Man of Steel

We were all on the couch; Levi on one end, Rob in the middle, and me on the other end. Rob nudged me and said, "Hey, look at Superman over here." I looked, laughed, and ran to get the camera:

Lynda

He Who Laughs Last...

Levi must have been disappointed that I thwarted his attempt to 'get' me the second time around. He was laying on my chest after a feeding just an hour ago when I heard him fire a shot. Of course, I remembered the strategy and waited...

I waited and waited, and during the wait, I became aware of a cold, wet feeling on my arm...and on my shirt...and on my stomach. It wasn't pee.

That's right. Levi is no respecter of strategies. He had the last laugh, and he definitely laughed best.

Lynda

A Public Service Announcement

When the parents of boys learn that you're expecting a baby boy, especially as the baby's birth nears, they issue a standard warning: "Be careful when you change his diaper! He's likely to pee on you!" These words have continually echoed in our ears at each diaper change, and thankfully, we've avoided Levi's sprays.

Most parents also think to warn you about holding a baby in the air over your face. Some have been the unfortunate targets of ill-timed spit-up, and they wish to save you the horror of that experience.

Not one person in nine months warned me about projectile poop! I didn't know it was possible, and I might not have believed it, had I not been the unfortunate target of Levi's three times over the last month.

The first time, we were at Mary's Lake Lodge, a nice restaurant and hotel near the ranch. It was Levi's first outing to restaurant, and near the end of the meal, he needed a change. He returned to the table with a fresh, clean diaper, and I returned with dirty jeans.

I knew about projectile poop then, so Rob and I developed a strategy: Don't change a diaper after the first shot. Rather, wait several minutes to see if he fires again. Levi rarely fires just one shot.

Yesterday afternoon, I heard Levi fire a shot. I waited for further rounds, and hearing none, I proceeded with caution. I put him on the changing table and opened up his diaper. Then, Levi threw a curveball: diaper rash. Distracted, I dropped the protective diaper wall I usually maintain, and grabbed the Desitin cream. I leaned over, carefully applying cream to the entire area, when it happened: he fired an 18-inch stream of poop that would have hit me in the eye, had my lightning-fast reflexes not saved me.

Pale and shaking, I called out to Rob for backup. He came and helped me clean up the mess, which included several previously clean diapers in the basket at the end of the changing pad. We laughed, hardly believing what had just happened.

Last night, Levi woke me up, announcing that he had a wet diaper. Again, I carried him to the changing table, expecting an easy change. I was sliding the new diaper under his little body when I heard a faint rumble. This time, I maintained the diaper wall and avoided another disaster.

Let this post serve as a warning to all of you who were previously unaware of projectile poop. It is real, and it is nasty. Constant vigilance is your only defense.

Lynda

Genes

He got Pop Luttrull's face, Pop Howell's hands, and his daddy's feet. And from his mother...

Did you hear him snoring? It could have been worse...he could have gotten my oily, acne-prone skin. Oh, wait, he got that, too. Poor thing.

Lynda

Sweet, Sweet Internet

The ranch's tech support guy made it out to the ranch today, and I am able to access the 'world wide interweb' (recognize the movie quote?) from the house again! I've been online most of the day taking care of business that's been waiting for weeks. I'm so happy!

I'm also happy because Levi has taken two naps in his crib for the first time today! He'll be four weeks old tomorrow, and I decided to heed the napping advice in the book I'm reading. The book says that infants can't handle more than two hours of wakefulness without becoming overtired, and they should be put down alone in their crib to sleep with no lights and no sounds. I soothed him to sleep, tiptoed to his nursery and put him down, not expecting much. After all, he's refused over the last two days to nap at all unless he was held. I tiptoed back out of the room carrying the monitor, and held my breath. After five minutes of sleep, I heard some whimpering, but he stayed down for 25 minutes! He stayed down for 45 minutes a couple of hours later. We're getting close to another naptime, and I'm hopeful instead of skeptical this time.

We also had a good night last night - at least two hours between most feedings, and not much waking in between. I heard that the Tallowood BC Single Adults were praying for us all to get more sleep - thank you all for praying! Thank you, God, for answering!

Lynda

Happy Family

Rob and I have discovered that it's hard taking care of a baby without grandparents! Both sets of our parents came and helped us for some time after Levi was born, and it was wonderful. There was always a grandparent available to hold Levi so that I could catch a nap, and our moms made sure that all the cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, and laundry were done so that I could recover and spend time with Levi. They even made sure that Levi was sufficiently photographed. Thank you, Yia Yia and Pop Howell, and Grandma and Pop Luttrull! We all sat for a family picture while they were here:

My parents were able to stay two weeks after Levi was born. The day they left, Levi cried on and off for several hours, refusing to be put down. I cried on and off, as all of my napping attempts were foiled. That night, he took two hours to soothe to sleep and then spent more time awake than he did asleep. I was reaching a breaking point. I began speed-reading the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, sure that the solution to our lack of sleep would be found in its pages. I learned that there is a biological reason that babies become fussier at the two-week mark. I can't remember that reason (I'm not sleeping enough to retain facts!), but knowing that Levi was behaving like every other baby made me feel better.

