I have to say that I'm feeling better about being home. I think Saturday night and Sunday morning I was so tired that it made my sad feelings even more intense. I took a giant nap Sunday afternoon and felt so much better. I awoke, ready to face life here, excited about what God has for us and the week ahead. Our church is doing an evening program this week, M-Th, called Summer Fest, and it's for the whole family. There will be dinner, a speaker and then classes for young and old. I get to be the children's art teacher, which I am super excited about. I haven't done art teaching since Aug 2004-Aug 2005, but as I prepare, it's all coming back to me, like riding a bike! We're doing simple but fun projects and we'll be doing them with older kids: 4's & 5's, K-2 grades and 3-5 grades. I am used to doing projects with infants, toddlers and twos, so this will really be a treat. I love doing art with kids, helping them feel unbridled and encouraging them to be creative and expressive. So we'll see how the week goes.
Of course, being away from TN means that I'm missing Elijah's growing and changing, which I hear he does every day. I'll post more pictures of him soon. This experience with Beth and Dan has been so new and different to me and I loved being part of it, seeing what most people go through as they give birth and then assimilate their newborns into family life at home. It makes me excited for the days (if it happens) that we have another one. But I don't think we'll plan to do that anytime soon...watching someone give birth acts as great birth control! I'm proud of Beth, and Dan too, watching them go through it together, graciously and lovingly. I'm proud of my mom, who was very professional but so caring, as she walked Beth through each stage. She listened to each cry and made Beth feel ok about what was going on. She never belittled her or told her to get tough, just directed and encouraged. She also kept her tears in, which I think, was also a major accomplishment. It was awesome to see her be in her element, working to birth a new life. I've seen my dad work so many times and it was cool to finally see my mom do her job.
And I cannot thank God enough for the time we had there with them. We prayed, many many times that we would make it for the birth and I feel like the 5 days we had before Beth's labor started were so good, rich and fun. And then because we didn't have to drive, we were there for the whole thing, which was also a gift. It was good, too, to have a day or two to recover before coming back here and diving back into life. Everyone was so gracious to let Nathan work from TN and even though he's busy trying to catch up, I think he was really blessed by having a slower pace of life for a week.
This whole thing was really healing for us and we think, for our family, from Amos' birth. It gave us a chance to be supportive and helpful to Beth and Dan who cared for us so much when Amos was born, and afterward. It gave my mom and sister Abby a way to be involved in ways they couldn't because of Amos' birth circumstances. And like I mentioned before, it gave Nathan and I and understanding of what it's usually like and gave us hope for any future children. God answered my prayers that it would be a beautiful homebirth, a special time for our family, and most of all, that a happy and healthy baby would be born. It's awesome to see God love us and take care of us, calming our fears and letting us trust him.
Elijah is so special, not because he makes me an aunt (which is still pretty cool) but because his birth and life gives praises and glory to God, telling a story that is bigger than all of us.
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