Morgan's Baby Journal #27

I wrote a bunch of journal entries for Morgan when he was a toddler. I've pasted them in here, and added pictures to spruce them up. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Carmichael, California

He knew he couldn't escape. It was bedtime, and Morgan was resigned to that fact. Every now and then, Mommy invited him to stay up late and watch television with her or something--just a few weeks back Beauty and the Beast was on, and Morgan was allowed to stay up late for that--but there was no special movie on tonight. He'd already fought for an hour with Mommy and Daddy in an attempt to avoid eating his dinner. Morgan didn't like bananas, and he didn't like tomato soup. Mommy said that he had to eat his dinner if he wanted to get big and be a football player. Morgan wanted to be a football player, but he didn't want to have to eat his dinner to accomplish that. Football players ate hamburgers too, didn't they?

Daddy took Morgan to the bathroom, where they brushed their teeth. Daddy used his plain, old purple toothbrush, and Morgan used his Buzz Lightyear model. Daddy just didn't understand how to have fun.

"It sure is easy to brush your teeth when you won't eat anything," Daddy said.

After they were done, Morgan ran off to his bedroom. He'd been playing with his stuffed Spider-Man toy earlier, and he wanted to play with it some more. Just as he picked up the toy, Daddy grabbed him around the waist, and hoisted him into his arms.

"Spider-Man coming to bed, too," Morgan pleaded.

"Okay, Morgan. Let's go give Mommy a hug and a kiss," Daddy said.

Mommy hugged him, and kissed him, despite their recent war over dinner, her anger with him always faded nearly as fast as his anger with her.

"Spider-Man want to kiss you too," Morgan said, holding out the stuffed toy.

"Oh, okay," Mommy said, and planted one on its red forehead.

"I love you, Mommy," Morgan said, as Daddy carried him away to bed.

"I love you too, Morgan," Mommy said with a wistful smile. She went back to feeding Baby Marin, and Daddy and Morgan grabbed a book and headed for bed.

"We're going to read this book tonight,” Daddy said, holding up a book. Morgan remembered the book; it was his counting book. He hadn't read it with Daddy in a long time, but he remembered that he liked it.

Daddy tucked Morgan in under the covers.

"Spider-Man tuck in, Daddy," Morgan said.

"Of course," Daddy said, and slid Spider-Man snugly in under the covers too. Then Daddy reached over to the light on Morgan's side of the bed. He switched it off and the room was plunged into darkness.

"Spider-Man can't see, Daddy,” Morgan said.

"Okay, just a minute," Daddy said.

Daddy switched on the light next to his own side of the bed, and Morgan was instantly relieved.

"Okay, Spider-Man can see now."

"Alright, Morgan, let's read your book." Daddy opened the book and read the title page. "My first book of counting, 1-2-3. Okay, Morgan, count with me. One teddy bear. Can you count the teddy bear?"

"One,” Morgan said. That was easy, he knew that really well.

"Two dolls," Daddy said, "count with me, Morgan."

"One, two," they both said in unison.

Daddy turned the page. "Three dogs," he said.

Morgan looked at the pictures of the dogs. One was small and gray with pointy ears. "That's a cat," Morgan said.

"Okay," Daddy said with a grin, " count with me."

"One, two, three," they said in unison again.

They went on like this through several pages. When they reached page eleven, Morgan noticed that one of the foods he was counting was a hamburger.

"That's a hamburger," he said, "football players don't eat hamburgers. Just soup and 'nanas."

"Really," said Daddy, "You need to eat your dinner, so you can be a football player when you grow up."

They finished their book, and put it away. Morgan counted to eleven with Daddy before he started mixing up the numbers. Counting wasn't so bad. He didn't like being put on the spot and asked to count in front of people, but counting with Daddy in the book was fun.

Daddy turned off the lights.

"Are you ready to say prayers?"

"Yeah," said Morgan, and he said every word of the prayer, because he was happy and content.

Once prayers were done, they laid back and closed their eyes.

"Daddy, Spider-Man under covers," Morgan said.

Daddy turned and fixed the blankets over Spider-Man, and then Morgan quickly drifted off to sleep.

Marin's Baby Journal #4

I wrote a bunch of journal entries for Marin when she was a baby. I've pasted them in here, and added pictures to spruce them up. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Carmichael, California

Marin wandered out of Mommy's room. She could still see, but not very well. This was fun. She had found a new favorite toy. It wasn't a toy really, Marin knew that, but it was sure fun.

She tottered down the hall and into the dining room. She could see well enough to avoid large obstacles, but she was leery of encountering something smaller that might send her head over heels. She wandered past Daddy, who was sitting at the computer. He didn't see her, or at least not the new toy she'd found.

She wandered towards the kitchen. In the gloom her new toy created she could see the edge of the bar that marked the entry into the kitchen. She put out her hand to touch the corner, assuring herself of its actual position with a more trustworthy sense before pressing onward. She entered the kitchen, and the white bulk--well…it was more like a gray bulk because of her new toy--the white bulk of the refrigerator loomed large over her head. She stared up at it. It looked so funny through her toy, so different from normal. She walked towards the back wall of the kitchen, looking up at the counters.

How is it that Morgan never discovered this toy. She didn't even have to fight with him to get it. Suddenly something caught her right foot. With a clankety-clank she went down in a heap. Then she saw it, the white stool that she played with so often had tripped her. She had been looking up at the counters, and hadn’t noticed that stool. It was big enough that she would have noticed it, even through the haze created by her new toy. She just hadn’t been looking.

She got back to her feet, and headed back out of the kitchen. When she came around the corner, Daddy saw her.

“Marin, what are you doing, you silly girl?”

Marin smiled, although Daddy couldn’t see it through the veil of her new toy. She walked towards him, happiness removing the timid steps her earlier caution had provided. She came close to the chair Daddy was sitting on, and her caution took over again. She slowed, and put out her hand to touch the chair, and assure herself of its position. She looked up at Daddy. Though she couldn’t see him very well, she was pretty sure he was smiling at her.

Her dimmed vision made her completely unprepared for what happened next. One moment she was on her feet holding the chair in her right hand, and the next she was on her back, and Daddy was tickling her stomach so fiercely she couldn’t help but howl with laughter. Daddy pulled her new toy off her head, and kissed her cheek. Then the flatulent sound of a zerbit echoed through the dining room, as Daddy blew a raspberry on her neck. She pulled her new toy back over her head again, and Daddy pulled it back down.

"Peek-a-boo!"

Marin pulled it back up, and Daddy pulled it back down.

