SunDay 24

Greetings! Hope your weekend was good. Our's was casual. Saturday found Andrea and I busy around the house getting chores done that have been neglected, or simply sprang up out of nowhere. We went to the 5:00 service at church on Saturday so we could sleep in this morning. At church, Andrea had quite the time with Ellie. It was Communion Sunday, so we were taking her out of the car seat to take up with us, when we noticed she had a BIG blowout, with a big wet circle going well past the middle of her back. So Andrea grabbed the diaper bag and took Ellie to the bathroom. Meanwhile, I enjoyed the worship, grabbed some bread and juice for us both, and returned to my seat. Then I sat through the sermon-by myself. I wondered if I should go check on the girls, but Andrea had told me beforehand that they might need to go the the nursing mother's room to feed. So I figured that's where they were. As we were singing our closing song, the girls finally came back, and Andrea handed little Ellie off to me. It was only after the service that I would hear the harrowing tale of their bathroom visit.
As we drove home, Andrea told the story. Ellie had not just wet her diaper, she'd detonated a fecal bomb with destruction that reached far and wide. Andrea peeled both the destroyed diaper and soggy clothes from Ellie's soiled back and shoulders, placed her on the changing table, then reached for the wipes in the diaper bag, ONLY to discover that we were out of wipes! Sensing the frustration of the moment, Ellie decided to let mom know if was feeding time. So with a screaming, slippery baby sliding on the changing table, she skillfully dashed back and forth from the nearest sink with wet, rough paper towels to wipe down our precious blossom. Finally, after minutes of seemingly decibal-shattering screams and many dirty, wet paper towels later, mom had dirty hands and one cranky kiddo. She reached for the dirty diaper ziploc in the diaper bag, only to discover it TOO was missing. Worried whether or not Pastor Dan would come out from behind the podium, walk down the aisle, out into the foyer and knock on the women's bathroom door and say "Can you keep it down, I'm trying to preach a sermon out here?" Andrea calmly found a clean trashbag in one of the feminine hygine dispensers, tossed the dirty clothes in (soiling the bag edges in the process, demanding a very careful packing job by mom), threw the extra clothes (which, thank God, we actually HAD in the bag) on top of Ellie, and gracefully strode out into the foyer to find the nursing mother's room. Once she found it, she discovered a wonderfully stocked changing table, bountiful with wipes and dirty diaper bags galore.
After hearing this travesty of tragedies, I was of course very sympathetic and understanding. Through my wife's series of unfortunate events, we both learned the lesson of stocking the diaper bag before rushing out of the house.
And as I type this, I vaguely remember hearing some new parents we now telling us about how we'd accumulate many a "poop" story. You have been blessed to share in one with us (lucky you!).
Now for the blessings and wonderful joys of parenthood! Wednesday night, the night before my 26 birthday, a storm started brewing outside. I guess we were getting monsoonal moisture from a storm down by the Baja Pennisula in Mexico. Anyway, there was just a TON of lightning, much more than there was thunder or rain. So we opened our patio door, dragged our new LoveSac over to the doorway, then turned off all the lights. For a good half hour, we sat together in the darkness, watching God's amazing light show turn the darkness of night into the brilliance of midday, if for only a second, then night would creep back in as our eyes adjusted to the dark. And the blessed, sweet smell of rain wafted in through our door...I swear, there is hardly another fragrance I enjoy more in the world than fresh rain. Talk about stirring the soul--it makes a man feel alive, at least it does for me. It's a memory I'll always cherish and remember. Those are the times when your life doesn't seem like an adventure, it is one.
As the pictures show, Ellie is starting to get more tummy time now that her umbilical cord is gone. She is so strong, holy cow! Besides being able to pick her head up, if you put your hands behind her bunched up legs, she'll push off your hand and inch forward with seemingly little effort. It's incredible to watch her grow so fast! Andrea and I weighed her on our postal scale tonight (in a very safety-conscience manner), and with diaper and clothes she was at 10 lbs. She may even be a little more, but our method was hardly scientific:o) The other picture shows how dwarfed our daughter is on the big red couch.
So, my little girl is keeping me company as I type, lying on her little playground, gurgling, cooing, stretching--pretty much being a sweetheart. What an incredible blessing...
Well, adios friends, have a wonderful and blessed week!

Love,
Graham, Andrea & Ellie