Ready to Meet You

Hello my little lion heart :) This is your mommy. I've been carrying you around for 9 months, reading about how you're developing, feeling you move inside me, watching my belly grow with each passing week. I have fallen in love with you and I haven't even seen your face. I don't know if you'll have dark hair, light hair or NO hair, but I do know that God Himself has formed you and knitted you together to be a wonderfully unique little boy. I don't know if you'll be laid back, adventurous, or reckless, but I do know that God has fit you for plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. With baited breath I wait for the moment when I will hold you in my arms. I can't wait to start treasuring the moments of learning who you are and who God made you to be.

I was afraid for a long time of the trial I would have to face in order to meet you. It's not an easy or even remotely pleasant task to pass through childbirth. I believe I was "ready" for labor with your older sisters because I was so weary of being pregnant. I didn't care what I had to go through, I just wanted to be DONE being pregnant. This is not a bad thing by any means! I was ready, they were born, and my life was gloriously changed! But with you, my little man, I don't feel the same agony of being full-term. This scared me at first, because I felt without the desire to be UN-pregnant, I would not have the desire to go through the rigors of childbirth. But do you know what? God did something amazing in my heart. He has taken away my fear and replaced it with love. I am willing to pass through the waters and through the flames for you. I'm not doing it for me, I'm doing it for you, and God will be with me. And when it's over, I'll have the greatest reward for any trial any person has ever had to endure. I will have you, my son. There is no greater joy than knowing that.

So here I wait patiently for the Lord to give you the signal. He'll tell you when it's time. I hope it's soon.

A Morning Visit to Italy

Yesterday, as I was lying on the couch trying to ignore a few pesky contractions, Abigail was thinking. I don't really know what she was thinking about, but she was pondering something. And as any of you who have ever had a conversation with a four-year-old can attest to, she ended up saying something both off-the-charts random and heart-wrenchingly sweet all at once. She looked up at me with those Precious Moments tear-shaped blue eyes, her blond curls pulled back into the most adorable pigtails, and her quizzical brow to ask, "Why can't we go on a airplane and visit Aryn?" Aryn is her cousin, a few months older than her, whose dad (my husband's brother) is in the Navy. They are currently stationed in Naples, Italy. She then asked if we could go to the store to get the plane. I told her airplanes live at airports, and we would have to buy a ticket, which to get to Italy are very expensive.

"And," I added, "you wouldn't want to fly by yourself would you? You'd get lonely. And they don't let mommies with big pregnant tummies on the airplanes."

"But I want to visit Aryn at her house," she sighed. I know, sweetie, I do too.

"I tell you what: Mommy will build a plane in our apartment, and we'll take a trip to Italy tomorrow morning and visit Aryn on the computer, what do you say?" Oh this was going to be fun!

She nodded enthusiastically. We drew a picture of an airplane on our calendar to remind us, not that she would need reminding. She talked about it all night! And the next morning we ate our oatmeal and got dressed quickly and gathered in the bedroom to "pack our bags." I instructed the girls on what they could pack in their carry-on and what they couldn't. They each packed a baby doll and a book in their backpacks, but I told Abi she'd better leave her plastic fireman's axe at home. She looked at me like, "why would I bring that anyway?" So I gave them their tickets and we prepared to board the plane!


The girls went through security with minimal problems (they both set off the metal detector, but it was just Lucie's belt buckle and Abi's flower barrettes). Then, proceeding to their gate, Lucie located our destination on the globe: Italy!


Playing their flight attendant, I took their tickets and showed them to their seats complete with 5-point harnesses! After giving the pre-flight instructions about exits in the event of an emergency (remembering that the nearest exit could be behind you!) we took off!

I served a beverage choice of apple juice or water, and then a snack of popcorn with craisins. The in-flight movie was Tom & Jerry, highlighting "Neapolitan Mouse." We watched for Aryn, but we didn't see her in the streets of animated Napoli :)

When the movie finished (through which the girls stayed strapped in the WHOLE time, even after I told them they were "free to move about the cabin") we watched a YouTube cockpit tour. Abi observed that the cockpit was small and they had small windows. Lucie liked all the light-up switches! Then we flipped through a book and saw how the world looks from an airplane. We located lakes, rivers, cities, farms, and oceans. I pre-screened an airplane landing videotaped from over the wing (I wanted to make sure it wasn't a crash landing) and we strapped ourselves in again for our bumpy landing :) Both girls earned their "wings."