We're settling into a new kind of routine now...Levi tends to go from an hour and a half to three hours between night feedings, but sometimes wakes up after 30 minutes because he wants one of us to hold him. I have my hopes set on his sixth week, when the book says that babies' night sleep tends to become organized and lengthier. Three weeks to go!

Levi is a great eater and weighs a little over eight pounds now. His spider-monkey legs and arms are beginning to fatten up, and his face is filling out. I think that we'll have a regular butterball by Christmas. It's usually pretty obvious when Levi needs to eat; he tells us he's hungry by sucking noisily on his hand:

Grandma and Pop Luttrull returned this week to spend Thanksgiving with us. It's been so nice to have them close, and all five of us had a lovely post-lunch nap yesterday. I know that babies aren't supposed to smile socially until six weeks of age, but Levi made eye contact and smiled at Rob twice on Thanksgiving Day. There are no smiles for Mama yet, but I know they're coming. We had a great day with yummy food and a couple of games to watch on TV. Levi and I dressed in our maroon and white and rooted for the Aggies, but evidently, it wasn't enough.

I haven't been terribly consistent with sharing pictures, as our internet access is still down at the house, and it's hard to get away to the office. Here are a few taken over the last few weeks...

This is Levi and his sock monkey, Tex. My mom made a sock monkey for me when I was little, so I wanted Levi to have one, too.

This is one of the best picture we have of Levi with his eyes open. His eyes are slate blue right now, but we'll see what color they settle on in a few months.

This picture is for Dena, our wonderful friend that took great care of Aggie while we were getting settled in Colorado this summer. I am happy to say that Aggie is continuing to warm to Levi.

Lastly, here is a family picture that my parents took the morning they left. We're a pretty happy family!

Lynda

Cradle, Cross-Cradle, Football...

Living with Levi has introduced us to a whole new vocabulary...evidently there are specific names for the ways you can hold a baby, and babies tend to have preferences. So far, I've learned that Levi can be cradled for hours, and his grandparents have happily obliged over the last week. When he's eating, Levi prefers the cross-cradle hold. Rob often carries Levi in the football hold. Here is a demonstration:

Aggie is slowly warming up to Levi. At first, she gave everyone the cold shoulder. We were all on her bad list for bringing that little being home. She refused to let me pet her as long as Levi was in the living room. I put one of Levi's blankets on top of her bed so that she could get used to his scent, and she chose to sleep off the bed rather than touch his blanket.

Levi had a bout with jaundice over the last several days, and we had to place him in the window seat to soak up some sunshine. Unfortunately, the window seat is Aggie's territory. We put Levi in the car seat and moved Aggie's blanket over to the side, and I worried that this would be the final straw. I watched her carefully over the next few mornings as she came closer and closer to his car seat. She wanted a closer look, but she also didn't want me to know that she wanted a closer look. I snapped this picture when she was busy sniffing Levi:

Yesterday, Aggie crawled into my lap when the baby wasn't around, and she sat on the next couch cushion and sniffed his head while I fed him. The cold war is ending.

The first three nights at home, Levi refused to sleep unless he slept on Rob's or my chest. After three wakeful nights, we decided that 1) sleeping on our chest is NOT safe, and 2) we were losing too much sleep. We learned the secret of swaddling, and Levi has slept in his bassinet two nights in a row now, without too much fussing.

And as for fussing, Levi rarely cries without reason. Most of the time, if he begins to fuss, you can guarantee that he needs to eat, needs a change, or has a bubble in his stomach that's making him uncomfortable. When it's time to change his diaper, though, he screams with all the energy and volume his little body can muster. I worried at first that I wasn't being gentle enough as I changed him, or that he was hurt and I wasn't aware of it. The cries cease almost as soon as the last snap on his onesie is fastened though, and I realized that he was just registering his displeasure with the procedure. Now, it's funny to me. This is a shot after one of last night's diaper changes:

We're really having a great time with Levi. We adore him and all the little faces and sounds he makes. As much as I enjoy holding and spending time with Levi, I really enjoy watching Rob with Levi. I walked into the living room a few mornings ago and caught this moment between Levi and his daddy. Rob loves his little boy, and that makes me love Rob even more.

Lynda

He is Here!

Many apologies for the delayed follow-up post...

Levi was born Thursday, November 6th at 2:36 pm Colorado time. At birth he weighed in at 6 pounds 4 ounces and was a slim 18 and a half inches long.

Lynda had some complications after birth, but is recovering nicely - praise God!

We got home Saturday evening to discover that our internet wasn't (and still isn't) working, but we'll get some pictures up before too long.

Thank you for all your prayers - we felt every one!

Rob

Still Waiting...

