New Arrival

We are pleased and blessed to introduce to you little Carolyn Grace, born in God's perfect timing this morning at 6:45, weighing in at 8 pounds, 6 ounces and measuring 21 inches. She is as pink and healthy a baby as anyone could wish for, and, other than being fairly worn out after a straight 36 hours of labor, we are quite well ourselves. After a meal, showers, and naps at the birth center, we arrived back home about 1:30 this afternoon and are getting ready to continue catching up on some much-missed sleep!

Many thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

Pictures After Dark!

One of the men from church spent a few hours yesterday afternoon rectifying the electrical issues and finishing the hook-up process, so we have power in the whole house now! Consequently, Kevin was able to install the ceiling fan and light fixture in Baby's room last night, and I was able to get my first view of our gorgeous hall sconce, lit.

Baby's room now has some furniture in it. Yes, I know there is no crib as of yet--we have the bassinet in our room for the first few months, so we opted to wait. But here are the dressers and the futon with its new cover, where the many visitors over the next few months will be sleeping.





And, of course, the hall light:

Curtains and Carpet

Today, carpet was installed in Baby's room, and Kevin temporarily hung the curtains on spring rods to provide privacy and light control until all the trim is back and we can put up real curtain rods. Unfortunately, he hung the curtains while I was cooking dinner, and then it was too dark to get a good room-wide picture. . .there's still a minor glitch with the electrical work in that section, so no lights yet. Nevertheless, here is one picture of me holding up the lovely curtain, with the painted walls and a smidge of carpet. And there's another picture of the wall and a bigger smidge of carpet--it looks almost black, but it's actually a very dark green. It wasn't actually on our color list, but we got a great deal on a remnant piece. So we took it. (It's thick, expensive carpet.) And we think it looks nice.

It is Good--

to trust in the living God.

To assuage everyone's curiosity, here's the scoop:

We have our first "past due" appointment this evening, but are not expecting anything to be done. The midwifery practice we are using (and, incidentally, have been very pleased with) does not act as impatiently as some OBs; as long as everything looks good, they will wait up to 2 weeks past our "due date" before inserting themselves in the process. Due dates are relative, as most of you know, and we have no wish to impose an arbitrary standard on what God has designed to work according to His good will.

That being said, there is a bit of a deadline in that we cannot give birth at the birth center if we are over 2 weeks "late." The midwife would still be our provider, but we would have to go to the hospital because of the increased incidence of post-term complications. Nevertheless, we still have plenty of time before that date arrives, so there is no need to hurry.

We are very comfortable where we are. I am not in the least miserable, notwithstanding a couple of the common minor inconveniences that come with being this pregnant. We are not impatient. God has been exceedingly gracious to us; and, come what may, we are confident in His care. Life is good; God is good; Baby will come in His good time.

When Baby does come, assuming all things go smoothly and we are able to deliver at the birth center, we'll be back home within a few hours and able to let everyone know via e-mail and, of course, pictures here.

Thanks for caring,
Alicia

Still Working

Today, Baby's room lost its white walls. Here are a couple pictures:




Also, Baby's quilt received its binding and is complete. Here's a final picture of the finished project, front and back. The stitching on the back isn't quite straight, but it does look pretty neat, if I may say so.

Progress

As of today, I'm a half-step away from completing the baby quilt. The kitchen island is as clean and shiny as if it were new, inside and out. And the fabric for the curtain in the new half-bathroom is washed and ready for construction.

That's the news.

More Baby

And, lest you think the men are the only ones making progress around here, some of our sewing prowess (which really means, some of Rebecca's sewing prowess with my limited aid).

Actually, this first picture is the really cute and bright fleece blanket Grandma made and sent. I took the picture a few days ago, but forgot to post it.


This is what the curtains for the baby's room look like--if you can't tell, the fabric stripes at the bottom are the frog print and solid green we used for other nursery items.


