Graves Updates

Pa from the Bible

2011-07-07T19:12:00.002-06:00

I just had the most confusing conversation with Annie and Riah while tucking them in bed tonight.

Annie: "Have you heard about Pa in the Bible?"

Mommy (confused): "Pa? You mean Pa Grape? [VeggieTale character]"

Annie: "Not Pa Grape, Pa."

Mommy: "No, I don't think I've heard of Pa."

Riah: "It's Jesus, and he was walking along the street and there was this big eye down from heaven and it was God and he got his name changed to Pa. We learned it in Sunday school."

And that, for the record, is the most creative retelling of Saul's conversion that I have ever heard.

Exercising with a critic on hand

2011-06-06T13:01:00.002-06:00

"Mommy, why are you breathing?" asked my three-year-old as he watched me huff through an exercise video this morning. I think he meant 'why are you breathing REALLY HARD' since his first question was followed immediately by, "Why isn't the lady breathing?" That would be the lady on the video. "Mommy, you're not doing it right. The lady's legs are straight. Your legs aren't straight." And so it continued! If I had been a serious exerciser, I might have been insulted. But I was too pleased to have carved out enough time (not to mention enough floor space in the living room) to actually justify dusting off the DVD. No critic was going to stop me from enjoying a little exercise!

By the way, when we finished Pilates, I put another exercise video in for the critic to evaluate while I checked email. He immediately fell asleep on the couch while Leslie Sansone walked off the calories. Exercise is just hard work! :)

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly: Part 2

2011-06-03T19:26:00.001-06:00

I should have thrown away "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" when I had the chance. After our last reading I was interrogated as the the feasibility of swallowing a horse, and why the lady died, and did she go to heaven, and why did she think the spider was going to catch the fly, and if it did catch the fly, how would it get out of her tummy.

Tonight? "How could she swallow a goat [opening mouth to see how big of a goat would fit in]? Why is she getting fatter and fatter? Why didn't she eat the cat's collar? Now that the fly is out of her mouth, is that pesky fly going to fly somewhere and find a bee and ask it to go and sting the lady?"

Angels we have heard on high

2011-06-01T13:37:00.002-06:00

Josiah's favorite hymn is Angels We Have Heard on High. I discovered this one day while he was babbling to himself in the car. I could have sworn the babbling sounded like the chorus to that hymn, so I began to sing it, and he babbled right along. Go, Joe-Joe! Can't speak any significant English yet, but he knows a little Latin. :)

So now we sing the hymn daily, but I realized today that we need to practice the words. After a rousing chorus of "Glo-o-o-o-o-o-ri-a, in excelsis Deo!" Annie began a solo on the second verse: "Shepherds why this jew-el-ry..."

Our Adventure

2011-06-01T12:09:00.004-06:00

We had a nice outing with the moms and kids from church this morning, including a tour of the fire station, a picnic lunch and splashing at a water play area.

But on the way home, Riah all of a sudden declared, "Mom, we forgot our adventure!" I don't know what he thought we had been doing, but apparently it wasn't an adventure.

Riah's morning musings

2010-12-11T07:59:00.002-06:00

Zachariah was coloring at the kitchen counter and babbling away this morning. I thought he was talking to himself, but then I listened to his words and decided otherwise: "I hope you have a good day, sitting at the right hand of God, and coming to judge the world at the last day, I hope you have a good day!"

"Does Shane have a brain?"

2010-12-02T19:31:00.002-06:00

While sitting on the potty and talking up a storm, Zachariah declared that his brain is in his head. "Some little kids have brains. I have a brain. Does Shane [Riah's 11-year-old cousin] have a brain?"

I assured him that yes, Shane has a brain.

"No," laughed Riah, " Shane doesn't have a brain."

So there you have it, straight from a reliable source. (Sorry to disappoint you, Shane!)

Annie speaks "Sp-annie-ish"

2010-12-02T15:52:00.001-06:00

While reading "Barney's Weather" to Annie and Zachariah last night, Annie interjected her own interpretation of the text.

Mommy: "On rainy days, Barney carries an umbrella."
Annie: "On clampy cays, Barney carries a cruprendella. That's Spanish for umbrella, Mommy."

