Rice, carrot, pear, and banana...

What do these things have in common? They are foods we are going to give the Boyo very soon, because we have just started him on solids!

My mother thought we should do it weeks ago. She also thinks we should use formula and Pampers because they're 'so cheap' (breastfeeding and cloth nappies are cheaper!)

The WHO (World Health Organization) thinks we should wait until he's 6 months old. I don't see the WHO 'round here in the middle of the night offering to feed him. He'll be 5 months on Sunday, I think that's pretty good.

I think it's the right time -- he's been waking up earlier and earlier, and sometimes cries when he's done feeding (I think he's hoping I'll whip out a third one).

The Boyo thinks it's the right time. When I'm eating and holding him, he watches every bite go into my mouth, and tries to grab the fork.

So with a teeny tiny twinge of sadness that my little guy isn't wholly dependent on me (have to keep reminding myself that's a good thing) we have begun. Yesterday was his first bit of rice cereal and milk. He ate up happily, spit most of it up shortly after, and had a terrible night. But hopefully tonight will be better. And tomorrow he gets carrot!

Pictures

It has been great to re-connect with some people in my past lately. I had been looking for some Christian fellowship. Who knew it would come (via computer) from Ohio...

Here are some pictures of my kids for you to enjoy. Check out that blond hair and those dimples!

Prayer Request

For all my millions of readers out there...

Please pray for Baby Rory, a little guy born in May who was 10 weeks early. He is due to have heart surgery tomorrow. It's already been cancelled once due to lack of beds in the ICU at the Children's Hospital. I can only imagine how stressful the whole situation must be for his family, and then to have it be put off. Pray for his parents, too.

Three Men

Surprisingly, since I usually only have room in my head for baby things (and a small corner somewhere for minstry) this week in our household we've been talking about 3 men and the influential week this has been for them. They are Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, who tragically died this week; Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of the UK who announced his resignation in May, and a leader in our movement who annonced his resignation in October.

Although all three of these men had loyal followers and people who disagreed with them, I am somewhere in the middle with my opinion of all of them. But this is certain: all 3 took risks, some of which were foolish, some of which were extraordinairely brave, and some of which lost them a great deal of their popularity. And that is what I want to congratulate them for -- taking risks even when other people didn't always understand.

I want to try in my life to take unpopular (but not foolish) risks. As the poster in our office says "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten." (I don't particualrly agree with the grammar of the statement, just the concept).

And may God bless their wives and families who stood by them while they were taking risks, and are most certainly hurting now.