Ultrasound

This morning I had the privilege of accompanying my bride to an ultrasound appointment. Yes, in early January we will be expecting our sixth child.

I was just about to write about the fact that no matter how many I see, it always becomes real for me when I see the little fingers moving around. Then I thought to myself that I might have written something like that. Here’s what I posted on September 22, 2008, when we saw Miriam for the first time:

Today we got to see ultrasound images of our littlest one. We’ve seen plenty of ultrasound pictures, but seeing those little arms and feet moving around never gets old. It always amazes me to see four chambers of the heart and a cross section of this or that, or to measure the skull or abdomen. But what always gets me are the little fingers and toes.

The remarkable thing is that it gets me every time, but the reason that it does (I think) is because each new child is a new child. Yes, they have so many similarities and they do so many of the same things. But the thing that gets me about the whole things is just how different and unique they all are. Nearly every day I marvel at some unique trait of one of the kids. And that uniqueness starts now. This baby at 18 weeks is not same as any of the others.

Seeing a new baby squirming around in the womb brings home to me the reality that—God-willing—I will now have the opportunity to get to know a brand new member of our family. It reminds me that my vocation as father just got bigger. It reminds me that God has heaped upon me and my family yet another blessing from his gracious hand.