just a quick hello…

from the gang!  We’re all well, Christmas with my family was great, and we’re enjoying the very chilly pacific northwest weather!

count it all joy…

Greetings friends.

Let me just tell you how blessed I am at this very moment...  All my kids are occupied by their daddy and Papa, my mother-in-law has dinner in the oven and dishes being washed, my itty-bitty is healthy and home, and I have a few brief moments to capture some thoughts and share them with you.  Amazing!

In case you didn’t know, Daniel had hernia repair surgery yesterday afternoon.  We noticed on Wednesday that he was a very unhappy camper, which was unusual for him.  He was very inconsolable and wouldn’t nurse.  The next morning, I called for an appointment as soon as the office opened, and they were able to squeeze me in an hour later.  The doctor we saw told me to get him to the ER right away because she thought the problem was an incarcerated (stuck) hernia and if that was the case, they would need to perform surgery quickly to correct it.  Well, you can just about imagine my response. I managed to hold it together until I left the office, and as I was calling my sister to ask if I could drop the kids off, I’m absolutely sure I was very incoherent, attempting as I was to speak through the sobs and tears. 

Thank the Lord for a mom who will pray for you over the phone, because after I spoke with her, right as I was pulling up at my home, I began to feel much more calm and collected and think clearly about the situation. 

After a relatively brief ER visit to Children’s Hospital in Seattle (such a great hospital, we highly recommend it), we were informed that Mr. Daniel would need repair surgery in the next couple of days, as the surgeon was able to un-incarcerate (de-carcerate? unstick? clearly I’m not part of the medical world) the hernia.  We were reassured by many surgeons and doctors that this was a pretty simple and common surgery.  Ok, cool, but still, my 21 day old baby was going under the knife!

What was great about having a day in between the crisis and surgery, was that the Lord spoke to me through His word about our trial. 

count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience (james 1:2)

be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (philippians 4:6-7) (this was the verse i kept going back to over and over again)

cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you (1 peter 5:7)

and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (romans 8:28)

i know, o Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps (jeremiah 10:23)

It’s really something to sit back and reflect on God’s promises to us from His word.  It’s a great relief actually to realize and remember that trials are to be expected.  They are given to us to strengthen our faith, increase patience, and rely ever more on the Lord.  As I was thinking about how God is sovereign over every single detail of our lives, it caused me to be thankful all the more for little Daniel and the short time we’ve had with him, no matter the outcome of the surgery. 

As Ryan and I were sitting and waiting during the surgery, a family was paged over the intercom to report to neurosurgery.  That’s when it hit us that, yes, our little tiny baby was in surgery at that precise moment, but look at what others are enduring too!  Somewhere in the hospital was a family with a child undergoing brain surgery.  A little perspective goes a long way.

So here we are.  Back home again.  The Lord saw fit to spare Daniel and allow us to continue to raise him and give him all the love and snuggles we can for however long we have him.  That is truly something to be thankful about.

For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens and Your truth to the clouds (Psalm 57:10).

Diary of a 4th…

Dear readers of mom’s blog:

My parents love me, they tell me that all the time, but the photo evidence is severely lacking.  Could you please ask them to step it up and document my existence?  Now that that’s out of the way, here are a few of the pictures they have taken.

First of all, my birth day was very memorable for my family, for reasons other than the obvious.  It was very cold that day and hailed around lunch time.  The hail stuck for hours and looked like snow out in the fields; it was so beautiful, or so I’m told.

So anyway, things here are good.  On my second day home I was initiated into siblinghood by Aubrey.  She was “showing” me a Thomas train and bashed me in the head with it.  I got a little scrape, but nothing serious.  Mom wanted to take a picture of it, but, well, she didn’t. 

My brothers and sister love me like crazy.  Sometimes a little too crazy, but I think I like it.  Warren wants to hold me lots, and Aubrey is always kissing me.  Jake is a great big brother and brings mom diapers and things all the time.  It’s very helpful for her.

