miles plays charades

charades is one of our new favorite family games. miles loves it.

in-between days

i cannot describe to you the panic i felt about having 2 weeks of limbo, having just had a baby and being exhausted and inadequate to care for 4 children while traveling...my thoughts regularly spiraled out of control for a bit there. through the incredible generosity of friends who happened to be overseas, we were able to all stay in town and in one place for the whole two weeks. basically, we have been granted a local vacation (except adam has been putting in lots of work hours). i can't pack or unpack, so we have just been able to be present with each other and that has been so good for our relationships. having a baby and packing up the house kind of forced us to semi-ignore the big kids for a bit, so this short season has turned out to be so sweet. that's grace. we certainly do not deserve such a lovely place to stay, but we are oh so grateful!

farewell first house

we are no longer homeowners. it happened very fast and seemed like such wild timing, but then who am i to think i know best all the time? our house sold quickly and without really being listed to dear people who will love the old house and our neighbors well. it's bittersweet. moving always is i think, but by God's grace, my clenched hands have become open as we enter a new season. adam has led on this and i am learning to trust in the process. our house has held many memories. it sat in a unique urban neighborhood. we will miss the sweet community of believers striving to love a place so marked by the challenges of city neighborhoods. we learned much. we moved into the neighborhood as newlyweds 10 years ago and bought our house 5 years later. it was a good place for us and it is hard to move. but there are seasons for things and our family needs a change. we trust that just as we felt our house was God's good provision for us for a time, so now being free from home-ownership is His provision for us too. adam's work in the ER has made it more and more stressful to come home to the city. home seemed stressful, with old house problems and city-neighborhood problems. we felt the weight of expensive home repairs and looming med-school debt. we did not try hard to sell it, but decided if someone wanted to buy it, we should be open to discussing it. some friends approached us just a few weeks before owen was born and a month or so later it was sold! we scrambled to find a place to go, i have been anxious, but God has provided a wonderful place for us to rent as well while we wait to see what adventure God has for us next, and while adam finishes up residency. we moved two weeks after owen was born and had a 2 week gap before we could move into our rental. i panicked about that too, but another wonderful place was provided for us thanks to very kind friends. so here are some farewell pictures of our first house that we loved. we will miss the proximity of so many of our neighbors and friends, but we are really only moving about 10 minutes away so we can keep up with folks. and we trust God will give us many opportunities to love our new neighbors. i'll miss all my plants, but am eager to plant things when we move in. overall we are very thankful.

a wedding!

it's been a busy week. marit and graham were asked by my sweet friend laurie to be in her wedding with the understanding that if owen came, it might be impossible. we were so thankful the timing worked out just right and my parents even enabled me to make it for the ceremony. we are so excited for laurie and johnny and all the Lord will do in them through the gift of marriage. the kiddos were so brave and walked down the aisle holding hands. graham looked scared and could not stop tossing his antique china ring plate in the air like it was a hot potato. oh my...what a relief when they sat down with us after the giving of the bride.

here

our sweet new boy has arrived. we are humbled and grateful for God's care and grace in the gift of this new life and for the love and shared joy from dear friends and family. we became a family of 6 on tuesday, just about 12 days early.

 i woke up with strong contractions around 3 am. i lay in bed timing them and thinking of the things on the day's agenda: family presentation at our co-op, appraisal of our house (we are expecting to close on april 17th...more on that later maybe), job interview for adam, deacon's meeting for him, backup call that actually did try to make him work hours after i gave birth. when adam's parents arrived, we headed into the hospital around 7 and the parking officer refused to let us park close because adam's car was registered in another deck...even a laboring woman would not allow for some flexibility. when we finally got to l and d i was 6 cm and we started the antibiotics we needed. we had plenty of time as i dilated 1 cm every 2-3 hrs, which was great because my doctor was able to finish her OR cases and deliver our guy, i got both doses of antibiotics (i was worried there would not be time as was the case with miles), and there was time for an epidural. that thing worked great until the end when baby descended from -2 to +2 in what seemed to be one 15 minute contraction. wowsers, that part was intense. then there were two contractions of pushing and he was here!

there was lots of vernix, a vigorous cry right away, skin to skin time, and 40 minutes of nursing.

owen thomas is his name...the thomas for my maternal grandfather, adam's maternal grandfather, a family name on my dad's side, and my fantastic brother tom. the owen part is sort of for the puritan theologian john owen, but also just because we liked it. it means "fighter" and we pray that he will indeed fight for all that is good and true, defending the cause of Christ and those in this world who are vulnerable.

 he weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and is 21 inches long, making him the smallest boy, but still bigger than marit. the kids are over the moon for their new brother and graham could sit and hold him for ages. everything seems loud and crazy and a little foggy. nights will be rough for a bit yet and packing will begin in earnest when i feel physically able. there are many moments that i have to deep breathe, remember God's provision and love, and turn my panicky thoughts over to Him. here are way more pictures than necessary of the last 5 days and i need to go because sweet O just peed out of his diaper all over my pants...still sound asleep though.

just a few days before

golden hair and dark eyes.  i can't believe he isn't bald!

i think this is before

hello sweet one

miles is so serious

lots of reading with papa this week...his favorite chidhood book

silly faces

we've been testing out our new camera with some fun faces.  our old one was dropped too many times to be reliable for little guy when he arrives...2 weeks give or take until we meet him!

in other news, we are probably moving shortly after he comes so transition will be the name of our game for a while.