Lynda here this time, and I fully agree with Rob: things do not always go as planned. This time yesterday, we were waiting on our obstetrician, Dr. K, to start the induction process. Inexplicably, my blood pressure began to fall into a safer range, and instead of starting the induction, Dr. K proposed that we stay another night in the hospital for observation. He knows how much I wanted to have an unmedicated labor, and wanted to give me a chance to return home and wait on Levi to come in his own time.

We waited overnight, and my readings were inconsistent; one reading would be super-elevated, and the next reading four hours later would be in a safer range. In the end, Dr. K told us that we could return home (with total bed rest) and wait for natural labor to start, but that he would induce in a week's time anyway. It seems that the only cure for pregnancy-related hypertension is delivery, and since Levi is full-term, we decided to induce today.

So, here we are. I started receiving medicine to stimulate labor at about 9:45, and my nurse said that so far, I'm responding nicely. I can report that early contractions, while noticeable, are not terribly uncomfortable. I am still smiling and laughing with Rob. We're watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 right now, and my nurse has explained that she'll know we're well underway when I stop smiling.

The doctor has explained that this will most likely be a 24-hour process from start to finish, so we're expecting to meet Levi tomorrow morning or afternoon. I am relieved that all 24 hours will not be hard labor. All the same, if you think of us over the next several hours, please pray that I will be able to cope with the labor pains and have the remaining labor without medication.

We are looking forward to meeting Levi tomorrow. We've wondered over the last few months what he'll look like and what it will be like to bring him home. Now that we're only hours from this new reality...well, I can't really say what my emotions are. This is an all-new situation for me, so I'm not sure how to describe these feelings. I'm hoping for a tiny, blonde carbon copy of Rob, but we'll be happy with our son, no matter what he looks like.

Stay tuned...

Lynda

Let the Countdown Begin

Well, things don't always go the way you plan...

Lynda has been in the hospital for the past 24 hours with high blood pressure. For those of you who know about pregnancy and high blood pressure - you know there are some scary things that can happen. None of those things are happening right now - everything looks great except for her blood pressure. She feels good and is in high spirits.

But since the baby is full term, Dr. K sees no reason to press our luck. So unless something unbelievable happens in the next 2 hours, the doctor will induce labor this afternoon. It is usually a 24 hour process - so this time tomorrow - little Levi might be in this world! Which is pretty unbelievable in itself.

Please pray for Lynda...and me too! While this is not how we hoped the delivery would happen, we are confident that God is in control and that He knows best.

We are thrilled to meet our little son!

The One Ring

You know that scene in LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring when Frodo gets knocked down in the tavern, sending the One Ring spinning end over end for what seems like three solid minutes? And then it lands securely on his finger? Replace the One Ring with my engagement ring, and Frodo's finger with the kitchen floor air vent, and you have Rob's and my post-lunch adventure.

Both of us watched, frozen, as the ring disappeared into the vent and clanked down the air duct. Silence. Then I'm on my knees, peering into the into the vent, exclaiming, "Oh my gosh!" and "Honey, I'm sorry!" over and over. Rob is telling me that everything is okay and we're going to get it back. I gamely rip the cover off the vent, but balk at putting my hand inside (I don't know what's down there!). Rob doesn't hesitate and begins fishing in the duct for the ring. Bad news: the duct curves gently about six inches under the floor, then drops straight down. What now?

Rob is still telling me that everything's okay, and he's hunting for a flashlight. He heads under the house to have a look. I follow him (note to Mom and Deedo: it's safe, I promise!) and we see the duct. It's accessible, and looks like there's a joint right where the ring is most likely lying. Rob begins to unpeel the duct tape around the joint...he pulls the joint apart...he reaches inside...out pops my ring!

As soon as Rob found the ring, and began to retape the joint, the scene became comical to me, and I ran to get the camera. This is my hero, pointing to the offending duct:

All's well that ends well, right?

Lynda

Generation Gap

As most of you know, Rob and I are a few years apart in age. We've never felt the difference to be significant or challenging, though from time to time it does yield some good comedy, as it did the other day as we made plans for Levi's room.

We've had to be creative with our new, smaller home here in Colorado, and we're converting what used to be a small office 'nook' into Levi's nursery. We laughed the other day as we imagined Levi growing up in this space. A toddler or young child would be more than comfortable, but it seemed ridiculous imagining a pre-teen or teenager in the same room. Rob quickly seized on a solution. "You know, when he's older, we could turn the attic into a bedroom. You know, kind of like..." Simultaneously, Rob said "Greg Brady" and I said "Mike Seaver".

Gosh, he's old.

Lynda

Bears With Semi-Fine Motor Skills

Bear sightings are not uncommon here at the ranch. We've seen several this summer, big and small, in broad daylight and at night. They come for our trash, mainly - they know that during the summer, there are three full dumpsters on the property. They're capable of quite a mess, and so we electrify the dumpsters with a low current as a deterrent. There isn't any way to electrify the grease trap, unfortunately, so the bears can make a very sticky and stinky mess when they choose to dig around in there.

