Operation: Baby Launch...Commencing

7:15 - We're settled in for the long haul. From the sounds of it, there isn't much that is going to happen tonight except something called "ripening." I'm not sure what that is...I'm not sure I want to know what that is.

Here is my beautiful wife ready to take on the world:



Anyway, wish us luck (mostly Jess) and I will keep you all up-to-date on our progress...

9:25 - The first medicine goes to work...

Sleeping was terrible for both of us, but surprisingly the night went relatively quick. I guess I zonked out for a little while at least and I was able to serenade my wonderful wife with snoring.

5:30 - Some signs of real progress...finally some steady contractions. They are not where they need to be yet, but they are growing more intense and closer together. I feel the grogginess wearing off and the excitement of everything fueling me for the day ahead!

8:30 - Jess has been having pretty steady contractions for awhile now...nothing powerful enough to cause cussing, but it is a good sign. Right now she is passing the time playing Tetris in her comfy rocker. I think I'll try to relax in her awesome bed. Feet go up...head goes up...feet go down...head up...lumber increase...feet up...lumbar decrease. Good thing I am easy to entertain.

2:00 pm - The wait continues. Both of us are feeling the frustration of waiting and waiting without major changes. I am trying to keep everything in perspective and the reality of the fact that labor can easily last a really long time. Number one is the health of the baby.

3:30 pm - Water is broken. Contractions are growing in intensity. I am excited and slightly re energized at the progress. Jess is taking it like a champ.

4:30 pm - Jess has decided to try some drug enhancement for pain modifacation. She went with Stadol and that knocked her right out. It got her through about an hour of pretty steady contractions, but she sure didn't like the side effects. I'll have to ask her later if she thought it was worth it.

6:00 pm - Making good steady progress now...Jess is at about 3cm+

9:39 pm - Epidural is in. Mommy is at 5cm on last inspection. Internal Fetal Monitors are now "installed" as well.

We Pounded the Nails

Jesus died so that we may be made right with God the Father even after we ignored Him, disobeyed Him, and tried to discredit Him. It was our doing that put Christ on the cross. Those were our sins He paid for with his life. Those were our sins He died for. We pounded the nails that pierced our Savior’s skin. Through His hands and through His feet, we pounded the nails with the sins of our heart. Jesus laid down his life for all of our sins and paid the price of our transgressions.

We pounded the nails, but we have been forgiven.

He Did it Just For You

I just finished another book by Max Lucado titled, He Chose the Nails. It is an amazing book and a must read. I know that it isn't new, and I may be pretty late to party, but this an incredible, life-changing book that you need to read if you haven't already. If you have...read it again.

Prequels: Memories from My Childhood

Keep your eyes peeled for Prequels. I've decided, since I got into this blogging game so late in life, that perhaps it would fun or informative...but hopefully more fun...to share some old memories. They may be funny, confusing, or sad. I don't even know what memories I will post yet because I haven't remembered them, but we'll see what pops in my head.

The kicker is, I'm going to predate the posts and then give them the a "Prequel" label so it will be kinda like snippets of my life that go straight to DVD and not appear as a most recent post. You'll have to practice navigating the Pieces of Life section to make sure you don't miss it.

Drowning Slowly

Coming from a liberal family, I've held the same beliefs and politics that I was brought up to believe through high school, college and even into my first years of marriage. One topic that I had always been sure of was abortion...until I had my own child growing in my wife's belly. Before I considered having my own children, I was more understanding of the pro-choice stance. I could see how someone would want to have the option of terminating a pregnancy rather than completely altering their lives for the sake of an unwanted child, but to feel my daughters kicks and squirms, my fully alive and amazing daughter, I can't imagine giving her up. Even before I could feel her, I listened to her tiny heartbeat and it was better than any melody.

I don't know if life begins at conception, but it certainly begins well before birth. It hurt more than expected hearing some people say that Jess wasn't a mother yet or I wasn't a father yet on the respective special days this year. Of course we haven't gotten to the hardest part, and we haven't experienced our daughter's birth, but how dare they reduce my prepartum child to something less than just that...a child...my child.

I am not sure at this point in my life that it shouldn't be a choice, but what a terrible choice. What a heartbreaking and life-altering choice.

So, what's with the uncommonly heady issue you might ask? I don't know. This post is more for me than anyone I guess. However, it is probably good for you to know that I don't always ponder silly things like how to retrofit my Ridgeline for zombie combat. This is just another piece of me that I wanted to explore and share.

Making a Choice

I have found my anthem...my pledge to begin each day in a book by Max Lucado called, Let the Journey Begin.

I choose love...
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I choose joy...
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical...the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I choose peace...
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I choose patience...
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long. I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose kindness...
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I choose goodness...
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I choose faithfulness...
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my [child] will never fear that [her] father will not come home.

I choose gentleness...
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I choose self-control...
I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace.

Now, I pray for God's strength to live this way each and every day.

Favorite Posts

For those of you who have been blogging for much longer than me, do you look back every so many months or years? Perhaps look back at a year ago today and what you were writing about then? Are there any posts that really capture something special about you? Are there any posts that should be 'must reads' for newcomers?

What are some of your favorite posts from your own blog?

Picking Stones

As a kid I picked stones for five dollars an hour after school. Like any job, it had its ups and downs. Some days found the heat index well over a hundred and my legs felt like jello beneath me. Other days, the cloudy sky and summer breeze made the hours pass quickly. The only constant thing was the seemingly endless supply of rocks. Tractor load after tractor load we picked stones up and down those fields. I was methodical; hunting, scanning, back-tracking. I liked that job. I respected my boss and wanted to make him proud of my work. I was convinced that I could get every last stone and each year I was pretty sure I came close to that goal. Then, the following year I realized I wasn't even close. Every year, there were more stones to collect and every year, there were more stones to discard.

I think about how my own life and my own heart resemble those fields sometimes. I long for the roots of God's Word to dig deeper to withstand the uncertainty and suffering this world will offer. I pray that God will move me, when I refuse to move on my own. I pray that God will create good soil in me, that I might produce good fruit for Him.

"Have you been telling yourself ever since that you tried Jesus—but he didn't work for you? Maybe that's the problem—that you wanted him to “work for you”—accomplish your agenda, do your will, be your butler. Jesus will never be your butler—he loves you too much for that. But if you entrust yourself to him and his plans for your life, he will answer you in a way that goes beyond anything you can imagine." -Gary DeLashmutt

Waiting Game

Now is the time when patience comes in handy. With my wife full term and no signs of a birth very soon, I'm experiencing emotions ranging from giddy to depressed. I know that it would work better in our schedule...well...my schedule to have our daughter be born somewhere around the 19th to the 22nd, but I wouldn't mind at all being woken up in the middle of the night or getting the call while I'm at work to drop everything and get to the hospital.

It is a roller coaster for me, but Jess has it worse. She has the physical fatigue as well. I am so proud of her and in awe of her beauty in spite of everything that her body is going through right now. You'd think I would learn by now, but it always surprises me how I continue to grow in love for her every day.

Holy Holy Holy

Crap! It's December Already?! It is pretty crazy to think December is here already. This is a big month! My baby is now full term and I could be driving to the hospital at anytime. There are get togethers and company parties and family gatherings and church activities and the list goes on. While it is exciting to know that this month, much like the last eleven, is going to fly by, now I have to really get my butt in gear to make sure we have everything we need.