My Tribute

The earliest memory I have of interacting with my Dad was sitting on his lap. I would sit there, and read to him, and he would teach me new words. This was before I turned five.

My dad was a maverick. He always went where God led him.

God gave him a special love for little brown Mexican children, and he went to Mexico. He always loved the little children, and they would gather around him. They knew he loved them. They would hang off the jeep as he drove through the colonia. He would buy them cookies and candy, so impractical for kids who didn't have enough to eat. But they loved it. He taught them songs about Jesus. Some of those kids are are in their upper 40's now, and they still remember the songs that Daddy taught them.

He touched so many lives. I have run across people in the most unlikely places who knew him way back when.

He went for a hunting trip one time in the mountains of Durango, and wound up being invited to preach in a little town, so he went. Later he took flying lessons so he could get there in a much shorter time. Then he took mechanic lessons so that he could put back together the airplane if he had to. He had to many times.

After that first village experience, people from other villages began to invite him to preach in their villages. And so it went. He would ask people to clear a landing strip for him, basically to clear it of rocks. When I flew with him to these remote mountain villages, he would try to point out the landing strips to me, but I never could see them. Somehow he did. And sometimes he would have to fly over the strip to scare away the cows that were standing on it in his way.

Sometimes he banged up the airplane. One time he brought the airplane home in pieces in the back of a big truck, and put it back together in our living room. I remember playing around the airplane pieces.

I remember loving to fly with my daddy. I remember the intense roar of the engine. We didn't have earphones. I loved singing on those trips, 'cause no one could hear me, not even myself. I remember loving to see the mountains under us, and never feeling afraid. I always wondered why some people would throw up in his airplane. The mountain people threw up a lot. He carried them in if they were sick, or for other emergency reasons.

When we flew home, Daddy would fly over our house. Our dog Tina would start to bark and run around in circles. Mom would grab a kitchen towel, run outside, and wave it at him to tell him she saw him. Then she would go pick him up at Bill Brown's ranch, where Bill let him land and keep the plane.

My daddy was a wallbuilder. He was a church planter. He loved people who were small and inconsequential, who didn't have any power or influence. No one can say how much of a difference his life made yet, but eternity will show it.

He was flawed, as all of us are, but he was faithful, and he was fun-loving. After suffering for 15 years with Parkinson's, today he is dancing a jig and flying with Jesus.

I love you, Daddy, and I will miss you, but I'm glad you are where you are now. Thanks for the reading time together. Thanks for showing me how to be committed to a life calling. I'm glad you were my Daddy.

Trip to Lebanon in pictures

Today I don't have anything on my main "to do" list. No one is coming, I don't have to get groceries, and I don't have to go anywhere else (except the bank, and that chore will be short). So you will get the update with pictures that you've been waiting for. Hope you like it.

On May 6 Jackie and I left on our adventure. Last year I went to Lebanon by myself to deliver a baby, and I kept feeling like I had left my pocket handkerchief at home. (I think that's from The Hobbit. If not, then it's from The Fellowship of the Ring. Timothy will know.) Well, when we left together, I discovered that I didn't feel that way this time. I realized that Jackie is my pocket handkerchief! I loved that he and I went together on this adventure.

We drove to San Antonio and Emily took us out to eat Greek food (we realized the irony of eating Middle Eastern food right before we left for Lebanon, and laughed together!) and then drove us to the airport. I love the San Antonio airport. The lady at the check-in desk put us in adjoining seats all the way to Beirut. (That wasn't the case when we left Beirut; we were booked in separate seats all the way home. But we still managed to sit together!)

The trip was basically smooth, and we arrived in Beirut at about 11:15 pm local time on May 7. Jason was there to meet us, and we drove to Tyre, arriving there at about 1 am on May 8. He told us that this time was going to be different, that he thought Jenna was going to take her time getting here. I hugged Sarah briefly in the hallway in the dark before we all went to bed.

