Can it be . . . I'm actually sitting here in the recliner, watching American Idol and blogging? The two things I've been avoiding like the plague lately. Actually, I've avoided American Idol for its entire run, but without 24 this season (thanks a lot, writers strike,) I've added Idol to the DVR schedule - right there with Family Feud, Andy Griffith, Jack's Big Music Show, and the Backyardigans . . . and I'm actually enjoying it. I've may have made a conscious effort to not get wrapped up in the Idol hype, but I haven't been purposefully avoiding blogging. It just happened. And now I have junior high students, teachers, and friends asking me on a regular basis when I'm going to blog again.

Over the past three months, I've had a few ideas for how to continue blogging. With more demands at work than I was used to in my last job, I've found that there's not much time in my day to sit down, clear my head, and blog. The first idea I had was series blogging - focusing a few posts on a central topic. Possible topics included "Dear Presidential Candidate . . . " where I'd write open letters to all the remaining candidates to tell them why I would or would not vote for them. Another thought I entertained was "Why I'm _____" where I'd explain why I do or believe certain things - Why I'm a Republican; Why I'm a Christian; Why I'm not blogging lately . . . ." The other idea was just continuing just as in the past with a potpourri of life's experiences as they happen and as I take the time to share them. So before this site goes the way of my Xanga site, my first website, and the fifteen email addresses I've had over the past ten years, I'm back after three months of silence, and I'm ready to share some huge things that have been happening in my life.

Two weeks ago yesterday, my wife and I packed our bags and went to bed prepared to head to Farmington the next morning for her to be induced and have our second baby around two o'clock. Everything for baby two was planned - the total opposite of what had happened a little over seventeen months earlier when our daughter surprised us by showing up a month early. This time, we knew the sex of the baby, the day he'd be born, and even the approximate time.

About two hours before we should have started getting ready on Tuesday morning, Jessica woke up with pain that she thought resulted from contractions. We decided to get ready early, and if the pain stopped, we'd just wait around at home until it was time to make our way to the hospital. If the pain continued, we thought it would be better to get an early start in case she was already in labor. By five, we were on the road.

The events of the first three hours in the hospital now seem like a blur. From OB to the emergency room, to the parking lot to get the insurance card, back to the ER, and then back to OB, I felt like the nurses were just trying to keep me busy so I'd stay out of the way as they prepped Jessica for the birth. I'd much rather have revisited the first hour I spent at the hospital when Ella was born, while I sat, sleeping in the emergency room waiting area, thinking we were only there for a quick examination.

With phone calls made and family members headed our way, I was finally able to make it back to the delivery room to find out that we were just minutes away from the epidural . . . perhaps the best part of the whole day . . . and that the doctor had estimated delivery time at 10:15. Our parents and Ella arrived sometime between eight and nine. They were able to take turns visiting with Jessica in the delivery room before the action started picking up. Unfortunately, about the time the epidural started kicking it, it slowed contractions to the point that the anesthesiologist had to add another drug to start them up again. That pushed the estimated delivery time up a little, but we were still going to have a baby by noon.

Recovering from a staph infection or spider bite (what it really was will be disputed for years) and just a day after being diagnosed with a viral infection, I wasn't exactly feeling the adrenaline rush that I should have been throughout the morning. As we neared delivery, the nurses started assembling the necessary tools, and the doctor dressed in his gown and catcher's mit, it seemed as though the heat kept rising and the room started spinning. With six people crowded in half the room and the curtain pulled just behind me, I felt the claustrophobia taking over. Cold sweat beads running down my face, I found myself having to sit down a couple of times. I was able to muster the necessary strength and overcome the queasy feeling just in time to see my son come into the world - and I was down again.

At 11:49, we welcomed the fourth member of our family, Joseph William Marc, into the world. As special as the birth of a first child is, the second child is just as special and the overwhelming pride and joy is just as real. After snapping a few quick pictures, I slid out of the room to leave the professionals to do what they do best (this time, the OB department wasn't as busy, so I didn't have to be the assistant), show the grandparents pictures of their first grandson, and get a breath of cool air. Once I was able to catch my breath, I returned to the delivery room to take more pictures, then brought Ella back to meet her new brother.

For the past two weeks, we've been able to spend a lot of time together, refreshing our relationships and building new bonds with Will. Ella has been a great big sister - helping with feeding and other baby care, and giving him a sweet goodnight kiss each night at bedtime. Being an only child for seventeen months, we were afraid she would be jealous of the new baby taking our attention, but we're trying to make her feel as much a part of what's going on as he is, and she's definitely handled it much better than we had expected.

Jessica and I have fallen in love with our son, and we're excited about where his life will lead. God has a special plan for all of our kids. On the way home from school this afternoon, I was listening to the new MercyMe CD. The first track is a song about living an extraordinary life - one that is God's will and not the ordinary life that we often grow used to. I pray that this will be one song that defines Will's life, and I pray that Philippians 3:12-14 is something that he clings to as I have.