May 5, 2002

As I type, my son lies in my arm, slowing down the whole typing process. Yes, I did say son. I have to admit, he really is the cutest thing in the entire world. And yes, I am a little biased, and attached.

Ok, I have put him down. This thing would never get typed, otherwise. I love spending time with this guy. Elijah Matthew Rutherford was born on April 25, 2002 at 2:40. Elijah was 7 pounds 3 ounces and measured 19 1/4 inches long. His mother was induced that morning and it's a good thing. Neither she nor I believe she could have kept him inside another day, much less 8 days till he was due. Due to some complications, Elijah was vacuumed out. For the first couple days, his head was bruised and cone-shaped. Now, he is almost healed from the process, and his mom is still healing from her ordeal. Lots of family have already come to visit and meet the little guy, and several more are expected.

Mom and Dad are tired, as one might imagine. I mean, he eats every two to six hours. Yup. No sleep, just like they said it would be. Believe it or not, his dad enjoys changing his diapers. We get to spend some good time together. I also like holding him on my chest where he snuggles. He knows his daddy.

Kari had a fairly normal pregnancy, with only a couple scares when her blood pressure rose, but thankfully, it decreased again. Kari eventually gained weight, but now that Elijah is out, she is almost back to normal. Can't exercise yet, according to doctor orders. She still has to heal and stuff.

Let's see. Any other news? I'm sure there is. My brother Jonathan got called on a mission to the Ukraine, but while in the MTC, the calling got changed to Georgia. I guess they need him there more. At least he got a little Russian learned in his time at the MTC. Kari's brother Christian is just about ready to head to Korea, where he will probably lose more weight. Almost everyone gains wieght in the MTC, except him. Ah, well. He and Jon have seen each other there and supposedly, there will be pictures forthcoming.

My job stinks. *sigh* I'm tired of public behavioral health. It is run poorly, loses money, nobody seems to care, the clients don't get the care they need/deserve, and instead, they either are babied or ignored (depending on the case manager). Unless you have money, behavioral health care is a joke, I guess. People have been leaving in droves from my site, including our site director. I'm getting used to the fact that this just happens in periodic waves. Ah, well. I am only going to be there a while longer.

I was not accepted into grad school. I'll admit that I was not expecting to be. Don't know, it just didn't feel like it would happen. I still tried my best. Probably need a lot more research experience. I'll work on that once I move. Yup, we have decided to move to Utah, to live near Kari's family. They feel they deserve time near us. Well, of course, now my parents are sad that their first Rutherford grandbaby is moving far away. So, they should move, too. Truth is, I've had enough of Arizona. I need to live elsewhere for . . . a long time so I can appreciate Arizona again. And it felt like the right thing to do. I had no idea why I was moving to Tucson back in August of 1997. This web page, in various forms, has existed nearly that long (November 1997). Most of the early memories of Tucson will always be stained by bad roommates. However, I met my future wife and had my first child here, so it is not all bad. The Rutherfords plan on moving at the end of June. I'm serious when I say I'm trying to get my family to move up there with us, or at least get Karyn to go to school up there or something. We shall see.

One thing I would be neglectful to mention is Debbie and Gary, who had Alexis Mariam Griffin (pardon me if the spelling is off) two days after Elijah was born. These two cousins were due two weeks apart. Alexis was late and Elijah was early. Can't tell yet if they were in competition to come into the world first, but the best looks award will easily go to Elijah (ok, I can't help it, I'm biased). Actually, Debbie and I agreed that Elijah takes the cutest male baby and Alexis the cutest female baby. I can live with that.

Right now, Kari's mom is staying with us. Her father and sister Kerstin were also here for a few days. Last but not least, Elijah's great aunt and great grandmother were also visiting. All this company is wearing out Mom and Dad, but we are pleased with all the help we have been given.