Smiling Josiah

2009-09-04T08:30:00.002-06:00

Here are a few minutes of smiles by Josiah! He seems to be our fussiest baby, but he is smiling more and fussing less as the weeks go by. He is almost 8 weeks old now and very interested in the world around him. His favorite position seems to be propped up where he can see what's going on or carried around in the bjorn.

Another potty pic

2009-09-01T10:43:00.003-06:00

Since my blog seems to be mostly about pottying.... this was a recent cute moment!

Impromptu Potty Party

2009-09-01T10:33:00.004-06:00

Annie and Zachariah had an impromptu celebration this morning after Zachariah used the big boy potty for the first time! He is fascinated by the potty since Annie is potty training, and on a whim I took off his diaper when he was standing in the bathroom saying "potty" and pulling up his shirt. He sat right down and proceeded to pee on the floor (since there was no pee guard). I guess I'll have to take this seriously and get him his own "big boy" potty.... and more lollipops!

Josiah Graves has arrived!

2009-08-08T06:31:00.003-06:00

We thank God for the safe arrival of Josiah on July 13, 2009 at 5:11 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and was 19.5" long, and he is a healthy, happy, hungry boy.

Our visit to the hospital took somewhat longer than we anticipated: our doctor sent us to St. Ann's to be induced unexpectedly at 38 weeks on the evening of Saturday, July 11 due to my blood pressure being pretty high, and we thought there was a chance Josiah would be born that night since he's our third child. (We've heard all the stories about third children being born on the way to the hospital! )

Sunday morning we were still waiting and labor was not progressing, so the doctor broke my water. Monday morning we were STILL waiting and not progressing! By noon Monday the doctors were starting to mention the possibility of a c-section, but by God's grace labor kicked in full force that afternoon (without an epidural, might I add) and Josiah ended up being born in such a hurry that 4 doctors and as many nurses were scrambling to put on their gloves to catch him! (I don't know why they were caught off guard since we had been waiting 44 hours for this....)

Annie and Zachariah love their baby and want to hold and pat him all the time, and mommy is quite busy keeping him safe and changing lots of diapers. We thank God for blessing us with three children! Josiah means "the Lord saves" and that is our prayer for all of our kids, that God in His graciousness will save them so that they can spend eternity in heaven with Him!

Jephthah Revisited by David Murray

2009-05-04T18:30:00.001-06:00

Restoring a Hero's Reputation from Puritan Reformed on Vimeo.

Zach slept 10 hours straight!!!!

2009-01-28T07:52:00.003-06:00

Hallelujah! At almost 11 months of age, Zachariah just slept 10 hours straight through the night for the first time ever! Mommy is elated and hopes this will be the start of a longstanding trend.

On another "note," Zach's cousin Shane came home from school yesterday with a recorder, so of course we had to get out our box of instruments to play along with him. Zach discovered that he can make a sound by blowing into his recorder instead of just chewing on it -- and thus a new musician has been born!

What is it with Zach and diaper anecdotes?

2009-01-20T20:09:00.002-06:00

Today I was returning to the "play room" after going to the kitchen to throw away Zach's dirty diaper when I heard him crying. Assuming that Annie was sitting on his head (again!) I rushed into the room, only to find that Zach was getting his diaper changed for the second time in as many minutes -- by his big sister! Annie had apparently knocked him over, removed his pants and diaper, and was in the act of studiously wiping his bottom with a wipe! Oh, it was hard not to laugh!

Then later in the morning (no more diaper stories for now) Annie and I were making pancakes, and we went to the pantry to get out the pancake syrup. She grabbed a half-full bottle of "Lite" syrup off of the shelf, but I took it from her and handed her a full bottle of regular syrup instead (tastes better) and asked her to take it to the table. On the way she dropped the heavy bottle on her foot. As she was picking it up and wimpering about her hurt she made me laugh by bemoaning, "Light syrup, want light syrup!"

WHERE was Zachariah made???

2009-01-15T08:48:00.004-06:00

I don't often laugh while changing poopy diapers, but this one took the cake! When I removed the offending pamper from Zachariah's bottom last night I discovered that a strange item had passed through his digestive system: a small sticker stating the following fact previously unknown to me....

"Made in China"

Doctor Daddy done with dissertation?

2009-01-12T13:50:00.002-06:00

Annie, Zach and I are waiting patiently (sort of) in Columbus while David is at Trinity reviewing final edits to his dissertation with his professors and handing in the final-final-final version of the behemoth. We're praying that it will be all taken care of before the end of tomorrow, which is the deadline to avoid paying another semester's tuition. Off to the right are some new photos of Annie and Zach in a new album. Enjoy!