Now that the summer is over, the bears have acquired a new target: the vehicles on the property. They have a special affinity for Toyotas; the affinity is not based on aesthetics, though I think the Toyotas are rather attractive. Rather, the draw seems to be the ease of the door handles, which are different from any other door handles on the property. A bear has only to reach over the handle and pull outward to gain access, as opposed to reaching under and pulling upward, which has proven too difficult so far. We are careful not to leave any food in our cars; there's no sense in giving the bears a good reason to go inside. I wondered out loud why we do not lock our car doors at night, and I was reminded that the bears are capable of ripping off the doors to gain access if they wish. There's also no sense in frustrating a bear.

Cowboy Nick found my Corrolla's doors open one morning last week, as well as the doors to the ranch's Forerunner. The doors were open, without any signs that the bear had crawled in or touched anything inside. Nick also found that the bear had gotten into the grease trap. Kindly, the bear chose to hit the grease trap after nosing around in my car. Evidently, the bears here also have a sense of decorum.

To change the subject, I am now eight months pregnant and about four weeks from Levi's due date. I feel really good most of the time. I haven't had any swelling, and I've had an easier time sleeping over the last week. The wicked heartburn I experienced has been tamed. In other words, I'm having an easy time of things. Levi's movements are stronger and more pronounced. It's rare for him to just jab or kick, now it's more like turning from one side to another. He hiccups a lot. I have weekly OB appointments now, and the doctor will start checking next week to make sure that he's head-down and stays that way. I'm happy to be in the homestretch now. Rob took this picture Sunday night:

There's definitely a belly now...

Lynda

A Slower Pace

It's a balmy 30 degrees here at the ranch. We've had some snow flurries and there's frost on the pines. We're snug and warm in the house; Rob is putting together Levi's changing table, I'm monitoring a pot of beans on the stove, and Aggie is napping in a chair. I like the off- season!

Last week, I went hiking for the first time time since we moved. Rob and I hiked Ouzel Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park. It's not an intense hike, but it is a little long (5.4 mi). I felt fine until the last half mile, when I began to believe that my legs just might fall off my body. Here's a picture from early in the hike:


Yesterday, we said goodbye to our friends who came for the inaugural Spousetacular. For the past few years, Rob has come up to the ranch for a week in the Fall with some guys to hike and do other man-things - I call it the Mancation. This year, the guys brought their wives (yay!), and the Spousetacular was born. We spent the last three days hiking, dining out, talking, and learning to play Forty-Two. I hope that there are many returns of the Spousetacular.

We hiked Emerald Lake with our friends this week. It was a beautiful hike full of golden aspen and views of three other lakes along the way. The lake water is crystal clear and we watched several trout swimming close to the shore. This is Emerald Lake:

I know that in the last post I said I was ready for the baby to arrive, but now I'm really ready for the baby to arrive. I had to use my legs as leverage, swinging them over the side of the bed, to get up each of the 1,000 times I had to use the bathroom last night. I realize that I'm only mildly uncomfortable most of the time, but should a girl really have to use her legs as leverage to get out of bed? For those who have asked, here is the latest belly picture, taken last night. I am now in my 33rd week.

Feel free to admire my supercool new thermal shirt - it has stars on it! I'm afraid there's only so much stretch in the yellow tank top...

Lynda

Cat Crack

Aggie. She's the queen of all she surveys in our little home in the mountains. Rob and I got home late last night and all in all, we were both impressed with how well Aggie handled the trip. She spent most of the trip snoozing on the floorboard of the car next to my feet, and occasionally hopped into my lap for some attention. When we got to the ranch, I took her in the house first and watched as she walked over almost every surface in the house (save the kitchen counter; she knows better than to do that in front of me), meowing and taking stock of her new home. She's already selected her favorite spots (the window seat and the computer chair) and has resumed her life goal of sneaking in our room to find the cat crack.

What is cat crack? It's whatever causes Aggie to paw and cry at our bedroom door for hours. She did this at our home in Houston, and she's doing it here at the ranch. She hides near our door and tries to slink in when we open it to go in or out. She is persistent and cannot be deterred, and so we reasoned, "There must be some kind of cat crack in there." If she ever gets in, she sniffs the air like a bloodhound and stoops under every piece of furniture. That cat crack is well hidden, and she's not giving up the hunt. We keep telling her that we don't have any cat crack, but she doesn't want to hear it.

On a different subject, is it bad that I'm already counting down to my due date? Up to now, I've enjoyed having a relatively small baby bump, but this child is running out of room! I'd much rather him move out a little than continue to grow upwards, putting more pressure on my ribs. I feel much better when I lay on my back, but I can't lay on my back all day...no, this little boy has got to do his mother a favor and move out a little more. It's unfortunate, too, that my due date is only an estimate. It's not like counting down to your wedding, an event that has an exact date and time. No, this is just wishful counting down...forty seven days to go!

Lynda

Gymboree is a dangerous place...