We ate at an Italian restaurant while we "toured" Italy via our honeymoon photos. The girls munched on cheesy pasta while learning about the old buildings in Rome, the white beaches along the Mediterranean, the leaning buildings in Pisa, the Alps in the north, and the streets of water in Venice. Abi could not believe that people there didn't have cars, but drove around in boats instead!
After they finished their pasta, they got a Kinder egg for dessert! I found them in the back of my cupboard, which I believe my dear mother-in-law got for my kids some time ago. I explained that this is a treat that Aryn gets to eat, just like we like to eat Twizzlers and M&Ms.

Lucie got a little dragon inside her egg!

Abi got a little alligator!

After lunch we set up the computer to receive a call via Skype from Aunt Julie and Aryn! The girls sang the ABCs together and Lucie showed Aunt Julie how she can count (3, 11, 12, 11, 12, 11, 12, THE END!). Both mamas sported their respective bumps and held their daughters as best they could in their non-existent laps :) All-too-soon it was time for Aryn's bedtime and Abi & Lulu's naptime. We said "I love you" and "Arrivaderci!" And we returned back to Minneapolis with happy hearts! We had a very nice trip to Italy and back, all in a few hours!

My Father's World

I've always been an outdoors woman. I'd rather be out in nature than stuffed up inside. I grew up playing in the creek beds dodging cow pies, climbing on rose quartzite boulders rubbed smooth from when the bison herds used to roam the prairies, skipping stones while my dad fished a hundred feet up the pike, swallowing lake water from splashing so much, camping with my family and feeling closer to God and His creativity than ever. My most intimate memories with both my family and my Lord have been while enjoying nature together. I married an outdoors man. And together we've shared many adventures we fondly remember with a twinkle in our eyes. A twinkle that says, "that was an amazing experience and we probably should have died or at least have been severely injured."

One such adventure that comes to mind took place in the Italian Alps at the end of our honeymoon. We decided one morning that we wanted to take a walk. Maybe up that mountain there. We didn't really have any intention of climbing the whole thing; we only packed one bottle of water each and a light lunch. Never-the-less we climbed all the way up a barely marked trail which included a 100-foot-climb on a metal-rung "ladder" up a cliffside. We ran out of water 3/4 of the way up the mountain (and it was HOT and HUMID). We had not "trained" for mountain climbing, so we were relatively out of shape. We just decided to do it. But God was with us. He gave me courage for the scary ladder. He provided a natural well for us right around the time we ran out of water - a well so deep and pure, Jon couldn't even tell where the surface of the water began. He gave us an easier, faster path back down the mountain and just enough daylight & strength to reach the bottom safely. We look back on that experience thinking, "No one knew we were up there; if we would have gotten hurt, no one would have found us for days. We barely had enough food and water to sustain ourselves. We were not adequately prepared. But WOW we saw amazing sights. WOW we saw the glory and wonder of our Maker's hands. And WOW we experienced the provision of our Father who took care of us while we enjoyed His creation." We look back at that adventure with over-flowing hearts.

We had another adventure this morning. Since moving to our neighborhood, we've always wanted to canoe Minnehaha Creek. It's a gorgeous, windy, well-preserved stream that meanders through the western Metro area from Lake Minnetonka all the way until it empties into the Mississippi under Minnehaha Falls. The logistics of canoeing the Creek have always held us back. For one, we don't have a canoe, so we figured we would have to rent one for a few hours. Two, we'd need to have two cars at two separate locations, one for the drop off, and one for the pick-up. Three, we weren't really sure of our Creek-meandering skills via canoe, so we didn't really want to embark on this adventure with kids in tow. Four, the Creek has to be at the perfect depth for navigation to be optimum. If the Creek is too low, we'll get stuck on sand bars. If it's too high, we will have to portage around all the bridges. Well, finally all the pieces fit together: friends of ours were willing to lend us their canoe & gear for the day, Jon drove one car to our pick-up site and ran back for his morning run so we wouldn't have to make 10 trips with 2 different cars, my parents had the kids for the week, and the Creek was quite high so as to go over the sand bars and rocks, but low enough for the canoe to get through most of the bridges. So we embarked boldly into our adventure!


