I still can't believe it.

After years of preparation and about 4500 hours of supervised clinical work, I have now been approved to be a licensed mental health counselor in Massachusetts! They said I can have the license if I just send them more money! Go figure....

Anyhow, I am happy to have it, but it does not feel real yet. I keep thinking that another obstacle must be standing in the way that I don't know about. I have been working toward this license since 2004. Now, only if I could convince my downsizing agency to pay me more! Thanks to all of you for your support.

Jenny and Susie

Yes, my sister and I are pregnant at the same time! No, we did not plan this. She is due two-three weeks before me. Here we are in Florida last month. I think I'm about as big now as she is in that picture. I am so excited to meet her little boy when he arrives! Once both kids are here, it will be so funny for them to meet.

Jennifer has been trying to convince me to get on facebook for the last couple of years. She apparently has posted some pictures from the vacation. This picture was taken by my sister-in-law Anna, a great self taught photographer. I often use her nature pictures from her blog as my background on my computer at work.

For Easter, Brian and I plan on going to church in the morning and meeting some friends at the Indian Buffet for lunch. Then we may catch a movie or watch the latest episode of Lost. I hope you have a great Easter!

Update at 5:34 AM

I had been lying awake since 3:15AM and decided to get up around 4:15AM. Maybe my body is preparing itself for having to be up at night for the baby. For some reason, I have been consistently waking up around 4:00PM for the last 8 years or so. It's has not really bothered me until recently now that I'm having a hard time falling back asleep. My elderly neighbor is also up right now too; I can hear him watching the mass.

Since it's Sunday morning, I don't really mind. I have spent the last hour and a half online looking at baby stuff from Ikea. I am not a very creative person, but I've found myself nearly obsessing about the design of my baby room. I like the traditional looks of baby rooms, but I don't see myself having one. So I am so far taking it upon myself to design my own room and to make curtains and other items on my sewing machine. I also have these strange ideas for wall hangings and things hanging from the ceiling. All of the designs are based on a print I bought in the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

I posted this image in January but didn't say that I actually purchased it for the baby's room. Since my last post, our little one seems to be doing very well. She is moving around a lot, especially when I want to go to bed at night! I have felt very good in my second trimester and much of my energy has returned. I am still working full time plus, but working on pulling back and delegating. You can never anticipate any complications before, during or after the birth. My doctor said the other day "Right now, a lot of people can do your job, but no one but you can take care of your baby."

Brian is studying for his general exams, 4 of them. He'll be taking them in May. Please pray with us that he will pass them. He has been studying for months and months and has a lot on the line.

That's all for now. Here's our little girl in our last ultrasound a month ago. She's so cute!

Girl or Boy?

We had an ultrasound yesterday and it looks like we are having a girl, although we can't be 100% sure. The technician was clearly very experienced and good at her job. We are very happy to find out that our baby is developing just as she should be. Everything is on track. When I was young, my parents sometimes dressed me in green or purple. My sister Jennifer was more of the pink twin. I like this outfit with both colors.

I need a vacation!

Luckily, I have planned to go to Florida in two weeks to see my parents. My sister Jennifer is coming from Minneapolis and my sister-in-law Anna are going to be there with my niece and nephew! I am so excited. (This picture was taken on my last trip to Florida to see the family. Counter-clockwise from right to left is Simon, Jennifer, Mom, Grandma, and Dad.) I have not seen the kids since Christmas of 2007. The weather here is cold again, and a "wintry mix" is predicted for tomorrow. Sundays have a 4/5 chance for winter weather of some kind lately. Who decided that "wintry" is a word? How come weather people are the only people who use this new word. It's a stupid phrase that makes me angry when I see it.

I am now into my second trimester of pregnancy and feeling okay. I have more energy day to day, but have had more problems sleeping. Partly because I can actually feel myself growing in the middle of the night! It's weird. My organs definitely feel out of wack. Imagine how fun it was for me to shop for a swim suit for Florida today (sarcastic tone). Thankfully, I found one I can actually do some serious swimming in.

I have also have accomplished the large task of putting together my license application and submitting it to the board of deciders for the state. Now it's just a matter of waiting to find out about my license. I have been working towards it now since 2004.

That's it for my updates. February has been a long month here for many reasons. Spring, come soon!

V-Day Butter Bombs

I made some cupcakes for our small group this week. After I had already poured the cake mix package in a bowl and the eggs, I realized I only had about half of the oil I needed. So I melted some butter for the rest. Hence the name Butter Bomb. They were very tasty and almost like a cookie on top. Unfortunately, they fell apart before I could frost all of them. Here are some that I salvaged. I had been wanting to do something valentine-ish. My preference was for the little red hot hearts, but I couldn't find any and had to settle for conversation hearts.

Monday Blues

It's Sunday night and I have that same feeling I have had since I was five on these nights. I don't want to face the challenges of the week. I use to feel this way about school. Yes, even in the younger grades when the rest of you couldn't wait to behold the new day. I dreaded the school bus from the very first time I saw it. I remember watching it in middle school go around the block and then approach my house. Trailing it was the homework I forgot to complete, my social phobia, general feelings of incompetency and an intense desire to hide or escape from the overwhelming tide of anxiety. Unlike school, once I get to work, I'm fine. It's just the worry of the night before and my resistant drive in the morning that seem to never go away. I have always wanted to be a "can do" kind of person on Mondays (and mornings in general), but I never have been. I'm not sure if I should accept that this is how I will always feel or if I should try to change it. If I were to change it, what could I do? I don't know....