friends!

The UK is a wonderful country to live in, and it's an especially wonderful place to have your first baby. The NHS took incredible care of us all. Plus, there's this wonderful charity called the "National Childbirth Trust", or NCT, that runs pre-natal groups that absolutely everyone joins when they're first pregnant. It's a basic 6 week course, one night a week, about managing labour and caring for a newborn. But the most essential thing about it is meeting other couples who live nearby and are in that same stage as you - all entering parenthood together. We became excellent friends with our group, celebrating all the births together and now enjoying the miracle of seeing our babies grow. One couple threw us a goodbye barbeque yesterday in their lovely back garden, and it was pure heaven. Such good friends! You really couldn't find a kinder group of people. And so many babies! What joy they bring to us all!

It makes me weep to think of saying goodbye to everyone here. Toni and I are chronically moving (first 4 years of marriage = 4 countries on 3 continents...)... and it's getting old. We really need to just settle the heck down. For real. :/

I'm dumping loads of photos, because that is what blogs are for:

Waiting for the bus outside our flat, Ben all snuggled and sleepy. Look at this street we live on! Christ Church College tower right there. Gah.

Babies in the sunshine and shade of old British cottages. How I'll miss these old stones everywhere.

Ben got to try out his friend Cora's little recliner. LOVED it sweet lamb. Poor dude has nothing so cool at our place!

GREEN. England is so so GREEN.

Sleeping babe in arms. Love.

Yay :)

They got us a special leaving cake and we cut it just like we were at our wedding. ha!

Babies starting to be lined up!

Aah! All between 9-12 weeks old. Even numbers boys and girls. There are even two missing! Such fun.

Proud mums! I love these women. They're all as happy and in love with their babies and motherhood as me. Since our third trimesters we've met at least once a week, and it's so wonderful to have this support and group of friends to enjoy such a glorious time all together! Happiness, especially baby happiness, is best shared. (Also, bless the UK for having 1 year maternity leave for everyone so we can take all this time to settle in with our babes :)

And not to forget the sweet dads too :)

Attempt at a family photo past Ben's 8pm bedtime ;)

Tired babe on the bus ride home... fell asleep in just 10 steps in his sling :)

other smooty pictures of our man. i mean seriously!

that face!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love how he smiles so hard his whole face gets all squished and his eyes disappear. Oh love!!

the weises meet ben!

Love at first sight! :)

I love everyone peering down at this little person :)

Toni punting, looking good :)

The weather was absurdly beautiful. Those clouds! And that's Ben shaded under that blanket on Elizabeth :)

Sometimes I got to hold him too :) p.s. this is my life: rocking and nursing Ben on our bed. So excited to live somewhere with a couch! Heavens!

Serious face :)

Yay for family! So fun to show him off. So glad he is so loved.

5 weeks old

super ben to the rescue!!!

he feels extra big and chunky this week.....

...especially when compared to this sweet 2-week old picture of him! dear, lovely dude.

This week, Ben has begun to smile more and more, and responds so much to us - he especially loves singing and rocking, and sucking on Toni's pinkie finger to calm down and go to sleep. Toni and I tend to sing to him mostly in French - what is it about French lullabies that are so lovely? My favourite is 'Souviens-toi,' a hymn from the LDS French hymnbook. Sadly, it's only in the French version, and was written by this lovely Parisian couple in the branch I attended back in 2005. I copied the words below - they are so, so lovely, and represent a conversation a parent has with their child ("do you remember, my child?") about heaven, where the child was not too long ago, and if they remember it, and if they can tell us all about it here... 

Souviens-toi, mon enfant: Tes parents divins

Te serraient dans leurs bras, ce temps n’est pas loin.

Aujourd’hui, tu es là, présent merveilleux,

Ton regard brille encore du reflet des cieux.

Parle-moi, mon enfant, de ces lieux bénis

Car pour toi est léger le voile d’oubli.

Souviens-toi, mon enfant des bois, des cités.

Pouvons-nous ici bas les imaginer?

Et le ciel jusqu’au soir, est-il rose ou gris?

Le soleil attend-il la neige ou la pluie?

Conte-moi, mon enfant, la couleur des prés

Et le chant des oiseaux d’un monde oublié.

Souviens-toi, mon enfant: A l’aube des temps,

Nous étions des amis jouant dans le vent.

Puis un jour, dans la joie nous avons choisi

D’accepter du Seigneur le grand plan de vie.

Ce soir là, mon enfant, nous avons promis

Par l’amour, par la foi, d’être réunis.

The last lines are also lovely - "One day, we chose to accept God's eternal plan. On that evening, my child, we promised that through love, through faith, we would be reunited."

Gosh it makes me cry. But truly! These babes are direct from heaven. They are perfect, and so wonderful. I remember a conversation with Leslie I had when we came back from Mozambique ten years ago, where we worked with a lot of abused children at the Colegio Infantil. Their stories were excruciating, and Leslie said that these dear children must return to heaven every night in their sleep - they must have that grace to get through the terrible circumstances they are forced into on earth. I loved that - it's so beautiful, and I think it must be true. Anyone watching a newborn baby sleep would believe it :) Seeing how they talk and smile and dream and laugh while dozing off :) Precious little ones! I still can't believe we have one of our own. How did we get so lucky? What could we ever do to deserve such a blessing?

4 weeks old today!