Time keeps marching faster than I can keep up with. I can hardly believe that I’m almost halfway through my waiting period for our little darling who is due in July.

As of now, we don’t know whether it’ll be a boy or girl, but then what does it matter, either way, we love him or her to pieces. It’s like I told my cousin the other day; even if this is child number six, I have never before been more in love with my unborn child.

Why, I think it is some of the best moments of life. My joy knew no limits a couple of weeks ago when we got out our Doppler and got the baby’s heartbeat for the first time, and then last week put the ‘icing on the cake’ when we used our ultrasound machine for the first time and watched the cutest hands, less than an inch long waving happily. Ah, why are there no words for those most unbelievable moments? Julia and Austin were elated to be able to see it for themselves.

The children can’t wait; every evening before Julia goes to bed, the two of us have some quality moments together, then I ask her, “What shall we talk about?” Without fail, she’ll respond with, “About when the baby is coming!” Of course, she is itching for a little sister, but then she also says she’ll be happy with whatever God gives us. This morning she declared that she figured out exactly how I can fit all six children on the recliner with me and rock them all at once. She’s all into helping us pick out a name.

While some Amish communities stick with using only one name, in our community most of us go by two names besides our last name. My second name is Beth, named after my mother’s girlhood best friend. Choosing a name for the baby is a highlight. In some Amish communities, names get reused a lot, naming their little ones after family members or friends, sometimes people start using nicknames to cut down on confusion. While I like naming my children after people I appreciate, the more significant issue to me is that it is a name with an appropriate meaning that Daniel and I are fully agreed on. I don’t know what the baby will be named as of yet, but I am eager to keep looking for ideas and brainstorming about it. This time my prayer is that God would show Daniel what the final decision will be.

I like the accounts in the Bible where God gave the inspiration for names that fitted the newborn child. I’m a bit partial to Bible names, yet I don’t feel stuck or bound to them if we all stick to only those we’ll end up with lots of repeats. While there are many Godly characters in the Bible, I don’t feel like that makes them superior to all others. Daniel suggested that I invited your input and ideas for baby names. So, if you have some ideas about what may be a good fit for our family, jot down and pop them in the mail, we’d love that, for sure!

When the baby subject comes up, Austin is all smiles, he is hoping for another brother. He’s also serious about choosing a name for the baby and sometimes asks if he can get out the “Name Book” to look for more ideas. Time and again, he pops up with the question, “Mom, will our baby be okay?” Perhaps he’s more concerned since I’ve had two stillborn sisters. I assure him that as far as we know, all is well. Recently when I was praying for the baby, I was reminded of the verse that says that we are and were created for his glory we; yes, we want what brings the most glory to God for our little one.

Rayni wants to name the baby after herself, or after her little cousins, She’s all excited about the baby and thinks it’ll be a girl. She’s had this persistent question of, “When will the baby be born?” I finally explained to her that the baby will be born soon after her June 15 birthday. Of course, it’ll probably be a month later, but it does give her something to aim for.

The little boys are too young to grasp that a baby is being added to our family. I’m sure they’ll be two happy big brothers, yet I don’t expect anything but some adjustments on their part as well.

A dish that I have enjoyed over the past months is Grandma’s creamy noodles. You may also recall that I had mentioned that I’ll fill you in on how Julia’s noodles turned out. They turned out fantastic, now here is a recipe for you to try for yourself!

Grandma’s Cheesy One-Pot Noodles

1 quart chicken broth

1 quart water

4 teaspoons chicken bouillon

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 pound medium noodles

1 (10 1/2-ounce) can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup melting cheese (such as Velveeta)

Bring first four ingredients to a boil in a large kettle. In the meanwhile, melt butter over medium heat, continue to heat until butter is nice and brown then add cheese and chicken soup, keep heating until cheese has melted. Once the water mixture comes to a boil add noodles and bring to a boil again. Next add butter mixture and remove from heat. Let set a couple hours and the noodles are ready to stir and eat! You can always add more or less liquid to strike your fancy.