The scan

We had our second ultrasound yesterday, the one where we get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl and where the experienced technician looks for any problems with the baby. I had to pee like you wouldn't believe, and was planning to do so as soon as we walked in, but to our surprise the technician was there waiting for us and ushered us right in. I said, "If this is going to take longer than about five minutes I'm not going to be able to hold it," and she said "Let's just have a look." So I lay on the table and forgot about my bladder as I watched this little babe curled up in my belly. I choked back a sob and let the tears roll down my face as she showed us a four-chambered heart beating away. It was a mixture of relief, as the anxiety I didn't quite realize was sitting under the surface melted away, and of joy, and of deep sadness as my thoughts drifted to Will and what my friends must have been feeling as they watched their baby's two-chambered heart struggling away. And then, as if reading my thoughts, she focused in on the face and said, "There's the lip, you can see it's perfectly formed, there's no cleft." And she showed us two legs curled up to the chest, and two arms, one of which was scratching the head, and a head and belly that were all perfectly formed. I lay there feeling so undeserving of such a precious gift, and so thankful, and so sad.

As we walked out to the car Tim said to me, "Why is it that in order to experience the greatest of joy you have to open yourself up to the most horrific pain?" I think it's because we live in a world where God is present, but He's not in charge. At the moment Satan or the devil, or evil, or human nature, or whatever you want to call it, is the ruler of this world. But when God comes and takes charge, life will be so dramatically different, we won't know what pain is. I find that so hard to imagine. But it's what I hope for.

As for Hattrick...if you want to know whether it's a boy or girl, you'll have to ask me. I don't think I'm ready to post that info for the world to see.

Another conversation with Cerys

This conversation actually happened about a week and a half ago, so it's very old news, but I've been wanting to post it since then, and I have a morning to myself while the girls are at Costco with their daddy, so here goes.

Tim: Cerys, have you noticed that Mommy's belly is getting big?
Cerys: (Nods)
Greta: Do you remember the last time Mommy's belly got big?
Cerys: (Nods)
Tim: What was in there last time her belly got big?
Cerys: Um, toast?

The real meaning of Christmas

This is the story of a boy who had a Christmas wish.
His dad wanted him to be the happiest boy at Christmas time.
And to make him the happiest boy, he knew exactly what to do.
He reached up high and got hold of the Christmas wish.
And took it to a place where Christmas wishes come true.
(Scalextric GT Racers Set £99.99)
Don't Christmas shop for it. Argos it.


Click here to view this ad from Argos, a UK store that has EVERYTHING. You go in and it's pretty much just a big room with catalogs scattered around the edges. You go look in the catalog, write down the number of what you want, take it to the teller where you pay and then go wait for someone to call you up to collect what you've just purchased. I don't know that we have anything like that in the US.

This ad makes me want to spit. Not that I'm surprised at the materialism of Christmas. That's what Christmas is about, right? It's just the blatant statement that toys make kids happy. That getting everything they want makes kids happy. Haven't they seen A Christmas Story? You'll shoot your eye out!

I won't go into a long speech about the evils of Christmas just now. Another day, perhaps. For now I'll just leave you to enjoy this lovely ad.

Oops

I totally missed it. I somehow thought it was today, but no, it was last Sunday. A very happy, though belated, first anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. What should have been a wedding gift, and then was to become a first anniversary gift, and is now just embarrassingly late, should arrive this week. :) With much love, to one of the greatest men Tim and I know, and to his wife, whom we long to know better!

All by Myself

Tonight I am feeling incredibly sad, as my husband is leaving me and the girls for a week to go do business in California. My lovely father hired Tim's company to do the marketing for Gelato Paradiso. So Tim and his partner are off to the States to get the grand tour of the stores and come up with a brilliant marketing plan that will get them ready for franchising. Which leaves me to be mom and dad for the next eight days. With a chest infection and out-of-control hormones, I'm feeling completely ill-prepared for the challenge. Not to mention the fact that I'm green with envy that Tim will be in California visiting MY family. I want to go too! Boo hoo.