Category: Family Updates

2 Months To Go…

I’m not the one who is pregnant so it feels a bit rude to say this, but pregnancy is long. I’m getting antsy. I want to meet this kid! Not too early of course, but every day it just gets a little more real.

Last Saturday we went to birth class, which was highly informative (especially for me). Tomorrow is a baby shower for Amy. On either ends of those events are doctors visits.

I have some more time off coming up in a few weeks during which time I will complete the transformation of the upstairs of our home: a new room for mom and dad and nursery for baby.

There is mounting evidence all around: we are going to be parents!

Birthday, Community, Etc

Yesterday was my birthday. Thanks for all the love everyone! It was a fairly normal day overall…carrot cake for breakfast (thanks babe!), went to the eye doctor, ran some errands, did some work, tried to stay cool (the first day of summer came in with a vengeance: 97 degrees!), and then hung out with our student summer community (see pic). They sang me happy birthday and gave me some great cards. Love it!

Vacation, 3rd Tri, Perfection, etc…

What a week this has been! Vacation is wonderful. Sometimes you don’t realize how much you need it until you are in it. One of my favorite books is The Old Man and The Sea by Hemingway. At the end of the book, the old man questions himself: “What beat you?” And he answers this way: “Nothing, I went out too far.” And that is how I feel about this last year. This week has been good for my soul, a pulling back in and putting back together.

Amy and I spent last weekend in the Berkshires eating wonderful food, resting, celebrating, and having great conversations with our good friends.

Then I jumped on a plane to southern california and spent two days with Rob Bell and 47 other people who love Jesus and lead and create and also needed to be put back together. More on this next week.

Then 12 hours of reconnecting with some more great friends, and then back on the plane.

Upon returning home my body, unsure of the time zone, could not sleep so I watched the Giants game that night…just so happened that Matt Cain throws a perfect game!

And then, we went to the doctor yesterday and everything continues to check out well as we enter the 3rd trimester…3 months until we get to meet our new family member!

More updates and thoughts to come…it’s been a good week!

Vacation!

A week off, woohoo! This is going to be an interesting kind of vacation: 2.5 days in western massachusetts celebrating four years of marriage…2.5 days in southern california at a conference…2 days in Boston working on “projects”.

I’ll let you know how it goes. But, seriously, I don’t know that I have ever looked more forward to time off. There are other vacations/trips I’ve been more excited about, but this vacation is the water/aid/food station at mile 75 of an ultra-marathon race. I need it!

I will not be posting new material until next Friday (if then), so I will be running some of my favorite posts from the “old” illumination dilemma next week. Enjoy that!

I am sure I will have much to report back on when I return!

Our Baby’s First Present

We took a field trip to IKEA last weekend to do some furniture reconnaissance work. (Side note: I had never been to an IKEA before. Wow. Place is crazy.) For some reason this swedish furniture giant sells a number of adorable, super soft, “pets”. When I saw this one, I said, “Our child needs this awesome thing.” At some point, while wandering around the vast, endless displays of furniture, it hit me: this is the first present we have bought for our child. Another milestone on the journey to parenthood. Hopefully, as parents, we will provide many good gifts, gifts that far surpass stuffed animals, but for now I’m pretty stoked about this puppy.

Some Quick Thoughts on Fundraising (Dedicated to Phil Tatum)

We have a big challenge in front of us this summer…raise a new budget: one that more accurately reflects the stage of life we are entering (parenthood).

So, here’s what I love and don’t love about this process.

Some things I dislike about fundraising:

  1. Being told no
  2. Feeling like a mooch
  3. Living in uncertainty
  4. Potentially seeing people as money signs, not people

Some things I love about fundraising:

  1. Being told no (builds and reveals character)
  2. Experiencing God’s economy (people want to give to something important)
  3. Living by faith (we’ve always had enough)
  4. Seeing people as partners (there are people all over the country, and even the world, who are helping college students in Boston on their journey back to God…how awesome is that).