so what happened?!?!

Ok, maybe you aren't asking with such enthusiasm, but I left you sort of hanging last week by saying that the weekend would be a little nuts, but not why. Here's the why...

Do you remember when President Bush surprised the troops in Iraq by showing up unannounced on Thanksgiving Day? That's kind of what Heidi did in Buffalo last weekend. She spent a couple days in our old stompin' grounds to connect with close friends and celebrate the upcoming birth of a second child with some friends.

Short(ish) back-story on this...

When Heidi was pregnant with Liberty, some good friends (PJ and Barb) were expecting their first child...they would be born about the same time. Barb went into labor about 25 weeks into the pregnancy. The doctors were unable to stop her body from birthing the otherwise healthy baby girl. The birth process was too much on the little body and within a few hours of birth, Hannah's short life ended.

I was at the hospital shortly after it all happened and was the only person (other than the parents and hospital staff) to see Hannah's little body...all wrapped up in clothes. For a few moments, I was filled with joy, looking at her because it looked like she was still alive and that she'd made it...but no.

A couple weeks later, I facilitated the funeral.

You can begin to imagine the bond formed between our families.

Heidi and I had just moved to IL and found out we were going to have number 3! The next week, we got a call from Barb who told us that she was pregnant. Once again, we were expecting at the same time! We prayed. We prayed some more.

After passing the 25 weeks, they went public. And last weekend was the shower/blessing for the Saikia family. Heidi had to be there...not an option.

Heidi will tell you more details on her blog, I'm sure.

She was gone...and I was home tending the family!! We had a great time together. They slept well (Mom hates when I tell her that they sleep until almost 7). We played hard, enjoyed ice cream. Sunday was a little nuty as I tried to get to the church ealy enough to prepare while getting the kids ready. Thanks to Miss Bonnie who met me there and wrangled kids while I jumpd into the morning routine.

After worship, Aunt Laura came home with us and hung in the afternoon, played with kids, and let me get a little nap.

Monday evening, Mr. and Mrs. Thorp (pronouced Forp by Izak) came to play while I went to the airport to pick up Mommy.

What a great weekend with my kids. I love being their daddy. It's a gift to love them like that.

And yes, it's a pretty quick trip for me to realize that God takes pleasure in loving us, his children and is not bothered by caring for us...

So...that was the craziness I was talking about.

this week has been getting stuff ready for the upcoming shift in the Sunday am schedule. This is the last weekend that Northwest Christian Communty will worship at just one time (except for potential special celebrations). Beginning next week, there will be two worship gatherings to choose from. I'm excited about that shift for a number of reasons...none of which I will spell out here.

There's the scoop.

M@