"Peek-a-boo!"

Marin pulled it back up, and Daddy attacked her with another zerbit.

"Marin you're so funny. What do you think Mommy would say? I think she would find it funny that your favorite new toy is her old slip."

Morgan's Baby Journal #26

I wrote a bunch of journal entries for Morgan when he was a toddler. I've pasted them in here, and added pictures to spruce them up. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Carmichael, California

Morgan was watching Teletubbies. He really loved this TV show. Marin was on the floor next to him. Morgan glanced down at Marin. She was playing, and he liked to play with her. He saw that she was playing with the truck he had been playing with before Teletubbies had started. Wait a minute, he thought, that’s my toy.

“Hey, Baby,” he said, as he jumped down and yanked the toy from her hands, “That’s mine. Give it back.”

Marin began to cry. This wasn’t good, Morgan knew that if she cried enough, he might get in trouble. He saw a baby toy in the corner by the couch. He ran and grabbed it, and dropped it in Marin’s lap.

“Here, Baby.” he said.

Marin finally looked down, and snatched up the new toy. Morgan drove the truck back and forth on his lap, then he set it aside, and went back to the Teletubbies.

The Teletubbies were playing with balls. La-la bounced her ball, then Tinky-winky bounced his ball.

“Oh,” Morgan said, “Two ones.”

Then Morgan heard Daddy open the sliding glass door. What is Daddy doing, Morgan wondered. He walked over to see. He looked outside, and saw Daddy dumping a garbage bag in the garbage can. He also saw some of his favorite toys. Daddy came back inside.

“Mommy.” Oops, thought Morgan, this isn‘t Mommy; it‘s Daddy. “Daddy,” Morgan said, “I go outside?”

“You want to go outside, Morgan?”

Morgan looked out at the patio. “Hot,” Morgan said, “Burn.” Morgan realized that he was barefoot, and if he wanted to go outside, he needed some shoes, or he would burn his feet.

He ran to his bedroom, and looked in his closet. There were so many shoes in here. Some were his, and some were Marin’s. He scanned the jumble, and suddenly spied the shoes he was looking for. He grabbed them, pulled them on, and ran back to the sliding glass door.

“There,” said Morgan, when he saw Daddy.

“Oh,” said Daddy, “You got some shoes, huh?”

Morgan walked out the sliding glass door onto the patio. His shorts and t-shirt helped him to stay cool, and his feet didn’t burn on the hot pavement, because he was wearing his knee-high rain boots.

Marin's Baby Journal #3

I wrote a bunch of journal entries for Marin when she was a baby. I've pasted them in here, and added pictures to spruce them up. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Carmichael, California

Morgan was crying, and Marin couldn’t understand why. They were having a lot of fun with Daddy. They were driving all around town, and going to the doctor’s office, and the store. For some reason, Morgan thought it was necessary to cry because he couldn’t ride in a wheelchair at the store. Sometimes Marin just couldn’t understand her big brother at all.

“Sit down here in the cart,” Daddy said to Morgan, “and maybe this lady will give you a balloon.”

Morgan was quieting down a little now.

“Do you want a balloon?”

Marin couldn’t see what was going on, but she felt the cart being pushed into a bunch of flowers. Suddenly, a big green ball appeared, floating above her head. Wow! What was that? Marin smiled big. This thing was very interesting. She reached for it, but couldn’t quite reach. As the cart zoomed along towards the milk coolers, the floating green ball came closer to her. Marin giggled, and reached for it, but still couldn’t reach.

They stopped at the milk coolers, and the green ball floated away. Marin couldn’t see it anymore, and it made her sad. She began to cry.

In a few seconds, the cart began moving, and the green ball floated close to Marin again. Her tears ceased, as she watched the happy shape bounce around her. Marin looked a little closer, and saw that the ball was attached to a string. The string was tied around the bottom of it, and a long end hung down behind her head. But a shorter end hung down right next to her.

In fact the shorter end was tickling her arm. She seized it, and tugged. The big green ball swooped down and bonked her on the head. She giggled and tugged again. It dropped again, bouncing off her head. At first she was afraid, but she quickly learned that the ball did not hurt. It was full of air, and very soft. She tugged the string again. She tugged and tugged and tugged, bouncing the balloon around like a bunny rabbit on a bungee cord. She giggled and giggled for the rest of the time they were in the store.

The checkout girl thought she was very cute, playing with her balloon. When they reached the car, Daddy took the balloon away for a moment. She made such a fuss, that Daddy quickly convinced Morgan to let her play with the balloon. He had a cookie anyway.

Marin laid claim to the balloon.

Morgan's Baby Journal #25

I wrote a bunch of journal entries for Morgan when he was a toddler. I've pasted them in here, and added pictures to spruce them up. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Carmichael, California

It was very, very late. Mommy was deep asleep, and exulting in the time that she had to stretch out alone on her bed. Daddy had already left for work, and neither Morgan nor Marin had migrated to fill his side of the bed. It was a wonderful feeling. One that Mommy didn’t get to experience very often…and it never lasted long enough. Whimpering from the doorway proved that. Mommy winced; Morgan was on his way in to take up all the space his little body possibly could on the bed. Mommy waited for Morgan’s arrival at her side, but it never came. Instead, the whimpering at the door turned to all out tears.

“Mommy!” Morgan cried, “Mommy!”

Mommy couldn’t, in her fuzzy, half-waking condition, understand why Morgan didn’t come. She sat up slowly, and saw Morgan in the doorway. As was his custom of late, he was bringing along his pillow and blanket from his bed. Mommy looked closer, and saw the reason for his tears. His cargo was stuck in the door, and, in his fuzzy, half-waking condition, he couldn’t get them through. Mommy stumbled out of bed, and went to his aid.

“Help me, Mommy,” Morgan whimpered.

Mommy yanked the door open further, but it wasn’t taking care of the problem. Morgan’s blanket and pillow were stuck under the door. As she pulled them out, Mommy noticed why the problem began in the first place. Morgan was bringing both of his pillows, his blanket, and his sheet with him.

“Here Morgan,” said Mommy, “why don’t you leave
some of this in your room?”

“No!” He screeched, breaking into a whiny tone. “Want to keep it.”

“Whatever,” resigned Mommy, she had long ago learned not to try and reason with the caprices of a two year-old. The two of them returned to bed. Mommy pulled the sheet over herself, and laid her head on her pillow. Morgan pulled two sheets and two blankets over his skinny body, and laid his head on his three pillows. They were soon fast asleep.

