Crazy Week

It's been a whirlwind of a week... my sister and Ryann left late last night to head back home to Missouri. It was such a wonderful blessing to have them here for the week- despite colds and coughs and adjusting to life with a new baby. Eden had a blast having her Auntie and cousin here.

Baby Justice is doing well... but as I mentioned, it's been a crazy week. Eden came down with a high fever a few days ago after a two-week-long cold, and then last night broke out in some sort of rash which kept her (and us) up most of the night. We called the Children's Clinic at midnight and the nurse said it sounded like Hand, Foot and Mouth disease- which if it is that, it should go away in a few days- but is highly contagious among toddlers. So we won't be going anywhere for a while and we're praying Justice doesn't get it. She's sleeping now- I just feel so bad for her and how uncomfortable she is. Bringing a newborn home to a sick sissy and family is no fun- for anyone.

On a lighter note, with the help of my sister and Ryann, we got the house all decorated for Christmas- which certainly boosts the spirit around here. ;) Charley went and cut down a cute little Christmas tree on Thanksgiving and we decorated it the next day...

Also, today Justice had his first bath since the hospital... he was quite a fan.

That's really about it for now. We're just hunkered down and trying to get well. Of course we are loving life with two precious little ones, we just look forward to when we can be healthy again. We also look forward to a visit from Charley's parents in the next week... as well as a shower for me and Baby Justice next Saturday- trusting of course that we're all well by then.

I'll sign off for now. Headed down to check on my sweet little girl. :)

Introducing Justice Charles Preston

Well, he's here! Wednesday night I went into labor around 10pm and finally headed to the hospital around midnight since the contractions were getting pretty strong and consistant. At the hospital I was only dilated to 3 so we spent the wee hours of the morning (from 1am-3am) walking (hoping to dilate more so that they could admit me), but when they checked me at 3am, I was still only dilated to 3. We decided to lay down and rest for an hour, but when I woke up at 4, labor had stopped entirely. This was the second time I'd come to the hospital in a week thinking this little man was going to finally be greeting us... so you can imagine my disappointment. I cried. When the nurse came in, I told her I felt overwhelmed and didn't want to go home without this baby. We decided to wait a couple hours and call my doctor to see what she thought. At 6am, the nurse got ahold of my doctor and she gave me the go ahead for admition and induction. By 8am I'd had my epidural and they were starting the pitocin. At noon, my doctor broke my water. While I was comfortable and pain-free, by 3 pm I'd still not dilated past a 3 (even though the contractions were strong and only a minute apart- again, thanking the Lord for that epidural!!). We sort of just shook our heads in shock that I wasn't dilating faster, but kept hanging out. Charley and I were enjoying listening to Christmas music and relaxing... It was like a dream in how comfortable and relaxing this process was going. An hour and a half later, my doctor came in and checked me- I was a TEN- and baby was coming! All I could do was laugh and praise God! Still totally pain-free, I pushed baby out in two easy pushes... daddy got to cut the cord and our little man was here! I still can't believe how easy it all went- but then again, with how many people were praying for me (knowing how much of a nightmare my last labor and delivery was), I shouldn't be surprised. Thank you Lord! We are so blessed and excited! What a precious family God has blessed us with!

In labor- waiting for baby.. :)

Daddy holds his little boy for the first time...

First picture with baby Justice

My friend Ginger watched Eden for me while we were at the hospital. Thursday evening she brought Eden over to meet her baby brother. I think she likes him. ;)

First family picture

Mama and baby Justice

He has the longest fingers and toes! I love it!

Finally a picture with his eyes open! You can see his hair here too - looks like we might have another blondie! :)

Little Justice was 7lbs 13oz and 20 inches- born November 17, and is just perfect. We are so thankful to the Lord for a safe (and totally wonderful) labor and delivery. I'm recovering well and we are just soaking up precious family time here at home.

Another wonderful piece of news to mention is the fact that my niece Ryann was headed up to Alaska to spend the week with us helping us with Eden and such- she was due to come in Friday night. We were released from the hospital only hours before Charley headed to the airport to pick her up. When they got home, my SISTER walked in the door with them!! They competely and totally surprised me with her arrangements to be here while Ryann is here! I am sooooo happy to have BOTH of them here and Eden is absolutely eating up all the attention! She loves her Auntie and cousin Ryann! :)

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." James 1:17

"Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength"

Well, I figured it was about time for an update... Lots going on around here! We are still waiting for our little man's arrival- should be any day now. Here's a picture of my dear friend Ginger and myself last weekend (I'm 38 weeks here).

I'm trying to be patient but it's getting harder and harder with the anticipation of labor and delivery looming over my head. I know I'm not supposed to be anxious, but it's a lot easier said than done... especially after such a horribly hard experience last time with Eden. All I can do is wait on the Lord and trust Him- but again, easier said than done. I'll expand on my thoughts here in a moment.

We've had an especially heavy snow year so far. I honestly can't remember the last time we got this much snow before Thanksgiving- but we're certainly enjoying it! It's taken Eden a week or so to really get used to it and become comfortable tromping around outside in the deeper drifts and such, but she's getting the hang of things- much to her daddy's delight. She asks every day if she can go out and 'play in the snowing' (which I happily oblige). She sure looks cute in all her snow gear- but I'll tell you what, I should get an award every time I (being 9 months pregnant) suit her up in all her snow gear without either of us shedding any tears! haha It's worth all the work though in the end when I see her big grins as she runs and plays outside and gets some much needed fresh air.

Not totally certain how many inches we've gotten now, but it's sure beautiful piled up all around our sleepy little neighborhood. Here's a pic out our back door. :)

It's been pretty cute how hard Eden lobbies to go play outside... she'll disappear downstairs and reappear wearing the funniest combinations of clothes/shoes/accessories in efforts to convince me that she's ready and geared up to go out and play. Cracks me up!

