5 GREAT DAYS

It's been about 5 days since Ellie arrived on our radar and man has it been good! She was born on last Thursday and since then it has been a wonderful time for us. Louise and Ellie both did well and went home on Saturday afternoon. After getting them home, Jamie stayed at the house with them and Dustin's parents while Laurie, Leigh and I went to the Faulkner football game.

After the game, of course, we had to drop in and check on Louise (and of course, Ellie :)) Sunday after services at University church of Christ we had lunch that Justin and Michelle Bond brought and hung out and vistied until church time. After evening service we went back and Michelle had made lasanga and it was wonderful! Jamie stayed at Lousie and Dirt's while I came back to Laurie and Leigh's to help Laurie get finished and study to finish up her college work Sunday night.

Monday we got up and went to Louise and Dirt's and they got up after a long night with Ellie. SHe didn't sleep very well but felt good on Monday. Ellie had a doctor's appointment today and her liver numbers were still a little high so the doc will see her Weds but prescribed sunlight for her today! So I got to feed her a bottle of milk while Ellie lay in my lap in the sun. While they were at the doctor I got out in the backyard and spread the rye grass to go where the swimming pool had been. Dirt's dad, Franklin and Justin did a great job in getting the yard leveled out but man was the soil dry adn soft but the grass seed is out and Dirt and I watered it tonight. He'll probably get to cut it this fall:)

Ellie felt better tonight and was getting more active and alert. It has been a great joy and blessing for me to get to be here for her birth and first 4 days of her life.

I have reflected each night on the joys and challenges of life awaiting Ellie and other babies born into today's world. Certainly there are going to be things in her future that I would give anything to protect her from but I can't. I am encouraged though by the family she was born into. Louise and Dirt are good young people with a love for the Lord and for each other and now Ellie that is as strong as I have ever seen. Not only are they good parents but they have a strong family support that wants to see Ellie grow into a great Christian woman also. Laurie and Leigh are as concerned and loving aunts as any child could be blessed with. Both sets of grandparents are committed Christians that pray and want to do all they can to help. Both Dirt and Louise have thier closest friends that are faithful Christians trying to raise godly children in this challenging age.

Bottom line, I am so excited about Ellie and the joy she has already brought to our lives and so many more and I look forward to watching her grow and seeing the fabric of her life continue to be woven into a wonderful life! God bless you Ellie and Lousie and Dirt! Love you all so much!

Reflections of a New Grandfather

I have now officially been a grendfather for about 2 hours and have spent much of that time looking at Ellie. So thankful that she was born healthy and that Louise is well too. 8 lbs and 11 oz and 20 1/2 inches long with a 14 inch head and beautiful to boot! It is so surreal to remember January 15, 1984 and seeing another pretty little baby and now realizing she is laying in the hospital bed just having delivered her own baby. Today has flooded my mind with reflections of 30 years of blessings that God placed in Jamie and my lives with our daughters. Now with Dirt having joined us a few years ago, it didn't seem like things could be much better until this afternoon. Ellie already has made a special place in my heart and I can hardly wait to see what she adds to the world.

Of all the things I have already prayed for and hope for her, my greatest desire is that she will grow to be a wonderful Christian lady. She will be surrounded with great examples, starting at her mom and moving outward in the circle of family and so many godly friends.

I can't help but wonder what she will be and what she will do, and really don't have a clue. But I do know that she has already got a hug spot in my heart and given me a new hope for life and the world.

On a funnier note, Jamie and I were walking back from the nursery after watching Ellie in the bassinet, and had to smile. Just an old granmother and grandfatehr walking off into the sunset. Not sad and certainly not at the end but really enjoying reflecting on where we've been and looking forward to the road ahead.

Waiting on Ellie

It's 11:15 AM on September 16, 2010 and we are gathered at Baptist East Hospital in Montgomery, AL waiting on Ellie's arrival. Louise is 9 CM (if you aren't so old, like me that you don't get the metric system) and fully effaced. We have been told that Ellie should be here within a couple of hours! Louise has ben amazing! She has been able to sleep through a lot of the contractions and is doing great!

Dirt and his folks are here with us and Laurie, Leigh and Michelle Bond (coulda, shoulda been our 4th or 5th daughter :) ) and Jamie and me waiting to be kicked out of the L & D room. We got her a door hanger that will soon announce Ellie's arrival.

Samantha just got here to visit with her soon to be second cousin :)

I hope the party isn't getting too loud in here! But hopefully this afternoon I can describe what it feels like to be a grandfather, married to a grandmother!

Keep us in your prayers! More news later!

Quite a Month...Already

It is just September 5 but this has been and promises to be a most eventful month. On Wednesday we met Laurie, Leigh and Mom in Birmingham and got the good news that Laurie was recovering from the kidney donation very well and that everything was normal and healthy. Then we got to eat lunch with a very healthy and vibrant Janet and Chuck at the Cheesecake Factory. What a thrill to see her doing so well and to think about the sacrifice that Laurie made to have it happen. That is a blessing for Laurie and Janet that is a blessing to the world. Love those two fine Christian ladies!
Laurie and our family have been so blessed and overwhelmed by the love shown her by the University church of Christ. It is amazing how much they have cared for her during this period of recovery. That is one of the great congregations in our brotherhood and what wonderful elders lead that family of believers. I cannot express my gratitude and love for them enough.
Yesterday after a Bible study, I was blessed to take Kevin Hartline to Lookout Creek and baptize him on a beautiful fall afternoon after a Bible study at Helen and Sonny O'Dell's home. His brother, Gary Morgan and his mom, Faye Morgan had both talked to him and Helen and her family had been encouraging him. It was a great day for them and me. After he was baptized, he went back to their house and told Sonny, his uncle, who is under Hospice care and in the very late stages, that he had been baptized. I don't know if Sonny could respond but feel sure he heard and was proud.
The Trenton church of Christ has been so good to Helen and Sonny during his illness and it has had such an impact on so many of their family and friends. They may have various religious backgrounds but they are all impressed by the number of visitors and level of love shown to the O'Dell's by the Christians at Trenton.
Today and in less than three weeks, Lord willing, I will fill two responsibilities that I have prayed aboutfor a number of years. In about 4 hours, I will join Don Puryear, Buddy McKenzie and Chris Gerber as the newly appointed elders of the Trenton church of Christ. This has been one of the things I have prayed about and worked toward since we visited the congregation 7 years ago this month. It overwhelms me with the responsibility and thrills me to see this fine family move back to scriptural organization. I am so blessed with the caliber of men who will be serving as shepherds with me. They are great men who are students of the Bible, who pray devoutly and love the Christians in Trenton and around the world. They have a deep concern for lost souls and I am so honored to be considered with them. Today at the installation service for the new eldership, Leigh and Nathan and his mom and sister are coming up. Wish that Laurie and Louise and Dirt and Mom and Dad could be here but they all have other very important obligations as well but I know that I am in each of their thoughts and prayers, as I hope I am all who may read this.
Finally, September 22 or there about will bring me a name change! I've been called a lot of things but none will be any sweeter than to be a grandpa. Louise and Dirt should be holding Ellie by then and I can't wait to meet that little gal! Her aunts are already spoiling her and I can't wait to get to watch her grow. She is blessed with wonderful parents and a godly heritage that few children are blessed with. I am so excited about watching her interact in this family and seeing us interact with her.
What a blessed month September has already been and promises to be! Obviously it is going to be a month where, as always, I'll need your prayers! Thanks for them!