The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away.

Things have been hectic lately, to say the least. Some of you knew that my cousin, Hannah, was expecting to deliver her first child about now. They were hoping that the child would come before they moved, but hadn't yet as of a couple days ago. So, on Thursday, they did a cesarean, and little Adison (or Addison?) Louise Wessel was presented to the world for the first time. All 9 lbs. 15 oz. of her. Hannah's probably glad they did the cesarean. And baby and mother are doing fine, so that's pretty sweet.

Things were not so happy yesterday. My paternal grandmother passed away at 11:30am. She had some condition since about a year ago that caused muscles around her eyes to weaken, and they looked droopy and it was hard for her to keep them open. They put her on meds that seemed to be working until early last week. The flap that closed her wind-pipe when she swallowed stopped working, so she couldn't really swallow very well. They took her to the hospital, but still didn't think that it was too serious. Then it moved downward and her lungs stopped working. She didn't last long after that. It was pretty sudden. Sure, she was 88, but didn't seem anywhere near death. The funeral will be this week. Prayers would be appreciated, especially for my grandfather. The two of them were as close as any married couple I've known.

But I'll end here on a lighter note with some news that many of you may know, but some do not. Sorry if we haven't been able to tell you in person, but here goes.

STEPHANIE IS PREGNANT!!!

There. She's about 12 weeks along and the due date is September 14. We're very excited, obviously. She had her first doctor's appointment last week and they did the first ultrasound. I was surprised how expressive and full of movement the baby was. And it seems to already have my dance moves. Steph even had the doctor make sure that there was only one. I had her make sure that there was no tail. Both of us were pleased. We also got to hear AND see the heart beating.

Wanna see? Here you go:


Blessed be the name of the Lord.