From Genevieve:

So here’s the sitch: as there was no medical need to induce (baby was monitoring gorgeously and mommy’s been testing great too) ….we’ve been released to go home. for now.  Which may be only for one night or may take the whole weekend… we shall see.  And that’s what this process was about: waiting and seeing – trusting and leaning on an understanding higher than Peter and Genevieve’s.  God directed us with His Peace and thankfully confirmed it with several supportive medical staff at our hospital.

It’s the BEST decision for our little family, but it was NOT an easy one.  How to tell all of our eager friends and family that we purposefully DIDN’T induce when it seemed such an easy choice to have our Baby now?!  It certainly made for an interesting departure as rarely do the pregger-bellies LEAVE the hospital in this state! I know we were in the minority  saying “see you in a few….hours or days!!” to our wonderful nurses and midwives.  The One who formed this baby will bring this pregnancy to fruition.  What a lesson I am learning from this baby, and I don’t even know their face yet…

From Peter:

Our baby has been very active, but as you may know there were some borderline concerns so we were admitted to the hospital on Thursday night. Friday afternoon, the midwife suggested that if Genevieve did not dilate rapidly enough, that they were going to have to break her water manually. Once that happened, it was “possible” it would give the baby enough incentive to drop and induce natural child birth.

My question then was, “what happens if it doesn’t work? What happens if our baby goes into distress because there is no cushion because we rushed things?” Once that happens, the likelihood for a C-section birth goes up. (Which of course puts mama in distress.) So my reasoning was, “If our baby is not in distress, then why create a situation that could cause distress?” (How many fathers would willingly put their son or daughter in harms way when everything is going fine?) With that in mind, we decided to let baby Doyle decide if we head back to the hospital in a few days or in a few hours. Thank you so much to all our friends and family for your support and prayers. We will be keeping everyone updated.

We would love your comments!

Genevieve and I were introduced to Voss during a summer roof top party for the Atlantan Brides Magazine. Local celebrities were afoot including a B list celeb who was a little perturbed that we didn’t know him by name. Anyway, when the humidity started to get a little thick the bartender handed us glass bottles of water.  Glass bottles of water? YUP!

I’ve never seen anything like it. What was so cool was that you didn’t have to throw it away like every other plastic bottled water. It was glass and very classy. In fact, you could describe it as “stately architecture with clean modern lines.”

Imagine that, a stylish and conversational piece of bottled water that isn’t mundane and uninteresting? Name me one bottled water company that grabs attention? Coke and Pepsi products we discard without thinking and Fuji’s status is based solely on it’s high price.

Take a read from their website:

VOSS isn’t your everyday water. It’s pure artesian water from Norway that’s bottled at its source. Though Norway is a small country, its pristine environment produces some of the best spring and artesian water sources on Earth.
VOSS comes from an aquifer in Southern Norway, protected from air and other pollutants for centuries by impermeable layers of rock and sand. The water is generated in an artesian spring within deep bedrock. When tapped into, the aquifer is pressurized enough to allow the water to rise up naturally towards the surface, then bottled at the source without undergoing filtration.

AKA: tasty water that means something

Think about this:

1. How many bottles of water do you buy in a week or month?
2. How many of them do you throw away?
3. How many of those that you throw away have water in still in them?

When you think about these numbers think about how much you are spending and wasting. Summer is pretty much here and those bottles of water that you are buying to help you quench the heat are most likely going to sit and boil in your car.  You’re just going to throw it away and buy a cold one. It’s silly and expensive. Voss’ glass bottles solve this problem of expensive waste. You won’t throw the glass bottle away (this, or course, helps with the trash heaps of plastic water bottles all around the world land and sea) and you can wash and reuse the bottles.  Voss is an environmentally sound company and I love that they are serious when it comes to the environmental responsibility and their social responsibility in “providing access to clean drinking water to rural Sub-Saharan African communities.”

I first loved their water and now I am beginning to love their story.

If you’re a fan of VOSS leave a comment and let us know why.

