Eager Longing

Because I am crazy and tend to seek out pain (not really), Beau and I chose to do natural birth with a midwife. It was obviously the most painfully brutal and incredible day of my life. My labor was a bit unique, as my midwife later told me, because I labored for 48 hours. Apparently that is a little longer than normal. ;) In the middle of the pain several thoughts ran through my head. Thoughts of God's hatred for our sin, which is why there is pain in birth in the first place. Thoughts of how Jesus "endured the cross...for the joy set before Him." I was reaching for all I could to encourage me to keep going.

Four days after Haddon was born, I wrote down the story of his birth, the mental pictures I took during the whole process, pictures of pain and suffering, pictures of my husband looking on in concern, pictures of utter dependence and hope. I am going to share with you the very end of it.

"My husband and I later reflect on some of the mental photographs we have both taken, and he tells me what was going through his mind during the laboring process. He tells me about Romans 8:

'For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.'

My heart is stirred within me. I hold in my arms the prize, the hope, the reward that has come at the end of long groaning and deep pain. And I think of this world. I think of the laboring that is still going on, in creation, in my own heart. The very reason things in this world are broken. The purpose behind pain. And so my heart is torn. For in my left hand I hold my baby, the treasure at the end of my groaning, and in my right I still see cracking and bleeding, for with it I still labor and know that the ultimate reward has been won, but has yet to be seen.

So I rejoice. And so I also long and continue to labor as I attempt to wait patiently for the adoption of the children of God, and for the redemption of our bodies.

I lay in bed now, with my son sleeping on my chest, this joy, this prize I have longed and waited for, and I think on when Jesus said to the beloved disciple in the book of Revelation, 'Surely I am coming soon'. And with one last prayer before falling to sleep, I look to Jesus with longing as the disciple did and whisper aloud, 'Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!'"

My Favorite Picture of All Time of My Two Favorite People

"I Just Love Him!"

So maybe his hat is a little too big for him, but I just couldn't resist. Besides, the tight hats take me like 15 minutes to get on his head.

In the words my husband uses about 254 times a day, "I just love him!"

Four VERY Important Lists

Four VERY Important Lists:

Eight Things I Will NEVER AGAIN Take For Granted After Being Pregnant:

1. Tying my own shoes

2. Sleeping on my stomach

3. Getting out of bed without needing a crane

4. Shaving my legs

5. Getting my feet into shorts/pants without falling over

6. No pain in my ribcage

7. Coffee

8. Diet drinks

Five Things All New Moms Should Know:

1. Carrying 20 pounds inside of you is far easier than carrying 7 pounds outside of you in an awful plastic infant carrier-car seat-thingy. (I have blisters on my hands, and my forearms are more sore than they ever were from personal training.)

2. A "quick store run" can now be compared to a 2 week vacation in terms of packing a bag, making sure everyone is fed and has pottied, and the need to stop for drinks and snacks on the way.

3. EVERYTHING hurts for awhile. All body parts. None are excluded.

4. Babies pee everywhere, on everything, all the time.

5. Babies have no social politeness in terms of holding certain noises in public places.

Two Things That Would Make the World a Better Place:

1. Drive-thru service at the post office.

2. Parking lots with spots for mothers of young children, or at the very least give us a handicapped sticker!

One Thing I Learned Today:

1. The USPS (United Stated Postal Service), aka the Post Office, does not send packages FedEx. Go figure.

Haddon Nathaniel's First Pictures

Thanking the Lord for our precious baby boy. He is so good and gracious and has given us such a wonderful gift in Haddon Nathaniel.

(Thanks also to Julie Birdseye for taking Haddon's baby pictures! Check her out at http://birdseyephotographyblog.com.)

A Morning Prayer

This morning, as I was reading Elisabeth Elliot's daily devotional, I found this prayer that has been an encouragement and blessing, a cry of my heart today:

"Lord, break the chains that hold me to myself; free me to be your happy slave--that is, to be the happy foot-washer of anyone today who needs his feet washed, his supper cooked, his faults overlooked, his work commended, his failure forgiven, his griefs consoled, or his button sewed on. Let me not imagine that my love for You is very great if I am unwilling to do for a human being something very small."

