Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my dad's birthday. He would have been 57. It has been a weird day to say the least. Yesterday Forrest and I had an ultrasound. We are having a BOY! It has been fun to think about how excited my dad would have been to find out he was having a grandson. But, it has also been sad, knowing our son won't have the privelege of being absolutely adored by his "Boppa." I have been trying to think about what to do in memory of my dad today - it should be something that he would have enjoyed. So far all I have come up with is eating fried chicken at the deli below his office - but since I am not in Jackson that is not possible.

My mom sent all four of us an email today telling us the story of our dad at each of out births. It was really cool to read - we have all heard the stories before, but each story had something new that I didn't know before. I am going to share the story of my birth with you guys...

Amy, Guess what sporting event was happening on your birthday – The World Series – I wish I could tell you who was playing and what the score was, but I can’t – but you know that Dad knows! We were in our apartment and it was an evening that Daddy was not on call . We were watching the game together and around 9:00, my labor started. Dad would tell you how great it was that I let him finish the game. Being very naïve about babies and such, I wasn’t sure I was in labor ( your doctor thought I wasn’t due until November) A few hours later, we decided that we should go to the hospital. Dad with his big grin decided as I reached the bottom of the stairs, that we really needed a picture of me pregnant. I can still see his big, silly grin, thinking this was all going to be very funny – I wasn’t laughing. Contractions are not photogenic! Things went pretty quickly once we were at the hospital. No one could start my IV, so I didn’t get to have my epidural. Daddy was amazing and continued to rub my back till his hand I’m sure felt it was going to fall off. He was so encouraging. HE seemed to know what to say through all the stages of labor (even though he had slept through most of our Lamaze classes!) Then at 3:31 there you were – Daddy’ face glowed. You were his little girl – to cherish and love. Thankfully, Dad was doing a pediatric rotation and could stop in and see us during the day. It was on one of those visits that he held you I his hands and with tears in his big blue eyes that he asked me if I thought you would ever get married? His prayers for you and your future had already begun. You were only about 10 hours old.

Reading that story just makes me feel special - and reminds me of how much I was loved by my daddy.

Sadie Pearl

Sadie Pearl Wachob was born at 3:30 this afternoon. She weighs 7 pounds, 2 ounces and is 20 1/2 inches long. Colleen and Erik are doing great. Sadie came so fast that the doctor didn't even make it to the hospital on time. I will post a picture as soon as my mom emails me one!

Technical Difficulties

I have been wanting to post about our trip to Hawaii for days. And I have wanted to include pictures. However, I have not figured out how to upload the pictures to our new computer. And yes, I did ask Forrest and he's not sure either. The computer wants to reformat the SD card, but that means bye-bye pictures. So, you will all have to wait. In other news, I bought my first Christmas presents this morning. And I can't tell you what they are because the people receiving these gifts actually read this blog. I think this is the first Christmas in years that I actually shopped in November. Maybe that means my family will get presents on Christmas Day this year, instead of mid-January like they did last year.

A New Journey

I have been contemplating starting blogging again for a few weeks. My difficulty has been where to start. In the last month my life has been completely turned around. I look at my last post and can only think of all the different emotions that we experienced that day. Forrest and I started out that morning going to the doctor's for an ultrasound. Immediately afterwards we called my dad to let him know that everything was looking great. He was so excited to hear about his grandchild and to know that everything was okay. I am very grateful that I was able to have that conversation with my dad. In so many ways it exemplifies who my dad was: vibrant, funny, but most of all madly in love with his children and future grandchild. It still seems surreal that just a few hours later he was gone. The last month has been very difficult and quite strange. Life continues to move forward, even when I don't want it to.

So, where do I go from here? I will continue to blog about what Forrest and I have been up to (our trip to Hawaii). I will share about the pregnancy (and how at 17 weeks, I don't look pregnant.) But I will also share about my grief; my struggles with God's timing; about how God is amazingly sovereign; and about what a great guy my dad was. In the last month I have realized how many people my dad impacted with his life. My dad's faith, vibrance for life, and sense of humor touched those around him deeply - even those who did not know him for long. I desire to honor my dad by emulating his best characteristics - which I believe came from his loving devotion to Christ. It is my prayer that during this new journey, my faith and love for Christ deepen - because my dad would see that as the greatest honor of all.