( The journey was long, but it was worth it. )
( WARNING: DAD IS GOOFY )
[Go with the grace of tired parents and happy grandparents.]
( WARNING: DAD IS GOOFY )
[Go with the grace of tired parents and happy grandparents.]
September 9th, 2008
tiredSeptember 5th, 2008
creativeSeptember 4th, 2008
excitedSeptember 2nd, 2008
It's been a long 27 hours, but I'm happy to report that Cameron Michael Ford is alive and well at Renaissance Womens' Center.
STATS:
Born: September 2, 2008, 6:26 am
Weight: 6 lbs., 10 oz.
Length: 19 7/8 in.
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair Color: Sandy Blond/Brown
Coincidences:
- Dad started working at USDA on September 2, 2007
- Today marked Dad's permanency as a federal employee
- Today marked Dad's first pay-raise
- 6:26 am = 06/02/06, Dad and Mom's Wedding Day
Okay. Now, to the story:
( How Cameron Michael Ford was born... with many, MANY pictures... )
[Good night, and may God bless all of you the way He has blessed me.]
[EDITED: 9/3/08, 7:28 am] -- I almost forgot to mention that the afghan hanging over the back of Cameron's crib is, in fact, one of the last two afghans my late grandmother, Myrtle "Mama" Ford, ever crocheted. It was finished by the grandmother of my cousin Becky Jo, Jackie "Grandma" Boyd, who - by virtue of Becky and I being born on consecutive days - has also known me and cared for me since I was Cameron's age.
The afghan's title? "A Grandmother's Love." I couldn't think of a more appropriate backdrop to the crib.
STATS:
Born: September 2, 2008, 6:26 am
Weight: 6 lbs., 10 oz.
Length: 19 7/8 in.
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair Color: Sandy Blond/Brown
Coincidences:
- Dad started working at USDA on September 2, 2007
- Today marked Dad's permanency as a federal employee
- Today marked Dad's first pay-raise
- 6:26 am = 06/02/06, Dad and Mom's Wedding Day
Okay. Now, to the story:
( How Cameron Michael Ford was born... with many, MANY pictures... )
[Good night, and may God bless all of you the way He has blessed me.]
[EDITED: 9/3/08, 7:28 am] -- I almost forgot to mention that the afghan hanging over the back of Cameron's crib is, in fact, one of the last two afghans my late grandmother, Myrtle "Mama" Ford, ever crocheted. It was finished by the grandmother of my cousin Becky Jo, Jackie "Grandma" Boyd, who - by virtue of Becky and I being born on consecutive days - has also known me and cared for me since I was Cameron's age.
The afghan's title? "A Grandmother's Love." I couldn't think of a more appropriate backdrop to the crib.
jubilantSeptember 1st, 2008
(X-posted to MySpace)
No, I'm not just posting because this is the first Monday of September. It's actually a pun.
This evening, at 5:00 pm, Renaissance Physicians' Birthing Center will induce Gail. So, within the next 24 hours, you all will bear witness to the second coming.
Cameron Michael Ford, come on down! You're the next contestant onThe Price is Right This is Your Life!
[Go with the grace of the Son of G.O.D.]
P.S.: If you'll excuse me, I have cars to vacuum and a nursery door to hang, and then I get to relax for just a smidge.
No, I'm not just posting because this is the first Monday of September. It's actually a pun.
This evening, at 5:00 pm, Renaissance Physicians' Birthing Center will induce Gail. So, within the next 24 hours, you all will bear witness to the second coming.
Cameron Michael Ford, come on down! You're the next contestant on
[Go with the grace of the Son of G.O.D.]
P.S.: If you'll excuse me, I have cars to vacuum and a nursery door to hang, and then I get to relax for just a smidge.
anxiousJuly 21st, 2008
It looks like we'll be going to the greater St. Louis area after all. August 2.
[Go with the grace of the son of G.O.D.]
[Go with the grace of the son of G.O.D.]
confusedJuly 17th, 2008
I think I've recovered enough from this past weekend to write the journal entry.
First Off:
Thanks to![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2)
jwrench for taking the cards off my hands. You'd forgotten just how many there were, hadn't you?
Apologies toparadoxlight and kayoteelsewhere for not paying either of you a visit. There just wasn't enough hours in the day.
I was sad when neitherlateniteramen nor aabassplayer showed up, but I understand. Work, life, etc. Happens to me all the time.
----
This past weekend taught me a good lesson, though. I have learned why my dear wife,sgt_sassypants, doesn't like to socialize very often:
As soon as I got to Mattoon on Friday, I was off again, meetingjwrench to exchange Legend of the Five Rings cards (oh... about 100,000 of them) and feast on a buffet of Chinese. As soon as that was done, I was back in the car and getting back to Mattoon - one hour late for the official start of the baby shower festivities.
Immediately after the six hour baby shower open house, we held a small birthday party for one of Gail's younger cousins ... and chased an almost-two-year old around for the better part of the day. After dropping by Wal-Mart to see if we could find anything of baby-related interest there, Gail and I were exhausted, so we crashed pretty hard.