A Big Surprise For Shantell (Merrill's Journal)

For most of my life, I haven't done a very good job of keeping a journal. On my mission I developed the habit, but as soon as I got home, I dropped it again. In fits and starts over the years after that I tried to get back to it, but always left months between each entry. This is one of those entries. Hope you like it.

Carmichael, California

Recently, I've noticed how simple it is to fall into a rut. In every aspect of life, people tend to find their comfort zone, and stay well planted within it. My comfort zones are many, but some are less desirable than others. For example, in marriage, Shantell and I have slipped into life together in a comfort zone. We live together, depending on each other for certain things, and generally putting forth as little effort as possible. I've noticed that, at times, I feel a little dissatisfied with the way our marriage was going. When we started our life together, we spent a great deal of effort doing things for each other and having fun together, but now that it's been nearly four years, we don't do anything for each other at all.

I decided it was time to change this, before we got fifteen years down the line and couldn't stand to be around each other. I've been reading this book I got from the library called, "1001 Ways to Be Romantic," by Gregory Godek. For the most part, the guy's suggestions are totally corny. When I really think about it, to be romantic, by definition, you must be a little corny, but there's a classy way to do it, and a cheesy way, and this guy leans a long way toward the cheesy. There are moments, however, when he makes good suggestions. I think girls just dig cheesy stuff. I think it was probably a man who invented the word cheesy.

So I started in on the romance. I stopped on the way home, and picked a bouquet of wildflowers from the side of the road. I presented them with a line about how I tried, but couldn't find flowers that were nearly as beautiful as she was. Shantell loved them. She said they were the prettiest flowers she had ever received.

A few days later, I cut a rose off of the neighbor's bush. I came in the house with it hidden behind my back.

"I thought you left for work," Shantell said.

"I forgot something," I said, and I pulled the rose from behind my back and handed it to her. She beamed. I headed back out the door to work, sucking my thumb where a thorn had pricked me.

Days later, I wrote her a love note at work. I printed it out, glued it onto a piece of colored paper, and cut out some shapes to decorate it with. I brought it home, and left it on the dinner table where she would find it.

A few days earlier, I recorded a message for Shantell on the computer. After waiting at least a week for her to finally use the thing, she finally logged on. She started up the computer, and instead of the usual Windows start-up sound, my voice issued forth from the speakers saying, "Hello, Shantell, I love you." Shantell laughed, that was a good surprise.

Then came the coup de grace. A few days later, I was at work, logging the AM shows, when I noticed a commercial playing on our station. I had the volume turned off, but the flashing lights indicated to me that there was a Brooks & Dunn concert coming to town soon. "I wonder when that is," I mumbled, "and how much it is." Shantell loves country music, especially Brooks & Dunn, and she's never been to see a real concert before. It would be a great surprise to take her to see them, but our limited budget would certainly not allow it. I'm trying to save up for our anniversary.

Later that day, I heard my two co-workers, Pat and Sandra, talking in the feedroom about the Brooks & Dunn concert.

I walked in and asked Pat, "When is that concert? I was thinking of taking Shantell to it."

"It's tomorrow," She said.

"Oh," I said, "Shantell's never been to a real concert before. I was thinking of taking her."

Pat looked at me, her eyes then glanced from side to side. It seemed as though she was coming to some sort of an inner decision. Then suddenly, she removed a pair of tickets from her pocket and laid them on the desk in front of me.

"Here," she said, "you take them, I'm not going to be able to go anyway."

Wow. The coup de grace. Shantell will love me forever after this.

Apparently, Pat had won the tickets in a raffle that the station had conducted the previous Friday at their annual Burgerfest party. Her husband, however, had not read Gregory Godek's book, and was busy coming up with reasons why it would be too much of a hassle to go to the show. Disheartened, Pat turned the tickets over to me.

We worked out a plan on how to surprise Shantell with the tickets. Well, better put, I came up with a plan, and Pat helped me implement it. I got Michelle, my brother's wife, to watch the kids. We wrapped the tickets up in a box, with frilly ribbons and everything. I put the box inside my backpack on the backseat of the car. I told Shantell we were going somewhere special, and no more.

We dropped the kids off, and headed out to the show, when we were within a few miles of the amphitheater, I turned to Shantell and said, "Hey, can you grab this paper we need out of my backpack. It's blue, and..."

Shantell turned and reached into the back. She opened my backpack and her eyes lit up. She found the box with the gift wrapping.

"What is this?"

"Oh," I said, in mock surprise, "I guess that's for you."

She ripped it open, and then her eyes fell on the tickets in the center of the box. "What…are these tickets to a Brooks & Dunn concert?"

"I guess so," I said.

"We're going to see Brooks & Dunn?"

"I guess so," I said again.

She threw her arms around me, squealing with delight, and squeezed me tight, nearly causing us to run off the road.

Oh wait, that was how I wished it would have happened, but it didn't quite work out that way. When we dropped the kids off, Michelle dropped the bomb for me. We were about to leave, and Michelle said, "Justen says you're a hypocrite."

I had a feeling that I should just leave it at that, but hypocrite didn't seem like the right name to be calling me. Besides, I had already told her that Shantell didn't know what we were doing, so I figured she would find a way to tell me what he meant without giving it away.

"Why?" I asked (like a fool).

"Because you're going to a Brooks & Dunn concert," she replied.

Shantell's face lit up, and she smiled like it was Christmas morning. Grrrr, was all I could think. The whole surprise was ruined.

"You still didn't know yet?" asked Michelle, abashed.

"Well, there's a present for you in the car," I grumbled. "I hope you like it. It's a surprise."

The surprise was gone, but we still had a lot of fun. Shantell saw one of her favorite bands in concert, and I spent a lot of time with drunk cowboys. Pat ended up meeting us at the concert. She got another set of tickets to the show, and made her husband babysit while she came to the concert by herself.

It wasn't the coup de grace, I guess that has to wait. Hopefully, my plans for our anniversary will constitute one of those. I continue trying to add romance to our lives, and now Shantell is picking up on it, and trying a little romance herself.

It makes life more enjoyable when we love each other actively instead of passively (or in memory).

Morgan's Baby Journal #24

I wrote a bunch of journal entries for Morgan when he was a toddler. I've pasted them in here, and added pictures to spruce them up. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Carmichael, California

This is a list of unique words that Morgan says. It's not a list of everything he can say, but just those special words that he says that only Mommy and Daddy can translate into meaning.

First, there is Morgan's word for croutons, a delicacy that he thoroughly enjoys. Morgan calls them, "Crew-crews."

