Baby M was born at 3:20 a.m. December 27.
She is 9 pounds even. 20 inches long. Short wispy brown hair, 10 fingers and 10 toes, nice pink coloring. Apgar scores were 9 and 9 if you care about such things.
Birth story–rated “moderate” for the squeamish:
YES those days of prelabor (especially yesterday) were doing something–in fact, […]

See you on the flip side.
Once upon a time, in the beginning,
a labor of love was undertaken.
It started with a sign, to show that something was about to happen. Light came forth from the deep darkness, bright, clear and unmistakable.
And it was very good.
At the second time, the waters were broken. At first, they gushed, […]

Top ten reasons why the reverendbaby did not come on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day:
10. Deference to her Lord and Savior.
9. Mother did not have access to a donkey, or a need to travel to her husband’s town of origin for a census.
8. Decided that Christmas dinner—ham with brown sugar/mustard glaze, wild rice pilaf with […]

…the blog, that is.
This site is 2 years old today. What an auspicious date for milestones! reverendbaby, I’m looking in your direction
My first post was a very strange cataloguing of Christmas songs. In honor of that humble beginning, here is the RevGal Friday Five, similarly themed:
1) If you had to choose CDs as a soundtrack […]

In great hope that this will be the final part, although I have nothing on which to base that hope…
What I would have missed yesterday and today:
• I feel virtuous because I did triple-recycling duty yesterday—dropped off some plastic bags that were springing out of our over-full pantry whenever we opened the door; took some […]

Before I get to the update, please say a prayer or send out some good thoughts for ChaplainMom, whose Big A. is in the hospital after getting his adenoids removed last week. He has RSV, which is a fairly common virus in children but it’s wreaking havoc on his respiratory system. They’ve got him on […]

“How did this happen?” I demanded,
holding up a purple throw pillow,
glistening with two parallel tracks of
toddler-snot.
She looked at the pillow,
then looked at me
with an I’ve-got-gossip grin:
“The kitty did it.”

At first I mis-counted and thought this was installment 3 of this series. I’m just a little bummed to see it’s part 4. OK, I’m past it.
What I would have missed if I’d gone into labor yesterday.
• The opportunity to get lots of stuff done—clear some of the junk out of RB’s room, go to […]

“Some women having second or subsequent babies have periods of progressing contractions that come and go for days before they settle into a continuous pattern.”
–from Penny Simkin’s The Birth Partner
Penny, I’m sure you’re a very nice person, and your book is exhaustively detailed and helpful, but it’s 5 in the morning AGAIN, so if you […]

What I would have missed if I’d gone into labor today:
• (Leftover from last night) Getting tucked into bed by my daughter (yes I went to bed before she did) and hearing her sing “Shepherd, Shepherd, Where Are You Going?” while brushing her teeth.
• Seeing her reprise that song and others during her preschool Christmas […]

Thank you, dear readers, for your good thoughts. Arrangements are definitely being made for the trip to Laborland, and I thought I had a ticket for last night’s train, but I guess I didn’t read the fine print closely enough. I tried to get on board and was booted off at the next stop.
All day […]

And now for our first installment of a daily-ish series—
What I Would Have Missed If I’d Gone into Labor Today.
• A morning devotional with the staff in which I learned the wonderful story of King Wenceslas (actually Duke of Bohemia). The legend is that he would bring food and firewood to the needy at Christmas. […]

“Are you STILL HERE?!?!”
Yes, I am. Yesterday at church, three people asked me that—before the 8:30 service had even started. I told the last person that everyone who asked me that would have to pay me a dollar. You know that good-natured tone that also means business? I think I nailed it. Nobody else asked […]

My mother arrived just a couple of hours ago; she will be staying with us through the baby’s birth and for a few weeks afterward. She is moving here, a grand new adventure for her in a new city. Eventually she will get a place in the area, but for now she is our […]

1) Snow: love it or hate it?
Love it. I grew up in Houston, where short sleeves in December are not unheard of, so snow still has novelty for me. The place where I live snows just the right amount—two or three good snows. That’s not enough to invest in a huge fleet of plows and […]

First off, I have a poll going on the homepage—which baby will arrive first, the reverendbaby or Baby Jesus. Make your predictions now on this matter of great theological import. You guys didn’t do too well on guessing the sex of the baby, although your recommendation that we do Sesame Place rather than the beach […]

“What’s this?” you asked, as you lifted up
a small black velvet pouch.
“It’s healing oil,” I said, and fished out the
heavy brass vial, twisted off the lid,
and dipped a finger inside.
“I give it to people who are sick, or sad,
so they can remember God’s love.”
The fragrance encircled us.
“I want some,” you said, and I hesitated—then
brushed it […]

C came down with a little cold yesterday, and although she feels better today and her nose is still running clear, she has a little fever so we’re home today. Rather than keep up the pretense of working from home while tending to her I decided just to take a sick day. So we’ve had […]

a sermon
(Those of you who have the RevGals Advent book will recognize some of this!)
At the beginning of our service we sang one of my favorite hymns, “The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came.” Verse three describes Mary as such:
Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,
“To me be as it pleaseth God,” she said.
Ah, gentle Mary—mild, […]

this beautiful place and my beautiful RevGals, who transcend both “Blog” and “Pals” to be real and abiding friends.
I scrolled slowly through the blessings and prayers, but can only read a little at a time because, well, my monitor keeps getting really blurry…
But something so wonderful should be savored anyway.
Advent Blessings to you all.