6 Month Reflections

Today Benjamin is half-way through his first trip around the sun. That's about 180 days more than I expected during those first few hours after he came into the world. Every one of those days has been a gift from God; though I have often forgotten to acknowledge it. Here are a few things I've been thinking about now that Ben has made it this far.

Ben's first five months have been the hardest five months of my entire life up to this point (followed closely by our time in Abilene). At times it felt like God had given Satan permission to beat our marriage with a shovel. Having a child with health problems put stress on our marriage that I was totally unprepared for. I know that your prayers helped us through those days, and the last three or four weeks really have been much better.

Ouma Kay is an incredible person. Her care for Ben, Adrienne, and me has been tremendous and has lightened our load considerably. What a blessing to have grandparents close by.

My faults seem magnified when compared with Ben's innocence. I desperately want him to succeed where I have failed and be so much more than I am. I want to teach him that the only way that can happen is by putting everyone else above yourself and following Christ with all your heart. May my example never be a stumbling block as Ben learns to follow God.

Anyway, here are a few more photos for your viewing pleasure:

Benjamin carries on his father's tradition of being just a bit awkward around the ladies. I suppose direct eye contact is something we'll be working on during his seventh month. He's probably feeling a little pressure after Shane "The Matchmaker" Coffman announced Ben's upcoming marriage to Olivia in front of the entire congregation the Sunday after she was born.

This is one of those pictures I've really been wanting since Ben was born - four generations of firstborn Gatewoods. Great-grandpa was in town with us this weekend to celebrate his 87th birthday.

And finally, this is a picture of our first top-secret campaign strategy meeting. Ben did most of the talking and decided the voter apathy that was apparent from our poll earlier in the week is a sign that the country may just be indifferent enough to allow a 6 month old and a cat to run the whole show. He already has uncle Hal working on the official campaign T-shirt.

Thanks for your love and prayers over these past six months,
Whit, Adrienne, and El Presidente

Campaign 08

After surveying the current field of candidates and finding them lacking, Benjamin has decided to form an exploratory committee to assess his chances of becoming president in 2008. His platform of mandatory siestas, "a bottle in every pot", and aggressive tort reform just might put him over the top. To help us out, please select who you would vote for if the 2008 election were held today.

Clinton
McCain
Obama
Giuliani
Sajak/White
Ben/Gordo

If Ben's campaign falls apart, my second choice will probably be Huckabee. He meets my seven criteria for president. He openly confesses faith in Jesus Christ, is anti-abortion (the number of babies aborted in the U.S. in the past week is higher than the number of U.S. soldiers lost during four years of war in Iraq), doesn't believe we came from monkeys, wants to abolish the IRS, plays the bass guitar, pronounces nuclear with only one 'oo', and has a sense of humor. Take a look.



This message brought to you by the Ben/Gordo 08 exploratory committee.

Flushed

If you're wondering where the blog entries have been over the last month, they have all been flushed down the toilet for being boring and whiny. Theresa and Shane have both been talking about blogworthiness recently, and let's just say you should be glad I've had a bad case of blogstipation. Thankfully, Father's Day has been the metaphorical prune juice that this blog has needed. Let's all hope it doesn't lead to the dreaded blogorhea that Shane has warned us about.

And now for some pictures of the boy who put the fun back in fundoplication (special thanks to Little Mrs. Pinkie for several of the photos):

There comes a time in the life of a man where he must decide where he stands on one of the most important philosophical questions of our time: "To comb over or not to comb over?" Due to Ben's early onset hair loss, he has been forced to answer this question after only five months in this cruel world. Much to my dismay, he has chosen in favor of the comb over. I don't have the heart to tell him how silly it looks, but maybe the puzzled glances of some his peers like Will, Sam, and Olivia will bring him to his senses.

Next up, we have Ben with Ouma and Grandma. To defray some of Ben's medical costs, we're going to have him do some part-time trach modeling. I think we'd all buy a trach if this picture were on the box. "Trachs - when one nose just isn't enough."

My handsome boy and beautiful girl.
Just when you thought the Claw was vanquished, his evil twin strikes unexpectedly. It's anyone's guess what happens now; all I know is that the ectoplasm is flowing freely and no one is safe.
It has been a very good first Father's Day, and I hope to be back here again sooner rather than later.

Whit, Adrienne, and Benjamin

Benku

Blogging a struggle
Mired in an endless funk
Haiku to rescue

Baby gains slowly
Feeding child constantly
Bottom three percent

Tissue grows around
trach, needs to go soon, minor
surgery June 1st

Gurgling as he eats
Swallow study upcoming
Surgery once more?

Baby needs prune juice
Dirty diapers rare; when seen
Wife does dance of joy

Rejoice always, pray
without ceasing, in all give
thanks, I am failing

Ben loves powered swing
Cheesy music pacifies
Dad happy and sad

When I come home, Ben
smiles at me; could there be
anything better?

Haiku just for fun
Stop counting the syllables
Admit it, you were

Join the Club

My in-laws are no longer certified Maine-iacs. This past Thursday Noel and Kay closed on a home a mere mile and a half down the road from us. Who would have guessed that Ben's oupa (pronounced o pa) would end up being an Okie living in Bixby? My dad, not wanting to be left out of the exotic foreign nickname club, has recently styled himself as faux pas. If you see him around, you can make his day by calling him this, but don't be surprised if my mom just shakes her head when she hears the beautiful "language of love" butchered once again for comedic purposes.