Ethan's first church service

I'm not sure where the time has gone since my last blog post on May 29th except that my time has been with Ethan. We have been venturing out this June...going on walks with our friend Joe (who is moving to Austin...born 3 weeks after Ethan), making our first outing to First Church (to celebrate Wendy's birthday), getting Ethan's first vaccinations (the toughest scream to hear), and mall-walking at NorthPark. We attended church today at Grace United Methodist Church in East Dallas. It was Rev. Dr. Diana Holbert's first Sunday as senior pastor. It was Ethan's first church service, and, he received a blessing at the rail during communion. It's strange--the words to the hymns hit me on a whole new level now.

Ethan Ross First Days

Troy made this great video of fun times from the first 6 weeks of Ethan's life!

Mission trips and Motherhood

Ethan and I went to Target today.  It wasn't a trip of necessity for commodities; it was more a necessity to see other living human beings in this world and just to see if I could accomplish what used to be a mindless task and now is a master skill.

After getting Ethan ready, I dashed in the bathroom, threw my hair in a ponytail, painted on a fresh coat of deodorant and changed my shirt to a less dirty shirt.  And we were out the door.  I felt such a high feeling of accomplishment driving to the store.  I made it into the car with Ethan--he wasn't even crying.  And I didn't smell too bad and only had two stains on my pants and one on my shirt.  

Something about the way my body smelled and felt seemed very similar to another time in life...and that's when it hit me:  the smell and look of early motherhood is very similar to the smell and look of mission trips.  If you have ever been on a mission trip, you know the feeling--you haven't showered in 2 days, you've slept on a sleeping bag on a gym floor with 40 other people of which 25% snore, you're wearing the same pair of jeans from yesterday and the definition of a shower is a fresh coat of deodorant.  And you know what, it's all okay to smell and look like that when you are on a mission trip.  And what I've learned is that it's all okay to smell and look like this when you have a 5-week-old-little boy.  

So maybe I'm not out building a house or repairing a roof or teaching the Bible to children in rural villages--but I still have a big mission and at this point, it's about perseverance and faith that the little acts of love I do today (while being a little smelly) will make a big difference in Ethan's tomorrow.   

Ethan and Sarah

This is just too good not to share...Sarah trying her best to get as close as she can to Ethan while he is playing on his baby gym. So what you are seeing is Ethan lying on his back on the play mat and Sarah inching up to him putting her head on his tummy.

Ethan visits his first restaurant

Ethan visted his first fancy restaurant on Sunday, May 21. We joined UrbanLife for a special summer Sunday brunch at Hector's on Henderson. Pictured in this photo are Hector Garcia, owner, and Blythe Beck, executive chef. The menu was fantastic...Ethan did not get to try the watermelon martinis, though! If you have not tried this fabulous restaurant, then do so soon! You are in for an amazing culinary experience with food that is out of this world. I would describe it as upscale meets soul.

The Many Faces of Ethan

I'm working hard to get THE birth announcement photo so when Ethan is having a good minute, I play photographer. This was my latest attempt, a series that Troy titled "The Many Faces of Ethan." I'm still on the quest for the photo for the birth announcement...and until I get there, I'm having fun trying.

Enough is Enough...

  Did you ever wonder if newborns get fed-up with new parents bumblings?   Charlie Brown often utters the catch phrase "GOOD GRIEF!", Ethan seems to be having one of those moments...