- your prayer on the way to the hospital as we prepared for the unknown.
- how we watched a baby story together in the pre-op room, one a natural birth and one a c-section.
- you walking into the operating room looking so handsome in your scrubs and immediately grabbing my hand and asking how I was doing.
- you bringing me my baby around the curtain with this incredible look of joy and amazement and bending down to kiss my cheek.
- how proudly you showed me his precious little footprints that had been put on your scrub.
- the first hour we spent as a family inspecting this precious little life that the Lord had entrusted to us.
- how you were a tape recorder of information trying to help me remember everything we had learned in our class about this first hour together.
- how you instantly became our protector and how we became your number one priority.
- how you immediately stepped in and helped me with my own care: pain meds, using the restroom, asking the nurse questions, talking to the doctor, helping me figure out nursing.
- how many of the things you helped me with were embarrassing for both of us, but you did it humbly and with the sweetest, most servant-hearted demeanor.
- how your sense of fashion went out the window as you chose basketball shorts, a t-shirt, and thermal socks during our stay.
- how this care did nothing but increase once we got home.
- how you would look at me when I was taking care of our boy like you did when we first started dating--with complete awe and amazement.
- how your profession of not changing diapers immediately went out the window because you knew it was what was needed for me and him.
- how you would encourage me when I cried and not get frustrated.
- how you did everything with the sole intention of making it easier and taking care of us.
- how you would not let anyone touch him unless they were sanitized.
- how you had a plan for others to hold him a certain length during Christmas.
- how you would lean over and kiss me and then our boy.
- the way that you showed the video of his eyes being open so proudly to every person that would watch.
- how you would lean down and whisper the sweetest things to Keaton when he was screaming during a diaper change, sometimes barely dodging so urine.
- how you would sit with me in the nursery as we struggled those first two weeks and encourage me to keep going.
From the moment we found out we were pregnant and then calculated the due date, I have had this deep dread. I dreaded that December 22 could likely mean December 25. I dreaded that my poor child would be thrown into the hustle and bustle of the holiday season never to be truly celebrated. I dreaded that he would miss out on a “real” birthday and non-shared birthday gifts. I dreaded the sadness that he would feel because everyone would be too busy to celebrate his day.
It was around June, however, when I feel like the Lord spoke to my heart about the opportunities that being pregnant during this time of year provided me. As we have gotten closer to the season, I have often thought so carefully about Mary. Yes, Mary, Jesus’ mommy. In no way do I compare myself to her or pretend to contend with her or the baby in which she was chosen to carry, but if all dates were accurate and for the purposes for which we know this season, I do feel like I have the timing right on target with when she was pregnant with Jesus.
I shall never forget once our sweet boy was in my arms holding him on Christmas morning, playing him Christmas music as we rocked, and weeping at the mere thought of ever giving him up. It is through his existence that I have a greater understanding of the incredible sacrifice that God the Father and Mary made for me. What a true blessing our Christmas baby is.
- I've had more conversations with total strangers than ever before. It's insane how interested in me people have become all thanks to this sweet little guy growing inside.
- The constant, active reminder of God's faithfulness and provision as well as my desperate need to know Him more.
- The anticipation that it brings to everything.
- The way that my it has caused me to fall in love with my husband like never before.
- The fun it is to constantly have something to think about, research, create, organize, etc.
- The excuse to eat, um, more.
- For the first time in my life, I am the one who is warm and not freezing.
Really, I've been hugely blessed with comments of strangers and friends during pregnancy. That basically means that at no time have I cried over someone's comment. Going into pregnancy, I had prepared myself for the worst, but thankfully I've been spared. Of course, this could all change over the next four weeks. Let's hope not.
- My first comment was, in my opinion, fairly early into my pregnancy. (Sadly, I can't remember what week this was.) So much so that I questioned whether he really thought I was pregnant or was just making conversation based on the groceries. Either way, he was brave because it could certainly have just been a nice gut or a belly full of lunch in an empire-waisted dress. Cameron insisted that he knew. Anyway, while in line at Randall's with just two separate gallons of ice cream that we were taking as dessert to someone's lunch invite, an adorable old man said, "You forgot the pickles." It took me a minute to understand what he was meaning, but I thought that was a cute "the public knows your pregnant" comment.
- Someone once told me, and maybe this was the same day, that they could tell I was getting chubby or else working out. Yeah, I don't get it either.
- "Mrs. Whitley, you look big?"
- A lady walks up to me and bends down to be belly height. She proceeds to talk to my belly in a stern voice and says, "You better be nice to your mama. You hear me? I know you can hear me." I slowly backed away.
- For the student Halloween party, a few of us went as some of The Office characters. I was Pam when she was pregnant. A precious middle school girl very seriously pointed to my belly and said, "Is that real?" Poor thing, I died laughing and then realized that she was serious. It was my favorite comment of all.
- While Cameron and I were walking into HEB, a man in a kind of ghetto accent pointed to my belly and looked at Cameron and said, "Did you do that?" We both said, "Huh?" He repeated, "Did you do that?" It was HILARIOUS. Seriously, we both laughed and Cameron shyly replied, "Yep."
- The day before Thanksgiving break a student asked if I was planning to do a belly cast. I told her that there was probably no way this would happen because I'd be clueless what to do with it afterwards. She very seriously in an "of course" tone said that I would use it as a turkey dish. Um, no thanks!
I have procrastinated updating our blog entirely too long. There are plenty of excuses that I came up with. Here are my top my top five:
- I want everything to look cute and cute like I like cute. This blog to me just wasn't cute enough.
- The formatting of this blogger stuff and how it just doesn't seem to be user friendly completely intimidates/annoys me.
- I wanted a new name and couldn't think of one.
- I always found something different to be doing.
- I would log on and start it and find myself quickly distracted by other's blogs.
I generally like to use the word cheap when I refer to my purchasing endeavors. There are times when I feel that I need to replace it with words that have a bit less of a negative connotation. That's when I go with thrifty or frugal, and I might start using prudent since the dictionary just told me it was a synonym.