Then there is the word for popcorn. Morgan calls it, "Poke-poke." That has changed a little recently, however, and he has started calling it, "Porn." Daddy finds that to be a rather funny contraction, but Mommy is scandalized.

Morgan really likes being outside and he also likes playing with his toy dinosaurs, so if Mommy or Daddy are not paying attention to what's going on, they can be confused when he says, "door." For when he says that word, he could be referring to the actual door, or he could be talking about his toy dinosaur.

Morgan hates to be confined. When he sits at the table, Daddy always buckles him into his booster seat. Morgan's interest in food is minimal, and long before dinner is over, he wants to get down and play. "Unbucker me," he always demands. It's a step up for him, his word for buckle a few months ago was just, "buck." Now, he has progressed to the more advanced, "Bucker." Someday soon, he may advance on to the actual pronunciation of the word. Stay tuned.

All kids tend to eat a lot of chicken nuggets, and Morgan is no exception. He loves them, and he loves to dip them in sauce (he loves to dip anything in sauce really, it doesn't have to be nuggets). A few months ago, Morgan came up with his own variation of the word Ketchup. Morgan likes to call it, "Kepuch," instead.

Morgan is also still learning to connect some consonants together. Words that begin with, "Sn," have always been particularly difficult for him. Therefore, snake becomes, "Nake," and snack, "Nack."

That's not even a complete list, but it’s all I can think of right now. Thanks for reading, and good night.

Flowers And Fat (Merrill's Journal)

For most of my life, I haven't done a very good job of keeping a journal. On my mission I developed the habit, but as soon as I got home, I dropped it again. In fits and starts over the years after that I tried to get back to it, but always left months between each entry. This is one of those entries. Hope you like it.

Carmichael, California

Let's see, what has been going on since the last time I wrote something...

On Wednesday, we went to pick up our pictures at Sam's Club. They were nice. I was anxiously awaiting the pictures I had taken of some flowers in the center divider of Fair Oaks Boulevard.

They turned out very pretty, and I was mostly pleased.

 

 

On the way home, we stopped in at a clothing store, and I happened upon a pair of pants that I thought would look good on me. I tried them on, and, although they were a forty inch waist, I couldn't button them up over my fat belly.

 

Well, this experience changed my mood from good to bad, and made me decide to seriously pursue diet and exercise. I am tired of looking and feeling like garbage. I've decided that it is truly time to take control of my runaway appetite and my out of control propensity to be lazy.

 

Within months, I hope to be looking and feeling good. Shantell has gone in with me in my effort, so hopefully soon, we will both be much happier about ourselves.

It's been several days, and I have stuck to my diet pretty well. I need to boost up the exercise however.

I guess that's it for today.

I find this journal entry particularly interesting, because it touches on things that have been with ever since those early days of 2002.

First of all, I still love to take pictures of flowers, and with the advent of digital cameras my pictures have only improved...mostly because I can immediately confirm whether the shots are in focus or not. I take shots of wildflowers, like the ones I photographed in 2002, as well as pictures of the flowers we've raised in our own yard.

 

Secondly, I have struggled with my weight and my related self-worth since those days as well. The first time I ever made any headway was in 2010 when Shantell convinced me to try HCG with her. We were relatively successful, and our lives seemed to improve a little because of that. I wrote about it in a blog post back then. It wasn't very permanent, however.

I had a very primitive understanding of the mechanisms of weight loss back then, and simply fell into the usual yo-yo diet merry-go-round that most Americans deal with. It wasn't too long before I gained the weight back. Shantell and I did several different rounds of that HCG garbage. We always lost weight, but always gained it back.

I started doing CrossFit when a neighbor opened a gym in her garage. I learned more about low-carb eating and managed to occasionally make some inroads towards health. In 2012, my work did a weight-loss contest. I entered, stuck to my diet religiously, and managed to win the contest by a large margin. I wrote a blog post about that too. I won $200, and was feeling good.

Didn't last though. I gained it all back again. Worse yet, It was actually getting worse. How much worse I discovered in 2016 when I was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. Now it was getting serious.

I think I have turned a corner for real since that day, however. I stumbled upon a YouTube video that taught me the full truth behind mechanisms of weight loss. As well as a doctor who talks about carbohydrate addiction and how best to conquer that.

I'm managing my diabetes without any pills these days, and as long as I stick to my new way of eating and don't go back to living on sugar and carbs, I will at last find health. That's gonna be cool. If only I could convince the rest of the family to join me.

Green Thumb (Merrill's Journal)

For most of my life, I haven't done a very good job of keeping a journal. On my mission I developed the habit, but as soon as I got home, I dropped it again. In fits and starts over the years after that I tried to get back to it, but always left months between each entry. This is one of those entries. Hope you like it.

Carmichael, California

Today was a wonderful day, relaxing and joyful, like Sundays were meant to be. It was a good thing too, because I was just too worn out from yesterday to do much.

Yesterday, I awoke early, and watched the little ones so Shantell could sleep. I taped Marin rolling over, then edited a video of it on the computer to e-mail to the family. Dad and Marilyn, on a mission in Tampa, Florida, and Shantell's Mom and Dad in Canada, will surely appreciate it.

When Shantell finally got out of bed, we decided it was time to prepare our garden. This is the first time in our adult lives that we have tried to plant a vegetable garden, and we hope it works out.

We went to the backyard, and, with our brand new shovel, I began turning the dirt over in one corner. We don't own a tiller of any sort, so I had to do it the hard way. I shoveled dirt for about two hours.

When I was sure it was time for a break, I joined Morgan in his wading pool. We played long enough for me to get a sunburn, then I decided it was time to get going again. We put the pool away, and I took a quick shower to rinse of some of the sweat and mud and grass that was sticking to me. I dressed, and went back out with the rake to break up the large clumps. Shantell brought out her chair, and watched. Wasn't that nice of her? Soon enough, I'd raked the whole area into smaller chunks of dirt.

We went to the hardware store to buy bricks. We used the bricks to section off the garden area. Then, dumping out the smelly stuff, we worked manure and potting soil into the dirt, in hopes of creating a more fertile growing area.

Finally, we stepped back and looked at it, and I was proud. In all my youth, I would never have guessed that I would have derived so much pleasure from the back-breaking labor I had put in, but it was pure excitement for me. Shantell, although I've heard her complain a multitude of times about weeding her garden as a child, was just as excited as me. We raked and shoveled, mixing the dirt with the fertilizer, standing shoulder to shoulder, and smiled. It was really fun to work together on this. After all the projects we've done together, I think this one was the most fun for both of us. Neither one of us had to push the other. We worked along, having a great time. And when we were done, it looked cute. We went inside, and cleaned off, and Shantell continued to look at what we had done from her vantage point at Morgan's bedroom window. She couldn't get enough.

