Sam's blog

I would imagine everyone has heard, but just in case you missed it, we had a son on September 9th! His name is Samuel Haddon Ray. His name is inspired by the biblical figure and his mother's story, and by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of Craig's favorite preachers.

I've set up a separate blog for Sam and updates specifically about him. Plus pictures. I want to keep posts about him more intimate and personal, and this blog isn't the best forum for that.

I'm also making the blog about our son private and by invitation/permission only for his protection. Too many random people out there can just click on whatever they want!

If you would like to be added to the reader list, please email me at briannacraigray@gmail.com or comment on this post (with email address) and I will add you and give you the blog address.

Count the Ways

Isn't there a sonnet that goes,
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...?
I have mommy brain pretty bad these days. So if I just made that up, dibs.

Anyway, after was seems like an unending season of waiting and more waiting, God has bombarded us with so many blessings on top of each other that I wanted to make a list.

1. Our son, Samuel Haddon.
   He is our most favorite out of this list. Also the cutest.
   I am working on getting pictures transferred to the computer so I can add them to emails and blog posts, but check Facebook in the meantime for my phone snapshots.
2. A new apartment in Amesbury, MA.
   2 bedrooms, townhouse style, adult-sized kitchen (with dishwasher!), a block from the riverside trail, near the middle of town, close to the highway. I could go on. I will probably write more about it after we're moved in.
   We applied for this place knowing that lots of others were interested and we would have to be chosen out of the pool. We were!
   Looking forward to moving in at the end of October. In the meantime, I need to pack!
3. Refinancing our car.
   We're so glad to be a part of a credit union again, and we'll be saving good money with a much better interest rate.
4. Ministry opportunity for Craig.
   There is a church in New Hampshire looking to revive its congregation and bring in a younger generation of worshipers. If approved, Craig would be Family Life Minister (or something similar). Nothing is final or even close yet, but we are excited about this possibility and hope that God will make it happen.

These are just the highlights of what is going on in our lives. I look forward to Sam following more of a schedule so I can budget my time better and keep you all better informed. Until then, I'll try to add short updates along the way.

66.67%

Third trimester.
Two-thirds to D-day.
More calories, less room.
More tired, less sleep.

Shotgun visit (late post)

(Note that I created this post about two weeks ago but completely forgot to finish it. Oops.)

The last weekend of April my dad took a quick business trip to CT, NH and MA and we were able to grab some meals and conversation while he was here.
We also spent the bulk of Saturday together and spent the afternoon at Minute Man National Historical Park. The park hosts Concord's North Bridge where the shot heard 'round the world was (mis-?)fired, and several miles of the road along which rebels and redcoats picked each other off.
The main visitor center has a multi-media presentation that helps lay out the events and geography of the night and day that began the Revolution. Our only complaint was the volume of the sound effects... little Ray jumped more than once!

Minute Man statue by Daniel Chester French

It all began here

After you cross the bridge and hike up the hill, you can stand near the place where the militia watched the British troops march from the town they had just shot up and set on fire. They decided to hold them at the bridge and demand their surrender. While facing off on the bridge, a British soldier fired with no order given. That shot instigated the unusual battle that followed along Battle Road as the British fled for safety.

North Bridge reconstruction

The Hancock, one of the infamous cannons that instigated the British Army's march  to the weapons cache in Concord. Their objective was to recover four cannons and destroy the munitions they discovered.

Although I'm sure I had learned this history in grade school, I didn't realize how many details I had forgotten. It was good to be reminded and a little more connected to our country's past. Hopefully we will make more of an effort to visit other important sites and continue to appreciate the sacrifices that were made for our freedoms.

Such intense activity meant a lot of good eating! We discovered a tiny cafe in Concord called Helen's, and we loved it! It was worth the wait (even though I was famished) because the food was excellent.

I made sure to send my dad home with something to remember us by.

A sweet birthday treat from NE 

The Truth

We want to clear any residual confusion about our little announcement yesterday:
That really was our sonogram pic up on Facebook, it really was taken on Feb 9, '12, and we really are expecting a baby! We found out on New Year's Day and it was so hard to keep that news to ourselves! We have made it safely through four months already. (I can hardly believe it!) My due date is September 7th.

The shadow over our happiness is that this is our second baby. We lost our first baby around 10 weeks of pregnancy, almost two years ago. I have spent every day with this baby remembering that it should not be our firstborn, that I should have a 14 month old causing chaos right now. Yet I am so thankful for a second gift of life and for the little milestones we continue to reach, reassuring me that history does not have to repeat itself.

We will be able to update everyone again soon after our next appointment in about a week. I'm looking forward to more pictures!

So that was our little "prank." We thought it was funny and hopefully you did too.

Craig's new blog

Craig has created a blog for his musings on life and Bible and New England sports.

Check it out here.