Grandma Suzanne and Baby Luke Photoshoot

 

I took these photos of Mom and Luke today as a celebration of her visit and to commemorate week one of Luke's life :)  It was fun to photograph my beautiful mother and my beautiful new son.   Some things become more poignant when viewed through the simplicity of the camera's lens.  What I saw today was the glow of a true mother. 
Naturally, the events of the past week have gotten me thinking about a mother's perspective on life.  It's impossible to become a parent without developing a profound sense of gratitude for your own parents, knowing, as you have never truly known before, how much they love you.  Having Luke, I have pictured how it must have been when my mother did the same for me.  And here she is still, being my mother and my guide as I become a mother myself. 
Thank you, mom for being here with me, making all these changes a little less mysterious and a lot less distressing.  Talmage and I both agree that this would have been a heavy load without you, but having you with us has lifted the burden and magnified the joy.
I love you, mom (and dad too!) and I think Luke will cherish these photos as I do. -Johanna

How's Work?

     Sometimes people ask me, "What does your husband do for work?" and I'm kind of uncertain how to answer. Northrop-Grumman has multiple sites with armed guards, security clearance badges, codes to get into locked rooms, information given on a need-to-know basis, etc. So I've sometimes been to the streets NEAR Northrop to pick him up on the way to LA temple, but in order to see Jared at work, I've basically been a visitor for a couple of designated Bring Your Family To Work days.

     "Um, he works on networks and information systems, and stuff like that."
      "Oh, so he's an Engineer, then. "
      "No, he's not an engineer. His degrees are in business administration and project management so he organizes people and events, and tracks what engineers do."
      Uncomprehending silence.
      "He, uh, he's a Project Manager at Northrop. So, you know he, um, manages projects. Like, a couple of times I heard how his group outfitted the corporate jets with communication technology--that sounded really cool . . ."

But today, the fog cleared for me when I received this important email update on a recent project Jared was leading.

      This photo was sent from "the inside". I'm not sure what sacrifices were made to bring this information to light. Word on the street is that this particular defense company event may have directly sustained more than 50 civilians.

Comfort Objects

     Johanna wonders what Luke will choose for a comfort object. For example, how about this wee bunny from Natalie? Companionable, gently warm to snuggle up with, soothing binky-in-hand, totally dedicated to Luke and none other--now that's a great comfort object! Perfectly logical choice, but still no guarantee of becoming chosen.  

Luke loves to have his hands up near his face.

     Anna needs her  "B", her blanket, and sucks her thumb. Scott likes that stuff, but seems quite a bit less dedicated to it. Though Bethany and Isaac each take their "Lovey", a soft and snuggly mini-blanket-type stuffed animal to bed, I suspect their true comfort object is each other. And I don't know what Sabrina, Olivia, and Jacob take to bed, unless it's the fact that Brian and Candice wrap them warmly in The Comforter with bedtime stories and testimonies of the gospel. That part of their bedtime routine becomes particularly indispensable, Sabrina has taught me, the later the hour.

     So Luke's got me thinking this morning. Do I have a comfort object at age 56? Seems likely.  Is it merely luck-of-the-draw that I chose it, or repetition that made it stick, or easy access that keeps me reaching for it? Is it something all-encompassing like The Gospel, or something sensual like music, or maybe a bit more tangible like food or the flow of warm water that I want?

     In the hospital the day after Luke was born, Talmage and Johanna and I were watching "Life As We Know It". Holly insists that it is important for Sophie to learn to be self-soothing when fussy; Holly read it in a book that this was necessary and she wanted to do this mothering job right. Messer looks at her incredulously, and waits it out. But then after a series of fruitless events, an ineffective and frustrated Holly gives up on the goal of teaching Sophie to self-soothe.

     Yeah, I say forget that! I think I mostly want the opposite of self-soothing. And I want it tangible. For example, warm water is fantastic for all kinds of reasons--cleansing, relaxing, relieves pain, renews my outlook.

Therefore, my new shower with seven (crazy, I know) spray nozzles of varying types is perfect for me, and I'm pretty sure I designed it as a comfort object. Then again, the example of comfort food, is a classic. And Sabrina is absolutely right, that it's no comfort to set aside scriptures and prayers.

     But here's the thing: my shower is so much better with Jared in it, and any food is more fulfilling when it's about the company I'm in. Even the new and everlasting covenant is only made complete with a companion. So that wee bunny holding onto Luke's binky is actually "that good part",  and after being away from home this week I really do miss my very own Honey bunny.

Coming Home

Dressed for departure from the hospital, they were both so beautiful to me.

 Andi made a fun surprise to greet Johanna, Talmage, and Luke when they drove up.

On this perfect Spring evening, Talmage led them across the threshold into Luke's new home.

Grandpa Ron met them at the door for a glimpse before they settled in to their apartment downstairs.

Johanna's nest was feathered and ready to receive her new little boy, and it felt wonderful.

Talmage got down to business right away.

Then Luke snuggled in the rocker with his dear mama, all settled in his first earthly home.

Daily Exercise

  

Here for Grandson #4

     Whatever your views may be on house guests and mothers-in-law, I'm lovin' it! Welcomed like a visiting dignitary by the extended family, I'm visiting for two weeks to "be there" when Luke comes to his home on Earth.

     Could you do this without tears of joy? I certainly can't. Throat tightening, brow creasing, mouth quivering, eyes brightening with tears I just can't hold in check, I think of a few lines from Wordsworth's Ode:Intimations of Immortality and know that at least in this, the Spirit touched the poet:

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,         Hath had elsewhere its setting,           And cometh from afar: Not in entire forgetfulness,

And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home:

Heaven lies about us in our infancy