Of course, there was a little league tournament in-town, so despite the nearly constant thunderstorms outside, there was plenty of thunder rolling across the ceiling in our hotel room. In fact, when I called to get them to keep it down, I heard a worried voice in the background say "Is that the manager?" Apparently, all the 'chaperones' were too busy enjoying liquor and ciggies to keep an eye on the kids, who were left free to romp. They were one phone call away, so I learned later, from being asked to leave. They'd better be glad I called them directly instead of going through the front desk.
The next morning, we were all up in time to beat "the old biddies" to the big round table at Mattoon's Cracker Barrel. This is a story unto itself: my father-in-law had been snubbed the week before by the old women saying "I'm sure glad we got the big table!" several times, so he decided he was going to get them back. Apparently, they looked very lost and confused when they came in that Saturday morning only to find he had their table. As an often-willing co-conspirator to my father-in-law's crimes, as some of the old women filed out, I said, "Thanks for getting us the big table, Dad!" loud enough to be clearly heard, to which he also loudly replied, "You're welcome, son. Glad to do it!" Brilliant.
After breakfast, we shopped for a little bit in Cracker Barrel, but the ladies weren't done shopping, so we went to the mall. I can't really complain: we found a lot of great deals on baby clothes, and I even scored me three new loud shirts!
Leaving the mall faced us with the prospect of going to the family reunion Gail's mom's family was hosting in Paris. After all that had happened yesterday alone, I had begun to realize why Gail hates it when I shove too many people and too much activity at her all at once. Thankfully, we were told over lunch that we weren't required to come, so Gail and Jeri went back to the hotel to take naps, and I went to hang out with Gail's sister, Amber, and brother-in-law, Matt. Actually, mostly Matt, since he and I had begun to play Mancala and Cribbage. As a result, I finally won my first game of Cribbage! Go me!
After resting a bit,gretel2381 and darksyde78 came down. That was awesome. We ended up playing a game Gail's sister had called "Dirty Minds," in which players are read dirty-sounding clues about completely innocuous objects. My favorite one was the Coffin, but DAMN some of those were crude.
Speaking of crude, after "Dirty Minds," I taught Amber and Matt how to play Blank White Cards, and we played a baby-themed night. True to form, I came up with the most despicable "I'm going to hell for this" card possible, which, really, ought to make me the winner. But, as it was, I believe Gail won for having the most stuff on her card, and Amber won on the grounds that once she got into the game, she definitely had the most creative ideas. ... Personally, I think people just enjoyed watching me have to skip to the kitchen and back with a Barq's Root Beer, but I could be wrong.
We got a lot of good presents, for which we are going to have to update all our baby registries in fairly short order. Thanks to all who came or thought of us!
[EDIT (7/17/08 8:24pm)]: Due to extenuating circumstances, the August baby shower will most likely be postponed. Stay tuned for further updates as they occur!
[Go with the grace of G.O.D.]
First Off:
Thanks to
jwrench for taking the cards off my hands. You'd forgotten just how many there were, hadn't you?Apologies to
paradoxlight and kayoteelsewhere for not paying either of you a visit. There just wasn't enough hours in the day.I was sad when neither
lateniteramen nor aabassplayer showed up, but I understand. Work, life, etc. Happens to me all the time.----
This past weekend taught me a good lesson, though. I have learned why my dear wife,
sgt_sassypants, doesn't like to socialize very often:As soon as I got to Mattoon on Friday, I was off again, meeting
jwrench to exchange Legend of the Five Rings cards (oh... about 100,000 of them) and feast on a buffet of Chinese. As soon as that was done, I was back in the car and getting back to Mattoon - one hour late for the official start of the baby shower festivities.Immediately after the six hour baby shower open house, we held a small birthday party for one of Gail's younger cousins ... and chased an almost-two-year old around for the better part of the day. After dropping by Wal-Mart to see if we could find anything of baby-related interest there, Gail and I were exhausted, so we crashed pretty hard.
Of course, there was a little league tournament in-town, so despite the nearly constant thunderstorms outside, there was plenty of thunder rolling across the ceiling in our hotel room. In fact, when I called to get them to keep it down, I heard a worried voice in the background say "Is that the manager?" Apparently, all the 'chaperones' were too busy enjoying liquor and ciggies to keep an eye on the kids, who were left free to romp. They were one phone call away, so I learned later, from being asked to leave. They'd better be glad I called them directly instead of going through the front desk.
The next morning, we were all up in time to beat "the old biddies" to the big round table at Mattoon's Cracker Barrel. This is a story unto itself: my father-in-law had been snubbed the week before by the old women saying "I'm sure glad we got the big table!" several times, so he decided he was going to get them back. Apparently, they looked very lost and confused when they came in that Saturday morning only to find he had their table. As an often-willing co-conspirator to my father-in-law's crimes, as some of the old women filed out, I said, "Thanks for getting us the big table, Dad!" loud enough to be clearly heard, to which he also loudly replied, "You're welcome, son. Glad to do it!" Brilliant.