In between nesting, last minute touches on the nursery, playing outside with Eden in the fresh snow and trying to keep house, I've been passing the time experimenting with various bread recipes... This week I've been perfecting a Great Harvest Bread 'copy cat' recipe that I found online for Cinnamon Chip bread- and not to brag or anything, but it's pretty darn good! Think I may have found the perfect solution for Christmas gifts this year! ;)

Other than that, we're just waiting for little man Preston to make his grand appearance. Everyday I can't help but wonder if *this* will be the day he comes, but at the same time I'm also really trying to wait on the Lord and trust Him and His timing, knowing that it's perfect and far better than *my* timing. This week in Bible study (where we are studying through the second part of Isaiah), we happened to look closely -verse by verse- at chapters 40 and 41, especially examining the familiar passage about 'those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall soar on wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary and walk and not grow faint' (my paraphrase). We looked at the context and what was going on during that time with God's chosen people the Israelites, and why that passage was so important and meaningful right then to them... and finally, cross-referencing verses in the new testament proving that the promise of God's faithfulness to sustain us and grant us strength in time of need when we wait on Him is still true today for His children. With where I am in getting ready to give birth- right NOW needing to wait on Him, and then trust that He'll give me strength in that moment, that passage spoke to me in a way it never had before. I love how God does that. His Word is truly 'living and active-sharper than a two edged sword'. He IS faithful. I'm so thankful.

Not sure when I'll post again but maybe- just MAYBE- I'll put putting up some pictures of our precious new little boy in my next blog post. :)

Good night friends!

36 Weeks and Moving Right Along!

We've had quite a fun week! Eden started gymnastics last Monday and is having a total blast. She waits ALL week, and asks every morning if it's 'Mon-DAY' yet. :) Here's some pics from last week at her 'class'.

Bubbles!

This is from the other day when I went in to Eden's room and saw her and Freja giggling and reading books together on her bed. So cute. I love how good of friends they are.

And here's a goofy self picture of me from a couple days ago at 36 weeks. Went to the doctor today and it looks like things are moving right along. She thinks this little guy is going to come a little early- especially considering the fact that Eden (my FIRST) was early. Maybe it's about time I start thinking about packing my hospital bag. ;)

In other news, today was our first snow fall! Eden and I got up and headed out for my doctor's appointment and it was cute to watch Eden's reaction to the snow. She was a bit apprehensive but also excited to see our little cul de sac coveredhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif in white. I'm excited for Winter this year. She's at an age where I think sledding, snowballs, and playing outside in the snow is going to be really fun (last year it was really INTIMIDATING... for BOTH of us). ;)

Well, that's about it for now. Just thought I'd put up a quick post. I have some other things I need to get done while Eden sleeps, so I'll sign off for now.

Oh, one more thing: here's a video of Eden at Gymnastics... click HERE

Life is Good... But it sure Doesn't Slow Down!

I seriously don't know where the time goes! I hoped to blog again DAYS ago, but somehow the things just come up and life gets in the way... but I found a few quiet moments this evening and figured I'd post a bit of an update on the happenings around here lately.

Charley had a 'meet and greet tonight' for work... guess that's a good thing? I never quite understand what all goes on in his world from 7-4, but I DO know that he does a heck of a job providing for our family, is well-respected in our community, known for being a man of integrity, and doesn't bring his work home with him... and that's good enough for me! So proud of him! Alls I really know is that work is good and he's keeping on doing what he loves to do. What a great guy I got. :)

Eden keeps growing. Go figure. A couple of days ago, she put on a set of headphones and tried to plug the end of the cord into my belly button... said she wanted to 'hear baby Justice'. That one definitely made it into the top '3 cutest things Eden did this week' list. Watching her vocabualry and sentence structure develop has been amazing these past few weeks. She is communicating in full sentences and her thought processes are growing substantially. While I always claim that I don't want her to get any bigger than she is, each stage has its own wonderful elements and fun aspects. I really enjoy being able to have conversations with my little girl now... and to be able to give her instructions that I can then watch her actually follow to completion (like cleaning up her toys, picking something up for me and putting it on my bed, wiping down her highchair tray after breakfast, etc). She's growing up! What a great helper she will be when baby gets here.

Speaking of baby- we've made it to the 36 week mark! Only a few more weeks to go! We're in the homestretch! Good thing, too, cause I have quite the torpedo belly making simple tasks like putting my socks on or picking up around the house seem like climbing mt Mckinley! I can't wait to hold this little man in my arms though.. or introduce him to his sister for the first time.

Lastly, we are also getting ready to wrap up our PATH Fall semester (a little early since we have a couple of babies on the way between myself and coleader Ginger). 4 weeks left- and the last two weeks I've warned that I may or may not be there. ;) PATH has gone well though this semester. We've read through 'A Chance to Die' (biography of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot) and I've taught through the Proverbs 31 woman (how a young, single lady can begin practicing NOW in applying the skills and abilities the Proverbs 31 Woman demonstrates). It's been good. We've also amped up our outreach activities too. Tomorrow we are putting on a blanket making day at the church where women in our community have been encouraged to come sew baby blankets which will then be donated to the crises pregnancy center. Very cool. Speaking of that, I should probably get my stuff rounded up and loaded in the car. Gotta be there bright and early to set up! Charley is also heading up an outreach tomorrow with the men of our church changing tires and oil for less-privileged folks (single moms, etc). YAY Charley! Love that man.

Here are a few recent pics from around the house! I'm off to load the car and get some sleep!

The nursery

Eden and Freja hanging out