"How is it with your soul?"

Early on in the pregnancy process, the Mrs. and I were so excited to be pregnant but were unable to share it with anyone. We had decided to not share with others that we were pregnant until closer to the 12^th week in an attempt to get out of the high-risk time. All of our nervous excitement had to go somewhere, though, so we found ourselves sneaking into a bookstore to buy a book about our new condition. Since Lynds and I are both something of bibliophiles, we decided to limit ourselves and only buy one book to read each. Lyndsie, of course, settled on the classic, “What To Expect When You’re Expecting.” I went for a less conventional choice with, “Dude, You’re Gonna Be A Dad!”

With section titles like, “I saw the sign and it opened up her cervix”, it took me less than a week to read it cover to cover. Somewhere in there, and the direct quote escapes me, the author, John Pfeiffer, talks about fathers-to-be coming to terms with their own mortality. It seems the impending arrival of the next generation has a tendency to make fathers think about the fact that they are getting older themselves. Add onto this the fact that I’ve inadvertently picked up three or four fiction books recently that deal with the theme of death and I’ve been in for some serious introspection.

The things people say (and do)

This pregnancy thing has really opened my eyes to some of the common things that people say and do. It seems that there are some standard things that are said to people or done around them as they go throughout their pregnancy; I had no idea!

To preempt what I know is inevitable at the conclusion of this post, this shouldn’t prompt apologies or changes in people’s behavior. These are simply my observations of the experience so far and they certainly aren’t negative (mostly).

Railroad Tracks & a Taste of Spring

Yesterday Josh and I went for BB's 4 month appointment!  Tomorrow I will be 16 weeks along.  I can't believe we are getting close to being half way through already.  I mentioned to Sharon (our nurser practitioner) that my lower back has been hurting, especially when I lay on my back (which I like to do when I'm reading in bed or watching tv on the couch).  She looked at my charts and said "Well, I can't get on you for gaining weight too quickly, because you are doing great with only gaining 3 pounds since the beginning of your pregnancy so far."  That was good to hear, because with how much BB is already sticking out, I was nervous that I was gaining too quickly.  Apparently, though, my weight is just redistributing itself right to my stomach.  She advised me to stack a few pillows under my knees when I'm lying on my back and gave me some exercises to do to stretch out my lower back and loosen my hips some.

The Rev!

Wow!  Yesterday around 4pm, I got a call from my "shepherd" with the Board of Ordained Ministry that I am being recommended by the board to be commissioned!  I got to celebrate with dinner at El Patron with Jen R., Patti, Dave, Matt and Brittney while also celebrating Brittney passing her exams and becoming a Registered Nurse!  After handbell practice and choir practice, Josh and I celebrated with dessert at Sweet Frog since he had his staff meeting during dinner!

For those of you who don't know The United Methodist Church's ordination process....it is long and grueling.  And while the BOOM (board of ordained ministry) works every year to tweak the process in hopes of making it more of a supportive and pastoral process, it still remains daunting simply because of what it is.  If you stay right on track with everything, it is a 7 year process to full ordination.  Since I switched from the North Carolina Conference to the Virginia Conference, I am about a year or two behind in the process.  Ultimately, that is okay for me, because I am on the deacon track which requires me to find my own job position rather than those on the elder track who are appointed to a church once they are commissioned.  So, after writing four huge papers, creating a DVD of myself proclaiming the word in various ministry settings, filling out various other forms and applications, then surviving four interviews which were forty-five minutes each with fifteen minute breaks in between on Monday, I got my call yesterday with the official word.  On June 23rd at Annual Conference in Roanoke, VA I will be commissioned as a provisional Deacon in The United Methodist Church.  And while I will not be able to wear a stole yet and will not be fully ordained (another 3 years of papers and interviews until that step), I will officially be The Reverend Lyndsie Nicole Kidd Blakely!  BB will be large and in charge up there on stage with me.  Let's just hope my alb fits over my baby bump!