"hello big world."




Hey Z fans-
here are the latest pics from the front line. Due to many fan letters, we have taken some substantially better pics of his face.
Tricia is feeling better, but very tired, and Zion is tired too, but this little butterfly has emerged and can't help openign his eyes to have a look around

.

The nights are long as we all 3 learn how to do this whole family thing.

Wow! I just can't stop watching him. He is so amazing...



Oh! and Also-he has an added middle name: Zion Michael Ray. Many folks have been asking about his names, so here's the history-

Zion- (rhymes with "Bryan" "Flyin" or "Cryin")
Traditionally it means "dwelling place of The Most High"
In Hebrew:

צִיּוֹן "Height"

Today, "Zion" is often used metaphorically, to symbolize Jerusalem and the Promised Land where God dwells amongst his people(Heaven). Zion (tzion) is also an Aramaic (precursor to Hebrew) word meaning "pure".

Zion National Park in Utah is also the first place Tricia and I climbed together, in the fall of 1998.

Michael-
Zions Uncle Bryan Michael died 8 yrs ago and this seemed like a fitting way to keep both his and his Grandpa Gary Michaels name in the family. Michael is also said in scripture to be an arkangel in heaven. It is comforting knowing that Bryan is watching Zion from above as well.

Ray-
Tricia's grandpa Ray Earle died last year. My Grandpa Billy Ray died in 2001. His dad, and my great grandpa Ray Collins is luckily still with us, and we hope to go visit him next week to attempt a 5 generation picture (Zion is his first Great Great Grandkid). Too many Rays in our collective legacy to leave it out.

Day two in this big bad world and Zion is enjoying listening to a little Eva Cassidy.



Mamacita Joyce has some more pics here

It was a long night, but the dude refuses to cry...pretty chill.

Hey you Zion blog fans out there!

Daddy here, with a beautiful shot of Mom and Zion yesterday at Loose Park in KC shot by the ever talented and lovely Kelly Jackson.



and then...today!



Zion decided to come early and surprised us all!

He is doing great and so is Mom. She had a c-section surgery and is chillin now enjoying some good meds. The tally is -
feet=dads,
nose= grandpa gary,
skin= grandma,
hands= dads,
black curly hair= mom,
calm disposition=mom

Thanks for all the prayers, calls, gifts and good wishes.
Zion is looking forward to meeting you all!

-the dad

From Daddy:
Can I brag a little? Well how about a lot?

Today is special.

Tricia and I have been married five years today. Here is a shot from a month after we started dating in 1998. Silly kids.




For those that know my bumper sticker, you know that "God Is My Rock". I have now come to know that my wife is "My Rope"- that which has kept me connected to The Rock, safe from myself, and consequently my lifeline.

My amazing wife has put up with so much the last five years. She has accomplished many life goals, travelled and explored, invested much time into her friendships, and taken care of a husband who is messy, distracted, driven, and forgetful.

Did you know my wife teaches sunday school?
Did you know my wife has completed a body building competition?
Did you know my wife climbed her hardest climb ever when she was two months pregnant? Did you know my wife spends time daily praying for many of you reading this?
Did you know my wife designed our baby's room which looks FANTASTIC?
Did you know my wife worked her butt off 13 hrs a day up until yesterday?
Did you know my wife stood and greeted people at my gallery opening for four hours, even though her ankles were swollen and she was nine months pregnant?
Did you know I met my wife in high school and thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen?

I love you, Tricia.

37 Weeks!











Here is proof that the rest of me (okay, except the belly) has not yet morphed into an elephant. I'm actually feeling pretty good, aside from the incredibly tight, swollen feet. I'm sure that working 12 hour shifts, 3 days a week is mostly to blame. But, I have just 2 days of work left!
Then, it's vacation time! Right? Oh, just let me believe that for awhile...







Notice the new background? It's our sliding closet doors in Zion's room. They are humongous--from floor to ceiling!
Yep, I'm pretty excited that we have closet doors now.

Anyone have time to organize?
Believe it or not, these are pics of the room AFTER I put away gift bags, empty boxes, etc.

I thought I could just start with putting away all the gifts that I had collected in the crib.
Well, I had good intentions of putting things away on Sunday. However, just as I was getting started, I was standing in front of the crib and felt this tingling sensation in my feet. Then, my toes and ankles started to feel sort of numb and incredibly tight. Then, I looked down, and that's when I realized............

I was slowly (quickly?) being transformed into an elephant.

So, I'm just gonna sit in my rocker glider for now.

More baby shower photos. There were too many favorite pics to not post all of these!










Thank you Jeff, Alisha (and Carson!) for hosting such a fun and memorable baby shower for us!
Thank you also to all our friends who have celebrated with us and overwhelmed us with so many special gifts to help prepare us for life with baby Zion.




