July is already here

It is Tuesday. It has been ten days since we became the parents of another new baby in the family. Bryce is doing wonderfully. It is now time to give you a recap on my previous week since I last posted.

Heather and I spent the entire weekend at the hospital. Monday was the longest day. Heather was done and was released early in the day. Unfortunately, Bryce had some testing to do still. His oxygen levels were dropping periodically when he slept. Even though he was 99% okay when it came to his breathing, there was a tinge of uncertainty in the nurses. We had a choice, either leave him in the hospital for another day or take him home with a tank of oxygen. We chose the latter. As a result, we are carrying our baby boy and a tank of oxygen everywhere. Brett and Jocelyn came into town for the weekend to see the new bundle of joy. Heather really appreciated their visit.

I took Tuesday off as well before returning to work on Wednesday. It was nice to sleep in a little and relax after a busy weekend. Our ward hooked us up big time with dinners for the next week. It was so nice having leftovers in the fridge. With our little family, dinner rarely has leftovers, but this has not been the case this week. I have been treated to a cornucopia of delectable casseroles, entrees, salads and desserts this week. My waistline thanks you.

Bryce is easily the best alarm I have come across. Almost like clockwork, he wakes up between 4:30 and 5 am for a feeding. The problem is, this is about an hour before I get up. I should probably just get up and start my day early, but I stay in bed. Heather feeds him, but having the light on and all the activity in the room, I find myself taking a great deal of time to fall asleep again. Even though I went to bed at a decent hour, I still feel as though I had about two hours of sleep the night before.

All in all, being a father for the second time is absolutely wonderful. There is something so special about having a small newborn child in the home. It's wonderful to come home after a long day to my ecstatic son Caleb tackling me as I walk in the door, and to be able to hold Bryce and take care of him for a little while. It's one of the things I look forward to most on a daily basis.

Next on the list of things that happened in the last week. My dad is getting slightly better. His body is and has been cancer free for several weeks now. Unfortunately, a severe case of bacterial pneumonia has entered his lungs. The doctors are trying to evaluate what antibiotic to use. Fortunately, he's been able to wake up a little and even talk to my mother a time or two. It's been great for my mom to talk to her husband for the first time since May. We have been praying for him in hopes that he will recover to full health soon.

This has been incredibly difficult on my mother despite her stoic exterior. It is frustrating for her to be at church on a given Sunday over the last few weeks to have someone come to her and in an innocent attempt to express their support and concern for Dad, talk about how awful it is that he's going through this and in a way, say the wrong things to my mother. The best way of supporting her and anyone else in a stressful or traumatic episode of their life is to focus on the positive and be encouraging.

Things are great. Our family has been brought closer together than ever before, and have felt the assurance that my dad time hasn't come. This has taught us to be patient. I keep having these dreams that he's out of the hospital and okay. Hopefully that is a sign of things to come.