That night, although we went out and rented a movie to watch, I fell asleep early. Big surprise. I worked harder in that garden than I have with anything that I can remember. Looking back, I still find it hard to believe. I can't wait to plant the seeds, and see the sprouts start appearing.

Sunday morning we were a little late to church, but aside from that it was the best church meeting I've attended in years. I enjoyed myself teaching my class (I teach the 16-17 year old Sunday school class). I even enjoyed Elder's Quorum, which is normally the dullest hour I endure all week. There were great comments, and it made me feel like improving myself.

At home, we just relaxed. I watched the movie we had rented the night before, Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow, which was great, and Shantell and the kids played quietly.

It was the first time I've watched a movie when Morgan was awake since he was a little tiny tyke. After the movie, Shantell took a nap, and Morgan and I roughhoused for the entire time. Then we laid on his bed and read books. He sat through long books that have never interested him before, and it made me realize that each day he gets older, he also grows up a little more. I'll be very sad to see the little kid that he is now turn into a bigger kid someday. I hope I can be the kind of parent that remains close to his kids even as they grow, because I love Morgan and Marin more than my own life. I would do anything for them.

We were about to go for a walk, when Heidi and Dave Williams showed up. Their daughter, Caileen, and Morgan rioted through our house for the rest of the night, and we sat and conversed with the grown-ups. Around 8:30, they went home, and I went to bed.

As far as I can remember, that garden didn't ever amount to anything. I'm pretty sure we never harvested a single thing off any of the plants...what little of them that actually grew. Don't worry. It wasn't our last garden. We've had many more over the years, and harvested many vegetables for our dinner table...as this post and this post from about a decade later when I'd gotten the blog going can attest.

Morgan's Baby Journal #23

I wrote a bunch of journal entries for Morgan when he was a toddler. I've pasted them in here, and added pictures to spruce them up. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Carmichael, California

Mommy was planning a special surprise for Daddy when he came home. Not only did she prepare dinner for him to be hot and ready to eat when he came home, she also wanted to make a special message to greet Daddy at the door. Mommy got Morgan's crayon set from the closet, and a pretty piece of paper.

"C'mon Morgan," said Mommy, "Let's color."

Morgan knew how to color, but he didn't do it very often. He liked crayons, but he liked to employ them in all their many uses: for writing on paper, on people, on walls; for throwing at people; and for eating. Mommy had to control Morgan's exuberance, whenever his mind wandered from the task at hand. Finally, they finished the message for Daddy.

On a piece of white paper bordered with pictures of jellybeans, they had written, "To Daddy, we love you. From Morgan, Marin, and Shantell." Morgan scribbled in several colors on the white part. Mommy folded the paper in half, and broke off a piece of tape.

"Okay, Morgan," Mommy said, "Let's put it on the door."

They walked to the front door, opened it, and stuck the sign on the outside.

"Door," Morgan said, excited about this neat thing they were doing.

Mommy taped the sign to the door, with the words To Daddy on the outside.

"Okay, Morgan, inside."

Morgan wanted none of it, he tried to run for it. Mommy quickly snatched Morgan up, as he struggled and kicked, and carried him into the house. Morgan played with his toys in the front room for a moment, then he went to the bin, grabbed another piece of jellybean-bordered paper, and took it to Mommy.

"Door?" asked Morgan, "Please?"

Mommy handed him a crayon, and Morgan swiped the paper with it, making a quick mark.

"Door!" he said, grabbing Mommy's hand, jumping up and down in excitement. "Yeah, door!"

Mommy grabbed the tape roll and took Morgan to the door. The moment the door opened enough for him to slip through, Morgan tossed the paper in the air and broke for the open space.

"You little stinkerbug," Mommy mumbled to herself. "That was a pretty good trick." Then louder, so Morgan could hear her, she shouted, "Hey, Morgan, come back here. Mommy's going to get you!"

Alarmed (Merrill's Journal)

For most of my life, I haven't done a very good job of keeping a journal. On my mission I developed the habit, but as soon as I got home, I dropped it again. In fits and starts over the years after that I tried to get back to it, but always left months between each entry. This is one of those entries. Hope you like it. 

Carmichael, California

Why is it so hard to get up at 3:00 AM. It doesn't seem to matter that I've been doing it every weekday for two months. It's still a daily struggle. Today, I wouldn't have made it all the way out of bed if I hadn't set a back-up alarm. I was there in bed still muzzy-headed when it went off, finally pulling me from my stupor. I think I would have slipped back into sleep if that second alarm hadn't caught me.

Work this morning was awful. Every tape came within a nosehair's length of being too late for air. It is getting to be the norm, however.

Pat, who is my best friend here at work, is supposed to be back at work this upcoming week, and they've scheduled her for days. That is so very good, because she will be coming in at 9:30 and we will be able to throw all our problems on her shoulders. That's okay, she's been working here for fifteen years, she should be able to handle it.

This afternoon's show was much better, though, and I've taken back all my vows to quit this place immediately. I guess I'll stick with it a little longer. At least until I can get my teaching credential and shake the dust from this place off my feet.

I can't wait until this cold dissipates. I just hate to be less than whole. It's a drag. Yesterday, I could hardly do anything. When dinner was over, I asked Shantell to go for a walk with me. It is part of my effort to get the exercise I need to be healthy, and I plan on taking another walk today when I get home from work. I wanted to walk, and then come home and go to bed early.

Unfortunately, as I was headed out the door, Tyler Beck called. His Assistant Den Leader had flaked on him again, and the bishop had asked him, as a precaution, not to have Cub Scout meetings without some sort of assistant. Until two months ago, I was his assistant, so he was calling to wrangle me back into action. Although I really wanted to say no, I agreed to do it. Tyler told me that he would call the boys to see who was coming, and decide what they were doing, and then call me back. I said I was going on a walk, but when I got home, I would help him if need be.

We walked for a half hour, and by the end of it, I was totally wiped out. All I wanted to do was sleep. I called Tyler when I walked in the door, but there was no answer.

"I guess I better drive over there and see if they've already started," I said.

"Can you wait a minute?" Shantell asked. "I want to go to the hardware store."