Even though the weather had been insanely hot the past few days with dewpoints in the 80s and temps in the upper 90s, this particular morning was perfect. Still humid, but overcast. As the canoe sat on the dewy grass, Jon took my hands and we prayed over our trip. We put in 4 miles upstream from the Falls. The current was strong (which I admit, frightened me at first) and took us through level I and II rapids swiftly in the beginning. It was amazing to see my beloved Creek from this viewpoint. As the Creek slowed down near Lake Hiawatha, I felt like I was part of a Monet painting at his home in Giverny. Then the Creek widened up and as we drank in the beauty around us, my heart worshiped God. In the mountains I saw Him in His majesty. Here I could see Him in His tenderness and gentleness as He must have appeared to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

At one point I asked Jon, "Are we still in the City?" only to look down and see an orange construction cone buried in the creek bed. "Yup!" he laughed in response.


There were some less-than-glorious moments, as well! Low-hanging branches gave us many a mouthful of leaves, cobwebs, mulberries, and strange insects. We killed close to a dozen spiders during our trip who landed in our canoe and crawled up our legs (ACK!). There was one footbridge that was so close to the surface of the water that we had to lie down in the bottom of the canoe to get under it! But we never had to portage! About a half-mile from our end point, we started to hear the rumbles of thunder. It was actually incredibly romantic hearing the stream and the coming storm orchestrate together. I was so thankful to share this time with my husband and my God. We pulled into the end point before the Falls and Jon hoisted the canoe up onto the platform. We could see the gathering darkness and suddenly felt a bit of urgency. Jon went to fetch the car as I took our supplies out of the canoe. As I was unbuckling the seats I heard the sirens for Hennipen County start blaring. I looked up at the now very unfriendly clouds, and almost smiled. I knew we needed to hurry, but I also knew that the storm wouldn't hit until we had the canoe back up on the car and we were safe inside. We worked quickly to tie the canoe to the rack on top of the Volkswagon, and sure enough, just as Jon made the last of the hitch knots to secure the canoe, we felt the first rain drops and the wind kicked up. We jumped into the car as torrents of rain cascaded from the sky. As we drove the car through the flooded streets, we mused about the timing of this storm. We knew that this adventure was God-given. We could see His hand in every stroke of our paddles. We knew He was also in the timing of the storm. Maybe He hurried the current a bit to enable us to reach our destination in time. Maybe He slowed the development of this front in order to let us get to safety before we were caught in the storm. Maybe He gave us a little extra urgency in our packing this morning so we put in the Creek at 10:00 instead of 10:30. Whatever the case, God knew the plans He had for us, and He took care of us as a father takes care of his children.


Since becoming parents, we've had few such adventures (taking our almost-2-year-old to Central Asia while being 7 months pregnant was one of them) but they are more stressful. When we were climbing the mountain, it was just us: two adults. Now we have these little precious ones who trust us to take care of their every need. They aren't going to realize they will be hungry in an hour while we're on our hike, so Mommy remembers to pack a snack or two. They don't think about how it will be chilly and maybe rainy when we get to higher elevations, so Daddy packs sweatshirts and an umbrella. And because Mommy and Daddy have planned so carefully, their children enjoy themselves. And their parents enjoy watching them discover the world around them. I get it now. Seeing Abigail's face light up when she sees a beautiful flower or hearing Lucie squeal when she sees a duck makes me want to show them more; it makes me want to love on them more. That must be how God feels when He takes me out into His fields, His mountains, His streams, His spaces. And He's already done the planning. He just wants me to enjoy.

The Art of Staying In

I recently attended a bridal shower where our gifts were supposed to help the newlyweds in their new life together. I had a burst of creativity and bought them some items for a "Stay-In Date Night." It included a box of kettle corn, some gourmet cocoa, a great 2-player game (which I knew the groom was very fond of), and a card filled with instructions on how to keep dating your spouse without spending oodles of cash. I thought I'd share these thoughts with all of you, so you can also benefit, and so you can share your dating-on-the-cheap tips with me! So without further ado, here is my very piddly experience on "The Art of Staying In."

