Thanksgiving Recap

This poor little neglected blog!  I have so many posts that I haven't completed.  Sigh.  Some day I'll be better about blogging here.  I just wanted to put up a few pictures from Thanksgiving with our little "turkey."  This will be our last Thanksgiving in our home as Scott took the job offer to the Southeast.  It was sort of bittersweet as I'm sure so many things are going to be this next month.

The Little One's 1st Thanksgiving.

She was all smiles for the camera.  Not all smiles later as she was majorly teething.  (Sidenote: we just noticed last night that her 1st tooth is starting to pop out.  No wonder why she was so cranky last week!)

The one thing we are most thankful for this Thanksgiving: the Little One.

As has been our tradition, we invited some of my students over to experience their 1st Thanksgiving in the US.  We also invited the college group from church.  We only had 2 Saudi students come (I only have 9 students this term) and 1 girl from church, but it was still nice to be able to share our food and traditions with them. We did something new this year and I bought a smoked turkey from the meat lab students on campus.  It was fully cooked, so we only had to warm it, and it was so delicious and juicy from the smoking.  Too bad we can't make that a yearly tradition!

Hope all y'all (I'm getting ready for the South) got your fill of turkey and pumpkin pie!

Happy Fall, Y'all!

I've been wanting to take some fall pictures, but the Little One was sick with a cold all last week, so it didn't happen.  Finally though, our weather has warmed up this week (60s and 70s), so we've been able to get outside. 

I wanted some pictures of her in the leaves, but she wasn't having it.  Either it was over stimulation by being outside with so many new sights, or she didn't care for the feel of the leaves.  Here are my first attempts:

Her daddy buried her in the leaves.  That didn't change her expression or mood.

As soon as he picked her up, however, she was in her usual, playful, good mood.

Flying baby.

Chewing on her thumb...a new trick.  I love that cute little face.

She loves her Daddy...and pulling in her bottom lip over her gums because she's starting to teeth.

Daddy is "under her spell" as her shirt.

4 Months

I'm only a month behind on this post, but oh well.  Most of these things I have written down, so I'm not trying to recall them from memory.  Here are some of the highlights from when she was 4 months old:

• She started sleeping in more predictable patterns (a long nap in the morning and afternoon).
• She's learned to rub her head, feel her hair, and put both hands on her head.
• She can pull both feet up with her hands and bring them close to her mouth.
• She's blowing drool bomb bubbles.
• She loves looking back at you when she's sitting up and laughs because you look upside down to her.
• She's grown a ton since the previous month.  Now she is the same size as Lambie, her monthly photo friend.

• She loves mirrors and squeals when held in front of one.
• She's started playing in her exersaucer now with a pillow to put her feet up on.
• She plays a game in her crib with the slats and sticking her arms and legs through.
• She has a musical turtle that she's learned to hick or hit repeatedly to get the songs to changes quickly.

• She's able to pull the music bar by herself on her bouncy seat.
• She started rolling this month from her belly to her back and also from her back to her belly.
• As a result of rolling, she now sleeps on her stomach.
• She's able to put herself to sleep in the crib now.
• She had her 1st bus ride and 1st airplane ride this month.
• She learned to sleep in a pack n play while traveling.
• She is now sleeping in the crib 100% of the time.
• She visited her 1st state this month- GA.
• She's also scooting around on her back and arching her back to push and move upwards (especially on the changing pad).

This is been another fun month.  She is so playful and cheerful.  She makes us smile every day and has us laughing at some of her games.  Every month is so full of new discoveries; it's such a delight to be a part of it!

Back From GA

1. Well, we are back from Georgia.  Overall, our trip went well.  The Little One traveled amazingly well...she's going to be a little world traveler just like her Mommy:-)

Here's our best attempt at a family photo on her 1st flight.  Excuse our attire...burp cloths, nursing cover, etc.  They are all part of our regular attire now.  The flight attendants were so sweet when they found out it was her 1st flight.  They gave her her "wings."

It was so great to see our friends and be able to stay with them.  Even though we had just seen them in June for R's baptism, it was fun for them to be able to see how she has grown.  And we always love spending time with our Goddaughter.  Additionally, it was so nice to be able to borrow all things baby from them- car seat, stroller, play pen, etc.  It sure made traveling on the plane so much easier when we didn't have to bring all those things.

