All posts by josh

In praise of a good wife

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Almost two weeks ago we left our home in Spartanburg to begin the long trek to Cambodia. At every turn in the road (and sky!) I’ve rejoiced in my wife. She organized and carried out our packing, no small feat — indeed, one I shuddered at. She made sure the kids enjoyed their last days in America, and she prepared them for the transition. She bought and wrapped a pile of presents to entertain the kids on the plan. She helped me organize my final three weeks in America, probably the most productive weeks in my life! Above all, she encouraged me in our preparations to keep my eyes fixed on Christ and on the calling He has given us.

Then it was departure day. I had set my alarm for 4:15 am ET, but Amy was up at 3:45 or before to feed Anna. We got to bed around 1:30 pm ET the next day, more than 33 hours later. During that time, Amy had maybe an hour of sleep. Most of the time, she was holding Anna, and for a large portion of three flights, she was interacting with Becca or Isaiah, or both. For the last week, we’ve had a good schedule of sleeping at night, but Anna still needs regular feedings, so Amy’s sleep meter is still low. But she keeps going, keeps taking care of us all, keeps loving us.

This morning we all went to church together (an international church), and again I was in awe of my wife. She held Anna the whole service, while Anna cried much of the time. And it was very hot. And some of the time she had to help out Isaiah and Becca. All without complaining or being grouchy.

I thank God for Amy.

Happy Birthday, Amy!

A very happy birthday to the love of my life! (Becca was afraid she would forget what to say, so she asked me to make a little video ahead of time.)

Congratulations, Dr. Jensen

At 4:54pm ET, I heard from Amy that she successfully defended her dissertation! Amy’s completion is, first, a testimony to God’s grace: there were many points along the way that we prayed (often with wavering faith) about deadlines that seemed impossible to meet; and always, God gave Amy grace. And it’s a testament to Amy’s giftedness and persevering character.

You might think that now I get my wife back. But the truth is, I never lost her to the process. Ever since we got married, she’s been a wife first — when she was a teacher, when she became a mother, and all along while she was working on her doctorate. She’s been my constant companion, my best friend, and a remarkable manager of the home even during times of intense academic pressure. And she’s repeatedly told people that when she “gets those letters behind her name” (to quote our late friend, Mr. Leo West) she’ll still be a wife and mommy first of all. That makes me smile!

I rise up and call you blessed, my love (and someday Becca will, too). And I praise you: “Many women have done well, but you surpass them all.” The fruit of your hands speaks loud praise!

Josh & Amy, 2.0

Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary, RuthAmy! Thanks for two wonderful years of love, friendship, help, encouragement, and faithfulness. Thanks for being a great wife and a great mom. And, especially, thanks for continuing to be a great wife after becoming a mom!

I love you, and I’m still committed to the promises that I made 2 years ago (and I think I understand them a little better now):

Declaration of Intent

Joshua, wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness, and in health? And forsaking all other, keep thee only to her, so long as you both shall live?

Covenant of Marriage

I Joshua take thee RuthAmy to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, to love and to cherish as Christ doth the Church, till death us depart, according to God’s holy ordinance; I will live with thee according to knowledge, I will esteem thee better than myself, I will sanctify thee for the Great Day of Judgment: And to this end I pledge thee my faithfulness.

Exchange of Rings

With this ring I thee wed: with my being I thee honor: and with all my worldly goods I thee endow. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

29 Weeks for Rebecca

I recently caught a photo of Becca standing “on her own” next to the couch (with Daddy’s hand behind her, just in case). She can’t do it long — her head is still a bit too heavy relative to her neck strength, and she starts tipping.

And she can also “feed herself” from the bottle now. Not that the skill will come in handy much now that Mommy is home all day.

(Next week we’ll start back with the photo-filled posts.)

Cochran Music Program

Last post I mentioned the music program that Amy put on with her K-5 through 4th-grade students. Each grade level had their own song, and then at the end, everyone came on stage to sing “There is a state that we all know and Texas is it’s name-o . . . ”

The kids and their parents seemed to enjoy the evening, as I did. I’m proud of my wife: she’s a great teacher. And I’m also proud of her commitment to give up something she loves to stay home full-time for our child(ren). (The “ren” part is our ultimate plan, but not an announcement.)

Happy 6 Months, Rebecca Grace Jensen!

Today Becca celebrates her 6-month birthday, and tomorrow marks 26 weeks “on the outside.” It’s hard to believe Becca is already half a year old. We’re enjoying our little girl so much and are thankful for the ways the Lord protected her during her first months in the NICU. (This week we stopped by the NICU during the day shift — we made a visit a month ago during the night shift — and Becca brought smiles to everyone’s faces!)

Becca celebrated this morning by going with me to a meeting with my dissertation advisor and getting captured. An admin from an office across the hall — a grandmother, I think — came into my advisor’s office and held her hands out for Becca. So I handed her over. Without a word, she took Becca away! I went to check on Becca and found her hanging out with the ladies at the English Language Institute.

Last weekend we celebrated the end of my semester with a fabulous strawberry cake made by Amy and a meal at Kincaid’s Hamburgers, where we went last year for my birthday.