Anyone will tell you the wisdom of "continuing to date" after you're married. But dating is expensive! I feel Jon and I have a practical understanding of the art of staying in (this also cuts back in babysitter pay later on)

1. First of all, make an inventory of things you like to do together (or learn together) that can be done indoors. Nerf ball wars? Learning foreign languages? Puzzles? Then invest in some of those items. *Note: Although movies are nice, remember very little interaction is expected, so reserve these for the "my brain is fried but it's only 8 o'clock and I don't want to go to bed yet" nights.

It should be noted that the reason I specify "indoor activities" is because we have kids and can't leave the house unless they're along or we pay for a babysitter (which either ruins the whole "date" part or ruins the "cheap" part). If, however, you do not have kids, then your range of motion widens infinitely. Shoot for the moon, y'all.

2. Indulge a bit! Remember you'd be spending way more if you were going out. So maybe break open a bottle of cheap wine, or stock up on treats you wouldn't normally give into for these special occasions.

3. Two-player games. If you're a board gamer, make sure your games are suitable for TWO players. Jon and I started out with tons of games, but they were all party games. We have begun to invest in games that can be played with 2 or more gamers.

4. Dress up or Dress Down. There's no law that says just because you're not going out that you can't get dolled up! In fact it's kind of nice to slip into a summer dress in January and sit down for a good logic puzzle or game of Yahtzee! Conversely, the joy of staying in is you can be in your jammies and sip your cocoa in comfort.















5. Don't forget about the "spicy games." Nuff said!

I hope this is helpful those of you who are either newlyweds or more seasoned veterans in the marriage game. Dating your spouse IS important, and it doesn't have to cost a lot of money to do it :) Please share with me YOUR creative solutions to dating on the cheap!

P.S. Jon and I are so nerdy. Some of our staying-in projects include learning Uzbek, doing crosswords and other brainy puzzles, planning trips, any of a dozen different games, and (recently) creating our own World-opoly board. No, you do not have to be as nerdy as we.

Look Out World!

Our "Little Mister"

We are proud to announce that coming this fall, we'll be adding a little man to the family! We are definitely excited to have a little guy running around, off-setting some of the drama and estrogen that will be coursing through the family as the years progress. Yes, even I, who was afraid to ever have a boy, am excited to welcome a son into the family. You have to understand, we are not just having any boy. We are having a GILL boy.

For those of you who don't know, my husband is the oldest of three. Three boys. Three strong, charming, intelligent, handsome, witty, and adventurous kind of boys. Three wild, crazy, machete-throwing, blender-melting, garage-fire-starting, driveway-fire-starting, house-fire-starting, two-story-couch-jumping, two-miles-from-home-while-still-in-diapers-wandering kind of boys. So you can see where I might be a little anxious about beginning the next generation of "Gill boys." However, I have a few factors in my favor:

First, this boy has two older sisters who will tattle his naughty antics as fast as he can think of them, so there ain't nothin' that this guy is gonna get away with. Don't believe me? You must not have ever played with little girls. Second, HE IS HALF ME. While I do possess an adventurous nature, I also inhibit a great deal of caution and cause-and-effect rationale that may have been somehow erased from my husband's DNA. So our little boy has a 50/50 chance of inheriting a bit of think-before-you-act personality. (By the way, this trait can also be learned, so even if he doesn't inherit it, all is not lost. He will just come out of boyhood with double the scars and double the concussions).

Third, I am more confident in my mothering skills. While I am preparing for the differences in mothering girls vs. boys, I am not necessarily fretting about the same sort of things first-time-moms do. He may eat bugs, skin his knees, fall from a tree, lose a finger, fall face-first into the swimming pool - all before his first birthday and I'm probably not going to freak out too much. Maybe this is God's gift to me. Though I only have 4 years of parenthood under my belt, I've done a LOT of "on-the-job-failing" (I read that phrase in a book and I'm going to steal it) and have learned a lot from my mistakes. I'm fairly confident that my sweet two-girl buffer has readied me to raise a boy who grows into a God-fearing, risk-taking, compassion-giving, ever-learning kind of man. You know, a Gill man :)

P.S. Major kudos to my mother-in-law who was not given a sweet two-girl buffer. She's made of a sterner stuff I think :)

Let's Go to the Movies!

