The change

Took O out of his Moses basket, fed him, brought him into bed, where he and I fell asleep... with his hand on my face.

Talking with Owen.

Feeding my little buddy.

Hittin' the beach together.

He is so handsome.

I can barely describe in words what I feel when I think of God's goodness to us through Owen. All I can think, as I choke back tears, is that my life will never be the same.

I can't imagine my life without precious, long-awaited Owen.

Long before children were in the picture for us, and even when there was the hope of Owen, I was told by various people how my life would change. I have found there are two main, yet polar opposite, viewpoints.

First, there is the view that babies change your life, and are kind of an interruption and an inconvenience. Many views are that your lives change forever, your relationship with your spouse goes downhill, your independent life is non-existent and you live for this child. They say, "Kiss any sort of adventure or travel or fun goodbye." It's a very sad and empty way to see children, and motherhood and parenthood.

The other viewpoint I am surrounded by with my friends. They all share much of the same joy, the delight in the fact that life has changed, but for the better. Life becomes more full. Today, I was going to make it home, or so I thought, by noon, and then feed Owen at home after having dropped off Cheston in Simi to do Summer School teaching. Owen was hungry and he wouldn't wait! So, I pulled over at Starbucks in Simi, made a bottle, climbed in the backseat, held my boy and fed him. He ate for like 40 minutes. I didn't leave there until almost an hour later. I can't describe to you how much that delighted me. I can't tell you how many times I would go to see Cheston in Simi, or hit up the mall, and then head straight home. I'd stop if I wanted to, or wait to go to the bathroom till I got home. It was a very one-dimensional life, kind of missing something. Today, I got to stop and tend to Owen's needs, and nothing was pressing and he was the priority. I don't know if my description is adequate, but I will put it simply: stopping to feed my son in the parking lot of Starbucks is ten times more fulfilling than hitting up every store by myself in Simi Valley Town Center. And that is a huge statement, because you know I love shopping.

I love my son. I love motherhood. I love that it makes me the better woman who I want to be. I love that he makes me want to wear more dresses and style my hair. I love that I get to pack up the car when I go somewhere. I love picking out outfits every day for him. I love the privilege of washing his clothes. I love how he smells. I love that I learn something new every day. I love that I notice that Owen's eyelashes are growing longer. I love that his eyebrows are getting thicker and darker. I love that smile after he finishes a bottle. I love his dimples, one much deeper than the other. I love how I know to hold him to calm him. I love when I let him lay on my chest/tummy, how he loves to nuzzle his head. I love that he sweats. I love that when I kiss him, he opens his mouth. I love that when Chet kisses him, he opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue from the whiskers of Chet's mustache. I love that he sleeps with his hands by his head (when he's not swaddled). I love that he watches me intently when he's wide awake. I love that he turns at the sound of our voices. I love that he has the cutest little legs you have ever seen. I love that he sits in Daddy's lap while Daddy tells him the creation account. I love that we sing hymns to him. I love that we read him a Psalm every day. I love that Chet is already doing the children's catechism with him. I love that he loves to lay like a football in Cheston's arms. I love that he curls up in a ball when I have to change his diaper. I love that he pees everywhere when I change his diaper. (It's funny, c'mon, you gotta laugh at that!) I love that we didn't get what we wanted immediately years ago. I love that God wanted us to wait. HE WAS WORTH THE WAIT.

Two weeks

A few days ago, we celebrated Owen's two week birthday at Leo Carillo Beach near Malibu. Enjoy the vid.

Owen's sneeze

Yes, we are those parents...hahahaha.

Videos of O

Here are a few videos, one of Chet playing Uke to Owen, one of Owen watching his awesome mobile, and one of Uncle D wrassling O before his daily kiss.

Our Owen

Little O is amazing. I haven't gotten to blog, because right now I want to spend as much time with him as possible! I think the couch has a permanent indent in it from my rear end!

I just can't get over the fact at how much God loves us that He gave us dear Owen. He is such evidence of the immeasurable grace God pours out on us. Here are some older videos from the hospital. Enjoy!

