Maine & 39 Weeks Pregnant

Last weekend Brett & I had the opportunity to travel to Maine for the annual New England Pastor's Encouragement Retreat. Last year it was in Vermont and we had the best time. Phil Waldrep Ministries has put this on for 20 years now. They raise sponsors throughout the year at other conferences so that pastors all over New England can enjoy this retreat completely free. We were excited to hear it would be in Portland, Maine this year because neither of us has ever been to Maine.

Besides having great speakers and great food, we get to stay in a nice hotel for two nights and just have a time to relax and also meet other pastors from New England. It can often be a lonely job because of just how few churches there actually are.

Friday most of the day is free to do what we choose. So we visited the Portland Head Lighthouse. Brett has taken a series of funny pictures at many of the lighthouses in the Outer Banks, so we were excited to be able to add to the collection! There was actually another small lighthouse in the distance that you can't really get to. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed seeing the ocean again for the first time in awhile.

They always have a really elaborate banquet on Friday night with fun entertainment and a ridiculous amount of food. This year we got to enjoy lobster! I have never had it before and it was a fun experience. I also tasted mussels and clams for the first time. Lobster is a lot of work but it is delicious.

We stopped by Wells Beach on the way home, just to see the ocean. It didn't seem like swimming weather, but there were plenty of New Englanders on the beach! 

Of course I wasn't able to do as much walking as I would have liked, seeing as how I was 38, almost 39 weeks pregnant. We were a little concerned the baby would be born in Maine but we mapped out the hospitals on the way and took my pre-natal records, as well as the baby's car seat. However, still no signs of baby. 

And now, a week later, there are STILL no signs. I have been growing increasingly frustrated as we really wanted this baby to come early because of our upcoming trip to Texas by plane in TWO weeks. Every day I wake up hoping today will be the day. It doesn't help that each of my others was early. Monday is the official due date, however, and maybe he just wants to be obedient like Abigail and come on the day he's supposed to. I sleep very little at night, and now I also have a cold, so I am exhausted and just really ready to be done with this pregnancy. And also really just ready to meet the newest member of our family!