Celebrations!!

On Sunday, 9 November, two very special things happened. If you read our last blog entry, you have already read about the birth of our newest grandchild, Trisha Lynn, pictured above at 1 day old, in a "must record" pose at the hospital.

But another wondrous thing happened that day. Our little Mea was baptized! So in Las Cruces, NM, and in Sacramento, CA, that day of 9 November we had special, special events in the lives of both our granddaughters. How proud we are of Mea for making the decision to accept Jesus Christ as her Savior and to follow Him!

One week later, little Jon turned 3, so the celebrations of life continued.

We do not have pictures yet of Mea's baptism, but we'll post it when we do get one.




In the meantime, here is Jon blowing out candles on his cake at the early celebration of his birthday the night Trisha & Christy came home from the hospital. Both sets of grandparents were there, so although his birthday was a week away, it was the perfect time to celebrate with him.

And here is Jon, a proud big brother, with his new little baby sister.

The Birth of Trisha Lynn

Is there anything in this whole wide world more amazing and incredible than the miracle of birth? I don't think so! How anyone can be any part of the birth process and not believe in a God who lovingingly and meticulously planned it all is beyond me.

Early on the morning of 7 November, Christy called to let us know she had been having contractions 5 minutes apart for several hours and that I should cancel my participation at the Atherton Baptist Homes Board meeting, with apologies to friend and CEO Dennis, help her daddy finish loading the van, and head to Sacramento. Neil and I headed out with prayers going up and heavy feet, if you know what I mean! It's usually for us a 6 1/2 - 7 hour drive, but that morning, it only took 6 hours. The big question: would we get there in time?

Funny how "the big question" became totally immaterial because Chris and Rich were sent back home late that morning, after 6 hours of 5-minute contractions, which then slowed down but continued throughout the day and night. Chris suggested playing Five Crowns that evening after we got Jon to bed, a favorite activity of the four of us. It provided a great distraction from the contractions. Here's a pic of Rich poking Trisha, saying, "It's alright to come out now!"

Leaving Neil (aka "Papa") home with little Jon that Saturday morning, the three of us went back to the hospital, after 32 hours + of contractions, with the waters leaking this time. Chris was getting really tired from dealing with the pain of the contractions, which were long and strong but not as close or predictable as they'd been the morning before.

Decisions? Here you are in the midst of a long and painful endurance process, concerned about getting through labor, fervently praying for the safe delivery of a precious and healthy little person, and the medical people expect you to make decisions! What's with this? Although the original desire had been to do without meds, Chris and Rich made an excellent choice in having an epidural, which she said was definitely one of the best decisions of her life, given all that came thereafter. Here's a pic of a relieved Chris on drugs and finally without pain!

Taking her own sweet time in joining us in the "real world", Trisha Lynn Carter was born at 6:08 a.m. on Sunday, 9 November 2008, weighing in at 8 pounds 15.9 ounces at 20 inches long. "Papa Frey" would like you to note that her initials are TLC, and TLC is definitely what she gets!

When this precious little one was born, the cord was wrapped around her neck, so there were seemingly endless minutes (seconds??) of waiting to hear her cry while two nurses worked on her to get her to give that first critical little wail -- and little it was, but oh, so welcome! Talk about added incentive for intense prayer!

That first little sound brought tears to all our eyes, believe me. The relief was great!

It's a long time since I've pulled an all-nighter, but I can't think of a more worthy cause than being with my baby while she had her baby. Since Jon was transverse, and thus had to be a C-section, watching the miracle of birth was a new experience for Chris & Rich. As you know, if you've experienced it, it is overwhelming and powerful. As I said earlier, how can you be part of that process and not believe in a God who created this plan of conception and birth? God is awesome!!