Smile, Annie!

2008-10-29T13:58:00.002-06:00

This was too cute not to share -- I caught Annie wearing her cousin's winter boots and backpack this morning, and when I asked her to smile for a picture I was glad my camera was in video mode! Annie will be 2 in a few weeks, but there's nothing terrible about this age.

"Swimming" in the back yard

2008-09-25T06:56:00.002-06:00

At 6 1/2 months old, Zachariah is already crawling and loves to search all over the play room for unattended paper and books that he can eat! We enjoyed a fun evening by the firepit earlier this week, and an empty pool was the perfect place for Zach to play. :)

Zachariah

2008-09-19T04:45:00.003-06:00

It has now been 15 months since we came to Ohio to stay with David's parents, and so much has happened. Most importantly, Zachariah! Annie and Zachariah are both growing so much, and it is a delight to be with them every day watching each new development.

Annie talks up a storm and repeats everything I say now. Favorite phrases are "wan, tooo, fthreee" and "readeee, tset, doe!" (ready, set, go). Zachariah is almost crawling and loves to roll around the play room to discover new things to eat. He loves books the best!

Here's a video of Zach playing with his favorite ball. More blog soon regarding everything else -- gotta go feed Zach his "second breakfast".

New pictures of a chubby baby

2008-06-03T19:42:00.001-06:00

Zachariah is almost three months old now, and he gets bigger every day! He's almost transitioned to size 3 diapers (Annie is still in 3's) and was 14 lbs 7.5 oz (90th percentile) at 2 months. Of course, the reason he is growing so much is that he likes to eat all the time..... what do you know, Mommy is being paged right now! Two convenient locations open 24 hours a day! :)

Zachariah is a big boy!

2008-04-14T14:23:00.002-06:00

Zach had his most recent doctor's checkup last Friday. Praise God for his continued health -- at a little more than 5 weeks old he weighed in at 11 lbs 12 oz! I guess we can declare the boy a good eater for having gained more than 4 pounds in 5 weeks. He and Annie are relating pretty well. She likes to give him hugs and point at his ears, nose, hair, feet, etc and he stares at her in stark terror whenever she comes within his line of vision.

Announcing Zachariah Glenn Graves

2008-03-16T19:11:00.002-06:00

We thank God for the addition of Zachariah Glenn Graves to our family on March 5, 2008! Zachariah was born at 9:21 pm at Mount Carmel East hospital and weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and was 19.25 inches long. He is a good eater and a good sleeper, and at his one week check-up he was already 7 lbs 15 oz. Big sister Annie is very interested in her baby and likes to pat him on the head. She has also tried to SIT on his head a few times! Now I understand why most parents take far fewer pictures of their second and successive children -- little did I know it would be a full-time job protecting Zachariah from the loving whacks and pokes of his sister. But everyone is adjusting to life as a family of four, and we've been blessed with lots of help from grandmas, aunts and cousins.

Zachariah means "the Lord remembers" in Hebrew, a phrase that has been key in David's dissertation studies. He shares his middle name with David and David's dad Harold. We pray that the Lord will indeed remember this little one as he grows up.

Annie's First Word: "Uh-oh!"

2008-01-21T20:46:00.000-06:00

Annie is growing by leaps and bounds recently! She has learned how to start climbing the stairs (so yet another baby gate has been installed....) and she can pull herself up to standing on almost anything. She hasn't stood up completely unassisted yet, but she likes to put her head on the ground and straighten her legs up so it looks like she's getting ready to do a somersault. Every day she grows more and more independent and more and more precious!

Although she's been babbling for months and has said a number of words seemingly on accident, David and I have declared her first official word to be "uh-oh" since starting last week she always says it in the proper context, such as when she flings her sippy cup off of her tray. Her second word, "up," followed close on "uh-oh"s heels as she loves to be lifted up on to the lazy boy or rocking chair so she can sit like a big girl. We're hoping that "ma-ma" and "da-da" will be next; she says the phrases a lot but I'm not convinced she is always using them as our names.

