Silas Daniel

I am now a mother! My little buddy, Silas Daniel, was born on September 2 at 11:24 am, and he weighed 7 lbs even. I adore him. I really like being a mom too, although there are a couple of things that I wasn't necessarily prepared for. For example: I think anybody can survive, even thrive, on very little sleep temporarily. But when you're a mom, you don't get to recover. It's just lack of sleep every night in unending succession. I should have been prepared for this, but naively I wasn't. It just didn't occur to me. Another thing that I wasn't prepared for was the recovery period. I knew I would be sore, but I didn't realize just how sore, nor for how long I would feel that way. One good thing, however, is that since I'm nursing I have been soooo hungry. I weigh less now than before I got pregnant, and I am eating near constantly. This is refreshing for me, as I had gestational diabetes and was seriously limited in my diet during the third trimester of my pregnancy. Now, it is gone and I can eat whatever I want. Let me tell you, I am enjoying my rediscovered culinary freedom immensely. And now for some photos of my little man, you can visit my brother's girlfriend's blog here. He looks just like his Daddy.

Big Changes Ahead

The World is changed...at least my world.

Dan and I, after eighteen long months of trying, are now expecting our first baby. I am so thankful for the little Squirt, or Baby Leroy, as Dan calls him. Or her. We don't know yet, and we have no plans to name the baby Leroy. I'm not sure where Dan came up with that one. In my optimism, or self-delusion, it never occurred to me that the less pleasant side affects of pregnancy would be an issue, but they have. I am now halfway through my twelfth week, and have been sick in some form or other for most of them. It has been a challenge that has greatly reduced my creative output, which is why this blog has been silent for so long. However, I am feeling a bend in the road. I'm nearly done with my first trimester, and am optimistic (or deluded?) that things will be better from here on out. I saw my baby in an ultrasound, and fell in love with him. His little smeary black and white image twitching and hopping, his tiny fists waving, his heart a little flutter of motion in his chest.

Another change afoot is that we are moving to Ohio! This is a boon in many ways, especially in that we'll be closer to family. I know both sets of grandparents are quite excited about this, and I share their excitement. It will be difficult, I think, to leave Virginia. I love it here. The friendly people, my friends. Our church, our community, the mountains. But there are lovely things about Ohio, not the least of which is proximity to family. The sky is marvelous there, and since the land is so flat you can see a great deal of it. The summers are also wonderful. Not too hot, not too chilly. Really every season is wonderful except winter, unless you really like snow. Anyway, the times, they are a-changin', and I pray for the grace that will make these changes successful!

That time of year

Yep, it's getting to be that time of year...when I begin obsessing over Christmas shamefully early, listening to Christmas music on Pandora, and trying to order my scattered thoughts into one comprehensive list. I adore Christmas. It makes me happy. The cold weather, snow, sparkling lights, adorable little ornaments, the family and friends, the repetitive music...eggnog! Christmas cookies! Stockings! Garland! Charlie Brown! The Nativity! I don't care how people commercialize Christmas, or what they do with it. To me, Christmas is magical and always will be. Soo...I've been really into crocheting lately, and there are a surprising number of free patterns on the web. I've been getting mine from the Lion Brand web site I shared last time, and altering them slightly to suit me. I made a whole little family of owls, that will soon be dispersed among my family members, a snowman for my Mom, and a tiger for my sister in law. I'm going to make another snowman for Dan's Mom, who thought the little face was adorable. I have to agree with her, as that part was one of my alterations. ;) I have started another project I'm really excited about, but I won't give away all the details until I'm ready to blog about it. I'll just give one little hint...it involves snowflakes!