The Book of Eli: Part 1

My heart is fillled to bursting...I never imagined I could feel so much love for someone...and along came Elijah Graham.

Chapter 1

Birth.

January 18, 2010 8:15 am
Eli is born.

Immediately, I fell in love with his lips...for the daughter, it was his ears.

The daughter's surgery went well, and I was honored (and somewhat stunned) to be right there with her as her support person. Never in my life have I seen such sights...the insision, the blood, the not so gentle pulling and tugging, her insides, a patch of the boy's black hair...and then there was Eli in my arms (after a brief bit of screaming in another room...a temporary clean up, suctioning, and then into Grammy's arms!)

Chapter 2

Recovery.

The daughter was in recovery for awhile before she could officially meet her son. In the meantime, the OR staff whisked me away to watch him get weighed ( 6 pounds, 10 ounces), measured (19 1/2 inches long), bathed, and dressed by the nurses in the baby nursery. Finally, the moment came when the daughter could meet Eli. She was so tired and still hooked up to an IV which made it difficult for her to use both arms. She also had 24 hours worth of something called a magnesium drip for patients who have had pre-eclampsia so they will not have seizures. Nice. No worries at all. It made her feel groggy and, for lack of a better description, heavy-limbed. Eli spent the entire night with us, and I was all to happy to take care of him. The daughter is breastfeeding, and obviously she needed help at this point.

Chapter 3

The real room!

After her 24 hour medicine drip and monitoring, they finally moved the daughter to a regular birthing room- very nice "suite" with lots of hard wood floors, pretty decor, and not so comfy furniture. So much happened in Room 340...bonding, feeding, snuggling, hugging, kissing, and gushing over all of the perfect baby parts that Eli has, taking photos, continuing recovery for the daughter, and visiting with the 3 visitors that were allowed to visit (the hospital has very strict visitation rules since November 2009 for pregnant patients, new moms and newborn babies...only 2 support people and the grandparents are allowed- that's it! Apparently, great-grandparents don't need to be on that list, much to my father's dismay!) We were in Room 340 for the rest of the hospital visit- from Tuesday through Thursday,and then it was FINALLY time to go home! (By the way, I didn't have time to realize that I looked like hell...LOL...almost no sleep, THE most uncomfortable couch / bed, and a sort of primitive shower set up...too happy to care really!)

Chapter 4

Home.

Dorothy wasn't kidding when she said, "There's no place like home." January 21, 2010. It was a cloudy, dreary day, but we were so ready to leave that place. The husband was awfully cute as he scurried about getting things ready to help take the grandson and the daughter home...putting in the infant carseat, packing the enormous volume of items that had gathered in her two weeks in the hospital prior to the c-section, and just being so happy not to be home alone...We were so ready to leave. I must interject here that the daughter could not have had better care; she had some awesome nurses that were extremely helpful and informative. I asked specifically for six comment cards to write personal thanks to each one of them!

Home...home was on the horizon!

(So very tired. Doctor's appointment tomorrow early...so to be continued...)

Homecoming

My God is ever faithful! Praise Him!

The daughter and Eli are home. They came home on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010.

Everything is great, but so busy with a newborn baby in the house...(right now it is 3:34 am and I have just now found a quiet moment before I go to bed to type this tiny post!)

I have lots of stories & more photos to post SOON, I promise!

Returning...to peace

Just returned from the hospital...a late night visit with the daughter after an all day / night visit.
I am completely wired.
I should be sleeping...
Neither one of us got much sleep last night when I spent the night with her there.
I am going to work in a few short hours.


As I drove home on the empty streets between the hospital and our home, I felt this overwhelming sense of peace, a familiar feeling kind of. If you know me at all, you would know that typically, I am someone who worries about everything. (I get that honest, from my mother.)

But over the last several years, God has NOT abandoned me even though He should have.
My husband has been through major heart surgery for a rare heart condition, surgery to remove a benign brain tumor, and another surgery less than a year later to remove another benign brain tumor in almost exactly the same spot. Through it all, I felt the prayers of our friends and family surround me like the very arms of my God Himself...(I had only one tiny breakdown thankfully with Sallee, my very best friend in the whole wide world, who knew just what to do) but through it all, I felt an almost eerie sense of peace...I've heard it spoken of- that peace that passes all understanding. I felt it. I did not worry. I rested in the fact that I KNEW God was taking care of us, of my husband, and He would not let anything happen to him. It perplexed me like nothing else...to see, no to feel, prayers working so strongly...it was such an overhwelming experience.

However, I am not a faithful daughter. I rarely go to church. If I am honest, I never read the Bible. I have long abandoned listening to Christian music for the most part. I pray, but sporadically at best. I claim to be His child...but I know I would never be so distant with my earthly father. Why is He so faithful to me? I do have a heart that longs for Him. I am His daughter, but I allow the things of this world to busy my head and my heart.

Still, like tonight, on the silent, empty streets on my way home to an empty house...He is with me. He is with my child...protecting her and her unborn baby, Eli.

Precious, Holy Father,
Forgive me.
Know the cries of my heart...how I long to be close to you.
Know that I believe with all of my heart in You and thank You for Your mercy, grace, forgiveness, and love.
Thank you for the debt You paid for MY sins...so that I could be clean and free.
I know I do not deserve it, but still You are faithful.
PLEASE be with Aubrey and Eli. Protect them and keep them safe.
Thank you for sending me family and friends that know You, that pray for us...
Thank you for this peace.
Amen.

4 generations

The daughter is in the hospital; she's been there a full 24 hours so far- she has PIH= Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (they are testing to see if it is preeclampsia).
Eli is not supposed to come until the C-section on Jan. 29, but that may change...we will see what the doctors say tomorrow. They are monitoring her and running several tests. Several nurses have said that she might not be able to leave until after he is born. Oh goodness! (and she has a baby shower on Sunday.)

I took the day off to be with her today.
As I sat there today at one point, I thought how lucky Eli will be to know his grammy (me) and his great-nana (my mom)- there will be 4 generations soon!

I have a few vivid memories of my great-grandmother. We called her Granny Bell (her name was Annabelle), and she was SO tall; she wore a size 13 shoe, and was terribly afraid of her mailman. She had a red-headed baby boy doll with red felt overalls that she let me play with...I loved playing with the brass mail slot in her front door, and she would tell me to come away from there because the mailman would come soon. I am not sure what she had against the mailman, but I have such clear memories of her and her house even though I had to be younger than 5 years old. She died sometime after that, I think.

I hope Eli will know and love his great-grandparents...I know he will.
I guess I just realized today how special it is that he will be coming into an extended family that completely loves him already, and is anxiously awaiting his arrival!

Hope your week is a good one!

Looking Forward

Eli's coming...
January 29, 2010!

May Your Days Be Merry

Grammy and Pops, as we will be called soon...very, very soon!

The daughter and the great-grandparents...(and Baby Eli who is loved so much already!)

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

I pray that this day finds you in good health, with love and laughter surrounding you.

May you know Jesus, as we celebrate His birth and His grace and mercy on us all...

It's a Wonderful Life!

Jimmy Stewart, I agree...it IS a wonderful life!

"What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary."

Sorry...the daughter and I just watched that film last evening, and I couldn't help myself.

George Bailey gets me every time. It really is a wonderful life...

Whew! What a week...what a wonderful week.

Last weekend, I took Friday off from work and the daughter and I attended such a beautiful wedding in Savannah, Georgia. The bride, my second cousin, and the groom were married just a few feet from where the daughter stands in the above photo in Forsyth Fountain Park. There was a miraculous change in weather from the dreary, stormy rehearsal dinner evening the night before. By noon on the wedding day, the weather was absolutely perfect- chilly, crisp, hint of sunshine, dry, and simply perfect. Because I have such a crappy camera, I do not have photos that would do justice to how lovely this wedding really was. Click here if you'd like to see what the professional photographers did with this glorious wedding! The reception (and next day's Sunday brunch) took place at the Mansion on Forsyth Park. We were amazed! A beautiful beginning for the precious new couple.

After the fabulous weekend, I was off from work again on Monday...to do something purely for myself. I have not been that excited (or nervous) in quite awhile. The daughter was to be my right hand girl for the day- driver, photographer, entertainment, you name it...she was it! She was the perfect companion on a day long excursion to the big city of Atlanta to see one of my favorite bloggers, PW.