David is working on chapter 4 of the dissertation now (out of 5 substantial chapters) and is actively looking for a pastor position. He has applied to churches all over the country. Just yesterday he applied to a church in Florida, which sounds nice right now since it's been close to zero degrees here for the last few days! At this point we aren't sure where we will be when the baby is born, but the clock is rapidly counting down -- 7 weeks to go! We are daily learning to trust God's timing for everything, knowing that it is perfect even when it seems quite mysterious to us! As of right now we are still in Columbus with David's parents and are scheduled to deliver at Mount Carmel East hospital. Annie doesn't seem to notice that mommy's belly is very large and round, and we have been praying especially that this will be an easy transition for her. We're thankful that she has lots of family here to love her and help take care of her!

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T19:54:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year, and Happy Birthday to Caroline in LA! Annie spent some time scootering around the kitchen this evening, quite oblivious that this evening is any different than any other. We thank God for a whole fun year of seeing her grow and change! She is 13.5 months old now and is pretty close to taking her first steps. She loves to stand up and can pull herself up on several pieces of furniture. But to get around fast, she still prefers scooting on her bottom! She says "ma-ma" and "da-da" but not always associated with the right person. She also looks at the correct family member if asked "Where is Papaw?" or "Where is Shane?" for example. Annie can find her belly button and her toes, and she also likes to find mommy's belly button. I don't know if she realizes that mommy's belly button is looking quite flat these days! I am 30 weeks along now and already feel like my belly can't get any bigger, but we have a long way to go until our official due date of March 10.

A long-overdue Graves Update

2007-11-25T20:47:00.000-06:00

Hello family and friends!

I hope you have enjoyed a thankful Thanksgiving and are looking forward to the celebration of Christ's birth! It has been over 5 months since David, Annie and I moved from Chicago to Columbus, and I know we're long overdue for updating you on what's going on in our lives.

While we don't have any updates regarding our long-term plans, we do have a few fun family updates. Annie turned 1 on Nov. 17, and it has been an absolute delight to watch her grow and change. She isn't walking yet and has decided not to crawl either. Instead she sits up and scoots around on her bottom. It's not as fast as traditional crawling (Mommy's not complaining -- more warning before she gets into something!) but it works and is hilarious to watch. Some pictures (more recent ones first) are accessible by clicking on her photo above.

Our other fun family news is that Annie will be a big sister in mid-March. Yes, we're expecting! Annie and baby #2 (we decided to be surprised this time as to baby's sex) will be about 16 months apart in age, so we'll have our hands full. But we are so thankful to God that He has blessed us again. I'm nearing the end of the second trimester and feel great -- I can still crawl around on the floor with Annie and am able to nap with her during the day when I'm tired. She and I have taken lots of walks since we moved to Columbus, averaging 2-4 miles per day of strolling around the neighborhood before it finally got too cold in the last few weeks to take Annie out most days.

David is over half-way done with writing his dissertation and is just about finished with the most difficult chapter. He is currently actively looking for a pastoral position and has sent his resume out to several dozen churches all over the country. We are open to wherever God will lead, although we would love to stay close to our families. While we're seeking God's direction for our long-term plans, we've gotten involved in a local church where I'm playing the guitar on Sundays and David has preached and taught Sunday school several times. We would like to get settled in a long-term ministry job as soon as possible, but the timing is up to God.

We are still living with David's parents and his niece and nephew, and they have been so gracious during this time. It means a lot to me that Annie recognizes and loves the family members she has gotten to see regularly. Her weekly routine includes playtime with her cousins, cuddling with her grandmas, and peek-a-boo with her grandpa. My mom is a children's librarian, so Annie and I have been attending her baby story time session every week. Annie loves reading (and eating) books! She also loves swinging at the neighborhood park right next to the Graves house and going for walks and playing peek-a-boo with any blankets or clothing she can get ahold of and put over her head. Imagine peek-a-boo on the move, with Annie scooting around on her bottom with her pajamas over her head, and you'll get the picture.

Well, it's long past my bedtime and Annie is an early bird! I hope to post to this blog a little more regularly in the future, but I'll email when I do. God bless all of you!

Bekah on behalf of the Graves

Switch to Wordpress

2007-06-13T06:29:00.000-06:00

I have just switched to Wordpress for my theological blogging. Bekah has been asking me for some time to start a new blog so that Grave Updates could be for family updates. So I just started Leviticus and Stuff at http://davidgraves.wordpress.com/.