We spent the next week seeing the sights of Lebanon. First we went to the Cedar Tree Reserve. There aren't many cedar trees left in Lebanon, but they are trying to remedy that. Cedars are funny. The young trees don't look like the mature ones. I'm not sure at what point they change, but they really do change.

In the picture above, you can see the mature tree in the middle, and the young trees all around. Isn't the change strange?

"Our family" in the cedar trees of Lebanon.

After the cedars, we ate in Saida, the old Bible town of Sidon. This is the outdoor cafe at which we ate, and Jackie with the plates after we had eaten already! Not much left, I'm afraid.

Above is the outdoor cafe.

Across the street from it is a Crusader Castle/Fort. (If you stop to think about it, Crusader ruins are some of the more recent ruins in this area, from 1100-1200 AD.)

Next we visited a big mosque in Saida, and Sarah and I had to cover up, so we borrowed scarves from the gatekeeper.

Jackie took an amazing shot of the interior of the mosque with this lone praying man.

The next day was the day Jackie got sick, and he was sick all night and stayed in bed all the next day. Be thankful I don't have pictures.

The following day, Wednesday, we went to the beach.

Above is the city of Tyre.

This is as "uncovered" as Sarah gets to go swimming. Jude is in the foreground with the red flowered shorts.

I was showing a little more leg, but I didn't have very specific instructions about swimming attire, so I think I did pretty well overall.

Jackie and I went walking around the city by ourselves some. We went to a certain part of the beach and picked up old pieces of pottery that wash up from the old ruins of Tyre and from wrecks of ships off the coast. We walked around the souk, the marketplace, one day with Brenda. We walked around the old Roman bath ruins with Danny. Jason took us to the Hippodrome and the via Romana one day, and another he took us to the lighthouse and by the Tyre shipbuilder. Dani took us down some alleyways that made us think we were in old-time Bible days because they were soooo narrow. They felt like donkey trails, and probably were. Now they're paved. We sat in on several English classes and talked some with the students. And Jason took us to another Crusader Castle, this one where we could get a view of Mt. Hermon.

The grounds of the Roman baths.

Picking up pottery pieces.

On Saturday we went back to the beach and met all kinds of other friends there. It was really fun! Jackie felt good enough that he played ultimate frisbee with some of the other people. I enjoyed the wonderful ocean. We both got too much sun. Afterwards, we went back to Jason and Sarah's house and ordered pizza, and a bunch of other people came over and helped us eat it. Around 6 pm, most everyone was going home. It had been quite a day. But it was not over. Sarah started cleaning house! Finally, about 10 pm, I told her it was time to quit, but she kept vacuuming, saying she would feel better if it was done. She was having contractions.

She went to bed soon after, and woke up in labor at 1:30 am. It was May 16. Jason got me up at 3:30 or so, and when I checked her at 4 am, she was well on her way to having baby Jenna! It was a wonderful birth for Sarah. It went so smoothly and quickly. She didn't have any trouble pushing as she had done for Jude's birth. Baby Jenna was born at 6:14 am, and Jude woke up about 5 minutes later! It was really really special to me to be there for this birth! And now I will have to leave the three days of Ireland for another post. This takes a lot of time....

Beautiful babies!

Picture of Baby Jenna!

Ok, everybody, here's the picture! Full head of hair, 8 lbs 10 oz, lovely lovely baby girl born at home in Tyre!

Jenna...

Jenna made her entrance into this world this morning Lebanon time at 6:14 a.m.

Her mom went into labor at 1:30 a.m., so it was a perfect labor -- not too long, not too short. She was born at home! She weighs 8 lbs. 10 oz and is 21 3/4 inches long. Mom and baby and Daddy are resting, and Jude is with some friends, playing. Jackie is helping some people move into a new apartment, and I'm going to go lie down, like the Kerners....

