Early Weeks This and That

(Edited to show the correct "publish" date. Started this on 5/6, but didn't finish until 5/11)

Have I told you lately that I have the most wonderful husband on the planet? God sure knew what He was doing when He overruled our shared thought that we would Never end up together. From his gentle encouragement while I was giving birth to Andrew, to the countless ways he has served me without any complaint, I am thankful.

The first couple of weeks after birth are often challenging for me emotionally. I'm doing pretty well this time. I think one reason for that is the realization that staying bouyant is not accidental for me. If I do not make the conscious choices that help me stay bouyant, I will begin to sink. I'm thankful that the Lord is helping me remember to make those needed choices. Perhaps I'll write more on this later.

Dad and Mom Smith were gracious enough to come get the Blessings in the middle of the night Thursday night (Friday morning) and to take care of them until they brought them home Sunday afternoon to meet their new little brother. Many thanks to them.

My beloved Mama arrived last Tuesday, May 4. She is such a blessing to me! It is a treat to have someone who knows me well enough to anticipate my needs/wants, who sees the "tired" in my eyes and sends me to bed, who is a bosom friend, and... who is such a good cook! The Blessings have loved having G'ma around as well. Lots of game playing happening at our house these days! We are so thankful to Mama for coming to take care of us, and to Papa for doing without her while she's here.

Grace had been asking for weeks about when "our newborn baby" was going to be born. She still sometimes calls Andrew the "newborn baby." So sweet.

Stephen must have caught the "newborn baby" label from Grace. When they came home on Sunday afternoon, it took him a bit to warm up to this new person. But before long, he was sitting on our bed with Andrew in his lap. He looked up to tell me, "This is our newborn baby." Then again, with serious eyes, "Where did you find it?"

Stephen has already started bringing gifts to the newborn baby. I guess he knows Andrew is a boy... he brings me flowers, but he brings Andrew rocks.

Andrew has hair that is almost auburn (brownish with blond and red highlights), with a very interesting hair growth pattern. He has multiple cowlicks, two of which send his hairline above his forehead in two different directions. He also has some wave, so it will be fun to see how his hair looks in a few years.

The older Blessings are always ready for a turn holding Andrew. It is sweet to see their love for him.

Another interesting feature of Andrew's is his eyes. I realized several days ago that Andrew doesn't have blue eyes! Though the other Blessings eye color varies, they all started off with blue eyes. Not Andrew! It's hard to tell what color they are/will be, but they're not our typical deep baby blue. How fun!

Last week, Mama and the Blessings helped me with replanting our pepper seedlings. They had outgrown their peat pots, and it's a bit too early to put them out in the garden. They should make it till transplant time just fine in their new pots.

Enough of random thoughts... time for a snooze.