Thankful For Babies

There's a chance you're reading this with the belief that any sentence now I'm going to shock you with the news we're having another baby.  If that's the case, you are so.................. on the wrong blog.

It does seem, however, that a lot of people around me are having babies these days.  Our pastor sprang on the congregation this past Sunday that he and his wife are having a baby.  By sprang I mean one of those cool sonograms appeared on the screen above his head as a visual aid to his sermon, which was not about babies, by the way, but somehow the picture fit his message perfectly.  After he made the announcement his  family was putting an addition on the family tree, he pointed out another family that was expecting a baby, and hinted he expected a few other families might be making a similar announcement soon.  I spent the remainder of the service scanning the congregation for women who appeared a few pounds heavier than they looked the week before.  This included a quick scan of Katie.

Katie shared a story with me this week about a baby shower she attended at school.  Since Elliott hangs out with her most days after he gets done with school, he went with her.  It turns out the whole baby shower scene confused Elliott.  He always thought the baby shower happened immediately after the baby was born.  Having been in the delivery room for the arrivals of both Elliott and Ian, I understand why he would expect that. Knowing Elliott like I do, he's not a big fan of anything messy or medical, I can imagine the panic he was in at that shower until it became clear no newborn babies were going to be popping out of any of the guests.

On the way home, Elliott began to quiz Katie about the formation of a family.  He wondered why some families end up with 5 children and some only end up with 2.  Thank you God for making me unavailable for this conversation.  Katie informed Elliott that parents decide how many kids they want.  Are you crazy?  You've just told the kid having children is some purposeful act initiated by parents.  Are you really prepared to answer questions about that purposeful act - how parents fill those orders when they decide how many children they want?

Lucky for her Elliott didn't go there.  He simply wanted to know why we chose to only have 2 children.  Hoping there was still time and he had some influence on that choice, he went on to request an additional brother.  Katie asked him why he would want that.  He responded that he wanted someone else to get wild with.  

Someone else to get wild with.  Right.  And there you have it Elliott. That's exactly why some parents choose to have 2 kids and not 5.

Thank you to all the mamas out there who are filling those baby orders, and bringing that beautiful kind of wild to the world that only a baby can provide.