Goat Meat and a Winning Formula – Update #9

Who knew that five weeks ago Joanna would have left the house and not been back since. The house will have had a significant makeover, two beautiful girls will have been born, parents moved back into the province, really good friends moved out of the house, and life as we know it will have changed forever.

These past few days have been encouraging, Joanna's ultrasound has had positive results, as expected the fluid level for baby 'A' is low, but the doctors are not concerned that it will have any lasting effect on her. Boy oh boy they are growing though, almost 3.5 lbs for one and just under 3 for the other. The tech commented on one of the girls rolled back fat….. nice! Heartbeats continue to be stable and strong, and we have some really cute ultrasound pics of the girls chubby cheeks! ;-)

Saying by to Jo's parents was tough as they have been a huge help and comfort for me knowing they were within close proximity when I couldn't be. I had a particularly nice dinner with Rob in which I backed out of a dare to try goat meat… looking back I kind of feel like a wuss, as there is not much that I won't eat, but I had a hankering for lamb and wasn't deviating from my plan. Rob stepped up to the plate and the goat meat with jackfruit turned out to be a winner.

There are a few theories out there when comes to the saying 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'. In sports its my experience that this only lasts so long, a winning formula is kept together too long and the opposition figures it out only to make you look foolish in your static state. I have learned over my short almost 30 years that not all sports analogies fit neatly into the real world. Many do and I have benefitted greatly from them, but this one doesn't. Joanna has a really good formula going; it's working and repeating it day after day is something that is going to produce two of the greatest joys of my life. Doctors have asked if she would like to go 'home' to participate in home care due to the stability she has exhibited over the course of the last 5 weeks. As tempting as this may seem, please refer to my explanation above. We have a winning formula going here and why would we mess with it. Secondly we don't meet the necessary criteria due to us living in Abbotsford, and not having 24 hour supervision available; yes I have to work…. I think her mental fortitude is to be admired, and she is quickly showing me the willingness to do anything for these girls.

I dislike traffic quite a bit; I resisted using the 'H' word there as it would have been easy to do, because gosh there are a lot of goofs behind the wheel. Now it would be easy to go off on one of my tirades about lower mainland traffic, road construction, the price of gas etc, but my mind is quickly drawn back to the selflessness that we are learning as a couple. 'This song is not about us'; is a phrase we have continually joked together about many times over the weeks in response to feelings of frustration or pity seeking. Being DINK's' 'duel income no kids' for the last 6 years has a way of permeating your lifestyle, I thought it had sunk much deeper. I am learning that some of the most profound joys in life come not from satisfying my own needs, but those of another; even if they aren't born yet!

Continued thanks go out to the many offerings of assistance. Each week brings new blessings most of which blindside me like a lottery win! Our hunt for quality tenants continues so if you live in the Fraser Valley and have an avenue to post an ad (i.e. church, school or work bulletin board) please let me know and I would love to send you the info.

Blessings,

Ryan