Things with the prospective job went ok as well.  We're still not sure what's going to happen, but we will know more in the coming weeks.  I continue to add to the pros and cons list that I have running in my head.  Cons: terrible traffic, humidity, big city; Pros: MOPS groups, Bible studies, more things for R and I to do like play groups, Christian preschools and day schools, better shopping choices, etc. Ultimately, it comes down to where God wants us to live and serve.  Praying that makes His direction clear to us in the coming weeks and days.

2. As a result of being passed around so much and/or the flight home and/or the change in weather here, the Little One came down with her 1st cold this week.  Poor little girl.  She's been so congested.  We've been doing nose drops every 4 hours and running the humidifier in her room, but it's so awful to have her wake up from sleep with thick boogers coming out her nose.  And then to hear her trying to sniff it down or push it out of her nose is simply awful.

3. The best part of the trip to GA, however, is that the Little One no longer naps in the swing, she is done with the swaddle, AND....ready for the big one...she puts herself to sleep in the crib ALL THE TIME!  Amazing.  Simply amazing.  I cannot tell you how incredible it is to see that she's sleepy, and then put her in the crib and she goes to sleep!  Most of the time, she's asleep within 5-10 minutes.  Sometimes she will cry/wimper for a few minutes.  Other times she will play.  But regardless...she puts herself to sleep!  Wahoo.  I feel like a new woman.

4. The trip to GA started our trifecta of fall travel.  We have a quick trip to CO and another to MN coming up this fall.  I'm so glad she traveled well on this first trip, since it was the longest one.  I'm hopeful the others will go equally well.

5. The fall colors are really starting to pop around the hillsides here.  It's just so beautiful.  I'm thinking we're going to try and take some more family pictures with the beautiful mountains.  I'd love to have some shots of us in the mountains...especially if we do end up moving in the near future.  I made Scott stop the car on the way home from the airport.  I just had to get out of the car and snap a few photos.

Little cheapy camera, as I affectionately call my travel camera, hardly does justice to the beautiful sights we saw, but still, at least you get some idea.

Have a great rest of the weekend, y'all!

3 Months

Still playing catch up here...

These are some pictures and thoughts from the Little One's 3rd month of life.

• This was really a fun month!  She started becoming a lot more playful and a lot more aware of the world around her. 
• Bath time with Daddy before bed is one of her favorite times.  She started splashing in the water, and I'll frequently hear her giggling and squealing away with him.
• She loves playing with her orange oball from her Aunt K.  She can grab it herself and frequently brings it to her mouth to chew on.
• She's constantly sucking on her fingers now and will put most everything in her mouth at some point.

• She can sit up better and is able to reach and grab her toes.
• She's trying really hard to roll over and is getting much stronger.
• She can lift her whole back up and arch it when laying on the floor.
• She can also scoot around at 45 degree angles.

• She's laughing a lot and smiling (except not whenever a camera is present).
• She has lots of sounds she makes: ha, hi, uh huh, mmm, bbb, high-pitched squeals and screetches and more.
• I went back to work this month and she has done ok taking a bottle from Daddy.  We had to re-teach her how to take it from him since we let so much time go by from when we 1st taught her, but it seems like she will at least take one from him-even if she doesn't love it.

• Her guests this month were: Grandma B, Aunt K, and J and A from Siberia/Finland.
• She watched Daddy run a race this month.
• We're guessing her weight is about 12 pounds and height is about 25 inches.

• She goes crazy making the bouncy seat and animal friends bar move all over the place.  She knows kicking her legs make those things hanging down go crazy, and she loves it.
• She loves "reading" her crinkly books.

We love watching you grow, Little One!  We can already tell you are so intelligent as you observe the world around you, realize what you are capable of doing, and remember those things you learned the previous day.

A Baptism!

 In early June, we had the joy of seeing our little girl be baptized.  As Christians of a particular persuasion, we believe that baptism is a very significant moment.  Since all people are sinful from the time they are conceived, even little children carry the taint of sin.  They need rescue from condemnation, just like adults, and God offers His gifts of grace and freedom from sin through the holy waters of baptism.

