Baby: The First Dozen Days

Laura Marie turned12 days old last evening.  Some thoughts from the past couple weeks:

  • When Carolyn was in the throes of childbirth, at one point she stuck out her bottom lip.  She does this when she’s sad or hurt.  A moment later the baby came out and started crying, and she stuck out her lower lip.  She looked just like her mommy, only seconds after being born.  It was so cute!
  • Nothing could prepare us for how awesome it is to have a new little baby.  Nothing could prepare us for how extremely challenging it is to have a new little baby.  This whole experience has provided further evidence for the axiom which says that the most rewarding things in life can also be the most challenging.
  • Several days ago some friends stopped by.  It was a mom and her three small children.  As her four-year-old son looked at Laura Marie, he told me, “Um, Pastor Nathan?  Our mommy used to have some babies, and now they’re us!”  And he grinned real big.  It struck me that it really won’t be too long before Laura Marie is a smiling four-year-old whose mommy and daddy used to have a baby, and now it’s her.
  • The way people have treated us in recent weeks helps me to better understand the gospel.  So many people–and I mean sooo many!–have been so generous to us!  They gave us everything we needed for the baby.  They gave us money.  They came to four baby showers.  They sent cards–we still get at least one in the mail every day.  We have so many gift cards that we don’t even spend money anymore except for rent and utilities.  And our church family has brought us dinner 11 days in a row!  We are so grateful to so many people.  Those around us have been a tangible expression of God’s love, grace, and care.  There is simply no way to thank them enough or express how much their kindness means to us.  That’s how it is with the gospel: God has given us salvation in Jesus Christ, and there’s no way we could ever repay Him or thank Him enough.  All we can do is be thankful and love Him in return.  Wow, we are so crazy blessed.
  • Carolyn and I marked our fifth wedding anniversary yesterday.  They say that five years is the ideal time to have children.  You’ve had enough time to become established in your marriage relationship, but you’ve not become too set in your ways.  We hit the five-year mark when the baby was 12 days old.  Guess we couldn’t have timed it much better!
  • Carolyn and I were married at 2:00 in the afternoon, and that morning I sat in the living room wearing a tuxedo and watching The Andy Griffith Show with our friends Derrick and Joy while I waited for the big moment to arrive.  When Carolyn was in labor, there was an all-day Andy Griffith marathon that played in the background most of the time while we waited for the big moment to arrive.  Strange how The Andy Griffith Show has popped up to soothe me on the two biggest days of my life.
Published in: on June 20, 2009 at 11:45 am  Leave a Comment  

Laura Marie Hyde

Laura Marie is here!  She was born on Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 5:01 p.m.  She weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and 20.5 inches long.  We brought her home yesterday afternoon.  Mom & baby are both doing great!

I’ll write more whenever I get a chance…which could be after she goes to college.

Published in: on June 10, 2009 at 8:42 pm  Leave a Comment  

9 Months

Carolyn is nine months pregnant.  Now I understand the expression “pregnant with anticipation.”

Published in: on June 3, 2009 at 9:46 am  Leave a Comment  

When Perspectives…and Cars…Collide

Last night I got a lesson in perspective.  While I was on my way to the volunteer training class at the Eastern Shore Pregnancy Center, I got into a minor accident when I was just a couple minutes away from the center.

Obviously, it stunk.  The car has some damage that needs to be fixed.  The car seat that we’re using to bring the baby home from the hospital is in that car, and Carolyn could go into labor at any moment.  We’re going to have to shell out at least 250 bucks and maybe 500.  I don’t have names of any witnesses to verify what happened.  All that: bad.

But the more I’ve gotten to thinking about it, the more good stuff I’m starting to see.  No one was hurt.  The other vehicle was not damaged.  Carolyn and I have good insurance.  The damage to our car could have been much worse–at least it’s still driveable and will probably only need one panel replaced.  I could possibly have been given a citation for a moving violation.  (I would have fought it in court, but that’s no fun to have hanging over you.)  And I learned more about what to do in that situation if it should ever happen again.

The more I got to thinking about this, I realized how limited my perspective usually is.  When something bad goes down, I tend to look at it and simply say, “That’s bad.  I wish that hadn’t happened.  I want this situation to change.”  But sometimes we have to lift up a rock before we can see all the little signs of life underneath it.  Circumstances might be tough or painful, but God is often at work doing something that’s good right in the middle of it, whether or not it’s something we ever see or know about.  And even when we just see the bad, it could often be a whole lot worse.

