THE PETERSENS

Over the course of our marriage, we have had to work on implementing date nights into our weekly schedules.  It has not been easy for a number of reasons…

1.) When we first got married, we just didn’t communicate very well.  I had expectations, Ben had expectations, we would both get discouraged and we would avoid dates altogether.

2.) Eight months into marriage, we found out we were expecting our first child.  I battled some nausea and a lot of fatigue, so date nights were just not on the forefront of our minds.

3.) Then we had Joshua Lee and when you have kids, it means that they either come with you on your date (which means you’re not REALLY on a date) or  you have to hunt down a babysitter AND be willing to trust your child in another person’s hands.  Needless to say, we had a few dates, but not a lot.

4.) Then we moved to North Carolina, where we essentially had to start our lives over.  New church, new friends, new restaurants, etc.  Once we made some friends, we went on a few more dates, but they were still few and far between.

SO, WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?  Date nights are a luxury.  Don’t take them for granted, but ALSO…aim to have them often.  Ideally once a week, but we shoot for twice a month.  Whenever we come home from a date, Ben and I are rejuvenated in our love for one another.  It is so, so good to have several hours to talk about what God is doing in our hearts and lives without any distractions.  It is FUN to laugh and flirt with each other and hold hands like in our early dating days.  It is wonderful to be reminded of the reasons why I married Ben in the first place.  What are you waiting for, you married folks?  Go on a date!  Make time for it…it’s worthwhile for your marriage.

Let me tell you about our most recent date.  Thanks to our sweet and generous friend, Kristin, we were able to check out a snazzy restaurant called Thaiphoon Bistro a couple weeks ago.

Wow, was the food amazing (and spicy)!  Not only that, but the ambience and the decor of the place was right up our alley.  We were truly spoiled that night.  Afterward, we swung by Cold Stone and shared a small ice cream.  It was absolutely wonderful!  What a blessing it was to spend one-on-one time with my dear husband.  My encouragement to you married couples out there…the dating doesn’t stop with marriage!

So, I am excited to say that my appointment with the OB went well today. Lynne, the one doing my ultrasound, showed me that my placenta has moved! I am thrilled that this issue has resolved. Praise God! As crazy as this may sound, the thought of having to schedule a C-section and not feel the pangs of natural childbirth greatly saddened and disappointed me. Maybe some of you moms out there would understand? Joshua Lee loved seeing Caleb on the ultrasound screen. He kept saying, “Caleb is so cute!” and “Awwww!” Already he is showering Caleb with much love and affection and that warms my heart. We made our doctor day into a date day for the two of us. For lunch, we had a slice of pizza each, per Joshua Lee’s request. More from me later…

It’s been wonderful to have various people call and e-mail for an update on my previa. How reassuring to know that so many family members in Christ are out there praying! My follow-up appointment was this past Tuesday. However, upon my arrival at the office, I was told that I should not yet be coming in for another ultrasound. It was too early to see whether my previa had resolved yet. The medical person who had seen me previously had given me the wrong information. All in all, it was an extremely frustrating experience on many accounts. They gave me a free ultrasound anyway and we did see that the previa has not yet resolved. I will be going in on July 29th for another follow-up. I was also reassured that I am not in danger of premature labor or anything of that sort because I don’t have a BLEEDING previa. How good to know this information! At my last appointment, the person I saw was hesitant to give me ANY information and the information she did give was quite erroneous. So, now that all of that has been cleared up, my praises and prayer requests would be these: PRAISE: for Caleb’s continuing good growth and healthy heartbeat for Caleb’s movement in my womb (which I am now feeling!) for clarification on what my previa entails PRAYER REQUESTS: that my previa would resolve by the time of delivery so that I would not have to schedule a c-section that we could continue to rest on God’s promises and believe in His goodness despite undesired circumstances That’s it for now, folks. I do have a couple other things to share, so I may actually blog another entry or two while I have clarity in mind. Once again, thanks to all of you who did pray for us!