Although our first labor/delivery nurse hoped and expected that we would deliver on her shift, we actually got to spend almost the entire 12-hour shift with our second labor/delivery nurse, Danielle, pictured here with Chris, Rich, and little Trisha in the delivery room.
Neil and I are rejoicing in adding this third beautiful grandbaby to our family. Mea who is 9, Jon who just turned 3 this week, and now Trisha Lynn add such an amazing dimension of love and delight to our lives. Our hearts are filled with great joy and thanksgiving!

I Cannot Believe I Did This!!! Aye, Chihuahua!

Mamma said there'd be days like this . . . but really!

The chilly (50 degree), sunny and clear morning began with a walk to Corner Bakery for coffee and a lovely cold oatmeal breakfast (Yum!) with a great friend. We had a good visit over our oatmeal then headed off for whatever else our days held (going to work for her, shopping at Trader Joe's and walking home for me).

All that sounds great until you hear that my friend got two parking tickets while we were at breakfast. TWO! Man, if that doesn't add insult to injury, what does?

Working around the house today, I was feeling so constructive. We're leaving for Sacramento tomorrow to be there to help with little Jon as Christy and Rich welcome a new little one into their family, so Neil and I have been getting ready to leave for that wondrous and special event. We're feeling pretty ready with the house cleaned, the car mostly loaded, and everything else set to go.

And then . . . oh, my gosh! Then in a moment of utter stupidity, I picked up two bottles of nail polish, walked quickly down the hall to put them into my purse so I'd be sure not to forget them, and dropped one, kicking it with my next step. Not so bad, right? WRONG! I'd inadvertently left the lid loose and nail polish was spraying all across the hallway onto . . . onto our brand new carpet!

Did we wait ten years for new carpet? You bet we did!

Have we had this lovely new carpet long? Nope, we have not! It was installed the first of August, if memory serves. We've been gone most of the time since then, so we've enjoyed this for about a month.

Did I spill clear nail polish? No, I did not!

Did I spill creamy-colored nail polish that would blend nicely into the carpet? No, I did not?

Did I spill the darkest nail polish I use? Oh, yes, I surely, purely did! Tender Rose -- only I wasn't feeling so tender at that moment in time, but more like an absolutely stupid, crazy, foolish clutz!

And then . . . I frantically fell to my knees, nail polish remover in hand, to begin trying to mop up the mess, and realized after it was too late that perhaps there are better ways to get nail polish out of a carpet than madly swiping the cloth with nail polish remover back and forth. Hindsight is a wondrous thing, but it comes too late, for the swiping motion, of course, smears that Tender Rose color across the carpet like an artist stroking a swath of paint across the canvas.

Did Neil yell and scream, rant and rave? No, he did not!

Did he thoughtfully get down on his knees and help scrub the carpet? Oh, yes, he did, all the while saying, "I don't think this is going to be as bad as you think it is?"

God bless that man! He waited ten years for new carpet, too, and he hardly expected it to get sprinkled with nail polish and baptized with nail polish remover.

When I ran out of nail polish remover pads and had emptied my current bottle of nail polish remover, I jumped into the van and drove to CVS to get more supplies: two more boxes of those pads and another bottle of nail polish remover.

And now, alas, the remover pads are dry, being resoaked numerous times, and the bottle is empty. If anyone lights a match anywhere nearby, the carpet will disintegrate. Maybe it will anyway, given how much nail polish remover it's got on it and how hard I've worked at rubbing it back and forth, round and round.

I'm also concerned about my lungs. Thankfully, I don't smoke as I'm sure right now I'd ignite -- a new form of internal combustion -- if a flame came within 10 yards of my being.

What I'm really thankful for is a patient, calm, wonderful husband who could have been so incredibly ugly about this whole fiasco, but who remained calm, helpful, and uncondemning.

I'm also thankful that this beautiful new carpet is not a solid-colored off-white, like the old one, but a flecked cream with touches of brown and a burnt red color. The Tender Rose blends in better than it would have with the old carpet, and in a crisis like this, you need to be thankful for mercies, large and small!