Praise to the Lord

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, who, when tempests their warfare are waging,
Who, when the elements madly around thee are raging,
Biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace,
Whirlwinds and waters assuaging.

Praise to the Lord, who, when darkness of sin is abounding,
Who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding,
Sheddeth His light, chaseth the horrors of night,
Saints with His mercy surrounding.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

My Son

I can't kiss him enough.

He fell asleep in my arms while I was burping him. His utter dependence on my provisions for him reminds me of God's for me.

Learning about Owen. Poor Gidget, is getting a little ignored.

Peaceful in his Moses basket. It was unreal waking up to him with the sun shining through the curtains this morning.

God shows me how much he loves me through the gift of Owen.

I love quiet time with him.

I love his "pillow face" when he's out cold on my chest.

Pretty indescribable.

Our first walk.

My son, Owen, was born June 9, 2009 at 11:27 a.m., weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces, and measuring at 20 and a half inches.

My life will never be the same.

I can't even explain in words how much my life has changed since my son, Owen, came into it. If I could explain the story of how he came to us, and all the details surrounding it, and how my life will forever be changed, I would. But for now, I will tell you the simplicities of the miracle that his life has brought to us:

* I get to hear his breathing next to my bed, and that gives me far more than butterflies.
* I wake up, with the light shining in my room, and look in his Moses basket, seeing him sleep peacefully, and I think to myself, 'It can't get any better than this.'
* The grass is greener and the sky is bluer than it's ever been.
* I feel like I get to be the best of myself, the woman God has always wanted me to be, a mother to Owen and wife to Cheston by taking care of my little one and tending to his every need and pouring upon him love and nurturing, and loving my husband by making our home a haven and oasis to arrive at.
* I look down at formula on my jeans as the biggest blessing and joy, because a little over a week ago, my life was pretty quiet, as I was desiring this amazing and fulfilling role as a Mommy.
* This precious little life, that has forever changed mine, is a gift from my precious Lord, and I will forever understand and know that He is truly my portion, He truly upholds me and gives me new mercies each day, and hears my cries. I cried out to my God for a child, and He heard my cry and provided OVER ABUNDANTLY more than I could have ever asked. This son, my precious Owen, does not complete me, only my Jesus does, but I do know that Owen makes me a better me, and God has truly given him to us.
* Waking up in the middle of the night to feed my child is the greatest thing I could ever experience, because I used to wake up to go to work, and absolutely nothing compares to this blessing of a "job".
* He is loved and was anticipated by so many people. We have to wash his head at night because his hair gets dirty from all the millions of kisses he receives throughout the day, from a constant flow of Owen fans.
*I see how much God loves us through giving us Owen and all the joys we find in taking care of him.
*I read God's word now, like I never did before.
*Looking at my Owen, makes me think of, pray for, and love his birthmom with all my heart. I love that every time I look at him, I think of her. She loves Owen so much, that she listened to God and gave him to us. Because of her, we get to be Mommy and Daddy to our beloved son.

My life is forever changed because of my Lord's provisions to us through our son. I am a different person than I was one week ago, when my dear Owen was born.

Nothing Too Difficult

If you have a little bit of time, I would highly recommend heading to our church's website and listening to an amazing sermon. The other day as I cleaned the house, I listened to "Nothing Too Difficult", May 24, 2009. It was incredibly encouraging and I found great strength and refreshment from it.

http://www.fccoxnard.org/sermons.php

This week has been amazing. All in this week, we have finished the baby room, judged canon-balls for the youth group, possibly broken my toe?, celebrated Christina and Lorelei's birthday, cut my own hair!, cleaned and organized our room (as in moving the extra mattresses out of the room and rearranging to make way for Owen's bassinett), chaperoned Grad Night for Chet's high schoolers, Chet preached on 57 minutes of sleep at his high school chapel, we attended graduation with Cheston on 57 minutes of sleep and I on 4 hours, celebrated Blair's new job, and spearfished. (Not me, Chet.) It's been a week of preparation, both of the house and our hearts. We anxiously await our little O's arrival.

Enjoy the pics.