I don't think I've mentioned it yet, and I'll try to stay off a soapbox while doing so, but. . .the bassinet cover on our bassinet doesn't come off. At least, it doesn't come off without actually dismantling the bassinet with a screwdriver. How, then, pray tell, is one supposed to clean it? The idea of taking the whole bed apart every time the cover needs washing (think how often a baby spits up or overfills his diaper. . .) is not one I relished. Cue Aunt Rebecca and grand ideas. The tan color around the sides and the small cream-colored overlapping flaps around the top of the inside are her additions to the cover that was. Underneath the flaps is velcro, attaching the tan liner to the inside of the bassinet, covering the sides and the bottom, beneath the plaid-sheet-covered mattress pad. This way, we should only have to remove the liner to wash. Brilliant! If she doesn't get around to finding a job soon, I told her she could go into practical baby bedding design. :-)

Running Water and Curtains

Proof--the new sink now has running water and a working drain! After tomorrow, we might even have a working toilet. . . .



This is what it looks like now from the hall. Don't be deceived--the toilet is in place and looks grand, but is not quite usable yet.



Here we're deciding on fabric for the bathroom curtain. This is the one we opted for. Note how nicely the other possibilities draped over Kevin's shoulder. :-)

Paint

Kevin accomplished color today in the hall area and the powder room.

An Island of Progress

With somewhere between one and three weeks to go (assuming we're not "early" but could be "late"), we are making progress. At the end of this weekend, we should have the hall area and powder room painted, and perhaps even the baby's room. Then it's on to carpet, refinishing wood floors, and installing fixtures. Today, we acquired 2 dressers for Baby. They are both unfinished wood, so we can stain/paint them when we decide what we want. Sorry, no pictures of them yet. . .but here are some others of our work.

Aunt Rebecca found us an island for the kitchen (she also found the dressers). Also pictured, the 2nd baby sling, 2 wet bags (waterproof bags for holding dirty cloth diapers pristinely while we're out and about), a diaper stacker, a crib caddy, and 1 39-week-pregnant me.


Close-up of the nursery pieces


Baby's finished quilt top. . .now to put the layers together and quilt!

Of Babies and Such

No, there isn't a baby yet. Yes, everything is fine. My aunt Rebecca is here visiting, so we are staying busy sewing and shopping. Here are some interim pictures; more to follow as we complete more projects!

One of the quilt blocks for Baby's quilt:


Some cheap fabric to make a few cloth wipes, in case we need them before my mom gets here with her stash:


The baby sling--furry bear in place--finished today:

Taxes

Doug Wilson has an interesting post about the U.S. system of income taxes. It's food for thought.

Where Could I Go?

It may not sound well-reasoned or carefully considered, but some days are like that. Not all days, mind you--and, in case you're worried, not today, at least in my world--but some days you hang on just because you don't know anything better to grab.
Today at WorldMagBlog, I liked this quote:

Jesus was aware that every step of the way His followers would be tempted to be disillusioned with Him and bail out. So one day, when people were abandoning Him in droves, He turned and asked twelve men still standing after the crowd had thinned, “Do you want to go away as well?” Peter spoke up for the rest of them: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:67,68). I don’t know the tone of voice when he said it. Was he feeling triumphant? Was he just hanging on by his fingernails?

I stick with God because in spite of this painful life, His Words are the most perfect I have found. Sometimes I say that with a smile, and sometimes with a sigh.

Quilting

I finally finished a couple baby quilts for newborns we know, so here are the pictures. The second one is only slightly different from the first baby quilt I ever made. . .I wound up with twice as much fabric as needed for that one when I abruptly amended plans in the middle of the piecing and have been saving the extra blocks for the right baby. :-)

Oi!

Here's the intro:

Possibly as an act of vengeance, a history professor--compiling, verbatim, several decades' worth of freshman papers--offers some of his students’ more striking insights into European history from the Middle Ages to the present.

Here's the article.

Here's a quote to get you started:

History, a record of things left behind by past generations, started in 1815.

Read it and weep.
Or laugh.
Or both.

