Happy Birthday Havilah!!!

I am actually three days late with this post as her birthday was the 22nd, but I thought that I had better go and give some recognition to my youngest little sweetheart.

Let's see, what do I remember the most about Havilah's birth? I found out I was pregnant with Havilah during one of the most stressful times of our lives. We had to move very soon and still didn't know where and work was the slowest it had ever been for David. We knew right away though that God had an amazing plan for this little one and that she would be a tremendous blessing and not a burden.

Her pregnancy flew by! With two little girls to chase around there wasn't much time to just sit. She was six days late and I remember going to the hospital and feeling uneasy about maybe having a boy because David and Lydia were at such odds about what we should name him. They would go back and forth about how Daddy likes Moses, but Lydia likes Gabe. I was pretty sure I was having another jewel of a daughter though!

Her labor was by far the easiest I had ever had. It was only eight hours and I never even had to get to my "hoo hoo heee" breathing! When she came out, she was so beautiful! I know every mom says that, but I was overwhelmed at the beautiful little creation I held.

She truly is a treasure. Her smile is the most effective medicine I've found. She is definitely our most "strong willed" child, but it is so rewarding to see the fruits of training her. She is going to be one powerful young woman!

I am so thankful for my precious little Havi. My heart delights in being her Mommy.

Havilah at the Hospital

Yesterday we went in to Legacy Emanuel Hospital for Havilah to have a skin graft done. This was our first surgery to have happen to an of our children and I'm so thankful to say that everything went great!

She was such a darling little patient. All the nurses loved her!

Making sure she was still ticking!

This is was our great doctor, Dr. Pulito. He was so sweet! They had given her some stuff to make her a little loopy before starting so she really did look like that in real life! After just being totally hilarious for a while though, she decided that she really didn't like not being able to think straight and screamed the rest of the waiting time!

I finally got to hold her after the surgery. She was so hungry that she downed two glucose bottle and one of apple juice in about five minutes. They couldn't give her any more!

Not something I ever want to repeat but I am so thankful that all went well and for the loving people who took such good care of us!

Sad Days!

Last Friday night our sweet little Havi took advantage of the two seconds Mommy wasn't looking and pulled the iron onto herself. We took her to the hospital where we learned she has a third degree burn on her left hand. The blessing in this horrible situation is that because the burn is so bad, she is in no pain at least up until now. Please pray for our precious sweetie that she would heal quickly and efficiently. Thank you!

Havilah These Days

I can't believe how fast she is growing up so I thought that I would catch you up on what's happening in my littlest one's life.

Teeth. While my first two were amazing teethers ( I rarely knew a tooth was coming until it broke through!) Havilah is educating me on what it is really like when someone says " My baby is teething. Three down, many more to come!

She loves being a big girl and so far is not showing any amazing signs of being the most humble baby of the year! She likes everyone to know how proud she is of herself.

Ahh, yes. Stairs. How can going up be so easy and fun and coming down such a puzzle?

Did I mention that I think she's beautiful? She continues to melt my heart everyday!

My Special Day

Today was my birthday! I woke up this morning to a beautiful world that God had decorated with sparkling snow just for me and a delicious breakfast in bed. I had never had a real breakfast in bed before! My amazing husband had gotten up and prepared pastries, apples, raspberries (yum!) and coffee and brought it in to me while I was still sleeping then spent a wonderful 40 minutes just sitting and enjoying the time with me. It was fantastic! No interruptions!

This afternoon my sweet mother-in-law took myself and my sister-in-law, Laura, who is visiting out to lunch. Someday we will have to reserve an entire restaurant to have all of us daughter-in-laws go out together, but for now it's just the two of us!

When I got home our sweet Miss Mary had made me a beautiful birthday cake!

I love birthdays! Someone ( I won't name names!) just the other day said to me, " I think that birthdays don't mean as much when you get older", but I'm afraid I'll have to disagree! I still am so blessed by the little things that people do to make my day a special one. 39 people sent me birthday greetings on Facebook! My life long friend swung by my house and dropped off a present for me last week. All of my grandparents and grandparents-in-law sent me birthday cards. My mom sent over our traditional " birthday table cloth". I feel a little shallow saying this, but things like that just thrill the socks off me!
What do you think? Are birthdays just another day for you, or do you still love them too? Maybe I'm just not old enough yet! Thanks to all of you who have blessed me in all the small and great ways! Just in case you're wondering ( and couldn't read the cake), I turned 23 today.

Cheerio Days

Well, We have officially entered at our house what I will halfway affectionately call, " The Cheerio Days".

If you're a mom like me you know what they are. The days of not being able to walk through your house without having some soggy something stuck to your sock. The days of hearing a gentle "crunch" every other step. The days of feeling like your kids are human vacuum cleaners!

She gets so much enjoyment out of being able to feed herself though, that I think it makes it somehow worth it all.

Needless to say I was very excited about my birthday present from my parents this year! It sure will come in handy!

Just one day at a time

Sorry once again for my lack of posting. Life goes on here as usual. Wake up in the morning ( We've been working at 6:00 for David and I, although I still rebel every morning at the thought of it!), have some coffee and some time in the Bible while waiting for the wood stove to heat up, make breakfast and eat with the little ones making it down the stairs. The last few mornings Bethany follows her sister down saying over and over " Lydia, thank you for waiting for me!". Daddy leaves for work and we girls get on with our day.

I so easily forget to be thankful for very moment I have with my children. They are growing up right in front of my eyes and even with the tremendous blessing of being able to stay home with them, I still need reminded to take advantage of the time I have with them. I can get so caught up in the busyness of life that I'm shocked at times to realize how long it's been since I've painted Lydia's toes or any of the other things that I keep telling her we'll do "later", or "maybe tomorrow".

Havilah is now crawling all around the house and it amazes me to think that my infant will be walking in only a couple of months! Wasn't she just born?

Last Saturday we had our second trip to the emergency room as parents. Bethany tripped ( for the 4,oooth time) and happened to hit her head just right on the edge of the plate she was carrying and split her forehead. Thankfully they didn't have to give her any stitches, they simply super-glued it!

I was reminded again of how you never know what a day will bring. I'm so thankful to know a God who has everything in His control. It makes it such a joy to live every moment of everyday! Which reminds me, I need to go paint some toes!