That's why it was such a joyful day to have several members of our family make the trek out to spend the weekend with us and witness our little girl being baptized.  She is now part of God's chosen people, washed of her sin, given the gift of the Holy Spirit and a new, eternal life in Christ Jesus.

While we take baptism very seriously, we also recognize that it is a very joyful time.  That's why we were glad to have this action shot of the actual baptism, which her daddy had the joy and privilege of conducting on behalf of God and His people.

Baptizing the Little Girl

 Such a joyful occasion.  Now we are more than merely a family in this world, but we share a faith connection in Christ Jesus which unites us in God's eternal kingdom forever.  So this is truly our first "family" picture from a spiritual sense.

Our New Family!

We so much look forward to teaching our little girl about the faith into which she was baptized.  She now bears the name of God in her soul and heart. 

We also recognize that we play a vital role in the nurturing of this faith.  She needs to hear the stories of our faith, and to come to know about the God who would go to such lengths to rescue her.  This is even more important given the fact that we know our adversary, Satan, basically sees her with a bullseye now that she is God's child.  So we look forward to the joy and challenge of teaching her and raising her in the Christian faith.

Please be praying for her and for us in this wondrous faith journey!

9-10 Weeks

I'm playing catch-up on a bunch of posts, so that I can give you the Little One's 4 month update.  For now, here are a few things I had jotted down that she started doing way back at the 9-10 week old mark:

• pulling on my hair
• the "don't look at me" move while nursing (covering her face with her hand)
• talking back and sqeeling
• staying awake longer (more than an hour at times)
• eating faster
• helping to hold her arms straight down in the swaddle
• exploring everything with her hands- grabbing her bib, touching your shirt when you hold her, etc.
• She slept 9 hours overnight once!  She was sleeping longer overnight at this point, but her sleep is still so unpredictable.
• She'll smile and coo in the middle of feeding time.
• She's learned to bite down with her gums on things.
• She chews her fits and bib and licks them too.
• She blows saliva bubbles.
• She doesn't care much for her carseat, bottle, or crib (she previously liked the bottle).
• She likes to "exercise" in her bouncy seat (hands and legs moving).
• She is becoming more independent burping and has a better grasp on knowing when to stop and knowing when she needs a burp.
• She loves interaction with people, but she will also play independently.
• She can put herself to sleep sometimes without needing to be held or rocked.
• She has lots of social smiles for us.
• She is hardly fussy any more.
• She loves her baths.
• She gets toe jam now...where does that come from?
• Her mouth is producing tons of saliva now and she is drooling a lot.

This was such a fun, turning point stage for us where she really became a fun, interactive baby!

5-6 Weeks

I'm playing catch-up with posts that I had started weeks ago.  Mostly this is for me to remember some of the highlights from the Little One, but some of you may enjoy reading these as well.

5-6 weeks old: This is when I noticed a huge change in her development.  This really was the turning point for me in caring for her because she seemed to be so much more interactive and show more of what she needed compared to those first few early weeks where everything was so new to us.  I wrote down all the differences I saw at that point, so here's the list I wrote a few weeks back.  In no particular order:

• sleeping longer stretches at night (a 4-6 hour block at least)
• showing clear hunger signs (smacking her lips, rooting around, hands in her mouth)
• starting to grab onto things- her bib, my shirt while nursing, the back of the chair while burping, her pacifier in her mouth
• she was able to work her hands out of the swaddle some at night and bring them to her face/mouth
• smiling and cooing
• being mesmerized by the bird mobile on her swing
• bringing her hands together
• kicking her legs like crazy ("exercise time" we call it)
• she seems to be getting into a routine at that point where she eats more frequently during the day (every 2 to 2 1/2 hours), takes 1 or 2 longer naps of 1-2+ hours each, takes lots of cat naps in between the other feedings, and 1 or 2 longer sleep stretches at night.
• her bowels seem to be regulating more
• she has lots more facial expressions- smiles, pouty lip, winks

This age was when things really started to get fun because she would smile back or make sounds to express delight, etc.  Nicknames we had for her at this point were: pretty girl, jumping bean, stinky bum, sweet girl, and wiggle worm.

Newborn Pictures

Most of you that read this blog have already seen these pictures, but for those of you that haven't, here are pictures we had taken when the Little One was one week old.

She slept for a good part of the photo shoot, which allowed the photographer to get those really cute sleeping baby photos!

