"In Utero"

"in utero" was my google search...

i landed on this site (www.michaelclancy.com), and saw something i'd seen before... the picture of the 21 week (in utero age) baby boy, samuel... whose hand reached out during the surgery to correct his spina bifida diagnosis...what i saw for the first time, however, were the words from the photojournalist who took the picture. these are his words:

"During a spina bifida corrective procedure at twenty-one weeks in utero, Samuel thrusts his tiny hand out of the surgical opening of his mother's uterus. As the doctor lifts his hand, Samuel reacts to the touch and squeezes the doctor's finger. As if testing for strength, the doctor shakes the tiny fist. Samuel held firm. At that moment, I took this "Fetal Hand Grasp" photo.

As a photojournalist, my job is to tell stories through pictures. The experience of taking this photograph has had a profound effect on me, and I'm proud to share this moment with you."

Michael Clancy

i'm writing this, because of the thrill that is mine, and many of ours to have housed a 21 week old baby in our bodies... is it not AMAZING!?! the grasp, the life, the spirit of a 21 week old - i love it - and i love how my love for jackson and brady and carter have grown so tremendously over the last few years...

today, a speaking in our church meeting chose to phrase it as "mother love." she pointed out that she feels that the "mother love" within us is when our qualities most like God shine through...the qualities of tenderness, mercy, long suffering, etc. become part of our being. i have to agree.

happy mother's day to me ;) and to the rest of the beautiful mothers out there (you especially, mama)...