Everyone remembers their first trip to the movie theater! My dad tells me his first movie in the theater was to see Davey Crockett and that he fell asleep half-way through it. My sister's first movie theater experience was Sleeping Beauty, and it's been one of her favorites ever since. I saw 101 Dalmations, and though I don't recall my emotions regarding the film, I have a few vague recollections of the experience of being in the theater. I remember the screen being big, the sound being big, and the room being big. With the walls draped in scarlet tapestries, I felt I was in a very important place and I remember feeling very honored to be there.

All this being said, I've been putting off taking Abigail to her first film in the theater for a while for two reasons. First, I wanted her to be old enough to perhaps make some memories of her first movie. Second, I've been waiting for the right movie to come along. Certainly there are hundreds of "family" movies or "kid-friendly" movies that come out every year. But I'd argue that the majority of them are full of nothing. In fact, I find that even the movies that are rated G often have subtle adult themes. Even if they are "squeaky clean" there is often no memorable plot or moral, and the kids are often bratty, rebellious, and model terrible behaviors. As a parent, I come down a little hard on movies that are made for kids. That's why it's been so hard for me to find a movie that I can trust will be of good character without having to preview it. The Disney-Pixar movies have been excellent in moral regards, but I feel they're still a little too much for Abi's sensitive heart to take in just yet (she asks me to fast-forward almost the entirety of Sid's house during Toy Story and we skip the Tom and Jerry cartoons that have the bulldog with the sharp teeth in them). I realize I'm a rather HARSH judge of today's "family" movies, and I'm okay with that. I'm not judging what others take their kids to, and goodness knows we have plenty of "twaddle" on DVD in our cupboards! But I do want Abigail's first movie in the theater to be special, and something that I don't come away from feeling icky about.

SO! I've been getting excited hearing that a new Winnie the Pooh movie will be coming out - the first "big screen Pooh adventure" in 35 years. She knows and loves all the Pooh characters and (and so do I!) so I think AT LAST I've found the right fit for my girl. The movie comes out July 15th, so we'll probably go to see it for her birthday in early August! I feel I can trust the Winnie the Pooh characters to not fall TOO far out of line :)

So I'm curious! What was your first movie in the theater and what do you remember about it?

The Quickening!

I'm about 16 1/2 weeks along in my third pregnancy. Yesterday I witnessed the miracle of what many call "the quickening" or when a mother feels the first kicks of her baby in the womb. This is my third child, but the miracle of this moment never ceases to take my breath away. I think this moment especially blessed me due to the various circumstances transpiring that day and throughout my pregnancy.

Since getting pregnant with this little precious one, I've battled a fear of miscarriage. Several close friends tragically lost their little ones just before or just after I learned of my pregnancy and my grief for them transferred into fear (and guilt) over my own pregnancy. I mourned with them, but I realized (with the help of my husband, friends, and the grace of God) that I should put my hope in the Lord and not to give up on my own baby. Since then I have spoken God's word of Truth over this pregnancy - that God's plan for us is for good, and not harm, that my hope is in the Lord, and that His ways are higher than mine.

We've also been experiencing a battle of health insurance. Without going into all the details, our insurance was dropped at the end of February, just after my first appointment and the hearing of the heartbeat. I've refrained from going to my monthly appointments because I didn't want to get billed until our insurance was stable again. We had received the worst of the news (the denial of health coverage for the family) yesterday morning. Yesterday evening God blessed me with the first kicks of my little one. As I sat there holding my little belly I thought about my God. He is the one who knits this child together, He is the one who holds his or her future, and He controls not only the time when he or she will come into the world, but also how it will be paid for. I am overwhelmed with joy thinking about the life inside me. Doubts and fears may swirl about us, but the Lord is our Rock. And our child is in the most loving hands imaginable.

Today we received good news on our insurance, so don't worry about us. :)