i can still cash in

Well, so its been a while. Those of you who are close to the Hayden's know that it has been a crazy couple of months for us, including the expansion of our family, bouts with terrible infections, extended hospital visits, graduating from seminary, and overall just plain old business. For those who may be reading from afar, both literally or figuratively, or following along from my family blog which I write and share with Shey my wife, or have no idea what I am talking about...check out the family blog...it is a looong story, with a lot of drama, and there is no need to rewrite everything here. I'll share a couple of things, but otherwise, for more details and lots of great pictures, check out our family blog.

First off, Shey and I are so thankful to have a new member of our family, Rowan Joshua Hayden, born on June 10, 2008. As of my previous post, I was giving my Master's Sermon on June 3. After preaching (and passing!) my master's sermon, I went home to Shey who was having severe back pain and spasms. After not sleeping, we called for an ambulance to take Shey to the hospital, upon which we would be staying in either Fauquier or UVA Hospital for the next 3 weeks. To make a long story short, Shey ended up having osteomyelitis, being the second or third reported case of osteomyelitis occurring in a pregnant woman that has been recorded. Not a great way to be special! Rowan was born at Fauquier Hospital, and then transferred to UVA, where he stayed for two weeks receiving various treatments for a variety of issues. Thankfully Rowan has had a full and great recovery and is home and doing well. Shey's recovery was quite a bit longer, but thankfully, she too is doing a lot better and we are all home together. I'm glossing over some of the most difficult times in my married life (and life as a whole) that tore my insides out at times, but maybe later I'll unpack more of that experience here, but right now, just the basics.

Shey is one of the most amazing people I know. For sure I am biased, but she is so much tougher than me. Shey is so strong, kind, and courageous, and I couldn't have been more proud of being married to anyone in my life. And Rowan, not only is he cute, but he's got the strong spirit of his mom, and he too is a fighter and so very strong. The family has expanded to include this new little man, and I couldn't be happier than to have them both in my life!

On another completely different note: the Hayden's have also bought their first Macbook (the first we both have had together, and the first we've each had since we were kids). In fact, this is my first post from the new black macbook we bought, and so far, I couldn't be happier with our new computer. We still have some learning curves but each day gets a little easier in learning how to use our new computer. If anyone has any good tips or advice on how to get to know our macbook better, let me know!

Lastly, it is exciting to know that as little as I've posted i can still cash in on my blog and stir up some bitterness even without posting. (Glad you are back safely from Germany Seth!) I really do hope folks are well and am looking forward to getting back into the swing of posting. For the most part, I will probably keep most of the family stuff on the family blog, but I'm sure there will be some overlap, well, b/c they are my family.

So what have I missed? How are folks doing? And of course, meet Rowan: