Big weekend

It's been a big weekend in the Jones household. I can hear the masses scream--'why? what happened?'

I'm glad you asked.

It started, as every good weekend does, at 4:37 on Saturday morning. That's the time required to wake up to make it to Lenoir City in order to compete in the Panther Prowl triathlon. Rachel, believe it or not, decided not to accompany me on the trek northward. I did manage to come home with a prize, though. Unfortunately, this was due more to a computer error than my own merits--the computer didn't register my swim time, so they gave me a prize on the assumption that I had earned one (Clearly, they've never watched me do a triathlon before), when the reality is that I came in fifth in my age group. On the bright side, however, is the fact that there were more than five people in my age group!

In other, far more important, news, the nursery has been painted! (Rachel's been getting a bit anxious about the fact that, as of Thursday, the nursery looked exactly like it had before we got pregnant.) Monika (Rachel's co-worker) and her husband Todd (an expert detail painter) came over and helped me paint the nursery. It's now sea-mist. If you imagine a bunch of sea mist on a wall... it doesn't look anything like that. Now imagine a light green wall--that's about what it looks like.

And that, standing in front of the wall, is the crib! We put that together this evening. Unfinished projects drive me crazy, and an unassembled piece of furniture in my house is like a taunt.  I could only take it for so long, so now that we had the nursery painted the crib was crying out for attention.  Surprisingly, it only took about twenty minutes to put together!  Granted, that may mean that it will fall apart as soon as the baby goes inside, but it feels sturdy for now!  I'm thrilled with the way it looks, and I think it will be a great home for Xerxes!  (I'm trying out different names every day to see what works.)

That's Rachel, almost seven months pregnant, if you can believe it!  She looks great, as she always does, and is noticeably pregnant.

I know it's still months away, but I'm just so excited about this baby...  I guess I had always imagined, vaguely, being a father, but now, watching as all these dreams come true, it just seems more amazing than I ever could have imagined.  Life is changing before my very eyes, and I have the opportunity to dedicate my life to another person, to watch him grow and thrive and become the man Christ longs for him to be.  What a gift....