Last night I watched most of the third game of the 2006 World Series between the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals. The game was not all that compelling (I have a hatred for the Cardinals… as a good Cubs fan should), but one of the commercials really stuck out as being worth mentioning. The new Budweiser commercials feature lots of young people dancing at some kind of party and this particular commercial ends with the “youngish” head of the company telling you why you should buy his beer. The noteworthy part, though, is that the song that is being played is a catchy dance song that keeps repeating the words “Don’t hold back.” Interestingly, these words are sung (spoken) at the same time that the words “Please drink responsibly” are fleetingly superimposed at the bottom of the screen. So, I ask you… which message is Budweiser trying to get across? Should a person drink responsibly… or hold nothing back. You can’t do both at the same time. What about the messages that I send when someone sees me angry because someone just cut me off in traffic or when they have 32 items in their cart and feel that they deserve an express-lane checkout? Are they getting the message that God has changed my life and that I have hope beyond comprehension or are they getting the same lousy treatment that they get from everyone else? Just thinking out loud…

[tags]Budweiser, World Series, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, “Don’t Hold Back”, drink responsibly, message[/tags]

So, last Thursday (Oct. 12), Kimberly and I woke up excited and anxious about the day ahead of us. We were planning to be admitted to the hospital in Little Rock at 8:00 P.M. and she would be induced at 6:00 A.M. on Friday. We got a few final pictures of Kimberly and baby Micah (still in tummy) in the nursery:

We then headed out to Little Rock pretty early so that we didn’t feel rushed. We did some last-minute shopping for baby “supplies” and then went to enjoy a great meal at Red Lobster. Not long before we got there, Kimberly started having small contractions. So, I ate my meal (the Ultimate Feast) extremely quickly so that we could go ahead to the hospital. Her contractions had been going for over an hour at about four to five minutes apart. We got checked in and settled into our room and met a few of our wonderful nurses. Our head nurse, Michelle, was just fabulous. She was pregnant herself and not feeling too well, but made sure to take care of Kimberly first (more on that later).

Not long after we were admitted, Kimberly was given Cervidil to soften her cervix in preparation for Friday morning. Unfortunately, she had some pretty bad reactions to this drug, beginning with diarrhea (fairly common) but progressing to and adding in extreme convulsive shakes (apparently quite rare). The drug also began causing some contractions and when those were added to the natural contractions, the stomach cramps from diarrhea, and the convulsions… well, Micah didn’t have much time to recover between the contractions. . This sent his heartrate plummeting… the nursing staff (and I do mean the staff) were doing every kind of test imaginable to see if they could get everything back in order, but it started to become clear that something was going to need to be done soon to ensure a safe delivery. Once the on-call doctor made it to the hospital, he looked at a couple of charts and made a decision to “go and get the baby” right then by c-section. No warning.. You may or may not be able to see the “shell-shock” on my face as I scrubbed up, but I was beginning to get scared.

It was 3:00 in the morning, none of the family was left as they were also trying to get a good night’s sleep, and I think that I got to see every doctor and nurse on the floor within a matter of about five minutes. I was terrified. Kimberly, thankfully, was kinda oblivious to everything going on around her. As we were heading to the operating room, I was informed that they did not have time for an epidural and would have to administer general anasthesia, which meant that I would not be allowed in the room. I had a small table and a chair to sit in right outside the room in the loneliest hallway I have ever seen… it became very quiet all of a sudden. I realized that I was just basically sitting with God in the wee hours of the morning… so we talked… a lot. Anyway – now the good stuff! Michelle (our nurse) took the camera into the operating room for me:

When Micah came out, Michelle told me that he was a bit “lazy and unresponsive.” However, as she was telling me this, he began crying. “Never mind!” she said. Fifteen minutes later (and some more talks with God), Kimberly and Micah came out of the room and I said a quick “thank you” to my hallway companion.