Everyone is very, very happy that Jenna is here! Sarah was delighted with her birth! We know that it's all good when the baby is born healthy and whole, but this was even more special, and we know Who to thank. We give praise to God that we came to Lebanon in good time and had some wonderful days showing Jackie the sights and getting to visit with friends that I made last year.

I will post a picture later. Thank you all for praying.

Jackie's Better

Better than what, you may ask? Better than he was yesterday. He had a bad stomach flu or virus or food poisoning. Anyway, it hit him on Monday night during a prayer time we were having with our friends. And he spent all night miserable, then the next day (yesterday), in bed all day. Yuck!

He was better by last night, and this morning was good enough that we went to the beach. We jumped a few waves and searched for a few shells before he spent the rest of the time sitting on the sand. But he got out. And he's better. And I'm so glad.

We came on home for lunch and fixed Mexican food!! I brought some tortillas with me and we had tacos, and I fixed some Mexican rice, too. Jason and Sarah loved it, and so did we! Jude didn't get much to eat, because he was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as he was cleaned up.

Anyway, I thought I would let everyone know that Jackie's better. I had posted on Facebook that he was sick. Thank you for praying.

I will continue to keep you posted as to baby. Right now there's no news. Baby Jenna hasn't arrived. The birth pool is patched and ready to go, the heating pad has been tried and found true, and we played in the ocean today, so maybe we'll have a baby tomorrow...

Lebanese doings

Hi everybody!

Today we went to see the cedars of Lebanon. Jackie says that ranks right up there with the Great Wall of China and Mt. Rushmore. It was an all-day trip, sort of. We started out around 11:30 after a breakfast of Belgian waffles and fresh strawberries and cream, or peanut butter and maple syrup.

The trip to the cedar reserve was north and east of Saida, the old-time Bible town of Sidon. The old cedars are amazing. We got some pictures, but they don't do the trees justice.

We came back to Saida and had a wonderful dinner/supper at around 4 pm. We had fresh fried fish (each of us had one whole fish), french fries, salad, hummus, baba ganoush, tahine, and fresh juice (orange and mango). It was an open-air restaurant, and everyone around us was smoking water pipes. It was a Sunday afternoon, and all the families were out.

Then we walked on the corniche, the sea wall, took a picture or two of a crusader castle(!), and went into a big mosque.

No baby yet. Sarah is lovely, 9 months pregnant. Will update later. Much love to all.

Safe and Sound

We are in Lebanon! It's wonderful to see Sarah and Jason again, and to meet a much bigger Jude than I left last year! We got here this morning about 1 am, and I slept till 9:30 am and Jackie till 11:00. All our connections were smooth. The only delay was in London; we sat on the tarmac for a while, and the line of airplanes waiting to take off was long.

Sarah is not in labor, so that's good. Maybe she'll wait a little longer this time to go into labor. Last time, she only waited 4 hours after I got here to go into labor.

Haven't checked heart tones on the baby. But Sarah says the baby is moving fine! All my equipment came through okay, so that's a big praise. Except for a bedpan, which broke; no big deal. I had my Doppler in my carryon, and expected the security people to ask me about it, but nobody did! Crazy.

Jason and Jackie just went out to get vegetables for our lunch. We will go see some Lebanese friends this afternoon. I'm loving being here again.

Happy Mother's Day to the best mom ever! I love you, Mom!

Off Again

It's a bad thing when you have to look up your password to post a blog, because it's been sooo long since you posted! Maybe some of you have given up on me. I think I post so seldom because I think my life is not really all that different from yours most of the time. I don't have a huge need to let everyone know what is happening in our daily lives....

But this time it's big again. Jackie and I are off to Lebanon in two days! For me it's a return trip. I was there last year in February. For Jackie it's a first. And I'm so excited he's going with me!

We will be going for a repeat try of a home waterbirth with Jason and Sarah, who are expecting baby #2 sometime around the middle of May. I am very hopeful of a good birth for Sarah. I will try to keep you all updated as I can (it can be kind of iffy sometimes there with electricity/internet problems).