HT: HSK at WorldMagBlog

Across the Pond

Nobody--and I mean, nobody--does satire like our allies across the pond. From Jonathan Swift onward, the legacy remains.

Belated Pictures

A couple weeks ago, I froze a 20-pound box of blueberries, washed and bagged in 3-cup increments. Ever wonder what 20 pounds of blueberries looks like? It netted 18 3-cup bags.



Me, at 35 weeks, plus a couple days



Our new sink and faucet fixtures! They're not actually installed as of now--Kevin put them up to make sure the rough-in valve and support studs were appropriately placed, then took them down so the drywall can be finished. Nevertheless, here's a glimpse.

Give Me Wood

For those of you concerned (not to mention any who may be obsessive, and I know you're out there) about the retention of bacteria on cutting boards, this article may be of interest.

It claims, through scientific testing, that wooden cutting boards are actually more sanitary than plastic or rubber surfaces, even for cutting meat, and especially when both are cleaned by hand.

I typically use plastic boards, as it seems they are generally considered safer. I am happy for a reason to invest in more hardwood cutting boards, however, and may just try to replace my plastics.

On Discipline

I've been slowly reading My Life for Yours: A Walk Through the Christian Home, by Douglas Wilson. A couple things in the chapter on discipline are noteworthy.

First, Wilson lists the basic principles of fair discipline, or as he says, of "biblical jurisprudence." They are:

1. "Two or three witnesses give us the requirement of independent confirmation. (2 Cor. 13:1)"
2. "If a child tattles to get a brother or sister in trouble, and the report turns out to be false, you shall do to him as he thought to do to his sibling. (Deut. 19:19)"
3. "Parents must take trouble to sort out conflicting stories, (Deut 19:18) however great the temptation to spank them all and let God sort it out (Prov. 18:13)."
4. "A full opportunity must always be given for the defense even if the defense promises to be pretty thin. (Prove 18:17)"
5. "And discipline, when meted out, should be sharp, painful and over. (Heb. 12:11)"

Also, on spanking:

"The liturgy of spanking often teaches as much as the spanking itself does. A child when grown will no doubt have forgotten all the various offenses he "caught it" for. But he will remember, and fairly clearly, how the process usually went. Even if he doesn't remember that process consciously, all he needs to do is wait until he begins disciplining his own children, and it will all come flooding back. Here is a suggested liturgy: First, the child has the offense explained to him. It's very important that this be calm and judicial and not done in anger. Then, the spanking is administered, with the swats varying according to the offense. Next, the child is held until he stops crying, the child is assured that everything is completely forgiven, and the world is a new place. Finally, parent and child pray together, thanking God for the forgiveness."

On Autism. . .or not

Thomas Sowell has a provocative article at National Review about the growing frequency of autism diagnoses for children who do not fit the average development patterns. He seems to imply that recently touted successful therapies for children diagnoses very early in life may be the simple result of wrong diagnoses: "If a child is not autistic to begin with, almost anything will “cure” him with the passage of time."

Autism is one of the scarier (in my opinion) developmental disability diagnoses out there, because we don't understand it. We don't know what causes autism, how exactly to screen for it, or how to overcome it. Compared to something like Down's Syndrome, it's the unknown. Still, over-eagerness to diagnose could clearly cause unnecessary emotional trauma for families.

Our society is so anxious to label anyone who doesn't fit the mold with some sort of condition or disease. When a little boy in 1st grade can't sit still through the 15 minute reading lesson, we helpfully label him ADD or ADHD, give him Ritalin, and merrily continue on our way--when all the while, the only problem may just be that he's a little boy (which, incidentally, is not a problem at all).

I'm not suggesting that there are no developmental disabilities or challenges. I'm not even suggesting that we avoid looking at them as possible reasons for behavior. I'm just saying that we should tread carefully. . .we already have the highest rates of medicated developmentally challenged children in the industrialized world. The solution, if there is one, has to involve individual doctors and parents who are willing to give their children space to be different. Hopefully, that can be done without compromising the possibility of successful early intervention.