Psalm 139

Heather started playing music for, and reading to Gabriel before he was born. Apparently, it was a useful endeavor. He first counted to nine a couple of weeks ago. He is working on his ABCs, but isn't consistent with that yet. We aren't going to rush him, but are going to let him be a kid while he can. Heather reads to him before bed every night, and he chooses his favorite books regularly. A couple of weeks ago, Gabriel impressed me. I pointed out every member in the Scooby Doo cast of characters, and he responded by naming them off correctly, not bad for being less than two years old at the time. He turned two years old this week. When people ask his age, I guess we can use years now, huh? No more of the “He’s 17 months old” chronological descriptions. I think that is so silly, when parents tell you that their kid is 29 months old. Gee, can you also tell me how old your child is, in weeks, days, and hours? Thanks.

I don’t think that Heather has started reading to our second child. It is a bit early yet, as we are guessing that Heather is nearing the end of the first trimester. In about two weeks, there will be an appointment with the ob-gyn, and then we will get a prediction based on the obvious evidence of the baby's development. This will be the first ultrasound. I have plenty of faith in Heather's doctor, as his assessment was accurate to the exact day with Gabriel’s birth. Still, I have heard that assessing the day precisely is an art as well as a science. I imagine that he will tell her that she is "somewhat pregnant" or "slightly pregnant" in his usual bedside manner.

But I digress from the topic at hand, the tradition of reading to our children, born and as yet unborn. I do believe that I am going to encourage Heather to read Psalm 139 to our unborn baby. It is fantastic and so hopeful. Check it out:

You formed my inmost being;

You knit me in my mother's womb.

Wonderfully You made me;

wonderful are Your works!
When I was being made in secret,

fashioned as in the depths of the earth,

Your eyes foresaw my actions;

my days were shaped

before even one of them came to be.

I wonder if Gabriel ever waved to God before he was born, or if our second child, as yet unborn, can feel God's loving embrace. Somehow, I have little doubt that that is true. One thing I do know is this: God smiled on us and blessed us, and later this year, we will be a family of four. More accurately, in some ways, we already are that blessed family of four, thanks to Him. As the song says, my God is an awesome God!