 (All bundled up, ready to go home!)

(See? all. the. time. That’s how much Warren wants to hold me!)

(Snoozin’ after a long hard day)

These next ones are some of mom’s favorites ever.  Aubrey is so thrilled with me, and these pictures show that. 

How cute is that?! 

Mom and dad have a bouncy chair for me, which I kinda like, but Aubrey thinks it’s for her.  Since she’s still so little, she meets the weight requirement and mom lets her play in it.  I think I’ll need it more when I’m a little older, so for now I’ll just let her play with it.

And this last picture is for Grammy.  Grammy sent my brothers and sister some presents and this one of Aubrey is how they all felt about what she sent.  Pure happiness and excitement!!  Thanks Grammy!  I love my new sleepers too!

Ok everyone, almost time to eat.  Again.  Hope you all are well, hope to meet you soon.  Mom said she’s not promising anything concerning the blog, as life is just a tad busier now, but she’ll try.  Love to all!

He’s Here!

After an unexpectedly long labor, Daniel Ryan made it!  He was born last night at 11:30 p.m. and was our 2nd heaviest baby at 7 lbs 7 oz, and a short little guy measuring 18.5”.  He’s completely healthy and right now as I type is in the very capable hands of his big brother Jake.  We thank the Lord for another beautiful addition to our family. 

And what you’ve been waiting for…

First bath by Nurse Judy.  She was awesome.

The boys are so thrilled with their little brother!  We are set to go home this afternoon, something I’m very happy about!  I’ll post more as soon as I can, but don’t hold your breath…you know how it is. :)

Bye!

life lessons from the week

~on sampling grapes from your yard:

ALWAYS take a teeny-tiny bite before you’re sure it won’t be the most bitter thing you’ve ever tasted.

 

~on awesome hair-dos:

ALWAYS take a picture.  Or a lot.

 

~on letting your baby help you wrap a gift:

Just do it.  Even if it’s messier and more time consuming.

 

~on playing the saxophone:

ALWAYS encourage proper technique.

 

~on making birthday goodies for a certain now 30 husband:

ALWAYS go the extra mile and make homemade chocolate cupcakes with chocolate marshmallow-frosting and Snickers and Big Hunks on top.  He will love you more than he did yesterday.  (or is that “he will love more of you than yesterday because you gained 3.5 pounds from eating batter and marshmallows”? No, that’s just baby weight.)  And your boys will have way more fun making them than if they came from a box.  You will also giggle a lot on the floor of the kitchen with said boys while licking the remaining frosting out of the bowl.

 

~on living a half-mile from an alpaca farm:

ALWAYS go when they have open farm days.  Especially when they have a 2 hour old baby alpaca.

 

(This gal and I had lots in common…she was about to deliver any day now)

Chicky Babe

We’re quickly coming to realize that Aubrey is the embodiment of a girly girl.  She is the “exact representation” (to borrow a phrase from an ancient) of a typical girl.  She gabs incessantly, likes her accessories, always wants to wear her tutu, and is beginning to care about what clothes she wears!  If she’s anywhere near her dresser when I’m picking out her clothes for the day, she’ll root through until she finds something she likes and HAS to wear.  What a diva.  She also has a very favorite pair of jammies (pink with big green frogs) that she would wear every night if possible. 

Her brothers balance her out somewhat though.  She does enjoy playing with their cars and guns.  Which is a good thing because I’m not sure we could handle a total Miss Priss. 

Here are some shots of the lass in her girly glory.

 (She likes her hats, even if they are her brother’s camo ones)

 (Headbands are a favorite…on, off, on, off…looks more like a sweatband here though.)

(And the tutu of course.  She was kicking that ball around the house in the tutu.)

(Now this isn’t a girly girl picture, but can’t you just hear Grandpa saying, “That’s my girl!”?  And yes, she does make the shooting sounds.)

And for good measure, I’ll throw some boys in this post too.

How cute are they?