David

Christ as the Supreme Treasure

2007-03-15T12:11:00.000-06:00

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Hebrews 13:5 KJV

On October 28, 1948 while a student at Wheaton College, Jim Elliot wrote in his journal, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep for what he cannot lose.” Within seven years he gave up what he could not keep and entered into the shadow of the Almighty! At the time the news on the front page of every newspaper. Life magazine did a pictorial of the five widows and their children. The world saw it as a tragedy, because death is seen as final, but for the Palm Beach Martyrs, Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, and Pete Flemming, it was the beginning, the entrance into the unmediated presence of their Lord Jesus Christ.

Part of the story of the Martyrs of Palm Beach that is seldom told is that each one had a pistol strapped to his waist. Each one could have shot and killed their attackers. This leaves me asking, why? What is it that made them refuse to shoot their attackers in order to defend themselves? I can only come to one conclusion; they considered the trials and tribulations of this life as nothing compared to the all-surpassing joy of knowing and being with Christ. They could say with Paul “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” (Phil 1:21).

Such an attitude and view of life leads me to ask myself two questions: 1) Could I in their place gladly, with all joy go to meet Christ? 2) If not, what is it that holds me back from this mindset (or “conversation” to use the language of the King James)? The word conversation in this older usage has a much broader sense than what we talk about, but it definitely includes our modern sense of the word. It designates our mind set, our habits, and the means we use to obtain our livelihood. In other words our total life should be free from covetousness, literally the love of money. But this raises the issue why do we love money? It is not because we find George, Abe, Ben, and Ulysses particularly attractive in their green hue. Rather we see money as the means whereby we may attain happiness and the life that our culture tells us we deserve. The problem is that this life is exactly contrary to what Christ demands of us.

Instead we are to be content with what we already have. What do we already have? Christ! What more could we ask? The riches of the universe are ours in Christ, and yet we want the baubles and trinkets of the world, thinking that they will give us contentment. Rather “there is great gain in godliness with contentment,” (1 Tim 6:6). This gain does not pass away. Christ does not fade or rust, whereas when we buy “happiness” it is never enough. How many times have we bought something saying, “Eureka! This is it! This will make me happy!” only to see it collecting dust in the top of a closet within a few weeks? It leaves us wanting more and needing more to be happy.

But notice the promise in Hebrews 13:5, “never will I leave you nor forsake you.” In Christ we have a treasure that will never leave us wanting for something else to sate our thirst. In Christ alone do we find lasting contentment. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time,” (1 Peter 1:3-5).

Annie and the Dragon

2007-02-04T21:27:00.000-06:00

Poor Annie was minding her own business today when lo a terrible fire breathing dragon beset our poor lass in her travels...""ello lass, what be your name?" Our heroine then answered "Annie" (her silly parents had not yet taught her that she shouldn't talk to strangers). At that he responded "I be Bob the dragon, and I am going to have you for dinner."

Now the common ordinary lass would have been afraid of this dragon, but armed with the countless readings of Leviticus by her dad, our heroine began to ask the foul beast, "Sir (for while her parents had not taught her not to talk to strangers they had taught her to honor her elders) but I am unclean, I am not yet 80 days old so my parents have not been able to make the sin offerings. As an aside the חטאת would better be rendered purifaction offering, but as the word is used for sin it is stuck in English that way." At this Bob is taken aback..."Excuse me lass but I thought that the purification was to happen after 40 days." "Why yes sir for all boys but as you can tell I am a girl and so, I wouldn't want you to defile yourself by eating me...besides cannibalism is an abomination and if you were to eat me then the people of the city would have to take you outside the city gates and pelt you with rocks until you are dead, so as to purge the wickedness from the land."
At this Bob was getting quite flustered (now if our villain had only read Leviticus 11 he would have known that Annie was stalling him). For Annie knew what Bob did not, dragons are unclean, because not only do they not split the hoof, they do not chew the cud, thus he should have gobbled our fair lass then, but she was using this stratagem to great effect. He was now taking his time. He then asked "How long 'till you be clean lass?" At this Annie knew the time was ripe to finish this waylayer of travelers once and for all. For unbeknownst to Bob, Annie had at her disposal the one weapon that will make every dragon die on the spot, fermented milk breath, better known as spit up, and so she struck the foul beast and so she threw down her enemy on the heights and ended his evil ways...and she lived happily ever after.