...but going to the outlet store lessens the danger quotient. Rob and I had a day off yesterday, so we drove down to Loveland and the outlet mall. After window shopping in several stores, I asked him if we could go to the Gymboree store, telling him that I wouldn't buy anything, I just wanted to look. What a line.

We've looked at baby clothes together before, but this was the first time Rob seemed to see anything that he really liked. The store had a small section of cowboy-themed boy clothes, specially designed and placed there to tempt us, the Luttrulls. There were tiny cowboy boots, little cowboy hats with chin straps, miniature button-down shirts printed with horses and lassoes, and then Rob spotted a striped romper with the word 'HOWDY' on the front. It had pockets on the sides, and a little round patch on the seat, like padding for your saddle. Rob looked at me and said, "I would buy that." Sold! We picked up the 6-12 month size, thinking that he'll most likely fit it in the thick of next summer, when the guests can 'ooh' and 'aah' over how cute our little cowboy is.

Why is it that dinosaurs and raccoons, ordinarily considered scary and a nuisance respectively, are endearing when printed on baby clothes? It's a mystery, but it's true. I debated for a long while over a raccoon sleeper and hat and the dinosaur counterpart before deciding that Levi would make a more attractive stegosaur than a raccoon. I had to make myself put down a precious dinosaur onesie with "Rawrrrr!" on the front (moderation!), but I am fully-pleased with our selections. Yay for outlet stores!

Aren't these the cutest little ranch and dinosaur outfits ever?




Lynda

Summer's End

Well, we made it through the entire twelve weeks of family camp! The last week was especially fun, as some friends of ours came up as guests - Pike, Andria and Nash Wisner from Dallas. It was my first experience knowing guests before their arrival, and it makes me look forward to next year, when we'll greet returning guests as friends. It's been hard to see our staff go home, since they've been the source of so much fun this summer. I've been amazed at the servanthood, leadership, and Christlikeness that we've seen in this staff - some as young as 17, and none over 25. It's the staff that makes this place special, and they've ministered to our guests in many ways.

I have a lot of great memories of this summer's staff, and this is my favorite:
For most of the summer, I worked with three lovely Tennesseeans in Kid's Club. I had a particularly rough morning one day, and I needed one of the other ladies to take the kids on a scavenger hunt for me. I asked one of them, Hannah Jo, if she would mind taking the kids on the hunt, to which she shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I don't care to." I was surprised that she turned me down so easily, since she knew that I needed the rest that morning.

Confused, I went on to Sarah, and posed the same question. Sarah shrugged her shoulders, replied, "Sure!" and took the kids out for me that morning. Later on at lunch, I overheard another staff member from Tennessee ask Hannah if she'd like some sweet tea with her meal, and I heard the same reply from that morning: "I don't care to." She then held out her glass and her friend filled the glass to the brim with sweet tea. That's when I realized that a Tennesseean saying "I don't care to" is the same as a Texan (or anyone else) saying, "I don't mind". Hannah was mortified that I'd thought she declined to take the kids on the hunt that morning. In fact, she didn't understand why I asked Sarah to take the kids out after she'd agreed to do it. We went round and round on the phrase, and I never could convince her that she was saying it wrong...silly Tennesseean.

We have just three weekend conferences in the month of September, and then we can settle down and get ready for the winter and for Levi. At 27 weeks, Levi is about two pounds in weight and nine inches in length. Now that he's bigger, I often feel simultaneous kicks and punches on opposite sides of my belly. He wakes up a little bit after meals and dances for me, but almost always settles down by the time his daddy comes near to feel him move. A good friend of mine sent some baby clothes and supplies in the mail, and the newborn onesies and diapers look unbelievably tiny - it's hard to imagine taking care of such a small person!

Now that things are slowing down, we're finally settling into our house. It's been challenging going from a three-bedroom to a one-bedroom house, because we have a lot of stuff! We're getting creative with our storage space, and I hope that we'll have most of the boxes emptied or stowed by the end of the day. I haven't been able to do anything with the nursery yet, and it's driving me crazy. I was thrilled when Rob found a nice crib in the ranch's storage room, but we still need to find a changing table and the nursery bedding. My mom is coming up this weekend(!) and we'll go hunting together for these things. I'm really looking forward to having this time with my mom, and I'm glad we're going to get to go shopping for baby things together, since I've had to share the last few months with her from a distance.

Before I go, here's the latest belly picture, taken a few days ago. Rob decided to sit this photo session out.


And on request, here is a picture of all the family's boots: Dad's, Mom's and Levi's:

The sad thing is that since Levi has two parents with large flipper feet, he won't fit in those tiny boots very long!

Lynda

More to See

It's been quite a while since I posted a belly picture, so I got Rob to take a picture yesterday evening. I'm about five and a half months along now, and Levi weighs about 1.5 pounds and measures about 8.5 inches long. I was surprised to learn that at this point, Levi is considered 'viable', which is to say that his little body could survive outside mine now (with medical intervention). Amazing. I've started to feel him move throughout the entire day now. He must have a favorite position, because most of the time he kicks and punches on my right side. I actually saw a wave of motion go across my belly yesterday, which was a bit strange, even though I knew it would happen eventually. Sleeping is becoming a bit uncomfortable - I'll soon have so many pillows around me that Rob will have just a sliver of room on his side of the bed.