These Feet Were Made For Walking

Now I am under no delusions that you all want to see a video of Aubrey walking and the boys playing, so don’t feel bad for not viewing it!  This is mostly for the Grandmas and family members that we don’t see often. 

Enjoy (or not)!

Blueberry Streusel Masterpieces

Every so often, someone from church will stop by the church office with some goodies for the pastors, and last week we got some freshly picked blueberries—tons of them!  I made some muffins for my sister, and after that barely made a dent into the berry stash, found a recipe for Blueberry Streusel muffins out of my Southern Living Cookbook.  I’m kind of on a muffin kick lately and these are definitely the best that I’ve had in a long time! 

Looks yummy, no?  With a hint of lemon, these berry packed muffins were so delicious piping hot out of the oven.  It also used up most of the rest of the blueberries.  

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I finally got in to the doctor to begin regular prenatal visits again.  I found a great midwife group at a local hospital.  I will deliver at the hospital with the midwife on call meeting me there.  I only have 9 weeks left…where has the time gone? 

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I’ll leave you with some oldies that never got posted.  These were taken this summer at my parent’s house when Aubrey was learning how to push the walker toy.  This is her excited face, and you have to imagine the “OH!” sound coming out, it was so funny watching her figure it out.

Until next time…

Oh, Hello!

It has been such a long time since I’ve blogged and I’m going to pretend nothing ever happened and just pick up from my most recent pics.  I have way too many to ever catch up on anyway. 

As far as the last couple of months have gone, we are finally up here in Washington, all settled, and loving it.  That about covers it!  Ryan loves working at the church and we love our new house.  We had quite the heat spell as you probably heard.  Everyone was telling us that we brought it from California.  Yeah right, we came up here to escape the heat!  After another brief hot spell, we’re back down to normal.

So, let’s dive right in!

My FOURTEEN AND A HALF MONTH OLD is now finally walking!  I was beginning to doubt that she ever would.  She can now carry around her dollies and stuffed animals which pleases her immensely.  (We were having a bad hair day.  Bad mommy didn’t fix it when she woke up from a nap).

The wee one is also now an accomplished climber.  She managed to get up on a dining room chair and after bouncing around a little, fall off.  She survived.  And climbed back up.  These pictures were pre-fall.

I know you didn’t really need 3 pictures of the same thing (well, maybe the Grandmas did), but how could I choose just one since they’re all so cute?!

Speaking of cute…

Warren is now the big 3!  I’m sure it didn’t feel any different since he was saying he was 3 about 2 months before his birthday.  We had a few people over for his party, including Grammy and Papa, who were up here visiting.  His birthday (and our anniversary) fell during the nasty heat wave.  It wasn’t so much fun having people over when the house was 95*, but we all lived.  It’s just a fading memory now anyway, with the only thing to remind us of it is all the pink cheeks in the pictures.

The Cubs hat from Great-Grandma was (and still is) Warren’s very very most favorite of all time present.  He wears it non-stop, and yes, even to bed. 

Check out how sweaty Johnny is!  The poor kiddos were so hot and red.  Hey LeProhon’s—that cool dump truck has never looked the same since that day!  It always has rocks and dirt in it now.  Instead of shiny and yellow, it is now dusty and battered.  In other words, he couldn’t love it more.

 Instead of a cake, I made cake balls.  They were awe.some.  Cake on a stick, I guess you could say.  It was a bit difficult making them in 100* heat, but overall they turned out great, quite a hit with the kiddos.

Here are just a few random shots from recently. 

It might be hard to tell, but the boys are holding hands here.  I caught this sweet moment from inside the house.  They didn’t know I saw them!

At Lake Washington celebrating Micah Thompson’s 1st Birthday!  What a gorgeous day in Washington.

 

Check out the wave hair-do!  I love it.

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, Aubrey enjoying her first of many (I’m sure) Tootsie Pops.  Tasty.  This was back in July at my parent’s house.  Ok, so I did post some oldies.

See ya’ll soon!