The photographer also had a lot of great props, so we let her play!

The Little One woke towards the end of the photo shoot, and this ended up being our favorite picture out of all the ones she took.

Our first family photo as a family of three!

7 Years!

7 years of wedding bliss.  Happy anniversary, dear!

The Long Awaited Birth Story

Now that the little one is 2 1/2 months old, I'm finally starting to have some free time where I can do fun things like blog!  I actually wrote down thoughts and events from our birth story right after it happened, so here are some of my thoughts. 

A few days before BR (Baby R) was born, I slept fabulously...like the best sleep in a long time during the pregnancy.  I also rested and took several naps in those days leading up to the delivery.  It was as if my body knew what was coming and was starting to prepare.  It probably also helped that I finished the teaching term and the work in our basement was completed as well, so I could relax finally.  So I had 2 or 3 great days of sleep and then energy like none other the day after that.  I really went to work organizing the laundry room.  I went to bed that evening just feeling different.  The Baby was moving differently, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it, she seemed more active.  I told Scott I wasn't sure what would happen the next day....

and sure enough, I woke the next day (39 weeks exactly) with bad back pain.  I thought maybe I had overdone it working in the laundry room the night before.  I had had back pain the whole pregnancy, so this was nothing different, but the usual remedies that I had used, did not make it go away.  Around 6:30 or 7:00am, I started asking Scott what time it was, and finally after the 3rd or 4th time, he figured out what I was doing.  It seemed my back pain was coming in approximately 10 minute increments.  I still didn't think I was really in labor, but I emailed our doula (labor coach) and gave her a heads up that things were different that day.  She told me to go about my day as I had planned and to go for a walk.

Scott went in to work because he still had to prepare for Sunday (this was a Thursday) and I tried to get ready for the day as my back pain increasingly became more of a pain.  I finally got so uncomfortable I called Scott to come home because I needed him with me.  He arrived home around 9am and we tried to time what I now knew were my contractions (I was still only feeling it all in my back).  They were coming closer than every 10 minutes, but they still were at unpredictable intervals.  I made him call our doula again around 10am because it was no longer comfortable for me to walk and I could not relax enough to make the back pain go away.

The doula came over shortly after and tried to help ease my back pain through her comfort measures and relaxation techniques.  She also made me eat a little bit (peanut butter toast with a banana) as I hadn't eaten anything that day.  She said it was probably going to be a long day because at my last OB appointment 2 days prior, I'd only been dilated to 1.5 cm and 85% effaced.  The doula guessed I was at a 2 1/2 or 3 at that point.

I increasingly felt myself beginning to focus more on myself and not talk to others through the contractions.  I knew this was the next part of labor, but I remember thinking to myself, "Am I faking this to pretend I'm farther along in the labor process than I really am?"  Funny what thoughts go through your head, huh?  I was actually thinking I needed to go to the hospital 30 minutes prior to when I actually said something.  I delayed speaking up because I didn't want them to think I was a wimp about pain, and surely labor was going to be hours and hours long, right?

It seemed liked the contractions started coming closer and closer together where I hardly had a break between them, yet they were still at pretty irregular intervals.  It finally got to the point where I couldn't imagine sitting in the car for 10 minutes, so we agreed to head to the hospital.  Originally, our plan was to let friends and family know we were on our way to the hospital, so they could be praying, but everything happened so quickly we didn't have time to do that at home, so the first info people got was after she was born! 

Our doula had to run home and get her overnight bag, and Scott drove me to the hospital, in what quickly became the most uncomfortable car ride ever.  At one point, I unbuckled my seat belt because I just couldn't get comfortable, and Scott thought for sure I was jumping out of the car.  ha, ha.  Uh no...that would only lengthen the amount of time it would take to get to the hospital, dear.

We parked and slowly walked into the hospital.  I had to stop a few times to get through the contractions, and I remember thinking, this is how it is in the movies!  It was 12:05pm when we got to the hospital and checked in.  They took me back to a room and started the long, slow process of asking what seemed like a million questions.  I just wanted the nurse to hurry up and check me as I was so extremely uncomfortable.  She noted my stats from the OB appointment 2 days before, that this was my 1st baby, etc.  We also made sure she had a copy of our birth plan at this point as well and was very receptive to following it.

