The New Boy

Some of you who may read this may not have received an email announcing the birth of our son, despite being in email contact with us in the past. We apologise for that. We're beginning to realise that we need to migrate our email addresses from one computer to the next. How we do this is beyond us. But at least we know exactly what to feel guilty about, which has got to help. Somehow.

So, without further ado, let us announce the birth of Samuel Charles Baddeley on 3rd May at 12.16pm, weighing in at 3.49kg which includes a respectable head of hair. The birth was reasonably straight forward and quick (albeit intense).

J is very pleased with the 'cheeky baby', also known as 'San-u-el', 'my own bwover' and 'my baby'. He tries to help the baby play with his favourite toys and hugs him frequently, and enjoys 'checking' on the baby, announcing with gravity that the baby is asleep and making shushing noises. Few babies have been welcomed as enthusiastically by their siblings as little Samuel.

Things are going as well as can be expected under the circumstances. We get somewhere in the vicinity of 'enough' sleep every few days and are muddling through in that haphazard, quasi-competent way we Baddeley's have of making it from point A to point B, often with a couple of unintended detours. This has included Mark passing a kidney stone on the weekend, something we think it would be good to avoid in future.

In the fog of sleep deprivation, we are enormously thankful for many things. Samuel is a gorgeous little boy, and he has come to us safe and sound, and is now growing and thriving; Jennie was kept safe through the delivery process. Mark has been painfree since the weekend, which is a Very Good Thing and something we pray continues. We've found and sorted a house for when we move at the end of June, which is something we are grateful to not have to think about at the moment.

So, as God watches the little sparrows, he continues to effortlessly provide for us and we are grateful. JMB

So why is April 23rd so special?

No reason.

Well, there are probably heaps of reasons. But there's no reason why we should choose today to actually post something on this poor, forsaken blog. Except that life has slowed down slightly for 15 minutes and we thought we should update those long-suffering souls who check in from time to time.

Thanks, by the way.

What have we been up to?

We've survived a really intense six months. Mark has passed an important exam and is now in the process of applying to the DPhil programme. Jennie is busy with an energetic two year old and a slightly less energetic unborn baby, which we're due to meet in about three weeks. J. is busy playing complicated imaginative games which both baffle and intrigue us, as well as continuing to make friends with anyone he meets. And we all had a marvellous holiday about three weeks ago, which was genuinely relaxing and refreshing for all of us.

That's about where we're up to.

The next few months will bring an enormous amount of change. Obviously, the birth of our baby will change our lives fairly radically. We also have to move in late June and have probably got a place on the other side of Oxford. We're looking forward to this in many ways because while it won't give us more space, it does come with a backyard and a lovely kitchen.

Baddeley's, Christmas, 2009

If you pray for us, we'd love you to pray that our baby will be born in good health and in good time, and both Jennie and the baby will be kept safe throughout the process. Pray also that we would navigate all this change well and in ways which honour God, and that we'll understand how this affects our little boy and be wise in the ways we help him. Please also pray that this house will be settled quickly or that we would find another one swiftly. And please thank God with us for the extraordinary gifts he's given us - of another precious child, of great time together and of his kindness towards us and preservation of us through a really tricky eighteen months. And thank you for your prayers. We appreciate them.

Thanks for those who keep in contact with us, even as we struggle to return the favour (though we have been doing better lately!) We love to hear from you and pray for you more than you might suspect. JMB&MDB