Surprise!

Iain Paul Archibald has arrived!

He was born at 11:11 am, 1/28/08, after my water broke unexpectedly, Sunday morning. He weighs 6 lbs. 15 oz and is 21.5 inches long. He was 35 weeks, 3 days along, fortunately, thanks to the prayers of many of you, you wouldn't know he was quite that pre-term from the way he looks, sounds, or behaves. He been consistently measuring on all of the above as 37 weeks along. Praise the Lord!

Please do keep him in your prayers; he is being observed in the NICU for a heart arrhythmia (skipping every 3rd beat), and due to being under 36 weeks. I'm trying not to worry, as there's nothing I can do but pray that he's fine. I am, however, preparing myself to go home before my baby. Come, Lord Jesus

New Arrival!

We have a family guitar, at long last!!!

Mark likes to call it "his" guitar based on the fact that I don't play guitar. Using that logic, I decided that the baby is "mine" because I'm the one he's growing in, and I'll be the one feeding him. Mark has changed his tune. The guitar is now "ours." :)

Good laugh!

See the link below for a baby care primer.

http://www.c00lstuff.com/1133/Do_s_and_don_ts_with_babies/

Recovery

Returning from our Bradley class, Mark and I found the entire office emptied and the pipe bandaged. Our formerly "safe and secure" belongings are now strewn around the greater basement/rec area. Fortunately, being J-term, there aren't many students around. Even so, I'm hoping that there is little interest among 18-19 year old boys for diapers, a stroller, car seat and many other misc. household items...and that they don't feel like playing air-hockey or pool anytime soon. I have to admit, it's a little strange seeing your familar things in a foreign location, having been moved there by strangers who have no emotional tie to any of it. Odd.

Additionally, the water has been turned back on, so we have both running water and heat! Praise the Lord! :)

...just in...

What is one of the most common complaints of the 8+ months pregnant woman? And how would not having running water affect that?...but wait there's more, what does that 2nd half of the page say? Radiator heat. Welcome to the 19th century where no water = no heat. Wait, what's the temperature in MN right now? Lemme check...um, it's 9 degrees. I guess that's how we got into this mess in the first place. Nothing like a little adventure! :)

"I have some very bad news"

...said Mark, as he walked through the door. (Don't worry, this has nothing to do with the life or health of anyone!)

"What?" I asked, not sure how serious he was.

"The office [aka Archibald storage closet] is flooding as we speak...a pipe burst."

Horror sets in, as I think of all our brand-new baby stuff, luggage, misc. boxes of odds, ends and memories all stored "safely" in Mark's basement office.

"I'll come see" I say, as I look for my shoes

"Just keep in mind," says Mark, "we have renter's insurance."

"Praise the Lord," I think, as I head toward the sound of Niagara Falls.

Outcome: As I looked at my box full of "memories" dating back to Kindergarten, now sitting in a puddle, all I can say is "well, we live in a world that is passing away."

Thank you, Lord for that reminder...none of this is "my" stuff, it's just on loan for me to use for awhile. However, on a practical level, as far as I can tell, NONE of our baby items have been damaged...a wet diaper bag? Well, those are made to get wet, right? I couldn't see, from the safe distance of the next room, how anything else faired, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.


Thar she blows...

Notice all 4 garbage cans full of water...these have been emptied multiple times, as they are filled with water from the smaller trash can (above photo).

Happy voting, Michiganders! (I can't say I envy you).

Yes, we're still alive!

Mark and I enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season in MI. We returned to snow-covered MN this past Monday and have been settling back into life here. One of the items on my "fun" To Do List was to set up our baby's crib. I was planning on doing this myself, but as Mark and I had the evening free, I enlisted his assistance...and then essentially handed the project over to him entirely. Sorry, Mark! :) So, for your viewing pleasure, here is the progression: 1) Happy Mark, excitedly assembling his son's crib

2) Mark, getting a bit fed up with the instructions that succeeded in only confusing the entire operation. I think we would've had better luck if they were absent or written in Chinese!

3) Finally, success! Here is the crib in place at the foot of our bed, complete with my favorite crib mobile of all time...and of course cozy essentials for baby: alarm clock, cell phone charger, and many (suffocating hazards, which will be removed before actual use) stuffed animals. Oh, and the cutest snowsuit, ever!

4) And let's not forget Mom and baby! Here we are, at exactly 33 weeks. 7 more to go, give or take a couple... Somewhat comfortingly, I've been measuring consistently 1 week "behind" (so, 32 weeks at my appt. today), so either baby will be late, :( or I may have a chance at a "little, little" :) as a friend of mine likes to call newborns.