Here's yesterday's belly picture:

It appears that Rob is showing a bit, too! I must admit to a little sadness that my tank top (kind of) fits him. Rob was struck with the idea to take a picture of him, too, when we were taking mine. Just the thought made me double over laughing. Okay, here's my picture:

A little more to show, huh?

Lynda

Trailer Fabulous

So, we've been living in an RV on the ranch's property for a little over a month now. The weekend we moved in, a couple of the men on staff built an adjoining deck for us. Once the deck was complete, we began to see the true potential of the RV and started planning some additional touches for our temporary home.

It started with the pink flamingoes that I found on Ebay. I would have loved to purchase a whole flock, but settled for two. They arrived in a few days and joined the cheap, plastic, blue lawn chairs that we found at Wal-Mart for $5.95 apiece. A few days went by, and some unexpected items appeared on our deck, apparently gifts from staff that enjoyed our decor: an Igloo, a toilet plunger, a gnome, a fan, and a plant. We were well on the way to trailer fabulous, but there was still one thing missing: lights! A trip to Hobby Lobby remedied the lack of lights, which we put up last Saturday night. I present to you our RV home, in day and night:


Yes, that is an 'L' you see on the side of the RV. We're so proud of our decor, we wanted to be sure everyone knows this is the Luttrull (temporary) home.

The latest accessory I could have done without. I was watching a movie Tuesday night when a mouse ran through the living room! He ran out from under one of the chairs and straight into a space under the oven where a screen protecting the electrical 'guts' of the trailer had come loose. I shot out of the RV looking for Rob, who was finishing up the Tuesday night devotional. He quickly came to the rescue with a screw gun and made sure that no mouse would ever get through the screened space again. We slept with our bedroom door closed (with a t-shirt wedged underneath) just in case Mr. Mouse had any remaining family members in the living room, but after one night, we felt confident that he was visiting alone.

All is well here - we're in week 9 of 12 weeks of family camp. We have week 13 off, and then have three weekend conferences in September to end our season. We can't believe how quickly the summer has gone! We'll move into our permanent house either this weekend or next, giving us plenty of time to get settled before Levi arrives. This will be our first house to settle in together, so I'm looking forward to moving in our things and making this our home.

That's all for now...

Lynda

One Week Later

It's been a little more than a week since I took the last belly picture I posted, and I can see a significant difference. I wore the same clothes again so that you could see how much more pronounced my belly is this week.

Levi's kicks are more pronounced, too. In the last week, I've seen a kick move my belly, and Rob was able to feel a strong kick yesterday. I've noticed, too, that Levi is most active at night. I'm hoping that he doesn't continue this nocturnal routine after he's born!

Rob and I went to a baby resale store last week to buy a stroller for the ranch. The boy's clothes section pulled me in like a tractor beam and I'd picked up five little sleepers and jumpers before I came back to my senses. I've got several months to go and I need to pace myself! I let myself off the hook, though, when I got the to the register and paid only $13 for the whole lot of them. Hooray for resale! I know you've all seen baby clothes before, but are these not the most adorable clothes ever? In case you were wondering, the odd little character on the right is a giraffe driving a car.

Feel free to admire the awesome RV upholstery, too. That's all for now - we hope you all are doing well. We miss you!

Lynda

My Growing Belly

This picture was taken Sunday, the start of my 20th week. I'll post another picture next week, since yesterday I realized that my belly had grown bigger since the picture. In fact, I had a little bit of a hard time bending over to tie my shoes. It must have been a significant difference, because yesterday several people commented that I really 'looked pregnant' for the first time.

By the way, these pictures were taken in the 'hallway' of the RV Rob and I are living in this month. We moved into the RV because we have so many guests that our cabin was no longer avaialable - good news! The staff has really enjoyed reminding us that we live in a 'trailer', and they built us a really nice deck outside. We have plans for our new deck, but I'll keep quiet for now and just post some pictures when all is complete.

Stay tuned...

Lynda

Kicky McKickerson

During yesterday's ultrasound, I saw Levi kick at the same time that I felt a bump in my side, which confirmed that all the little bumps I'd felt over the last week and a half were kicks, as I'd suspected. Now that I know what they feel like, I am aware that Levi is fairly active. I am happy that his hands and feet are little right now, because I know a time is coming when his movements will feel like karate chops and roundhouse kicks.

I scanned the ultrasound images today, so here are a couple of pictures of little Kicky. The first, which we refer to as 'Levi the Alien Boy', shows Levi looking at you straight on, with his head on the right. The second is a profile of his head and chest, again with his head on the right. He is laying on his back and you can see his nose, lips and chin pointing up. We think that one of his little hands in near his face, which made the image fuzzy around his mouth.

Isn't he cute?