Finally, she could tell I was quite uncomfortable and decided to check me.  I was at a 7!  I looked at Scott in shock.  I couldn't believe it.  The nurse quickly picked up the pace on things and stopped asking questions.  I got a heparin lock put in and a bag of fluids for hydration and our doula arrived.  I can still picture her eyes bulging out of her head when we told her I was at a 7.  They put a fetal heart monitor on to check the baby and then let me move around, changing positions, doing whatever I could to get comfortable.  It was about at this point that I asked for pain meds, and was told there wasn't enough time.  The doula was great getting me through that time when I desperately wanted relief from all the pressure and pain I was feeling.

In 45 minutes (by 12:50) I had gone from a 7 to a 9 and my water still had not broken.  I agreed to let them break my water, so that I could progress to a 10.  By 1:20 they were ready to let me push because I kept saying I felt like I need to.  Pushing was hard, but Scott and the doula were great in helping me use various position to get that baby out including a birth bar attached to my bed.  The doctor was called to come back around 2:30 because the head was crowning and BR was born at 3:05pm...exactly 3 hours after we had arrived at the hospital!

They immediately placed her on me and Scott got to cut the umbilical cord.  She looked so blue to us, but was screaming up a storm from the get-go, which told me she was perfectly healthy.  When I was ready, they took her and cleaned her up before giving us skin to skin time together and our first attempt at nursing.  Her apgar scores were 8 and 9...perfectly healthy.  We were in the delivery room until 4:30pm before they wheeled me up to our mother and baby room where we would spend the next 2 days.

What a whirlwind first birth, huh?  I'd already earned a reputation by the time we were taken up to our room...the 1st time mom who arrives at a 7.  It was not the birth we had planned for or anticipated, but I'm so glad it went the way it did.  I had expected labor to last for hours.  I know the statistics for 1st time moms and how long the average labor lasts.  We had a doula because I knew I would need her to help me get through the long hours of labor.  We had a birth plan because I wanted to labor on my own for as long as I could make it, but ultimately I thought I would end up needing an epidural because I don't have a high pain tolerance.  I just wanted to delay as long as possible before getting pain medications.  I am glad I didn't have a choice to make!

Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought I could have a natural birth.  That's only something strong women can do and that's not me.  I was incredibly afraid of the labor process and pain associated with it...even right up until the last week before I had BR.  But you know what?  I am so glad I did have a natural birth.  It is so amazing to me that my body just knew what to do.  Sure we had taken classes and practiced breathing techniques and talked about birth preferences, but when it came right down to it, I just knew what I needed to do.  Amazing!

And the best part about a natural, pain-free birth is how alert BR was.  She was awake for 4 hours after birth!  And I felt "great" and alert myself...like I was on the biggest adrenaline rush of my life.  We had such great bonding time as a family from the beginning.  I am so thankful things went as smoothly and as quickly as they did!  And thanks to God for this amazing gift in the form of a precious little girl that we get to raise.

And here's our little bundle on the 2nd day of her life.  She had lots of hair!

And long feet! 

I'm working on updating more photos into an album on Facebook, so be sure to check there next week.  And if you're not on Facebook yet, what are you waiting for?

Happy Birthday, Blog

Dear Blog,

Yesterday you turned 4 years old!  Happy birthday to you.  We're sorry we've neglected you the past few months.  Things have been sort of hectic in the Holding Onto Hope household.  We've had lots of visitors, a baptism, and weeks with Scott out of town.  Hopefully though, we will be back soon!

Love,
The HOHs

Speaking of Names, Part 2

So in my previous post, you read a little bit about the meaning of the name Rachel for Carrie and I.  As you may have heard, Rachel's middle name is Elizabeth, and this name also contains a great deal of meaning for us.  So please allow me to explain a little bit.

First, you can read about Elizabeth early in the account of Luke's gospel.  Elizabeth was the wife of Zechariah, a man who served as a priest at the temple in Jerusalem.  One day he went in to perform his priestly duties when, to his surprise, he encountered an angel/messenger from God.  That angel told him that his wife Elizabeth would bear a son, despite their advanced age, and that he would give him the name John, and that John would be great and would be filled with the Holy Spirit and go forth in the power of the prophet Elijah.  Zechariah doubted the word of the messenger, and thus was struck dumb, unable to speak.