I think I'm one of few men in the world whose wife is more interested in going to the hardware store than he is. Now that we live in a house, it's only gotten worse. She comes up with a million different projects an hour. I just can't keep up. And truthfully, neither can she.

So we got in the car and headed over to the church. The parking lot was completely deserted. That solved my problem; I could now go home, and go to bed guiltlessly.

"So can we go to the hardware store now?"

Aaarrrgh! No early bedtime for me. Shantell dragged me around Home Depot, looking at paint and wood, flowers and saplings, shovels and rakes, and so on. We bought a shovel and a rake, so she could prepare our garden in the back corner of our backyard.

Finally, we came home, and I could go to sleep. Morgan and Marin were better off than me, they were already out. Marin fell asleep in her carseat in the store, and Morgan on the way home. I carried Morgan in the house as softly as possible, and laid him in his bed.

Just as I was about to sleep, our neighbor, Ron, came calling. He wanted to offer his lawnmower to us. Our grass was getting really scraggly, and he wanted to offer the mowers use, since it was becoming apparent that we didn't have one. We do have one, but I think it will never run again. I'm not sure what we'll do if that's the case. Borrowing Ron's mower is okay once or twice, but I can't just keep doing that every week.

Anyway, Ron, I have discovered, has a real tendency to blab on and on. After twenty minutes or so, I finally succeeded in prying myself away from the conversation. I readied myself for bed, and as I was slipping under the covers, Shantell came in. The conversation with Ron was finally dead. I kissed her goodnight, and then for all accounts and purposes I was dead as well.

It took two alarms to pull me from that blissful oblivion.

Morgan's Baby Journal #22

I wrote a bunch of journal entries for Morgan when he was a toddler. I've pasted them in here, and added pictures to spruce them up. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Carmichael, California

Morgan likes garbage day. It's one of his favorite things to see. When that truck comes down the street, he smiles. He runs to the front window and watches the truck dump the cans inside. He likes to help move the garbage can to the street, and bring it back in when it's all over, too.

On Tuesday, they had all gone to the library. Mommy, in a fit of brilliance, (or maybe it was really insanity, no one really knows for sure) checked out a video about garbage trucks. Morgan loves it. He sits and stares at it like nothing else. He loves to see the big truck moving along, grinding their engines in the effort to haul that garbage to the dump.

On Thursday night, Daddy was asleep, but Morgan was not. Usually, he would be asleep with Daddy, but today, he was awake, and passing the evening with Mommy, because she couldn't get him to sleep.

Mommy looked out the window, and noticed that all the neighbors had put their trash cans out on the street.

"Oh, dang," she said, "How does Daddy always get to bed before garbage gets put out."

She went out the side door, and began dragging the heavy garbage cans to the street.

Morgan heard her, and knew that he was missing out on something good. He threw his Buzz Lightyear action figure down, and rushed out the side door after Mommy.

"Garbage, garbage, garbage," he pleaded, as he ran. He got up next to Mommy, and put a hand on the garbage can's handles. He was helping, and that's what he liked to do best. Especially on garbage day.

Foiled Again (Merrill's Journal)

For most of my life, I haven't done a very good job of keeping a journal. On my mission I developed the habit, but as soon as I got home, I dropped it again. In fits and starts over the years after that I tried to get back to it, but always left months between each entry. This is one of those entries. Hope you like it.

Carmichael, California

Today, It was really tough to get out of bed. That's not an unusual thing for me, because my schedule has changed at work, and I now start at 4:00 AM, Monday through Friday. I do pretty well with it; I just had to adjust my sleeping habits a little . . . well, a lot. I go to bed every day at around 8:00 PM, or earlier if I can.

This morning, I awoke feeling the oncoming brunt of another cold. Ever since we've had kids, it seems like I get a lot more colds than I used to. Shantell, Morgan, and Marin have been sick for a few days already. I was beginning to feel like it would pass me by altogether, but then on Tuesday I awoke with a sore throat and a clogged nose. Now, on Wednesday, it was hitting me hard. I dragged myself out of bed, and took a shower.

The shower made me feel a little better; it always seems to help in a situation like this. The AM shows at work were surprisingly uneventful. The tapes were done rather early, and I didn't even sweat for the first time since the Producer decided to increase our workload by adding around fifteen more stories per hour. He did that on Monday, and I've been wishing I were dead ever since. I suppose if it keeps up like this much longer, I won't have to wish for death, because it will surely kill me.

By the end of the AM shows, however, my sickness was coming back. My hands were getting shaky. I could barely write to log the shows. It was a little weird. It's always disturbing when I lose control of my body, when it does things I didn't ask it to. Even though it was a harmless thing, it's still a reminder of just how mortal I am. Oh why can't I be immortal? Life would be so much easier without having to worry about my mortality. Then it wouldn't really be life though, would it? I wonder.

Sandra, my co-worker, bailed out on me at 9:00, two hours before the show we are supposed to prepare airs. I was left by myself to finish up the work. This is the third time in as many weeks that she has done this to me. She recently, by way of doctors appointments that took her away from work early, discovered that she is diabetic. I understand that she has to come to terms with this new aspect of her life, and learn what it is that she must do as a diabetic, but I know that doctors offices are open later than 11:00. Why does she always have to leave me here to face the work alone? Can't she schedule her appointment for a time that she is not supposed to be working? The way things are, we don't have people to take the place of any editor. I've really got to get out of this business.

By the time the 11:00 AM show was finished, my head had begun to throb incessantly. I drove home, picking up our recently repaired vacuum on the way, and fell on the couch. I didn't want to take a nap, because it wreaks havoc with my sleeping schedule if I do, but I couldn't stop myself. I drifted off to sleep, and awoke an hour later. I told Shantell that I was going to go straight to bed for the night, and she assented, although she didn't want to be left alone with the kids.

I tried to sleep, but it wouldn't happen. After a few minutes, I gave up, and came back out to spend time with my family.

At 8:00, my normal bed time, I was, unfortunately, not in the least bit sleepy. Normally, I go to bed at 8:00, taking Morgan with me. We read a book, and then go to sleep. Shantell comes in later, whenever she decides it's time to sleep, and moves Morgan to his own bed. Somewhere in the middle of the night, Morgan always finds his way back to our bed, and I often go and sleep the rest of the night on his bed. It's kind of like playing musical chairs, but it seems to work for us pretty well. Tonight, I did the same routine, except I didn't fall asleep.

When Morgan was asleep, I came out to the front room, to spend some time with my beautiful wife. Marin was asleep as well, so, for the first time in days, we were alone together. We tried to snuggle a little on the couch, but as soon as we were comfortable, Marin would cry.

