Unbelievable

It's 7:30 Saturday morning. I've gotten about 5 hours of sleep in the last 2 days. This may not be the most exciting read in the world, but maybe it will at least garner a few sympathetic (and perhaps pathetic) comments like, "oh you poor thing!" Well, here's what's been going on...the good and the bad:

First the good news. It looks like Carrie and I will be buying a house this summer. We have a family in our church that is moving at the end of the summer and they want to sell their house to us. They are being very generous to us, and it looks like it's all going to work out. We'll only be 2 miles from the church and on an acre of land. It's a three bedroom, 2 1/2 bath with a bonus room, large living room, kitchen, dining room, etc. Oh, and there's a really cool tree house in the backyard. I'll be sure to keep you updated on the progress of the house buying. Unbelievable.

Now for the not-so-good news. It seems that I end up having some sort of crisis about every six months or so. The last one was in September with the broken finger. Well, now it's about time for another one. And sure enough, it hit this week. I started feeling achy all over on Tuesday and ended up staying in bed all day Wednesday. Thankfully that was all better by Thursday, but Wednesday afternoon I started having a lot of pressure behind my right ear. I saw the doctor on Thursday and he told me I had an ear infection. (If you want some medical details check out this good article, with pictures from WebMD.) I went back to the doctor on Friday and he said my ear drum had sprung a leak! That's not really a good thing. Now I'm temporarily deaf in my right ear and can't sleep at night. Theoretically, ear drums heal up on their own pretty well. And if not, surgery usually can repair a messed up ear drum. Unbelievable. There's actually a little more crisis to the story, but I'll spare you all the gory details. You're welcome.

Okay, I can't end like that, so here's some more good news. Carrie and Daniel are both doing well. Carrie has one week left before her due date and Daniel is still pretty active. Carrie had her last day at work yesterday! That was very exciting. Now once I'm back in one piece, we'll be ready for this new adventure.

In all seriousness, please continue to pray for us during this exciting and challenging time. We are confident that God is more than able to meet all of our needs, both physically and spiritually. He can heal broken ear drums and can deliver healthy babies. And as my friend Cristy has so lovingly expressed, he can even do miracles on babies! Please read her blog at http://www.siberiangrits.com/isaiah/isaiah.html for a very encouraging account of their new son, Isaiah. Read from the bottom up to get the story in chronological order and to see the magnificent things God is doing!

Thanks again for all your prayers.

Solicited Advice

Carrie and I have finished about 7 or so childbirth classes. From Daddy Boot Camp to our 8-hour Saturday Childbirth Education class last weekend, we have been thoroughly prepped for this upcoming event. Why do I still feel like I don't know what's going on then?

Actually we both feel very much more prepared than we did, but we are still a little nervous. Since this is the first time we've ever done this, it's quite a challenging experience to face.

Carrie has started having some minor contractions now! Things are moving along quickly.

Now, a strange phenomenon happens when a young couple announces that they are expecting their first child. Everyone...and I do mean everyone...begins giving advice. That advice ranges from how to handle the pregnancy to how to give birth to how to raise the kid. Usually we can accept that advice; sometimes we laugh at the advice; and sometimes we ignore the adivce or forget it altogether. However, I'm soliciting your advice here! If you have parenting tips, feel free to post them here. Can you spoil an infant? How do you discipline your 3-month old? Do you put your kids on a schedule? Have at it. This is your chance to sound off...and we welcome it!

Daniel Update and a Rutherford Gem

Carrie is now just over 3 weeks away from her due date. Daniel seems to be doing well. He is a very active young man, keeping Carrie pretty uncomfortable most of the time. Carrie said he kicks so much that the first thing she's going to do when he comes out is kick him back! She was just kidding of course. :)

Rutherford

At the age of 37, Samuel Rutherford wrote to one of the men in his parish the following exhortation:

"Fy, fy upon us! that we have love lying rusting beside us or, which is worse, wasting upon some loathsome objects, and that Christ should lie his lone. Woe, woe is me! that sin hath made so many madmen, seeking the fool's paradise, fire under ice, and some good and desirable things, without and apart from Christ. Christ, Christ, nothing but Christ can cool our love's burning languor. O thirsty love! wilt thou set Christ, the well of life, to thy head, and drink thy fill? Drink and spare not; drink love and be drunken with Christ! Nay, alas! the distance betwixt us and Christ is a death. O, if we were clasped in other's arms! We should never [be separated] again, except heaven separated and sundered us; and that cannot be."

Oh, that we would not waste our love on "loathsome objects"!