Family of Four

Perhaps some day I will get around to blogging the birth story. I know not everyone can say these things but it really was all I had hoped for and in the end, we were holding a healthy baby girl. We are so very grateful.

Among our birth team was our amazing birth photographer, who doubled as an outstanding doula, Grace. I'm pretty sure she would tell you she is a doula first and I wouldn't disagree. Being on this side of the experience, though, I almost think I am more thankful for her gifts in the area of photography. We have a beautiful slideshow video that I have watched countless times already, not to mention a whole disc of photos that captured the experience beautifully.

As it happened, Grace was on call the day of Zoe's birth for another family as well. She had to leave very shortly after Zoe's made her grand debut as their baby also decided to arrive on March 2nd. This meant that she wasn't able to get very many pictures of brand new Zoe. In the end, I think we got the best end of the deal because she came back two days later and we were able to get some really fun, still very newborn pictures.

One of the things we wanted was an updated version of a family picture we had taken the morning I was in labor.

Then, we wanted some pictures of tiny Zoe:

she comes by this furrowed brow honestly - Daddy and Mama each have their own version, Zoe has both

 And finally, we wanted some of us bonding as a family of four:

Mother and Daughter

Father and Daughter

Big Brother and Little Sister

I have loved seeing how Zoe has responded to Joseph from the time she was growing inside me. It was no different when they were face to face. She responds so quickly to his soothing ways with her.

Daddy has the touch

 

even in her sleep, her brow is furrowed

We are smitten! She's a keeper!!!

calming our new little one

studying every little detail

Caleb is contemplating what all this means

All Photos Courtesy of New Mercies Birth Doula Services

She's Here!

Zoe Elizabeth

March 2, 2016 ~ 4:25 p.m.

7 pounds 12 ounces ~ 21.5 inches

Photo Credit: New Mercies Birth Doula Services

 

Hope Deferred, Desires Fulfilled

By last night I was "under the wait." (I'm borrowing from the phrase "under the pain" and adapting it.) I remember during some years where I was living with chronic pain in my body, periodically I would get under it -- that sort of breaking point where I just thought I couldn't go on like that. I've seen it with a sister-in-law I walked through a couple of childbirths with -- sometimes back to back contractions, or some unexpected information would get her under the pain and it would take several contractions to get back into her rhythm.

That basically describes where I was by the end of the day yesterday with waiting to meet my baby girl face to face.

On Friday morning I had three or four hours of pre-labor contractions that were decidedly different than all the Braxton Hicks I have been having for months now. As much as I tried telling myself, "these could go away and it could still be weeks till you actually go into labor," there was no way around it. It got my hopes up.

I did okay for a couple of days, just kind of wondering if they would come back and move on to the real deal.

Then came February 29th: Leap Day. Joseph and I both realized we really like the idea of a "Leapling." And so even throughout the night before I was kind of holding my breath wondering at every twinge, "is this something more?"

And by the time we crawled into bed and it had been nothing more than an ordinary day (perhaps with a little extra fatigue), I was disheartened. Seriously bummed might be more accurate.

And then came a profound question, posed by a dear friend: "is Jesus wanting to take you back into a few of those yet-aching places as you once again find yourself waiting for a child? if so, I guarantee it is to bring you greater healing and ultimately, increasing joy."

Wow. And yes. I had no doubt the answer was yes and began to pray and ask Him about it.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul...
~Proverbs 13:12, 19

I believe there is much to be explored here but this I know. I spent so many years with hope deferred. And I can assure you, it brought a heart sickness. Barring the unforeseen, this time I am waiting for a desire fulfilled and have good reason to believe it will be.

I needed that to gear back up for more waiting.

A couple of other verses that came to mind:

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
~Psalm 30:5

He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
~Psalm 126:6

This is no longer the season of weeping. I am looking ahead to joy, a desire fulfilled.