Shantell sent me to get on her, but she looked to be putting herself back to sleep, so I left her there. I came back to snuggle, and in minutes, Marin was crying again. I checked her, she was asleep. I came back, and Marin cried. I checked her, she was sleeping. I snuggled in with Shantell, and Marin cried. When it happened for the fourth time, I picked her up, and brought her to the front room.

Apparently Marin knew we wanted to have some time together, to remember what it means to be husband and wife, and she wasn't going to stand for it. She surely had planned all along on foiling our carefully laid plans. What a dastardly act!

Anyway, it was soon 9:00, and I felt I must go and try to sleep or else my life would only get worse on the morrow.

Morgan's Baby Journal #21

I wrote a bunch of journal entries for Morgan when he was a toddler. I've pasted them in here, and added pictures to spruce them up. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Carmichael, California

Morgan was playing with Mommy. It was his favorite game these days, and he played with the relish that only a child could possess. Mommy was sitting on the bed, and Morgan left the room.

Then suddenly he reappeared in the doorway.

"Boo," he shouted.

Mommy screamed with fright, and Morgan giggled uncontrollably. Then he left the room again.

Then suddenly, he was back.

"Boo," he yelled, raising his arms menacingly as though they were sharp claws.

Mommy screamed again, and Morgan cracked up. Then he left the room.

After about seven or eight more repetitions of this same game, Mommy got up and chased after Morgan. He screamed with delight and mock fear, and ran full tilt for the kitchen. In the kitchen he cowered, as Mommy approached, and then tickled him mercilessly. His laughter was ear piercing. Then Mommy set him loose, and he ran for his room. This scene repeated itself, from one room to another, until Mommy had to sit on the bed again, and catch her breath.

Morgan began into his earlier game. Mommy screamed when he shouted, but after a while the game wound down again. Mommy wasn't responding to Morgan's shouts as much as he wanted, so he began looking at the things in the bedroom. Morgan was about to move to a new house, so the room was a big mess, and there were a lot of things to check out. He found some papers, Daddy's dumbbells, the remaining books on the bookshelf, and Marin's rattle shaped like a soft bunny. Then he spied something interesting. He had seen this black thing before, and Daddy called it his 'wallet'. Daddy always took it away from him, but Morgan never let past failures like that stop him from playing with something interesting.

Morgan picked up the wallet and opened it. There were cards in it. Wait a minute, Morgan thought, there's another opening in this wallet. He found some green paper in the other opening. Morgan knew what to do with this. He pulled it out.

"Hey, Morgan," Mommy said, and grabbed the wallet from his hand. Morgan ran for it; he had to put this green paper where it belonged.

"Hey, Merrill," said Mommy, "Morgan just ran off with some money."

Daddy jumped up from where he was playing with Marin on the bed, and followed Morgan's trail. There was at least one twenty dollar bill in there, and he didn't want Morgan to hide it somewhere they couldn't find. He caught Morgan in the kitchen near the fridge. Daddy looked around, but didn't see the money anywhere.

"Where did you put it, Morgan?" Daddy asked.

"Garge," Morgan said, pointing at the white plastic cans next to the fridge. Daddy looked and understood. Morgan had found some garbage, and was just putting it where it was supposed to go. What a good boy...right?

Marin's Baby Journal #2

I wrote a bunch of journal entries for Marin when she was a baby. I've pasted them in here, and added pictures to spruce them up. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Carmichael, California

Marin's cries of objection had died off. Now she merely whimpered as Mommy dumped the water from her bathtub out in the sink. Mommy put on Marin's diaper, then reached for the sleeper Marin would be dressed in this evening. It was a little pink number with a white collar spotted with flowers. When Mommy first received it, she didn't think she liked it, but then she had Marin wear it last week. Even though it looked huge on her, Mommy changed her mind. She liked it after all.

Now, a week later, it was the first thing she reached for when she had to dress Marin. Mommy unsnapped the snaps on the sleeper, and began stuffing Marin's stiff legs in the appropriate holes.

"Wow," remarked Mommy. Last week, Marin's feet had not come close to the end of the sleeper's legs, but today, only one week later, they were already straining against the end.

Mommy pushed Marin's arms in, and snapped up the sleeper. Last week, the sleeper had looked like a potato sack on Marin, and today, it was barely big enough. They grow up so fast, thought Mommy, with a touch of wondering awe.

 

Morgan's Baby Journal #20

I wrote a bunch of journal entries for Morgan when he was a toddler. I've pasted them in here, and added pictures to spruce them up. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Carmichael, California

Morgan and Daddy went outside to play. At the Autumn Woods apartment complex where Morgan lives, there is a sizable space of grass set apart as a park. There is a jungle gym with a slide and a pit full of balls, but Morgan didn't even look at those when he walked into the park. His eyes immediately fixed on the bright orange basketball at the far end of the park.

"Ball!" Morgan grabbed Daddy's hand, and began dragging him towards the ball.

The grass was wet from the previous night's fog, but it didn't bother Morgan at all; he was wearing his new rain boots. He moved through the park at a trot, and bent to pick up the ball. He tossed the ball on the asphalt of the basketball court, then bounded after it, kicking it when it came within reach. Morgan kicked the ball to Daddy, and Daddy kicked it back. All the while, Morgan was giggling and chittering with all the new words he'd been learning recently.

Then Morgan found a downed branch. It was as big as he was, but that didn't stop him from picking it up, and chasing Daddy around the basketball court. Morgan charged Daddy, and Daddy screamed, and backed away. Morgan cracked up laughing, then charged Daddy with the branch again. After about ten or twelve repetitions, Daddy suddenly got nervous. He had an image of Morgan slipping, and poking his eye out with the branch.

Daddy took the branch away.

Morgan didn't like that.

"Watch Morgan," said Daddy, and threw the branch as high as he could. It came down about thirty feet away. Daddy turned back to Morgan, and pointed. "Hey, there's your ball."

The ruse didn't work on Morgan at all. Daddy had thrown that branch so high, Morgan had to see him do it again. He ran and grabbed the branch, and dragged it back to Daddy.

"More," said Morgan, acting out the motion of throwing the branch into the air.

"Okay," Daddy said, and threw the branch high in the air. As the branch arced down, it caught in the bare branches of the trees, and remained.

"Oh . . . More?" asked Morgan.

"Sorry, Morgan, it's stuck. Where's your ball."