After breakfast, we shopped for a little bit in Cracker Barrel, but the ladies weren't done shopping, so we went to the mall. I can't really complain: we found a lot of great deals on baby clothes, and I even scored me three new loud shirts!
Leaving the mall faced us with the prospect of going to the family reunion Gail's mom's family was hosting in Paris. After all that had happened yesterday alone, I had begun to realize why Gail hates it when I shove too many people and too much activity at her all at once. Thankfully, we were told over lunch that we weren't required to come, so Gail and Jeri went back to the hotel to take naps, and I went to hang out with Gail's sister, Amber, and brother-in-law, Matt. Actually, mostly Matt, since he and I had begun to play Mancala and Cribbage. As a result, I finally won my first game of Cribbage! Go me!
After resting a bit,
gretel2381 and darksyde78 came down. That was awesome. We ended up playing a game Gail's sister had called "Dirty Minds," in which players are read dirty-sounding clues about completely innocuous objects. My favorite one was the Coffin, but DAMN some of those were crude.Speaking of crude, after "Dirty Minds," I taught Amber and Matt how to play Blank White Cards, and we played a baby-themed night. True to form, I came up with the most despicable "I'm going to hell for this" card possible, which, really, ought to make me the winner. But, as it was, I believe Gail won for having the most stuff on her card, and Amber won on the grounds that once she got into the game, she definitely had the most creative ideas. ... Personally, I think people just enjoyed watching me have to skip to the kitchen and back with a Barq's Root Beer, but I could be wrong.
We got a lot of good presents, for which we are going to have to update all our baby registries in fairly short order. Thanks to all who came or thought of us!
[Go with the grace of G.O.D.]
June 29th, 2008
Much has happened since I last updated.
We went to lunch this Saturday withtoriforte, her beau, and her family. It was great fun, and we've realized we miss seeing her (she used to be local-ish, for crying out loud!), so we've decided that (at some point ... don't hold your breath) we'll have to come out to Arizona to see KOL people who live there.
We also received the first package in the mail addressed to Cameron!sprightlyinside and her man sent us the Burt's Bees Mom & Baby TLC Gift Set. Gail was so touched when she opened it, too. Luckily, I get to keep the awesome Burt's Bees keychain which was included with the gift basket. GO ME!
We've also put up all the border in the baby's room and almost assembled all the furniture. I say "almost," because we accidentally got the same side of the baby's cabinet twice. So, until they are open (stupid business hours businesses with no answering machines), we are without necessary parts to assemble the last piece to complete the nursery.
Otherwise, the house is really coming together nicely, and Gail and I have enjoyed every minute of it! Special thanks to all the people who have and continue to help this little miracle of ours along: in prayers, in support, in donations, or in just listening to the parents vent/cheer. You don't know how grateful we are for you all.
[Go with the grace of the son of G.O.D.!]
P.S.: If you haven't put in a baby guess for date and weight, then shame on you! Post it here!
We went to lunch this Saturday with
toriforte, her beau, and her family. It was great fun, and we've realized we miss seeing her (she used to be local-ish, for crying out loud!), so we've decided that (at some point ... don't hold your breath) we'll have to come out to Arizona to see KOL people who live there.We also received the first package in the mail addressed to Cameron!
sprightlyinside and her man sent us the Burt's Bees Mom & Baby TLC Gift Set. Gail was so touched when she opened it, too. Luckily, I get to keep the awesome Burt's Bees keychain which was included with the gift basket. GO ME!We've also put up all the border in the baby's room and almost assembled all the furniture. I say "almost," because we accidentally got the same side of the baby's cabinet twice. So, until they are open (stupid business hours businesses with no answering machines), we are without necessary parts to assemble the last piece to complete the nursery.
Otherwise, the house is really coming together nicely, and Gail and I have enjoyed every minute of it! Special thanks to all the people who have and continue to help this little miracle of ours along: in prayers, in support, in donations, or in just listening to the parents vent/cheer. You don't know how grateful we are for you all.
[Go with the grace of the son of G.O.D.!]
P.S.: If you haven't put in a baby guess for date and weight, then shame on you! Post it here!
June 24th, 2008
Here's the link to our baby registry.
Also, if you are going to be in or around the Mattoon, Illinois area, please let me know, and I can give you a more specific time/place for the baby shower, pending permission from the mother-in-law, who was gracious enough to plan the whole event.
Also, if you're a guy, I'll be most likely heading out from Mattoon to somewhere along the I-57 corridor ... possibly Champaign-esque. If people have requests to meet up or travel with me, please also let me know, as seating in the "Big Bitch" is limited.
[Go with the grace of too many damn "a href" links.]
Also, if you are going to be in or around the Mattoon, Illinois area, please let me know, and I can give you a more specific time/place for the baby shower, pending permission from the mother-in-law, who was gracious enough to plan the whole event.
Also, if you're a guy, I'll be most likely heading out from Mattoon to somewhere along the I-57 corridor ... possibly Champaign-esque. If people have requests to meet up or travel with me, please also let me know, as seating in the "Big Bitch" is limited.
[Go with the grace of too many damn "a href" links.]
