Hey there, friends! Sorry for another season of radio silence -let’s just say 2023 has been quite a year for the Babb family. We’ve had our share of ups and downs, laughter and tears, and some significant milestones in our journey. So, let’s dive right in! Eswatini - Mission Accomplished Our family’s mission in Eswatini continued to evolve, almost like it had a life of its own and the local Swazi mission is still going strong.
We have arrived safely in Gainesville, GA! We have two weeks of missionary training here before heading to Swaziland. We haven’t done much training yet as today was our first day, but we did get a tour around the Adventures in Missions headquarters and learned about many of their programs. The training and class schedule looks well thought out and we’re looking forward to the sections on leading from our strengths and conflict resolution (handy in or out of the mission field!
We are so pleased to report that we are 89% fundraised for our monthly expenses and 100% for our startup funds! That means that if 20 friends supported us $25/month or only five at $100/month, we will be at 100% across the board! Would you consider helping us reach our goal with a monthly pledge? (or find out more about what we will be doing in Swaziland on our support page)
This summer has been a primer in “How to live a Crazy Life.” Zach went on his first plane flight with us for a family reunion on the west coast, and a few weeks later, his second plane flight, but to the opposite coast for another family reunion. He has started to master sitting and solid foods. We gave our first fundraising presentation at a church and this last weekend, we moved in with my fabulous in-laws so that whenever we are fully funded for Swaziland, we can just go.
Money. Yuck. We are now in the throes of fundraising for our move to Swaziland. I have always appreciated what money can do, but asking for it, even for the sake of ministry, is uncomfortable and sometimes even embarrassing. I’d love to just fly to Swaziland and start pitching in now and save the hassle and wait of the fundraising process. It doesn’t help that the two of us are introverts who have always strived to be self-sufficient.
Yesterday I realized that about this time a year ago, we were driving to the ER. I was 6 weeks pregnant. We hadn’t told anyone yet as we had just found out a few days earlier. That very evening we were picking my mother up from the airport and had planned on breaking the news over dinner. On the way out the door, I noticed something was wrong and we wrung our hands about whether we should go straight to a hospital and leave my mom to grab a taxi or if I was overreacting to a little spotting.
Meet Zachary Alexander Babb! It’s hard to believe we’ve been parents for a whole month now – the time flies by so fast. We welcomed Zach into the world on January 22. He surprised the midwife and doctor with his stats – 8lbs 3oz and 21.5″ tall. We are thankful that we planned to deliver at a hospital since Melinda needed an emergency Cesarean section. Zachary is perfect and Melinda is healing well.
Happy New Year all! We certainly thought this year would start off with a little one in the nursery! You may remember that a few weeks ago, everyone at our hospital thought I would deliver by Christmas, and as you can see, we’ve made it past that and even New Year’s. On Tuesday, I hit the 39 week mark, and while I’m so very grateful, I am also so very ready!
Merry Christmas Eve-Eve! Today I’m 37 weeks along, which makes baby Babb officially full-term! We are so excited and thankful we’ve made it this far. Yesterday our midwife and nurses all said everything is looking good, though they noted I had one weird Braxton-Hicks during my non-stress test (it lasted 6 minutes!). I am quite ready to meet our little one, and as the days go by, I become more convinced he will choose to arrive on Christmas day as the best present ever.
Well now, we promised an update on baby Babb, didn’t we? Here we go! I’m now 35 weeks along! Today I went in for a non-stress test and an ultrasound. The tech estimated our little boy to weigh in at 6lb 8oz already! She also took some adorable 3-D ultrasound photos for us. Baby boy Babb ultrasound at 35 weeks and 1 day (Dec 10) Last week when I went in for my non-stress test, they sent me down to Labor & Delivery triage because I was having so many Braxton-Hicks contractions.
Today the little one is 10 weeks old! Zach is now 12lbs 10oz and 24.5" long (90th percentile for height!). It’s so fun to watch him grow and develop- he’s been smiling for a month now, and boy, can he ham it up! My heart just melts. A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of dedicating him at church. Our church follows the example of Hannah dedicating Samuel to the Lord in 1 Samuel 1:21-28.