From the beginning, Micah was a good baby! He loved being held, sung to, and rocked. I had to become Daddy a little sooner than I expected because Kimberly was still barely awake. He got cleaned up and we went to visit Mommy.

Then Daddy took his new son and just held him until the nurses decided that they were ready to check him. Michelle (head nurse) had to give herself an IV because of how bad she felt after the procedure, but the rest of the nurses stepped up to fill in for her. I was very grateful for the way they handled everything!

Down in the postpartum room, Kimberly started to become more aware… though VERY slowly… she was, after all, still on morphine. Micah loved snuggling with his Mommy and I got several good pictures during this time.

As the days went on, Kimberly got progressively better and better and got off the morphine and some of the pain medication. We took a trip to deliver our baby to the nursery for his checkup.

On our last morning in the hospital, Kimberly and Micah both seemed ready to get away from the craziness of the hospital and get home to a different sort of craziness.

Since we have been home, he has, of course, had his first bath… he has made lots of diapers… he has eaten quite a bit… he has discovered that he really likes his new “preemie-sized” outfit that Daddy bought him, he has gained back all of his initial weight loss (back to 6 lbs. 7 oz.), he has grown half an inch, he has learned the joys of a kitty cat and lots of family, and he has decided that he REALLY wants to hold his own head up (that one has taken us by surprise). Again, thank you all for your prayers and thoughts! We ask that the next time you think about us, spend a moment talking to God. He IS faithful!

This is just a quick posting to let everyone know that our little boy has arrived! We had a pretty harrowing experience getting him here which will soon be disclosed at length, but for now… all is well with baby Micah, mother Kimberly, and father Jonathan. We are recovering nicely and hope to return home on Monday. Thanks for your prayers and encouragements!

[tags]Micah, Ryne, Carpenter, Jonathan, Kimberly, Ryno, 23, Chicago Cubs, Sandberg, baby[/tags]

Here is a small excerpt from a recent blog from Seth Godin:

50 churchgoers switch to a new congregation because of a boring or uncaring leader for every one that leaves because she was offended by a new way of thinking.

For the most part, I think that Seth has nailed it. As ministers, we should be excited about God’s message… we should care about our congregations. What happens, though, when your pastor no longer cares… is dreadfully boring… and has no clue about how to challenge a person?

I have often confessed to wishing that KLOVE (radio station) would go beyond their marketing niche exemplified in their slogan… “Positive, encouraging.” I wish that they would be positive, encouraging, challenging, controversial, loving, and relevant… not just some music to get you from “point A to point B” without risking the possibility of changing someone’s life by challenging the status quo (though I do realize that this can certainly happen by being positive and/or encouraging). However, “Challenging” and “Controversial” are not necessarily the best way to marketing your Christian-based business… “Positive” and “Encouraging” probably are. So, I understand KLOVE’s rationale… I just wish that it didn’t have to come down to the financial gains versus the losses.

I know that there are “big holes” all in this posting… so, I don’t mind if you would like to fill in my gaps or punch some bigger ones. Bring it!

[tags]Seth Godin, KLOVE, positive, encouraging, challenging, church, congregation, Christian[/tags]

I’m not sure which is sadder… that I live in a world in which we can schedule our baby’s birth (and that I’m excited by this) or that I think that I MUST put it in my PDA so that I won’t accidentally “double-book!” After a meeting every night this week, I almost look forward to the “sleepless” nights after Micah arrives… I have a feeling that I will possibly get more sleep then than I have been getting. Interestingly, we are scheduled to have him on Friday the 13th… now this wouldn’t scare us ordinarily except that our doctor seems to be completely freaked out by it now! Back to the scheduling… is it any wonder that the storks are getting “in line” with every other major delivery company… UPS… FedEx… DHL… on-time and hassle-free deliveries are the order of the day. We’ll see how the storks do with this one, but just in case… does anyone know the number for the Better Business Bureau?
[tags]stork, baby, babies, Micah, Friday the 13th, UPS, FedEx, DHL, PDA, birth, child, doctor[/tags]