The Blessing of Andrew

So this is what being "open to life" really means.

It means trying to be joyful about a surprise pregnancy, coming much earlier than you were planning.  It means being pregnant during a Virginia summer.  It means still trying to be excited when the sonogram doesn't show the gender you were hoping for.  It means spending hours and hours on lesson plans ahead of time so you can still homeschool with a newborn.  It means giving up your dreams of the birth you wanted, and still trying to look forward to it.

Basically, being open to life means not being in control.  And accepting that you're never really in control.

It also means experiencing your best pregnancy ever.  It means having little nausea (but still lots of tiredness).  It means enjoying the mildest summer in recent memory.  It means feeling great and full of energy right up until the very end.  It means being blessed with a good chiropractor, under whose hands you enjoy good posture and balance. (and lung capacity)  It means seeing the unfettered joy of the siblings as they anticipate the arrival of another playmate and rival. (heaven help us)  It means experiencing a reasonable weight gain, and not needing the size L maternity clothes until the last month, and not even needing the size XL at all. (huzzah!)  It means having a baby born during the most beautiful time of the year.  It means watching your generous friends drop everything and come together last-minute to make sure your children are taken care of during the birth.

Being open to life means being blessed with unexpected joys.  God is never outdone in generosity.

Andrew Karol

born October 25, 2012 at 6:51 pm

7 lbs, 10 oz.

20 ins. long