Been too long!

I probably have lost my entire fan base (made up largely of long-standing friends, family and a few recent arrivals to the fold).
I'm flying solo with Jadyn tonight so I might need to run back in to where she is (also because the first episode of "E-Ring" is on and I got hooked on the show after the first episode aired).
Got to work on the shopping for Amanda too along with a whole host of stuff to do before Christmas.
OK, more soon. I hope.
Fading out to my version of an old Van Halen song:
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Jadyn's crying... ."

"Helping white people dance"

One of the funniest songs I think I've heard in quite some time is "Alcohol" by Brad Paisley. Through exposure and the sheer fact that some "country" sounds oddly like palatable light to moderate rock these days, I've started getting into some of it.
In fact, "Alcohol" may be funniest song I've heard since "Celebrity," the song that put Paisley on the map a couple of years back.
Now, the song is in no way an endorsement for inebriation. "I got you in trouble in high school ... ."

The computer version of camping
Thursday morning, I got up to find a message on our desktop computer saying something like "boot disk failure; insert boot disk." I knew it was bad.
An IT guy attends our church. He already had our laptop, repairing it after I hit it with my fist. (real smart)
So we swapped him and we're hoping that he can salvage the important stuff on the hard drive, most particularly our pictures of Jadyn. We have a few on her blog.
In the future, we must find a way to back up the hard drive on a regular basis.
However, please don't take what I'm saying to in any way compare to the losses sustained by the folks who lost everything - some 1,000 or so who even lost their lives - on the Coast.
Meanwhile, the laptop is serving as our connection to the Internet.

Cookie dough
Yeah I need to lose weight for sure, but we bought several batches of cookie dough from a teenage friend of the family who was selling it and I wanted to at least eat some of the stuff we bought raw. Just this once. Hopefully.

Rough night
Any parents out there with suggestions on how to make the transition from a smaller bed or swing to a crib without anyone losing sleep, please pass it along. :)

Baby and job land

I haven't posted in a while. Sorry about that.
We've been busy dealing with some baby issues, some of them routine, others, well, we're just learning what works best for her in terms of feeding. On the scale of things nothing huge.
I'm also learning how best to do a new job, so it's been challenging but overall rewarding.
Gotta run check on the baby! More later.

OK ...

At the request of one the handful of regular readers of this blog, here's my side of the labor/delivery. (I'm saving an actual diary of the delivery for family use.)
When news came that Amanda's water broke, I still had about an hour's worth of work to finish. Not wanting to have it hanging over my head, I hurried to complete it. I got it out of the way, jumped in the van and got moving down the road.
We'd called ahead so they knew what they had coming.
Having dealt with the doctor before, I had a strong sense of confidence in his judgment about what was best. He'd alerted us that Amanda's birth canal might be too narrow for the baby to move through. So she pushed ahead with the labor and I kept track of what has happening (generally when the pitocin was increased, when we made decision about the epidural, the c-section, etc.). After a while, I needed some form of sleep, so I got a blanket and slept on the floor. Certainly it wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't anything like what Amanda was enduring.
When we started talking about the c-section, I was under the impression that Amanda the doctor left me with making the final decision, so I asked him point-blank, "What's the mortality rate?" He explained that it depends on the complication which led to the c-section. Somewhere along the line Amanda mentioned the multitude of our friends who've had c-sections who are still with us.
I eventually agreed that it was the best way we'd have a chance to see our daughter.
So, we got ready and I felt like it was over before it started. A couple of sharp, quick cries and we heard that our daughter had finally arrived. It seemed like we were watching them pull somebody else's baby out. Then they handed her to me.
I felt smitten in a wholesome sense, almost from the beginning. I want to do anything I can to help this child have the life she should have.
I'm not doing too well wit h the loss of sleep, but again, I'm not the one with an 8-12 inch incision, nor am I the one trying to do the actual feeding.
I'm coming to terms with the loss of a certain amount of control, but it's all for the good. We wanted her and we will do our best to provide for her.
That's it off the top of my head! Hope this fills in some gaps. More maybe later!

What she said :)

My wife's blog pretty much covers it all regarding the birth of our wonderful, long-awaited daughter Jadyn. I haven't forgotten that Amanda did all the work. I just went along for the ride and changed a few diapers.
I'm also not the one taking pain meds to get over the surgery.
For pics and all the details, please follow the link to my wife's blog!
Welcome to the world, Jadyn. We hope and pray the Lord's best for you and will do all we can to start you off on the right path.

It's a good day

Several people know that the due date of our expected child is Sept. 11.
Some have reacted that it's a terrible day to have a baby born on that date.
The likelihood the baby will come into this world then is remote.
But I beg to differ that it's a bad day for a good thing to happen.
We forget that all kinds of good things happened that day.
For a day, we forgot that we were black, white, Hispanic, etc.
For a day, we forgot that individuals weren't more important than people.
For a day, we forgot we were a divided nation.
For a day, we had dozens and dozens of heroes, many of whom aren't here with us today.
Too bad we've collectively forgotten what we forgot that day.
I've made a little disc - don't worry RIAA, it's not for sale - of songs and tracks (all paid for) relevant to the events of 9/11 and/or its aftermath - just to remind me that no matter how bad my day at work was, I've never had a day like that.
If the baby is born that day, I have a name in mind. Grandma doesn't like it but it will get strong consideration if she's born on 9/11. We'll just leave it at that for now, and that for all the bad that happened on that day nearly four years ago - it's a good day.