Lynda

Baby Luttrull...Boy or Girl?

Boy!

We had the ultrasound today that can determine gender, and we're happy to tell you that we'll welcome a baby boy in November. We'll name him Levi Ramage Luttrull.

I (Lynda) couldn't be more excited, since I've hoped for a boy since we learned of the pregnancy. Actually, I've hoped for a boy as long as I've dreamed of having a family of my own. It was amazing to see our baby kicking and swimming on the computer screen - we both feel as though he became real to us today.

We left the doctor's office and decided to go to Estes Park to buy something fun for our little boy. We perused a couple of stores before we found these:

Now, our baby is going to be ranchy.

Rob and Lynda

Praise God!

We closed on the house sale today! We are happy that this is done, and are thankful that God allowed the sale to happen so quickly. We are also thankful for you, our families and friends, who did so much to help this happen. To everyone who sacrificed time to help with renovations, packing, cleaning and moving, we really cannot say how appreciative we are. Many times in the process, we looked at each other and said, "We really have great family and friends." We are blessed to have you all.

Love,

Rob & Lynda

Overheard at the Climbing Wall...

So, I was working the climbing wall on Monday afternoon. I sit on top of the wall and send people down the zip line - it makes for a fun afternoon. It was time to go so I was taking the equipment down and packing it in my backpack. The kids are always curious to know how I get on the wall (I climb up the tree beside the wall - there are large staples embedded in the tree deeper than Christiane Amanpour) and how I get down (I either climb down the tree, repel, or zip down).

On this day, I was going to zip down. As I was making my final preparations, I heard one child say to the other, "Hey look, the old guy is going to do the zip-line."

Thanks, kid.

Rob

Overheard at the Volleyball Court...

So, I was presiding over a four-kid game of volleyball last week when I heard one of the boys lower his voice and ask one of the girls how old I am. The girl, who'd learned my age earlier in the week, replied matter-of-factly, "She's twenty-nine." My jaw dropped when the boy replied, "No, she's way older than that!"

Thanks, kid.

Lynda

Happy Birthday, Steven!

Today is my brother Steven's birthday. Steven, I hope you're having a great day. I love you!

Lynda

The Great Goat Fiasco of 2008

I want you to look closely at this little goat. He is not cute (actually, he is). He is certainly not stronger or more willful than me (actually, he is). I did not think it was funny that he refused to be led along down the road we were walking on (actually, I did). I'm trying to be angry at this little goat, but it's not working.

On Fridays, we talk about farmers, and one of our planned activities is visiting the goats, sheep, and ponies to pet and feed them. Last Friday was very cold and windy, so our plans were scuttled, and we were penned up inside the dining hall coloring. The kids were growing restless with an hour left to go when I had the bright idea to go get two of the baby goats and bring them up to the dining hall to visit the kids. I asked Sarah, one of my fellow Kid's Club wranglers, to go with me to get the two baby goats. We laughed to ourselves that we were probably biting off more than we could chew, and we were right.

We chased and leashed the two little goats and got them outside the pen when their mama began to notice their absence. We had mama goat and both babies fighting to get closer to each other, and you'd be surprised how much fight is in a 30-pound baby goat. About this time, one of the horse wranglers shouted out to us that we'd have a much easier time if we took mama, too. I looked at mama's size and decided that I'd rather fight it out with the two babies than juggle mama, too.

We got about twenty yards down the road (in 10 minutes), and it was a constant cycle of pull, coax, bleat, choke, release, and repeat. Frustrated but laughing, we quit caring about their muddy (and poopy) feet and picked them up to carry against our chests, but they craned their little necks and started chewing our hair. Defeated, I turned to Sarah and told her that I thought the wrangler was right: it was time to go get mama. I returned to the pen, picked out a 'mama' (there were two identical female goats), leashed my choice, and headed down the road toward Sarah and the two babies. Mama goat weighs a good 90 pounds, I'd say, and I had to wrestle her away from several flower beds between the pen and the place the babies stood.

The babies followed 'mama', but hesitantly. I have named the particular goat pictured "Flopper" because he continually jumped straight in the air, hooves kicking, and flopped down on his side to avoid walking in the direction we were going. In the end, all three goats reached the dining hall, and the kids were quite pleased to pet them and feed them grass from the pasture. It was not until I returned the babies to the pen, and they ran straight to the other female goat to nurse, that I realized I'd chosen the wrong mama. Oh, well.

In other news, I found some really great boots at the thrift store when we got here, and I'm so proud of them that I want to show them off. We wear boots three days out of the week here, so we made it one of our first missions on arrival to find some good second-hand boots. With no further ado, I present the best boots a girl can hope to find second-hand:

Now, those are ranchy.

Lynda

Snow!

This is what the ranch looked like on Tuesday:

And this is how the ranch looked when we woke up yesterday morning:

We'd not heard the snow forecast, so we were both shocked. All the guests had a great time building snowmen and having snowball fights. The kitchen staff played Christmas music, and in Kid's Club, we sang Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bells. The snow continued most of the day, and although the sun is shining today, there's still some snow on the ground. I've heard that they've seen 'surprise' snow at the ranch every month but July...

