When asked about what he thought of the Democratic Presidential primary and whether or not Sen Clinton should drop out of the race, this is what my son Sam had to say (that’s Meet the Press on the TV in the background)…
I shall vomit you out of my mouth Sen Clinton!
The other night Shari and I were sitting on the couch with the TV on. I had Sam in my lap, and he was sitting up, just hanging out, really. I looked up at the TV for like ten seconds, and I looked back down at Sam and I see something like this face…
He was just grinning at me the whole time even though I wasn’t looking at him.
Then the other night at about 3 in the morning I was rocking him to sleep. He had his pacifier in his mouth, and he appeared to be almost asleep. I put my finger in his hand so he could have something to hold, and he grabbed it and started to giggle.
(more photos on the Sammy page).
Sammy got his first shots today.
Daddy did not like seeing his little boy in pain. He cried like he never has before, and his eyes were filled with tears, and his whole body got red from the stress. And it was hard on me?
He’s out like log now. It was a hard day for my little man.
It’s no wonder that people use sleep deprivation as torture. Being a new dad is a wonderful thing – I love my son more than I ever thought possible. And my wife and I have a bond that we never had before. But the lack of sleep has been a challenge to say the least. It seems that lack of sleep has been the main source of conflict between my wife and me over the past two months – whether sleep is the issue we argue about or whether we’re arguing because we’re just tired. And when you’re tired you’re inhibitions don’t work right and arguments can escalate. Needless to say, you find out a lot about yourself when you haven’t gotten enough sleep. You find out, among other things, how selfish of a person you can be.
But last night was revolutionary. Sam only woke up once at 2 am to eat, and he slept the rest of the night. Hopefully this keeps up. I find that I’m a much better person in general when I get a decent amount of sleep.
Yay for sleep.
We’re almost back to normal as Shari’s gone back to work and I quit my job at Ninfa’s. I’m going to be a stay at home dad and full time student until May.
[For more pictures, click on the Sammy page]
I’m not sure what to think about life right now.
I’ve got a baby on the way. That’s exciting, to say the least. I love my wife. Every moment with her is just… peaceful. My favorite part of the day is when I get to just be with her.
I’ve got a new job. It’s pretty cool, I suppose. There are some fun people there. And I’ll make good money for what it is – a transitional, part-time job. But, dang, training is not easy. Passing the menu test is definitely doable, just incredibly taxing, stressful, and time consuming.
Class is great. I love Truett. Next to family it’s the best part of being alive. I’ve learned so much and met so many wonderful people. I have truly seen the love of God at this place. But, dang, the work is tedious at times. Dr. Ngan’s assignments make me not like the Bible – I didn’t think that could happen.
Leaving Western Heights has caused a flurry of conflicting emotions. I am sad about leaving my kids, to be sure. I will miss them greatly. I will miss teaching them, hanging out with them; I will miss trying to show them what Jesus is like. But I am surely excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and the newfound freedom on Sundays that I will have.
Life is strange and confusing, really, when you sit back and reflect.
Through it all, may each and every one of us pursue love, joy, peace, faith, and hope. And may God bless those pursuits.
Just about every night before we go to bed, Shari puts the i-pod on her tummy and lets Sammy listen to some music. We usually play either Jack Johnson or The Shins because he seems to react the most to them.
But last night we played a violin solo for him, and he went crazy! You could literally see him bouncing around in Shari’s belly. It was very fun.
Maybe this means he’ll be a musician or something.
How can anyone possibly describe the anticipation of becoming a parent? One friend said it well, “Are you simultaneously weirded out yet at the same time freaking excited?” My thoughts and emotions are completely scrambled. Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. Yet at the same time Excitement. Courage. Humility. Love. I don’t know the first thing about being a father, other than I know that my own father’s example was a pretty darn good one (not perfect by any means, but good).
I guess my biggest fear is that I don’t know if I will be able to show this kid what it means to have life to the fullest. I want Sammy Luke to experience everything that is good in this world. I want him to experience peace, love, joy, patience, gentleness, etc. And at the same time, I don’t want to deprive him of experiencing pain and loss and disappointment.
More than anything, I want to show him who Christ is and what that means for his life.
It was so neat to feel him kick for the first time. This was the first interaction that I’ve had with him. I don’t really have words other than inadequate expressions of emotions. The only way to describe it would be to get you to watch my wife and I interact at home as we experience our first interactions with our son. It is pure joy that can only be expressed with a smile.
To say the least, he’s in there, and we’re ready to meet him.
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