Baby Eve ... sort of

As we inch closer to the time my wife might deliver, we're trying to get more done.
I don't know if either of us really know what to expect. But I want this child to know without question that I love her and want the best for her.
We're buying furniture that will serve several purposes and work well for her, hopefully for a long time to come.
You can see nursery pictures on my wife's blog.

Ultra Sound

Yesterday, we got another internal glimpse at the baby.
Ok, our daughter. :) It couldn't get any clearer than it did this time.
Yes, I held out some hope for a boy. But our overall desire for a healthy human being is coming true, thank you Lord.
Now, I'm taking a look inside myself to see why the gender might be an issue.
I guess I'm a little scared of being the father of a girl - all the stuff I don't know about being one and don't want her to become (haughty or manipulative, for example).
I'll guess I'll do what I know is right, ask the Lord and others for help and pray she becomes an incredible woman of mercy, compassion, strength and leadership. Yes, leadership, even if that leadership is quiet and selfless in its influence.
Guess that's it for now.
More later.

'I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies!'

The above line from "Gone with the Wind" aptly describes the depths of my knowledge about childbirth - there are no depths!
But that's starting to change.
This past Thursday, we attended the first of five sessions in a birthing class in the hospital where we expect our child will see its first light.
It's quite a mixed group of ages, education and life status but we all share one thing in common - somebody in our family is pregnant and it seems to help all the other barriers disappear.
I don't think I express enough how wonderfully blessed we are that the pregnancy is going well. There's certainly nothing to brag about - we haven't done anything to make it this way. I don't think I'm grateful enough that things are going well.
Time to check the re-paint on the baby's room as it continues to dry.
(Oh yeah - the existing paint didn't quite match the bedding.)
Bye for now!

Baby update

We unloaded the larger pieces of baby furniture last Thursday and it looks really good!
It's another reminder of the fact our lives are going to change, but we're so thrilled at the opportunity.
However, some things in my life, such as diet and exercise and discipline to concentrate on necessary and important things, are going to have to change so we can enjoy our new addition for some number of years to come!

The name game

I just printed out "The Short List" - names my wife and I are reviewing as possible names for our child.
We're hoping not to give the child a weighty or otherwise unsuitable name. I also don't want to saddle the child with some wild expectation of what he or she will be like 20 or even 30 years from now.
I pray we will also include anything we're not considering now just in case we leave something off the list.
We want the right name for this child - bottom line.
We just got the baby furniture!
I don't want to try to put it together this morning. Feels like a good time for a nap after experiencing at 3 a.m. one of the worst thunderstorms I ever recall in terms of lightning. Flashes seemed to come at two to three a second.
More later!

It's a ...

Girl! At least that's the doc's best guess.
Way past my bedtime, so I need to hit the hay.
More to come as posting time permits!

Insomnia :P

Boy, I don't have insomnia bouts like this much. Probably something I ate or drank too late.
At any rate, this should be a good outlet for it.
Amanda and I got in about five hours ago from a trip to handle a few things in Alabama and celebrate three lives - one who passed away last Tuesday and two others who are still alive, although it's hard to say that our friend who is now with the Lord is dead - I believe she is very much alive and now whole.
All three made profound impacts on us in my hometown in a time when we required strong examples of courage, tenacity and faith. They also welcomed us as extended parts of their natural families, something Amanda and I very much need and appreciate.
Though we didn't have hours of direct time with Linda, her courage spoke volumes about her trust in Christ. Linda's funeral was fun. I don't mean it to sound disrespectful. I actually enjoyed saying farewell because it was a life well lived and she set the example for facing adversity - embrace and learn from it - don't let it kill you.
As I understand it, it was the aftermath of fighting three skirmishes with cancer over 16 years which led to her death, not the cancer itself. She left those of us who knew her with a sense that facing death can draw us and others closer to Christ.
At her funeral, we got to share the news about our expected child with people who prayed for the day to arrive, some of whom wondered if it ever would.
Linda's widower, Wayne, said he'd check it off Linda's prayer list for her.
The others - Carmen and Elaine - serve as spiritual mentors to us in many ways, mostly in their examples of following Christ and being real about it.
Some people who've served alongside these two held an appreciation dinner for them Friday night and we were glad to have gotten the chance to see the genuine looks of surprise on their faces.
Their children are among a core group of surrogate brothers and sisters to us - the Lord continues to use them to sustain and nurture us. We were surrounded by other friends the whole day who've been there with us through our own version of going through Hell and back.
We would have seen more people had there been time to arrange more visits.
Though exhausted from traveling and facing even more that evening, we left encouraged and emboldened, reminded we have an extended family of friends who love us and are behind us 100 percent.