However, once Zechariah finished his duty at the temple, he returned home to his wife, and she conceived a child.  She kept herself hidden for 5 months, knowing that there was something special about this child.  That's when we are told that, in the 6th month of her pregnancy, another messenger was sent into the world, to speak to her cousin Mary, to give a message of good news and hope that we hear quite often around Christmastime.  And as the messenger spoke to Mary, she wanted to know how this would be possible.  The messenger then directed her to go visit her cousin Elizabeth as her sign of reassurance, since nothing is impossible with God.

So when Mary went to visit Elizabeth, we are then told that, at Mary's greeting, the baby inside Elizabeth leaped in her womb, and that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  It was at this time that the reality of what Mary would do seems to have hit her, since she broke out in a song that has come to be known as the Magnificat, a beautiful song about how God looks upon the lowly and humble.

At the time of the birth of Elizabeth's son, Zechariah was still unable to speak.  So they asked Elizabeth what name the child should have.  Elizabeth responded that his name would be John, and when Zechariah was asked, his muteness was broken, and he proclaimed that the child's name would be John.  Then, filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah spoke about what his child would do, and the people noticed that the hand of the Lord was upon this child who would later on become better known as Jesus' cousin John the Baptist.

Perhaps you can see the theme of having to wait for a child in both of these names.  Sure, waiting for almost 7 years of marriage is not really all that long, though some of you know the journey that Carrie and I have been upon which has led up to Rachel's birth.  However, in both cases, these women gave birth through something seemingly miraculous, after having waited so long and so patiently.  We also see that both women played significant roles in the ancestry and announcement of Jesus, and that really strikes a chord with us.  In addition, the name Elizabeth means "consecrated to God".  As you may know, we feel very strongly about Rachel's faith life, and fully intend that she will know her God who has rescued her and made her His very own.  So when you put her two names together, Rachel (little ewe lamb) Elizabeth (consecrated to God), you can see that there is even deeper meaning to her names than just the biblical characters she is named for.

Our hope is that our Rachel Elizabeth will one day be one who does great things in the name of the Lord.  And now you know a little bit about the meaning of her name, and so we ask that you keep her in your prayers, especially until she is baptized and claimed by God as His own dearly loved child in just a few short weeks.  Until then, here is a really cute picture that you can enjoy of her!

Speaking of Names

I would imagine by now that most of you faithful readers know about our recent addition to our family.  One question that always seems to come up when a new addition to a family arrives is how the particular name was chosen that was given to that new addition.  So today I want to take a few moments to share some of the significance of our daughter's first name, Rachel.

If you aren't familiar with the biblical story of Rachel, I encourage you to read about it starting in Genesis chapter 29.  I'll try to sum up her story here.

Jacob had been chased from the land promised to Abraham because of his deception of his brother, Esau.  Arriving at his grandfather's land, he watered the sheep of a young lady named Rachel, whom he instantly fell in love with.  He worked for 7 years for her father for the right to marry her, only to be deceived by his to-be father-in-law, who switched her older sister for her in Jacob's bed.  Jacob then agreed to work an additional seven years to marry Rachel, which the Bible says flew by quickly.

Jacob did the usual husbandly duties with his wives, but Leah (Rachel's older sister) proved to be far more fertile.  After having several sons, Rachel had Jacob sleep with her servant.  This produced two more sons, after which Leah did the same thing.  It wasn't until the 11th son, Joseph, that Rachel was able to conceive and have a child.  Joseph instantly became the favorite, likely because he was the first child of the wife that Jacob truly loved.

Rachel would bear one more child, Benjamin.  Sadly, she died during his birth, since his labor was difficult.  Thus, we find the story of Rachel not to be the "happily ever after" story of fairy tales, but the all too frequent human ending to stories.

Rachel's name has a great deal of meaning for us. First, her name means "ewe" or "little female lamb" in Hebrew.  We are so thankful that she will be baptized and be one of the sheep that Jesus calls by name.  Also, her story of the challenge of having a baby is one that we can relate to in some way.  Rachel's arrival and addition to our family has been something that we have waited for, and at times, have wondered if the day would ever arrive.  She was Jacob's favorite wife, and you would be hard pressed to find another person in our lives that is more favored than Rachel.  And, just like it was for Jacob with his Rachel, we can truly say that our Rachel was well worth the time and the wait and the effort that we have been through in waiting for her.