Also this weekend, Amy made 240 chocolate chip cookies for end-of-the-year parties for her 6 Monday classes (she won’t see them next week because of Memorial Day). This weekend she’ll be making cookies for the other 25 classes! Thankfully, a local grocer had a great Betty Crocker cookie mix on sale a couple weeks ago, so mixing the dough wasn’t quite as time consuming as last year. Like last year, Amy is again making popcorn at her parties, too.

Last night, Becca attended Amy’s music program at Cochran Elementary School. Amy’s kids were happy to finally meet  baby Becca. If you didn’t see them, earlier this week we posted some videos of Becca talking and playing.

Becca’s friend

Becca pets and talks to her sock monkey (both videos):

Chatting with Becca

Amy talks with Becca about her afternoon with Debbie, who was babysitting for a couple hours. (From April.)

Today is Becca’s (adjusted) 3-month birthday! (That is, if she’d been born on her due date, she’d be 3 months old today.)

Hodgepodge

On Friday I submitted a thoroughly revised dissertation proposal to my committee, in hopes of defending my proposal by semester’s end and officially starting on my dissertation in May. I haven’t posted for a while, so I’ll give a couple updates here.

First, some short clips of Becca over the last couple weeks:

Second, an update on books Amy and I have read together–mostly in little bits before bed–since our last report (almost a year ago):

  • C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength)
  • Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)
  • The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
  • Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis)
  • The Princess Bride (William Goldman) [yeah, it was a book before it was a movie!]
  • Worldliness (C.J. Mahaney)

We’re now working on Shepherding a Child’s Heart (Tripp) and Surprised by Joy (Lewis).

Third, we’ve started memorizing hymns (a New Year’s resolution)–all the stanzas! So far, we’ve memorized “Lord Enthroned in Heavenly Splendor,” “Be Still My Soul,” “Be Thou My Vision,” and “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.” Now we’re working on “Praise My Soul the King of Heaven.”

Well, it’s haircut time for me now. Check back later in the week for the photos.

Becca’s 1st Pediatrician’s Visit

Becca’s first visit with Dr. Wilfred Raine, her pediatrician, was originally scheduled for this Thursday. But because of some bloody stools Becca has had, the office moved her appointment up to this afternoon.

After looking closely at a couple diapers — one we brought in from an earlier changing, and one that Becca prepared for us in the waiting room — Dr. Raine determined it wasn’t an anal fissure producing most of the blood (though an examination revealed that she does indeed have one); there was too much blood, and it was too dark for that. Instead, he thinks it’s colitis, inflammation of the large intestine. He’s pretty certain that it’s being caused by an allergy to the cow-milk proteins in the formula that the NICU gave us to supplement Becca’s feedings. So he gave us lots of (samples of) a hypoallergenic formula. He expects the problem to clear up in about a week. Just in time for Becca’s next doctor’s visit!

Dr. Raine was highly recommended to us, and we really like him. (Today was the first day we’d met him, as well.) He spent a lot of time with us, and he’s committed to getting Becca off the formula and the monitor as soon as her progress justifies. He didn’t make a secret of his dislike for both the monitor and baby formula — but they’re necessary evils for now.

On an unrelated note, here’s a couple photos we took playing at my computer on Sunday.

Hopefully when Amy gets a chance, she’ll post some other photos — including Becca’s first piano lesson.

Rooming In

We got the call this morning, and tonight is the night. Sometime late this afternoon or early evening, we’ll go in to the hospital and spend the night taking care of our daughter in a private room (probably in postpartum). Before that happens, we will . . .

  • Fill Becca’s prescriptions at a local pharmacy
  • Stop at the local police station to have our car seat installation inspected for safety
  • Get training on the heart/apnea monitor that we’ll take Becca home on
  • Get training on giving Becca all her medications

If all goes well, we can bring Becca home tomorrow. If Becca decides she’s not quite ready (by doing really poorly at her feedings or having apnea events, I suppose), then she’d get some more time at the NICU and we’d try again later.

Thanks everyone for your prayers. We thank the Lord for bringing Becca to this point, and we’re excited about the major life changes that start this afternoon!

My amazing famous wife

On a Saturday in late December, I happened to be out and about while NPR’s Car Talk with Click and Clack was on, and I was intrigued by the weekly puzzler, which involved re-arranging matchsticks to get a particular sum. So when I got home, I laid out the problem for Amy, and she got it right away. I submitted her answer and then forgot about it. I haven’t listened to Car Talk since.

So today, one of my former students emails to ask if “Amy Jensen of Arlington Texas” is my wife. Because apparently her (correct) answer won the puzzler! (I’m guessing that it was a re-run that he heard, since the winner should have been announced on the first episode in January.) Did anyone else hear this? Is it in fact true?

Of course, my wife is amazing for reasons mostly unrelated to her ability to solve puzzles. She works so hard; she’s a great cook; she helps keep me organized and motivated; she’s a remarkable encourager; she’s my best friend. And she’s a really good mom!

Update 2/2/2010: We have the audio clip! . . .

[audio:car-talk-clip.mp3|titles=Car Talk Names Amy Winner|artists=Click and Clack]