A hero in Adidas

I’ve known him for 5 years, loved him almost that long, and I’ve always been exhilarated by his humor and good looks and charisma. He’s always been a man with integrity and smarts and compassion, and he’s a wonderful dreamer and companion. But it wasn’t until recently that I found out something new--those adidas pants, hats, shirts, and socks are his superhero costume! He has shown his true colors in full force, though, as his powers have been tested and called upon more than ever.
Jonathan has been working two jobs, attending my doctor appointments, doing all of the household chores (cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc.) while I’m on bed rest, preparing for our move in July into our new townhouse, serving in his calling at church, and more. Yet he still somehow finds the time and energy to be extra attentive to me, getting me to laugh and hope and enjoy this little life inside me, showing his faith and trust in the Lord and crediting Him with the ability to do it all.
I am so grateful for him and for his leadership in our family! He’s my hero! Watch out, the Adidas Man is on the move!

My Happy Thought

Two days after discovering we were having a boy, I was still trying to digest just what that meant. After all, I realized that when I dreamed of motherhood I had always pictured a girl since that's what I related to. A boy?
Visions of my brother Alex (please don't kill me for sharing this story) came into my mind. When Alex was just about 3 years old, he woke up one morning and wandered sleepily into the bathroom. I was sitting on the counter, and my mom was drying off Jeffrey (1 yr old) from his bath. Alex, decked out in a camouflage tee and superman undies, was oblivious to it all. He sat down on the toilet, yawned, and promptly created a urine rainbow directly onto Jeffrey's head!
So, as I pondered this story, still giggling in my mind, I walked past the onesies at Target and saw an adorable blue one that said "Automatic Sprinkler." I laughed out loud, and immediately purchased the onesie. It is the only piece of baby stuff I currently own, and since I didn't have a place to put it, the onesie ended up hanging from a hook on my front door! Now, whenever Jonathan and I are leaving the house, we see it and get a laugh and a hope for the joys of parenting a son. It is such a silly, simple thing, a little $2 onesie, but it has turned into my happy thought to give me perspective through these trials of pregnancy. Who knew onesie decor could be so powerful? :-)

It's a Boy!

The vision of Jonathan doing a happy dance in the middle of a lab room is probably not something I’ll ever forget. He is thrilled and excited to have a little boy; he says it is like growing another friend! I have to admit, I was really expecting a girl so my first reaction was one of shock and awe. “Are you sure? Exactly how sure are you?” The technician said, “100%!” So I still said, “Really? A whole 100?” But, you can see for yourself in the picture, our little man happily mooned Mom and Dad amidst his joyful acrobatics. It looked like there was a trampoline in there, he was jumping around so much! (Maybe my bladder works like a trampoline!) It is going to be an adventure to be the mother of Jonathan’s son! I hope I am up to the challenge... and I can’t wait to meet him!
So, we are happy and relieved to see the baby doing so well. Of course, we had a girl’s name ready to go so now we have to get down to picking which of our awesome boy’s names belong to this hearty young man!
In the meantime, please keep Little Man Gray, Tamara, and Jonathan in your prayers. We’ve been facing some scary complications and we’re hoping that all will go well with the Lord’s blessing.