I have to say that there is a bit more than this, but even this much is challenging to put into words.  Truly, words cannot express how deeply thankful we are for our little lamb, and just how much we realize that she was truly worth the wait.

Baby Has Arrived!

In case you haven't yet heard, Baby girl has arrived!  She came very quickly last week and a few days early.  She was so efficient with her delivery time that she forced Mommy to have a medication free delivery:-)  Not exactly what we were planning for, but both Scott and I are still in awe of the whole labor and delivery process. 

We're now all home from the hospital and getting used to our new role as parents.  We can't get over how cute she looks and are all enjoying the time at home together this week as Daddy works from home and helps Mommy heal.

More posts to come with pictures and the meaning behind the name we chose for her.  But in the meantime, we have some bonding and then sleeping to do!

Nearing the End

We are coming very close to the end of this pregnancy.  The work in our basement was completed last week, and then I finished out my teaching term after that.  The only thing we are left waiting on is Baby!  For quite some weeks in April, we weren't sure which of the above 3 items was going to occur 1st, 2nd, and then 3rd.  Our contractor was incredibly slow, Baby seemed to be coming incredibly fast, and I still hoped to finish out my commitment to my students. Of course, we would have adjusted had things worked out in a different order, and even had people lined up to take over.

But it was all unnecessary.  I'm done with work, so I've just been at home this past week resting and taking it easy. We've also slowly been moving things back in and getting our basement/house in order from the chaos of construction.  This extra time before Baby arrives has really been a gift we didn't expect to have based on my stats from our 36-week appointment.  We just had our 39 week appointment this week and Monday is our official due date according to the doctor's records (I think my due date is actually May 10th).

With my free time, I've been doing a lot of reflecting on these past 9 months as well as our journey to get to this point because truthfully, I wasn't sure we'd ever carry a pregnancy to full term.  These are some of the things I'm going to miss:

• the baby movements- the kicks, punches, rolls, and shifts at all hours of the day.  I seriously love it and don't mind being woken up or kept awake at night because of Baby's movements.
• baby hiccups in utero
• the weekly OB appointments and heartbeat checks
• trying to imagine the different body parts moving around inside
• the planning, dreaming, and praying for our child with Scott
• the little back or bum that will sometimes stick out and fit in the palm of my hand
• the funny belly contortions- square belly, lopsided belly, point belly, kidney bean belly
• the amazing support, encouragement, and prayers from so many family and friends.

There are also some things that I won't miss nearly as much as the above points.  They are:

• sleeping on the side (I'm much more of a back and stomach sleeper)
• the 9 month pregnant waddle
• the aches and pains in new places (hips, down the sides of my legs)
• the every increasing waist size and weight gain
• two shots twice a week for 33 weeks (that equals 132 shots given by Nurse Scott!)
• the grunts and groans required to roll over or get out of bed
• the hourly trips to the bathroom each night and not dreaming or sleeping deeply as a result

All in all though, this pregnancy has been "textbook perfect" as Scott calls it.  From the beginning, things have seemed to be right on schedule with baby's growth and my pregnancy symptoms.  I get weekly emails that correspond with how far along I am in pregnancy and usually the symptoms they describe are exactly where I'm at or what I'm feeling.  I truly feel fortunate that everything has gone so well.  We have much to be thankful for with this little life.  Even the doctor remarked this week that things have gone just perfectly through this pregnancy.  We're praying that's the case with labor and delivery as well!  We'll keep you posted.

Maternity Pictures

Most of you have seen these pictures already on Facebook, but for the few that haven't, these are maternity pictures we had taken the end of March.  I was 34 1/2 weeks pregnant and we weren't even sure we were going to have pictures taken because we hadn't lined up a photographer.  We'd been so busy with house cleaning and projects, Lent, and dad's visit/getting the nursery ready, that I didn't even have a photographer in mind when I started looking for one 33 weeks pregnant.  Thankfully, we did find someone and were able to capture the memory of this pregnancy along with the beautiful place we live in.  These are just a few of the many shots we got on CD.

