ONE MONTH OLD!

So, today, I looked at my phone. The date was 8/3/2009. I thought "something happens on August 3". Then I just thought I was crazy and forgot about it. A few minutes later, it hit me...Kman is 1 MONTH OLD today!

This past week, we have had a few visitors:

Wednesday - Friday Grampy and Nana (Inga's parents)

Friday - Sunday: Craig/Kim/Jessica

Saturday - Sunday: Curt/Sherri/Steffani/Megan down here.

We had a blast with everyone being here, and I think Grampy is quite ready to return. According to Inga, he was asking Nana when they were going to come back down. Funny, because until July 3, 2009, we used to have to bribe peeps to come down. Now, we have to bribe peeps to stay away! :-) No, seriously, we love having our family come down to see us, I mean, Keltan. In fact, I think Uncle Craig may be a regular on the US Air Force Express from Tulsa to Garland each month with Uncle LC Curt (no longer Uncle Sgt Curt - he was promoted and I was behind the times!).

Keltan is growing so well. We weighed him Saturday evening, and he was up to 8#4.6 oz and about 22". The little fella LOVES to eat. And, I have discovered something else about him - he loves music! I was sitting with him on the couch Sunday night, and turned on Pandora Radio on my Blackberry. The little guy started grinning, and just instantly relaxed. So, tonight, he was fussy and malcontent, and I once again turned on the music. He stopped fussing and just laid there to listen to the music. Inga got a new CD for him today "Baby's First Sunday Songs", and we put that in the CD player. It wasn't long before he was CONKED!

Inga and I continue to be so thankful for this little blessing. Craig asked a question the other day - how many years was this in coming? The smarty answer, of course, was 35 1/2 years. But, the deeper answer is about 3 years. We started in 2006 getting our lives back on track both financially and marriage-wise. We went through several disappointing miscarriages, the last of which was just downright heartbreaking for us. Inga had to have some medical procedures, and we finally found the cause of the miscarriages - blood that clotted too quickly. So, we were able to remedy that situation, and were blessed with a baby that stuck around. In the great anticipation and excitement, we lost Dad. Once again, a heartbreaking blow. Then, the joy of the birth! What a roller coaster ride! All this brings me to a word: Passion - a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything. The noun version is defined as the object of such a fondness or desire. I think the ups and downs we have gone through the past 3 1/2 years, and especially the past year, has brought passion to our lives for Keltan. It is hard to describe the feelings I get when I have to leave the little sleeping guy in the mornings, and the anticipation of returning home to him in the evenings, or the satisfaction of napping in the recliner with him asleep on my chest. Yeah, I'm lovin' having this baby around!