I’m in Boston for the birth of my first grandchild — 4:41 a.m. ET, 19 inches long, 7 lbs. 8 oz. And he shows great test-taking aptitude, having scored 9 on his Apgar.
The baby is fine but decided to be born facing the wrong way, resulting in a very difficult delivery for Erin. She’ll need some recovery time, but is otherwise okay.
I was unceremoniously ushered out of the room when the birthing process began in earnest and so haven’t been able to meet my new grandson yet.
My third son, Tyler, is about to graduate with a degree in chemical engineering. He’s heading to Texas A&M to work on a doctorate. LSU has already offered him a faculty position once he gets his Ph.D.!
He is engaged to be married in June, which will make for a hectic summer — with a cross-country move, honeymoon, and all.
For you gaming fans, my youngest, Philip, a student at UA, has posted a mod to Minecraft. A review of his mod has already received more than 2,000,000 hits! (Unless you’re into gaming, this won’t make much sense.)
(Apologies for the profanity from the reviewers.)
Meanwhile, my oldest, Chris, is working hard with his church planting team at Quincy for Christ — Quincy for Christ.
As for me, well, I’ve not passed a kidney stone in a month — which is a very nice change of pace (Thanks for the prayers. They’re working!) But now I’m struggling with back pain — a highly inflamed SI joint.
I actually had the back problem before the stones. But the brain can only process one serious pain at a time, meaning the back was no problem during the hospital stays for kidney stones — but passing kidney stones is not really the recommended way to deal with back problems!
I’ve lost 22 pounds and am doing physical therapy, with little relief. But I think it’s the right course — I just need to lose more weight and keep on exercising.
In short, despite the back problems, it’s been an exciting time around the Guin household.
Congratulations grandpa!!!
Congratulations, Jay.
Few people know what a SI joint is–only those close to someone who has had the pain! Physical therapy with stretching and muscle massage stopped my pain along with knee surgery to remove bone spurs that were preventing my leg from straightening out causing my legs to be different lengths. Chiropractic care also sped up the recovery. Ice packs lessened the pain. I have learned not to stop the stretches. So sorry that you had to learn about the SI joint.
Congrats on all the lovely family news and blessings from God. Looks like Auburn got overlooked in the news…as I think I remember you mentioning it in a previous post that Tyler went to the enemy camp for his undergrad. Seems AU did okay by Tyler and he is obviously a crazy talented kid that will proud to call him an alum. So War Eagle Tyler!
I didn’t realize your association with the work in Quincy. My sister Krista and her husband Adam are a part of that work. Oh and the link you gave to the site is wrong or no longer valid. I got some Japanese site.
Thanks for all your writings.
Congratulations!
There’s no joy quite like being a grandfather!
Congrats.
Congratulations of the birth of your first grandchild. Our youngest, Jenn, is graduating Monday at AU too with her degree in Chem E. Maybe we’ll see you if y’all are going to the Chem E reception Monday afternoon!!
Congratukations!
So what’s your grand dad name? If you have something dignified in mind, you better put it out there.
How ’bout Papa Jay.
Congratulations, Jay! Good thing you had that boy take that Apgar-prep course; it paid off!
Congrats, Jay! Two huge additions to the family:
First grand child,
and of almost as much importance …
the first Aggie!
If Tyler’s a COC guy, he’ll probably end up at A&M COC. If so, I look forward to meeting him. I’m sure he’ll have lots of questions about this wonderfully weird world that we call Aggieland.
Gig ’em, Gramps!
(snicker)…an Alabama fan in College Station. He might wanna keep his allegiances to himself.
What is this, Chem E Week? My daughter also graduates this month, from Texas Tech, with a 3.99 in Chem E. Who says America can’t compete?
And if I can be a Longhorn who has not one, but two Red Raider offspring, y’all can tolerate some academic cross-breeding as well. Shucks, A&M is just like Alabama, except the girls aren’t as pretty. 😉
Congratulations! Nothing like it.
Charles my firstborn is at Tech. Should graduate December 13. Long way from Ole Virginia.
“Academic cross-breeding?” LOL. That’s a good one, Charles. I’ll have to remember that term. Congratulations on your daughter’s achievement. It’s amazing to me to see so many girls tackle, and excel, in these harder majors once reserved almost exclusively to males.
Guns up, Todd. One more semester, and you get to make the road trip to scenic Lubbock!
And thanks, Rachel. Becca says one part of this is my fault. I forgot to tell her Chem E was a “guy subject”, so she went ahead and killed it. In a skirt. Oxy Petroleum recruited and hired her before her senior year. I hear a lot of college kids complaining about a dearth of jobs, but in tough disciplines like this, employers are standing in line with buckets of money for people who make the grade. We just need to keep encouraging our kids to take the hard stuff at school. It’s hard, hard work– and it pays off.
Nancy,
The choice of Grandpa name is the favorite topic of discussion in the hospital room. So far, no decision.
Yes, AB, Tyler is graduating from Alabama’s land-grant university — making the move to Texas A&M quite natural. They even suffer the same jokes. And he is, of course, thrilled that A&M has joined the big-boy football league: SEC! He’s been calling friends to get the down-low on the Texas/A&M rivalry.
Congratulations, Jay! That’s a lot to be thankful for.
I’m assuming that his parents will read the Bible to him (it’s never too early to start on the kiddie paraphrases) and you’ll give him the heavy stuff: Ray Vander Lann, N.T. Wright, Alexander Campbell… 🙂
Congratulations Jay. As Alan said there’s nothing quite like being a grandfather. I have 4 with #5 on the way. They are a blessing. Enjoy!