Random Saturday posting...

No real subject here. Just wanted to update the blog...

Wifey had her fifth (and final?) baby shower today. It was thrown by my Mom's friends so I think it was more of a first grandchild shower for her, but we got all the gifts! I don't understand why women throw so many showers for their pregnant friends when all the pregnant woman wants to do is lay on the couch with her feet up. That's cool though, we are blessed with very good friends and it has been fun watching the Bride get all of this attention. As for me, I cleaned a little house and went to my most favorite bagel joint in Nashville and sat out on the deck reading and sipping coffee (cinnamon-hazelnut = YUM).

Now, we are both back home, the gifts are put away and the Bride is sleeping soundly in the bedroom. It is a 100% beautiful day here in Nashville today but we are under the cicada invasion of 2011 so it's hard to be outside and hear yourself think. (If you don't know what a cicada is, please Google it. it's worse than it sounds). Anyway, I have to be outside so I have the ipod on, Bose headphones up loud and am alone with my thoughts for a little while longer. My sweet baby girl is due in less than a month so I am taking in all of this "quiet" time while I still have it. Be blessed whoever you are reading this. Until next time...

Blue Valentine

Bride is away for the weekend in her hometown. Her high school friends threw her a shower today and she is staying with her parents for some good visit time. Sometimes, her interest in movies and mine are not quite the same so tonight I rented "Blue Valentine" with Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. I am no movie critic but this was very well done. While it was far from "entertaining" it was well worth watching. I guess because their love story is so different from my own. They were pregnant when they got married at the justice of the peace. I was married at a Friday night luau and we got pregnant five years later. They struggled with drinking and infidelity. We don't drink and are always together with no chance or fears of cheating. They were physically violent, we've hardly ever raised our voices at each other. They didn't work, we do. I am not saying we are perfect but this movie made me realize that there are couples like this in real life and it made me even more thankful for what I have and not to take it for granted. This is no date night movie, but I suggest it no matter what state your marriage is in.

Childbirth Class

We attended childbirth class this last weekend. The bride is an employee of a healthcare company and they were provided for free, so we decided what the hey....Class was Friday from 6:00 - 9:00PM and then Saturday all day from 9-4:30. (It's funny to me that the newborn care that we will take this week is only 3 hours and hopefully I'll be caring for my newborn a lot longer than she'll be in labor so I don't understand the timing of each class....but I digress) . Anyhow....I am not the most medically inclined or interested person you've ever met. I passed out when I was 8 watching my dad give blood, again when I watched some puppies being born and I don't have to tell you my reaction to watching "The Miracle of Life" in high school. All bad experiences. But, I was a champ in these classes. Sure, the videos were less than desirable but nothing like your mental "happy place" to focus on when the grossing gets tough. I will say, I learned a lot and it was a valuable use of my time.

On another note, God bless nurses. The two that taught our class were very friendly, spirited and were pretty good teachers. I could not do what they do everyday for any amount of money, much less the amount they get paid.

We're less than 2 months from welcoming our little girl into this world and because of this weekend, I plan to be the first one to say hello.

One year...

I live in West Nashville, Tennessee. A community called Bellevue. A year ago today, it started raining....and rained some more....then some more. Over 2 days, Bellevue got over 15 inches of rain. The flooding was unreal. The bride and I live less than half a mile from the Harpeth River so the damage was very close to home. For weeks we went to my old neighborhood just down the street and helped people tear their homes apart, throw their belongings on the curb and listen to their stories and share their tears. Today, one year later, there are picnics and celebrations focused on how far we've come and how far we've left to go before everything is "normal" again. In some ways it seems like the flood was a few weeks ago, other times it seems like it was many years ago.

Apples and oranges I know, but I can't help to think about what my life will look like a year from today. I'll have a 10 month old daughter. My wife may or may not be employed. I may or may not be sleeping through the night. I may or may not have hired a diaper changer full time (kidding on this one). Days, months and years come and go so quickly, it's hard to slow down and enjoy every day, every minute. Everyone with kids always say "they grow up so quickly". I can believe this and hope that I can rejoice and be glad in EVERY day that the Lord blesses me and my baby girl with.