A New Little Soul

This evening at 5:53pm my sister was the vessel for a new little life.  My niece, Rowyn (spelling to be determined) was six pounds four ounces and 19 inches long.  She likes to be all stretched out.  I'm so excited for Riley and Colin and their baby girl.  Please pray this new little soul will come to know the fullness of hope and joy and life that is in Jesus Christ. She is already so blessed to be born unto wonderful parents and family and friends that loved her before she knew the world outside her mom. Congratulations Riley and Colin!

Darcie

our little mover and shaker

So we're having a baby. It's official now. Darcie doesn't just have an extra kidney. We can now see little hands and feet, a little spine, a little heartbeat, and a little profile. I have to say, going to the second ultrasound was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I wasn't able to make the first ultrasound, but Darcie said it wasn't anything like the second. Then they were just measuring from the head to the rump, like getting a kid to stand against a wall to measure his or her height. This time it was like the full physical. They measured the size of the brain, the size of the spine, and the distance between different organs. It was incredible.

I've compared abortion to the holocaust before, but now I honestly don't think that goes far enough. Obviously we can't overstate the tragedy of that period of human history - one of the darkest and most unthinkable evils man could ever step into, but the Jewish people had lived, loved, and been loved, and had experienced the full range of what it means to be 'human.' They were able to cry out when they were murdered at the injustice of the tragedy. Unborn children can't do that. Their future is ripped from them even before they have a chance to know the love of a mother or a father, to love another or experience the joy of having a best friend. Thankfully, though, at this moment such crimes are as removed from me as the holocaust. While I can picture dimly the evil, I really can't imagine it actually happening. I'm too busy being excited about being a father.

When I saw the first ultrasound photos it was still pretty unreal. There was a big circle and a little circle. Apparently the big circle was the head. Now the little circle is trying to catch up with the big circle. Not only does our kid have a big head, but the ultrasound lady said "looks like baby's been snacking well!" She also said that our wee one is "a mover and a shaker." She was having a hard time getting good pictures because our baby was swimming all over the place. The ultrasound lady said that baby was using Darcie's bladder like a trampoline. No wonder she felt like going to the bathroom so much that morning. It's bad enough that they make you drink four glasses of water before having an ultrasound, without having a little person jumping up and down on your bladder! I also think our child might be a boxer, because those little fists were working in and out, taking mini-jabs at the walls his or her little room (which happened to be mommy's tummy).

One of the moments that struck me the most, though, was when, for only a couple of seconds, a tiny footprint was outlined on the video monitor. It was exactly like your or my footprint, only tiny. Perhaps baby was doing laps and was just pushing off from the wall, but for a moment I saw the cutest little foot I had ever seen. Only I and the ultrasound lady saw it. It was as though junior was saying "look me go, daddy!"

For now I can't see baby. There's not even much that Darcie and I can do to help our young one grow. Our child is in the hands of God, and we know that He is knitting our young one together in the womb, as the psalmist describes it in Psalm 139. Our Father sees our little one's unformed body, and I am coming to see how 'fearfully and wonderfully made' each one of us is. I'm glad that I'm not responsible for this part of it - our Father has worked this miracle many times before, and knows exactly what He is doing. I know, too, that each time he adds something special to create a unique little person to bring Him glory, like a magnificent piece of artwork bearing its creator's name, only this art goes beyond canvas into a magical new life beyond anything we can imagine.

As Darcie's tummy grows, and as I become more conscious of the reality of a new life and a new member of our family, my love for the baby grows, as does my wonder at my bride and my amazement at her beautiful body. Right now I can't lavish the love on my child directly, but my care and fatherly instincts go into protecting, caring for, and loving the tremendous wife God has given me and the marvelous gift she has within her.

I couldn't be more blessed.

A "Dirty" Dealing

It was 3:20pm when the call came in. "I've arrived. When can you meet me?" I checked my watch. "I have to stop to get the money - maybe twenty minutes." "I've parked in front of the cart return at Toys R Us. I drive an olive green Grand Prix." Click - she hung up. Keith and I stopped and picked up the cash. We didn't want a paper trail. We pulled into the Toys R Us and were heralded by a woman pulling a large green rubbermaid crate out of her trunk. We met between the parked cars. Money exchanged well practiced hands. And after a word or two of thanks and a quick peek in the crate to ensure the goods were intact, Keith and I stowed the crate in our car and the woman disappeared into the store. When we arrived home I started to excitedly unpack the crate. Our first major purchase as expectant parents. 39 cloth diapers. That's how the dirty dealing went down.

thwub thwub thwub

today darcie and i went to an obstetrician appointment together. she had been to one like it before, but it was a first for me. when she went they had the ultrasound done, which would've been pretty cool to see, but this time we got to listen to the baby's heartbeat. "thwub thwub thwub thwub thwub..." it was loud and really fast, like this little heart is going to work as hard as it can so that the baby can get out as quickly as possible to see the world.

the ladies at the office were all wonderful and they liked us a lot. i guess it's quite a rarity to run into a couple where the wife has only ever had sex with one man. they didn't ask me about my history, but i would've been proud to tell them. it makes us feel like we've done our part to ensure we'll have a healthy baby. like in the Old Testament, when you follow God's order "all will go well with you." i did a Bible study last night and i talked about that a bit, along with Josiah and revolution. i'd tell you more but, really, you should've been there. everyone was really encouraging after the study.

next time we go to an appointment i'm going to try to bring a voice recorder so that we can post an mp3 file of our baby's heartbeat for you to listen to. it might not strike you as much as me, but i think we can all marvel at the gift of life God has begun.

thoughts from a proud soon-to-be-dad,

keith