Morgan looked around, and spied his ball. He ran to it, and began tossing it around again. He tossed it to Daddy, who kicked it back, then chased after it, as Morgan ran desperately, looking over his shoulder every three steps to check on Daddy's whereabouts, trying to get to the ball first. Morgan reached the ball and kicked it. Then Daddy reached it, and kicked it. The ball rolled long, and far, and came to rest next to a tree. Morgan jogged over to the ball, but then something caught his eye. There were three brown bottles laying on the ground by the tree. They had silver labels with the words Bud Light written on them in big, bold letters. He reached down, and grabbed one.

"Juice!" said Morgan.

Daddy's eyes widened and he walked quickly towards Morgan. "No, Morgan, that's not juice that's gross. Don't put that in your mouth."

"Gross," said Morgan, and dropped the bottle. He shook his hand to get the dew that had condensed on the bottle off of his hand. "Gross," he said again.

Someday, we'll have to teach him something else about that stuff, thought Daddy, but for now, gross will do.

Marin's Baby Journal #1

I wrote a bunch of journal entries for Marin when she was a baby. I've pasted them in here, and added pictures to spruce them up. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Carmichael, California

It was pretty much certain now, the new baby's name would be Marin Noël Page. What remained a mystery, was when this new baby would grace the world with her presence. She was due on December 28th, but it was now one week beyond that day.

Mommy and Daddy got up early on Friday, because Mommy had a doctors appointment. Her doctor was going to do a non-stress test today, to see how the new baby was doing. Mommy and Daddy and Morgan got ready and ran out to the car. They didn't have much time to make it to the appointment. Daddy didn't even have time to take a shower.

At the Doctor's office, Dr. Murphy (a stand-in for Mommy's usual doctor, Dr. Maher) hooked monitors around Mommy's pregnant belly. These monitors kept track of the baby's heart beat, and the intensity of any contractions that Mommy might have. Once the machine was ready, the doctor disappeared, and let the machine do it's work. Every few minutes, the doctor would return to check the printout, then disappear again. After fifteen minutes of monitoring, the doctor shut down the test. He looked at Mommy gravely, and explained that it looked like the baby was fine, but there was a few instances where the baby's heart rate had dropped significantly during mild contractions. This, said the doctor, probably meant nothing, but since the baby was overdue anyway, he was sending Mommy to the hospital to be induced, to prevent any possible problem that might occur.

Mommy was elated. Finally this baby, who was nothing but a continual back problem now, was going to be born into a sweet bundle of joy that she could hold in her arms. Mommy and Daddy took Morgan to David and Heidi Williams's house, where he would stay until the baby was born. Then they came back to the hospital, and checked themselves in.

In the delivery room, they explained to Mommy and Daddy that they were going to apply some medicine that would help soften her cervix and bring on labor. Then they disappeared. Mommy and Daddy sat in the room, watching TV for hours. They were getting really bored, so they pulled out Mommy's Phase 10 game, and played a round. Daddy handily defeated Mommy, which was unusual for this game, and still nothing was going on. When were these nurses going to give Mommy the medicine?

A few minutes later, a nurse came in to check on Mommy.

"When do I get my medicine?" asked Mommy.

"Oh, you can't have another dose until eight o'clock," the nurse said.

Daddy and Mommy glanced at each other, thinking the same thing; oh, I guess we got our medicine already and didn't know it.

More waiting.

After a few more hours, the contractions began to get more painful. Mommy had to breathe when they came, to control the pain. It wasn't too bad, but it wasn't great either. At least she was taking it better than a woman in a room across the hall. This woman was at the same point in her labor as Mommy, but she was screaming at the top of her lungs with each contraction. Daddy was getting ready to take a nap, so he could be alert when the baby came, and he didn't like his prospects for sleep with "The Screamer" next door. Right after Daddy folded out the couch-bed, the nurse came in to check Mommy. She was dilated to three, almost four, and the nurse said it was time for Mommy to receive her epidural.

With the epidural, Mommy's sufferings eased off, and her and Daddy tried to sleep. Daddy had a hard time, because his nose was stuffed up, and he was getting a sore throat. He regaled Mommy with the interesting way his stuffy nostril switched from one side to the other, but he could see that she wasn't really interested. Finally, he slept. A mere forty-five minutes later, Mommy woke Daddy up. She was on the verge of becoming frantic. She was feeling major pressure, like the baby was coming. Daddy went out into the hall, and told the nurses what Mommy had said, and they came in to examine her. Soon the doctor was there, and the delivery room was bustling with activity. Nurses and technicians set up equipment in every corner of the delivery room, and the doctor begged Mommy to wait, hold off on pushing, until they were all set up.

Daddy, who had been deep asleep minutes ago, was suddenly overcome with the urge to vomit. He was already sick, and being pulled from a deep sleep only made things worse. The doctor noticed that Daddy wasn't looking so good, so she told him to sit down.

"You're too big. I don't want to have to move you out of here if you faint."

Daddy felt silly, he wasn't going to faint, but he might throw up. When a nurse brought him a cup of juice, he accepted it and drank it, even though it wouldn't help much for his actual problem. Daddy sat on the couch, and watched the nurses scurry around like a hive of stirred up ants.

Minutes later, it reached a point where Mommy couldn't hold back any longer, it was time to have the baby. The epidural wasn’t blocking all the pain anymore, and the pressure of the baby descending was nearly too much to handle. Daddy was up, and at her side again. Push, then another push, and suddenly, in one big heap, out came Marin.

The doctor placed Marin in Mommy's arms, and all the pain and work of birthing fled her mind, as this new life lay squealing in her arms.

"Oh, hello, little girl," Mommy gushed, overwhelmed with happiness. She lightly caressed Marin's cheeks, and gently hugged her to her body.

They were like the eye of a tornado. Around them doctors and nurses rushed in every direction, still working on Mommy, removing the placenta, and preparing the station where Marin would be weighed, measured, and inoculated. But in the eye of that storm, Mommy smiled, caressing Marin, and talking to her as if the room were empty.

It was a meeting of souls, two souls that had most certainly met before, but now, after a long separation, were coming together again, this time for good. Daddy stood at Mommy's side, and drank in the joy of the moment.

And it was only a moment. Soon, the nurses took the baby to weigh and measure. She measured 20 inches long, and seven pounds-two ounces. Marin was slightly smaller than her big brother when he was born.

In moments they were done, and Mommy fed Marin for the first time. When they were done, the nurses took her to the nursery to warm up a little, then have her first bath. The ordeal of birth was over, and finally Mommy and Daddy could relax, and begin enjoying the memory.