Wednesday, July 22, 2009

And the Winner Is...

...the adorable Joelle Sacra, whose guess on when the baby would be born was off by a whopping 14 minutes!!! As her prize, she got to hold Baby Shav! :)
Well, not really. I mean, yes, she got to hold Shav (with a little help from her mom Julie)...but no, that wasn't the prize. Here's the real prize package (and I had no idea that a 4 year-old would win it, so some of the items are a little "mature" for Joelle...maybe the whole Sacra family can benefit from it)... :)
The contents of the prize package include some of my favorite cravings from this pregnancy: chocolate raisins, peanut M&Ms, hot buffalo wing pretzel pieces. But that's not all, folks! We also have a fabulous book, Beautiful Home on a Budget by Emilie Barnes and Yoli Brogger, and a very nice edition of my all-time favorite devotional, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers--such profound thoughts in this book! One of the things I really appreciate about this particular edition (which both Jeff and I have a copy of) is the space on each page for individual reflection and journaling. I've learned from Jeff to date each page with the year as I write on it; that eliminates the guilt if I don't stay consistent with the devotional all year long (which I never do) because if I do some of the pages in 2009 and then come back to it in 2010 and re-read the same pages or do some fresh ones, it will be just as meaningful, if not more so. And then when 2015 rolls around and I pick up the book again, I'll be able to remember where I was spiritually in the preceding years, as well as add notes from my journey in the pages that are still blank. But back to the prize package...the last item is a small mirror from the Middle East (gotta have something from our Israel roots!), perfect for carrying in a purse to use on the go. I know Chris Myers is especially bummed now that he didn't win the prize. :)

Thanks to all who played along and ventured a guess! It was fun...and showed how little we know about some things, like when exactly a baby is going to be born. ;)

Speaking of how little we know--or how little we remember--I'm not sure how I could have forgotten how much time it takes to nurse an infant, but apparently I did forget because I'm astonished by the huge percentage of time that I'm spending simply feeding Shav (and by feeding, I mean the whole feed on one side/try to burp/change diaper/change clothes if needed/feed on the other side/try to burp again routine we've got going). I know the time for all of that will lessen; but for this phase of his life, we can easily spend an hour doing that. When that's repeated 8 or 10 or 12 times a day, that's a significant chunk of the day! It's silly, but I have to remind myself, "What else would I rather be doing? What is more important than this?" And the obvious answer is, "Nothing."

Tonight as I walked to my dad's office to fix up a package to send in the mail tomorrow, I was thinking back to this night in December when I had some bleeding and thought I might lose the baby. The thought of not having Shav pierces my heart and makes me whisper again the mantra I chanted immediately after he was born, "Thank You, God...thank You, God...thank You, God...thank You, God..."

I know I'm slow with writing more of his birth story. I haven't forgotten at all, just didn't find the time today to devote to it. Maybe tomorrow??

4 comments:

Sally said...

I'm surprised you even had time to post as much as you have. I love reading about your life with this new little boy. Oh, what a blessing! Oh, how much work and how little sleep you must be doing that work on! I'm praying for you.

Heart of Wisdom Academy said...

I too love reading about your family. I hope you know what an inpsiration a godly family is in such a dark time. It is so encouraging hearing Claire talk about your family. Your light shines so bright. Welcome Shav!

Emily Joy said...

That is just too funny that Joelle won!

Margie said...

What great gifts for Joelle (and family)! How thoughtfully chosen they were. And how blessed you are to recognize the gift from God you have. Love reading everything about him.