I Will Praise You

"For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well."

- Psalm 139:13-14

[A newborn exam: Within a few hours of a baby's birth, the midwife does a newborn exam, a complete physical examination, to make sure everything is normal, that the babe is healthy, and on the lookout for problems or abnormalities. Over the last few weeks, I have learned to do these myself, and it is now one of my favourite jobs. Every time I get to do one, I am reminded of how amazing our God is! Each part of the new baby is specifically designed for his life right now. Every intricate detail, down to the creases on his feet or the pulses in his femoral arteries.]

Hard bones, wet hair, soft grooves between the bones. The little head is designed in such a way that the bones won't fuse together until he is a few years old, so that now as he must squeeze through the birth canal, the flat bones can slide over or under each other to make room.

"You knit me together in my mothers womb,
you knit me together in my mothers womb.
I praise you, I praise you.
You knit me together in my mother’s womb."

My stethoscope on his little chest, babump, babump, babump. Open, fill with blood, squeeze, open, fill....144 times in a minutes.His little heart will beat 150,000 more times today, 35 million times this year, 2.5 billion times before it finally stops, never taking a rest, never missing a beat until then.

"You knit me together in my mothers womb,
you knit me together in my mothers womb.
I praise You, I praise You.
You knit me together in my mother’s womb."

His small chest rises and falls, sometimes evenly, sometimes irregular, each breath getting easier - the hardest breath he'll ever take is his very first, as his lungs stretch out for the first time.

"Because I am fearfully and wonderfully made,
because I am fearfully and wonderfully made
I praise You, I praise You
because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

He cries, and he doesn't even realize that in his distress and discomfort, every deep breath fills his little body with oxygen, and he visibly turns a bit more pink.

"I praise you, I praise you.
You knit me together in my mothers womb."

- Steve Green
 

When I stroke my fingers across his palm, he squeezes down tightly - the Palmer Reflex - our Father designed him with this, so he will instinctively cling to his mama. Then if I startle him a little he flares out at first, then pulls his little arms and legs in tight - the Moro Reflex - again an instinct to cling to his mother. This also tells me that his nervous system developed properly. The Moro reflex requires complex control from his brain stem, and therefore proves that it is working as it should.

A straight spine, a soft abdomen, a lovely nose, a strong suck...
Someone once said "You cannot buy happiness, happiness is born."
They were right.

A Little Late...

...for a Christmas post, but better late than never.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
We certainly had a lovely Christmas here, although it was quite different than what I am used to!

" My soul is filled with joy
As I sing to God my saviour:
You have looked upon your servant,
You have visited your people.

"And holy is your name
Through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
To the people you have chosen,
And holy is your name.

"I am lowly as a child,
But I know from this day forward
That my name will be remembered,
For all will call me blessed.

"And holy is your name
Through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
To the people you have chosen,
And holy is your name.






I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
We certainly had a lovely Christmas here, although it was quite different than what I am used to!

A few of my housemates made us a fancy dinner...

(Yes, our 'dining room table' is outside on the porch :)

"I proclaim the pow’r of God,
You do marvels for your servants;
Though you scatter the proud-hearted
And destroy the might of princes.

"And holy is your name
Through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
To the people you have chosen,
And holy is your name.


Sadly, we had no snow, no ice, no -10°C weather, and no real pine trees.
However, we rustled this up, not necessarily a real tree, but good enough to make it feel like Christmas :)

We had lots of fun doing a gift exchange, topped off with eating lots of yummy snacks and desserts

"To the hungry you give food,
send the rich away empty.
In your mercy you are mindful
of the people you have chosen.

"And holy is your name
Through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
To the people you have chosen,
And holy is your name.


     I was delighted on Boxing Day to receive the package from you ladies at church! Believe me, it made my day!!! I am so thankful for each of you!
      Sometimes, it can be easy to feel alone here and very disconnected, but as you all remind me in your cards and notes, I am not alone, and I know that you all are praying for me, and that is very comforting! I treasure that more than you know!


"In your love you now fulfill
What you promised to your people.
I will praise you, Lord, my saviour,
Everlasting is your mercy. 

"And holy is your name
Through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
To the people you have chosen,
And holy is your name." 

-         "My Soul is Filled with Joy" - The Song of Mary

My favourite Christmas song

Love you all and miss you all!!
Love, Becca