Behold! A New Post!

(And this is even kind of cheating.)

The "Bless Me" Mentality

I usually am not impressed with the articles on relevantmagazine.com, but this one was simply and succintly written and resonates strongly with me right now. I feel like I am so far from actually acting, but definitely agree with what the writer says wholeheartedly.

How awesome would this have been?

From the Wikipedia entry on the TV show "Magnum P.I.":

"It was originally intended for there to be an episode of the science fiction program Quantum Leap where Scott Bakula's character, Sam Beckett, leaps into the identity of Thomas Magnum."

Iris Salome Lecrone

On Friday July 6, 2007 at 4:15 a.m., we welcomed Iris Salome Lecrone to our family. Born at home, she weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was about 20.5 inches long.

Iris means "rainbow" and Salome means "peace". We're not sure if we'll call her Iris or "Sal", short for Salome. We like Sal, but we just weren't comfortable with Salome as a first name, so we'll see how it shakes out.

Here she is just minutes after she was born:



With our midwife:



Getting Weighed:



About 5 hours old:





Her Adoring Sisters:



She already feels at home:



All six of us!



Our "Little Women":



Greta Pearl givin' some love to baby sister:




Mom and Baby are doing great! I had a couple of weeks off work, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I spent lots of time with the big sisters, swimming and playing outside. Iris is a good sleeper so far, so I enjoyed sleeping in 'til 8 or 9 o'clock alot. I was sad to have to rise at 6 a.m. and return to work today, but not as sad as Jenny was!

Spawning contemplation

Check out this article

Next Blog

So on my lunch break this week, I thought it would be interesting to click on the "Next Blog" button at the top of my blog, just to see where it would take me. I have learned some things by doing this:

1. There are a lot of spam blogs out there – you know, blogs created with "fake" posts just for ads or with links to possibly unscrupulous "phishing" websites (I can't say for sure because I didn't dare click any suspicious links).
2. It appears that a lot of people use their blogs for similar purposes as me: for posting general nothingness about their lives as a way to say in touch with family and friends. There was even a blog with a subtitle along the lines of "The only thing worse than mass email is a family blog, but it's better than nothing". I'm not sure I agree with that.
3. After happening upon two or three, shall we say, "risqué" (translation: pictures of naked women) blogs (though the term "blog" is not really accurate in these cases), I decided that maybe this isn't the best mindless lunchtime activity to engage in! I can't say I was surprised, but seriously people, is there no escape from glorified sex in society today? This was blatantly obvious, but I think a lot of it we are so used to that we don't even give it a second though – especially on television.
   
   So here's to another lesson in safe internet browsing. I guess I'll just stick to the blogs I know.

Stryper Lives!

Ok, I know you all will be devastated to discover that you didn't know this sooner. But, as the title of this post suggests, Stryper is back. That's right, your favorite 80's christian metal hair band has returned. I am not ashamed to admit that I was a fan back in their glory days, and I am also not ashamed to admit that I think they are just as good now if not better. I typically don't go for straight ahead metal like this (I generally tend more towards progressive-type stylings) but there's something about these guys. Maybe it's Michael Sweet's vocals (he can still wail) or maybe they came along at a very formative time in my young life (Junior High). Whatever the reason, I'm glad they're back. Check out some of their new stuff:

http://www.myspace.com/stryper
http://www.stryper.com

Does the world really need any more Lecrone's?

That's what we had been asking ourselves last fall. We were prepared to really look deep into the issue after the turn of the new year (i.e now) and come to a decision by spring.  However, in a shocking revelation that still remains a mystery, we never got the chance to debate the issue. And oh what a debate it would have been. Me, 90% sure that the answer was a firm no. She, 51% sure that the answer should be yes.  The stage was set for many tense hours of deliberation after the kids were in bed, and for coded comments at strategic moments to try and sway the other party.

But alas, we were robbed of all of this, and found out in October that we are expecting a baby in July. The 4th to be exact, though these things are never exact.

Will we be finding out if it is a boy or a girl? No.

Do we hope it is a boy this time? Having three girls already, it can't be denied. But mostly we hope for a healthy baby and a safe delivery.

Recently, the midwife practice that has delivered all of our children to date had to close, for myriad reasons. Basically it boils down to the fact that our technologically advanced society trusts little beyond machines and medications when it comes to having children. Anyway, that leaves us with some difficult decisions, and the possibility of having no other choice but to have this baby in a hospital that is as "hospital-ly" as they get, which is far from what we want. Your prayers for patience and discernment would be appreciated.