I loved watching Jeremy trying to figure out all these baby products. Here, I was trying to explain how all the baby bottle pieces go together. Of course, I don't really have any experience with this stuff either! Oh well. I guess we'll figure it out when we need to.




Jeremy's favorite onesie for Zion. If you can't tell from the picture, it's a Volkswagon bus. Reminds me of Jeremy's old bus. Thanks Sean and Kelly!

More pics with friends at the baby shower!
Me and Tecia with a great view of KC behind us.










Kelly and Ruth. So good to see you girls!








Hanging out with Rachel and Bit.

Last week.......
Jeff and Alisha Brower hosted a baby shower for us!
This is one of my favorite pics from the shower. This was taken from the roof of the Western Auto building in downtown KC.
It was a beautiful and fortuntately not-too-hot July evening.













The view of the city was awesome!








Alisha enjoying the fine cuisine.








I managed to snap a photo of Jeremy. I think the whole baby shower thing made him a little uncomfortable, so hanging out at the edge of a tall building helped him relax.

Good News! I had a dr's appt. today and sonogram and it looks like the fluid on Zion's right lung is starting to clear up!!! Thank you Lord! The sonographer said it is difficult to tell due to the fact that Zion gets bigger every week, but she said she is convinced it is improving.
Please keep praying for little Zion. The doctor had mentioned the possibility of having me deliver at a different hospital that has a higher level of nursery care. Hopefully, that will not be necessary, now that it looks like the fluid problem may be resolving.
I also had my pre-admission appt at the hospital where I plan to deliver. I purposely chose this particular hospital to deliver at because of their reputation and they do things so differently from the other hospital choices I was given, which is a good thing! It's crazy to realize that I'm just a few weeks away from holding Zion!

Okay, so I was planning to say more than I ended up saying in the last post, but the site was about to shut down for maintenance at 4:00PM, so I'm just now adding some thoughts.
How does it feel to be 30? Well, I don't feel any older. (I did wake up with legs and feet that resemble an elephant's.) I had never thought of the possibility that I could be 9 months prego and weigh more than I ever have before, on the day I reached 30. However, I'm happy to have such a great reason for it!
I'm satisfied that I have reached 30 and I really can't say that I have any regrets. I'm glad that Jeremy and I have had the first 5 years of our life together--as just the 2 of us. I have so many great memories of trips I've taken on my own AND with Jeremy. I have so many great memories of personal goals I've reached and of unforgettable times with friends. So, for me, 30 is a great celebration.
It is definitely a celebration of turning over a new leaf as I anticipate Zion's arrival. Sometimes I'm completely terrified of being responsible for this new little person! At the same time, I'm ready to take on the challenge. I'm confident that his presence in my life and Jeremy's will be the best experience of my 30th year of life.

36 WEEKS and 3 days...........











.........and 30 years old today. Yep, it's my birthday today.











And this is how I'm celebrating.

more fun pics of the art show. the clothing at Pidgeon is really fun and colorful. Wish I could have tried these great dresses on, but maybe next month?















The crowd at the show.

















Jeremy with his friend Dick, who bought the painting between them.

This past weekend, Jeremy had his first Kansas City art show.
It took place at Pidgeon, a new downtown shop (co-)owned by Jeremy's friend, Joe. I was so excited for Jeremy! The atmosphere was perfect for displaying all his most recent work.





Here, Jeremy is visiting with some of the first visitors to his gallery show. The show was this past Friday, July 7th. On the first Friday of every month, all the downtown art galleries and stores display local artist's works. The Pidgeon just opened about 2 weeks ago, so it not only attracted a large crowd to see Jeremy's work, but also the stores unique products.



Jeremy was the only artist featured in the store that night, which made it an even more exciting event for us!







.......more of Jeremy's work. The piece in the lower left corner was his featured work for the show. It was also advertised in The Pitch--a local newspaper--in their "things to do this weekend" issue.





This was my view of the store and art show during the majority of the night. The store has this great, comfy, lime green couch that I was more than relieved to relax in! My legs were unbelievably tight and swollen at the end of the night (cause I didn't sit as much as I should have been). Of course, my feet already look(ed) like big puffy marshmallows.

Week 35...



Last week, Zion had his first rock climb- up the 2,400 foot tall northwest face of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, California. No, I didn't go climbing. Daddy Jer carried Zions picture in his back pocket to this and another summit(in the background).



GO DADDY GO!!!!



















Here is Zion (and mom of course) swimming in Lake Lotawanna waiting for fourth of July fireworks.

Here we are , poolside on top of the Hyatt in downtown KC. Thank Browers!