We left kind of early- after two doctor visits, gas station, and bank visits, we finally pulled into the parking lot of Borders around 2:00 or so. PW was set to arrive at 6:00...just a few hours to kill. We managed to find a few things to do...like take goofy photos of each other while we were waiting:
Lovely huge grin, nice double chin. I look like I really need a cook book, don't I? One too many of PW's butter filled, luscious concoctions...yep...you're right! After the grandson is born in February, I need to put away that sinful book, and eat some salad.
This is just how the daughter looked most of the day...SO pregnant, swollen feet, and an aching back...thank goodness, we spotted such comfy chairs. Because we had the foresight to arrive early (Thank you, PW, for such vivid details of all of your book signings and the huge crowds!) we got orange arm bands (the first color of the evening!) group F (the sixth group of the first color!) and we really did not have to wait that long.

Sometime earlier in the day, I forgot to say that we traveled across the street to do a bit of shopping at the Target...the daughter's god mother was paying for the stroller from her baby shower registry, but she was having a hard time finding it at home. So, we made the trek (risking the loss of a comfy spot to sit in Borders) walking across the street (we did not want to lose our parking space) to look for the stroller. Low and behold we found it, and the scooter the godmother also asked us to get for her son for Christmas...Just so you know these were THE most enormous boxes I have ever seen and we were without the car! Um...what to do?!

I made the very pregnant daughter stay with the purchases, and I hiked up the hill, across the highway, I mean street, and through the parking lot to the car...praying the whole way that someone did not hurt my baby and steal the huge boxes from her (not paranoid at all, I tell you). I drove back over to Target, and we proceeded to work tirelessly to get these monstrocities into the car / trunk. Even though it was nice and chilly...I kept thinking, "This is just what I need...to get all sweaty just before I meet PW!"
Finally, we get it done, and we are back in place at Borders...waiting some more.

Eventually, PW arrives...we can tell by the screams, the applause, and the scramble of people to get over to where she is...(our strategically placed comfy chairs are just behind the screen where she is signing, and I can not force the daughter, with her swollen pregnant feet, to give them up just to go see and stand some more...so we sit and listen). They call orange A-C to come and line up. (Thank you, Borders, for having this so wonderfully well organized!) Periodically, I would panic that maybe I had not heard the nice man call my letter, F, and I would ask the daughter if she thought we should give up the chairs to go and see. She was steadfast...we would not! They had not called anything but A-C. This happened several times, and anyone else would have left me stranded in the Borders and driven home to peace and quiet...but not the daughter! She was the perfect, patient, and wonderfully calm companion. She even allowed me to whine a bit...worrying about what I would say to PW, how sweaty I might be by that time, and when they were gonna get to letter F. (Sometimes, I am the daughter and she is the mother.)


They say pregnant women are sometimes moody (I would never day that, nope, not me)...not the daughter...not this day! She was the picture of patience.


Finally, they called D, E, and....F! We went to line up, and the line snaked through the rows of books until it got to the Borders screen where PW was sitting.


Note: Now, let me just say that I have read many accounts on PW's blog of all sort of her fans and what it was like for them as they waited to have a moment with her. They ALL mention the wonderful conversations between virtual strangers in line...laughing, talking, taking photos of one another, making friends...etc. The daughter and I must be THE most anti-social people in the world...we barely spoke to anyone except each other. But that's ok...we're just SHY. Yeah, that's it...SHY.

Here it is...the moment I was waiting for!

I am sure you are wondering what wonderfully brilliant thing I finally decided to say to her.
Well....
I am fairly certain that I said something about my quivery lips...trying to smile for this photo. She was too sweet...she said the same thing was happening to her because she was nervous. After that, I can not be sure what I said...something about being sweaty...(sweaty...really?!) I am pretty sure. Nice. Classy. It went by really fast, and then we were over at the next table meeting Betsy (her sister) and Hyacinth (her friend). Shockingly fast...and then in less than two hours from the time PW arrived, the daughter and I were released into the cold Atlanta night air...on our way home.

A funny note...when we arrived home, I thought certainly that the daughter would collapse and be completely ready for bed...not exactly. While I was checking my email and preparing for the next work day after being out two days, I heard this hammering sound...

She just couldn't wait to put her precious stroller together! She did it all by herself! Just adorable...little mama and her boy's little hoot stroller.

That was one week ago this evening.
Time flies...really...in this wonderful life, it does.
I am thankful for so much- having the opportunity to take off from work when I need to, having a precious daughter who loves me in spite of so much, who is willing to endure my endless whining and spends time with me, having the chance to meet PW, a blogger that I simply adore...it doesn't get much better!
Here's hoping that you take the time to do something fun for yourself and that you are able to see what a wonderful life this actually is!
Have a great week...