Another Blessing...

Yes, we are expecting baby # 5!
We have known for a while (I'm about 11 weeks along), but I have had some reservations about announcing the news. Of course we feel thrilled and excited about another sweet little baby, and we are so thankful that we have the love and support from our family and friends. However, I must say that the general public is not a great source of encouragement. Unfortunately we live in a society that, for the most part, is not very big family friendly. For that reason I think I have felt the need to protect myself more than ever from the negative comments, because in just a simple trip to the grocery store I get bombarded with things like, "boy, you really have your hands full!", "are they all yours?", "better you than me", "don't you know how that happens?", and so on and so forth. Why do strangers feel the need to make these unnecessary, unwanted comments? I try to respond as politely as possible without letting my annoyance show. I just REALLY don't want any comments about the Duggars or a church van because either one might be the straw that broke the camels back!
Moving on. I just noticed that it's been about a month since my last post and I'm sure most people have given up on my blog by now. I was so motivated in January, but this month I have just been trying to make it to the end of each day with the extreme morning sickness and fatigue that I have been feeling. I am open to any suggestions that anyone might have on improving my energy level:) We have been reading a biography on Daniel Boone this week and his wife, Rebecca, had 10 children. This is a quote from the book " In Rebecca's day, a woman made all of her family's clothing. She prepared every meal. When she wasn't cooking or sewing, spinning or weaving, she fetched water from the well or stream, chopped wood for the fire, churned butter, molded candles, cleaned the house, tended the garden, fed and cared for the livestock, planted and reaped the fields, cared for the children, and tended to the sick. Plus she had to be an excellent shot. Who else would hunt if her husband was gone?" Good grief. I am not a pioneer woman. How did she do it all? They certainly were tough. Rebecca was especially tough because Daniel would be gone some times for months at a time. At one point he was gone for 5 years! I guess she just did what she had to do. I am just trying to make sure the dishwasher gets loaded and the laundry gets washed! We are almost finished with our second reading of the Little House series and the whole way through I am so amazed at the determination of the pioneers and their unwillingness to be defeated. I need to capture some of that pioneer spirit!
The daydreaming has already begun. Will it be a boy or girl? Who will the baby look like? What will the birth be like? etc. So far we only have a girl name:) But a friend told me that every time she had a definite name for a boy or girl, she would always end up having the opposite! So who knows, but it is all very exciting, like waiting to open a present!
So, the secret is out! Now we just wait, pray and prepare to meet our next little blessing!