Photo credit goes to Amy W. Photography.

Reading "Guess How Much I Love You" to baby.

Silhouette shot

Walking the railroad tracks

I love this shot...Scott, me, baby, water, and mountains.

Just 10 minutes from our house...beautiful!

I'm so glad we decided to have pictures done.  These are definitely a treasure to have as we reflect on the amazing gift of this pregnancy, the beauty of God's creation where we live, and the little life that we will soon get to meet (in less than 2 weeks most likely)!

From Blue to Yellow: Painting the Walls

Phew...where did April go?  It's over half gone.  Before we know it, Baby will be here.  We're down to the final countdown now, and it's really a day to day waiting game at this point.  That is fine with us.  I still have a week of work I would like to try and finish.  We'll see if Baby agrees or not as our doctor still seems to think Baby will be coming early.  But "early" could mean May 6th instead of our due date of the 7th, right?  The doctor originally said we should be prepared for Baby to come 2 weeks early, but that was 11 days ago...go figure.  We shall see.  We just interviewed a pediatrician yesterday and really liked him, so that was the final item on our "baby to-do list."  We're ready for Baby...at least physically.  Mentally...that's another story.

Before I forget...we finished up Lent at the beginning of this month with Holy Week.  I did meet the 40 bags for Lent challenge that I set out for myself at the end of February.  I ended up with 41 bags out of the house, and probably could have had a lot more if our basement wouldn't have been off limits for 3 of those weeks in Lent because of work.  Still, 41 bags out is progress in my book!


And now...painting pictures!  I'm finally getting around to posting these pictures from last month.  Here's a before picture of what the nursery looked like.  It served as guestroom #2- not that we ever had many guests.  You can see the blue walls, ceiling, trim, etc.  We just worked with it even though it didn't match the decor in the room.  This was my furniture from when I was a little girl.  The comforter set is new though, and one we fell in love with years ago and purchased from the clearance rack.  I'd often sit at my desk and work on Bible study, bring in my card making supplies, etc.  It was definitely "my room."

Here's proof the closet doors were even blue!  I told you my husband was color blind.  Can you imagine your whole house this color?  It was when we first got married.

And here we have the nursery cleared out and Scott and dad are getting ready to prime it.  Look at all the paint samples on the wall.  It took 5 yellows and 5 trim colors before we choose one we liked!

Yep- even the inside of the closet was blue.  This is the other room next door that Scott is working on.  We decided to do both rooms the same color scheme, so that they would at least be painted.  The only blue room we have left in the house is the guest bathroom/baby's bathroom.  Someday we will get around to painting that room, or at least painting the ceiling and trim in it white!

And the other room is all primed.  This used to be guestroom #1.  I don't have any before pictures of it, but basically we had a queen bed and some book shelves in it.  Maybe some day it will be kid room #2?

And the ceiling and trim are white and the walls are yellow!

Doesn't the nursery closet look nice?  No more blue.

After painting, it was on to the next project...nursery furniture assembly.  Here's the before picture of the crib.  These goofballs were reading all the warning instructions.

And here's the after assembly picture.  I did most of the crib assembly with just an alan wrench...it was that easy!

And by the time dad left, this is what the nursery looked like.  We assembled the crib and he and Scott did the armoire and combo dresser.  Such a change from what used to be "my room."

A friend came over last week and helped hang some room decorations.  The Noah's Ark blanket is our main focal point in the room.  The animals around the window are just removable decals that match the blanket and crib sheet.  The rocking chair is one we got from our honeymoon trip to Costa Rica.  It's made of leather and wood, and while it's not as comfortable as one of the traditional gliders with footstools, it has a ton of memories.  And plus, we don't have a lot of extra space in the room.  We have cordless shades for the window now and just need a small footstool for the chair.  Otherwise, the room is ready for a baby!

And here we have the other room.  We just moved all the furniture that was in the nursery next door, so this becomes a small guestroom.  I love that I can still use it as a study/reading/crafting space if I want.  Anyone want to come and visit?  We're waiting to see who our first guests will be!!

We're also still waiting for our basement project to be finished.  Once that is completed (probably after Baby arrives), we'll have our main guestroom down there and another bathroom.  We do have family and friends coming in June for the baptism, but so far no one before that.  Anyone need a mountain getaway?