We will fly out from San Antonio on May 6, and arrive in Beirut on May 7, late. Jason will be there to pick us up and take us the rest of the way to Tyre. The trip will not be much longer than 24 hours, not bad for going that distance. We will stop over in Washington, DC and London on the way. We will be in Tyre through May 21 (as plans stand), then head back through London and detour through Ireland for 3 days on the way back. A mini-vacation. We should be back in Texas on May 25.

Please pray with us that all my midwifery tools/equipment get there fine, and that the birth will go well. And that the volcano in Iceland will behave itself.

I am so looking forward to seeing all my friends from Lebanon again! It's so far away from here, that I seldom get to see them, so this is a huge happiness for me.

I will try to post pictures from there, but you know...the electricity and internet....

God redeems

No pictures with this post, but oh! what a day!

I loved doing this birth with Sorani! (see http://www.compassionatemidwifery.com) First birth of the year, of the decade! (For me, of course!) I had planned to do it with April, but she was in Missouri. Sorani basically arrived at 6:50 am and "held the fort" for me until I could get there at 7:43.

Barbara (name changed) called me at 4:20 am -- actually she texted me. Contractions had awakened her at 3 am, and were 5 to 10 minutes apart. She got up and they promptly went to every 5 minutes. I couldn't decide whether or not to go, because she had had some prodromal (read: preparatory) contractions the day before. I didn't know if it was the real deal yet. I finally decided to come, thinking I would hate to miss the birth because of indecision. It was a 3-hour drive from my house. I decided this at about 5 am, and I was on the road at 5:20 am, following a text from Barbara that contractions were now every 3 minutes. I called Sorani to give her a heads up.

Chris (name changed) called me about 6 am to ask where the Chux pads were. (In the birth kit.) I asked him then if Barbara wanted Sorani to come on, since she was just 35 minutes away from their home. Barbara wanted Sorani, so she got ready and went.

I was close to downtown Dallas when Chris called and told me that the baby had been born! I was a little surprised but not much, then I asked if the baby was breathing. He said yes, then said that Sorani was there. As close as I can guess, it was 7:15 am. I didn't know it, but he was joking!! The baby hadn't been born, but I believed him! I slowed my speed down from 70 to 60, and cruised in. Chris asked me to pick up some breakfast at McDonalds on the way in, so that's what I was going to do. I was disappointed, but accepting of the fact that I hadn't made it. I hadn't missed a birth since I was a student nearly five years ago. I hate missing births!

Chris called me again at 7:38, just as I was nearing the exit for his house, and he told me not to stop at McD's after all, so I headed straight for the house. Chris opened the front door for me, and I made some remark like, "Babies come at the perfect times, don't they?" As I went into the hallway, Sorani said, "Better get your gloves on!" and Barbara said, "I can't do it. It hurts so much!"

I was mystified. Was Sorani wanting my help with the placenta? Why was Barbara in such distress? It finally dawned on me:

Baby Mia hadn't been born yet!

Chris had been pulling my leg! I couldn't believe it! I had arrived in time after all! (Sorani got gloves for me.) I felt like Scrooge did when he realized that the Cristmas Spirits had done it all in one night, and he hadn't missed Christmas after all! Oh joy! Even Barbara's screams couldn't erase the smile from my face as I checked her -- cervical lip, bulgy bag of waters, rupture membranes and start pushing, girl! She kept saying, "I can't do it, I can't do it!" as she was doing it. She was very loud and very negative. It was very hard to talk over her and to help her, but pushing only lasted nine minutes, and then her screams changed to, "My baby! My baby!" She didn't tear, she didn't bleed, and postpartum was without incident. God redeemed this day:

Five years ago to the day Barbara had her first baby by Caesarean.

Today she had her first unmedicated, uncut HBAC (home birth after Caesarean).

It was wonderful! Thank you, God.