Born at 00:58 on 22nd November 2009 to proud parents Tracy & Ricky, and weighing in at 8lb 5oz. Following a long and difficult day of labour, Isaac still didn’t want to be delivered. At 11:30 it was decided to take Tracy into the operating theatre and attempt a forceps delivery, but it was unsuccessful, so Isaac was delivered by Caesarean Section.
Mother and baby are doing very well.
Pictures of my gorgeous little niece, Amelie, aged just 6 weeks:
The full set is available elsewhere…
Taken during a short break from my dissertation – I can still remember the absolute joy of getting out of the house for half an hour. Bliss!
A couple of weeks ago I submitted my favourite Wedding photo to the Photobox Wedding Competition – they wanted to focus on inspirational Wedding photos on their front page to mark the start of the Wedding season (as it’s probably their busiest time of year). There are prizes available for three photos – each winning an A3 photobook worth £45. Well, we’ve not won the prize yet (closing date 26th May) but we’ve been selected for the short-list and our photo is currently being displayed on their front page:
If we win I’m sure we’ll create an amazing photobook of our recent trip to New York. As a thank-you to the photographer, we may consider sponsoring a photobook of his own Wedding which takes place this Sunday, 24th May.
Update: the results are out and sadly our photo didn’t win. It’s still my favourite though :o)
Wow – today is our second Wedding Anniversary. Can’t believe it’s two years already since I married my gorgeous wife – it still seems like yesterday. Tracy makes me laugh more then I could ever imagine, and laughs at me more than I’d like (but no more than I deserve). She has been a rock solid support through my degree so far, and I know she will be until the end in July, and beyond.
We’ve been blessed with a fantastic marriage so far, and have recently been blessed with what we consider to be the cherry on top.
Today, before we celebrate with an anniversary meal, we will be visiting the Antenatal Clinic for our 12 week scan! Can’t wait…
Here’s to many more exciting and enjoyable years to come!
We’re expecting!
We’ve been waiting longer than we’d have liked (been fun practising though), but are over the moon that it’s finally happened. The last 8-10 weeks have been the most frustrating we’ve known because we’ve not been able to share the news as widely as we’d like, and we’re very sorry if we’ve had a conversation with you during that time and have had to lie about our situation; we hope you understand. A few weeks ago we shared the news with our immediate family members, and with a few people on a need-to-know basis – and being able to talk about it with them has relieved some of the frustration.
Not a lot else to report at the moment, except that Mummy and ‘Pip’ are progressing well. Mummy has been feeling ill pretty regularly, but has been able to manage it by frequent snacking – as if an excuse was ever needed ;o) Pip has been our code-name for the little one because that’s the size it was when we discovered the wonderful news. We have our first scan on 28th April, our Wedding Anniversary and hope to post Pip’s first portrait shortly after.
Because I’m such a techie geek, and because it proved a wonderful distraction from my dissertation for a while, I set up a Twitter profile for the little one. You can keep up to date on Pip’s developments by following @babyrew on Twitter (don’t expect babyrew to reciprocate though), or just take a look at babyrew’s profile to see developments to date.
Here are a few recent updates:
- I can feel my fingernails growing, and I’ve started growing tiny peach-fuzz hair (just like Daddy!)
- My heartbeat sounds like tiny horses galloping…I guess that’s healthy though.
- Apparently I have a big head (wonder who I got that from) – it’s half the length of my entire body!
- The inner workings of the ears are almost complete, and my genitals have begun to form (the two things aren’t related!)
- My eyelids are fused (don’t worry though, they’re supposed to be) and won’t open for another 19 weeks – not much to see in here anyway ;o)
- Tasty! I’ve just started growing a tongue…
{ if you have no idea what Twitter is and how it works, watch this video }
We’d love your suggestions for appropriate names – please bear in mind the surname (‘Rew’) when making your selection. Names such as ‘Kanga‘, ‘Bucka‘, ‘Corksc‘ and ‘Chimchimney-chimchimcha‘ are clearly out of the question. We’ll leave the rest to your judgment. Add your suggestions (funny or serious) as a comment below.
That’s it for now – make sure you check @babyrew on Twitter regularly to keep fully up to speed ;o)
Last week as part of my end of term activities I took part in a retreat day at the Carmelite Priory at Boars Hill in Oxfordshire. The day was led by Ian Adams, one of the CYM Chaplains, who used the story of Elizabeth, Zechariah and Mary to introduce us to some meditative practices. I arrived early to avoid the traffic and was able to enjoy the sun as it rose over the crisp, frosty fields. I rarely travel without my camera so was able to capture a few shots before everyone else arrived.
The day was divided into three sessions, each providing space for reflection and time to listen for God. During one session I felt inspired to draw (something I never do, and have no talent for) and was moved to reflect on what I’d drawn. A new experience for me, but one which I greatly appreciated and will continue to ponder the notes I made.
We divided into two groups for the final session and were encouraged to use Mary and Zechariah’s example and write either a magnificat or a benedictus based on our context/experiences/feelings. Here’s what we produced in our group:
Thank you God that everything is upside down;
that you don’t see things the way the world sees them.
You accept this generation, though others reject it;
others want to put them down, but you desire to raise them up.Where the world leaves young people empty, only you can satisfy.
Through your love there is so much more.As you draw them near to you we see them longing to be valued and eager to serve;
to accept others in the way that you’ve accepted them.We see your hope rising through this generation.
Thank you for the momentum which flows from and is sustained by your Spirit.Amen
It proved to be a really valuable time of reflection and refreshing – much needed preparation for the two mad weeks which have followed.