On a related note, this also taught me a lesson about control.  I’ve replayed the accident many times in my head, and I can’t think of a single thing I could have done differently to prevent it from happening.  So I’m having to come to terms with the fact that I’m not in control.  I already knew, of course, that I’m not in control of many external aspects of my life.  But I at least want to be in control when I’m on the road!  The fact that an accident could happen and there’s nothing I could do to prevent it is difficult for me to swallow.  Like everything else, however, God is the only one who is ultimately in control.  And that’s a good thing.

Published in: on May 29, 2009 at 12:05 pm  Comments (2)  

Stuff That’s Up

I’m sitting in my office at church, and right outside in the sanctuary there are some little ballerinas practicing for their performance on Friday.  One of them just asked her teacher: “Miss Jeanne, do you want me to give you the answer to what’s new with me today?”  That’s my question for you, my loyal readers: Do you want me to give you the answer to what’s new with me today?  Okay, here we go:

  • Last Thursday was Graduation Day at the Training Station.  It’s always memorable, but this year’s highlight for me was when one of the teachers asked the students what they want to be when they grow up.  One little boy said: “An insect!”
  • Friday was Sports Day (what us old-timers remember as Field Day) at Carolyn’s school.  She’d been off for three weeks at that point.  We went out to visit her students.  The kids were totally stoked to see her again!  One little guy went up to Carolyn and after carefully examining her belly, proclaimed: “Mrs. Hyde, your baby is getting heavy!”  Then he walked over to me, took a look at my stomach, and said sort of whimsically, “Well, Mr. Hyde’s a little bit fat.”  Thanks kid.
  • Carolyn’s sister, Kristen, is an advocate with Compassion International.  In Sunday’s worship service at CrossWay, Kristen and her husband Michael joined us to share about the ministry of Compassion.  She did an excellent presentation, fielded some questions, and then they worked a table with sponsor packets.  Our church and Carolyn’s family have been involved with this organization for over 10 years, and the things this group accomplishes and how they achieve them is amazing.  Compassion is an awesome ministry, and I’d strongly encourage you to check it out at www.compassion.com.
  • My brother Dylan graduated from college (UMBC) last Thursday.  Go Dylan!

And in case you’re wondering, what’s new today with the little dancer mentioned above is that she got a new headband.

Published in: on May 26, 2009 at 12:52 pm  Comments (2)  

Packed and Ready

Carolyn is at week 37, which means that Laura Marie is now technically considered full term.  So the family bags for the trip to the hospital are now packed and waiting on the living couch for the big moment.

From left to right: Daddy’s bag, Baby’s bag, Mommy’s bag:

In case you’re wondering why the baby has her own bag, it’s because her mom has several different outfits picked out for her to wear home.  She wants to wait until the baby is born so she can pick an outfit that best matches her personality.  And each outfit is accessorized–matching hat, bib, socks, etc.

Published in: on May 19, 2009 at 12:29 pm  Comments (4)  

Surprise!

I just got one of the best birthday presents ever.  All three morning preschool classes came by my office and sang “Happy Birthday” to me!  It was so precious.  They even gave me a card and a chocolate cake–which, by the way, really caught the kids’ attention.  What a wonderful way to start the day!

Published in: on May 6, 2009 at 9:36 am  Comments (3)  

33 Weeks

Can’t believe we’re already at 33 weeks!  Starting with Carolyn’s next doctor appointment in two weeks, she’ll go weekly until the baby is born.  We’re getting close!

Published in: on April 21, 2009 at 7:57 pm  Leave a Comment  

Stuff That’s Been Going On

Lots going on lately.  A brief recap:

  • On Wednesday I was able to visit briefly with Carolyn’s kindergarten class.  Those kids are always so much fun!  She doesn’t have too many days left there–her last day is May 1.
  • On Thursday I started a new Bible study called The Creative Call.  I’m doing the study with some very creative people!  We met for breakfast at Denovo’s.  I’m looking forward to our meeting this week as we dive into the book The Creative Call, by Janice Elsheimer.
  • On Friday we held CPR training at CrossWay.  We encouraged all of the volunteers in our children’s ministry to come for CPR certification for adults, children, and infants.  There was a pretty decent turnout, and we’re working on scheduling another session for those who couldn’t make it.
  • On Saturday Carolyn and I went for the second week of our childbirth class.  It’s a good thing this was the second week instead of the first, because it was pretty intense!  We had to watch a video of a baby getting born.  The class ended at lunchtime, but we didn’t have much appetite.  I never thought I’d know so much about cervix dilation, the two sides of a placenta, or perineums (or it could be perinea–for some reason they never taught us the plural of perineum in school; probably just as well since I never knew such a thing as a perineum even existed until a week ago).  As if that wasn’t enough, we also did a whole unit on pain.  Scary stuff!  (Because it makes you wonder: why are we spending so much time talking about pain…?)  But the information in the class has been very helpful and our instructor is very good.  It’s also nice getting to know the other first-time-parents-to-be in the class.
  • On Sunday we finished our three-week series “TXT” at church.  Next week is a stand-alone message, then we launch the Easter series called “i am second.”  We went to Ledos for lunch with Carolyn’s parents and some friends from church–Pete, Flor, Dulce, and Bryan.  In our painting group that afternoon, I finished my first big painting on actual canvas!
Published in: on March 31, 2009 at 5:08 am  Leave a Comment  