Annie of the Week

2007-02-02T07:59:00.000-06:00

Annie is thinking Daddy are you really going to read me Leviticus again?! I mean I think I have it figured out that High Priest sprinkles blood on the ark on the Day of Atonement but he does not touch it because it is so dangerously holy that he would die of he touched it. So can we please read something a little more entertaining than about the blood of bulls and goats? Something like oh say Dostoevsky?

She's a Daddy's Girl

2007-01-20T09:31:00.000-06:00

Look at Daddy's little girl she is trying to imitate Daddy when he was her age and she hasn't even seen a picture yet! She is one finger off though she prefers the knuckle of her thumb, for me it was the index finger!

Annie's Red Outfit

2007-01-14T17:46:00.000-06:00

Well here she was all dressed up for the celebration that didn't happen, but it was such a good picture it had to be posted. She is just like Mommy and Daddy, OSU's loss didn't bother her all that much...

Motherly Propaganda

2006-12-01T18:00:00.000-06:00

Here is Annie taking a nap on Daddy. You wouldn't know it given the blanket, but Mommy couldn't resist the picture. I think I need to make sure she is taking naps at night and awake in the day, but she has that one backwards for some reason...

Second Bath

2006-11-28T19:46:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of me right after Mommy and Daddy gave me my second bath. They even fixed my hair for me so that I could wow all those passers-by. Because today I went on my first stroller trip across campus. We got to go shopping at the Clothes Horse. I got three new shirts. So we got me all bundled up and we strolled across campus and I think Daddy scared Mommy when he kept pretending to let go of the stroller as they drove my hot rod stroller. But it was great fun, although the road was a little bumpy they need to fix some of those pot holes, but I had fun, and then Mommy and Daddy showed me off to some nice people, but I was ready to get home and eat some more. It was exhausting work looking pretty for those people, so I think I will go down for a short nap....

Almost 48 Hours Old

2006-11-19T16:16:00.000-06:00

Here she is! She is home. She coo's it kind of reminds me of a dove, although one nurse said she sounded like a turkey. It is sooo cute. Okay Iam gushing, but look at her! She is the cutest thing on two legs.

Anna Marguerite!!!!!

2006-11-18T15:04:00.000-06:00

Anna Marguerite ( I hope this removes some of the anxiety for those who were afraid we were going to actually name her Levitica) was born November 17 at 4:37 pm. Baby and mom are healthy. Mom is recuperating well. We will update more later when exhaustion has gone down to a low grade buzz.

30 Week Belly Shot

2006-09-21T18:25:00.000-06:00

At 30 weeks, we're officially 3/4 of the way to meeting our baby girl! With 10 weeks to go, I am alternating between two opposite feelings (that I'm sure every pregnant woman experiences). I feel like 10 weeks is an eternity to wait before Levitica joins our little family, and I feel like there is way too much to do before she gets here!

Levitica is going through a shy phase right now. For a while she was showing off for her daddy, but recently she's taken to settling down nice and still when she hears his voice and feels his tap on the tummy. During the day when I'm sitting at my desk it's another story -- today I think she was practicing karate since my whole belly was lurching around for a while during the editing of a particularly boring spreadsheet. What must my co-workers think when they see me with my hands on the keyboard, smiling and looking distractedly down at my tummy!

We are very thankful that God has given us an uneventful and normal pregnancy so far, and we trust ourselves to His care for the home stretch, the last quarter, the final pages of the prelude before chapter 1 starts!

Levitica T-78ish Days

2006-09-08T14:04:00.000-06:00

Well here is "Levitica"'s first picture...She is due to join us sometime in November, God willing. Boy (or should I say girl?) how things are going to change.

Now for the nickname...my family is into nicknames, my grandma was Lulu (she was 43 when she became a grandmother so you can understand her reticence for the appellation grandmother). So it goes, my great-grandmother was Lola, and there is a Dodo in there somewhere…so as I was saying, I am working on my dissertation in Leviticus so what happens is my mom and her siblings were together and they thought, “Well if it was a boy they could have called him Leviticus, but now since she is a girl that just wont do!" "I know we can change the ending,” one of them pipes up and voila “Levitica!” So before anyone asks that will not be her real name but it is the nice cover story for now, but she sure will have a hard time turning out normal with the in-laws and out-laws to contend with...

In this picture she is imitating mommy with a nice yawn!