Time

He has made everything beautiful in its time.
~Ecclesiastes 3:11

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die.
~Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

time flies
time stood still
Where did the time go?
The time is now!
ahead of the times
pressed for time
behind the times
a race against time
biding time
time out
in the nick of time
all in good time
crunch time
time on your hands
in real time
time after time
time running out
time will tell
standing the test of time
about time
on borrowed time
in less than no time
time heals
Once upon a time...

That is a tiny list compared to what my search produced.

Perhaps it seems obvious why the thought of time passing would be on my mind. My due date is one week from today. This little girl could arrive anytime! (And no, my midwife does not make predictions, so we have no idea when that will be.)

And yet what actually sparked the thoughts this morning was waking up and realizing what was going on just one short year ago. I was pregnant then, too. 3 weeks along which technically means that baby was 1 week old. And no one knew. There was a life growing inside me, known only to its Maker. Now, I look in the mirror and I'm pretty sure it is obvious enough that even the most cautious ones could dare to venture that question, "are you expecting?"

And the Spirit also lead me to the passage of Scripture this morning that was so profound after that loss:

 My beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my beautiful one, and come away."
~Song of Solomon 2:10-13

Those words became Jesus' invitation to me to keep hope alive, to continue asking Him to fulfill that decades-old longing for life growing inside me into a child who would become a part of our family.

I am finding that I simply cannot wrap my mind around all of that, squeezed into one year's time. Oh, not to mention that I'm writing this from my residence in a different state, having left the one I had lived in for 19 years.

So. Many. Changes.

I consider myself one of the fortunate ones. I generally thrive on change. Pursue it, even. And yet, as I reflect on the huge change about to take place in our family, I find myself trying to soak up every precious second of the "right now" moment.

I cannot help but think that I will look back on this season of great anticipation with nostalgia. And that encourages me not to wish it away one moment too soon. I will never be back in this same place: so eagerly looking forward to the next phase of something I have ached for, dreamed of and prayed for for many, many years.

What a great place to be: I feel ready for our #littleladylentil's arrival. There is nothing left that I know of that I would say has to be done before we would be ready to welcome her. The birth supplies are all collected. The just-in-case-of-hospital-transfer bag is packed. The errands are done. There is a room ready for her. And a big brother who says it is so boring to wait for your pregnant mom to deliver your sister to you.

And yet, I have a list. Things I would love to accomplish before life takes a dramatic turn and this baby is on her feeding and sleeping schedule rather than mine. I am so thankful for a renewed energy to tackle this list. For much of my third trimester I was spending way more time in bed, resting than I would have preferred. In fact, it had gotten to the point where I wanted out of my room simply because I expect to spend quite a bit of time there once I have a newborn and the scenery was already getting old!

We know there are many of you eager to hear the news that our baby girl has arrived! We are so grateful for each one of you and we want to honor your entering into our longing, hoping, hurting, rejoicing, praying...many of you for years on end. And so, my plan is to share that news via facebook and this blog soon after it takes place. But not before we have thoroughly soaked it up in real time. Please check back. There simply are too many of you to try to call, e-mail, message everyone personally. What a gift to know that I can no longer keep track of the list of those who have and will rejoice with us in the arrival of this little one.

Speaking of a list...I also have one of blog posts I have been wanting to write since we arrived here in Boise. I still hope to do that over time but I want to somehow keep this current enough so that I can utilize it to keep family and friends near and far updated. Especially after moving, there are many we want to continue to share glimpses of our lives with and this is the best way I know how since not all of you are on facebook (don't worry, no judgment from me on that account!).

So, for now, here are a few pictures from our life here for those of you who haven't seen them on facebook and/or Instagram.

saying good-bye to our WA house and life

these two had plenty of quality time together on the 11 hour drive

I thought I would start with what I imagine most people are most eager to see: "belly pictures."