Lynda

First Days

Well, we arrived late on Wednesday night, relieved that our long trip from OK to CO was so easy. The weather here is more changeful (like it? I made it up.) than Houston's! Thursday saw pea-sized hail, rain, and sunshine, all in relatively quick succession. On Friday, we had hail again, snow, and saw the sun again within a short time. Saturday, we had a light snow of fat flakes, and then the sun came out warm enough that I walked around outside with no jacket. Today's weather is looking even better than yesterday's.

We're living in a very cozy guest cabin right next to the ranch's offices. Characteristically, Rob had all his things unpacked within 24 hours, and well, I'm still working on it. There's a shelf on one of the walls where we've put some of our favorite pictures (and all our snacks!), so it does really feel a little home to me.

Some of the summer staff are already here, though most will not arrive until Monday or Tuesday. We've seen some familiar faces, and have enjoyed getting to know new ones. Both the ranch director and the ranch foreman have babies that make regular appearances at meal times. I've felt pretty good since I've gotten here, but it's really nice to have a reminder of what we're heading toward with this pregnancy. Both are beautiful children and their parents are having a really great time with them.

The views here are amazing, and are so majestic that they never become just scenery. Our cabin faces Long's Peak, and every time I walk out I freeze for half of a second as if I'm seeing it for the first time, and I'm amazed that this is my home now. We plan on posting some pictures soon!

Guests start arriving a week from today and there's lots to be done to get the ranch and programs ready. We'll appreciate any prayers that you can offer for us, the staff and the guests that are coming!

Lynda

And we're off...

Greetings from Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA! Where they still wave ole glory down at the courthouse...sing along if you know the words. We arrived at my parents' house late last night and we'll spend the day lounging with family before leaving tomorrow morning for Estes Park. It's hard to imagine that we'll be at the ranch tomorrow night.

It was a ton of work, but with the help of family and friends we finally got our house renovated, packed, and cleaned - it really looks fantastic. I'm confident the first person to look at the house will buy it for our full asking price - and throw in a few thousand dollars just because. It was a little strange, but as we worked on the house these last two weeks, it didn't really feel like our house anymore. Our home had become a commodity - something to maximize - there was no emotion to it.

But as we walked through the house taking pictures and turning out lights, the emotion came. This was the house were Lynda and I shared our first kiss, where we first uttered the "L" word, where I proposed, where we spent our first married night, where we found out that Lynda is pregnant. This creaky, old house was our home. And it was hard to leave.

We locked the door, backed out of the driveway, and drove away for the last time. By the time we hit the beltway, our tears had dried and we were talking about Colorado and what it will be like there. Leaving is like that. We're sad to leave the life we know, but now that the journey has started, our minds turn quickly toward the life we will have.

That is why our eyes are in the front of our heads - so we can see where we are going, not where we have been.

Playing Coy

We heard the baby’s heartbeat today! I’ve (Lynda) been looking forward to this appointment for some time, since I’m several weeks away from the ultrasound that can determine gender, and I’ve heard that you can sometimes predict a baby’s gender from the speed of their heartbeat. Evidently, a rapid heartbeat (about 160 bpm) indicates a girl, and a slower heartbeat (140 bpm) indicates a boy. My doctor dismissed this as a wives’ tale, but several family members and friends have said that it proved true with their babies.

So, the moment arrived…the doctor put the Doppler wand on my stomach, and after some hunting picked up a little heartbeat. I held my breath while she checked her watch and counted off the beats. She paused and announced, “The heart rate is 150.” 150?! Right in the middle? I hope this child gets a little more cooperative when he/she leaves my belly. Ugh. I’m counting down until that ultrasound now...

Howdy

To those of you checking in for the first time, we say "howdy"!

Howdy is my greeting of choice - its a fantastic word. I've been blessed to live in places where howdy is a legitimate salutation. Oklahoma, Texas, and a dude ranch in Colorado - all very howdy-friendly. As I'm sure you know, howdy started out as "How do you do?" and then shortened to "Howdy do?" and finally to "Howdy" - I have no proof of that.

If you're looking for a continuation of my Wednesday emails - this is probably where they'll end up. I can't promise they'll be weekly or on Wednesdays, but after six years of sending my thoughts on the World Wide Interweb (name that movie) - I expect I'll feel the need to expound from time to time.

In the next few weeks look for posts about moving, pictures of our new home, and eventually - Lord willing - pictures of the baby!

Please post comments when you drop by, we'll be glad to hear from you!

Opening Day

Four Weeks ago Lynda and I decided to move from Houston, TX to Estes Park, Colorado. Three weeks ago, we found out that we were expecting our first child. Two weeks ago I resigned my position as single adult minister at Tallowood Baptist Church. One week ago we called a realtor. And 30 minutes ago, we created this blog. This is our first post. Enjoy.