Love you guys.

PLEASE Don't Tell My Parents

Beau and I thought it would be fun to have a little weekend away together before our the baby is born, so we drove off to my parents' lake house this past weekend. It could not have been more perfect. Plenty of rest, reading, good food, and good conversation. Oh, except there was that one part of the trip...

...please don't tell my parents...

Beau woke up Friday morning ready to go out on the jet ski. It was perfect weather; no one else was on the water yet; so it would just be Beau, the jet ski, and the wind in his face. What could be more perfect? (I would have gone with him, but for some reason my doctor doesn't think flying and bumping at 65 MPH across water and wakes while nine months pregnant is a good idea. Not sure why?)

As an important side note, my parents just bought a "lift" for the boat and jet skis. So Beau and I figured out how to work the lift and successfully lowered the boat and skis into the water. A miracle in itself. Beau jumped on one of the jet skis and took off for the wind! (We both wondered aloud why the jet skis were not tied up to the dock when we got there, but decided that since they were on the lift it probably didn't matter.)

After Beau took off, I went for a little walk. Shortly into my walk, I had the sudden urge to use the restroom (a common occurrence for a nine month pregnant lady), so I walked to the bathroom, and as I was washing my hands, I had the thought, "If the jet skis were held still by the lift and were not tied to the dock, then if the lift is currently down, and the other jet ski is still not tied to the dock, what will happen to the jet ski?"

So I ran.

Fast.

At nine months pregnant.

In 102 degree heat.

As I neared the lake, I saw exactly what I expected to see as I was running. The other jet ski. Floating in the middle of the lake.

I immediately began running through my options of what to do next. Option #1: I could jump in and swim to the jet ski. But I didn't have on a swimsuit, and I can't swim very well. Especially when there are jumping fish and "debris" all around me. Option #2: Sit on the dock, watching the jet ski float off into oblivion while waiting for Beau to get back and rescue it. I decided to go for Option #3:

I saw the jet ski nearing the rocks. Another BIG no-no! I ran over to the edge of a small cliff, first of all, to attempt to keep the jet ski from running into the rocks, and second of all, to see if I could hold it there with my foot until Beau got back.

So I climbed down the small cliff and placed my foot on the jet ski before it hit the rocks. Praise the Lord! I thought maybe I could hold this position until Beau got back, but the jet ski began to drift and I was unable to control it with my foot while dangling off of the cliff. (Did I mention that I am still nine months pregnant at this point?) I was losing my grip on the rock, so my options then became to either jump in the water (already explained why this would not be a good idea), or to jump on the jet ski. I opted to jump on the jet ski.

Now at this point, if I had a key to the jet ski, this would have been an easy fix. But of course I did not. So now, not only is the jet ski floating off into oblivion, I am floating with it! Waiting for Beau. Hoping he finds me.

After about 30 minutes (seeming like 5 hours), of floating, hoping, and praying, I saw Beau turn the corner. My hero! He started waving and thought to himself that I must have decided to go for a little ride on the jet ski as well (against my doctor's orders). He rode over near me and quickly realized that my engine was not running and that something was a little off.

After nearly wetting his pants laughing at me, he came up with a solution.

To make the long rest of the story short, Beau Hughes is my hero, and he rescued not only me, but the beloved yellow jet ski. (After a long while of holding me, still on the jet ski, by the hand and dragging me back to safety along the edge of the cliff.)

Can we ever go on a weekend getaway without something obnoxious happening? (See "Learning to Fish" post).

The jet skis are now safely on the lift AND MORE IMPORTANTLY tied to the dock. I would personally like to have a word with whomever did not tie them to the dock in the first place.

And again, PLEASE don't tell my parents.

Signing off,

Nine-Month Pregnant Lady Hanging Off a Cliff

(wish I had pictures for you)