midwife

Today was the first Midwife visit for Gina, Murray (we are having a boy!), and I. It was unusual from the beginning. We thought the appointment was at the end of the month but someone called to confirm an appointment for today. Also, when we got there, the office for the midwife was in an apartment building down town Baltimore. You can assume what I was thinking… “we are going to have a back-ally baby, what are thinking!” We walk into the office, or should I say apartment, and the wall is cluttered with happy family pictures with their new baby, hopefully taken with the families that birthed them.

The people were real confused of why we were there and thought that they screwed up big time because they did not have us down to visit today. However they managed to squeeze us in for an appointment. When we left the office, literally minutes later as we were pondering how the appointments got messed up, another Midwife calls and asks why we did not show up for our appointment… OOPS!

Anyway, as we were talking with the midwife in the office we asked about birthing tubs. So we asked how the baby does not drowned in the water when it comes out – she said, “We pick it up out of the water”… I thought -dah! She went on to explain that the baby does not take its first breath until they suck the mucus out of its mouth so when the air is available it will take its FIRST breath. How cool is that, even though Murray is alive and well inside Gina, I will see him take his first breath, I will see creation climax and yet begin at the same time. That is pretty gnarly!

Another little fact that I learned was that African Americans have more stretchy skin than white people, thus making childbirth a little more easier, interesting.

Finally, you will notice the baby ticker to the right that reveals how long you have to buy us something for Murray to have on his birthday.

Peace and sorry I have not posted in a long time.

I saw our baby for the first time. It made the pregnancy seem all the more real when we saw our baby jump quickly and settle slowly in the embryonic fluid. The nurse was able to print off some pictures for us, and we are excited to share them with all of you.

One of our favorite pictures was the baby’s foot. I would love to say it looks like mine, but that is impossible because Gina says I have hobbit feet. They are big and hairy. I cannot help but think about the journey my child is going to choose. As a soon-to-be parent it is easy to criticize and imagine ourselves as the perfect parents and being the one’s to inspire our children to follow the simple and narrow way, but the truth is I have trouble following that path. I suppose that is part of helping my kids follow that path is to explore and search together as opposed to having everything figured out and just feeding the answers to him/her.

dipstick

When I was a baby it was a temperature dipstick.
When I was a child it was the dipstick used to scoop the powdered sugar in my mouth.
When I was a teenager it was the oil dipstick for my car.
When I was a college student it was the coffee stir dipstick.
Now, it is the urine sample dipstick that is a symbol of the present and future times that will revolutionize our life. This dipstick announced to GOOD NEWS to Gina and I that she is with child! I am going to be a dad… to someone other than Rumpert (our dog).

mornings

Alessiooooo's photos
I went on a retreat to learn how to pray. It is interesting and ironic. Ironic because we are learning how to pray by listening to a guy teach us how to pray, but we are not really praying. However, it is interesting. I admit I was skeptical at first because how is praying going to change my life by merely listening to someone talk about it. I have always understood improving a prayer life by just doing it more. But, as my speech teacher said in high school, “Practice does NOT always make perfect when you are practicing the wrong way.” Change first has to happen in our thinking and then in practice. Paradigms need to be shifted, perspectives changed. It is life through a crystal and not a telescope.


Growing up in Christianity you hear it all the time... we should spend time with God in the morning because he should be number 1 on our list for the day, early in the morning our minds are not filled with distractions, it is what everyone did in the Bible, so we should do it. Well people in the Bible also worshipped God naked in public; I have not seen this...yet.

I looked at this truth from a different angle and have pretty much convinced myself that praying early in the morning is a divine response from soul that is engrained into the our being. Although I have never made praying or meditating a continual practice in the morning, I have noticed that my soul is drawn to God in the morning. I don’t know what it is exactly. Maybe it is the peace, maybe the cool of the morning, or maybe it is the innocence of a new day, a clean slate. I think it is the latter. I think in the mornings, the start of a new day, we are experience a glimpse of resurrection. So why spend my resurrection moments rushing out the door to get to work, or watching cartoons, or surfing the internet?

It has not become a pattern for me yet, but I am now convinced it is necessary for my pursuit of God.

Run

The wonderful sounds of Jimmy Eat World was ringing through my ears as my body was crying out in anguish through the painful messages of the burning throat, sharp pain in the ribs, shortness of breath, and the ache of my legs. I attempted to run yesterday. By “attempt” I mean tried to run the distance I had set as a goal, two miles. I went the two miles, but only ran for about a mile of it.

The first half-mile was really easy because I was going off my adrenaline rush that was evoked by my preparation of going to run. It started with wanting to enjoy the beautiful day. Then I gathered the appropriate equipment. I was fully equipped from head to toe with my red bandana tied around my head, my large black headphones that are more appropriate for being a DJ and not a runner, my sexy, white iPod, and my Forest Gump Nike running shoes. Finally, I stretched my muscles and was limber and eager to start my journey. I felt so great running past all those cars as people watched, until later when people were probably concerned as I staggered into the road periodically.

I will try again tomorrow.

It made me think several things about Scripture and how it says to “run the race.”

I might let you know my thoughts after my next run.