta salads, we lounged under the leaves and thrilled in the stories of my family. edward was soon whisked away to a 'battle of brawn' as the men played a round of horse shoes, while i took several quick dips in the refreshing waters of my parents' pool. i enjoyed the time spent with my family, all gushing over 'baby caleb', our growing son who has finally turned my thickening middle into the tell-tale bump of pregnancy. my mother, in all of her anticipatory grammy-to-be splendor, asks me frequently 'how's caleb doing? does he like his dinner?' among other grandmotherly questions. i feel my child being encompassed by the love not only his father and i have for him, but our entire families, too.

later that evening we made a quick stop-by at edward's parents' where we were greeted not only by two happy grandparents-to-be, but also by edward's sister jes, and his niece, emelia who were up for the night. cooing over caleb's ultrasound photos, i also was happily surprised with a small baby-hoodie from jes, a photo album momma gail, soon to be caleb's 'nana', had started from our ultrasound photos, and as a wonderfully silly joke, a maternity shirt that was once believed to be edward's grandfather's and was being saved by pop-pop, soon to be caleb's 'grandpa', before the tag was revealed by gail to say 'maternity wear' not 'mens wear.' i plan to turn this very brightly striped shirt into something for caleb as a cute keepsake that we can all share laughter over.

among other things, the house is becoming more and more the home we've been planning as edward has completed another painted room. our dining room not only is brighter, but feels larger and more inviting than it did before. just one more accomplishment in our long list of to-dos as month five of maternity comes to a close and our third trimester is about to begin. three more months and we will be holding in our arms our sweet sweet little wren that we've been feathering our coastal nest for.