What’s Up

This past week and a half has been crazier than usual, revealing one of the disappointing ironies of blogging: the more you have to blog about, the less time you have to blog about it!  Here’s a smattering of what’s been up:

  • At CrossWay we began a new three-week series about the Bible called TXT.  It’s taking more studying and preparation than usual, because it requires more research in addition to Bible study.  The series addresses three questions about the Scriptures: (1) How did we get the Bible? (2) How do we know the Bible is true? (3) How do I study the Bible?
  • A couple Saturdays ago Carolyn and I made a day trip to Pennsylvania.  In one day I was deeply touched with the tremendous generosity of a bunch of people all at once: Julie, the woman who owns the house we rent, let us haul one of her twin beds up to Pennsylvania to store in the house of someone she doesn’t even know.  Our brother-in-law’s parents let us borrow their nice, big pickup to drive the bed up north.  Michael & Kristen let us put the bed in the guest room of their house… AND–they bought us a bed frame with a nice headboard!  Carolyn’s been wanting a headboard ever since we got married, because her pillows would fall behind the bed and we can’t sit up in bed without it scooting out from the wall.  They’re very expensive, and Michael & Kristen bought us one and gave it to us while we were up there with a pickup!  And if all that’s not enough, they took us out for a delicious dinner.  I had some of the best spaghetti & meatballs I’ve ever had, and it followed right after some tasty lobster bisque.
  • When we went to the Amish auction house to pick up the bed frame, I saw my first Amish midget.
  • On Wednesday I got to hang out with my friend Kevin.  We had a lot of catching up to do.  He’s recovering from surgery and is on a strict liquid diet, but fortunately Starbucks coffee is on the OK list.  So we hung out and talked for a couple hours while we put a dent in a big box of Sumatra.  By the way, his dog is a trip–she actually watches TV!  She’ll just sit there and watch and listen, and when she sees an animal on the screen, she jumps up and goes nuts.
  • The husband of one of our preschool teachers, Ms. Pat, passed away a week ago.  He’d been very sick for several years.  She’s one of the saintliest people I’ve ever known.  We’ve missed her around here!  She’ll be back tomorrow, which is good because the staff and children have really missed her.
  • On Saturday I did my first funeral.  I had no idea what I was doing, but if anyone had any complaints, they had the kindness to keep me out of the loop!  It was only the third time in the last five years I’ve worn a tie, and I’ve gotten so fat I had to run to the outlets on Friday to buy some new dress pants.
  • After church on Sunday, ten of us got together for lunch and then met with Jackie, the director of the Eastern Shore Pregnancy Center.  She told us about the ministry there, fielded some questions, and showed us around.  About 25 young women a year receive Christ through their ministry!  I love the way they help women to choose life for their unborn children, but they don’t stop there–they stay involved with the family and help them in very practical ways for a year and a half after the baby is born.  I can’t wait for us to get more involved with this ministry!  Please pray for them, because there is a lot of opposition (unbelievable as that is) to what they’re doing.
  • On Monday Carolyn had three doctor appointments.  First she had to go to a nearby lab, drink a bunch of stuff that was like flat orange soda, then have blood drawn to test for diabetes.  After that she met with her obstetrician, where she now goes every other week until the ninth month of pregnancy, when she’ll have weekly visits.  We met for lunch with her parents, her sister, and my dad, then we all headed over to her ultrasound, which was the third appointment of the day.  Afterward we shopped at Ollie’s, ate very quickly, and headed to a Worship Planning Team meeting.  Long (but enjoyable!) day!
  • Yesterday my mother-in-law, Linda, painted the baby’s room.  It’s a pink color that’s almost white.  I’m sure Laura Marie will love it!  (We tease Linda about having a case of Grandma Nesting.)
Published in: on March 18, 2009 at 5:22 am  Comments (3)  
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