Re-Birthing Class (by MJC)

Okay, so it wasn't a re-birthing class. It was a child birth refresher course. It happened tonight at 7pm, even though I had totally forgot about it until 5:35pm when Katy called me at work and asked, "Do you know what the date is?"
"Yeah it is July 8th"
"Do you remember what we were supposed to do tonight?"
"Uh..." The date rattled around in my brain until finally something clicked. "Oh crap. The refresher course!"

Needless to say the next hour and a half were very crazy as I tied up the loose ends of a very very hectic day to try to get home quickly enough to make it to the class on time. Tardiness is not an option for me. I'd rather not show than to be 10-30 minutes late. We also needed to find someone to watch Harrison during the class, until 9:30pm. So my mom was the most available, but I knew she had just watched my nieces for a full 11 hours and was exhausted. We tried all other options but settled on dear old Grandma. Harrison does love it at her house. My mom is a true God send at those critical times. Thanks, mom.

I have to say that although this was a refresher course, I felt like we are less prepared now than the first time around. Katy and I still want a natural childbirth, but with the C-section the first time it is as if all the cards are against us, and as if we didn't experience a true birth the first time. But in reality, we experienced a great deal with Harrison's birth. We found that we cannot control what will happen. We can hope, pray, plan, and prepare for the best, but also be ready for the worst. With such a tumultuous first labor experience, we are thinking that God might shine brighter on us this time around.

I definitely found that the weight of what we are embarking on-- being parents to two kids at the same time-- is starting to sink in. It is going to require so much more energy, so much more sacrifice, so much more teamwork and creativity, that we have to be ready for it. I should be ready now! And we have to make sure Harrison is ready for this. Yikes. The little guy's world is about to change!

We came back to pick up Harrison and he was so well behaved that he seemed to glow with perfection, as if he knew that all night I was thinking "I don't think this kid can handle it." I think his subdued, tired, and loving demeanor was a way of him responding to my worries with, "I will be just fine, Daddy. I'm a big boy."

It is hard to fathom how my little girl is going to come into this world. It is hard to envision how the labor will play out and if everything will go as planned. It is impossible to know what Libby's personality will be like or how Harrison will react to it all. It is even hard to prepare fully for such a momentous change in our family. But I'm trying to rely on the One that always remains constant. The One that will give us all we need. The One that helps us when we feel helpless. The One that loves us when it feels like there is no love left to give. The One that keeps things all together. The One that will make my family blessed-- maybe not as I hope or plan it to be-- but as it is meant to be. I hope to trust in that, and to trust in Him.