26 Weeks

27 Weeks

30 Weeks

33 Weeks

36 Weeks

37 Weeks

39 Weeks

Next I'm guessing you might be interested in pictures of the house.

 

 

 

with over 20 trees in our yard, a leaf blower was a "necessary" investment

we have thoroughly enjoyed all the dustings of snow we have seen since our arrival

definitely still a work in progress

the first room I got completely cleaned and settled

upstairs bath/laundry before Joseph tiled the floor (and with Christmas decor)

the process, part 1

the process, part 2

side by side - before and after

upstairs bath/laundry after Joseph tiled the floor (with "rest of the year" decor)

the nursery - also still a work in progress...not complete, but completely functional :)

we have been told by many people how beautiful our yard is in the spring time; we are just beginning to see the first bit of evidence as things start popping up all over the place

There are obviously still plenty of rooms I need pictures of. Not the least of which is the kitchen/office area that has also just recently received a new tile floor, thanks to my #tileexpertinresidence. But those will have to wait for another time or I'll never get this post published.

I'll move on to a few pictures of events we have celebrated since moving here, including: Thanksgiving (celebrated with our dear Sam and Bobbie Parks), Christmas and everything that leads up to it, and Joseph's birthday.

Caleb is becoming an expert at pie crust

Caleb and Grandpa Sam on Thanksgiving

Grandma Bobbie and the Mama-to-Be (with sparkling cider!) on Thanksgiving

Caleb loves his pumpkin pie...or is it the whipped cream?!

our Christmas-Cookie-Baking-Elf

we "hunted" our Christmas tree in the Boise National Forest (complete with a tag retrieved from the Forest Ranger's headquarters)

it was definitely a different kind of tree than we have ever had before

after mastering pie crusts at Thanksgiving, Caleb gave me a hand with kneading the dough for our Christmas Swedish Tea Ring (he also did his fair share of polishing off the finished product and enjoyed it so much he has requested another for his birthday)

our stoic wise man - Caleb decided to join the Christmas play at Church...a first for him

a special treat for Caleb came in the form of a snowy Christmas Eve

Caleb's snowmen: him and his dad, complete with their hats

trying out his new Christmas present - a compound bow

painting a birthday present for Dad

Joseph's birthday dinner (Abe not to be left out)

Moving on, a few school related pictures:

it was very hard to say good-bye to these awesome teachers Caleb had in WA - Mrs. W and Ms. W - we still miss them and his classmates

at his school here, Caleb is considered a walker which also sometimes means he rides his bike to and/or from school (he doesn't even mind walking in the rain; in fact, he claims he likes it)

Gateway School of Language and Culture - this is from a Kung-Fu Panda movie premiere, donated to the school because of their Chinese program (Caleb is not in the immersion program - that starts in Kindergarten or 1st grade - but he still has Chinese class twice a week)

the first Friday of February, he came home from school sick, with a high fever (this happens to him at the most about once a year); he was pretty miserable and the bug continued to make the rounds through our family...slowly (and it took its time leaving, too)

good evidence of how taken out he was - a voluntary middle-of-the-day nap

And finally a few miscellaneous pictures:

the guys have a music room in our basement - believe it or not, even though it is directly beneath our master bedroom, I have dozed off to the sound of them playing together

 

we haven't done as much outdoor exploring as we hope to; the weather was getting cold pretty fast not long after our arrival, but Camelsback has been a favorite spot since our first visit to Boise

I had given Abe a haircut back in October and figured it wouldn't happen again until sometime after we arrived here; being quite pregnant, though, I decided to put it off even longer than usual so that I wouldn't have to worry about it again until after our little girl arrives; he looked like a different dog!

Well, there you have it. A glimpse of our new life here in pictures. As I said, I am hoping to use this blog going forward to keep our far-away loved ones in the loop on what is going on in our world. No promises but you just might want to check back from time to time (or follow/bookmark/subscribe to it...whatever people do these days - I'm not really an avid blog follower myself).