Baby & Vacation Update

It occurs to me that I haven't posted about Lumpy in a while. I promised to scan an ultrasound back in July when we had our last, but alas the scanner has disappeared from the church and I suspect we gave it to someone with greater need. So until we get a new digital ultrasound picture you'll have to be content with knowing that Lumpy is doing just fine. Heartbeat has been strong and steady at our last few appointments, if a bit hard to locate thanks to Kristin's active intestinal system. (Man, there's a LOT of noise down there!) But while Lumpy is growing and doing well, Kris is really struggling. Acid reflux, pinched nerves due to uncomfortable sleeping positions, stuffy nose, continuing mild nausea and being generally uber-hormonal makes Kristin a tired and sometimes unhappy girl. But she is such a great soldier - she takes it all in stride and puts her best face on things. I can't say enough how proud I am of my wife - and how THANKFUL I am that she is the one who's pregnant. If it were me we'd be done after one.

We're leaving for Oregon tomorrow night; Kris is driving to the Cities to fly out on Friday and I'm driving to Fargo to hop the Empire Builder train at 0dark30. Are we ever ready for a long trip just for us! With VBS and all the other stuff happening since we returned from the mission trip, it's hard to remember what frigging day it is. Life is very, very good, but we're ready to decompress for a week or two. I am excited to take the train; no pressure headaches, no long lines waiting to remove my shoes and be poked and prodded. 33 hours of sleep, reading and sermon prep - waaa hooo!

And that's the news from Barrett (apologies to my friend Nate, who stole that line from someone else).