The sun is out and it’s time to put my feet to the asphalt. Maybe it’s how i’ve been reared but I don’t like running in the shade. (My dad was a navy seal) Anyone can run in the shade and when the temperature is “nice” but it’s a lot more difficult to run during the hottest part of the day. If you can handle running on asphalt at 100 degrees then you can run even farther when it’s cooler.

Because running in the heat of the day can be so stressful on the body I typically run in parking lots. The reason is because it forces you to run in somewhat of a circle. You can place your water, towel and even pushup bars in a central place. The most dangerous thing that you can do is to find your place in desperate need of water and not being able to get to it. (I’ve been in that place and it isn’t fun AT ALL.)

What I like about parking lots is that you can create your own trail. You can zig zag between cars and light posts, you can run up and down the parking lines and you don’t worry about where you find yourself.

My shoe of choice is the Nike Free. They are the only shoes that have found that don’t cause my knees to hurt. I, of course bring a lot of water to drink. Here’s my typical running routine:

Stretch
Run, Run, Run
Pushups
Water
Run Backwards (remember to stay on your toes)
Water
Pushups
Feet together squats (toes and heels are touching) When you go down touch your fingers to the ground.
Water
Run, Run, Run
Pushups
Water
Keep going till you can’t run anymore.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on running.

Saturday morning meet me with this awesome view. It was full of healthy stuff like:

• Muenster Cheese
• New Zealand Sharp Cheddar from grass feed cows
• Tomatoes
• Organic Soft wheat bread

All toasted on organic butter.

My wife loves me in a number of different ways and one of the tastiest ways is with food. She made some great pasta. Here are the pics of the ingredients. Scrumptious aren’t they.

Onions And Honey

Spices and Meat

Genevieve got a $15 coupon valued at $30 (from livingsocial.com) for the local greek restaurant, Mikanos Grill. It was oh so tasty. I think they wanted us back because it was our first time and they lavished pure awesomeness on us.

8:15pm
Genevieve: “Let’s go to MENCHIE’S!!!!!!”
Peter: “what time do they close?”
Genevieve: “9:00…..”
Peter: “LET’S GO!”

Find a Menchie’s near you

What a great place and we will be going back. For more information and to find your local Buca di Beppo click here

Many of you know that last year I tauted the virtues of the Sony a900 and carl zeiss lenses because, thanks to Sony’s support, I was able to use them for my “To Have & To Hold” breast cancer photo shoot project. The camera and lenses are outstanding and I would certainly recommend their products. I like Sony’s marketing plan and how they are bringing a lot of quality equipment to an affordable level for the common consumer. Most consumers aren’t interested in being a pro photographer. They just want cameras that will do a great job in a variety of situations. Nobody wants to carry around a “professional” camera in their purse or pocket. In fact, it would be impossible to do and impractical to try. What’s actually happening is that SONY is going what Apple has done. They are taking cool things to the consumer. In short, they are creating a community and an experience that once you enter is hard to get out of. And honestly, once you’re in there won’t be any complaining about it.

Well, this morning I got the email saying that the a900 and carl zeiss lenses are on their way! In fact they will be here on thursday. So the count down has begun for mission “reunition” (yeah I made that word up). To read more about the breast cancer photo shoot project click here

One of the people I got to met in Vegas was Jim Davis Hicks, the founder and president of Thirst Relief International. This guy has a heart and a passion to make the world better than wen he found it and one of the best ways to do so is with clean water. Most of the world doesn’t have clean water to drink and as a result men, women, and children are needlessly getting sick or dieing from bacteria and parasites living in contaminated water. We certainly take for granted that our water will be clean in the US. In fact, the only concern we have is with taste. If we don’t like the taste of the water coming from our own home we simply go and buy a filter or bottled water. There are those in other countries who do not have this luxury. What is also awesome about Jim is that he saw a need and did something about it. Oh, BTY, he just started with this idea to help provide clean water to the world while he was a wedding photographer. So don’t think that just because you don’t hold a “high and influential” position that you can’t make a difference in this world. For more information please visit their website: www.thirstrelief.org

Thirst Relief International is responding to the worldwide water crisis by helping thousands of families each year gain access to safe water through simple, low-cost means. A locally manufactured biosand filter or a well repaired by nationals has the power to radically improve the health and well-being of an individual, a family, a community.